Latest news with #IranNuclearProgram
CBS News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Texas lawmakers in Congress discuss U.S. bombing of Iran, and whether to trust that nation won't rebuild its nuclear weapons program
Multiple U.S. and international agencies say the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear weapons sites, on top of Israel's attacks, have caused severe damage to the terrorist nation's program. Republican U.S. Representative Pat Fallon, 4th Congressional District in North Texas, told CBS News Texas that he fully supported President Trump's military operation. In an interview for Eye On Politics, he said, "I think President Trump took the right action. It was a decisive action. It's obvious that Iran's nuclear program is a lot worse off today than it was just a few weeks ago and this is the nation state that's the largest state sponsor of terror in the world. They're responsible for the death of over 600 U.S. service members in Iraq. So this is a regime that definitely needed to be curtailed and we don't want to see them go nuclear." In an interview for Eye On Politics, Democratic U.S. Representative Julie Johnson of Farmers Branch told CBS News Texas that the bombings were in the national interest for the U.S. and Israel. "We don't want a nuclearized Iran, right. That is a full stop. Nobody wants Iran to possess nuclear weapons. And so obviously, the President felt like they needed to intervene that Israel obviously had taken those steps. The men and women of our military executed the mission that the President had for them. Seems like they executed well. I'm thrilled that there's a cease fire. That's what we want. We want peace in the region." Distrust in Iran moving forward Neither Johnson nor Fallon said they trust Iran to do the right thing and not attempt to rebuild their nuclear weapons program. Johnson said, "I think we always have to be suspicious. They're a very hostile power to the United States. They're a hostile power to Israel and their right to exist. They have been an enemy of this country for many years, so I don't think we can trust them to do anything at this point." Fallon said, "I 100 percent do not trust the theocratic authoritarian regime in Tehran. Absolutely not. We know we cannot trust them, and we can't verify. So, any agreement that we have moving forward has to be verifiable with the International Atomic Energy Agency to give them that access to ensure that there's not centrifuges, that there's not enriching uranium to weapons grade things of that nature, and that's complete, open unfettered access. Otherwise, it's not worth the paper that it's written on any agreement with these folks." Vote to impeach President Trump After the President's decision to bomb Iran, U.S. Representative Al Green, D-Houston, filed a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump. While 79 Democrats in the House voted for the resolution, most of the Democratic members of Congress voted to table the resolution. They include Representative Johnson who explained, "We don't have the votes to impeach the President. And so, it's just simple as that. Democrats have tried that path. They've sung that song twice now unsuccessfully, and it just creates diversion from the message that Democrats have that's really permeating through the people of this country." Fallon criticized the Democrats. "That was an absurd vote. It's just throwing slop to the extreme left."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Key parts of Iran's nuclear program still intact, says Pentagon report disputed by Trump
WASHINGTON — The core components of Iran's nuclear program appear to remain intact after the June 21 U.S. attack, according to a U.S. official who has been briefed on the Defense Intelligence Agency's initial assessment. President Donald Trump and members of his administration have stated that Iran's nuclear program had been 'obliterated' in the airstrikes and have cast doubt on the report's conclusions. The report was based on intercepted communications and other intelligence sources in the 96 hours after the U.S. attack spearheaded by U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers dropping the world's most potent conventional weapon – the 30,000-pound, bunker-busting GBU-57. The U.S. attack, which included submarine-launched cruise missiles, caused extensive damage to infrastructure on the surface, according to the source who discussed the report's findings on condition of anonymity. Less certain is the amount of damage that was done Iran's deeply-buried nuclear facilities. But intelligence sources indicate that some of the Iranian nuclear program's core components – its centrifuges and enriched uranium – remain intact, the report found. The attack set back Iran's quest to create a nuclear weapon anywhere from six to 12 months, the source said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement, dismissed the contention that Iran's nuclear program as politically motivated. 'Based on everything we have seen — and I've seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons," Hegseth said. "Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target — and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the successful mission.' CNN first reported findings of the Pentagon intelligence agency's report. The bombs hit two key Iranian nuclear facilities – Fordow and Natanz – on June 21. A third facility, Isfahan, was struck by Tomahawk missiles fired from a U.S. Navy submarine, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the next morning. An assessment of the damage would take some time, he said. Trump dug in on his dismissal of the assessment's findings in his comments at a NATO summit in the Netherlands on June 25, comparing the impact of the strikes to the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. "It's destroyed," he said of Iran's nuclear program. Hegseth has said there was "low confidence" in the assessment, which was produced by the Pentagon's intelligence agency. But the official briefed on the report said only portions of the report were labeled low confidence. More: War of words? Trump hints at changing name of Defense Department "If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordow, you better get a big shovel and go really deep, because Iran's nuclear program is obliterated," he said. Some researchers and experts have disputed the intelligence assessment's conclusions that Iran's nuclear program is mostly intact. David Albright, president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, said in a social media post the DIA report is "hard to believe." Fordow "is likely severely damaged or destroyed" and Natanz "is likely destroyed and knocked out of operation" following the U.S. strikes, according to a report from the institute. At Isfahan, the main uranium conversion facility was "severely damaged" and tunnel entrances were collapsed, the report found. Trump also brushed aside concerns voiced by nuclear officials and experts over whether Iran was able to move its nuclear equipment beforehand and what happened to the enriched uranium stored in tunnels deep underground. "We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn't get to move," he said. Israel's military said on June 23 it had bombed routes to the Fordow facility to prevent Iran from removing any material. Trump has taken a victory lap over a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that put an end to 12 days of traded aerial strikes between the two countries. "We think it's over," he said at the NATO summit. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Key parts of Iran's nuclear program still intact: Pentagon assessment
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
6 days after US struck Iran, nuke program damage is still unclear: Live updates
It has been almost one week since U.S. bombers conducting "Operation Midnight Hammer" gouged massive holes into the Earth at Iranian nuclear development sites. The smoke has cleared from the rubble but not from the controversy surrounding just how much damage was done, how soon Iran could rebuild the program or even whether it will. Also not clear is when or whether the full extent of the damage will emerge. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. attack obliterated the Iranian program and prompted the ceasefire. However, a U.S. official briefed on the Defense Intelligence Agency's initial assessment told USA TODAY the core components of Iran's nuclear program appeared to remain intact. An outraged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday countered by calling the bombings a "resounding success" and accusing some media outlets of "trying to make the president look bad." Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also chimed in, saying the bombings "failed to achieve anything significant," forcing Israel and the U.S. to abandon their attacks. "They could not accomplish anything," he said. "They failed to achieve their goal. They exaggerate to conceal and suppress the truth." Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, took a middle road, saying the Iranian program suffered "enormous damage." He said three primary sites – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan – were hit hard but that others locations were not affected at all. The nuclear program can be rebuilt, he said, but he declined to put a timeline on it. "What I can tell you, and I think everyone agrees on this, is that there is very considerable damage," Grosso told French radio. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that lies between Oman and Iran, has remained open amid threats by Iran to shut it down after U.S. bombings. After the June 21 U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran's parliament backed a measure to shut down the strait, which could potentially result in higher fuel costs worldwide. The calls to close the Strait seem to have de-escalated in the days since a ceasefire deal was struck earlier this week. The strait is 21 miles at its narrowest point, and the shipping lane is 2 miles wide in either direction. About 20% of the world's oil and gas flow through it. Iran on Wednesday executed three Kurdish men accused of helping Israel's Mossad spy agency conduct assassinations inside the country. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the three had been caught trying to 'import equipment into the country under the guise of a shipment of alcoholic beverages.' The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said the three were executed at Urmia prison 'without a fair trial and based on confessions obtained under torture,' adding that Iran is conducting hangings as a form of suppression to cover up military failures in its war against Israel. Two of the men executed were kolbars, or border mules, 'who were arrested on charges of smuggling alcoholic beverages but were forced to confess to espionage for Israel," the group said. Tasnim reported the defendants had smuggled equipment that 'ultimately led to the assassination' of a government figure. The report did not specify whose assassination they had allegedly assisted. Israel killed numerous top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists in the opening salvo of its 12-day war with Iran. The three were convicted of 'enmity against God' and 'corruption on earth,' Tasnim reported. − Dan Morrison The Senate is expected to vote on a resolution introduced by Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia on Friday, which aims to curb Trump's use of military force in Iran. The measure "directs the President to terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces for hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a congressional declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force against Iran," its summary reads. It's one of at least three resolutions pending in Congress. Kaine introduced it days before Trump announced the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, warning that U.S. engagement in a "war against Iran" would be a "catastrophic blunder for this country," Kaine said on June 17. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to receive a classified briefing on the June 21 strike against Iran's nuclear facilities on Friday. Counterparts in the Senate were briefed on Thursday, and emerged predictably split along party lines on opinions over just how much damage the facilities sustained. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said Trump was 'deliberately misleading the public' about the extent of the damage, and said that a classified Pentagon report that indicates the bombing only set back the Iranian nuclear program by months appears to be accurate. "I just do not think the president was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated,' Murphy said. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, disagreed, saying after the briefing he believes the strikes set back Iran's nuclear efforts by years. 'They blew these places up in a major league way, major league setback, years, not months,' Graham said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut who's a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Iran remains a threat because it may still have the enriched uranium and centrifuges that could enable the regime to reconstitute its nuclear program. -Zac Anderson and Tom Vanden Brook In its military action dubbed "Operation Rising Lion," Israel targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, military leaders, nuclear experts and "disrupted all stages of nuclear production," Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said. The operation was launched June 13 "to remove an existential threat against the state of Israel," Defrin said, adding that Israel learned that Iran was "dangerously close" to obtaining a nuclear weapon and planned to destroy Israel. Israel had no other choice, he said. The operation targeted nuclear facilities, dozens of senior military commanders, 11 nuclear experts, knowledge hubs and research and development sites, Defrin said. Israel's military struck over 30 facilities that produce components for Iran's ballistic missile program, setting back the development of long-range missiles, he said. More than 30 senior commanders were "eliminated," Defrin said. The U.S. intelligence community has been consistent: It does not believe Iran has been building a nuclear weapon. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said as much when she testified to Congress about Iran's nuclear program in March. U.S. spy agencies, Gabbard said, 'continue to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003." Trump and Netanyahu dismissed that assessment. Trump has doubted U.S. intelligence agencies before − for example, over who was responsible for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi (it was Saudi Arabia). Netanyahu, meanwhile, has been talking about Iran's existential nuclear threat to Israel for as along as he's been in the public eye. Still, U.S. intelligence agencies, Trump, Netanyahu and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog − the International Atomic Energy Agency − agree on the issue of Iran's uranium. All believe Iran had developed a large stockpile, and at a sufficiently enriched level, to sustain a nuclear reaction that could be used in a bomb if it decided to. But how quickly Iran would have been able to "sprint to a nuclear weapon," as Gen. Michael E. Kurilla put it on June 10, is also a matter of dispute, and estimates ranged from one week to one year. −Kim Hjelmgaard Trump ordered the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities − Operation Midnight Hammer − effectively joining a war that Israel started on June 13 when it began bombing Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. Israel said it helped the U.S. coordinate and plan the strikes. Trump said all three sites were "totally obliterated." A Pentagon assessment was less definitive, and Iran says its nuclear program will hardly skip a beat. The actual damage and the impact on Iran's program could become more clear in coming days. The saga between Iran and the United States goes back seven decades and 13 presidents, a relationship that broke down after the people of Iran rose up in 1978 against a regime the United States helped install in 1953. While Trump's decision to bomb the country's nuclear sites has Americans on edge, the United States has a long history of punishing Iran's government, most often through sanctions. At the center of it all is the state of Israel, the United States' key ally in the region − one that consistently finds itself at war with Iran or with the Islamic extremist groups that are proxies for Iran's interests. For some key moments in the relationship between the U.S. and Iran, read more here. Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran-Israel live updates: Fate of Iran's nuclear program still unknown
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Former MLB manager Buck Showalter recalls security screening experience at US airport amid Iran tensions
President Donald Trump has said the Iran nuclear program sites targeted by American B-2 stealth bombers were "obliterated." The tense situation in Iran unfolded the same day former MLB manager Buck Showalter was traveling through New York City. Showalter, named the majors' Manager of the Year four times during his lengthy managerial career, recalled his experience during a recent appearance on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich." "Let me tell you what, note to yourself, try not to travel in or out New York City on the day your country bombed Iran. Holy moly, full alert," the former New York Mets skipper said when asked by Dakich whether he had traveled as tensions in Iran reached its latest heights. Showalter added he is a proponent of tight security measures at airports throughout the U.S. "The airport was a lot of fun, Dan, let's put it that way. You know what the people at the security … I want them to check everybody. "Be diligent about it. Take your time, I will stand in line a few more minutes, get it right. Go head run that bag back through again. Make him go through it again. Everybody complaining about security. At what? What do you want them to do. Ah, it's OK. Today is a free day. Just go right ahead." While Showalter's most recent managerial stint was with the Mets, he started his coaching career in the Bronx with the New York Yankees. He was eventually promoted and named the team's manager. Showalter also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. Although U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iranian sites were "destroyed," U.S. intelligence agencies continue to assess the damage. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's preliminary report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the strikes caused significant damage to the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites. However, the report also noted the sites were not believed to be destroyed. Israel claimed it has set back Iran's nuclear program by "many years," the AP reported. The latest satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed considerable damage to the three nuclear sites. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's telling of the Iran strikes is like a deleted scene from Top Gun 3. The truth is much murkier
The United States military has carried out some of the most complex and difficult missions in the history of warfare, from the storming of the beaches of Normandy to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. But its latest operation — convincing the American media that its mission to destroy Iran's nuclear capability was a success — is proving to be a challenging one. Despite President Donald Trump claiming that the attack had left the facilities "completely and totally obliterated,' questions have lingered about the efficacy of Operation Midnight Hammer. Those questions were given fuel by a leaked initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency that suggested the strikes did not destroy the core components of the country's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. To discredit what the White House called a 'flat-out wrong' assessment by 'a low-level loser in the intelligence community,' Trump dispatched the might of the U.S. military's top brass — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, to set the media straight. In the early morning press conference, Hegseth played the role of a furious school teacher scolding the Pentagon press corps for not praising the mission or those who carried it out sufficiently, and for focusing too much on the potential downsides — namely the possibility that the strikes did not sufficiently damage Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon while simultaneously making it more likely that it builds one in secret. 'It's like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad you have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes,' Hegeth said. 'You have to hope maybe they weren't effective, maybe the way the Trump administration is representing them isn't true.' Hegseth seemed to insist that wanting to know if Iran could build a nuke was simply unpatriotic. "There are so many aspects of what our brave men and women did, that because of the hatred of this press corps, are undermined because you people are trying to leak and spin that it wasn't successful,' he went on. Hegseth appeared angry that the journalists sent to cover the Pentagon spent too much time 'hunting for scandals' and not enough time praising the bravery of the bomber pilots who carried out this mission — a great irony considering he works for a president who won the White House in part by lambasting the media and political establishment for lying to the American public about the intelligence that led to the Iraq War. 'How many stories have been written about how hard it is to, I don't know, fly a plane for 36 hours. Has MSNBC done that story? Has Fox?' he asked incredulously, before calling on the press to 'wave an American flag' and 'be proud of what we accomplished.' The presentation from Hegseth and Caine at times felt like an extended deleted scene from Top Gun 3, a bewildering barrage of patriotic imagery — flags, bombs, brave pilots and the tears of their families as they returned home from their mission. You could almost hear the faint call of a bald eagle. Caine's description of the return of the bomber pilots, in particular, was emotive and touching, but did little to answer questions about Iran's nuclear capabilities. "The jets rejoined into a formation of four airplanes followed by a formation of three, and came up overhead Whiteman [air force base in Missouri] proudly in the traffic pattern, pitching out to land right over the base and landing to the incredible cheers of their families who sacrifice and serve right alongside their family members,' he said. 'There were a lot of flags and a lot of tears. One commander told me this is a moment in the lives of our families that they will never forget," Caine continued. The general then gave a lengthy tribute to the soldiers who manned the Patriot missile defense system, which shot down a barrage of Iranian missiles fired at U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to the strikes. 'You get orders from your higher headquarters to make sure that your missile batteries are pointed to the north. There are just a few other teammates,' he explained. 'It's hot. You're getting nervous, and you expect an attack outside of those Patriot vehicles. Your hot crew, which is one NCO and four additional soldiers, turns a key and relinquishes control of those missiles to that young lieutenant inside the vehicle, and you wait, you know that you're going to have approximately two minutes, 120 seconds, to either succeed or fail.' Hegseth and Caine's presentation was clearly ordered by a president who has been outraged at the doubting coverage over his decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. In the days s ince the leaked DIA intelligence report, Trump has fumed on social media at the press for daring to question the mission, calling reporters 'sick' and demanding their firing for 'trying to always make our Country look bad.' Hegseth noted that the leaked intelligence was merely preliminary, and that subsequent assessments had determined the mission was a resounding success. He cited John Radcliffe, the director of the CIA, and Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, who respectively described the nuclear program as 'severely damaged' and 'destroyed'. 'Time and time again — I can go down the list, those that understand, those that see, those that do proper assessments, recognize that what the United States military did was historic,' he continued. Caine, for his part, gave an in-depth explanation about the capabilities of the 30,000 pound bombs that were dropped on the Fordow nuclear facility, which has become a focus of the questions. He told the story of a Defense Threat Reduction Agency officer and a colleague who 'lived and breathed this single target Fordow, a critical element of Iran's covert nuclear weapons program' for more than 15 years. 'He studied the geology. He watched the Iranians dig it out. He watched the construction, the weather, the discarded material, the geology, the construction materials, where the materials came from,' he explained. 'He looked at the vent shaft, the exhaust shaft, the electrical systems, the environmental control systems, every nook, every crater, every piece of equipment going in and every piece of equipment going out. They literally dreamed about this target at night.' If the press conference was designed to alleviate the anger of the president, it appeared to have worked. 'One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!' Trump wrote on Truth Social after it had ended. But although it may have satisfied Trump, it failed to answer key questions the public have about Iran's nuclear program and its ability to build a bomb. In fact, those legitimate questions were batted away as an annoyance by Hegseth. Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin tried to ask Hegseth — himself a former Fox News host — whether it was possible that Iran had preemptively moved its highly enriched uranium ahead of the airstrikes. 'Of course, we're watching every single aspect,' he responded. 'But, Jennifer, you've been about the worst. The one who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says. I'm familiar.' When another reporter followed up on the question, he said he was "not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be … moved or otherwise," suggesting it would have been destroyed in the strikes. But that was not the assessment delivered by Vice President JD Vance in the days after the strike, when he acknowledged an estimated 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium — which could eventually be enriched to weapons-grade levels — was still in Iran's hands. Nor is that the assessment of European intelligence agencies, who, according to a report in the Financial Times, have delivered preliminary reports to their governments that suggest Iran moved its stockpile away from its nuclear facilities before the strikes, leaving it largely intact. Much like Wile E. Coyote, Trump appears to believe the bombs dropped on the Fordow facility were so large that they couldn't possibly have failed. But a relentless focus on the Fordow nuclear site that was struck by bunker busters has blinded the administration to other lingering questions — other sites, other equipment that would aid Iran in building a bomb, that is potentially still out there. Furthermore, the strikes will only have increased the political will to build a weapon, if it wasn't there before. After watching the presser from California, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute, became even more convinced that the mission was a failure. 'I think it's very telling that they don't have answers to what are very simple questions," he told The Independent. "They can't tell you what happened to the highly enriched uranium, and they have tried a million excuses. They can't, or won't, engage with any of the questions about the facilities or what happened to the equipment,' he said. Trump has now made it abundantly clear to his intelligence agencies and the U.S. military that he believes the strikes were a resounding success and that anyone who questions that narrative is insubordinate. That may help Trump battle negative headlines in the short term, but it likely won't help figure out just what capability Iran retained after the strikes.
