Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attacked his former Fox News colleague, Jennifer Griffin, after she asked him a question about the U.S. strikes on Iran during a Thursday press conference.
“Do you have certainty that all the highly enriched uranium was inside the Fordo mountain, or some of it? Because there were satellite photos that showed more than a dozen trucks there two days in advance. Are you certain none of that highly enriched uranium was moved?” Griffin, Fox’s acclaimed chief national security correspondent, asked the secretary.
While President Donald Trump has touted that the Iranian nuclear sites targeted in Saturday’s strikes were “completely and totally obliterated,” military officials internally worried that Iran might be getting tipped off by the president’s barrage of social media posts leading up to the mission. Before the U.S. bombings, satellite images showed cargo trucks leaving Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility — adding to growing evidence that the adversary may have removed a key uranium stockpile.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence report has found that Iran’s nuclear program was deterred by only a few months and not completely destroyed, per the AP.
“Of course, we’re watching every single aspect,” Hegseth, who was previously a host at the network, replied to his former colleague.
“But, Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst,” the secretary continued, accusing Griffin of misrepresenting “the most intentionally, what the president says.”
“I don’t think that’s fair, sir,” Griffin objected. “I was the first to report about the ventilation shafts on Saturday night. And, in fact, I was the first to describe the B-2 bombers, the refueling, the entire mission, with great accuracy. So, I take issue with that.”
“I appreciate you acknowledging that this is the first, the most successful mission based on operational security that this department has done since you’ve been here,” Hegseth responded. “I appreciate that.”
