Hegseth and associates reportedly pressured two F-15 airmen downed over Iran to appear on ’60 Minutes’

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and political officials in the department pressured the two F-15 crewmen who were shot down over Iran in April to be interviewed on CBS’s “60 Minutes” about their experience, CNN reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The interview is set to air tomorrow on the weekly current affairs program.

After initially resisting due to concerns over being ordered to participate in the interview, Hegseth met privately with the rescued airmen, the sources say.

One of them, named “Bravo,” agreed in the end to appear on the show, but the other, “Alpha,” declined to be interviewed, CNN reports.

The two crew members have not been publicly identified by Washington.

According to CNN, the details of the report show how Hegseth is trying to spin a narrative over the unpopular war.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell tells CNN its report “is a complete lie.”

“The decision to participate in the interview was each pilot’s alone — because it is their story,” he says.

“As CNN notes, one pilot decided to participate and one did not. Additionally, the Department took great care to ensure operational security, sources, and methods were protected. To suggest otherwise is to denigrate every member of our military who participated in and supported the interview.”

After being downed during the US-Israeli war on Iran, the F-15 pilot was rescued the same day his plane crashed, but the weapons system officer in the jet was extracted by US commandos in a daring mission 36 hours later.