The U.S. Department of Defense has banned photojournalists from war briefings on the Middle East, after the head of the institution, Pete Hegseth, was dissatisfied with how he was portrayed in images.
The Pentagon chief held a press conference on March 2. It was his first briefing since June 2025, and several press agencies, including Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images, sent photographers to the event.
After the images were published and circulated around the world, Hegseth’s aides decided to ban photographers from the next two Pentagon briefings on March 4 and 10, 2026.
Starting from March 2, only photographers employed by the Department of Defense were admitted to the briefings. The Deputy Chief of the White House Press Secretary, Anna Kelly, refused to comment on Hegseth’s decision to deny photojournalists access to the Pentagon.
Hegseth has repeatedly clashed with the press since taking over as Secretary of Defense, according to hotnews.ro. Tensions reached a peak in October, when several reporters surrendered their Pentagon credentials after being denied the right to request any government unauthorized information.