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Pete Hegseth said Iran’s nuclear facilities were destroyed
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Iran will not hesitate to bomb more US air bases in the Middle East, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Iran’s nuclear facilities have been decimated in a complex operation, while railing against the media for reporting on a leaked Defence Intelligence Agency assessment that found that Trump‘s airstrikes had only set back the country’s nuclear program by a matter of a few months.
“Because of decisive military action, President Trump created the conditions to end the war,” Hegseth said.
While a fragile ceasefire is currently holding, the Iranian leader claimed the Islamic Republic had access to “key US centres” and would take action “when necessary”.
In his first public appearance since the US attacked Iran’s three nuclear facilities on Sunday morning, Khamenei also claimed Iran had won a victory over Israel and the US, delivering a “slap to the US’s face” by attacking its Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
“Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” Khamenei said.
US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine said the bunker-buster bombs “went exactly where they were intended to go”.
“Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won’t see an impact crater, because they’re designed to deeply bury and then function. I know there’s been a lot of questions about that all six weapons at each vent at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go,” he said.
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the U.S. attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear programme is solely geared toward civilian use.
Mr Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites were “not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
Iran will not hesitate to bomb more US air bases in the Middle East, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.
In his first public appearance since the US attacked Iran’s three nuclear facilities on Sunday morning, Khamenei claimed the Islamic Republic had access to “key US centres” and would take action “when necessary”.
He also claimed Iran had won a victory over Israel and the US, delivering a “slap to the US’s face” by attacking its Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
“Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” Khamenei said.
Donald Trump vowed to “save” Benjamin Netanyahu as he hit out at the Israeli prime minister’s “witch-hunt” corruption trial.
Trump claimed Israel’s prime minister was a “great hero” and “warrior” who faced politically motivated charges and called for the trial to be cancelled.
The president’s intervention comes as Netanyahu’s cross-examination, which began on 4 June, is set to resume on Monday. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and denies all of them.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend.
US military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend with more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
The results of the strikes are being closely watched to see how far the strikes may have set back Iran’s nuclear program. “I’m not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise,” Mr Hegseth said.
Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked US president Donald Trump for intervening in his corruption trial.
The Israeli prime minister said he was “deeply moved” by Mr Trump’s “incredible support” for himself and Israel.
“I look forward to continue working with you to defeat our common enemies, liberate our hostages and quickly expand the circle of peace,” he said.
Mr Trump said vowed to “save” Mr Netanyahu and claimed he was facing “politically motivated charges” and a “witch-hunt”.
Mr Netanyahu’s cross-examination, which began on 4 June, is set to resume on Monday. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and denies all of them.
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