AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at CNN on Tuesday over the network’s reporting that U.S. military stockpiles had fallen to “dangerously low” levels following strikes on Iran, declaring on X, “Shame on you.”
Hegseth’s post focused on a Tuesday chyron, covered on-air by CNN’s Kasie Hunt, that read, “Sources: U.S. has used nearly 80% of key missile interceptors in Iran war, top commanders warn stockpiles ‘dangerously low.’”
“That banner is NOT TRUE,” wrote Hegseth. “Shame on you. We don’t hate the Fake News media enough.”
In the network’s written story on the matter, CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Jim Sciutto, and Haley Britzky cited multiple sources familiar with Pentagon assessments who said the U.S. has depleted large portions of its missile inventory during the Iran conflict, including nearly 80% of its THAAD interceptors and about half of its Patriot missiles. The sources added that senior military leaders have warned President Donald Trump’s administration that stockpiles are “dangerously low.”
The report mentions that these concerns were voiced before Trump’s Saturday announcement that he plans “to hold off any attack” because “the perimeters of a deal ha[ve] been agreed to,” while still promising, “The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II.”
Also on Tuesday, seemingly backing up CNN’s reporting, Reuters cited multiple sources who said the U.S. has burned through “virtually all” of its inventory of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). The White House pushed back on concerns, telling Reuters the U.S. has “far more munitions than anyone in the world” and “far more than we need.”
They gave a similar statement to CNN, with White House spokesperson Anna Kelly telling the network that the U.S. military “has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond.”
CNN declined to comment for this story.
The post ‘Shame on You’: Pete Hegseth Declares CNN Reporting on Iran Is ‘NOT TRUE’ first appeared on Mediaite.
