Pentagon Briefing on Iran Strikes: Questions Remain on Damage Assessment and Ground Intelligence

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a Pentagon briefing on Thursday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine provided further details regarding the recent U.S. strike on Iran. The officials elaborated on the precision of the U.S. military's targeting, specifically mentioning the use of Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) to strike ventilation shafts of an underground facility. General Caine explained how the U.S. was able to identify vulnerable parts of the facility, which had been covered in concrete shortly before the military mission. He stated that five MOPs were launched into the ventilation shafts to target the underground structure. A test video was shown demonstrating the weapon's capability and how targets were engaged. General Caine expressed confidence that the bombs exploded and hit their intended aim points. However, several questions remain unanswered. General Caine indicated that the battle damage assessment is not conducted by the U.S. military directly but is compiled by the intelligence community, stating, "We don't grade our own homework; the intelligence community does." Despite President Trump's previous remarks at The Hague summit on June 25, suggesting there were "people on the ground that got eyes on the facility," the briefing did not clarify who those individuals were. Furthermore, comprehensive details about the damage to the Natanz and Isfahan sites, which were reportedly hit by additional MOPs and Tomahawks from submarines, were not fully disclosed. The Secretary did not vow to provide more information when asked by a reporter.