Pentagon Says Trump’s Strikes ‘Devastated’ Iranian Nuclear Program

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities were able to “destroy or severely degrade” the country’s capabilities.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth said. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine agreed, though he said that it was just an “initial” assessment and more information was needed.

Iranian media has claimed that all three targeted facilities were evacuated and that damage was minimal.

The atmosphere in the briefing room was tense as Hegseth and Caine briefed details on the mission named “Operation Midnight Hammer.” News outlets from around the world gathered Sunday morning to see Hegseth’s first briefing to the press and only the second briefing in the building to press since the start of the new administration.

The briefing wasn’t without the political spin that’s become a hallmark of the Trump administration, with Hegseth bragging that “this is not the previous administration” and that “no other country on Earth” could have delivered the strike.

“Many presidents have dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran’s nuclear program,” Hegseth said. “None could until President Trump.”

The president himself has a history of being critical of presidents who made similar threats. In 2013, Trump posted that former President Barack Obama would “attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly—not skilled!”

In an address last night Trump called the strike a “spectacular military success” before threatening that “future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”

As for what happens next, Hegseth said that Trump’s focus is now on peace and that “Iran should take that path.”

“This mission was not, has not been about regime change,” he told reporters.

Trump previously posted that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be “an easy target” and that the U.S. was “not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

In the weeks leading up to the operation, a number of military movements and preparations took place, with some acting as a “misdirection.”

B-2 bombers flew west over the United States, acting as a feint before launching Saturday night’s attack. Caine called it “a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.”

In the days leading up to the strike, the 1st Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit known to be a key part of the U.S. military’s quick reaction force, was told to be ready to deploy quickly for Jordan if needed, according to a source familiar with the order.

“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks,” Caine said, adding that the U.S. military is being “proactive” to possible retaliation.

“The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people,” Hegseth said.

In a move breaking with the last decade of national security precedent, President Donald Trump chose not to inform the Democratic leadership from the Intelligence or Armed Services Committees of either chamber of Congress.

“They were notified safely after the planes were out,” Hegseth said.

What’s known as the “Gang of 8,” the members from both parties across Congress in leadership and those chairing and ranking the Intelligence Committees, are usually briefed on any major classified decisions before they become public. Not all those key leaders were informed before the strike, a source familiar with the briefing audience in Congress told NOTUS.

“This was a highly classified mission, with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan,” Caine said on Sunday.

The White House also did not notify the Armed Services Committee, a courtesy typically afforded to the committee responsible for the Department of Defense. More than 30,000 defense personnel are currently at bases on the ground in the Middle East. Their funding and oversight are the responsibility of that committee.

Strikes carried out by the U.S. Air Force on Saturday were the first time in over 40 years that the U.S. bombed Iran.

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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.