Hegseth's boastful claims about Iran war contradict reality, officials say

President Donald Trump has continued to describe the war against Iran as an unqualified success, saying as recently as Monday that the United States was doing “unbelievably well,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tehran had been “embarrassed and humiliated” by U.S. forces.

But Iran’s downing of an F-15E fighter jet and the high-risk rescue operation that ensued showed that Tehran retains the ability to threaten the United States’ military personnel and cast doubt on the statistics Hegseth has promoted in recent weeks, boasting about “complete control of Iranian skies” and “uncontested airspace,” U.S. officials and analysts said.

The chaotic but successful rescue mission has become the clearest indication yet that Hegseth’s repeated claims of air dominance come with serious caveats and has reinforced concerns inside the Trump administration that his messaging about the war is overly optimistic and risks misinforming both the public and the president.

“Pete is not speaking truth to the president,” one administration official said. “As a result, the president is out there repeating misleading information.”

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