Trump’s Pentagon Hits Back: “Iran’s Nukes Were Obliterated” — Despite Leaked Intel Saying Otherwise
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has come out swinging in defense of the recent American strikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, asserting that Donald Trump has “decimated… obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear ambitions—even as initial reports suggest the targets could be back online within months.
Standing alongside Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth doubled down on the administration’s success narrative. The two officials leaned heavily on AI-driven modeling, backed by test footage of bunker buster bombs, to make their case. Questions about real-time damage to the Fordow nuclear site were swiftly deflected to the intelligence community.
From the Pentagon briefing room, Hegseth dismissed an early Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report that painted a less victorious picture. He blasted the leak as a politically motivated attempt to "muddy the waters" and undermine what he called a “historic strike.”
“I’ve seen no intel suggesting that Iran has moved or hidden any of its highly enriched uranium,” Hegseth insisted. Yet, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that 400kg of Iran’s 60% enriched uranium is now unaccounted for.
Hegseth didn’t just go after Iran—he took aim at the media, slamming news outlets for publishing leaked assessments. Echoing the Trump administration’s combative tone, he warned of potential legal action against reporters who “undermine the success of our incredible pilots.”
“Classified info gets leaked for political gain,” Hegseth fumed. “It’s not the president being hurt—it’s our brave servicemen and women who are being disrespected.”
Backing Hegseth, Gen Caine declared the airstrike a success, saying it matched a highly detailed Pentagon simulation. He explained that the GBU-57 "bunker busters" performed as designed—hitting targets precisely and unleashing destruction through blast pressure and tunnel collapse.
“We modeled this strike for years. The mission space was vaporized by a calculated mix of blast and over-pressure. Critical hardware was annihilated,” Caine said.
The Pentagon’s fiery defense came just one day after Trump, speaking at a NATO summit in The Hague, lashed out at the press for publishing the leaked DIA assessment. That report claimed that despite deploying 14 bunker-busting bombs, the strike only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months.
But the Trump team wasn't having it. Senior intelligence officials pushed back, presenting what they called “new evidence” proving the facilities were severely damaged.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said a trusted source confirmed that “several key Iranian nuclear sites were destroyed and will require years to rebuild.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard added that the sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were so damaged they’re effectively out of commission for the foreseeable future.
Trump, never one to stay silent, hailed the mission as a massive win. On Truth Social, he declared that Hegseth would brief the media to “fight for the DIGNITY of our GREAT American Pilots.”
“These Patriots were furious!” Trump wrote. “After 36 hours flying through hostile airspace, they land in triumph, only to be blindsided by the Fake News."
Caine closed the briefing by praising the team behind Operation Midnight Hammer, the codename for the mission. He called it the “culmination of 15 years” of hard work by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
He explained that the DTRA had long warned that even conventional bombs couldn’t reach deep enough to fully destroy Iran’s underground facilities. But the carefully planned barrage, he said, collapsed tunnels and buried Fordow in rubble, delivering just enough force to cripple Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Discription:
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends Trump’s Iran airstrikes, claiming nuclear facilities were obliterated, despite leaked intel suggesting minimal damage. Pentagon insists mission was a historic success."