60 Minutes revisited the long-standing mystery of so-called “Havana Syndrome” — the debilitating brain injuries reported by U.S. diplomats, intelligence officers and service members — and reported classified developments that could finally identify a cause. The program also featured Major Garrett’s interview with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the U.S. campaign against Iran.
Havana Syndrome reporting and new intelligence
Victims have for years described abrupt, severe symptoms — ear pain, pressure, vertigo, convulsions and lasting cognitive, balance and sensory problems. Many were treated by governments that nevertheless debated whether the injuries were the result of foreign attack, environmental exposures, infection or psychosomatic causes. A 2023 U.S. intelligence assessment concluded it was “very unlikely” a foreign adversary had carried out such attacks, a judgment that left many sufferers feeling dismissed.
Independent scientific reviews led by Stanford’s Dr. David Relman in 2020 and 2022 found a plausible physical mechanism: pulsed microwave (radiofrequency) energy can produce transient but damaging biological effects. Relman’s panels pointed to decades-old research in the former Soviet Union linking pulsed microwaves to symptoms like those described by victims.
60 Minutes reported that U.S. investigators tracking illicit arms markets obtained intelligence indicating a Russian criminal network had been selling a miniaturized microwave device. According to the report, undercover Homeland Security agents purchased the device in 2024 during a Pentagon-funded operation that cost roughly $15 million. Multiple sources described the weapon as portable, concealable and silent, able to emit software-shaped pulsed microwave waveforms that can cause biological effects at distances of several hundred feet and penetrate windows and drywall without the obvious heating associated with continuous-wave microwave exposure.
The program said the device underwent more than a year of testing at a U.S. military laboratory; animal experiments on rats and sheep reportedly produced injuries consistent with those seen in human cases. Investigators also compiled surveillance footage they say supports an attack hypothesis, including a restaurant video in Istanbul showing diners suddenly clutching their heads and a U.S. Embassy stairwell camera in Vienna capturing two people collapsing.
The reporting included interviews with current and former officials. One former CIA employee who worked on the agency’s Anomalous Health Incidents unit resigned, alleging internal pressure to steer conclusions toward environmental or psychosomatic explanations instead of state-sponsored attacks. Some affected officers, including retired CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, said the apparent discovery of a compact microwave device vindicates their claims and described the moral injury of feeling unsupported by agencies.
Sources told 60 Minutes the Biden White House privately accepted victims’ accounts and convened meetings with them; a public pro-victim statement was drafted but never issued. The 2023 assessment that attacks were unlikely has not been publicly revised. The program reported that the prior administration briefed congressional intelligence leaders and showed a classified photograph of the alleged weapon. Some Department of Defense investigators have reportedly been reassigned to weapons development units. Officials warned that if such a miniaturized capability exists and control is lost, it could be misused by others.
Scientists and advocates reiterated calls for recognition and care. Relman reiterated that pulsed microwaves remain a plausible explanation for at least a subset of cases, and victims and advocates urged better medical support and acknowledgment, including requests from some military victims to receive Purple Hearts.
Hegseth interview: the campaign against Iran
Major Garrett’s interview with Secretary Hegseth occurred amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Hegseth described the operation as a multi-phase campaign that he said was “on track,” emphasizing an approach centered on airpower and conventional munitions rather than large-scale U.S. ground occupations. He said the campaign’s goals are to weaken the Iranian regime’s military capacity and render its forces combat-ineffective, calling the effort “fighting to win.”
Asked about the administration’s language of seeking “unconditional surrender,” Hegseth characterized it as making Iran unable to fight and forced to accept terms, but he refused to outline specific options, force levels or whether ground troops might be used, calling such disclosures unwise.
On intelligence sharing and targeting, Hegseth said U.S. agencies vet information, and the president decides whether to act on opportunities. When asked if strikes represented a response to an imminent threat or a broader opportunity, he dismissed that distinction as academic given Iran’s long-standing threats and sought-after nuclear capabilities.
Garrett raised reporting that Moscow may have provided intelligence to Iran. Hegseth said commanders are aware of who is communicating with whom and that the president uses diplomatic tools to mitigate risk; he would not say whether alleged Russian support increases danger to U.S. personnel, saying commanders account for and mitigate risks.
Hegseth acknowledged U.S. casualties and warned more casualties were likely as the campaign continues, but said such losses would harden U.S. resolve. He said the U.S. investigates allegations of civilian harm; reports of civilian deaths, including children reportedly killed at a school, are being investigated and responsibility has not been assigned pending findings. On Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Hegseth said multiple options exist to prevent Tehran from obtaining a weapon but declined to provide details.
Closing note on innovation
A brief final segment featured Bill Ford reflecting on American innovation. He credited investment in workers and opportunity — citing Henry Ford’s $5 day as transformative — and argued that empowering people and communities drives long-term innovation.
Together, the broadcast paired an investigative report that presented classified evidence suggesting a miniaturized microwave device could explain a decade of mysterious injuries, with a policy interview outlining U.S. military posture and objectives in the campaign against Iran.