A new report from the Washington Post reveals that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for failing to fully brief President Trump on the severity of the US military's missile shortage. The report details the confrontation at Camp David over the weekend, where Trump expressed fury at Hegseth, saying he thought the ammunition problem had been resolved. The shortage is cited as a key reason Trump has recently backed away from ordering further large-scale strikes against Iran.
The Washington Post report, published early Thursday morning, reveals that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for failing to fully brief President Trump on the severity of the US military's missile shortage. The report details a confrontation at Camp David over the weekend, where Trump expressed fury at Hegseth, saying he believed the ammunition problem had been resolved. The missile shortage is cited as a key reason Trump has recently backed away from ordering further large-scale strikes against Iran.
The Zioneer first reported the story at 02:46 Jerusalem, with initial details of the confrontation. As the thread developed, reports added that Hegseth deflected blame to Feinberg, and that the shortage played a central role in Trump's decision to halt further Iran strikes. The report has been confirmed by multiple news outlets, including N12 and ynet, with the White House and Pentagon denying the account.
The missile shortage emerges against a backdrop of conflicting signals from the administration. As The Zioneer reported on Tue Aug 4, Trump publicly stated that the US has "more ammunition than anywhere in the world," in direct rebuttal to a Reuters report on the shortage. Earlier, on Wed Jul 1, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump held talks with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine about resuming full-scale war with Iran but preferred diplomacy for now. The current report suggests internal tensions over the pace of the campaign.
The account remains attributed to the Washington Post, with official denials from both the White House and the Pentagon. The precise extent of the missile shortage and its impact on operational planning has not been independently verified.
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