Hegseth calls Iran war necessary, waves off ‘noise’ of expected impeachment push

Facing an expected impeachment resolution in Congress, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is eager to litigate the military actions that he and US President Donald Trump have taken against Iran, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Venezuela’s previous leaders.

“If you want to take issue with what we did in Epic Fury or Rough Rider or nabbing Nicolas Maduro, you’re taking issue with the troops and what they accomplished, which is historic,” Hegseth told reporters on Monday, using the military code names for the Iran war and campaign of strikes to halt the Houthis’ attacks on shipping in the Middle East.

Hegseth also announced that he would hold a rare news conference on Tuesday – his first in more than 180 days – on the impeachment threat. His last briefing was in May and he has not held one on the Iran war, strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats or other US military actions since then.