Pete Hegseth explodes at 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'

by · Mail Online

Pete Hegseth has declared the war in Iran an overwhelming success while blasting the media and America's allies for 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.'

The Defense Secretary tore into the press who 'want President Trump to fail,' but said that the American people 'know better.'

He lashed out at 'ungrateful allies in Europe', claiming that the entire world 'should be saying one thing to President Trump: Thank You.'

Hegseth's meltdown comes as skyrocketing oil prices have triggered fresh inflation warnings from central banks including the Federal Reserve.

Gasoline has surged to an average of $3.90 per gallon from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago, while the Strait of Hormuz - through which a fifth of the world's oil flows - remains blockaded by Iranian mines and missiles.

US crude jumped by 1.5 percent on Thursday, while Brent crude - the global benchmark - shot up by 5.9 percent, hitting $114 per barrel.

Hegseth insisted the war in Iran - which has so far killed 13 US troops and wounded 140 more across the Middle East - would not be the 'quagmire' of Iraq and Afghanistan, the legacy of 'foolish politicians like Bush, Obama and Biden.' 

The former Fox News host told the Pentagon briefing: 'The media here wants you to think, just 19 days into this conflict, that we're somehow spinning toward an endless abyss or quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth.'

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19
Hegseth at the Pentagon Thursday
Markets have taken fright after Iran struck a massive Qatar gas field in response to an Israeli attack - sending oil and gas prices spiking
An Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fires rockets while flying along the border between northern Israel and southern Lebanon on March 18
This US Navy handout photo released on March 18, 2026 by US Central Command public affairs, shows US sailors observing as an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 31, approaches the flight deck of the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), during Operation Epic Fury
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut's Bashoura neighborhood early on March 18

Hegseth refused to answer questions from the so-called 'legacy media', instead calling on reporters from Trump-friendly outlets including One America News, Real America’s Voice, and The Daily Caller. 

The bravado came hours after Trump himself broke with Israel over strikes that had set the Gulf ablaze, exposed America's closest Arab allies to Iranian retaliation and sent oil markets into a tailspin. 

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday night, Trump accused Israel of 'lashing out in anger' and claimed that the US 'knew nothing of the attack' which resulted in the bombing of energy sites in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Trump has previously asked Israel to refrain from strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure amid growing concern over soaring prices as he faces crucial midterm elections in November.

America's Arab allies were furious at Israel's attack and the US failure to prevent it.  

Gulf allies demanded the Trump administration halt all US and Israeli strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Gulf officials said they feel as though Israeli strikes have left them vulnerable in the war. 

Trump threatened to 'massively blow up the entirety' of Iran's South Pars gas field if it continues to target refineries. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, March 2
This US Navy handout photo released on March 18, 2026 by US Central Command public affairs, shows US sailors taxiing an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), in support of Operation Epic Fury
AMiddle East Airlines aircraft takes off from the airport in Beirut as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted an area in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on March 17
Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, March 19
This US Navy handout photo released on March 18, 2026 by US Central Command public affairs, shows a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, flies over Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), during Operation Epic Fury
A handout satellite image from Landsat-8/9, made available by the US Geological Survey on March 17, 2026, shows smoke billowing from the Mina Petroleum facility at Salalah Port in Oman on March 16
The interior of a destroyed apartment, with the Tel Aviv skyline visible in the background, following an overnight Iranian missile strike on March 19
Trump speaks to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine as he departs the White House on March 18

'Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran,' Trump wrote.

'The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.' 

An Iranian official likened that developments to a 'full-scale economic war.'

Trump drew a red line on Israeli attacks on South Pars before lobbing a massive threat at Tehran. 

'NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field,' Trump said.

If Iran attacked Qatar again, Trump said, all bets were off and he would unleash devastating force.