Donald Trump Exploded at Pete Hegseth During Seething Oval Office Meltdown, Source Claims: 'What Is This?

President Donald Trump was not happy with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the brewing quagmire he found himself in by entering war with Iran, according to a new report.

At a tense meeting weeks after the Iran war began in late February, Trump dragged the defense secretary into the Oval Office and berated him, asking, 'What the f--- is this?!"

The meeting took place in April, and Trump was already furious that the Iran war had stretched past his projections of a brief in-and-out conflict.

The subject of his tirade was an April 23 New York Times report that the U.S. was swiftly running out of munitions just seven weeks into the conflict. Those munitions include 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles that cost $4 million a pop and 1,000 Tomahawk missiles — roughly ten times what the United States purchases each year.

According to a source who spoke to TIME, Trump threw a copy of the paper at Hegseth and profanely demanded to know what was going on.

Hegseth tried to squirm out of his scolding by claiming the Times had inflated the numbers and that the report was "fake news" and used exaggerated numbers to make the administration look bad. However, the Times reporting was based on internal Defense Department estimates.

But it wouldn't be the last time Trump would berate Hegseth for the munitions shortage. A second clash occurred at Camp David in August, where Trump screamed at Hegseth over more reports about the munitions issue. There, he demanded why it was ongoing.

"I thought this had been fixed," he reportedly said.

Spokespeople for Hegseth have denied both clashes ever took place.

The tale of Trump's fury at Hegseth is the latest in a long line of stories where insiders raise the alarm over the 46-year-old secretary.

Two weeks prior to TIME's story, Daily Mail posted testimonies from six Pentagon veterans who wanted to "send out an urgent SOS" about "the least qualified, most explosive defense secretary in American history."

Hegseth has become increasingly paranoid about leaks that make him look bad, to the point where he's attempted various measures to control how the Department of Defense is covered by the press.

Trump's war in Iran is a heavy anchor on both his presidency and the electoral chances of Republicans across the United States.

The war is deeply unpopular and has caused gas prices to skyrocket. As a result, Trump's approval rating is drowning between the high 20s and low 30s in most polls, and midterm polling suggests Republicans could be in for a historic drubbing come April.

Despite that, Trump still apparently loves Hegseth. As reports swirl that White House insiders want the embattled defense secretary out, Trump remains in Hegseth's camp — though Hegseth could face impeachment proceedings if Democrats take the House and Senate.