New Delhi, June 22: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that American military strikes at three Iranian facilities have devastated the Gulf nation's nuclear programme even as Vice President J.D. Vance hinted that the US still wants to pursue diplomatic process with Tehran.

Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing, "We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme."

He confirmed that the operation was executed under direct orders from the US President Donald Trump and involved secrecy and meticulous preparation.

"The order we received from our Commander-in-Chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear," Hegseth said.

The military campaign, designated Operation Midnight Hammer, targeted Iran's primary nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, he added.

The coordinated attack involved more than 125 military aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, the deployment of 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, and more than 30 Tomahawk missiles.

Earlier, President Trump described the strike on Iranian facilities as 'spectacular military success'.

"A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime... Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," said Trump in his address.

US Vice President J.D. Vance said the US still wants to pursue diplomatic process with Iran but is ready for any eventuality.

"We're prepared in the event that the Iranians do retaliate, but ... if the Iranians want to enlarge this by attacking American troops, I think that would be a catastrophic mistake," he said in an interview.

Hegseth warned that any retaliation from Iran would invite a stronger US response.

"This is not the previous administration. President Trump said no nukes. He seeks peace and Iran should take that path. He sent out a truth last night saying this. Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight," he said.

--IANS
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