Defense Secretary Bars Photographers from Iran War Briefings

The Pentagon has banned photographers from attending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent briefings about the Iran conflict without providing an explanation for the policy shift. The move comes amid ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and mainstream news outlets over new media access restrictions.

WASHINGTON (TV Delmarva) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has barred photographers from his recent two briefings regarding the Iran conflict, marking a departure from established Pentagon practices without any official explanation.

Pentagon spokesperson Joel Valdez refused to provide comment when asked about the policy change.

Relations between Hegseth’s Defense Department and journalists covering the Pentagon have grown increasingly strained. Many established news organizations have abandoned their Pentagon workstations rather than comply with new Trump administration restrictions that limit their access and control who they may interview.

A reconstituted press pool has taken their place, consisting of reporters who accepted the new guidelines and largely represent media outlets favorable to President Donald Trump.

While the Pentagon continues issuing temporary passes to reporters from organizations that left their posts, allowing them to attend Hegseth’s war briefings, the Defense Secretary rarely acknowledges these legacy media journalists. However, he did recognize Eric Schmitt from The New York Times during Tuesday’s session.

The New York Times has filed a lawsuit challenging Hegseth’s media restrictions, with U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman hearing arguments in the case last week.

“As The Times has long said, there is a clear importance and public service to allowing journalists to report fully on the U.S. military,” stated Charles Stadtlander, the newspaper’s spokesperson. “This includes photojournalists, who deserve access and credentialing to attend Pentagon briefings.”

The Associated Press offered no immediate response regarding the photographer ban. Video recording equipment continues to be permitted at Hegseth’s briefings.

The newspaper’s Iran war reporting has attracted criticism from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. During Tuesday’s briefing, she stated the administration would not be “harassed” by The Times regarding their investigation into the bombing of an Iranian girls’ school that killed approximately 175 people, many of them students.

Leavitt indicated Trump would accept whatever conclusions emerge from the Defense Department’s investigation into responsibility for the attack. “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 declared.

On Wednesday, the newspaper published a report citing anonymous sources indicating that preliminary administration findings have determined U.S. forces were responsible for the bombing. According to the report, military officials believe the Tomahawk missile strike was based on outdated intelligence information.