War Secretary Pete Hegseth defended U.S. military operations targeting Iran during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, praising the campaign as swift and decisive while criticizing media coverage of the conflict.

Hegseth took aim at the press early in his remarks, urging reporters to accurately portray the war effort.

“You wouldn’t know it if you listened to the dishonest, anti-Trump media,” Hegseth said. “These cameras… they have a choice. You’re either informing the American people of the truth or you’re not… My message to the media is: get it right.”

Hegseth framed the operation as a historic success, crediting President Donald Trump for authorizing what he described as a rapid and effective dismantling of Iran’s military capabilities.

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“Iran had a modern military, and never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and effectively neutralized,” Hegseth said. “This is not an endless war. It’s a decisive campaign with clear objectives… to destroy Iran’s offensive military capabilities and ensure they never obtain a nuclear weapon.”

The remarks come as the administration outlines its strategy following recent strikes on Iranian targets, describing the campaign as focused on defined military objectives rather than prolonged engagement.

Hegseth cited operational figures during his remarks, stating that more than 10,000 enemy targets had been hit, along with over 150 naval vessels and underground facilities.

“This is stuff for the books. This is stuff for legacy, Mr. President, to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,” he said.

Hegseth also criticized press coverage of the operation, accusing outlets of failing to accurately reflect military efforts on the ground.

“You wouldn’t know it if you listened to the dishonest, anti-Trump media,” he said. “Behind every headline you write, there’s a helicopter crew in the air. Behind every news story, there’s a battalion on the move. Behind every so-called ‘fake news’ story, there’s an F-35 pilot executing a dangerous mission.”

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Drawing on past experience, Hegseth referenced public debates during the Iraq War, arguing that media narratives have historically conflicted with military objectives.

“I’m not a rookie in this realm,” he said. “In 2007, I helped lead the public fight when people stood in the Senate and declared the war was lost before it even turned.”

He maintained that current operations differ from past conflicts, describing the campaign as structured and effective rather than open-ended.

“This is not parody. This is not chaos. This is success… pure American success, on plan and ahead of pace,” Hegseth said.

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Hegseth also claimed Iranian naval capabilities had been significantly degraded, stating that the commander of Iran’s naval forces had been killed in a recent operation.

“They no longer have a navy, Mr. President,” Hegseth stated. “Their naval commander was killed overnight in operations.”

“If President Trump had not acted, you’d be screaming, ‘Why not?’ And now that he has taken decisive action, you’re asking why he did,” Hegseth said.

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Hegseth also referenced past U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration, criticizing the Iran nuclear deal.

“Many of the military factories and bases that are now being destroyed were paid for by pallets of American cash that Barack Obama flew to Tehran under the Iran deal,” Hegseth said.

“Make no mistake… we had to act,” he noted. “Our objective is the complete dismantling of their nuclear program.”

A Harvard student said Jewish students on campus feel “unwelcome” in certain classrooms amid a new multibillion-dollar lawsuit from the Trump administration over the school’s mishandling of antisemitism. 

Last week, Trump’s Department of Justice filed a 44-page lawsuit against the Ivy League institution for “[failing] to protect its Jewish students,” and Harvard sophomore Teja Billa told Fox News Digital that the university failed to implement all the steps to combat antisemitism the school said they would. 

“Jewish students and Israeli students feeling very unwelcome in certain courses to do with the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Billa told Fox. “More broadly, I don’t think all of the steps that the task force outlined to address it have actually been implemented. It’s great to come out with a task force report, but it really necessitates action on the part of Harvard.”

“I really hope that Harvard and the administration can reach some sort of negotiated settlement that keeps the research funding that is so important to Harvard while also addressing the really, really widespread and critical instances of bias and anti-Semitism that we found in the report and haven’t fully addressed,” Billa added.

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The Trump administration announced the lawsuit last week, with Attorney General Pam Bondi criticizing the rise in antisemitism and the universities that “allowed” sentiments to exist at schools across the country. 

“Since October 7th, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed anti-Semitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included,” Bondi said in a statement. “[This lawsuit] underscores the Trump Administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students.”

Robert Kennedy Jr. also weighed in on the suit, noting the significant amount of federal funding that is pouring into various educational institutions. 

“Every student deserves to learn without fear of harassment or exclusion,” the Health and Human Services secretary said. “When institutions take taxpayer dollars, they accept a duty to protect civil rights. We hold Harvard accountable on the principle that antisemitism has no place in any program funded by the American people.”

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Last April, the Ivy League school revealed the findings of an internal task force investigation into antisemitism at Harvard. Their findings showed that nearly 40% of Jewish students do not feel “at home” at the university.

The task force’s report also found roughly 26% of Jewish students felt “physically unsafe.”

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Harvard University President Alan Garber apologized following the report’s release, while acknowledging the antisemitism that existed on campus.

“I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,” Garber said in a letter. “The grave, extensive impact of the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel and its aftermath had serious repercussions on our campus.”

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During Billa’s interview with Fox News Digital, he said one potential solution could involve determining just how “left-leaning” the faculty at the top university really is.

“I think there should be a broader diversity of viewpoints that we see among the professors,” Billa explained. “We’ll do a faculty survey, and it will show that the professors themselves are overwhelmingly left-leaning, and that can’t possibly get every valid viewpoint to an issue.”

Billa also noted that students are fearful of speaking on hot topics because they are worried about conflicting opinions with professors impacting their grades. 

“On the other hand, a lot of students are feeling hesitant or afraid to speak up in class on controversial issues,” Billa continued. “Most of the graduating seniors actually reported that they would not speak up in class out of fear of being canceled or fear of perhaps grading impacts.”

A spokesperson for Harvard told Fox News Digital that they have implemented policies to combat antisemitism and said the university “cares deeply about members of our Jewish and Israeli community.”

“Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies on campus,” the spokesperson explained. “We also have enhanced training and education on antisemitism for students, faculty, and staff and launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.”

President Donald Trump acknowledged peacemaking with Iran is made difficult because their “sinister, sick” replacement leaders are hiding.

“One of the problems they do have when they deal with us is we deal with people and the people aren’t able to communicate with anybody else, because all of their leadership has been gone,” Trump said at the start of his second Cabinet meeting of 2026 on Thursday.

“The first level is gone. And they met to pick a new level, and they’re gone. They’re all gone because they didn’t make a deal.

“And because they’re sick people, they’re really sick. They’re they’re really sinister, sick people.”

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Regardless of the struggle to find a diplomatic off-ramp, Trump is pleased with the progress on the “military operation” against Iran, saying the conflict may end after four to six weeks of fighting.

“We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission, and we’re way ahead of schedule,” Trump said. “If you look at what we’ve done in terms of the destruction of that country, I mean, we’re way ahead.”

While the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz remains an issue — despite the removal of the Iranian military commander that had ordered it closed to the U.S. and its allies — Trump lamented the NATO allies are only now vowing to stand with the U.S.

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“I said 25 years ago that NATO’s a paper tiger, but more importantly, that we’ll come to their rescue, but they will never come to ours,” Trump said. “And I want you to remember that we said this.: They didn’t come to our rescue.

“Now they all want to help when the other side is annihilated. They said, ‘We’d love to send ships.’ They actually made a statement, a couple of them, that ‘we want to get involved when the war is over.’

“You know, it’s supposed to get involved with the war’s beginning or even before it begins.”

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Ultimately, Trump warned, NATO failed a “test,” something that might loom down the road when peace negotiations in Ukraine and potential aspirations for Greenland resurface after Iran is off the top of Trump’s foreign policy agenda.

“Nobody’s a match for the United States,” Trump said, noting Iran’s heavy losses showing “they’re not a match for the United States. It’s small potatoes.

“That’s why I’m so disappointed in NATO, because this was a test for NATO. This was a test. You can help us. You don’t have to, but if you don’t do that, we’re going to remember.”

“Just remember, remember this in a number of months from now,” he continued. “Remember my statements. They have an expression, a great expression: Never forget. It can never forget.”