Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth chastised Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin in a Thursday morning news conference, calling her "the worst" when she asked whether Iran had moved enriched uranium before U.S. airstrikes last weekend.
On Saturday night, U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers destroyed Iranian nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, but several media reports have questioned the effectiveness of the attacks.
Media outlets reported on a leaked early U.S. intelligence assessment that found the strikes likely set Iran’s nuclear program back only by months.
The New York Times reported Sunday that uranium, which was enriched to just below the 90% rate used in nuclear weapons, was not at the Fordo site when it was hit by a salvo of bunker-buster bombs.
"Do you have certainty that all the highly enriched uranium was inside the Fordo mountain, or some of it, because there were satellite photos that showed more than a dozen trucks there two days in advance?" Griffin asked at the news conference that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform. "Are you certain none of that highly enriched uranium was moved?"
"Of course, we’re watching every single aspect," Hegseth responded. "But, Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst. The one who misrepresents the most intentionally."
Griffin, Fox News’ chief national security correspondent, objected to Hegseth’s statement, saying, "I don’t think that’s fair," adding she was the first to describe the B-2 bombers involved in the strike, their refueling, and the "entire mission" with "great accuracy."
"So I take issue with that," Griffin said. "You have issues —" before being interrupted by Hegseth, who co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend" from 2017 to 2024 before he was nominated by President Donald Trump to be defense secretary.
"I appreciate you acknowledging that this was the first operation, the most successful mission based on operational security that this department has done since you’ve been here," Hegseth said. "And I appreciate that. So, we’re looking at all aspects of intelligence and making sure we have a sense of what was where."
Newsmax has reached out to Fox News for comment. But Fox News political analyst Brit Hume said on air, according to The Hill, that Griffin "did not deserve" to be attacked by Hegseth and that "her professionalism, her knowledge, her experience at the Pentagon is unmatched."
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