Pete Hegseth Mocks ‘Iranians That Think They’re Gonna Live’

In a preview of an upcoming 60 Minutes interview released on Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth mocked “Iranians that think they’re gonna live” while answering a question on reports that Russia provided Iran with intel to target American soldiers in the ongoing conflict.

In the clip, CBS News’ Major Garrett cited three sources “telling us that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. positions and movements.”

“The average American might hear that and think that’s a big and dangerous deal,” continued Garrett. “Is it?”

“Well, we’re tracking everything,” responded Hegseth. “We have the best intelligence in the world… President [Donald Trump] has an incredible knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks, and so the American people can rest assured their commander in chief is well aware of who’s talking to who, and anything that shouldn’t be happening — whether it’s in public or backchanneled — is being confronted and confronted strongly.”

“So the American people can therefore expect conversations with the Russians to stop this?” clarified Garrett.

“Well, I,” Hegseth stumbled. “President Trump, as people have seen, has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders, where he can get things done that other presidents — certainly [former President] Joe Biden — never could have. And through direct conversations or indirect, through him one-to-one, or through his cabinet, messages definitely can be delivered.”

“Does this put U.S. personnel in any more danger than they otherwise would be — Russia’s involvement?” asked Garrett.

“No one’s putting us in danger,” said Hegseth. “We’re putting the other guys in danger. That’s our job. So, we’re not concerned about that. We mitigate it as we need to. Our commanders factor all of this, but the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”

Notably, when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump about the reports on Friday at the White House, Trump shot down the question quickly, raging, “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time.”

Watch the clip above via 60 Minutes on YouTube. The full interview will air on Sunday on CBS.

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