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PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. launched strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear processing sites as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing back on claims that they were ineffective, after deep state actors leaked a preliminary report to Natasha Bertrand, a journalist well-known as a conduit for partisans in the intelligence and defense communities to plant anti-Trump narratives in the media.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The U.S. military, Defense Secretary Hegseth, President Donald J. Trump, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, and Natasha Bertrand.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The strikes targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in Iran, with their impact discussed during a Pentagon press conference on Thursday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “You, and I mean specifically YOU, the press, you cheer against Trump so hard, it’s in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump.” – Pete Hegseth

🎯IMPACT: Iran’s nuclear program has been “severely damaged.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the U.S. military’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities during a Pentagon press conference on Thursday, describing the operation as a success that “devastated” Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The strikes, part of “Operation Midnight Hammer,” targeted three key nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Hegseth emphasized that the operation avoided targeting Iranian troops or civilians.

Hegseth commended President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, calling the mission “bold” and “brilliant,” while praising the American pilots who flew 36 hours through hostile territory to execute the operation. He criticized media outlets such as The New York Times and CNN for spreading “fake news” via deep state leakers and misrepresenting the mission’s success, which he said undermines the efforts of the pilots involved.

Citing a United Nations nuclear agency, Hegseth noted that the damage to Iran’s nuclear program was described as “enormous.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe also confirmed that the program had been “severely damaged.” Addressing the media directly, Hegseth accused them of bias, stating, “You, and I mean specifically YOU, the press, you cheer against Trump so hard, it’s in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump.”

Notably, the preliminary, low-confidence assessment that the strikes may have only set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back by months was leaked to Natasha Bertrand, a promoter of the Russiagate hoax who was previously used by defense and intelligence community partisans to wrongly suggest that Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell” was likely Russian disinformation prior to the 2020 election. Hegseth said the Iran leakers have an “agenda,” and has previously warned there will be a criminal investigation into them.

Hegseth warned Iran that any forceful retaliation would result in a U.S. response “significantly exceeding” the initial strikes. He stressed that while the U.S. does not seek war, it remains ready to act decisively to protect its interests and allies. He also questioned the lack of media focus on the challenges faced by the pilots, asking, “How many stories have been written about how hard it is to, I don’t know, fly a plane for 36 hours? Has MSNBC done that story? Has Fox? Have we done the story, how hard that is?”

President Trump praised Hegseth’s performance at the conference on his Truth Social platform, writing, “One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!”

.@SecDef: “When someone leaks something, they do it with an agenda. When you leak a portion of an intelligence assessment but just a little portion… that makes it seem like maybe the strike wasn’t effective, then you start a news cycle.” pic.twitter.com/tVpnOi04Ev

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 26, 2025

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