On Thursday, the Pentagon announced new details on how the US prepared for a marathon bombing mission against three Iranian nuclear sites, the crew that conducted the bold weekend raid, and how Iran has bolstered one of the sites that holds important aspects of its nuclear program.
At a morning briefing that President Donald Trump promised in advance, “It’s interesting and unrefutable,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said the United States had undertaken “the most secret and complicated military operation in history” without providing many details. General Dan Kane’s co-director chairman laid out compelling details about how the highly refined mission took place.
However, the briefing did not provide new information in support of the president’s claim that he “exterminated” Iran’s nuclear program.
Caine revealed previously unknown details about the bombing crews who participated in the mission, as well as extensive preparations made throughout the military.
So many experts were working on designing bombs that achieved their goals, and at one point they became “the largest user of supercomputer time in the United States.”
The crew that flew on the 37-hour mission included both male and female, ranked by captain to colonel. They included active Air Force members and members of the Missouri Air National Guard. Most were graduates of the Air Force Weapons School, an elite academy in the Nevadan Desert.
“When the crew went to work on Friday, they said goodbye to their loved ones. “Late Saturday night, their family realized what was going on.”
When the bombers returned to Missouri, the crew members “were there, the flags fly and tears flow,” he added. “I have chills and I’m literally talking about this.”
A few days before the mission, Iran tried to strengthen its nuclear facility in Fordou, which is embedded deep in the mountains by covering the ventilation shaft that is penetrated by American bombs with concrete.
“We don’t share certain dimensions of the concrete cap,” Kane said. “But you need to know that you know what the dimensions of these specific caps are. The planner had to explain this. They explained it all.”
Despite what required last-minute adjustments, Kane claimed the mission went as planned, claiming that the massive 30,000-pound bunkerbuster bomb worked “designed” during its first use in combat.
“We know that the following jets saw the first weapons function,” the general said.
During the briefing, Caine played the video and showed how the giant bombs worked. The slow motion video showed a bomb penetrating what appeared to be a type of bunker. A orange glow emanates from the open passages visible on the side of the facility, followed by a large fireball.
“Of course, no one had fallen into the target, so there’s no video of the target,” Cain said.
Approximately 44 soldiers and two patriot missile batteries were tasked with protecting nearby bases from potential Iranian retaliation.
Military authorities provided some new information on the strike programme, but they did not provide new evidence of their effectiveness against Iran’s nuclear programme. Both Caine and Hegseth mentioned the intelligence agency’s questions about it
Comments from both Caine and Hegseth focus on the Fordow nuclear facility. Two other targeted facilities, Natanz and Isfahan, were not mentioned.
The full extent of damages at the facility remains unknown. In Fordow, Hegseth pointed out that someone would need a “big shovel” to fully evaluate the interior of the facility, adding the damage that “no one is out there.” Kane said the co-chief did not perform a “designed” battlefield damage assessment and referenced specific questions regarding the extent of the strike’s effectiveness to the US intelligence reporting community.
“We don’t grade homework,” the general said. “The intelligence news community does that.”
An early assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, reported by CNN and many other outlets, suggested that the strike would not destroy core elements of Iran’s nuclear program, and would likely only regain it in a few months. CIA director John Ratcliffe later said his agency learned that the facility had been demolished and “it would have to be rebuilt for years.”
Hegseth said the initial DIA assessment could take weeks for clear photos to emerge about the effectiveness of the strike and its impact on Iran’s nuclear program. He said it was a “historically successful attack,” but that assessments of its success are still ongoing.
Hegus continued to defend Trump’s claims, avoiding questions about how Iran’s nuclear program was “abstracted” and how the president reached that conclusion hours after the bomb was dropped.
“We can assure you that the Chair and his staff, the intelligence reporting community, staff and others will do all the assessments they need to make sure the mission was actually successful,” Heggs said.
Kane’s description of the mission provided some of the most specific details the US gave about preparations to take on the raid, including human elements that personalised the bombing crew and other service members who participated, but Hegses was more cleric and gained political tone after the mission, criticising media reports.
It’s a familiar role for Hegustes, long known as the vocal defender of Trump on camera.
On Thursday, it looked like his boss was watching. Trump downplayed the idea on social media after reporters raised questions about whether vehicles seen outside the facility would indicate vehicles seen outside the facility moved out of the facility before the attacks had preemptively moved enriched uranium from the facility.
“The cars and light trucks on the site were concrete workers’ cars trying to hide the top of the shaft,” the president said in the Truth Society. “Nothing was taken out of the facility.”
Zachary Cohen, Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand of CNN contributed the report.