Tipsheet

A Reporter Accused the US of Potential War Crimes in Iran. Here's What the Secretary of War Had to Say.

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  June 11, 2026 10:00 AM

A journalist got a brutal reality check after suggesting the United States could be committing a war crime following President Trump's remarks, Wednesday that strikes against Iran's bridges and electrical infrastructure were back on the table. The clash comes as the Trump administration has resumed strikes on Iranian targets after an attack on an Apache helicopter that was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz.

When pressed on the issue, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed the question as "disingenuous" and reiterated that the U.S. military would pursue actions necessary to achieve its objectives in the conflict. Under the law of armed conflict, attacks on bridges are not inherently considered war crimes, and while strikes on electrical infrastructure raise additional legal considerations because of their potential impact on civilians, targeting such facilities is also not automatically a war crime.

"If the response is in hitting bridges, electrical infrastructure, how would that not be a war crime potentially targeting civilian infrastructure?" a reporter asked.

"Well, it's precisely the kind of disingenuous question that I'm used to from the media, impugning the motives of the folks on our side who are incredibly professional and incredibly effective," the Secretary of War said. "We will hit them hard on our terms, on the targets that improve the environment for us to operate in and undermine the capabilities that Iran wants to have."

"Again, they can't do that to us meaningfully the way that we can to them, but we're also clearly signaling to them, you have a choice," Hegseth continued. "You have a choice in the way that you respond, and you have a choice with our incredible negotiating team in Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner and the vice president and the president across the board prepared, Marco Rubio, the whole team prepared to make a great deal that would benefit Iran. They choose not to, and as a result, they're going to meet United States Central Command again tonight in the way the president laid out clearly."

This comes after President Trump put strikes on critical Iranian infrastructure back on the table following the reported downing of an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz. The two pilots were rescued alive and unharmed within hours, and the United States has since resumed strikes against Iranian military targets.