THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Speaking to reporters at the NATO Summit Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed a criminal leak investigation is underway after top secret intelligence was illegally shared to undermine U.S. military strikes on Iran's nuclear program.
"When you actually look at the report, by the way it was a top secret report, it was preliminary, it was low confidence, you make assessments based on what you know," Hegseth told Townhall ahead of a meeting with the NATO delegation. "We're doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now because this information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments."
"CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the President look bad when it was an overwhelming success," he continued.
NEWS: At NATO, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says a criminal leak investigation is underway after top secret intelligence was released to undermine the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear program
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) June 25, 2025
Secretary Rubio adds: These are professional “stabbers” manipulating intelligence… pic.twitter.com/j71rWQXlzW
The investigation comes after information was leaked to CNN claiming U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend set the program back mere weeks.
"This is what a leaker is telling you what the intelligence says, that's the game these people play. They read it and they go out and characterize it the way they want to characterize it the way they want it characterized and they're leakers, this is the game they play," Secretary of State Marco Rubio added.
"We dropped twelve of the strongest bombs on the planet right down the hole in two places, everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape. I refer you to the statement of the IAEA, Mr. Grossi, he said, 'There was Iran the way it looked the day before the attack and way it looks right now.' They are way behind where they were seven days ago," Rubio said. "These leakers are professional stabbers. That's what they are. They go out and they read this stuff and they tell you what it says, against the law, but they characterize it for you in a way that is absolutely false. There's no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing happened. This was complete and total obliteration. They are in bad shape. They are way behind today compared to seven days ago because of what the president did."
Rubio at NATO pushing back on reports re: Iran’s ☢️ sites: “These leakers are professional stabbers. That's what they are. They go out and they read this stuff and they tell you what it says, against the law, but they characterize it for you in a way that is absolutely false." pic.twitter.com/bDJdF2BkSC
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) June 25, 2025
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte began the meeting by praising President Trump's decision to take out Iran's nuclear sites.
“You were a man of strength, and you're also a man of peace. And the fact that you are now also successful in getting the ceasefire done between Israel and Iran, I really want to comment, and I think this is important for the whole world," Rutte said.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member