The United States has clarified that its recent military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were not intended to overthrow the Iranian government, but to neutralise what it described as urgent threats to national security, amid rising tensions and fears of broader regional conflict.
The United States’ military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were not intended to overthrow the Iranian government, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clarified on Sunday. Addressing reporters at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the operation was a targeted action designed to neutralise threats posed by Iran’s nuclear programme and was accompanied by diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
"This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth stated. "The president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme."
The strikes, carried out under the codename Operation Midnight, involved 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and over 125 military aircraft. General Dan Caine, who led the operation, said early assessments showed all three targeted sites had sustained "extremely severe damage and destruction." He declined to speculate on whether any nuclear capabilities remained.
General Caine confirmed that U.S. troops in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria, remain on high alert.
"Our forces are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice," he said.
The Pentagon also noted that private diplomatic communications were sent to Tehran, encouraging de-escalation and the possibility of negotiations, a signal that Washington remains open to dialogue despite the scale of the military response.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow ear...
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remai...
Indonesia deployed thousands of security personnel around parliament and other major cities on Thursday as students returned to the streets, one ye...
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 10 prisoners of war each in Belarus, Moscow's Human Rights Commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Indonesia deployed thousands of security personnel around parliament and other major cities on Thursday as students returned to the streets, one year after nationwide anti-government protests left 10 people dead.
Thousands of Russians are hunting for apartments in Tbilisi and Yerevan - not because of a mobilisation order that's been signed, but because of one many fear is coming.
Poland has asked the European Commission to impose a €250 million ($291.3 million) fine on Meta, accusing the technology company of failing to adequately tackle fraudulent advertisements on its platforms.
Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, has died, according to a United Nations official.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment