Hegseth: Iran did not move uranium before strikes

Telegraph

26-06-2025

Pete Hegseth said he had not 'seen any information' which suggested Iran moved its enriched uranium before it was bombed by the United States.
Giving an extraordinary scolding to the 'fake news media' over its reporting of a leaked assessment of the strikes' damage, the defence secretary hinted the US attack had successfully buried the bomb making material.
His comments came despite intelligence suggesting that the country had transported 400kg of highly-enriched uranium from the nuclear base of Fordow to an unknown, safe location in the days before the attack.
At least two European capitals' intelligence assessments suggested the stockpile was moved, according to the Financial Times.
Two Israeli officials with knowledge of the intelligence told The New York Times that Iran had transferred equipment and uranium outside Fordow in recent days.
Seven B-2 bombers flew from American soil to drop their massive bunker-busting bombs on the heavily fortified facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer on Saturday.
The White House has spent days pushing back on leaks from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which implied Iran's nuclear programme had not been destroyed but set back by only a few months.
Security sources had said that an early assessment concluded Iran had removed nuclear material from its underground Fordow facility ahead of the weekend strikes.
Speaking during a press conference at the Pentagon, Mr Hegseth praised the US attack on Iran but offered few details on the strikes' impact.
'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,' Mr Hegseth said, after dodging two earlier questions.
'There's nothing that I've seen that suggests that what we didn't hit exactly what we wanted to hit in those locations.'
Shortly after, in a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump echoed Mr Hegseth's comments.
Referring to satellite imagery which appeared to show a number of trucks outside of Fordow, apparently transporting the uranium, Mr Trump said: 'The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts.
'Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!'
Mr Hegseth spent much of the conference berating the press over its reporting of the strikes, saying the media 'breathlessly' focusing on an early assessment from the DIA which suggested little damage had been done, while offering little detail on the impact of the assault.
'[You] cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad,' he said.
'You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope maybe they weren't effective, maybe the way the Trump administration has represented them isn't true.
'So let's take half-truths, spun information, leaked information, and then spin it, spin it in every way we can, to try to cause doubt and manipulate the mind, the public mind over whether or not our brave pilots were successful.'
Since the leak, findings by the CIA and United Nations have suggested Tehran's nuclear sites were severely destroyed and its programme set back years.
The White House now plans to limit classified intelligence sharing with Congress to avoid future breaches to the press, according to the Washington Post.
The briefing also included details on the preparation for the strike, which was conducted by pilots who flew 36 hours from Missouri.
Meanwhile General Dan Caine, the joint chiefs of staff chairman, recounted the retaliatory Iranian missile attacks on a US military base in Qatar.
He said roughly 44 American service members responsible for defending the entire base were present as rounds of Patriot missiles were launched.
'How many stories have been written about how hard it is to, I don't know, fly a plane for 36 hours. Has MSNBC done that story? Has Fox?,' Mr Hegseth added.
The president appeared to be monitoring the news conference, posting about it on social media, writing: 'Watch it!'
He also suggested the media outlets reporting on the intelligence assessment 'will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories.'
Mr Trump has been fixated on coverage of the US strikes, which could determine how American voters view his decision to get involved in the latest war in the Middle East.