President Trump defends U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites
President Trump is defending the recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling them a clear success.
(NBC)- President Trump is defending the recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling them a clear success. “They hit the target, and the target has now been proven to be obliterated,” Trump said following the release of new details from the Department of Defense about the covert operation.
Military leaders praised the B-2 bomber crews involved in the mission, which used 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs to strike deeply buried targets. Air Force General Dan Caine, of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the precision of the operation. “The weapons all guided to their intended targets,” Caine said. “The pilot stated, quote, ‘this was the brightest explosion that I’ve ever seen.’”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the operation a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, saying, “We are obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”
The Pentagon showcased test footage from 15 years of research and development that led to the advanced strikes. However, a leaked preliminary assessment from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has tempered some of the enthusiasm. That report suggests Iran’s nuclear program may only have been set back by several months, and notes the agency has “low confidence” in those initial findings.
In contrast, CIA Director says other credible intelligence indicates Iran would need years to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure. Supporting that assessment, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog cited “enormous damage” to Iran’s program, stating that the centrifuges at the key Fordo site are now “no longer operational.”
Senators have begun receiving classified briefings on the operation. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “No one’s going to work at these sites anytime soon.”
Democratic Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) urged caution and diplomacy, citing prior intelligence that not all enriched uranium would have been destroyed in the strikes.
“Some of the enriched uranium was never going to be taken out by a bunker-buster bomb,” Warner said, adding that diplomatic efforts are still necessary to prevent future nuclear threats.
