‘…To make the president look bad’: US Defense Secretary criticises media over Iran strikes leak

He and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted the operation was effective, though much of their analysis relied on AI-generated modeling. Questions about real-time damage assessments, including at the Fordow facility, were redirected to the intelligence community.

“I’m not aware of any intelligence… that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise,” Hegseth said, pushing back on concerns raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which reported that Iran’s 400kg stockpile of 60% enriched uranium could no longer be accounted for.

Pete Hegseth cites a statement from Trump’s CIA director to refute press reports that Iran’s nuclear program isn’t as obliterated as Trump wants people to believe pic.twitter.com/zndtWYCIg9

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2025

Hegseth also lashed out at the media for reporting the leaked preliminary intelligence that downplayed the mission’s success. “Time and time again, classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad,” he said, defending the pilots and the mission.

“I hope, with all the ink spilled, all of your outlets find the time to properly recognise this historic change in continental security that other presidents tried to do, other presidents talked about,” Hegseth said. “President Trump accomplished it. It’s a huge deal.”

Gen. Caine described the attack, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, as the “culmination of 15 years of incredible work” by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He said all 14 bunker buster bombs hit their intended targets and the modeled effects — including overpressure and blast waves destroying critical hardware in underground tunnels — were achieved.

“The weapons all guided to their intended targets and exploded as designed,” Caine said.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had initially reported that the strikes only set Iran’s nuclear program back by a few months. However, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday pushed back, citing “new intelligence” from a “historically reliable” source that indicated major facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “destroyed” and would take years to rebuild.

President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, praised the Pentagon news conference. ‘One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ News Conferences I have ever seen!’ Trump wrote. The president then attacked the press just as Hegseth did during the briefing. ‘The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!’

Trump on Thursday also claimed that nothing was taken out of the facility at the Iranian nuclear site struck by the US last weekend, in a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “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!”