US Politics
Hegseth and Rubio were ‘at each other’s throats’ in tense argument over Iran plans, report says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio got into a heated exchange over Iran, according to a new report.
The pair were “at each other’s throats” while discussing whether or not the U.S. should send troops to Iran at the request of Israel, sources told the Middle East Eye.
Hegseth supports putting boots on the ground, while Rubio, the Trump administration’s top diplomat, is wary of dragging the U.S. into another drawn-out foreign war, sources said.
A former high-ranking member of the military told the outlet that Rubio is aware that the American public may strongly oppose putting U.S. service members in harm’s way. He also noted that Rubio has been bothered by Hegseth’s public remarks on the military operation.
The Pentagon referred The Independent to a statement by chief spokesman Sean Parnell on X which called the story “100% FAKE NEWS.” A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
open image in gallery
Top Trump administration officials have not ruled out deploying American troops to Iran.
The president told The New York Post that he doesn’t have the “yips” when it comes to sending Americans to war. Hegseth has said the administration won’t be “dumb about it.” Both have also expressed that the operation would not drag on forever.
“To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars,’ stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Monday. “Our generation knows better and so does this president.”
Trump said he expects the campaign to last four to five weeks, though he noted “we have [the] capability to go far longer than that.”
The conflict has intensified over the past week, drawing more countries into the the fray. A pair of Iranian drones landed in Azerbaijan on Thursday, with additional Iranian strikes reported in Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Six U.S. service members have been killed.
On Wednesday, the U.S. military said it had “struck or sunk” more than 20 Iranian ships, including one that was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean.
The new developments come after the U.S. and Israel began launching strikes across Iran over the weekend, killing over 1,000 people, including 175 at a school near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian non-profit Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s 86-year-old supreme leader, was also killed, alongside several members of his family, according to state media.
open image in gallery
The State Department is evacuating Americans stranded in the Middle East. The Defense Department is moving to increase the number of service members tasked with gathering intelligence — indicating the administration was not ready for a broader conflict, according to Politico.
“What we’ve seen is a completely ad hoc operation where it appeared that nobody actually understood or believed that military action was imminent,” Gerald Feierstein, a former senior U.S. diplomat, told the outlet. “It seems like they woke up on Saturday morning and decided that they were going to start a war.”
The administration has offered multiple seemingly conflicting explanations for the surprise attacks.
Vice President JD Vance has said the strikes were intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while Rubio noted that the U.S. acted after learning of Israel’s plan to launch an attack — comments he later walked back. Trump has talked of his desire for regime change, calling on the Iranian people to “take back their country.”
Democratic lawmakers have largely opposed the administration’s sudden campaign, slamming it as illegal, unwise and a violation of Trump’s campaign promises.
“Trump said that the Iraq War was a disaster. He said Libya was a disaster. He ran because a big part of the MAGA base did not want another war in the Middle East,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, told NBC News last Sunday. “I believe this is a betrayal of a decent chunk of the MAGA base.”
Many GOP lawmakers have publicly backed the president, though some have privately expressed concerns about striking Iran, with one drawing parallels to the U.S. invasion of Vietnam.
On Wednesday, an attempt to rein in the president failed when the Senate rejected an Iran war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for military action against Iran. The House is scheduled to vote on a similar measure Thursday, which is expected to fail in the GOP-controlled chamber.
Iranian officials have characterized the attacks as lawless and requested that the international community rally to its defense.
Recent polls suggest the public has little appetite for attacking Iran. Just one in four Americans favor Trump’s strikes, according to a Reuters survey. And a CBS News poll conducted earlier this week found that 62 percent of American adults did not think the administration has provided a clear explanation for its goals in Iran.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the Pentagon’s response.
