Defense John Bolton says Hegseth needs ‘attitude adjustment’ after Iran briefing by Max Rego - 03/02/26 12:38 PM ET by Max Rego - 03/02/26 12:38 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, accusing him of muddling the administration’s message regarding the goals of the weekend’s U.S. strikes against Iran . “Pete Hegseth needs to check with his boss on what the objective is,” Bolton told host Kate Bolduan on “CNN News Central.” During a Monday morning press conference , Hegseth said the objectives of the military operation are to “destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons.”  But in the wake of the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes Saturday , which resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a slew of other political and military leaders, Trump urged Iranians to seize control of their country from the Islamic Republic.  “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take; this will be probably your only chance for generations,” the president said. Trump also told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that the “big wave” of U.S. strikes against Iran “hasn’t even happened.” Hegseth said Monday that “this is not a so-called regime change war,” but the “regime sure did change.” Bolton said the comments show the head of the Pentagon is not in lockstep with Trump.  “If the big one is still to come, how does Hegseth explain that we’ve already changed the regime, which wasn’t our objective? I think the Pentagon top leadership, civilian top leadership, needs some attitude adjustment,” remarked Bolton, who also previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the administration of former President George W. Bush. “I think the military is doing fine, but I wonder about the civilian leadership.” As the operation against Iran continues into its third day, Trump and Hegseth provided information on the length and scope of the mission.   The president told CNN that he “always thought it would be four weeks” and noted the U.S. is a “little ahead of schedule.” Hegseth, meanwhile, said Monday that there are no boots on the ground in Iran currently — but he did not say whether the U.S. will eventually send troops to the country. “No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” he said.  So far, four American service members have been killed in action during the operation, according to U.S. Central Command . “And sadly, there will be likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social account. “Likely be more but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.” Add as preferred source on Google Tags Ali Khamenei Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Donald Trump George W. Bush Jake Tapper John Bolton Kate Bolduan Pete Hegseth Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Defense News See All International Starmer breaks with Trump on Iran, says UK doesn’t support ‘regime change from the skies’ by Laura Kelly 5 minutes ago International  /  5 minutes ago