WP: The White House fears that Trump is being fed embellished data about the war
8 April 17:19
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has raised doubts about the accuracy of Defense Secretary Pete Hagset’s reports on the progress of the war with Iran, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to The Washington Post , some administration officials fear that the information the president receives may be overly optimistic and may not fully reflect the actual situation on the front lines.
What Trump and the Pentagon Are Saying
President Donald Trump publicly calls the campaign against Iran an “unqualified success,” stating that the U.S. is doing “incredibly well.”
For his part, Defense Secretary Pete Hagset has asserted over the past few weeks that:
- Iran effectively has no air defense;
- Tehran is incapable of countering American air operations.
The incident involving the downed fighter jet
The situation changed following an incident in which an F-15 Eagle was shot down by an Iranian heat-seeking missile.
This was followed by a complex rescue operation to evacuate the crew.
According to U.S. officials and analysts, this incident demonstrated that:
- Iran retains the ability to threaten U.S. armed forces;
- claims of complete control over Iranian airspace may be exaggerated.
One administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated:
“Pete isn’t telling the president the truth. As a result, the president is spreading misleading information.”
Reaction from the White House and the Pentagon
The Pentagon sharply rejected these accusations.
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell called the scrutiny of the secretary’s public statements “lies and propaganda.”
White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly also stated that the president is fully informed about the course of the conflict.
According to her, Donald Trump expected from the very beginning that Iran would return fire.
What are they saying about the results of the operation
According to the White House, the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran included:
- more than 13,000 combat sorties;
- the destruction or damage of two-thirds of Iran’s production facilities;
- the effective destruction of the Iranian navy.
What is known about the conflict
In late February, the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on military targets in Iran.
In response, Iran attacked American military bases in:
- Kuwait
- the United Arab Emirates
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Jordan.
Subsequently, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire and the resumption of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the key arteries of global oil trade.
