Pentagon Leaks Expose Internal Push to End Iran Conflict

A series of classified-assessment leaks released to the media this week revealed that several senior U.S. military leaders warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that a prolonged large-scale operation against Iran was “unsustainable.” The leaks, described by observers as “unprecedented,” appear intended to pressure the United States out of the six-month-old war rather than deepen involvement.

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Since the conflict began, the war in Iran has been widely unpopular among both the public and the armed forces. The Washington Post’s report, based on inside sources, indicates that the Pentagon’s own assessment contradicts the civilian leadership’s public stance that the operation remains viable.

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Defense Secretary Hegseth has publicly maintained that the campaign can be sustained, despite the leaked assessment that senior officers consider it untenable. The Washington Post article notes that the Pentagon has not officially denied the leaks, leaving the discrepancy between civilian claims and military counsel unresolved.

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Conservative commentator Saagar Enjeti argued that the leaks demonstrate how badly the war is proceeding, noting that such a move by the Pentagon is “never… seen” in his experience. Foreign-policy scholar Arta Moeini echoed the sentiment, contending that the military itself wants to pull back while civilian officials keep the United States engaged in a region she describes as peripheral to U.S. interests.

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• “Never in my lifetime have I seen the Pentagon brass desperately leak to keep the US OUT of a war. It is always the opposite to box a President in,” — Saagar Enjeti

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• “Even the US military wants to pull back from the Middle East. Ironically it's the civilian leadership that keeps us permanently engaged in a region peripheral to our interests,” — Arta Moeini, foreign policy scholar

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