US Officials Defend Iran Strike Amid Questions on Success

The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, defended the US strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities, stating that Donald Trump had decimated the country’s nuclear program despite initial intelligence assessments suggesting the strikes had failed to destroy key facilities. Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine based their assessment on AI modeling and test videos of the bunker buster bombs used in the strikes. Hegseth cast doubt on the initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency, calling it preliminary and leaked for political purposes. He denied knowledge of any intelligence indicating Iran had moved its enriched uranium. Caine stated that the strikes matched a Pentagon-developed model predicting the destruction of the Fordow site.

Trump administration criticized the press for publishing leaked information and hinted at targeting reporters. CIA director John Ratcliffe claimed new evidence showed key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would take years to rebuild. Hegseth and Caine’s appearance followed Trump's criticism of the strike at a Nato summit. Trump announced that Hegseth would give a press briefing to defend the pilots involved in the operation Midnight Hammer against the Iranian nuclear sites.

According to the source: The Guardian.