Kelly: Iran operation ‘not going well’ for Trump administration

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) sharply criticized the Trump administration’s launch of Operation Epic Fury against Iran last weekend.

“They don’t seem to know what they’re doing or why they did this,” Kelly told MS NOW on Wednesday morning.

“I think this is a perfect example of what happens when you have a leader of a country who doesn’t take input, doesn’t take advice, puts a lot of yes people around him and makes these decisions without the right input and without the right data,” the senator continued. “So, I think this is not going well for them.”

Kelly sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has pushed back on the White House following the Saturday launch of joint strikes from Israel and the U.S. on Iran, which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Six American service members have been killed so far during the conflict.

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Trump officials have been critical of the media’s coverage of the Iranian counterstrikes, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accusing outlets of reporting on the deaths of these service members to “make the president look bad” during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

“This is what the fake news misses. We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon. “I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad but try for once to report the reality.”

Kelly slammed the Defense secretary’s words in a post on the social platform X on Wednesday.

“There is nothing more sacred than the lives of our servicemembers and they deserve a president and a secretary of Defense who respect their service and sacrifice,” Kelly said.

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