US top brass comment on US strikes against Iran: LIVE UPDATES

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”

The US aerial strikes on Iran “obliterated” the country’s “nuclear ambitions,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has claimed, adding that the operation itself “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the attacks, calling for a diplomatic solution. “The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are presented, is a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions, which has previously unequivocally classified such actions as unacceptable.”

President Trump announced the first US strikes in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night, local time in Washington. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump wrote, adding that other targets included Natanz and Esfahan.

In the same post and several follow-up messages, the US leader urged Tehran not to retaliate and to engage in talks, claiming it was now “time for peace.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has condemned the US airstrikes as a violation of all international treaties, stating that “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.”

Tehran has previously warned Washington and other third parties against joining the conflict, threatening to target any hostile assets and weapons shipments bound for Israel. A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis has also warned that if the US becomes involved, the group “will target its warships in the Red Sea.”

READ MORE: ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT AS IT UNFOLDED OVER THE PAST WEEK

Israel launched its Operation Rising Lion as a “preemptive” strike, supposedly aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Tehran, which has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, called the attack an act of war and has responded with missile and drone strikes of its own.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 430 Iranians and injured more than 3,500 civilians so far, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. Israeli officials have reported 25 deaths and over 2,500 injuries.