Donald Trump has issued a statement on an image of lorries at an Iranian nuclear site prior to the US’ strikes, following rumours that nuclear material may have been transported away beforehand
Donald Trump has issued fresh claims over what lorries were doing at an Iranian nuclear facility before the site was hit by an American “bunker buster” bomb, in what the president insists was a “devastating” attack in the Middle East.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine held a news conference after a leaked intelligence report suggested the strikes against Iran likely put the country back mere months in getting a nuclear weapon. Trump said the strikes delivered a “devastating” attack and that questioning his assessment was not only unpatriotic, but also makes the pilots who dropped the bombs “very upset”.
“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated – choose your word. This was an historically successful attack,” Hegseth said in an often combative session with reporters.
While Gen Caine, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and the US’ top military official, said that the weapons for the attack were 15 years in development and that the missiles “went exactly where they were intended to go”.
Trump emphasised after the press briefing his belief that Iran did not remove nuclear material from its facilities before the US attacked, as has been claimed. “Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!,” he wrote.
And referring to satellite pictures of lorries by the nuclear site, he said on social media that they were concrete workers. It is believed that staff at the facility were trying to cover vents with concrete before the US bombs hit.
Trump said: “The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”
With a video playing in the background of an impact from a “bunker buster” bomb, Gen Caine told the press conference: “This is one weapon, so if you take the view of five additionals, you get the sense of what this looks like. Hopefully you can see it and there isn’t too much reflection.”
The missile could be seen hitting the ground, earth coming up and an explosion. Gen Caine continued: “Unlike a normal surface bomb you won’t see an impact crater as they are 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 also said the attack on Fordow using the 30,000lb bombs went as planned, pointing out they “functioned as designed, meaning they exploded”.
Hegseth and Gen Caine doubled down on how destructive the US attacks had been on Iran’s nuclear facilities and while describing in detail the planning behind the bombing mission, they stopped short of detailing how much the attack set back the nation’s nuclear programme.
“By design, we don’t grade our own homework. The intelligence community does,” said Gen Caine on the success of the operation. “But here’s what we know following the attacks and the strikes on Fordow: First, that the weapons were built, tested and loaded properly.
“Two, the weapons were released on speed and on parameters. Three, the weapons all guided to their intended targets and to their intended aim points. Four, the weapons functioned as designed, meaning they exploded. We know this through other means intelligence means that we have that were visibly, we were visibly able to see them. And we know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function.”
It remains unclear how quickly Iran could repair the damage or rebuild its capabilities elsewhere. There have also been questions about whether Iran was able to move its enriched uranium before the US strikes.
Hegseth said he didn’t think that happened. “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,” he said.
The defence secretary said they decided to hold Thursday morning’s news conference because “there was a great deal of irresponsible reporting” based on a preliminary intelligence assessment. He criticised “biased leaks to biased publications.” He added: “If you want to know what’s going on at Fordow, you better go there and get a big shovel.”
Trump and his administration have sought to minimize an early leaked intelligence report suggesting that US strikes against Iran likely put the country back mere months. Hegseth reiterated that the report was preliminary and how it acknowledged there was low confidence and gaps in information.
Drawing reliable conclusions about the impact of the US strikes is difficult only days after they took place and Hegseth scolded the media at the Pentagon briefing Thursday for “breathlessly” focusing on an intelligence report he downplayed as preliminary.