Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was forced to walk a tightrope lest he alienate the only military ally he has in the war on Iran — and he was put in that spot Thursday by a MAGA media reporter.
Late Wednesday night, President Donald Trump was less than diplomatic when he criticized Israel on Truth Social over a new front in the Middle Eastern war.
On Truth Social, the president wrote, “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.
"Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.
“I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so.”
With that post in mind, Jordan Conradson of the conspiracy-minded, far-right website Gateway Pundit asked Hegseth, “So with this strike yesterday on South Pars gas field, you know, if the U.S. didn't know about it or didn't approve of it, it kind of seems like a trend of Israel apparently pursuing their own objectives over U.S. objectives. I'm not sure if you agree with that, but the president has said he doesn't want to hit Iran's oil infrastructure right now.”
Hegseth replied with a defensive, “We hold the cards, we have objectives. Those objectives are clear. We have allies pursuing objectives as well.”
“I mean, President Trump was very clear about that,” he continued. “Iran has weaponized energy for decades; Israel clearly sent a warning and POTUS has made it clear, very clear, Iran knows when you hit Kharg Island and you hit military capabilities on Kharg Island, which is the only thing we hit, we can hold anything at issue, anything.
“The United States military controls the fate of that country. Iran has the ability to make the right choices. It should not, going forward, target Arab allies, Arab countries trying to create pain, the pain that they created themselves."