US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Chairman Chief of Staff Dan Kane responded to leaked intelligence reports suggesting that military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities are likely to return for almost several months.
At a press conference from the Pentagon on Thursday morning, the two officials alleged that Iran’s nuclear program was destroyed and repeated versions of President Donald Trump’s event.
However, it contradicted a preliminary report prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), stating that the June 22 bombing campaign was a relatively small set-off against Iran’s nuclear capabilities and could recover within a few months.
“President Trump carried out the most complicated and secret military operations in history, an overwhelming success leading to the ceasefire agreement and the end of the 12-day war,” Hegses said.
“For critical military action, President Trump will create conditions to end the war, choose your words and destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”
Drawing reliable conclusions about the effects of US strikes is difficult a few days after they happen.
But President Trump claims that the US strike has been a “devastating” attack. He also told reporters that not only was it unpatriotic to question the assessment of the strike, but it also made the bomb a “very upset” pilot.
While Hegseth and Caine were talking, Trump encouraged his followers on the platform Truth Social to see what they said, “It’s one of the greatest, most professional and most ‘confirming’ newspaper meetings I’ve ever seen! ”
He also wrote that news outlets such as the New York Times and CNN will “dismiss reporters who created fake stories” in Iran’s bombing campaigns, but there is no evidence to support that claim.
A day ago, on Wednesday, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe said the US attack in Iran had caused serious damage to Tehran’s nuclear program.
“New information from “historically reliable” methods “several important Iranian nuclear facilities will have to be destroyed and rebuilt for years,” Ratcliffe said in a statement, but it lacked further details.
Military evaluation
The June 22 bombing campaign marked the only direct US intervention in what Trump called a 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
The conflict began on June 13th, when Israel launched a series of attacks on Iranian military targets, killing several generals and scientists in its nuclear program.
Israel argued that attacks were necessary to hamper Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Iran claims it has never called for the creation of nuclear weapons, and instead uses nuclear enrichment programs to create civilian energy. It responded with its own missile barrage of its own against Israel.
The United States has long been an avid ally of Israel, but early in the conflict, Trump avoided committing the United States to direct involvement. That changed when he sent seven B-2 bombers on June 22nd, dropping “Bunkerbuster” ammunition to three Iranian nuclear sites, including Fold.
The ceasefire was declared a few days later.
However, questions endure the effectiveness of US interventions. On Thursday, Heggs and Kane tried to rest these questions with a strong presentation.
Standing in front of a poster with images of Iran’s Fordau facility, Kane gave reporters a walkthrough of the bombs used in the attack, how the mission was carried out, and the bombs that comprised the bomber crew.
He also played a video of one of the bombs destroying active bunkers.
“All the six weapons in each vent in the Fordow went exactly where they were going,” Caine said.
He then offered to collapse, though he gave the US military confidence about the success of the mission.
“There’s something we know following the attack and the Fordow strike,” he said. “First, the weapon was constructed, tested and properly loaded. 2: The weapon was released in speed and parameters.
Meanwhile, Hegseth focused heavily on his comments on the media’s response. The former Fox News host criticized fellow journalists for “always looking for scandals” and refused to acknowledge “historical moments” under President Trump.
When pressed by reporters about changing understanding of the June 22nd strike, Heggs reiterated the Trump administration’s position that places like Fordow had been fatally hit.
“I could use the word of literated. He could use defeat, destruction, evaluation, all of them all. But in the end, we’re here to make it clear what these weapons can do,” Hegses said.
“Anyone with two eyes, ears, or brains can recognize such firepower. Its specificity is in its place and others will have devastating effects.”
Hegus and Trump denied on Thursday that Iran may have driven stockpiles of enriched uranium before the US hit.
“I don’t know the intelligence I reviewed. I say things aren’t where things were supposed to be.
The ambiguity remains
Still, there have been conflicting reports as to how much damage was maintained by Iran’s nuclear program.
On Thursday, the Financial Times issued a report that the European government rated Iran’s uranium stockpile being redistributed to sites other than Fordow before the attack.
In his first public comment since the war began, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Thursday that Trump exaggerated the outcome of the strike.
“The US president exaggerated the events in an unusual way,” Khamenei said, adding that the US “got nothing from this war.”
His explanation suggests that the US bombing campaign “had nothing significant” to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Thursday’s briefing with Hegseth and Caine provided details about the weapons used in the June 22 attack, but analysts say there is no evidence to justify the Trump administration’s claims.
“The presser of our Iranian attack was an organized story that was very focused on storytelling,” said Pati Kurhane, correspondent of Al Jazeera.
“We don’t think we know the actual facts of the matter yet. They say they detail the number of bombs, how they passed through the ventilation shafts, but they didn’t share any actual evidence that the facility was put into words.”
