Pete Hegseth’s ‘overly optimistic’ data contrasts with the reality of downed aircraft and still active Iranian missile programs, according to a report by The Washington Post
United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave false information to President Donald Trump on the progress of the conflict against Iran, according to a report by The Washington Post published this Wednesday (8). The statistics presented by the secretary were “overly optimistic” and would have led Trump to publicly repeat misleading data over full control of Iranian airspace.
While Trump and Hegseth described the campaign as an “absolute success” — with the president saying on Monday (6) that the US is “doing incredibly well” and the secretary saying that Iran was “embarrassed and humiliated” — events showed that Tehran was still able to threaten American forces. On Friday (3), one by a heat-seeking missile fired from an Iranian portable plane. Two soldiers were temporarily isolated in enemy territory and were only rescued after a high-risk operation.
The episode called into question Hegseth’s repeated statements that the US has “complete control of Iranian airspace” and that Iran has “no air defenses.” An American government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated directly: “Pete not telling the truth to the president. As a result, the president is out there repeating misleading information.”
Trump acknowledged the downing of the F-15 during a press conference at the White House, but downplayed the case: “He was lucky. It was a stroke of luck.” On the same day, Iran also shot down an A-10 attack planealthough the pilot managed to return to the airspace before ejecting.
Military analyst Kelly Grieco of the Stimson Center explained that the US has air superiority, but not total supremacy. “Our air superiority is limited geographically to the west and south, but also in terms of altitude,” she told The Washington Post. American planes come flying over 15 thousand or up to 30 thousand feet to avoid portable rockets like the one that hit the F-15.
Intact launchers
In addition to airspace, other statements by Hegseth are being questioned. He has repeatedly said that Iran’s missile and drone programs are being “mostly destroyed.” However, a recent assessment by American intelligence — passed on to three sources interviewed by the newspaper — indicates that more than half of the missile launchers are still is intact and that thousands of attack drones remain in the Iranian arsenal.
Hegseth also stated that the number of Iranian launches has dropped to the lowest level since the beginning of the war. Internal government documents, according to officials, contradict this information: 24-hour periods with even fewer releases occurred in mid-March. Open source data compiled by expert Dmitri Alperovitch confirms the discrepancy.
American officials say focusing solely on the volume of launches is misguided. Iran changed its strategy: instead of attacking in large numbers, it began to preserve your arsenal e prioritize more accurate attacks e efficient. The “hit rates” of Iranian projectiles have increased over time, according to open source analysis.
Seven American soldiers died in Iranian counterattacks and six others in one in-flight refueling accident. Almost 375 were injured. Furthermore, Iran launched ballistic missiles against American allies in the region and activated groups supported by him, such as the Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Iraq, overwhelming missile defense systems.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected the criticism and classified the report as “lies and propaganda”. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly stated that Trump “always had a complete view of the conflict” and that nothing surprised him.
