U.S. officials and analysts believe that statements by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the course of the war are overly optimistic and diverge from the actual situation on the battlefield, The Washington Post reports.

Some sources cited by the publication note that Hegseth’s public rhetoric does not reflect existing intelligence assessments and may mislead about the current state of affairs.

As the outlet emphasizes, U.S. President Donald Trump continues to describe the war against Iran as an unconditional success, stating as recently as Monday that the United States had performed “incredibly well.”

For his part, Hegseth said that Tehran is “confused and humiliated” by U.S. forces.