Defense.Live- Pentagon Briefing Details on Iran Nuclear Strikes: Uncertainty Remains Over Uranium Stockpile : Hegseth’s Pentagon Press Conference

Introduction

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a comprehensive briefing on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. ET, providing detailed information about what the Pentagon dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer”.

Speaking alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, Hegseth characterized the strikes as an “incredible and overwhelming success” that “devastated the Iranian nuclear program”.

Hegseth declared that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,” echoing President Trump’s earlier statements about the complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities.

He emphasized that the operation was “focused, powerful, and clear,” targeting three key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The Defense Secretary stressed that the strikes were “intentionally limited” to nuclear targets and did not aim for regime change. “The president authorized a precise mission to eliminate threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear initiative,”

Hegseth stated, while noting that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”.

Operation Midnight Hammer: Military Details

General Dan Caine provided extensive operational details about what he called “the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history”. The complex 18-hour mission involved over 125 aircraft and utilized sophisticated deception tactics.

Mission Timeline and Execution

The operation commenced at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday when seven B-2 Spirit bombers departed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Caine revealed that some bombers flew west into the Pacific as decoys, while the main strike force of seven B-2s “quietly proceeded eastward with minimal communication throughout the 18-hour mission”.

The strikes employed 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs weighing 30,000 pounds each—marking their first-ever operational use.

Additionally, over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from submarines, targeting the Isfahan facility.

Damage Assessment

Caine reported that “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction”.

However, he cautioned that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there,” acknowledging that final assessments would take considerable time.

The Pentagon confirmed that Iran’s air defenses failed to detect the strike force, with Caine stating: “Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission”.

Uncertainty Over Iran’s Uranium Stockpile

Despite the Pentagon’s claims of success, significant uncertainty remains regarding the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile—a critical component of any nuclear weapons program.

Isfahan Storage Concerns

The most significant questions center on the Isfahan facility, which is believed to house approximately 60% of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile underground.

Unlike the other two targeted sites, B-2 bombers did not deploy large “bunker-buster” bombs at Isfahan, instead relying on submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies analyzed satellite imagery and concluded that damage at Isfahan appears limited to surface structures. “This is an incomplete strike,”

Lewis remarked, warning that “what remains is the entire stock of 60% uranium which is stored in tunnels at Isfahan that remain undamaged”.

IAEA Assessment

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi provided a measured assessment of the damage.

While confirming that “entrances to tunnels designated for the storage of enriched material” at Isfahan were struck, Grossi emphasized uncertainty about underground damage.

Regarding the heavily fortified Fordow facility, Grossi stated: “There are clear indications of impacts, but as for the assessment for the degree of damage underground, on this we cannot pronounce ourselves”.

He noted that “no one could tell you how much it has been damaged”.

Conflicting Official Statements

U.S. officials have provided conflicting assessments about Iran’s uranium stockpile status.

Vice President JD Vance acknowledged uncertainty, stating that the administration would need to “work in the coming weeks to ensure” that Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium are addressed.

However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed confidence that Iran had not relocated its uranium stockpile prior to the strikes, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I doubt they moved it.

They can’t move anything right now inside of Iran”. Rubio assessed that “a lot of 60% enriched uranium buried deep under the ground there in Isfahan” remained at the facility during the strikes.

Iranian Claims and Radiation Monitoring

Iranian officials have downplayed the damage, with Hassan Abedini, deputy political director of Iran’s state broadcaster, claiming that Iran “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out”.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization reported no radiation contamination at any of the targeted sites.

The IAEA confirmed that radiation levels near the affected sites had not increased, stating: “Following the strikes on three sites in Iran – including Fordow – the IAEA can confirm that no increase in radiation levels has been reported at this time”.

uranium stockpile has significant implications for the operation’s strategic success.

As Lewis noted, “As long as they retain that uranium stockpile, they still possess a nuclear program that could potentially be weaponized”.

The incomplete destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities may prompt calls for additional military action.

Intelligence sources familiar with the Trump administration’s objectives indicated that addressing Isfahan’s underground facilities, which likely remain operational, is crucial to prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear weapons capabilities.

Iran has vowed “everlasting consequences” for the strikes and resumed attacks on Israel the same day, suggesting the conflict is far from over.

The success of Operation Midnight Hammer may ultimately depend not on the immediate damage inflicted, but on whether Iran’s nuclear program has been sufficiently degraded to prevent weaponization—a question that remains unanswered.