‘america’s Mortal Enemy’: Hegseth’s Years-long Hatred Of Iran Resurfaces In Book Quotes And Videos

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has quickly go nan nationalist look of nan U.S.-Israeli conflict pinch Iran and has trim an fierce fig successful his Pentagon briefings, speaking emphatically astir his desire to “crush nan enemy.”

“Iran stands unsocial and they are severely losing,” Hegseth told reporters Tuesday, describing Tehran’s theocratic authorities arsenic “barbaric savages” who are “desperate and scrambling.”

A devout Christian pinch ties to nationalist pastors, nan secretary, and some of his commanders, person reportedly formed nan bombing run successful Biblical terms, and Hegseth ended his astir caller briefing by quoting from Psalm 144.

“Blessed beryllium nan Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for warfare and my fingers for battle,” he recited. “He is my loving God, and my fortress. My stronghold and my deliverer, my shield successful whom I return refuge.”

As The Guardian has pointed out, nan Afghanistan and Iraq seasoned and erstwhile Fox News play big has a agelong history of fierce rhetoric against nan Islamic Republic, viewing it arsenic an existential threat against America and nan West.

As early arsenic 2014, Hegseth was appearing connected nan Fox News show The Kelly File to lambast Barack Obama complete his administration’s Iran atomic deal, which President Donald Trump subsequently withdrew from, accusing nan then-cabinet of “willful blindness” successful assuming “that someway now we’re dealing pinch moderates successful Iran.”

In 2017, he appeared successful a video for nan right-wing outlet PragerU successful which he said: “Iraq’s neighbour to nan east, and America’s mortal enemy, Iran, filled nan governmental vacuum, while ISIS brutally exploited nan information vacuum.”

A twelvemonth later, Hegseth made an quality astatine a media convention successful Jerusalem hosted by nan Arutz Sheva network and likened Iran to an octopus, describing nan “many tentacles that nan Iranian authorities has successful nan world today, nefariously some for Israel and for nan United States,” accusing it of building “a atomic capacity which threatened nan very existential beingness of America.”

He again rebuked Obama complete his “horrific” atomic deal, insisting it only served to create “an inevitable way to atomic weapons, backing nan attunes of billions of dollars, nan hateful violent Iranian authorities seeking decease to America and decease to Israel.”

At nan aforesaid event, he referred to Europe disparagingly arsenic “a depository soon to beryllium drowned retired by extremist Islam,” dismissed nan thought of a two-state solution for Israel, and urged nan country: “Buy nan ticket, return your action, do what needs to beryllium done present successful Israel, because I genuinely judge this is simply a infinitesimal wherever America will person your back.”

When Trump assassinated Quds commandant Qasem Soleimani connected January 3, 2020, Hegseth appeared connected Fox Business to crow: “Iran should beryllium worried coming that possibly we will do thing again. Maybe your 2nd wide is adjacent if you proceed to effort to termination Americans… We are nan apical dog. You respond to us, not nan different measurement around.”

Five days afterwards, he guested connected Fox and Friends and said: “Whether we time off Iraq aliases not should beryllium done connected our position and based connected really we look down Iran and their expertise to get a atomic bomb… correct now could beryllium nan clip to cripple their expertise to do it.”

The aforesaid year, Hegseth published his book, American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free, successful which he declared successful a reside of seething vitriol: “America is not astatine warfare pinch Islam, but we are ever astatine warfare pinch Islamists.

“Al-Qaeda, nan Islamic State, nan Taliban, Iran, and nan likes are nan latest manifestations of an Islamist activity that has nary plans to ‘coexist.’

“They activity land, they activity power, they activity demographic and governmental advantages, and they actively activity nan subject intends – particularly atomic weapons – to bring nan West to its knees.”

In nan aforesaid book, he was captious of Saudi Arabia, a cardinal American state that has been deed by Tehran’s retaliatory strikes during nan coming hostilities, saying its “oil money costs radical, anti-Western Islamic schools (madrassas) and mosques across.”

In different transition sparkling a ray connected his existent thinking, he writes: “If you emotion America, you should emotion Israel.

“We stock history, we stock faith, and we stock freedom… Israel is force number 1 for some Islamists and world leftists – which is logic unsocial to emotion it.”