US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday took to social media to respond for the first time to The Atlantic's new report as he repeated his denial that war plans were discussed on the Signal chat. 

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On his official X account, Hegseth said, "So, let's (sic) me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called 'war plans' and those 'plans' include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information." 

Also read: Trump's top advisers' private data found online amid Yemen war plans group chat scandal

"Those are some really sh**ty war plans," he added. 

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Hegseth accused journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was apparently added to the chat mistakenly, and said, "This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an “attack plan” (as he now calls it). Not even close." 

"As I type this, my team and I are traveling the INDOPACOM region, meeting w/ Commanders (the guys who make REAL "war plans") and talking to troops. We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes," he further said.

Also read: Who is Jeffrey Goldberg? The journalist accidentally sent classified Yemen war plan

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When the first report was published that top White House officials shared classified war plans against the Houthis in Yemen on the Signal messaging app, Hegseth criticised the journalist as "deceitful" and accused him of repeatedly spreading hoaxes and said that no one had "texted war plans".  

Earlier this week, Goldberg, who is the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, claimed that he was part of a text chain on Signal where details of air strikes in Yemen were discussed along with other highly sensitive national security matters. 

Also read: Trump's Houthi attack plan 'revealed'; Magazine shares what it claims to be full Yemen strike chat leak

Goldberg claimed that he was invited to an encrypted chat group called the "Houthi PC small group" on March 13. In the group, national security adviser Mike Waltz tasked his deputy Alex Wong with setting up a "tiger team" to coordinate US action against the Houthis. He unveiled screenshots later on Wednesday (Mar 26).

Also read: Trump Houthi attack plan: What did the leaked Yemen strike chat 'reveal'?

Trump's administration denies claims 

Trump's administration said on Tuesday (Mar 25) that no classified information was shared in the chat. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed his embattled secretary of defence. 

Hegseth, who posted in the chat group which was then inadvertently shared with a US journalist, "is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said at the White House, calling criticism a "witch hunt." 

(With inputs from agencies)