Top US officials held a “major” news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday amid continued debate about ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’. President Donald Trump had earlier insisted that the presser would be led by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and “prove both interesting and irrefutable”. The administration has faced extensive scrutiny over its intervention in the Israel-Iran war — with many debating the true extent of damage incurred by Iranian nuclear facilities after the US airstrikes.

Senators are also set to meet with top national security officials on Thursday as many question President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The Senate is also expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again. Democrats, and some Republicans, have said that the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress and they want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorised the attacks. 

Pentagon Press Briefing live updates:

  • Hegseth spars with former Fox News colleague
  • Hegseth targets ‘biased leaks to biased publications’

“If you want to know what’s going on at Fordow, you better go there and get a big shovel,” he said.

  • ‘No intelligence that Iran moved highly enriched uranium’

“Unaware of any intelligence that highly enriched uranium was moved by Iran ahead of strikes,” Hegseth said.

  • US Secretary of Defense cites Gabbard, Ratcliffe statements

Hegseth cited statements statements released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe during the presser. The duo had vehemently refuted an initial US intelligence assessment that said the strikes had only managed to set back the Iranian nuclear program by months.

Ratcliffe released a statement saying the nuclear program “has been severely damaged” and specific facilities “were destroyed” on Wednesday.

“New intelligence confirms what POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed,” Gabbard wrote on social media.

  • Did US strikes cause substantial damage? Top military general says…

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said the attacks had gone exactly as planned without declining to assess the level of damage. He also noted that explosions from the GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs had occurred underground — which made it harder to assess the results. Caine however confirmed that six of the bombs had struck the key Fordow nuclear facility as planned.

“A point that I want to make here, the Joint Force does not do VDA by design, we don’t grade our own homework; the intelligence community does,” he said.

  • Top military official shares details about Iranian missile attack on US base

Top US military official General Dan Caine also recounted in detail the Iranian missile attacks on a US. military base in Qatar. The description from the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman appeared aimed at shifting the conversation from questions about political leadership and overall strategy to heroic narratives about individual US service members. He said roughly 44 American service members responsible for defending the entire base were present as rounds of Patriot missiles were launched. Caine says Qatar joined in the successful American defense of what he called the largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history.

  • Trump chimes in: ‘CNN may fire those who…’

“Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Lets see what happens?” the US President wrote on Truth Social.

He also shared a separate message urging people to watch the press conference.

  • Hegseth minimises intelligence assessment

The defense secretary minimized the importance of a preliminary intelligence assessment that concluded U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities had damaged but not permanently destroyed them. Hegseth also scolded the media for “breathlessly” focusing on an assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency even though the DIA is part of the Defense Department. He said the assessment was preliminary and had not been coordinated with other agencies in the intelligence community. He said other intelligence assessments have been more bullish in their assessments on damage of the sites.

  • Hegseth says media coverage coloured by ‘hate’ against President Trump

“Because you cheer against Trump so hard, in your DNA and in your blood, cheer Against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad, you have to cheer against the efficacy of the US strikes,” Hegseth accused.

The remarks came hours after the POTUS lashed out at CNN and some other US media channels over their coverage of the US airstrikes and its effectiveness.

  • ‘We significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear site’

Top US officials doubled down on their claims of ‘significantly damaging Iranian nuclear sites’ during a press conference on Thursday. President Donald Trump had earlier insisted the U.S. strikes delivered a “devastating” attack and that questioning his assessment of the strike was not only unpatriotic but also makes the pilots who dropped the bombs “very upset.”

  • US defense secretary lambasts ‘fake news’

The news conference began with Hegseth, a former Fox News host, criticizing the media for “hunting for scandals all the time.” He accused reporters of failing to acknowledge “historic moments” like improved military recruiting and increased spending on European defense by U.S. allies on the continent. He then shifted to attacking the “fake news” for reporting on a preliminary assessment about the impact of recent US strikes on Iran.

  • Hegseth defends US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities

He defended the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and described the strikes as historic.

  • Hegseth begins press conference at the Pentagon

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is now starting a press conference at the Pentagon to address last weekend’s US strikes on Iran.

  • Trump announces ‘major’ presser

“Hegseth, together with Military Representatives, will be holding a Major News Conference tomorrow morning at 8 A.M. EST at The Pentagon, in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots. The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable,” the POTUS wrote on X.