Iran is downplayed by Defense Secretary Hegseth, Democrat: But the US deployed many combat vehicles to the Timteng?

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and U.S. Chief of Staff General Dan Caine. (Wikimedia Commons-DoD-U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza

JAKARTA - US House of Representatives member from the Democratic Party, Joe Courtney, alluded to Defense Secretary (Menhan) Pete Hegseth's assessment before the Iran war stating that the biggest threat to the US was only China, Russia and North Korea.

Courtney questioned if Iran was overlooked from the list of threats, why were US combat vehicles deployed in large numbers in the war in the Middle East?

If based on Hegseth's assessment, US combat vehicles should be in a position to prevent the three countries on the threat list.

Courtney said this on Wednesday, April 29 local time, during a meeting with the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee with the US Secretary of Defense regarding the Pentagon's additional budget of 1.5 trillion US dollars amid the turmoil of the Iran war.

Meanwhile, Hegseth's assessment is based on the US National Defense Strategy (NDS) document in January 2026. At that time, Hegseth took Iran's military capabilities lightly so that it was not the main focus of preventing the US's great power.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US, General Dan Caine, who was present to accompany Hegseth, responded by saying: "a president will use national power and power based on the political and security situation that the president considers appropriate".

"There is always a consideration of profit and loss," added Caine.