Pete Hegseth Blasted For Incendiary Threat To Iranians During '60 Minutes' Interview

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized after he offered a bleak warning to Iranians during a 60 Minutes interview while answering a question about a report that Russia provided Iran with intelligence that could potentially be used to target U.S. troops.

President Donald Trump has said that the U.S. military was "knocking the crap out of Iran" but the "big wave" of attacks is still yet to come, and has not ruled out putting boots on the ground, saying the war is progressing "way ahead of schedule." Trump has urged Iranians to revolt, even as the regime reshuffles leadership following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and some of his associates.

Seven U.S. service members have already died since fighting broke out, and while Hegseth acknowledged “there will be more casualties," he nonetheless made an incendiary threat that has heightened tensions.

Asked about this Russian intelligence, he said:

"We're tracking everything. Our commanders are tracking everything. We have the best intelligence in the world, we're aware of who's talking to who, why they're talking to them, how accurate that information might be."

"We've factored that into our battle plans. We know what's going on. The president has an incredible knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks, so the American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who's talking to who and [that] anything that shouldn't be happening, whether it's in public or back channels, is being confronted and confronted strongly." ...

"President Trump, as a lot of people have seen, has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders where he can get things done where certainly Joe Biden never could have. Through direct conversations, indirect, through him, one-to-one, or through his Cabinet, messages can definitely be delivered."

And when asked if U.S. troops are "in any more danger than they otherwise would be," he replied:

"No one’s putting us in danger. We’re putting the other guys in danger. That’s our job. So we’re not concerned about that."

"We've mitigated as we need to, our commanders factor all of us. The only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re going to live.”

You can hear what he said in the video below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Many have condemned his remarks.

Last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon will not “get into the exercise of what we will or will not do" while leaving open the possibility for boots on the ground in Iran.

He said that "going forward, why in the world would we tell you, the enemy, anybody, what we will or will not do in pursuit of an objective?”

Hegseth insisted that "months and months of planning" had gone into the decision to attack Iran late last month, insisting that the Trump administration has "proven that you can achieve objectives that advance American interests without being foolish."

We are not so sure about that.