Hegseth likens press to biblical ‘Pharisees’ in fire-and-brimstone Iran war scolding after Trump’s AI Jesus furor

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsHegseth likens press to biblical ‘Pharisees’ in fire-and-brimstone Iran war scolding after Trump’s AI Jesus furorBizarre rant comes at the halfway point in a ten-day ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.Andrew Feinberg in Washington, D.C. Thursday 16 April 2026 14:15 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2959018","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-iran-war-briefing-press-ai-photos-b2959018.html","title":"Hegseth likens press to biblical ‘Pharisees’ in fire-and-brimstone Iran war scolding"}}U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a briefing on the Iran war, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard (Reuters)Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by e...