Video from a statement by Pete Hegseth
Rep. Pat Ryan questions Pete Hegseth about the defenses at Port Shuaiba before the Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. soldiers, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, April 29, 2026.
Two excerpts joined by a one-second black gap: 3:58:38 to 3:59:22 and 3:59:57 to 4:01:09 of the House Armed Services Committee video. Cut from the House Armed Services Committee's own recording of the hearing. The PBS NewsHour YouTube clip cited for this source shows the same exchange. DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: U.S. House Committee on Armed Services. Public domain (U.S. government work) (opens in a new tab)
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: 2:06 to 2:22 Ryan on the post's defenses; 2:27 to 2:31 Ryan on the March 2 description; 3:23 to 3:29 Hegseth on defensive posture; 3:55 to 4:11 Hegseth on integrated air defenses and moving troops; 4:50 Ryan calls for resignation)
Asked by Rep. Pat Ryan at a House Armed Services Committee hearing whether survivors who dispute his description of the strike are lying, Hegseth said the Pentagon put in "maximum defensive posture" before the war and that "a much larger picture" included integrated air defenses, bunkers and moving people away from targets. "We moved those troops and all across the theater, thousands of troops off the X, off of their bases because we knew what Iran was going to try to strike," he said.
“We moved those troops and all across the theater, thousands of troops off the X, off of their bases because we knew what Iran was going to try to strike.”