WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday he has seen no intelligence indicating that Iran moved any of its highly enriched uranium ahead of recent US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

"I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth told a news conference along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.

Multiple reports indicated Iran took significant preparatory measures before the strikes, with satellite imagery showing trucks near the nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials said the Fordo facility was evacuated and cleared ahead of the assault.

Caine also confirmed that he did not see any movement.

"No, I have not," Caine said when asked whether he had seen public imagery available showing that highly enriched uranium was moved out of Fordo before the strikes.

US President Donald Trump later said that nothing was moved from the facility.

"The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

On June 22, the US dropped six bunker-buster bombs on the Fordo nuclear facility and launched dozens of submarine-based cruise missile attacks on two other sites in Natanz and Isfahan as part of its campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.

The strikes came as Israel's air raids against Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, which began on June 13, were continuing.

The 12-day war over Iran's nuclear program was halted Tuesday after a ceasefire was announced by Trump.

'Historically successful attack'

The US is watching "very closely" what Iran is doing, Hegseth said.

"I would say Iran's going to have to say a lot of things right now in order to bolster their image, especially internally," he said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first appearance since the ceasefire was announced, vowed to attack US bases in the region if Washington renewed strikes.

"The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region," Khamenei said.

Hegseth hailed the US strikes, citing various assessments, including from the CIA and the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He also criticized the media following the leak of an intelligence report earlier this week that suggested the strikes may have had limited effect.

"This was an historically successful attack. We should celebrate it as Americans, and it gives us a chance to have peace, chance to have a deal, an opportunity to prevent a nuclear Iran," he said.