Khaberni - A verbal confrontation occurred during the Armed Services Committee session in the U.S. House of Representatives, between War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Democratic Representative Adam Smith, after the secretary announced the complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Hegseth stated that the joint American-Israeli strikes during the 12-day war managed to completely destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities and bury them underground, which was interrupted by Smith asking: "Wait a minute, you were saying we had to start this war 60 days ago because nuclear weapons were an imminent threat, and now you say they have been completely destroyed?"
The secretary replied that the Iranians have not given up on their nuclear ambition, indicating that they have a shield composed of thousands of missiles, to which the congressman replied: "So the Operation Midnight Hammer didn’t accomplish anything new and left us in the same place as before."
Hegseth explained that Iran's strategy is similar to North Korea's, which relies on using conventional missiles to deter any challenge, while slowly progressing towards possessing nuclear weapons, adding that President Trump saw Iran in its weakest times and took measures in cooperation with Israeli partners to destroy Iran’s conventional protective shield.
