'The brazen lying is sickening': Bill Kristol slams Pete Hegseth for claiming victory in Iran

Writer and former Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States, Bill Kristol, sharply criticized the conduct of U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during the Iran war. Kristol claimed that he avoids watching Hegseth's public appearances, and he missed the recent press briefing from the War Secretary on the two-week ceasefire agreement, as well. He stated that while he had prior commitments, the "juvenile braggadocio," and the "brazen lying" were, anyway, "sickening" to him. Kristol also refuted Hegseth's claims of achieving all military objectives in Iran, calling the operation not a victory but an "Epic Failure." 

A day after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had reached a two-week ceasefire agreement, War Secretary Hegseth and General ⁠Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters to share details of the operation. Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. military had reduced Iran's weapons factories to rubble, and its military was rendered ineffective for years. He further claimed that "Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it." The war secretary added that Iran's ballistic missile capabilities were also destroyed and that Iran would soon hand over its enriched uranium. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, a lot of Hegseth's claims are the opposite of what Iran has presented in its 10-point peace plan, which Trump had initially called workable. 

Thus, reacting to the address, Kristol wrote in a X post: "I try to avoid watching Hegseth, because I hate that our secretary of defense is such an embarrassment." He added that he had an interview scheduled at the time of Hegseth's remarks, but "The juvenile braggadocio, the brazen lying, the unctuous piety," was "sickening" to him. In a series of posts, Kristol pointed out that the Trump administration was lying about their achievements in Iran, sharing reports and videos that claimed Iran's missile arsenal was still intact and that regime change had not taken place. 

According to a New York Times report, while the U.S. and Israeli strikes did destroy many of Iran's ballistic missiles and launchers, a large number of them are still undamaged as Iran continued to fire missiles in the region. The report suggested that Iran included Lebanon in the cease-fire deal, but Israel refused to acknowledge that and continued to carry out ground and air strikes. Thus, in response, Iran launched missiles and attack drones in the region.

Furthermore, the U.S. was already negotiating with Iran regarding the nuclear deal before the war started. At the time when the Strait of Hormuz was open, and talks were ongoing, the U.S. President ordered a military campaign that he hoped would deliver quick success and strong leverage. However, Iran successfully closed the Strait, putting strain on the global and U.S. economy, which gained some relief due to the ceasefire and subsequent negotiations to end the war. "Now we’re negotiating to reopen the Strait with Iran having succeeded in closing it and with more leverage. Epic failure," Kristol wrote in a post.