White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters Thursday afternoon with the Trump administration criticizing reporting over the outcome of Saturday’s strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the attacks only set Tehran’s nuclear program back by a few months, contradicting President Trump’s claims that the sites were “obliterated.” Administration officials have pushed back on the reporting, based on a leaked early assessment, leaning instead on Israel’s view that Iran’s capabilities were set back by at least a few years.
The briefing comes hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine held a press conference to weigh in on the leaked preliminary report, blasting the media for its coverage and standing behind Trump’s initial analysis of the strikes.
Hegseth will join CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other top officials at a classified briefing for senators later Thursday.
The White House news briefing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT.
Watch the live video above.
