Pressed on whether uranium was moved from an Iranian nuclear facility before the recent U.S. airstrike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to confirm the reports. Speaking from the Pentagon, he was clear: he had personally seen “no intelligence” that would back up the rumor.
“I’m not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be,” Hegseth said when asked directly about the issue.
The question followed claims that uranium may have been moved prior to the strike by a B-2 stealth bomber. The Pentagon has not verified those claims.
When pressed on transparency, Hegseth said a report discussed internally was a “restrike report.” These are used within the military to determine whether a target needs to be hit again.
“It’s based on an internal feedback loop,” he explained. “Unfortunately, someone took advantage of that.”
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Asked if the public would see the report, he offered no commitment. “Whatever is supposed to be made public will be,” he said. “But whatever has to stay sensitive, will stay that way.”
Hegseth said he’s trying to balance two goals—public transparency and protecting military capability. “We do need to preserve options should the nation and the joint force be tasked to go do something again,” he said.
“I’m confident we’ll find the middle ground,” he added. “But there are some things that, if asked, I’d want to not release.”
He ended the briefing by praising military personnel involved in the operation. “What they accomplished is truly historic,” he said. “It set back the Iranian nuclear program untold number of years.”
No timeline has been provided for when more details might be released. The Pentagon has also stayed quiet on any specific damage reports or future steps.
