Donald Trump calls ‘obliteration’ an accurate description of damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed Iranian makes an attempt to downplay the strikes on its nuclear amenities, stressing that “obliteration” was an correct description, though the total extent of the harm to Iran’s nuclear capabilities was not instantly clear.

“Monumental Injury was executed to all Nuclear websites in Iran, as proven by satellite tv for pc photos. Obliteration is an correct time period! The white construction proven is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof nicely under floor stage, and utterly shielded from flame. The largest harm happened far under floor stage. Bullseye!!!” Trump wrote on Reality Social.

The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday that there was “extreme harm and destruction” to the amenities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, however didn’t go as far as to say that Iran’s nuclear capacities had been “obliterated.”

“Remaining battle harm will take a while, however preliminary battle harm assessments point out that every one three websites sustained extraordinarily extreme harm and destruction,” Caine stated.

In the meantime, the U.S. Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth stated Sunday that whereas the harm evaluation is ongoing, “all of our precision munitions struck the place we needed them to strike and had the specified impact.”

When requested if Iran nonetheless retains any nuclear functionality, Caine stated that “BDA remains to be pending, and it might be method too early for me to touch upon what could or could not nonetheless be there.”

Battle Injury Evaluation, or BDA, is a navy time period that refers back to the means of evaluating the consequences of navy operations on a goal.

It normally includes a bodily or practical verify on the extent of harm, past visible indicators, and whether or not the goal stays operable

These assessments are normally performed by intelligence analysts and reconnaissance groups, utilizing information from drones, satellites, radar, or floor stories. It helps commanders determine if the mission achieved its targets and if follow-up strikes are wanted.

The UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi additionally struck a cautious tone, saying that it was not but potential to evaluate the harm executed on the Fordo nuclear facility.

Including to the uncertainty, Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian supply, that many of the extremely enriched uranium at Fordo had been moved to an undisclosed location forward of the U.S. strikes on the enrichment website.

The strikes started early on Saturday, when six U.S. Air Drive B-2 stealth bombers dropped six GBU-57 Large Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) – a 30,000-pound bomb generally known as the “bunker buster,” – on Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility, which is constructed into the facet of a mountain.

A seventh U.S. B‑2 bomber launched two GBU‑57 bombs on the Natanz Nuclear Facility, whereas a U.S. Navy submarine additionally launched a volley of 30 Tomahawk missiles, focusing on Natanz and a 3rd website, Isfahan.

The mission, code named Operation Midnight Hammer, concerned greater than 125 plane in complete.

— Erin Doherty contributed to this report