World

Hegseth defends Iran war to Congress, rejects quagmire

By AAP Newswire

Apr 30, 2026

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sought to defend ‌the Iran war in fiery remarks to Congress, ‌saying it is not a quagmire and attacking Democratic ‌lawmakers as "feckless" for criticising the unpopular conflict.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Hegseth was testifying before Congress for the first time since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on ‌February 28 that has ‌led ⁠to a surge in petrol prices.

Trump's popularity has taken a pounding since the conflict began and a Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates just 34 per cent of the public approve of the US conflict with Iran, down from 36 per cent in mid-April and ⁠38 per cent in mid-March.

Democrats peppered Hegseth with questions about the open-ended conflict, with representative ‌John Garamendi of California calling it a "quagmire" and "political and economic disaster at every level".

Hegseth responded angrily.

"You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement," Hegseth said ‌in response to Garamendi, and criticised "reckless, feckless and defeatist" Congressional Democrats.

"Don't say: 'I support the troops on one hand, and then a two-month mission is a quagmire.' ... Who are you cheering for here? Who you pulling for?"