Hegseth Attacks Reporters Over a Leaked Iran Damage Assessment as the FBI Opens a Leak Inquiry

At a Pentagon briefing on June 26, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent much of his appearance attacking news coverage of a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment, which had indicated that the June 21 strikes on Iranian nuclear sites might have set the program back only months. Hegseth said the leaker had 'an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn't successful,' described the document as a preliminary leaked assessment that nonetheless indicated likely severe damage, and singled out Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin, telling her she was 'about the worst — the one who misrepresents the most — intentionally.' Hegseth said the FBI was investigating the leak. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said final battle damage assessment would take time but that initial assessments indicated all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.

The briefing directed the government's investigative apparatus and the defense secretary's podium at journalists who published an intelligence product that complicated the administration's public account, rather than at the substance of the assessment.

The leak inquiry was announced but no charges were reported in June 2025. Congressional briefings on the strike damage followed the same week.