Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth excoriated the media for their coverage of the U.S. military’s attack on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The subject of Hegseth’s ire on Thursday was reporting on a preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency that suggested, with limited confidence, that Iran’s nuclear facilities had not been as badly damaged as Hegseth and President Donald Trump said.

Recommended Stories

• Trump insists there’s no need for Iran deal after Hiroshima-like end to the ‘12 Day War’
• WATCH LIVE: Hegseth speaks from Pentagon to defend B-2 pilots' 'dignity' after intelligence leak
• Hegseth to defend ‘very upset’ B-2 pilots’ ‘dignity’ in press conference after leak, Trump says

“It was preliminary, a day and a half after the actual strike, when it admits itself in writing that it requires weeks to accumulate the necessary data to make such an assessment, preliminary, it points out that it’s not been coordinated with the intelligence community at all,” Hegseth said from the podium in the Defense Department’s briefing room. “There’s low confidence in this particular report. It says in the report, there are gaps in the information.”

The U.S. military used several B-2 bomber aircraft to drop Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on the Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, which have underground components. These specific bombs, the most powerful nonnuclear bombs in the U.S. arsenal, had never been used before operationally and are specifically designed to hit underground targets.

The United States has not carried out any additional operations inside Iran, which responded by firing short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at the U.S.’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. No U.S. troops were harmed in the retaliation, as they had been given advanced warning from Iran so it would not incur a heavy U.S. response.

“I mean specifically you, the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard, it’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump,” Hegseth added.

Hegseth is not the only administration official to criticize the media over the reporting of the leak, which has prompted a federal investigation.

PETE HEGSETH ANNOUNCES INTELLIGENCE LEAK INVESTIGATION AS PENTAGON HIT WITH MORE CONTROVERSY

As Hegseth spoke, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had heard rumors the reporters involved were going to be fired, though CNN defended the reporter who broke the story on Wednesday.