Trump-Iran live: Hegseth defends success of US strikes on Iran; Iranian leader claims US suffered 'resounding slap'

Fordow centrifuges 'no longer operational', nuclear watchdog chief says

The centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear site in Iran are "no longer operational" following the US strikes, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has said.

Grossi said his team could deduct on the basis of satellite images, the consequences of the bombing over the weekend.

"Given the power of these bombs and technical characteristics of the centrifuges, we do know that they are no longer operational, simply because of the vibration, which causes considerable, important physical damage," the nuclear watchdog chief told French radio station Radio France Internationale.

"I know the plant very well, it's a network of tunnels with different types of activity.

"What we saw on the pictures corresponds more or less to the enrichment hall, that's what’s been hit."

We reported earlier that Iran had approved a bill to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (see post at 11.01am).

That came after Grossi said getting inspectors back to Iran's nuclear facilities to assess the impact of US and Israeli military strikes was his "top priority".

Trump: One of the greatest news conferences I've ever seen

Donald Trump has shared some comments in the last few moments on the news briefing by Pete Hegseth, calling it "one of the greatest" news conferences he had ever seen.

Separately, he also said nothing was taken out of the facility at the Iran nuclear site...

Analysis: 'Defensive secretary' furious at media and was right about one thing

Pete Hegseth set out to scold the media and herald the US military for what he said were successful strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The US defence secretary was taking issue with coverage of Saturday's operation, which a preliminary intel report suggested didn't cause the "obliteration" Donald Trump quickly described.

"Was he the defence secretary or the defensive secretary? He was certainly angry, that much is true," our US correspondent Mark Stone said on air a short while ago.

"Hegseth - former Fox News host now turned politician and a man who doesn't mince his words - he was very clear that his focus today was to blame the media for what he said was somehow them questioning the ability of the pilots and the crews that carried out that mission."

Stone adds: "For what it's worth, I've not read a single bit of news from the US media that has been critical of those soldiers and airmen and women who carried out that strike on Saturday night."

But what is also "definitely the case", he added, is the leaked report was incomplete.

"And Hegseth pointed that out. It was a preliminary, low-confidence report," he said.

"I think it's fair to say that was not necessarily made clear in the flurry of headlines that came out a couple of days ago when that report was leaked."

Trump's NATO vibes

One point that may have been missed through all this, Stone added, is Trump's apparent change following the NATO summit yesterday.

"Donald Trump came away from that summit genuinely with a different vibe to him," he said.

"He seems to now have recognised that Europe is prepared to pay its own way, is prepared to look after its own security.

"I think it was sort of a change moment for Donald Trump. The only caveat is he does tend to change his mind quite a lot."

'We don't play your little games': Hegseth bats away question about female pilot

A reporter at the Pentagon asks Pete Hegseth when he will acknowledge that one of the female pilots on the mission was a woman.

"The early messages you sent out only congratulated the boys," the reporter says.

Hegseth says "boys and bombers" is "a common phrase".

"I will keep saying things like that whether they are men or women," he adds.

"I am very proud of  that female pilot, just like I am very proud of those male pilots.

"I don't care if it is a male or female in that cockpit. And the American people don't care.

"It's the obsession with race and gender. We don't do that anymore, we don't play your little games."

Hegseth rows with reporter over whether enriched uranium was moved before strike

Taking questions still, defence secretary Pete Hegseth was repeatedly pressed over whether enriched uranium was moved from the Fordow facility before the US strikes.

This came about because satellite images from before the US strike showed trucks lining up outside Fordow.

Things got so heated that he ended up arguing with Jennifer Griffin, Fox News' chief national security correspondent.

Asked initially about it by a first reporter, he said: "There's nothing that I've seen that suggests that what we didn't hit exactly what we wanted to hit, in those locations."

Quizzed a second time if he was certain none of the uranium was moved by Griffin, he said: "Of course, we're watching every single aspect."

However, he took issue with Griffin's previous reporting, saying: "You've been about the worst, the one who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says."

Griffin pushed back, defending her reporting and pointing out how accurately she was writing specifics of the attacks soon after the strike took place.

She said: "I reported on the ventilation shafts, and in fact, I was first to describe the B-2 bombers, the refuelling, the entire mission with great accuracy."

Then asked a third time about whether the enriched uranium was hit by another separate reporter, Hegseth said: "So 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."

For context: Satellite images emerged on Saturday showing lines of trucks outside the Fordow facility, raising questions over whether Tehran knew the strikes were coming.

Also, as General Caine said earlier, Iran did take some action to protect Fordow, putting concrete caps on the ventilation shafts ahead of time.

'When someone leaks something they do it with an agenda'

After the US strikes, officials said it would take some time to comment on what may or may not still be at the site in Iran.

Asked by a journalist what has now changed to make Washington provide more detail, Pete Hegseth says there was "irresponsible reporting based on leaks".

"When someone leaks something, they do it with an agenda," he says.

He says this then starts a "new cycle".

"That is what has changed," he adds.

'All six weapons hit Fordow exactly where we wanted' - general explains method of US strikes

General Dan Caine has detailed the specifics of the US attack on Fordow now, and how they penetrated into the nuclear site.

Caine said that Washington targeted ventilation shafts.

"All six weapons at each vent at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go," he said.

Caine said that Iran, seemingly aware of the coming attack, tried to cover the ventilation shafts with concrete.

"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," he said.

The caps were destroyed by the first strikes, leaving the shaft uncovered for the following attacks.

Caine went on: "The main shaft was uncovered for weapons two, three, four, five, and they were tasked to enter the main shaft, [and] moved down into the complex at greater than 1000ft per second and exploded in the mission space. 

"Weapon number six was designed as a flex weapon to allow us to cover if one of the preceding jets, or one of the preceding weapons, did not work."

'We don't grade our own homework'

Later, asked if he would share Hegseth's description of "obliterated", Caine dodged the question, saying: "We don't grade our own homework."

Instead, earlier in the news conference, Caine said that trailing jets saw the first weapons explode and the pilots said: "This was the brightest explosion I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight."

'Operation Midnight Hammer was culmination of 15 years of work'

General Dan Caine says that Operation Midnight Hammer was the "culmination of 15 years of incredible work".

Talking about the weapons used, he says in the case of Fordow, the US team understood with a high degree of confidence the elements of the target required to kill its functions.

"Weapons were planned, designed and delivered to ensure they achieved the effects in the mission space," he says.

He also explains that in 2009, a defence threat reduction agency officer was brought into a vault at an undisclosed location and briefed on something going on in Iran for security purposes. 

"He was shown some photos and some highly classified intelligence of what looks like a major construction project in the mountains of Iran," he says.

 "He was tasked to study this facility, work with the intelligence community to understand it, and he was soon joined by an additional teammate for more than 15 years.

"This officer and his teammate lived and breathed this single target - Fordow."

He also says the agent "watched the construction, the weather, the discard material, the geology and the construction materials".

Largest Patriot missile salvo in US history defended Qatari base, says general

Pete Hegseth has given the floor to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.

He's talking through the Iranian attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday, which he says was defended by "unsung heroes".

Washington got warnings of an attack early that day, he says, and the military began to take the bulk of its forces at al Udeid bases off site.

This left 44 soldiers, he says, aged between 21 and 28.

At around 7.30pm local time, Iran began its attack.

"Round after round of Patriot missiles are ejected from their canisters by an initial launch charge," he says, describing the base's defence rockets.

"You can feel this in your body, if you've ever been around a Patriot taking a shot."

'Bunch' of missiles fired to defend base

Caine says they believe this was the "largest single Patriot engagement in US military history".

"I'm not going to tell you how many rounds were shot, but it was a bunch," he adds.

"There's reports of something getting through... what we do know is there was a lot of metal flying around... and the debris from those Patriots hitting the ground.

"And yet our US air defenders had only seconds to make complex decisions with strategic impact.

"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.

"They are the unsung heroes of the 21st-century United States Army." 

He then adds: "Simply stated, they absolutely crushed it."

'Destroyed, defeated, obliterated - choose your word': Hegseth rails against 'fake news' on Iran strikes

Throughout the news conference, Pete Hegseth has repeatedly railed against the US media and the "fake news".

The defence secretary has often criticised mainstream US outlets in the past, and taken issue with what they write about his boss Donald Trump, himself and the administration.

This is a common tactic in Trump's playbook.

In a lengthy rant, he called reports about US strikes on Iran's nuclear capability failing untrue.

He read out reports from several sources - mostly Israeli and American - claiming the contrary.

As he read out reports on the alleged destruction of Iranian nuclear infrastructure, he asked "if any of these quotes made their way into The New York Times or The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN?"

'You cheer against Trump'

He went on: "Because you and I mean specifically you, the press, specifically you, the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard. 

"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. You have to hope maybe they weren't effective."

He also said the press should "find time" to report more on Trump's work at NATO where they agreed the 5% military spending pledge (see previous post).

But again, Hegseth returned to being unhappy with the media's reporting about the strikes on Iran. 

He singled out a number of outlets and said they were "hunting for scandals" and "trying to find wedges".

After taking issue with reports questioning the US strikes, he said: "Destroyed, defeated, obliterated - choose your word, this was a historically successful attack."

Then he threw over to General Dan Caine - chair of the US joint chiefs of staff.

Hegseth hails Trump's 'historic' achievement at NATO

 Pete Hegseth, who has recently arrived back from the NATO summit, is now addressing reporters at the Pentagon.

He says what Donald Trump achieved at The Hague yesterday was "game-changing" and "historic". 

The US defence secretary says Trump achieved a "shift in burden sharing".

"He said NATO needs to pay up. They started in the first term and here in his second term, we've accelerated that," he adds.

-SKY NEWS