Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's extended 60 Minutes interview

[0:01] 60 minutes overtime cbs news has three sources telling us that russia is providing intelligence [0:11] to iran on u.s positions and movements the average american might hear that and think [0:16] that's a big and dangerous deal is it well we're tracking everything our commanders are aware of [0:21] everything we have the best intelligence in the world we're aware of who's talking to who [0:25] why they're talking to him how accurate that information might be how we factor that into our [0:29] battle plans our centcom commander so so we know what's going on and the president has an incredible [0:35] uh knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks and so the american people can rest assured [0:41] their commander-in-chief is well aware of who's talking to who and anything that shouldn't be [0:45] happening whether it's in public or back channeled is being confronted and confronted strongly the [0:50] american people could therefore expect conversations with the russians to stop this well president trump [0:56] as people have seen has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders where he can get things [1:00] done that other presidents certainly joe biden never could have and through direct conversations [1:05] or indirect through him one-to-one or through his cabinet messages definitely can be delivered does [1:11] this put u.s personnel in any more danger than they otherwise would be well the russian involvement no [1:17] one's putting us in danger we're putting the other guys in danger that's our job so we're not [1:21] concerned about that we mitigate it as we need to our commanders factor all of this but the only ones [1:27] that need to be worried right now are iranians that think they're going to live president said [1:31] recently the year will be no deal with iran except unconditional surrender what does that look like [1:37] unconditional surrender how will you know it's real it means we're fighting to win it means we set the [1:42] terms we'll know when they're not capable of fighting there'll be a point where they'll have no choice [1:46] but to do that whether they know it or not they will be combat ineffective they will surrender [1:52] typically the understanding of a surrender is person to person is that what would be required [1:56] in a matter like this well there's a lot of different ways whether they want to admit it [2:00] or not whether their pride lets them say it out loud or not uh it's president trump who will set the [2:04] terms of that again combat ineffective we're fighting to win he sets the terms we'll decide when they're [2:13] ready or not we'll decide when our objectives are met i see president trump has set those clear objectives [2:18] but what i think some folks have been confused by is that our will might be limited or our [2:23] capabilities might be limited or our munitions might be limited they're wrong and the iranians [2:28] are wrong to miscalculate american will and american authorities and american capabilities and american [2:33] munitions we have just now begun to fight just now begun to surge and so if the iranians haven't [2:39] factored that into who's going to be the winner of the outcome of this over time they'll start to [2:44] realize how how deep president trump's will is on this fight there was a very long war between iran [2:50] and iraq almost eight years and they never surrendered in that war and i'm just wondering if that factors [2:55] into your calculus of the president's calculus i mean there was a really long fight that i was a part [2:58] of and my generation was a part of i know that in iraq and afghanistan where a lot of foolish approaches [3:03] were used this is war this is conflict this is bringing your enemy to their knees now whether they will [3:11] have a ceremony in in in tehran square and and and surrender that's up to them but ultimately their [3:17] ability to fight their ability to project power their ability to shoot missiles their ability to [3:22] confront us their ability to shut down shipping all of those things will decide the terms of that [3:28] and and president trump has made that very clear understood you just said the word war earlier this week [3:33] speaker johnson mike johnson said the u.s quote is not at war right now are we at war [3:41] was he confused about that the lawyers will debate all these things and we have great lawyers and we're [3:45] making sure it's all buttoned up uh there's a reason we changed our name from the department of [3:49] defense to the department of war not because we seek war not because we want more war frankly we want [3:55] peace that's what the president has put us in charge of creating a world where we can live more [3:59] peacefully but if war is necessary call it war call it conflict call it a campaign call it an operation [4:06] call it a contingency call it what you want if war is necessary we're going to fight to win and that's [4:12] different than what joe biden had done or barack obama had done or others have done in this position [4:17] or take that long war i talked about in iraq george w bush and others sending in hundreds of thousands [4:23] of troops with a nebulous end state dissolving the the security forces and then unleashing an insurgency [4:29] that had us tied there for over a decade costing thousands of lives and trillions of dollars [4:33] president trump's not fighting that way and if the world hasn't taken notice of that yet [4:38] they're not fully factoring in how this commander-in-chief leads he leads with clarity with [4:43] the clear america first objectives that protect our people and our interests and then he gives the [4:49] military everything they need to accomplish it that means we set the terms that means we decide when [4:54] our mission is uh achieved and then we bring our folks home which i think is what the american people [4:59] expect that kind of strength from a commander-in-chief the speaker of the house said late this week [5:04] the mission is and i'm quoting him directly here nearly accomplished by all estimates [5:08] is that true we're very much on track on plan i was down at centcom um yes one might hear that and [5:14] think it's almost over well there's no we're not flying a mission accomplished banner uh like george [5:18] w bush on an aircraft carrier we're not doing that and we haven't done that but we can be clear with [5:23] the american people that this is not a fair fight and that's on purpose our capabilities are overwhelming [5:29] compared to what iran's are and frankly when you combine our air force with the air force of the [5:34] israeli defense forces it's the two most powerful air forces in the world the ability for us to be up [5:39] over the top and hunting with more conventional munitions gravity bombs 500 pound a thousand pound [5:45] two thousand pound bombs on military targets uh that we haven't even really begun to start that effort [5:50] of the campaign which is going to showcase even more how how we will execute on those objectives so [5:56] it he's he's trying to explain the fact that we have an overwhelming advantage which we do [6:00] but we'll decide when our objectives are met and and we'll get there you mentioned america first [6:06] some who identify with that movement megan kelly tucker carlson candace owens marjorie taylor [6:11] green have said from their perspective this isn't an america first campaign do you want to address [6:16] that criticism all i know is i'm in the room every day and i see how president trump operates and what [6:21] he's putting first and it's america americans and american interests at every level how long should [6:26] our bases be tolerating thousands of short-range ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones [6:30] pointing at our bases and our people after 47 years of americans being targeted and killed the men [6:36] i served with in combat in iraq coming home with no arms and no legs uh targeted by iranian efps [6:44] thousands of americans killed beirut you want to go back we can go back to how long i mean the regime [6:48] itself is premised on death to america so 47 years thousands of missiles and an unrelenting pursuit [6:55] of nuclear ambitions i mean president trump's right when he says we obliterated their nuclear program he's [7:00] right we did we dropped those bombs exactly where they needed to be set them back and we're but that [7:05] doesn't mean they've stopped their pursuit doesn't mean in the back of their mind they're thinking well [7:08] maybe we'll wait it out and keep they've miscalculated the resolve of president trump uh ask ask nicholas [7:16] maduro about that ask uh you know the houthis about that look at the southern border look at the [7:22] cartels and drug boats when president trump says he'll take care of something he's going to take [7:26] care of it let's talk about the nukes for a second is it possible to achieve the objectives president [7:31] trump has set before you if we don't locate and obtain and extract the highly enriched uranium there's a [7:38] lot of different ways we can get after that they've used a conventional umbrella of missiles that was [7:44] growing every single day their production capacity to try to cover over their nuclear blackmail [7:49] ambitions as far as how you get at that nuclear option we'll make sure that their nuclear ambitions [7:55] are never achieved will we take it out ourselves i would never tell you or anybody else what our [8:00] options are see that's another thing people keep asking it's a very fair question um people ask boots [8:06] on the ground no boots on the ground four weeks two weeks six weeks go in go in president trump knows i [8:12] know you don't tell the enemy you don't tell the press you don't tell anybody what what your limits [8:19] would be on an operation we're willing to go as far as we need to in order to be successful uh we want [8:24] the iranians guessing and second guessing and triple guessing what we might be willing to do because [8:29] under president trump we just might uh and they need to factor for that do we have any overt or covert [8:36] forces inside iran now uh i wouldn't tell you that if we did only reason i ask is earlier this week you [8:44] said no is that still the answer yeah that's still the answer but we reserve the right and we would [8:51] be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option whether it [8:56] included boots on the ground or no boots on the ground president trump also said this week he would [9:00] like to protect some of the people who he would like to come to power in iran is that a new mission [9:06] for your department no how would you protect people that are inside the country that he might [9:12] think could rise to the level of leadership there the best way to protect them is what we're doing [9:16] right now what you see right now between american efforts and israeli efforts is a generational [9:22] opportunity for the people of iran what happens how that gets followed through with they'll choose the [9:27] president has been clear now is your time not yet bombs are dropping be careful um but over time the [9:33] iranian people are going to have a great opportunity and if they do seize that opportunity they will they [9:38] will have president trump to thank for do you want the courage involved to help him with that [9:42] uh that would be up to them but that's not currently part of our mission scope you know they're massing [9:47] in northern iraq and some of them are approaching the border thinking it might be a good time for [9:51] them to go in well we know a lot about what's going on would you discourage them from that i would [9:56] say that's when you look at our mission set we have described it very clearly what it is whatever [10:01] other groups attempt to take advantage of that that's on on them and we wish them well but that's not [10:06] part of what we're doing would we coordinate with them well i wouldn't tell you who we were willing [10:10] to coordinate with or not understood it has been said that the israelis through benjamin netanyahu the [10:17] israeli prime minister provided on february 23rd key information about intelligence they had developed [10:23] about the likely whereabouts of ali khamini and many in his inner circle that the u.s then checked it out [10:29] through the cia confirmed that and that was an opportunity that presented itself to the president [10:35] and that was the precipitating factor for this war that's the way it's been reported is that accurate [10:39] mr secretary president trump's approach has been our interest in advancing those interests from the [10:44] beginning and so the fact that intelligence was gathered whether from israelis or ours and always [10:50] checked by our intel agencies to make sure it's accurate a lot of times the best way to start [10:55] operations is a trigger-based or condition-based moment and you can work together on whether that makes [11:01] sense but we were always controlling the throttle about whether or not to go or not go and ultimately [11:08] to advance american interests and protect american lives some might look at that sequence of events [11:12] and say well that it was an opportunity more than an imminent threat i mean i think much of that [11:17] discussion is uh silly and academic they've been killing us for 48 years 47 years they have unabated [11:26] nuclear ambitions and when we obliterated their nuclear program at the end of the 12-day war and [11:31] operation midnight hammer they should have come to the table and said okay we get it you mean business [11:36] we're not going to have nukes and they haven't and as a result when the president looks at it [11:42] generationally he sees a threat that would continue to gather and if they build more missiles with a [11:46] conventional shield then that's a danger to u.s persons u.s people and our interests and unlike [11:54] previous presidents president trump had the courage and boldness to act and i'm grateful we have such a [11:59] commander-in-chief you said this is not a regime change war but the regime has changed that's obvious [12:05] can you square the two sure go ahead i meant what i said it's not a regime change war in the [12:11] conventional george w bush context of hundreds of thousands of troops i mean in afghanistan what [12:17] i watched as a young captain was americans thinking we were going to remake a society that was [12:23] basically biblical times with ak-47s and cell phones the hubris of we're going to take afghanistan [12:29] and turn it into a jeffersonian democracy by building western style forces and western style [12:34] institutions it was never going to work and i saw it and watched it play out and it doesn't dispel [12:39] the courage of the americans who fought there who i know there but this is not a remaking of the [12:45] iranian society from an american perspective we tried that the american people have rejected that [12:50] president trump called those wars dumb and we're not fighting that way we're it's and so that's the [12:56] paradigm i want i hope americans will look at this this is a president who believes that american [13:00] strength is important that we get more peace in the world when we are strong and that the iranian [13:05] regime seeking these kinds of nuclear weapons it was an unacceptable risk for the united states of [13:10] america and he took action and what you're seeing now is overwhelming swift action not to simply compel [13:17] a slight change in a in a week but to truly get rid of that threat and provide maximum options and [13:24] decision space for the president on behalf of american interests in the world president also said this week [13:29] venezuela is a model what does he mean by that in iran i heard a few senators uh in in our closed [13:35] door briefings uh say well how do you know this is going to end up like venezuela citing now venezuela [13:41] as the positive model of what these types of things can look like of course we would be incredible if [13:46] it ends up looking like venezuela they're very different countries we're not foolish enough to think [13:50] that they look the same right the same dynamics again these kind of comparisons are thrown out there [13:55] as if we don't understand that we very much do but event as well is a great example of american [14:00] power and pressure on an adversary who had a lot of capabilities in our own hemisphere which [14:06] previous presidents tolerated for far too long the trump corollary to the monroe doctrine the donro [14:11] doctrine is alive and well we just held a conference uh yesterday america's counter cartel conference [14:18] where we're building together countries in central south and america and the caribbean to fight the [14:23] cartels i mean he's going on offense against problems that have been lingering for a long time but we're [14:28] doing it smartly we're doing it with a power projection and application seeking certain [14:34] outcomes and and so far because of the way the president leads we've achieved them since you [14:38] brought us into that room where you got that question from those senators how could it be like [14:41] venezuela what did you tell them well that was more of an observation we didn't say anything on [14:46] that just the fact that they're now citing venezuela as a as a positive outcome do you think considering [14:52] two months ago everyone was saying you can't do venezuela [14:54] i mean the reality is what a what a shining example of what american strength can produce [14:59] an outcome folks thought was almost unforeseeable now we've got american officials there we're [15:04] re-establishing relationships we've got an embassy there they're participating in making sure that [15:09] oil only goes through the proper processes expelling iranians totally remaking what was an adversary into [15:16] a strategic opportunity i think that's a it's an incredible thing and a story that needs to be told let's [15:21] talk about oil president said this week the strait of homos will be taken care of how will that be [15:26] taken care of and how will the ships that are there that are not moving start to move and be [15:30] moving with a degree of confidence that they will not be inhibited by what remains of the iranian either [15:37] boats or gun emplacements along that straight well we're taking care of a lot of that how well american [15:43] firepower what was the iranian navy is largely no more there'll be more boats to be sunk for sure [15:51] so their ability to project any power in that area in a naval sense is diminishing diminishing and will [15:58] be increasingly diminished again what i want your viewers to understand is this is only just the [16:02] beginning we are only just now getting over the top of the country with impunity where now the [16:07] munitions we're dropping are still precision guided munitions we've got unlimited supplies of them and [16:13] we'll be picking those targets and sinking those boats but i would also remind your audience it's early [16:18] six days into this campaign six days uh so we're going to have a lot more options over time on [16:25] on critical waterways like that to ensure that we can safeguard them uh and make sure safe safe [16:29] packing from your vantage point and i imagine from direction of the president we are not going to have a [16:35] global oil shock as a result of this conflict well certainly we've got a world-class uh energy and [16:42] energy secretary treasury secretary and interior secretary all who know that industry really well and have [16:47] a deep reservoir of relationships so they've got an eye on that for sure and we've got allies and [16:51] partners willing to participate in mitigating that but the president's also been clear that hey he's [16:56] prepared to see this through mitigating that but also not allowing that to be a limiting factor [17:01] this is a generational challenge he's prepared to be addressing when we want to manage all those [17:07] things but ultimately taking care of iran's power projection capabilities changes the world for a [17:13] generation and gives an opportunity to that region in ways that we haven't experienced before so when [17:18] i just heard you say mr secretary not a limiting factor is that a way of saying to the american public [17:23] you might have to deal with something that's a little bit uncomfortable in terms of oil and gas prices [17:28] for a little bit of while because it's a larger more important goal to achieve well it's my way of saying [17:33] that it is an important goal to achieve but we have the best team on the planet addressing it so anything [17:38] that does happen on the energy side is after maximum mitigation and not done so lightly but ultimately [17:45] this objective and achieving this objective is critically important we can do it not just with [17:50] overwhelming lethality but with precision as well and that's how we aim to do it you were asked earlier in [17:56] the week about this girl's school you said the u.s was investigating it have you made any conclusions [18:01] about whether or not the united states inadvertently or not was involved in any military strike at that [18:06] school well we're still investigating and that's where i'll leave it today but what i will emphasize [18:11] to you into the world is that unlike our adversaries the iranians we never target civilians there was a [18:17] report late in the week from two officials that it was likely u.s involvement is that report false i've [18:22] already said we're investigating if you could tell the american public it definitively was not us you [18:27] would tell us wouldn't you i would i would say that it's being investigated which is the only answer [18:32] i'm prepared to give there's reporting from our margaret brennan that not us but allies in [18:37] the region are running very low on interceptors is that true number one number two how prepared are [18:43] we to help them restock interceptors to protect them as we continue this campaign very prepared [18:50] we plan for that as you heard admiral cooper yesterday layout the centcom commander their [18:56] missile projection is down 90 percent from that height so if it could be missile shots so if they can't [19:02] shoot anywhere near that volume uh our projections of munitions are are well beyond what we would [19:08] need and we can cross load for allies if need be always ensuring that our forces and our troops and [19:13] our bases are taken care of first but where we can help allies uh we will and i will just say that as [19:17] we continue to attrit missile launchers that's the biggest one they have a very limited supply of missile [19:23] launchers you can't it's like it's like lots of bullets without a gun if you got 5 000 rounds of 9 mil but [19:29] you'd only have two pistols you once you get rid of the two pistols you don't have anything and so [19:34] those launchers are what we've been targeting with great success and if they want to continue shooting [19:39] they have to continue exposing them which means we continue to target them and then you get at the [19:43] missiles as well and then you get that get at the missile production then you get at the drones [19:47] and the more you do that the less interceptors you need in that process that's one of the theories [19:51] of the case is that you've got all these american troops and all these american bases and others [19:55] with missiles pointed at them in a way that you can't tolerate with a country that's seeking [19:59] nuclear weapons so we don't have concerns on munition our projections are clear uh and we're [20:04] also supercharging the defense industrial base in our own country and there's a reason i spent the [20:08] previous month on an arsenal of freedom tour going across the country ensuring that our defense [20:12] contractors are delivering we're about to meet with them and and talked about ensuring that they [20:17] deliver speed scale under cost we're setting out demand signals for years of critical munitions to [20:23] make sure that we're full up beyond what we need we have more munitions than we need we need even more [20:28] for that for the world that we live in and that's why the president's spending 1.5 trillion on defense [20:33] next year we're we take this deadly seriously there's a lot of countries that talk about this [20:36] stuff there's a lot of forums that happen in europe and they debate these questions and problems [20:41] president trump takes them head on on behalf of the security of the american people he's a unique [20:46] and generational leader admiral cooper also made reference to drone capabilities for the iranians [20:50] what would you assess them to be and how much of a risk factor is that not just for those [20:55] u.s forces position but our allies in the region we're taking them on as you saw as we see in the [21:00] war in ukraine and russia uh drone warfare is part of future warfare there's no doubt about it [21:05] it's exponentially advanced in the last four or five years no doubt and we've advanced with it [21:10] that's why we've made drone dominance one of the top priorities of the pentagon the department of war is [21:15] ahead and going to surge ahead in our ability to scale drones uh simple drones intritable drones [21:21] one-way attack drones uh exquisite drones i mean it's predator drones that do a lot of the hunting [21:26] of these uh mobile launchers and others so when it comes to drone technology we're surging quickly [21:33] we know what they've got and we know how to mitigate it and uh we're getting after it are they harder to [21:39] stop i wouldn't say harder it's just a different problem set what is good to see though six days in [21:44] is that they're having to scoot and shoot because what does that mean meaning you know if you're not [21:49] under threat just like anything else with a rifle you can take your time and aim and point you know [21:54] it's a lot easier but when you're there's a threat of a loitering munition or something striking you [21:59] once you shoot you get out there quickly and set up and try to fire more quickly and then hide again [22:04] you're just not as accurate in that context so their salvos are less accurate and a lower volume which [22:09] allows us more opportunities to shoot them down i want to say though and the president's been clear [22:13] about this it doesn't mean they won't have some get through as we tragically saw uh on and we're [22:18] going to greet those families at dover and honor and respect the sacrifice they gave and president's [22:23] been right to say there will be casualties things like this don't happen without casualties there will [22:26] be more casualties and no one is i mean especially our generation knows knows what it's like to see [22:34] americans come home in caskets it's um but that doesn't weaken us one bit it stiffens our spine and [22:40] our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish you said at centcom rededicate rededicate to the mission [22:46] on behalf of recognizing their service and sacrifice uh in operation epic fury so that will [22:52] happen it's combat it's war as the president is we don't say that callously or loosely but uh if iran [22:58] thinks they're going to attrit our will uh they're wrong our capabilities are better our will is better [23:03] our troops are better the providence of our almighty god is there protecting those troops uh and we're [23:09] we're committed to this mission and you made that reference to the providence of almighty god is there [23:14] any part of you mr secretary that views any of this in a religious context i mean obviously we're [23:19] fighting religious fanatics who seek a nuclear capability in order to for some religious armageddon [23:27] but from my perspective i mean obviously i'm a man of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their [23:32] faith i rely on god there's no atheists in foxholes your mortality is right in front of you i remember [23:38] prayer for me on combat missions how important that was that's why we're making the chaplain corps great [23:43] again and active again making sure we're pouring into the the faith of our troops my christian faith [23:49] faith in general is important to the president it's important in our fighting ranks to give them [23:54] perspective uh you know of on human nature on their own humanity on our own mortality and we lost a lot [24:01] of that with sort of self-help self-esteem nonsense which is not what troops need they need a connection [24:07] with their almighty god uh in these moments and i'm proud of how our troops are conducting themselves and [24:13] i pray for them every day there were some who interpreted mr secretary what you said earlier [24:17] in the week that reporting about casualties is done to make the president look bad do you believe [24:24] that i just know the media spends a lot of time making cheap shots at the commander-in-chief they've [24:30] made a whole industry doing it uh and so ultimately far too often uh networks and reporters spend all [24:37] their time time trying to find things that are wrong um that was not to dismiss casualties you know [24:43] telecom combat vet and guys like us who've served and under i wear a break i don't wear this bracelet [24:47] for decoration i wear it because i remember the men that i served with that are lost that paid the [24:52] ultimate sacrifice for me to be sitting in this chair and for us to be having this conversation [24:57] like that's real every single day the decisions that we make and i think part of the reason recruiting [25:01] is so high in our military right now is they understand they got leadership that has their back [25:06] that has walked in their boots that's not going to use them callously or recklessly or for some nebulous [25:11] mission uh but is going to pour into them and give them every authority they need to be successful [25:16] i think that's uh motivating for troops so this my point was as it was after midnight hammer [25:23] and other or the maduro raid simply put the media immediately jumps to try to find what's wrong [25:29] or what maybe it wasn't didn't happen perfectly instead of stepping back and saying man i live in [25:35] a country the united states of america where our military can do things no other country's military [25:40] can conceivably do maybe we should celebrate that and recognize uh the significance of that [25:46] uh other than just trying to find what's wrong casualties are casualties and they should be [25:49] reported and i understand that uh no one's taking and the act of reporting and speaking to their [25:54] families and their loved ones is not it's all part of a mission to hurt the president or any president [25:58] the troops at dover as we should and no one's hiding from that and we're going to stand there and [26:02] i'm going to stand there and i'm going to salute uh these incredible american heroes uh it stiffens our [26:07] resolve my simple point is that often the press is trying to look for the for uh for the through [26:12] the bad stories as opposed to the incredible professionalism and courage of what our troops [26:16] can accomplish no other country can do what our guys do uh and it's it's it's humbling to be able [26:21] to have a chance to leave them mr secretary it's been a pleasure thank you very much major thank you [26:25] appreciate it thank you