The Epoch Times

When asked if congressional leaders were notified of the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that lawmakers were debriefed “immediately” after U.S. aircraft had left Iranian airspace. “They were notified after the planes were safely out. We complied with the notification requirements of the War Powers Act,” Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that the United States was not looking to topple the Iranian regime during Saturday night’s airstrikes on three of the nation’s critical nuclear sites. “This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing. “The President authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program, and the collective self-defense of our troops and our ally Israel.”

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the extent of the damage inflicted on Iranian nuclear sites during Saturday evening’s airstrikes. “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 during a Sunday Pentagon press briefing. The United States sent B-2 Bomber strike teams to hit Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites with bunker-buster bombs, or massive ordnance penetrators (MOPs). “Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Caine said. “We will defend ourselves. The safety of our service members and civilians remains our highest priority.”