Hegseth Pressed Iran Shootdown Pilots for TV Interview

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office pushed the two crew members of an F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran to sit for interviews with 60 Minutes for the CBS News program's 59th season premiere, according to a new report from CNN.

The report, published Saturday, claimed Hegseth "played an unusually hands-on role" in the outreach effort. Sources told CNN he met privately with both airmen and asked whether they wanted to participate rather than forcing their cooperation, after each initially expressed reservations about the interview.

One of the airmen nonetheless aired concerns about being ordered to take part, the report said. Three of the "multiple" sources who spoke to CNN said military officials worried the sit-down could let classified details of the rescue effort slip.

Two of the sources said unnamed political appointees in Hegseth's office were "adamant" that both crew members sit for the interview.

Meeting privately with Hegseth ultimately convinced one of the men to take part, according to CNN. The other reportedly still declined.

What the interview shows

The interview, with an unnamed weapon systems officer who spent two days injured in Iran alone after the shootdown in April, airs Sunday. A press release issued Tuesday touted it as the colonel's "first public account of what happened."

The officer, identified only by the call sign "Bravo," tells 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O'Donnell in a promotional clip: "That day was just another day in the war for us. Until the moment we got hit by an Iranian weapon."

He said he and the other airman hit the ground "going somewhere between 70 and 100 miles an hour" after ejecting. His partner, a pilot identified by the call sign "Alpha," was rescued within hours after the two became separated. Bravo, however, had to hide in a mountain crevice and evade Iranian forces for two days before rescuers reached him.

Push to land the interview

CNN's report acknowledged the "fierce" push to interview the pilots that followed the shootdown, from multiple outlets "including CNN." Three sources said Hegseth and his staff grew "very enthusiastic to broadcast a dramatic retelling of the incident with both crew members" after being approached by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.

The report also accused Hegseth of "working to craft the narrative around the Iran war" as the conflict becomes increasingly unpopular.

An accompanying photograph shows the ejected seat from the aircraft. Bravo hid in a mountain crevice for nearly 50 hours with nothing but a handgun to protect himself before he was rescued.

Pentagon calls report a 'complete lie'

The Pentagon aggressively pushed back on CNN's report, calling the "entire story" a "complete lie." Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement: "The decision to participate in the interview was each pilot's alone - because it is their story."

"As CNN notes, one pilot decided to participate and one did not," Parnell said. "Additionally, the Department took great care to ensure operational security, sources, and methods were protected. To suggest otherwise is to denigrate every member of our military who participated in and supported the interview."

Weiss took over as CBS News Editor-in-Chief in October and has recently overseen an overhaul of 60 Minutes, the network's long-running Sunday newsmagazine. Newly installed Executive Producer Nick Bilton also spoke with Hegseth during the interview's orchestration, according to CNN. Sunday's episode also includes interviews with Hegseth himself and US Central Command head Brad Cooper.