Washington, United States. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump had gotten the “last laugh” after the U.S. military killed an Iranian official who led an effort to assassinate him.
Hegseth’s comments on the war
Hegseth used unusually colorful language to describe the four-day-old war on Iran and invoked Trump’s name repeatedly as he said the Pentagon could sustain activity as long as necessary. “They are toast and they know it. Or at least soon enough they will know it,” Hegseth said of Iranian leaders. “America is winning – decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”
Killing of alleged plot leader
Hegseth, who wore a red-white-and-blue tie and pocket square, described the killing of an unnamed Iranian who headed a unit that attempted to assassinate Trump in personal terms, even as he stressed the official was not the initial focus of the war. “Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth told reporters.
Justice Department charge and Tehran’s denial
In 2024, the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate Trump, then U.S. president-elect. Tehran has denied accusations that it had targeted Trump and other U.S. officials.
Trump’s remarks and Pentagon priorities
Trump cited the alleged Iranian plot when he spoke on Sunday about a joint U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying to ABC News: “I got him before he got me.” Hegseth said Trump never mentioned the effort to track down the plot leader as a priority for the Pentagon.
What do you make of Hegseth’s remarks about the killing and the war’s objectives?
