The Pentagon is disputing a Washington Post report claiming that top military leaders warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against extending large-scale operations in the Iran war. 

Unnamed sources told the Post that doing so would be unsustainable and risk weakening the U.S. military's ability to confront threats elsewhere. These warnings appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), according to the Post's unnamed sources. The classified document outlines the U.S. arsenal of warships, aircraft, personnel and weapons systems.

Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell blasted the Post's report, accusing those who leaked the details of the documents of committing a crime, and he disputed the article's accuracy. 

"It’s a betrayal of the force. And much of what they’re publishing is inaccurate. Of course, we demand candid military advice. Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That’s how you run a real military. We are in great shape around the world. This story isn’t about readiness. It’s TDS [Trump derangement syndrome] and PDS [political derangement syndrome] — they hate President Trump and Secretary Hegseth more than they love America," Parnell wrote in a post on X. 

In response to Parnell's statement, Washington Post military affairs reporter Dan Lamothe defended his colleagues' work and asserted the reporters' First Amendment rights. 

"Fact check: Independent journalism is not a crime. It's also especially important at a time when government officials are withholding key details and concerns about a war being fought on behalf of the American people with their taxpayer dollars," Lamothe wrote in a post on X.