U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that recent American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were not intended to signal a push for regime change, adding that Washington had privately urged Tehran to return to negotiations.
Still, Hegseth warned Iran against following through with past threats of retaliation against the United States, and said U.S. forces were postured to defend themselves and take action if needed.
"This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth told a reporters at the Pentagon. "The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program."
The U.S. strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, in an operation the top U.S. general, General Dan Caine, said was named "Operation Midnight."
Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact.
