Al Jazeera is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to U.S. President Donald Trump that additional strikes on rehabilitated Iranian nuclear facilities are unavoidable.

Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have used strong language in public remarks to tell the American people that the threat from Iran’s nuclear program was no longer present.

In his initial address after the strikes, Trump said:

"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."

He described the operation as a "spectacular military success."

In a later Truth Social post, after satellite imagery emerged, Trump wrote:

"Monumental damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images."

"Obliteration is an accurate term!"

"The biggest damage took place far below ground level."

"Bullseye!!!"

When responding to reports questioning the extent of the damage, Trump repeatedly argued that Iran’s facilities were "badly damaged," citing comments from Iranian officials. He also said Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission assessed that Fordow had been rendered "inoperable."

In Pentagon briefings, Hegseth said:

"We devastated the Iranian nuclear program."

"Thanks to President Trump's bold and visionary leadership... Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated."

He also emphasized that the operation targeted the nuclear program, not the Iranian people.

On Fordow, Hegseth said the 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs caused "devastation underneath Fordo," stressing that the most significant destruction occurred deep underground rather than at the surface.

The administration has consistently used terms such as "obliterated" and "completely and totally obliterated" to describe Iran’s nuclear facilities. It has said the most severe damage occurred deep underground, where the enrichment infrastructure was located, and that the strikes were intended to set back Iran’s nuclear program by years rather than merely damage buildings on the surface. Those claims matter because Fordow has long been treated as one of Iran’s most hardened nuclear sites, making the difference between surface damage and underground disruption central to how the strikes are understood.

Those characterizations have not been universally accepted. Early intelligence assessments reportedly suggested the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear program by months rather than destroying it, while later administration statements cited additional intelligence and Israeli assessments supporting the view that the damage was substantially greater. The dispute has centered on the meaning of terms such as "obliterated," "destroyed," and "inoperable."

In other Middle East news, Iran has attempted to advance weapons to Hezbollah forces and southern Lebanon.

Trump and Hegseth have also said that Iran’s navy, air force, and broader military were largely compromised, although those forces continue to fight. The reporting notes that there is always room for exaggeration.