By Marc Rod
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday morning that the U.S. operation in Iran overnight had hit all of its planned targets and that initial assessments showed that the strikes had inflicted extensive damage on Iran’s nuclear facilities. But Caine said that a full assessment of whether the Iranian nuclear program had been fully destroyed would take more time.
Speaking alongside Caine at a Pentagon press briefing, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized that the strike was limited and strictly targeted at Iran’s nuclear program and was not designed to prompt regime change. He added that the U.S. continues to seek peace with Iran.
“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said. Pressed on whether Iran retains any nuclear capability, Caine said that a full assessment “is still pending, and it would be way too early for me to comment on what may be there.”
Hegseth added that the U.S. believes it “achieved the destruction of capabilities” at the Fordow nuclear facility, which he described as the “primary target.”
