From MS Now: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to be in the midst of two conflicts, one that began on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign in Iran, and the other with the American free press over its coverage of the widening Middle East war.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, accused journalists at a Pentagon news conference Friday morning of producing unflattering coverage of the Iran conflict, a signal that President Donald Trump’s administration is feeling pressure to control the optics of its widely unpopular war.
But for Hegseth, the nation’s top defense official who previously criticized the press for emphasizing U.S. casualties in the Iran war, that coverage is all “fake news.”
“Some in this crew, in the press, just can’t stop,” Hegseth said to reporters Friday at a Pentagon press briefing. “Allow me to make a few suggestions … I used to be in that business, and I know that everything is written intentionally, for example, a banner or a headline.”
Hegseth criticized the press for their reporting, suggesting more favorable headlines.
“More fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz,” Hegseth said. “Patently ridiculous, of course.”
As @SecWar made clear this morning, this “reporting” is patently ridiculous.
For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do – and the only play they have left.
The Department fully anticipated ALL of the Iranian regime’s acts of… https://t.co/bZYiGKW8pe pic.twitter.com/I2h3ADRiaa
— Kingsley Wilson (@PressSecDOW) March 13, 2026
Now nearing the end of its second week, the Iran war has led to the deaths of at least 13 U.S. service members and has burned through more than $11.3 billion worth of taxpayer dollars. The Persian Gulf has been plunged into chaos as Iran mounts retaliatory strikes against U.S. military bases and oil refineries in the region, and Israel intensifies strikes in Lebanon.
What’s more, global energy prices have skyrocketed amid the near-total closure of one of the world’s most vital oil export routes, the Strait of Hormuz. And a preliminary investigation by the U.S. military found the U.S. was responsible for the deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school this month.
Read more at MS Now
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