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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected claims that Iran evacuated nuclear materials before last weekend's airstrikes, insisting the materials remained in place during the operation targeting Iranian nuclear sites.
"The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Nothing was taken out of the facility. It would take too long, be too dangerous, and be very heavy and hard to move!"
His statement came shortly after a Pentagon news conference where US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, "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."
At the same press briefing, Hegseth defended the strikes and criticized early media coverage of a leaked preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment, suggesting the bombing campaign had only delayed Iran's nuclear program by several months.
"Whether it's fake news CNN, MSNBC, or the New York Times, there's been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment," he said. "The document was leaked because someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn't successful."
Hegseth added, "President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating—choose your word—obliterating, destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities."
Trump posted shortly after, "One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' news conferences I have ever seen!" He also attacked the media, stating, "The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors and everyone else!"
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine detailed the strike on the Fordow facility, explaining that the U.S. targeted the site’s ventilation shafts with six weapons, all of which "went exactly where they were intended to go."
"In the days preceding the attack against Fordow, the Iranians attempted to cover the shafts with concrete to try to prevent an attack. I won’t share the specific dimensions of the concrete cap, but you should know that we know what the dimensions of those concrete caps were," Caine said.
"The planners had to account for this; they accounted for everything. The cap was forcibly removed by the first weapon, and the main shaft was uncovered," he added.
Caine explained, "The main shaft was uncovered for weapons two, three, four, and five, and they were tasked to enter the main shaft, move down into the complex at greater than 1000 feet per second, and explode in the mission space. Weapon number six was designed as a flex weapon."
Caine confirmed, "The weapons functioned as designed, meaning they exploded. We know this through other intelligence means."
While CIA Director John Ratcliffe said “credible intelligence” showed Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged,” the earlier DIA report suggested the strikes may have set Iran back only by a few months.
Ratcliffe cited new intelligence from a "historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also supported that assessment, stating that "new intelligence confirms" Iran's nuclear facilities were "destroyed."
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that centrifuges at Fordow are "no longer operational," attributing the damage to the intensity and vibration of the strikes.
"What we saw in the pictures corresponds more or less to the enrichment hall; that's what's been hit," he said.
Despite the official denials, satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed unusual vehicle activity at Fordow before the strikes. Iranian officials acknowledged the Fordow facility had been cleared.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the 60% enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the attack.
Hegseth repeatedly denied any such movement had occurred, telling reporters, "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."
When Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin pressed him further, Hegseth said, "Of course, we're watching every single aspect," while criticizing her reporting: "You've been about the worst, the one who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says."
Caine deflected questions about whether he would describe the sites as "obliterated," stating, "We don’t grade our own homework."
Gen. Caine also revealed that the US and Qatari forces repelled a retaliatory missile strike on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, calling it “the largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history.”
“These awesome humans, along with their Qatari brothers and sisters in arms, stood between a salvo of Iranian missiles and the safety of Al Udeid,” he said.
Caine described the strike, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, as "the culmination of 15 years of incredible work." He said intelligence and weapons planning had targeted Fordow since 2009.
"Weapons were planned, designed, and delivered to ensure they achieved the effects in the mission space," he added.
The 12-day war ended Tuesday after President Trump announced a cease-fire.
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