Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made a bold statement, mocking “Iranians that think they’re gonna live” during a preview of an upcoming 60 Minutes interview. This came while he was trying to answer a question about Russia allegedly providing intelligence to Iran to target American soldiers.
According to Mediaite, the interview was conducted by CBS News’ Major Garrett, who cited three sources claiming Russia was “providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. positions and movements.” Garrett asked Hegseth if the average American should see this as a “big and dangerous deal.” Hegseth responded that the U.S. is “tracking everything” and has “the best intelligence in the world.”
He also said that President Trump has an “incredible knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks,” assuring Americans that their commander in chief is aware of who is communicating with whom, and that anything inappropriate is “being confronted and confronted strongly.”
Hegseth gave vague answers on whether the U.S. will directly push Russia to stop sharing intelligence with Iran
Garrett then asked if Americans could expect “conversations with the Russians to stop this.” Hegseth responded, “Well, I, President Trump, as people have seen, has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders, where he can get things done that other presidents, certainly Joe Biden, never could have.” He added that messages “definitely can be delivered” either directly or indirectly, through President Trump or members of his cabinet.
Garrett pressed further, asking if Russia’s involvement put U.S. personnel “in any more danger than they otherwise would be.” Hegseth dismissed this, saying, “No one’s putting us in danger. We’re putting the other guys in danger. That’s our job.”
Hegseth has also made headlines recently for his unusual advice directed at Iranian civilians amid the ongoing strikes. He then added, “So, we’re not concerned about that. We mitigate it as we need to. Our commanders factor all of this, but the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”
When Peter Doocy asked President Trump about the same reports at the White House on Friday, Trump rejected the question, saying, “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time.” This suggests the administration does not want to publicly discuss the specifics of Russia’s alleged intelligence sharing with Iran. Separately, families of soldiers killed in Iran reacting to Hegseth’s remarks have drawn significant public attention.
Published: Mar 7, 2026 09:15 am