Trump calls 'obliteration' an accurate description of damage to Iran's nuclear facilities

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Sunday disputed Iranian attempts to downplay the strikes connected its atomic facilities, stressing that "obliteration" was an close description, adjacent though the afloat grade of the harm to Iran's atomic capabilities was not instantly clear.

"Monumental Damage was done to each Nuclear sites successful Iran, arsenic shown by outer images. Obliteration is an close term! The achromatic operation shown is profoundly imbedded into the rock, with adjacent its extortion good beneath crushed level, and wholly shielded from flame. The biggest harm took spot acold beneath crushed level. Bullseye!!!" Trump wrote connected Truth Social.

The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday that determination was "severe harm and destruction" to the facilities astatine Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, but did not spell truthful acold arsenic to accidental that Iran's atomic capacities had been "obliterated."

"Final conflict harm volition instrumentality immoderate time, but archetypal conflict harm assessments bespeak that each 3 sites sustained highly terrible harm and destruction," Caine said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that portion the harm appraisal is ongoing, "all of our precision munitions struck wherever we wanted them to onslaught and had the desired effect."

When asked if Iran inactive retains immoderate atomic capability, Caine said that "BDA is inactive pending, and it would beryllium mode excessively aboriginal for maine to remark connected what whitethorn oregon whitethorn not inactive beryllium there."

Battle Damage Assessment, oregon BDA, is simply a subject word that refers to the process of evaluating the effects of subject operations connected a target.

It usually involves a carnal oregon functional cheque connected the grade of damage, beyond ocular signs, and whether the people remains operable.

These assessments are usually conducted by quality analysts and reconnaissance teams, utilizing information from drones, satellites, radar, oregon crushed reports. It helps commanders determine if the ngo achieved its objectives and if follow-up strikes are needed.

The UN atomic watchdog main Rafael Grossi besides struck a cautious tone, saying that it was not yet imaginable to measure the harm done astatine the Fordo atomic facility.

Adding to the uncertainty, Reuters reported, citing a elder Iranian source, that astir of the highly enriched uranium astatine Fordo had been moved to an undisclosed determination up of the U.S. strikes connected the enrichment site.

The strikes began aboriginal connected Saturday, erstwhile six U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers dropped six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) - a 30,000-pound weaponry known arsenic the "bunker buster," - connected Iran's Fordo atomic facility, which is built into the broadside of a mountain.

A seventh U.S. B‑2 bomber released 2 GBU‑57 bombs connected the Natanz Nuclear Facility, portion a U.S. Navy submarine besides launched a volley of 30 Tomahawk missiles, targeting Natanz and a 3rd site, Isfahan.

The mission, codification named Operation Midnight Hammer, progressive much than 125 craft successful total.

— Erin Doherty contributed to this report