"We Didn't Start Iran War": Pete Hegseth's Defence Amid Impeachment Threat

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth contested the impeachment effort against him and said that it tells the US' enemies that the country "punishes its own warriors".

In his first media briefing since May, he said that "in the 250 years of our American republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations," as he pushed back against the impeachment threat initiated by outgoing Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie.

Hegseth is facing an impeachment threat over his handling of the US' ongoing war with Iran.

The resolution, filed by Kentucky's Massie, who lost his primary to an opponent backed by US President Donald Trump, has set the stage for a vote to remove Hegseth from the Trump administration after Republicans faced a crushing defeat in recently held midterm elections.

Targeting Massie, Hegseth said on Tuesday that the move against him was being led by a "disgruntled and defeated" Congressman over "policy disagreements".

"It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president. It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it," Hegseth said.

Justifying the US' war against Iran, which has received much flak globally and has cost the Republicans heavily, Hegseth said that "history will judge the Iran war quite differently than conventional wisdom right now".

"We didn't start this war. Iran did 47 years ago," he said.

"High Crimes And Misdemeanors"

The impeachment resolution, while largely focusing on US' operations in Iran, also references Hegseth's role in military actions in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Venezuela.

It states that Hegseth's actions amount to "high crimes and misdemeanors" and his leadership at the Pentagon "warrants impeachment."

However, it is not spelled out in the Constitution what constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors", which means the lawmakers will decide what actions of Hegseth call for impeachment.

"Stand Behind Every Operation"

Hegseth defended his actions in leading the US military operations in Yemen, Iran and Venezuela, and also the targeting of alleged drug-carrying boats, saying that he stands behind "every one of these operations".

"I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow," Hegseth said.

He added that the action against him was like attacking the US troops.

"These resolutions tell every one of them that their service was a crime. Their service was not a crime. These are heroes," he said.