Trump says Iran 'crushed' to prevent nuclear arms, hails progress in conflict

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the conflict with Iran is "going very well," claiming the country has been "crushed"—in his words—for the sole purpose of "never allowing it to acquire a nuclear weapon." He made the remarks in a post defending his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and denying reports of a dispute between them over ammunition shortages.

Trump wrote: "Iran, where the country was destroyed to prevent it from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon, things are going very well there," adding that everything Hegseth accomplished was "exceptional." He also cited the military operation in Venezuela, which he said was resolved "in less than a day" and ended with former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro—whom he called "one of the world's worst criminals"—being brought to justice.

Trump launched an attack on The Washington Post—mockingly referring to it as "Washington Compost"—accusing it of spreading "baseless false rumors" despite being informed that its story was "completely wrong." He argued that its "fake reporting amounts, in truth, to treason."

Trump's comments came hours after a report by the newspaper, citing two people familiar with the matter, claimed the president's anger over the course of the Iran conflict "erupted" during a cabinet meeting at Camp David, where he reportedly demanded Hegseth explain "misleading" him about a severe shortage of long-range and interceptor missiles that was said to be limiting his military options against Tehran—a claim the White House dismissed as "100% fake news."