WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day on Thursday, rejecting senators' accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy. In his opening statements for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth called Democratic lawmakers "reckless naysayers" and "defeatists from the cheap seats" who have failed to recognise the many successes of the U.S. military against the Islamic Republic. Hegseth said President Donald Trump has had the courage "unlike other presidents to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal". Sen. Jack Reed, the committee's ranking Democrat, argued that the war with Iran has left the US in a worse strategic position. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, fuel prices have skyrocketed and 13 American service members have been killed, Reed said. "I am concerned that you have been telling the president what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear," Reed said....