“Severe damage and extreme destruction” of three nuclear sites in Iran: US defence secy Hegseth

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff air force general Dan Caine on Sunday said the three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan had been severely damaged and facing extreme destruction citing initial battle damage assessment reports and that the final battle damage assessment was in progress.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme,” said Hegseth. “It is worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or Iranian people.”

Hegseth maintained that the operation, named ‘Midnight Hammer’, was not for regime change in Iran and was focused on destroying the west Asian nation’s nuclear capabilities. “This mission was not, has not been for regime change. The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme,” Hegseth said.

Also read: Iran’s Fordow hit by US bunker buster bombs: What you need to know about the secret nuclear site

He also said public and private messages were being delivered to Iranians after the attack seeking negotiations for peace. Hegseth reiterated President Trump’s statement that the objective of this operation was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms in order to promote peace.

Hegseth said US President Donald Trump had repeatedly asked Iran to halt its nuclear programme for peace, but all such attempts were stonewalled.

In response to a question about whether the US is prepared for a full-protracted war, Hegseth clarified that the scope of this operation was intentionally limited and that anything is possible in a conflict.

Asked about whether Israeli forces had contributed to the operation, Hegseth said the mission was partly to defend Israel, but Tel Aviv was not a part of the operation and that it was a solely US-led operation.

On a query about Iran garnering support from China and North Korea, Hegseth said the previous administration’s policies had driven these nations together, which could be a challenge, but maintained that the operation was to promote peace by stopping Iran’s nuclear programme.

Also read: Israel-Iran war: Pentagon says ‘US does not seek war’; JD Vance ‘confident nuclear development delayed’

Asked about previous reports stating that Iran’s nuclear facilities were not a threat, he said Trump used credible information to take the call that the Iranian nuclear programme was a threat.

Operation Midnight Hammer involved eight B-2 stealth bomber aircraft taking off from Missouri in the US, according to Caine. One of these jets flew west for misdirection, while the others flew east for 18 hours towards Iranian airspace, Caine said. This was the biggest B-2 bomber attack carried out by the US and the longest B-2 bomber flight after operations in the wake of 9/11, Hegseth said.

Caine said the operation used B-2 stealth bombers, several fourth- and fifth-generation fighter aircraft and one armed submarine to attack the three nuclear facilities. For the first time, the US used Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP), designated as GBU-57. As many as 14 of these 30,000-pound bombs were used to target nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz, Caine said.

Over two dozen tomahawk missiles were also fired from a submarine at the facility as Isfahan, Caine said, adding that the attack took place at approximately 2-2:10 am Iranian time.

Caine said Iranian jets did not scramble and that Iranian surface-to-air missiles did not retaliate.

Also read: Israel-Iran conflict: Proxies, Strait of Hormuz and…? 4 ways Tehran can retaliate after US bombs nuclear sites

The US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities after Israel launched an offensive against Iran on 13 June, also targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran responded with military action, attacking an Israeli hospital shortly after head-of-state Benjamin Netanyahu visited it.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US attack in a post on X, calling it “a grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the international law”.

Alleging that the US violated the UN Charter with its attack, Iran’s foreign ministry stressed its right to defend Iran’s territory and protect its people using “all force and means”.

Iran also urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to convene an emergency session to condemn the US for its attack. “We call on the IAEA Board of Governors to immediately convene and carry out its legal responsibility in response to this dangerous US attack on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, all of which have been under the Agency’s full safeguards and monitoring,” the Iranian foreign ministry’s statement added.

On the night of 21-22 June, the US attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran. US President Donald Trump late on 21 June (US time) addressed the nation and said, “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

Trump also thanked and congratulated Israeli prime minister Netanyahu in his address. “We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu, in a video address on Sunday, congratulated Trump on the operation. “Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” said Netanyahu in his address after the operation.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke with the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the current situation. “Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations. Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stability,” said Modi in a post on X.

India has undertaken Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian students from conflict-ridden places in West Asia. As many as 311 Indian nations arrived in New Delhi from Masshad in Iran on 22 June, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced in a post on X.