Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned Sunday that America “doesn’t search warfare” with Iran within the aftermath of a shock assault in a single day on three of that nation’s nuclear websites whereas Vice President JD Vance mentioned the strikes have given Tehran a renewed probability of negotiating with Washington.
The mission, referred to as “Operation Midnight Hammer,” concerned decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Pressure Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, mentioned at a Pentagon information convention.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth added.
Caine mentioned the aim of the operation — destroying nuclear websites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved.
“Ultimate battle injury will take a while, however preliminary battle injury assessments point out that every one three websites sustained extraordinarily extreme injury and destruction,” Caine mentioned.
Vance mentioned in a tv interview that whereas he wouldn’t focus on “delicate intelligence about what we’ve seen on the bottom,” he felt “very assured that we’ve considerably delayed their growth of a nuclear weapon.”
Pressed additional, he informed NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “I believe that we’ve got actually pushed their program again by a really very long time. I believe that it’s going to be many a few years earlier than the Iranians are in a position to develop a nuclear weapon.”
The vice chairman mentioned the U.S. had “negotiated aggressively’ with Iran to attempt to discover a peaceable settlement and that Trump made his choice after assessing the Iranians weren’t appearing “in good religion.”
“I really assume it supplies a chance to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a spot the place Iran can resolve to not be a menace to its neighbors, to not a menace to america and in the event that they’re keen to do this, america is all ears,” Vance mentioned.
He mentioned it might make sense for Iran to come back to the negotiating desk and quit their nuclear weapons program over the long run. “In the event that they’re keen to do this, they’re going to discover a keen accomplice in america of America,” he mentioned, describing a attainable probability of a “reset” for Tehran.
A lot of the world is absorbing the results of the strikes and the danger that they may result in extra combating throughout the Center East after america inserted itself into the warfare between Israel and Iran. Airstrikes beginning on June 12 by Israel that focused Iran’s nuclear services and generals prompted retaliation from Iran.
Whereas U.S. officers urged for warning and pressured that solely nuclear websites had been focused by Washington, Iran criticized the actions as a violation of its sovereignty and worldwide legislation.
Iran’s international minister, Abbas Araghchi, mentioned Sunday that Washington was “totally accountable” for no matter actions Tehran could absorb response.
“They crossed a really massive purple line by attacking nuclear services,” he mentioned at a information convention in Turkey. “I don’t know the way a lot room is left for diplomacy.”
Each Russia and China condemned the U.S. assault. Araghchi mentioned he would journey to Moscow later Sunday to satisfy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Turkish Overseas Ministry assertion warned in regards to the threat of the battle spreading past the Center East to “a world stage.”
President Donald Trump held a presidential deal with Saturday night time to substantiate navy strikes “completely obliterated” three Iranian nuclear websites, calling for Iran’s Supreme Chief to “make peace” or face additional navy motion.
The Pentagon briefing didn’t present any new particulars about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Hegseth mentioned the timeline was the results of a schedule set by President Donald Trump for talks with Iran about its nuclear ambitions.
“Iran came upon” that when Trump “says 60 days that he seeks peace and negotiation, he means 60 days of peace and negotiation,” Hegseth mentioned. “In any other case, that nuclear program, that new nuclear functionality won’t exist. He meant it.”
That assertion was sophisticated because the White Home had recommended final Thursday that Trump might take as a lot as two weeks to find out whether or not to strike Iran or proceed to pursue negotiations. However the U.S. benefited from Iran’s weakened air defenses because it was in a position to conduct the assaults with out resistance from Iran.
“Iran’s fighters didn’t fly, and it seems that Iran’s floor to air missile methods didn’t see us all through the mission,” Caine mentioned.
Hegseth mentioned {that a} selection to maneuver numerous B-2 bombers from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday was meant to be a decoy to throw off Iranians. He added that the U.S. used different strategies of deception as properly, deploying fighters to guard the B-2 bombers that dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s web site at Fordo.
The strikes occurred Saturday between 6:40 pm and seven:05 pm in Washington, or roughly 2:10 am on Sunday in Iran.
