Washington DC - Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism after he declared "victory" in the war against Iran.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen did an interview with CNN in which he was asked for his reaction to Hegseth "talking about the operation in the past tense" during a press conference earlier that day.

Van Hollen argued that Hegseth was "once again, blowing smoke, trying to deceive the American people" as the country is "worse off today than when [President] Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu started this war."

The senator also pointed out that Iran has established its control of the Strait of Hormuz, as the country has opened and closed the port as a tool of leverage multiple times throughout the conflict.

His remarks came after President Trump threatened to annihilate "a whole civilization" on Tuesday. An hour before Trump's proposed deadline, he announced an agreement had been struck, though the president was vague on the details.

During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Hegseth declared victory, insisting Iran's military was "decimated" and rendered "combat-ineffective for years to come."

The Washington Post similarly noted Hegseth's use of the past tense, and how his analysis contradicted that of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who was "unwilling to use such absolute terms and left open the possibility that additional US troops could be killed."

On Wednesday afternoon, Iran signaled they may have already backed off the ceasefire, as Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon.