Pentagon officials have blocked photographers from covering Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last two briefings on the war in Iran and did not explain the change in long-standing policy, according to a report by the Associated Press.
AP said the Pentagon has not permitted photographers to cover those two briefings and has not provided a reason for the shift. The report identified Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez, who declined to comment for the story.
The AP report said the Defense Department under Hegseth has taken a tougher posture toward news media assigned to cover him, describing a contentious relationship with the press. It said many mainstream news organizations left their desks at the Pentagon rather than accept new Trump administration rules that restrict where reporters can move and who they can talk to.
As replacements, the report said the Pentagon has been working with a newly constituted press corps that agreed to the rules and, to a large extent, works for outlets that are supportive of President Donald Trump. AP said the Pentagon has also been giving passes to reporters who previously vacated their desks to attend Hegseth’s briefings.
Although Hegseth infrequently recognizes legacy news reporters at the briefings, AP reported that he called on Eric Schmitt of The New York Times during a Tuesday briefing. The Times has taken the Pentagon to court to try to overturn Hegseth’s restrictions, AP said, adding that a hearing was held last week before U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman.
Charles Stadtlander, described by AP as a spokesman for The Times, argued that reporters must be allowed to cover the U.S. military fully, including photojournalists. He said, “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,” and that the paper’s position includes “photojournalists, who deserve access and credentialing to attend Pentagon briefings.”
AP said the Associated Press had no immediate comment on the decision to block its photographers. It reported that Hegseth is still allowing video cameras at the briefings.
The AP report also tied the media access dispute to The Times’ broader coverage of the Iran war. It said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt raised the issue on Tuesday, telling reporters the administration was not going to be “harassed” by The Times about an investigation into the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, where the report said an estimated 175 people were killed, including many school children.
Leavitt said Trump would accept the conclusion of the Defense Department’s investigation into who was responsible for the bombing, according to AP. AP reported that The Times had earlier described, citing sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, what it said was the administration’s preliminary conclusion that the United States was responsible for the bombing, and that the report said the military believed outdated information was used in setting a target for the Tomahawk missile involved in the attack.