US says strike on Iranian nuclear sites was months in the making

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were the result of months of preparation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed Sunday. Washington was in talks with Tehran during much of this period to reach a peaceful agreement about Iran’s nuclear program.

“This is a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the president of the United States called,” said Hegseth during a press briefing. “It took a great deal of precision. It involved misdirection and the highest of operational security.”

His remarks come as the US had renewed nuclear talks with Iran earlier this year. Several rounds of the talks were held before the latest escalation between Iran and Israel. Tehran has refused to resume talks, citing what is called diplomatic betrayal by Washington.

Earlier on Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that American forces had struck Iran’s three primary nuclear sites - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump later told Fox News that six “bunker-buster” bombs were used against the Fordow plant, which houses Iran’s most advanced centrifuges, while Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from submarines targeted Natanz and Isfahan.

"We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme," he said, adding that the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people."

The US president also said Iran is the “bully”’of the Middle East.

Trump "seeks peace, and Iran should take that path," Hegseth continued. "This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration is seeking a peaceful outcome. “We want a diplomatic and peaceful solution. We have achieved our objectives. We are ready to negotiate this,” he told American broadcaster CBS.

Iran’s English-language broadcaster Press TV reported that parliament voted on a proposal to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US strikes. Lawmaker Esmaeil Kowsari was cited as saying that the final decision lies with the Supreme National Security Council - the highest authority in the country.

Rubio warned of the consequences of such a move. “It will be a suicidal move on their part because I think the whole world will come against them if they did that,” he said.

Roughly 20 percent of global oil and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas transit the Strait of Hormuz. A blockade would likely jolt global energy markets, driving up prices and disrupting supply chains across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Analysts warn that any closure would also harm Iran, which relies on the Strait for critical imports. The move would risk damaging ties with major partners such as China and could provoke direct confrontation with the US and its allies, escalating the conflict further.

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