Latest news with #DefenseSecretary
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia says any use of tactical nuclear weapons by US in Iran would be catastrophic, TASS reports
MOSCOW, June 20 (Reuters) - Potential use of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States in Iran would be a catastrophic development, Russian state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday. Peskov was commenting on what he called speculative media reports about that possibility. His comments, as reported by TASS, did not mention any media by name. The Guardian newspaper reported that U.S. defence officials were briefed that using conventional bombs against Iran's underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow would not be enough to destroy it completely, and that destroying it would require initial attacks with conventional bombs and then dropping a tactical nuclear weapon from a B-2 bomber. However, the British newspaper said President Donald Trump was not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Fordow and the possibility was not presented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, in meetings in the White House Situation Room. Trump said on Thursday that any decision on potential U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict would be made within two weeks. Russia, which has close ties with Iran, has warned strongly against U.S. military intervention on the side of Israel.
CBS News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
What to know about the MOP and the B-2, the bunker-buster bomb and plane that could be used to strike Iran
B-2 Spirit Bombers: The planes that could be used to target Iran's Fordo nuclear site Israel's strikes against Iran have killed a number of its top nuclear scientists and battered its nuclear facilities, but complete destruction of Iran's ability to make weapons-grade uranium is believed to be out of reach — unless the U.S. agrees to help. At least one key uranium enrichment site, Fordo, has so far been unscathed. Located 300 feet beneath a mountain and protected by Russian-produced air defenses, Fordo is believed by military experts to be key to Iran's nuclear program. Nuclear non-proliferation experts say this is where Iran has tried to enrich uranium for weapons purposes and expand its stockpile of enriched uranium. Israel's best chance at destroying the facility at Fordo could lie with a U.S.-produced bomb that's so heavy that it can only be dropped by a U.S. plane. At a hearing Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire raised this with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "It's being reported that the president is being asked to consider providing the bunker-buster bomb that is required to be carried only by the B-2 Bomber and would require a U.S. pilot," she said, asking Hegseth whether he had been asked to provide President Trump with options for striking the Middle East. He declined to answer. Mr. Trump is considering joining Israel's offensive against Iran, and approved attack plans Tuesday, but has not made a final decision, CBS News has reported. The White House said Thursday that the president would make a decision on whether to order a strike within the next two weeks. Sources told CBS News that the president had discussed the logistics of using bunker-buster bombs as he weighs whether to wade into the conflict between Iran and Israel. Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri. U.S. Air Force via AP, File The bomb that Shaheen was referring to is the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, known as a MOP. It is designed to attack "deeply-buried facilities and hardened bunkers and tunnels," according to the Air Force. It's guided by military GPS and is meant to reach and destroy targets in well-protected facilities. The MOP measures about 20.5 feet in length and 31.5 inches in diameter, according to the Air Force. It weighs in at just under 30,000 pounds, including about 5,300 pounds of explosive material. The Air Force says that the MOP's explosive power is over 10 times that of its predecessor, the BLU-109. It's designed to penetrate up to 200 feet underground before exploding. The warhead is encased in a special high-performance steel alloy, which is meant to enable it to carry a large explosive payload while maintaining the penetrator case's integrity during impact, according to an Air Force fact sheet. Boeing developed the GBU-57, and as of 2015, the aerospace company had been contracted to produce 20 of them, according to the Air Force. Because of the GBU-57's weight — it's the heaviest bomb produced by the U.S. — the B-2 Spirit is currently the only aircraft in the Air Force that is equipped to carry and deploy it. B-2 Spirit A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber lands at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images One of the key attributes of the B-2 Spirit is its stealth — it's able to evade air defenses and reach heavily defended targets. It's aerodynamically efficient and its internal weapons bays can carry two of the GBU-57 bombs. Because of what the Air Force refers to as the plane's "low-observable technologies," the B-2 Spirit has a "high level of freedom of action at high altitudes." It's built with a combination of "reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual and radar signatures." This, along with composite materials, special coatings, wing design and other classified processes, make the B-2 difficult for even the most sophisticated defense systems to detect and track. Without refueling, its range is about 6,000 nautical miles. The B-2 took its first flight in 1989, in California, but now, Whiteman Air Force Base, in Missouri, is the only B-2 base. It's been used for airstrikes in the Kosovo War, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. The prime contractor for the B-2 is Northrop Grumman. For years, some lawmakers and defense experts have suggested that the U.S. provide Israel with GBU-57 bombs and jets capable of carrying them — but the idea is controversial, with critics arguing the move would be provocative.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Tracking Trump: Iran gets the ‘ultimate ultimatum'; Fed maintains interest rates; Hegseth defends Confederate base names; and more
Trump remained noncommittal about the U.S. striking Iran. The Supreme Court upheld a ban on gender transition treatments for minors. A report found Social Security will run out of money in under 10 years. The Federal Reserve said it will not drop interest rates. The defense secretary defended Confederate names for bases.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘You're either feckless or complicit!' Hegseth refuses to say if Laura Loomer was consulted on General Haugh firing
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was accused of being either 'feckless or complicit' for firing U.S. Cyber Command head Gen. Timothy Haugh at the urging of far-right activist Laura Loomer, a rabid supporter of Donald Trump who has the ear of the president. Haugh, an Air Force general, was removed from his dual role in charge of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency back in April. Loomer, a social media influencer, claimed credit for the dismissal because Haugh wasn't considered sufficiently loyal to Trump. Hegseth, appearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was asked by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) what, if any, part Loomer played in the decision to fire the general. The defense secretary evaded an answer, saying he does not discuss who he has spoken to about such decisions, before telling the senator her time was up. This provoked a furious response from Rosen, who fired back, 'It is not up to you to tell me when my time is up. 'You are either feckless or complicit. You're not in control of your department. I don't appreciate the smirk. Sir, you are the secretary of defense.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump raged at Hegseth over birthday parade where military had too much fun: ‘He's p***ed off at the soldiers'
President Donald Trump raged at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over Saturday's military parade, arguing that the soldiers were 'hamming it up,' biographer Michael Wolff has said. saying that the president wanted a 'menacing' show of force in honor of the Army's 250th, and his 79th, birthday on June 14. Instead, Trump got a 'festive' parade, said the author. 'He's p***ed off at the soldiers,' he said. 'He's accusing them of hamming it up, and by that, he seems to mean that they were having a good time, that they were waving, that they were enjoying themselves and showing a convivial face rather than a military face.' Social media users noted that the soldiers weren't marching in lockstep during the parade as they made their way down Constitution Avenue in downtown Washington, D.C. Wolff claimed that Trump blamed Hegseth for the lacklustre performance. 'He kind of reamed out Hegseth for this,' Wolff said of the president. 'Apparently, there was a phone call, and he said to Hegseth, the tone was all wrong. Why was the tone wrong? Who staged this? There was the tone problem. Trump, he keeps repeating himself.' 'It didn't send the message that he apparently wanted, which is that he was the commander-in-chief of this menacing enterprise,' the biographer added. The White House called Wolff a 'lying sack of s***' and a 'proven … fraud.' 'He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain,' Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, told The Daily Beast. Trump, meanwhile, has claimed that the parade was a 'tremendous success.' 'Last night was a tremendous success with a fantastic audience,' Trump told the press on Sunday. 'It was supposed to rain. They gave it a 100 percent chance of rain, and it didn't rain at all. It was beautiful.' The parade didn't attract as many people as expected, while thousands of 'No Kings' demonstrations were held across the country on Saturday. On Monday, Trump appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. 'We had the parade the other day. They said 100 percent chance of rain. It didn't rain,' Trump told Carney. The president departed from the summit early to return to Washington, D.C., pointing to the conflict between Israel and Iran.
