U.S. President Donald Trump addressed reporters at the NATO Summit on Wednesday (25th June), defending recent U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and pointing to Israeli confirmation of the damage.
Standing at a press briefing ahead of his departure, Trump read from a statement reportedly issued by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.
Trump didn’t just announce a military strike—he took a victory lap. In a statement, he claimed that a U.S. operation had left Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility “totally inoperable,” a blow he said would cripple their atomic ambitions “for many years.” But he quickly turned his fire from Iran to his old adversaries in the press, blasting CNN and The New York Times for what he called their dishonest reporting on the matter.
Trump frames the strike as decisive
“It ended the war,” Trump said. “Somebody said in a certain way, like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This ended a war in a different way.”
He described the strike as extensive, involving not only Fordow but also two other sites. According to him, a U.S. submarine launched 30 rockets from hundreds of miles away, all of which hit their targets “within nine inches.”
Trump emphasized the precision of the attack, noting that pilots flew in total darkness and hostile conditions. “There was no moon, no light,” he said. “They hit it perfectly.”
Praise for military, frustration with media
Trump kept circling back to a common gripe: his frustration with the media.
“They demeaned our pilots,” he said. “CNN, New York Times—they said it wasn’t bad. But it was obliterated.”
He claimed that U.S. bunker buster bombs collapsed the tunnels beneath the site and made it impossible for Iran to recover any nuclear material stored there. He thanked the aircrews, calling them “patriots” and “incredible flyers.”
Read Also: U.S. Destroys Iranian Nuclear Sites in Joint Operation with Israel, Tensions Soar
International validation
Trump said more statements from international atomic energy agencies were on the way, but highlighted the Israeli assessment as especially significant. He said that Iran’s own foreign ministry admitted severe damage had been done to its facilities.
“We assess that the American strikes… set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come,” Trump read from the Israeli statement.
Political framing and historical parallels
Trump also used the moment to draw comparisons to past military campaigns. He praised General “Raisin Gain” for his role in past victories, including the rapid defeat of ISIS.
He briefly reflected on U.S. military tradition, referencing the former title of “Secretary of War” and suggesting a return to that language, at least symbolically. “We feel like warriors,” he said.
The press conference, which was wide-ranging and unscripted, came as part of Trump’s ongoing push to defend the scale and justification of the U.S. strike on Iran and to position it as a major success on the global stage.
