At the Pentagon, the rhetoric was strong, but the evidence was thin
Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent, reporting from Washington DC
That Pentagon briefing flooded the zone with facts.
There was plenty for military analysts to pore over, but one line stood out: we heard twice that the battle damage assessment is still ongoing.
That’s to be expected, but it also sits awkwardly alongside President Trump’s bold claim that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been “completely and totally obliterated”.
How do you know if you're still assessing it?
The rhetoric was strong, but the evidence was thin or non-existent.
While we got maps of the bomber routes, there was no imagery of the nuclear sites themselves, no hard proof to back up the claims (the BBC has looked at satellite images showing the surface of the Fordo site here).
So, for now, I think that the jury is very much still out on what was actually achieved.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is also ramping up the messaging. He’s been on US networks warning Iran, suggesting its nuclear programme has been “pushed back by years”.
Expect that message to be hammered home throughout the day, as the president’s senior lieutenants line up to appear on America’s Sunday morning political talk shows.
