'Not truth': MSNBC buries Hegseth over 'exaggerated' claims on Iran strikes

During a press briefing, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed Wednesday morning that President Donald Trump’s airstrikes on Iran were the “most complex and secretive military operation in history,” and went on to criticize the media for its coverage of the strikes, claims that were rebuked shortly thereafter on MSNBC.

The strikes last weekend were intended to cripple Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and while Trump has claimed that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “obliterated,” reports have since come out to undercut that claim, reports that suggest the strikes weren’t as effective as Trump and Hegseth have claimed.

On Morning Joe, MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire immediately called into question Hegseth’s assessment of the strikes.

“The president's defense secretary suggested this was the 'most secret and complex military operation in history;' I think the folks that authored D-Day might have something to say about that,” Lemire said.

David Rohde, senior executive editor for national security at NBC, went on to say Hegseth engaged in spreading outright falsehoods during his press briefing, particularly on the operation being the most complex in American history.

“So many of the things he said just about this mission and the press coverage were exaggerated,” Rohde said.

“You mentioned D-Day, the most complex and historic operation in history, there were 11,000 aircraft involved in D-Day, 73,000 U.S. troops participated in it, 2,500 Americans died, and I don't know what's causing him to say President Trump carried out the most complex and historic operation in U.S. history, but that's not truth.”

Hegseth also criticized several news outlets during the press briefing – CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times, among others – for their reporting on preliminary reports suggesting Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back months, not years as Trump and Hegseth have suggested.

Rodhe said Hegseth’s attack on media outlets was merely an effort at “distracting people” from the growing body of evidence that suggests the strikes fell short of their objectives.

“Hegseth himself, in the first briefing, said Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated, and this goes back to this broader issue of what happened to the enriched uranium, and that's the question that we should be talking about,” he said.

“It was a successful mission, I salute the men and women who carried it out, but I think distracting people by blaming the press and not addressing the real issues is... national security needs facts and honest debate.”

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