Latest news with #USBombing
News24
20 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
Trump says he backs idea of inspectors checking Iran nuclear sites
President Donald Trump said on Friday he would like inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or another respected source to be able to inspect Iran's nuclear sites after they were bombed last weekend. At a press conference in the White House briefing room, Trump said he believes the sites were 'obliterated.' He has rejected any suggestion that damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said. But Trump said he would support the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, going in to check the sites that were bombed. The agency's chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday that ensuring the resumption of IAEA inspections was his top priority, as none had taken place since Israel began bombing on 13 June. However, Iran's Parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, indicated on Friday that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the agency for visits to Iranian nuclear sites. Trump also said he does not believe Iran wants to still seek a nuclear weapon after US and Israeli bombing raids. He said Iran still wants to meet about the way forward. The White House had said on Thursday that no meeting between the US and an Iranian delegation had been scheduled thus far. Trump also said on Friday he would 'absolutely' bomb Iran again if intelligence indicated the country was still able to enrich uranium to nuclear weapons-grade. Asked at the White House press conference whether he would consider fresh air strikes if last week's sorties were not successful in ending Iran's nuclear ambitions, he said: Trump said Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'got beat to hell' in the hostilities involving the United States and Israel and that 'it was a great time to end it.'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Evening Edition: The Pentagon Shares Damage Assessment Of Iranian Nuclear Facilities
The total damage to three Iranian nuclear sites after U.S. bombing strikes continues to be assessed, the Pentagon says the mission was a complete success stopping Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a press briefing using various descriptions as – destroying, obliterating, decimating – the Iranian potential to enrich weapons grade uranium. There have been media reports and other military experts that question the claims the sites were destroyed or just set back by months or years. Fox's John Saucier speaks to Jennifer Griffin, Chief National Security Correspondent for FOX News Channel, who says no one denies the success of the mission but the overall assessment of the damage is still being made. Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Intelligence Agencies Race to Evaluate Iran's Nuclear Program
The Pentagon's top leaders held a news conference today to celebrate the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said it took 15 years of planning to execute the strikes, which were carried out by pilots in seven B-2 bombers that launched 30,000-pound weapons down Iran's ventilation shafts. When asked whether the military believed that the nuclear sites had been obliterated, as President Trump has repeatedly claimed, Caine said he would leave that to the intelligence community. Standing beside Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that the initial assessment from his department's intelligence agency, which suggested that Iran's program was set back only a few months, was a 'low confidence' report. Hegseth instead highlighted comments from the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, who said that the centrifuges at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant in Iran are 'no longer operational.' In a video message that appeared to be his first public statement since the strikes, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, congratulated Iranians for what he called a victory over Israel and the U.S. Khamenei, 86, had not been heard from publicly in a week, raising questions about his health and whereabouts. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Days after Iran strikes, Trump administration to brief Congress
Four Trump administration officials will brief senators Thursday afternoon on the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, as lawmakers and the White House clash over access to intelligence about the strikes. Senate Democrats have pressed the administration for days to fill them in on the extent to which strikes damaged Iran's nuclear program. The White House plans to limit how much classified intelligence it shares with Congress after the leak of a preliminary intelligence assessment this week undercut President Donald Trump's claims about the impact. The Trump administration has pushed back on the leaked Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, which found the strikes had set Iran's nuclear program back by just months. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Wednesday that several Iranian nuclear facilities had been 'destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.' And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the leaked assessment as 'low-confidence' and cited the Israel Atomic Energy Commission's determination that the strikes set back Iran's nuclear program by years. The briefing will give senators the chance to question Ratcliffe and Hegseth behind closed doors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are also set to join the briefing. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is not expected to join. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said Wednesday that he wanted to know how much enriched uranium Iran possesses and how long it would take the country to build a nuclear weapon. He also called on the White House to 'immediately undo' its plans to limit intelligence sharing with Congress. 'The administration has no right to stonewall Congress on matters of national security,' Schumer said on the Senate floor. 'Senators deserve information, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening right now abroad.' Democrats have fumed that the administration has not moved faster to fill in lawmakers on the strikes, but they have split on how to respond to them. Most House Democrats voted to dismiss an effort by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to impeach Trump for striking Iran without consulting Congress — but 79 Democrats voted to advance it. 'Yes, it's probably wrong for the president not to come to Congress,' Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), the former House speaker, told reporters this week when asked about the impeachment effort. But 'we can't ignore what is at stake, which is our national security to make sure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon and our friendship with Israel.' The Senate is set to vote this week on a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) to block Trump from using military force against Iran without congressional authorization, but its prospects are uncertain after Trump helped broker a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel, ending the conflict at least temporarily. No Republicans have committed publicly to voting for it. And Kaine has said he expects one Democrat — Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), an outspoken supporter of Israel — to oppose it. Fetterman defended the effectiveness of the strikes ahead of the briefing. 'To those who were 'unimpressed' or borderline gloating on a leak: Operation Midnight Hammer worked,' Fetterman wrote Thursday, citing comments from Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency on French radio that the centrifuges at Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility were no longer operational. 'I've been calling for and fully supported those strikes, and it made the world safer. It should transcend partisan politics.' Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Trump-Iran live: President Trump teases 'irrefutable' bombing announcement; Iran approves plan to shut out UN's nuclear watchdog
Donald Trump says defence secretary Pete Hegseth will hold a "major news conference" today about the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. He also says the US will "save" Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from a "witch hunt". Listen to Trump 100 below as you scroll.
