Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that the U.S. 'will definitely pay a heavy price' should it attack Iran again.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is giving an update at the Pentagon - earlier, Iran claimed it gave the US a "heavy slap".

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military officials held a news conference to respond to an early leaked intelligence report suggesting U.S. strikes against Iran likely put the country back me

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said the U.S. military bomb strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities had "significantly damaged [Iran's] nuclear program" and "set it back by years" in a confrontational news conference called to counter an early intelligence assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency that said Iran's program had been set back only by months.

The ayatollah speaks for the first time since the conflict ended, as the US insists Iran's nuclear sites are destroyed.

Andrew Harnik/ The Trump administration insists the answer is an unqualified yes — the nuclear sites were “completely and totally obliterated,” according to President Donald Trump. Yet questions remain about the efficacy of the attacks after an early intelligence assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly concluded that the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear program for months.

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The Pentagon on Thursday released new details about how the US prepared for its marathon bombing mission against three Iranian nuclear sites, the crews that carried out the daring weekend raid, and how Iran tried fortifying one of the sites that held critical aspects of its nuclear program.

Pete Hegsth and Gen. Dan Caine touted the U.S. attack on a covert nuclear facility but sidestepped questions about the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile.