TEHRAN: A series of unprecedented US strikes against Iran “devastated” its nuclear programme, De-fence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, as he asserted Washington was not seeking regime change in Tehran.
The Pentagon chief urged Iran’s leaders to find an off-ramp to the conflict after President Donald Trump announced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nu-clear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.
“We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”.
Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth continued. “This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” he added.
Trump’s intervention — despite his past pledges to avoid another “forever war” — threatens to dra-matically widen the conflict after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in.
Earlier, the US president said Washington would hit more targets if Tehran did not capitulate. Hours later, Iran launched two waves of attacks against its long-time foe Israel.
“Iran the bully of the Middle East must now make peace,” Trump said, warning future attacks would be “far greater” unless a diplomatic solution was reached.
“Remember, there are many targets left,” he added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of sabotaging diplomacy after talks with European powers.
“This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,” he wrote on X.
Araghchi later told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line”, asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the US strikes, saying the attack revealed Washing-ton was the “main factor behind” Israel’s military campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change histo-ry”. –Agencies
