Hegseth says Iran war is Trump’s ‘gift to the world’ as he berates Europe and Asia for ‘freeriding’

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsHegseth says Iran war is Trump’s ‘gift to the world’ as he berates Europe and Asia for ‘freeriding’Pentagon boss echoes President Donald Trump’s complaints about U.S. allies’ reluctance to be dragged into warAndrew Feinberg in Washington, D.C. Friday 24 April 2026 13:41 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":"b2964346","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-trump-iran-war-briefing-b2964346.html","title":"Hegseth says Iran war is Trump’s ‘gift to the world’"}}CloseHegseth Says Iran War Is Trump's 'Gift To The World'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 email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}Defense Secretary Pete...