Pentagon blocks photographers from Hegseth’s briefings on the Iran war

NEW YORK — The Pentagon has not permitted photographers to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last two briefings on the war in Iran and hasn’t explained the change in long-standing policy.

A Pentagon spokesman, Joel Valdez, declined to comment for this story.

The Defense Department under Hegseth has had a contentious relationship with the news media assigned to cover him. Most mainstream news organizations have left their desks at the Pentagon rather than accept new Trump administration rules that restrict their movements and whom they can talk to.

They’ve been replaced at the Pentagon by a newly constituted press corps that agreed to the rules and to a large extent work for outlets that are supportive of President Trump.

The Pentagon has been giving passes to reporters who vacated their desks at the Pentagon to attend Hegseth’s briefings on the war. Although Hegseth infrequently recognizes those legacy news reporters at the briefings, he did call on one of them, Eric Schmitt of the New York Times, on Tuesday.

The New York Times has sued the Trump administration to overturn Hegseth’s rules, and a hearing was held on that case before U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman last week.

“As [the New York] Times has long said, there is a clear importance and public service to allowing journalists to report fully on the U.S. military,” said Charles Stadtlander, a spokesman for the newspaper. “This includes photojournalists, who deserve access and credentialing to attend Pentagon briefings.”

The Associated Press had no immediate comment on the blocking of its photographers. Hegseth is still allowing video cameras at his briefings.

The New York Times’ war coverage has drawn the attention of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. On Tuesday, she said the administration was not going to be “harassed” by the publication about an investigation into the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran. An estimated 175 people were killed, including many schoolchildren.

Leavitt said Trump would accept the conclusion of the Defense Department’s investigation into who was responsible for the bombing. “We’re not going to be harassed by the New York Times, who’ve been putting out a lot of articles on this making claims that have just not been verified by the Department of War, to quickly wrap up this investigation because the New York Times is calling on us to do so,” she said.

The newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, that the preliminary finding of the administration has concluded that the United States was responsible for the bombing. The military believes outdated information was relied upon in setting a target for the Tomahawk missile used in the attack, the report said.

Bauder writes for the Associated Press.