U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is holding a Pentagon press conference Thursday at President Donald Trump’s direction to counter recent intelligence reports questioning the scale of damage from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth opened his remarks by sharply criticizing the media, accusing outlets like CNN and The New York Times of “breathlessly” exaggerating the significance of the early report and “hunting for scandals all the time.”
The briefing followed Trump’s angry response to a leaked memo from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which characterized the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities as “moderate to severe” but ultimately assessed that the program had only been set back by several months.
The report noted that while Fordow—the deeply buried uranium enrichment site—was likely rendered temporarily inoperable, many centrifuges appeared largely intact and damage was limited primarily to above-ground installations. U.S. officials stressed that the DIA memo was based on intelligence gathered within 24 hours of the strike and was not coordinated with other agencies.
Trump rejected the assessment outright, taking to social media to accuse the press of undermining the mission and disrespecting the American pilots who carried it out. “These Patriots were very upset,” he wrote. “After 36 hours of dangerous flying over enemy territory, they knew the success was huge—then they read fake news.” He promised the Pentagon briefing would offer “irrefutable” evidence to support his version of events and pledged to “fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots.”
In contrast, CIA Director John Ratcliffe issued a brief statement Wednesday, asserting his agency had obtained “credible evidence” showing Iran’s nuclear program sustained “severe damage” that would take years to rebuild. He said the intelligence collection effort was ongoing.
Hegseth called the strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities “highly successful.” “President Trump directed one of the most complex and covert operations in history,” he said. “It was a resounding success that led to a ceasefire and ended the 12-Day War.”
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Hegseth echoed that message, downplaying the leaked DIA findings and asserting that more comprehensive intelligence suggested significantly greater damage. He also pivoted to highlight broader administration achievements, including increased European defense spending and historic highs in U.S. military recruitment. “The media refuses to acknowledge progress,” he said, “and instead chooses to amplify partial assessments while ignoring the full picture.”
Answering questions from the media, Hegseth said that the U.S. is unaware of any intelligence indicating Iran moved highly enriched uranium ahead of the strikes.
The briefing followed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s televised address Thursday. Khamenei called the attacks a staged American “show” and boasted of victory over Israel and the U.S. He claimed the nuclear facilities suffered less damage than Trump claimed and that Tehran would “quickly” rebuild them.
Hegseth’s Pentagon appearance aims to solidify the U.S. account amid conflicting intelligence narratives and mounting international scrutiny of the actual impact of the strikes.