Pete Hegseth Finally Comments on Iranian Strikes After Being MIA on Social Media

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth finally commented on the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on social media on Saturday evening after remaining silent for most of the day.

President Donald Trump posted a video announcement about the bombing campaign at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by the confirmation of the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei later in the afternoon.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted updates throughout the day, mentioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s “national security team” in an 11:08 a.m. post, but did not mention Hegseth.

Reuters reported that Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine monitored the U.S. operation from Mar-a-Lago, according to a “person familiar” with the situation.

Hegseth finally posted at 6:48 p.m. Saturday, writing, “Overnight, on President Trump’s orders, the Department of War commenced OPERATION EPIC FURY — the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history.”

Hegseth continued:

The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal — and now they are suffering the consequences. For almost fifty years, Iran has targeted and killed Americans, always seeking the world’s most powerful weapons to further their radical cause. Last night, unlike any previous president, President Trump began dealing with this cancer.

We will not tolerate powerful missiles targeting the American people. Those missiles will be destroyed, along with Iran’s missile production. The Iranian navy will be destroyed. And, as President Trump has said his entire life, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it. If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world — as Iran has — then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.

Our warriors are the best in the world, and they are fully unleashed to achieve our objectives. May God’s providence protect them in this vital mission.

Hegseth’s silence and absence from formal White House photos on the Mar-a-Lago “war room” drew speculation on X.

Journalist Aaron Rupar wrote earlier Saturday, “Pete Hegseth is conspicuous by his absence in these photos.”

Other commenters noted Hegseth’s absence from social media, especially after his last few days spent posting videos of his opposition to Ivy League schools (of which he’s a double-graduate) and the Boy Scouts.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “condemned” the United States and Israel for the military strikes during an emergency session on Saturday evening.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz spoke about 40 minutes later, saying the strikes were warranted based on Iran’s “wholesale slaughter” of its citizens and attacks that have killed thousands of Americans over the years.

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