‘Shameless’: Critics Hammer Pete Hegseth for Claiming ‘We Didn’t Start’ War on Iran
The defense secretary suggested that “the US went to war because Iran has ballistic missiles and drones it has used as a deterrent or to respond to US/Israeli attacks,” said journalist Jeremy Scahill.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference on US military action in Iran at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 2, 2026.
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Mar 02, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
In the Trump administration’s first public remarks to reporters on the strikes the US and Israel launched in Iran over the weekend, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed the Middle Eastern country for the attacks that have killed at least 555 people there as well as at least four US soldiers—and suggested Iran posed an imminent threat because of its defensive military capabilities.
Hegseth said the strikes that began early Saturday morning and included deadly attacks on children attending school were “retribution” for Iran’s “savage, one-sided war against America” that has played out for “47 long years” as the country has waged proxy attacks on the US.
“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump we’re finishing it,” said Hegseth.
Despite the fact that hours before President Donald Trump announced the US and Israeli attacks, the Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi reported that diplomatic talks he was mediating were making significant progress toward a peace deal, Hegseth asserted that Iran had a “conventional gun to our head” and suggested the US had no choice but to wage war.
Pentagon officials said in a congressional briefing Sunday that Iran had not been planning to strike any US military targets in the region unless it was attacked first, according to CNN.
The defense secretary also claimed Monday that Iran was “not negotiating” and said it was “stalling” in the talks with the aim of rebuilding missile stockpiles.“
“To be clear,” said journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News, “he is claiming the US went to war because Iran has ballistic missiles and drones it has used as a deterrent or to respond to US/Israeli attacks.”
Drop Site noted that Hegseth made no mention of “the 1953 US-backed coup in Iran,” US support for autocratic rule there from 1953-79, “or that the US and Israel launched the February 28 strikes.”
On the UK talk radio show “Leading Britain’s Conversation,” British journalist Jon Sopel said Hegseth was making “the exact argument that [former President] George W. Bush made in 2003 with the weapons of mass destruction and ‘They could be launched in 45 minutes.’”
Promises to end the US government’s penchant for embarking on endless regime change wars, added Sopel, were part of “what propelled Donald Trump to the presidency, and yet Donald Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu have launched these strikes against Iran.”
The defense secretary attempted to contrast the operation in Iran—dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the US military—to protracted wars like those the US has waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conflict will not be an “endless war,” Hegseth said.
He claimed at one point in the briefing that the clear-cut objective of the attacks is to “destroy the missile threats, destroy the navy, no nukes” and scoffed at a reporter’s question about Trump’s Sunday statement in which he said he expected the conflict to be resolved in “four weeks or less.”
“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or not take. Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back,” said Hegseth.
Hegseth spoke alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who appeared to temper expectations of a quick resolution to the war started by the US and Israel.
“To be clear... this is not a single overnight operation,” Caine said. “The military objectives [US Central Command] and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work.”
Caine added that the military objective is “to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders.”
Law professor Jennifer Taub denounced Hegseth’s remarks as “utter nonsense” and condemned his claim that the US and Israel are hitting military targets “surgically.”
“Shameless,” she said. “We or Israel bombed a girl’s school on Saturday when school was in session, killing 175.”
Along with Hegseth’s claim that Iran was to blame for the strikes launched by the US and Israel, his comment that the US will expedite the operation by not getting bogged down in “stupid rules of engagement” alarmed observers.
“'No stupid rules of engagement’ means no Geneva Conventions or other international humanitarian laws, which the US signed and supported for more than a century,” said journalist Mark Jacob. “Hegseth and Trump are pro-war crimes.”
The defense secretary suggested that “the US went to war because Iran has ballistic missiles and drones it has used as a deterrent or to respond to US/Israeli attacks,” said journalist Jeremy Scahill.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference on US military action in Iran at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 2, 2026.
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Mar 02, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
In the Trump administration’s first public remarks to reporters on the strikes the US and Israel launched in Iran over the weekend, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed the Middle Eastern country for the attacks that have killed at least 555 people there as well as at least four US soldiers—and suggested Iran posed an imminent threat because of its defensive military capabilities.
Hegseth said the strikes that began early Saturday morning and included deadly attacks on children attending school were “retribution” for Iran’s “savage, one-sided war against America” that has played out for “47 long years” as the country has waged proxy attacks on the US.
“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump we’re finishing it,” said Hegseth.
Despite the fact that hours before President Donald Trump announced the US and Israeli attacks, the Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi reported that diplomatic talks he was mediating were making significant progress toward a peace deal, Hegseth asserted that Iran had a “conventional gun to our head” and suggested the US had no choice but to wage war.
Pentagon officials said in a congressional briefing Sunday that Iran had not been planning to strike any US military targets in the region unless it was attacked first, according to CNN.
The defense secretary also claimed Monday that Iran was “not negotiating” and said it was “stalling” in the talks with the aim of rebuilding missile stockpiles.“
“To be clear,” said journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News, “he is claiming the US went to war because Iran has ballistic missiles and drones it has used as a deterrent or to respond to US/Israeli attacks.”
Drop Site noted that Hegseth made no mention of “the 1953 US-backed coup in Iran,” US support for autocratic rule there from 1953-79, “or that the US and Israel launched the February 28 strikes.”
On the UK talk radio show “Leading Britain’s Conversation,” British journalist Jon Sopel said Hegseth was making “the exact argument that [former President] George W. Bush made in 2003 with the weapons of mass destruction and ‘They could be launched in 45 minutes.’”
Promises to end the US government’s penchant for embarking on endless regime change wars, added Sopel, were part of “what propelled Donald Trump to the presidency, and yet Donald Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu have launched these strikes against Iran.”
The defense secretary attempted to contrast the operation in Iran—dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the US military—to protracted wars like those the US has waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conflict will not be an “endless war,” Hegseth said.
He claimed at one point in the briefing that the clear-cut objective of the attacks is to “destroy the missile threats, destroy the navy, no nukes” and scoffed at a reporter’s question about Trump’s Sunday statement in which he said he expected the conflict to be resolved in “four weeks or less.”
“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or not take. Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back,” said Hegseth.
Hegseth spoke alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who appeared to temper expectations of a quick resolution to the war started by the US and Israel.
“To be clear... this is not a single overnight operation,” Caine said. “The military objectives [US Central Command] and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work.”
Caine added that the military objective is “to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders.”
Law professor Jennifer Taub denounced Hegseth’s remarks as “utter nonsense” and condemned his claim that the US and Israel are hitting military targets “surgically.”
“Shameless,” she said. “We or Israel bombed a girl’s school on Saturday when school was in session, killing 175.”
Along with Hegseth’s claim that Iran was to blame for the strikes launched by the US and Israel, his comment that the US will expedite the operation by not getting bogged down in “stupid rules of engagement” alarmed observers.
“'No stupid rules of engagement’ means no Geneva Conventions or other international humanitarian laws, which the US signed and supported for more than a century,” said journalist Mark Jacob. “Hegseth and Trump are pro-war crimes.”
Former Bush official blasts Pete Hegseth's 'condescending' Iran war tantrum
Tom Boggioni
March 2, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
A former member of President George W. Bush’s administration had nothing good to say about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s press conference on Monday, claiming he failed to answer any important questions and just showed up to posture.
Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” Elise Jordan expressed disgust with the former Fox News personality’s smug answers, which also failed to make the case that threatens to go on longer than the Donald Trump administration is willing to admit.
Speaking with co-host Jonathan Lemire she exclaimed, “Well, beside his behind his condescending demeanor, that aside, notice how he says constantly ‘mission clear objectives. ‘He repeatedly says, ’We have a mission.’ ‘We have a ––,’ What are they?! He can't put them out there. That is the whole problem here."
“We don't know what this war is about!” she pointed out. “Donald Trump said from the get-go, it was about encouraging the Iranian people to stand up, regime change. Then you hear through so many different interviews that he does so many different options. ‘This could go a month, it could be a couple of days. I don't know, maybe I'll negotiate.’”
“No one has any idea what this war is about,” she insisted. “And it is a problem because they don't have a strategy and they don't have a plan. And you look at the politics of this, it's only going to get worse with time.”
Journalist says Pete Hegseth stacked the deck at press conference with MAGA reporters
Travis Gettys
March 2, 2026
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stacked the deck with friendly correspondents at his press conference on the start of military operations against Iran.
The defense secretary and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took questions for about 13 minutes Monday morning in the administration's first public comments to reporters since the U.S.-Israeli military operations began over the weekend, but CNN's Brian Stelter reported that MAGA-friendly outlets dominated the proceedings.
"If you're wondering about who was at today's Pentagon press conference, here's some context," Stelter posted on X. "The Pentagon has severely restricted access to info in the past year. Pete Hegseth credentialed a MAGA media 'press corps' last fall after traditional news outlets rejected new press pass rules that media lawyers said criminalized routine reporting. The MAGA crew does relatively little reporting, so most coverage of the US military is now happening from outside the Pentagon's five walls."
"Journalists from some traditional outlets were allowed to attend this morning's press conference with Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine," he added. "But Hegseth only answered Q's from his chosen outlets. I'm told he had a pre-selected list of questioners, and all the reporters were in assigned seats, so he knew who to call on."
However, one reporter who wasn't on Hegseth's list managed to slip a question through, and the Pentagon chief erupted.
"When NBC's Courtney Kube tried to get a question in anyway and said, 'President Trump put a four-week timeline on it — are you saying that is wrong?,' Hegseth dismissed it as a 'typical NBC sort of 'gotcha' type question.'"
Hegseth insisted to Kube that President Donald Trump had no constraints on his authority to order military operations for as long as he liked.
"President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take," Hegseth said. "Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks – it could move up, it could move back. We're gonna execute at his command ... Joe Biden didn't even know what he was doing."
Among the MAGA-friendly correspondents at the press conference was conservative activist Brandon Stratka, who was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
"I’m at the Pentagon this morning for a briefing with @SecWar @PeteHegseth on the Iran strikes," Stratka posted. "Session starts in 10 minutes."
Travis Gettys
March 2, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stacked the deck with friendly correspondents at his press conference on the start of military operations against Iran.
The defense secretary and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took questions for about 13 minutes Monday morning in the administration's first public comments to reporters since the U.S.-Israeli military operations began over the weekend, but CNN's Brian Stelter reported that MAGA-friendly outlets dominated the proceedings.
"If you're wondering about who was at today's Pentagon press conference, here's some context," Stelter posted on X. "The Pentagon has severely restricted access to info in the past year. Pete Hegseth credentialed a MAGA media 'press corps' last fall after traditional news outlets rejected new press pass rules that media lawyers said criminalized routine reporting. The MAGA crew does relatively little reporting, so most coverage of the US military is now happening from outside the Pentagon's five walls."
"Journalists from some traditional outlets were allowed to attend this morning's press conference with Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine," he added. "But Hegseth only answered Q's from his chosen outlets. I'm told he had a pre-selected list of questioners, and all the reporters were in assigned seats, so he knew who to call on."
However, one reporter who wasn't on Hegseth's list managed to slip a question through, and the Pentagon chief erupted.
"When NBC's Courtney Kube tried to get a question in anyway and said, 'President Trump put a four-week timeline on it — are you saying that is wrong?,' Hegseth dismissed it as a 'typical NBC sort of 'gotcha' type question.'"
Hegseth insisted to Kube that President Donald Trump had no constraints on his authority to order military operations for as long as he liked.
"President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take," Hegseth said. "Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks – it could move up, it could move back. We're gonna execute at his command ... Joe Biden didn't even know what he was doing."
Among the MAGA-friendly correspondents at the press conference was conservative activist Brandon Stratka, who was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
"I’m at the Pentagon this morning for a briefing with @SecWar @PeteHegseth on the Iran strikes," Stratka posted. "Session starts in 10 minutes."
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