Washington, March 19 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday sharply attacked sections of the American media, accusing them of trying to undercut the country’s war effort and downplay military gains in the conflict with Iran.
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, Hegseth said the press was more interested in damaging President Donald Trump than in reporting battlefield developments fairly.
“I stand here today speaking to you, the American people. Not through filters, not through reporters, not through cable news,” Hegseth said. He added that “a dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at nothing” to “downplay progress, amplify every cost, and call into question. Every step.”
Hegseth said much of the media wanted Americans to believe that the conflict was “somehow spinning toward an endless abyss or a Forever war or a quagmire.” He rejected that description and argued that the current operation was fundamentally different from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Nothing could be further from the truth, hear it from me,” he said. “This is not those wars. President Trump knows better, Epic Fury is different. It’s laser-focused. It’s decisive.”
The Defence Secretary said the administration’s military goals had not changed since the start of the campaign. He said the objectives were to “destroy missiles, launchers and Iran’s defence industrial base,” “destroy their navy,” and ensure “Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”
He also took direct aim at the press corps in the briefing room, saying reporters were not the main audience for his remarks. “Yes, there are reporters in front of me, but they are not our audience today. It’s you the good decent patriotic American people,” he said.
Hegseth accused some outlets of distorting the reality of the war even as the Pentagon claimed major gains. “To the patriotic members of the press, nobody can deliver perfection in wartime,” he said. “But report the reality, we’re winning decisively and on our terms.”
He framed the criticism as part of a wider frustration with how parts of the political and media establishment respond to Trump-era military action. “They want President Trump to fail, but you — the American people know better,” he said.
The remarks were among the most pointed public attacks by Hegseth on the media since the conflict began. They came in a briefing that otherwise focused on operational updates, including US claims that more than 7,000 targets had been struck across Iran and that Tehran’s missile and drone capabilities had been sharply reduced.
Hegseth’s criticism extended beyond coverage of military progress. He also accused Iran of circulating “fake AI-generated images” and suggested that some in the press had fallen for them. He said the Iranian regime was trying to manipulate perceptions while restricting information through blackouts and internal controls.
Even as he blasted the media, Hegseth cast the message as one meant for the public, not for them. He said Americans should understand that the administration saw the campaign as limited, goal-driven and tied to national security, not nation-building.
The confrontation reflects a broader pattern in Trump-era politics, where media coverage of military and national security issues is often folded into a wider political fight over credibility, patriotism and public trust. Senior administration officials have frequently argued that hostile coverage weakens support for their policies.
US administrations have often clashed with the press during wartime, especially when casualties rise or military claims face scrutiny. But Hegseth’s language stood out for its directness, making the media itself part of the political battlefield as the Pentagon seeks to defend public backing for the campaign.
–IANS
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