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Trump-Iran live: President teases 'irrefutable' news conference about bombing - and says US will 'save' Netanyahu

Donald Trump says defence secretary Pete Hegseth will hold a "major news conference" today about the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. He also says the US will "save" Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from a "witch hunt". Listen to Trump 100 below as you scroll.

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What's the story behind the intel leak?

Pete Hegseth will address the bombing of Iran's nuclear sites today.

That comes amidst a lot of noise around just how severely the sites, which were housing Iran's nuclear programme, were damaged when the US struck them last week.

So here is what happened...

On Tuesday, a US intelligence assessment indicated that the  military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of Tehran's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, CNN reported.

But Trump immediately dismissed the report and said the sites were "obliterated".

He said it was "unfair to the pilots" who "flew into a hornet's nest".

Yesterday, the CIA has said there is a body of credible intelligence that indicates that Iran's nuclear programme was severely damaged by recent US strikes, and that it would take years to be rebuilt.

"This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," CIA director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.

Trump calls for Netanyahu's corruption trial to be cancelled and says he will 'save' him

Donald Trump has called for Israel to cancel the corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, describing the case against the Israeli leader as a "witch-hunt".

He said on Truth Social that he and Netanyahu "went through hell together" fighting Iran and the Israeli leader "could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his love for the incredible Holy Land".

Describing Netanyahu as a "warrior", the US president went on to say that despite this he had learned that Netanyahu had been summoned to court on Monday.

"Such a witch hunt,  for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me," Trump, who himself has faced a number of criminal charges and convictions, said in a statement.

"He deserves much better than this, and so does the state of Israel. 

"Bibi Netanyahu's trial should be cancelled immediately and a pardon given to a great hero, who has done so much for the state."

He went on to say it was the US  that "saved Israel" and now it is going to be the US that "saves Bibi Netanyahu".

In 2019, Netanyahu was indicted in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.

He is accused of accepting gifts from millionaire friends and for allegedly seeking regulatory favours for media tycoons in return for favourable coverage.

He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

Hegseth to hold 'interesting and irrefutable' briefing on Iran

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth will hold a "major news conference" today about the American bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, Donald Trump has said.

In a statement on Truth Social, the US president said that Hegseth, together with military representatives, will speak at the Pentagon "in order to fight for the dignity of our great American pilots".

"These patriots were very upset," he wrote on social media.

Trump said the pilots "felt terribly" after a US intel leak - reported by CNN and The New York Times - which said the bombing raids may not have destroyed Iran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon, despite the president's claims. 

Trump said the news reports "totally misrepresented the facts". He accused CNN and The New York Times of being "fake news" - a favourite phrase of his when the media finds fault with or questions his presidency.

He added: "The news conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable. Enjoy!"

The conference will take place at 1pm UK time.

Welcome back to our live coverage

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage.

Yesterday, Donald Trump was in Europe for the NATO summit at The Hague where he suggested talks between the US and Iran could resume next week.

The US president also maintained that American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last week had left Tehran's nuclear programme "obliterated".

That's despite a leaked US intelligence report that suggested the strikes had actually only set the Iranian programme back by a few months.

Last night, CIA director John Ratcliffe said his agency had intelligence indicating that the programme was "severely damaged".

Soon after, Trump announced that his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, will hold a news conference at the Pentagon today (1pm UK time) which will prove "both interesting and irrefutable".

We're pausing our Israel-Iran coverage - here's a recap of their 12-day war

We're pausing our live coverage of the Israel-Iran conflict.

Before we sign off, here's a recap of what happened during the 12-day conflict from start to finish:

Israel launches Operation Rising Lion

  • The conflict started on 13 June with Israel launching airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan;
  • They also hit military and government sites, oil and gas infrastructure and targeted Iran's high-ranking military leaders and nuclear scientists;
  • This, Israel said, was due to intelligence that suggested Tehran was close to producing a nuclear bomb. Iran has always denied this and maintained its nuclear development is for civilian use;
  • Iran responded to the strikes with missile and drone attacks of its own, targeting Israeli cities like Tel Aviv and Beer Sheba and, in some cases, beating Israel's sophisticated anti-air defence systems.

Nightly strikes take their toll

  • Over the next two weeks, thousands are injured and several are killed as missile and drone attacks happen nightly in both countries;
  • Israel claims to have killed several high-profile Iranian military personnel, including Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces;
  • It also claims to have aerial superiority over most of Iran, helped in part thanks to "ground commandos" who Israel claimed operated deep inside Iran to "create operational freedom";
  • During the entire conflict, Israel says 28 people were killed, while Tehran says 627 have died in Iran.

US mulls intervention

  • The US, Israel's largest ally, reportedly vetoes an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the first week of the conflict;
  • On 20 June, Donald Trump says he will need two weeks before deciding whether the US joins Israel to strike Iran's nuclear facilities;
  • American intervention is considered vital if the Iranian site at Fordow is to be destroyed - the facilities lie beneath a mountain that only US "bunker buster bombs" can reach.

Trump launches strikes

  • In a surprise operation, the US launches strikes on Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz using stealth bombers and missiles fired from submarines in the region;
  • Trump immediately labels the operation a success, claiming Iran's nuclear facilities have been "completely obliterated" by the attack;
  • More than 75 weapons were used in total, including 14 30,000lb GBU-57 bunker buster bombs, and 125 aircraft took part;
  • Almost immediately there are reports that the damage done isn't as extensive as Washington claims, while it also appears that Iran moved some of its enriched uranium at Fordow in anticipation of the US attacks;
  • Tehran responds by launching missiles at US military bases in Qatar and Iraq. No casualties are reported, with air defences intercepting the missiles.

Shaky ceasefire holds

  • Trump announces a ceasefire has been suddenly accepted by both sides on 23 June;
  • Despite this, both Israel and Iran claim each other has violated it within moments of it starting;
  • A furious Trump claims neither country knows "what the f*** is going on" and demands Israel turn around its jets, which it subsequently does after a phone call between Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu;
  • Israel frames the ceasefire as their victory for neutralising Iran's nuclear threat, while Iran says the ceasefire has been "forced" onto Israel and Tehran's defensive response has been a success.
Watch: How to 'Trump-proof' a NATO summit

Donald Trump's appearance at the NATO summit this week no doubt had world leaders and officials on their toes.

He arrived in The Hague against a precarious global backdrop, making this one of the more significant summits in recent memory.

So, how did NATO prepare for the arrival of the US president to ensure the two-day summit was 'Trump-proof'?

Below, Sky's political editor Beth Rigby and security and defence editor Deborah Haynes answer that very question.

Trump: Hegseth news conference will prove 'interesting and irrefutable'

Donald Trump says his defence secretary will hold a news conference at the Pentagon tomorrow.

He says Pete Hegseth and military representatives will speak to the media at 8am local time (1pm UK time) to "fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots".

"The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable. Enjoy!" he added.

Analysis: The truth about the success of US airstrikes on Iran lies buried deep underground

By David Blevins, US correspondent

The B2 bombers have returned to their US base, but questions about the success of their airstrikes last weekend hang in the air.

President Donald Trump is pushing back hard against a leaked preliminary intelligence report, suggesting the audacious bombing raid only set Iran's nuclear ambition back "by months."

"It's destroyed... Iran will not have nuclear. We blew it up. It's blown to kingdom come," Trump told a press conference.

A statement from CIA director John Ratcliffe backed that up.

But Democrats say Trump was claiming Iran's underground facilities had been "obliterated" long before any intelligence had been received.

Arizona senator Mark Kelly, who flew 39 combat missions in the first Gulf War, said: "He's just saying that because he wants that to be the narrative.

"He said it the night of the strike, without any information, not even satellite imagery, and certainly without any information about what happened underneath 200 feet of rock and granite and dirt.

"The likelihood of something underground like that being obliterated is incredibly low," he added.

Senator Kelly blamed Trump for Iran's enrichment growing from "less than 4% to, public reporting, 60%", accusing him of "chucking the Obama deal out the window."

The leaking of the classified report from the Pentagon and subsequent debate has enraged US defence secretary Pete Hegseth.

"If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordow, you better get a big shovel and go really deep because Iran's nuclear programme is obliterated," he said.

"Those that dropped the bombs precisely in the right place know exactly what happened when they exploded, and you know who else knows? Iran."

The White House is railing against what it calls the "fake news media" for reporting the content of the leaked report.

But the success of a military operation has become a battle of political narratives in Congress.

That will last longer than a 12-day war because the truth lies buried, quite literally, deep underground.

In pictures: Scenes in Gaza

While much of the world's attention has been on Israel's conflict with Iran in the last two weeks, the war in Gaza has been ongoing.

Nearly 900 Palestinians were killed in the enclave during the 12 days that the Israel and Iran fought, according to a tally of figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.

Here are the latest images from Gaza showing buildings in ruin, smoke rising after an explosion and Israeli military vehicles manoeuvring.

CIA chief: Iran's nuclear facilities 'severely damaged' by strikes

The head of the CIA says that a "body of credible intelligence" indicates that Iran's nuclear programme has been "severely damaged" by recent strikes.

"This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," John Ratcliffe adds in a statement on X.

For context: An early US intelligence report was leaked yesterday that suggested US strikes did not destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear programme and only set it back by a matter of months.

Donald Trump disputed the report today, doubling down that the US has "obliterated" the sites and set the programme back "decades". His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, claimed there was a "political motive" behind the leak.