03/08/2026: Targeting Americans, Secretary Hegseth
60 Minutes
CBS News
3.8 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The latest installment of a 60 MINUTES investigation reveals new details of a recent, classified U.S. mission that, sources tell us, obtained a type of microwave weapon. This device is believed to be similar to a weapon that has been used against U.S. diplomats, spies, and military officers, causing mysterious brain injuries.
Correspondent Scott Pelley shares in-depth reporting on the existence of the weapon; the unexplained injuries, known as Havana Syndrome; and studies from the federal government challenging the origin of the attacks.
And, CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett interviews Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C. about the state of the war in Iran. Andy Court, Andy Bast, and Arden Farhi are the producers.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The worst pain I have ever felt, it felt like a vice gripping my brain stem was there. |
| 0:15.0 | He's one of many U.S. government officials who tell us they were hit out of nowhere by an overpowering force that |
| 0:23.7 | inflicts lifelong disabilities. I immediately felt fullness in my head and just a piercing headache. |
| 0:32.5 | Tonight, the decade-long mystery may be solved. 60 Minutes has details of a classified intelligence mission |
| 0:41.0 | that discovered a new kind of weapon |
| 0:43.9 | built by a foreign adversary. |
| 0:46.7 | I mean, if we acknowledge that this was a state actor |
| 0:48.6 | that was doing this, it is essentially a declaration |
| 0:50.6 | of war against the United States. |
| 0:52.4 | The the Declaration of War against the United States. |
| 1:02.0 | With American and Israeli strikes in Iran entering their second week, you will hear tonight from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeseth |
| 1:05.0 | about what the U.S. hopes to achieve. |
| 1:08.0 | You said this is not a regime-change war, but the regime has changed. That's obvious. |
| 1:12.7 | Can you square the two? Sure. Go ahead. |
| 1:18.5 | I'm Leslie Stahl. I'm Scott Pelly. I'm Anderson Cooper. I'm Sharon Alphonsey. I'm John |
| 1:24.8 | Wertheim. I'm Cecilia Vega. I'm Bill Whitaker. Those stories, and in our |
| 1:29.6 | last minute, a Ford reflects on what drives American innovation. Tonight on 60 Minutes. |
| 1:42.7 | This episode is brought to you by Vanta. |
| 1:44.9 | Security and compliance done wrong is a headache. |
| 1:47.9 | Done right, you build trust and grow faster. |
| 1:50.4 | That's Vanta. |
| 1:51.5 | For startups, Vanta acts as your first security hire, |
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