Hegseth rebukes reporter during Pentagon briefing on Iran ceasefire

During a briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth scolded a reporter who interrupted him while summoning another journalist and told him to “wait” before continuing with questions about Iran and the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

During the interview, Hegseth had just finished answering questions about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and what he described as the “new regime” dynamic when he turned to recognize another reporter. Then a separate question rose from the room.

“Excuse me, why are you so rude? Stop. I’m calling people,” Hegseth said, pausing the briefing to clear the interruption. “Thank you.”

“It’s so disgusting,” he added under his breath.

HEGSETH DECLARED ‘A DEFINITE MILITARY VICTORY’ AGAINST IRAN

The reporter he initially interviewed then continued his question and referenced a recent statement by President Donald Trump about possible military action against Iran.

“Yesterday, your president threatened to destroy a civilization on Truth Social. This statement sparked a huge reaction in America,” he said. “If Iran came to the table yesterday and did not reach a deal by the deadline, was the president really ready to completely destroy Iran?”

Hegseth responded by outlining what he described as prepositioned U.S. military options.

“As I said, we had a target that was locked and loaded with infrastructure, bridges, power plants,” Hegseth said. “Remember that this is a terrorist regime. The military regime used all of these for dual use, to finance its army, to finance its terrorist campaigns.”

DEMOCRATS, WHOSE FAMILIES FLED FROM IRAN, TAKE ACTION TO OVERLOAD HEGSETH

War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a press conference at the Pentagon on March 31, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images)

He continued by emphasizing the role of deterrence in negotiations.

“They knew exactly what we could do,” Hegseth said. “We hit some military targets in Kharg, it’s some kind of signal. They can’t defend it.”

According to Hegseth, this pressure shaped Iran’s decision-making process at the negotiating table.

“Iran ultimately understood that their ability to produce, to generate power, to fuel their terrorist regime, their future was in our hands. That was in President Trump’s hands,” he said. “That’s why they came to the table.”

He added that the threat of extended strikes played a decisive role in achieving a ceasefire.

“He finally said, ‘We can take it all away from you. Your ability to export energy is going to be taken away from you, and the U.S. military has the ability to strike these things with impunity,'” Hegseth said, referring to Trump. “That kind of threat effectively got them to the point where they could say, ‘Hey, okay, we want to cut this deal.'”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS ON MEDIA AND CULTURE

A billboard depicting Iran’s religious leaders since 1979: (From left) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) are displayed on a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. (via AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier in the briefing, Hegseth addressed questions about Iran’s nuclear program and the administration’s stance on enrichment.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

“It was always a non-negotiable that they would not have nuclear capabilities,” he said. “Either they will give it to us voluntarily…or if we have to do something else ourselves…we reserve that opportunity.”