Is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth waging a holy war against Iran?

Why has Hegseth fired top generals from the military, and how does he use religion to justify America’s war aims? We look at the frontman for the US war in Iran, the former Fox News host, Pete Hegseth. A key feature of his Pentagon press briefings are his religious rhetoric, which may reveal the motivation behind his reforms of the U.S. military. Despite only narrowly making it through the confirmation process to become defense secretary in the first place, Hegseth has become a key figure in the White House as he looks to reshape the Pentagon by rolling back on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies and removing many key figures at the top of the Pentagon. Justin Webb and Anthony Zurcher, speak to Eric Schmitt from The New York Times, a longtime national security correspondent who recently left his press desk inside the Pentagon after refusing to accept new Trump administration rules that restrict their movements and who they can talk to. Justin and Eric discuss the reasons why Donald Trump wanted Hegseth in post, the impact so far of the changes he is making inside the Pentagon, and whether he is eyeing up a presidential run of his own one day. Presenter: Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter and Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent Proudcer: George Dabby with Alix Pickles Technical producer: Mike Regaard Editor: Sam Bonham Get in touch: • Join our online community: discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please

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Is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth waging a holy war against Iran? is an episode from Americast by BBC.

This episode is 30:39 long.

This episode was published on Apr 10, 2026.

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