Hegseth Questioned on Claims Iran's Military Was Defeated

General Caine, let me just begin by expressing on behalf of all Georgians our immense gratitude and admiration for the service members, uh, who are making tremendous sacrifices and conducting themselves with extraordinary selflessness and professionalism on behalf of the United States,

uh, and our state's unified condolences and grief for the families of the four killed in action, uh, and our hope for a swift recovery for the, the nearly 100 wounded over the last two weeks, and thank you to you for your service to the nation.

Um, Mr. Hegseth, you're requesting roughly $68 billion for the department through the supplemental, correct?

67, yes. And yesterday your department stated publicly, quote, "US forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial vessels."

That was a press release from your department.

Is that a broadly accurate characterization of ongoing operations?

That sounds broadly accurate, yes. On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14 nearly five months ago, you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, "destroyed" and, quote, "made combat ineffective."

That was on day 14 of the war. Was that an accurate statement?

Um, they didn't have a navy any longer. It was completely sunk.

Uh, their missiles were buried underneath a, a lot of their underground facilities, and their defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed.

So as far as a, a military assessment of Iran's capabilities, it doesn't, didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination absolute zero, but their capabilities are at the lowest level they've been in a very long time. Mr. Secretary, you stated that on day 14 of this conflict,

but their capabilities are at the lowest level they've been in a very long time. Mr. Secretary, you stated that on day 14 of this conflict, in the second week of the conflict, you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, "destroyed" and, quote, "made combat ineffective."

Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no.

Iran's ability to challenge the United States of America at the level at which we're capable of was not- That's not what I asked you, Mr. Secretary.

You said on day 14 Iran's military had been, quote, "destroyed" and, quote, "made combat ineffective."

Yes or no, was that an accurate statement?

What the American military has done- Will you answer the question? ... to the Iranian military is a historic military defeat- What the American military has done- Will you answer the question? ... to the Iranian military is a historic military defeat- Will you answer the question, Under oath?

... and they're ineffective in that context.

Three weeks later, you declared victory.

That was now nearly four months ago.

Three weeks after you'd already said Iran's military was destroyed and combat ineffective, you said, quote, "Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory."

You said Iran's military had been rendered, quote, "combat ineffective for years to come," and you stated we had, quote, "achieved every single objective."

Were those accurate statements? Uh, it certainly was on behalf of the men and women in uniform a historic military victory over Iran. Uh, there are other- Had Iran's military been rendered, quote, "combat ineffective for years to come"?

Uh, they had 160 na- That was a statement that you made four months ago ... they had 160 naval vessels in their blue water navy- You need to answer the questions, Mr. Secretary ... and they're gone. You said, you said four months ago- Their air force is completely combat ineffective- You said four months ago-

You need to answer the questions, Mr. Secretary ... and they're gone. You said, you said four months ago- Their air force is completely combat ineffective- You said four months ago-

You need to answer the questions, Mr. Secretary ... and they're gone. You said, you said four months ago- Their air force is completely combat ineffective- You said four months ago- ... and they don't have a defense industrial base ... you, excuse me, Mr. Secretary.

Their air force is completely combat ineffective- You said four months ago- ... and they don't have a defense industrial base ... you, excuse me, Mr. Secretary. So describe to me a country that doesn't have an air force,

... and they don't have a defense industrial base ... you, excuse me, Mr. Secretary. So describe to me a country that doesn't have an air force, a navy, or a defense industrial base- Mr. Secretary ... and I will describe to you a company that,

country that does not have an effective military. Mr. Secretary, you stated- It can lob missiles, but not a- Mr. Secretary, you stated four months ago- ... lob missiles, but it's not a combat effective military ... that Iran's military had been rendered,

quote, "combat ineffective for years to come."

Has Iran's military been for the last four months combat ineffective?

It's been set back not just years, but likely decades considering- You stated we had, quote- ... it can't build at the level it did before ... you stated- ... and not even close ... you stated we had, quote- It doesn't mean it doesn't have capabilities.

Mr. Secretary, you stated we had, quote, "Achieved every single objective."

Was that an accurate statement four months ago?

The main objective of this was to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

Their main sites were obliterated. We're watching over them, and we're holding them at issue.

If they don't give them up at the table, there's other ways we can take them away.

Early in the conflict on day three- Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

Mr. Secretary, early in the conflict, day three, you said one of those core objectives was to, quote, "Destroy the missile threat," and as you restated on day five, to, quote, "obliterate Iran's missiles and drones."

Those were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign, which four months ago you declared had been completed victoriously with every single objective achieved.

Were those objectives achieved four months ago?

No one ever stated that every single missile was gone.

Ultimately, combat ineffective means they're not able to dig them out of their UGFs and shoot at us.

Had the missile threat been defeated four months ago?

That doesn't mean they don't have underground facilities where they put missiles in them and hold onto them, 'cause they're the lar- the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.

So we never expected they would stop having capabilities to shoot.

The question is at scale against opponent like the United States of America, which went toe-to-toe with them and Iran couldn't and cannot compete.

You stated on March 8th, day nine of the war, on 60 Minutes, you assured the American people of Iranian surrender.

Does that remain your prediction? Ultimately, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon to threaten the United States of America.

That has been the objective, and it remains so.

So just to review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war that Iran's military had been, quote, "destroyed and made combat ineffective" was a truthful statement to the American people as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more for the conflict?

The senator's time has expired. But a historic and effective military campaign against the largest state sponsor of terrorism.