Trump Contradicts His Own Defense Secretary on Iran War Timeline
Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be on the same page as his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when it comes to a timetable on the Iran war. On Monday evening during a press conference, a reporter asked Trump about his comments earlier Monday stating that the war is “very complete,” in contrast to Hegseth, who said, “This is only just the beginning” on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday. “So which is it, and how long should Americans be—” the reporter continued before Trump cut in with his answer.“Well, I think you could say both. The beginning, it’s the beginning of building a new country. But they certainly, they have no navy, they have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft equipment. It’s all been blown up. They have no radar. They have no telecommunications, and they have no leadership. It’s all gone,” Trump responded. “So you know, you could look at that statement, we could, we could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave here, I could call it, or we could go further, and we’re going to go further.”Q: You said the war is 'very complete.' But your defense secretary says 'this is just the beginning.' So which is it?TRUMP: You could say both pic.twitter.com/4orXm5ZM4b— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 9, 2026On the surface, it looks like Trump wants to downplay ongoing military action while others in the administration like Hegseth, and perhaps Israel, are being somewhat more realistic. The president seems to be trying to put a positive spin on further action, suggesting that the U.S. could also stabilize oil prices by moving on the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply,” Trump said Monday. “And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level.”He reiterated that threat in a Truth Social post, saying that if Iran stops the flow of oil in the strait, “they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.” Trump may be trying to keep international markets stable and the price of gasoline from spiking further, as the war continues to cause wild fluctuations.Ultimately, though, it’s not the words of Trump, Hegseth, or anyone else that will determine the economic impact of the war. It’s going to be what actually happens on the ground, and whether oil installations keep getting attacked from all sides of this reckless war.