Gary Peters freaked out at the Hegseth hearing in the Senate. Image: keystone
The US Secretary of Defense was invited to a hearing in the Senate on Tuesday on the topic: the Iran War. This led to an escalation.
July 22, 2026, 01:25Jul 22, 2026, 3:38 am
The US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28th. The US government says it wants to ensure that the Islamic Republic never acquires nuclear weapons.
A ceasefire agreed in April and a framework agreement for deeper negotiations between the US and Iran have been overshadowed by mutual attacks in recent days. There are fears that the conflict will continue to escalate.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who calls himself Secretary of War, came to the Senate hearing to advocate for supplemental budget funding for America’s defense. Things went wild back and forth.
Anti-Iran war calls and then the escalation
There was the first excitement when Hegseth was disturbed by protests. He was interrupted several times in a row by demonstrators demanding an end to the Iran war. Officials then led the protesters out of the room in the Capitol.
At some point it was Jon Ossoff’s turn. The Democrat increasingly pushed Hegseth onto the defensive with his questions about the war. In particular, Hegseth’s premature declarations of victory at the beginning of the war were hotly debated. In March and April, the defense minister claimed that the Iranian military was “destroyed” and “obliterated.”
Ossoff wanted to know whether he still stood by these statements. Hegseth avoided giving a clear answer for several minutes and always repeated that the goal was for Iran not to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Ossoff concluded his Q&A session by stating:
“You don’t want to answer whether your statement on the 14th day of the war that the Iranian military had been ‘destroyed’ and ‘incapacitated’ was a truthful statement to the American people while you sit here asking for tens of billions more.”
Jon Ossoff
After Ossoff, it was Senator Gary Peters’ turn. The Democrat continued the content of Ossoff’s questions.
Then the situation escalated.
“You, sir, are a failure!”
Peters said that Iranian missiles had become more deadly, that the Strait of Hormuz was still closed even though it was open before the war, and then asked Hegseth: “So, what’s different?”
The defense secretary then lost his temper, accusing Peters of making such statements that were reckless and that it would “denigrate the sacrifices” that the US military had made for the United States: “Be ashamed to call this a failure and a mess,” he told the senator, insinuating that he would not support the US military.
Peters didn’t let that go. He also lost his temper, reminded Hegseth how he had previously praised the military and said, visibly upset:
«I’ll tell you what I meant by the word failure. I need the word failure in reference to the commanders. You, sir, are the failure! Not the men and women on the front lines.”
Gary Peters
If you don’t have a clear winning strategy, the commanders are to blame, Peters continued. «And that’s what’s happening now. “You have no strategy to win this war,” Peters said, raising his voice and waving his arms, and asked Hegseth: “When are you going to show leadership?”
The escalation in the video. Video: watson/X/atrupar
Hegseth then replied: “Of course we have leadership strength. But when do they show leadership and stand up to their Democratic colleagues who wouldn’t fund the troops? Who only engage in partisan politics?”
After more than two minutes of exchanges between Hegseth and Peters, it was over and the hearing ended with the US Senator’s questions.
The chairman, Senator Susan Collins, then thanked the witnesses summoned and the committee for a “lively discussion”.