By Nick Turse

In a briefing about US strikes on Iran, Hegseth criticized the press for not following the Pentagon line and called on journalists to “wave an American flag.” His statements harken back to past Pentagon calls for fawning coverage in the name of patriotism.

“The press corps,” Hegseth complained, “cheer against Trump so hard, it’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad.” Hegseth’s tantrum stemmed from reporting that cast doubt on Trump’s assertion that recent US air strikes had “obliterated” Iranian nuclear facilities last Saturday.

The Intercept reported on skepticism about Trump’s claims by current and former defense officials on Monday. On Tuesday, multiple media outlets disclosed information from a preliminary classified Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA), report that said the attacks set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months.

“You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope,” Hegseth said at his second-ever news conference, claiming that the media assembled “half truths, spun information, leaked information” to “manipulate … the public mind over whether or not our brave pilots were successful.”

Before and after Hegseth’s atomic meltdown on Thursday, Trump unleashed a paroxysm of posts on Truth Social. “FAKE NEWS CNN IS SO DISGUSTING AND INCOMPETENT. SOME OF THE DUMBEST ANCHORS IN THE BUSINESS!,” he shout-typed.

“Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Lets see what happens?”

It remains unclear whether the US strikes significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear program -which, according to American intelligence organizations, did not involve an active effort to produce a nuclear weapon. “To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said following a classified briefing on Thursday.

“There’s no doubt there was damage done to the program. But the allegations that we have obliterated their program just don’t seem to stand up to reason.”