all right you've been watching the press conference at the Pentagon there we have now learned the operation named Midnight Hammer remarkable details in the operation as the world watched B2 stealth bombers fly west towards Hawaii and Guam seven B2 bombers two crew members each re refueling flying east delivering uh their targets hitting their targets 14 total bombs under total stealth not a single shot fired says joint chairman's chief chairman of the joint chiefs Dan Kane saying that no missiles were launched no shots fired at our mission no Iranian planes got airborne they simply didn't see it i want to bring back uh the special report anchor and our executive editor Brett Bearer brett it's remarkable these details to learn uh that we literally got in and out without really being detected hit all targets it It just strikes you at really the dominance we heard from uh Secretary Hegsath the unmatched capability of the American military but boy you really got to see it here and likely sending a message to those that would do us harm definitely uh this is exactly what we were hoping for some details as you mentioned seven B2 bombers this is the largest B2 mission ever in the history of the US dropping 14 of these massive ordinance penetrator bombs remember those are 30,000 lbs each the G GBU57 that's 420,000 lbs of ordinance just in the B2 bombers dropping on those three nuclear sites then you add some 30 plus tomahawk missiles from US submarines you've got 75 precisiong guided bombs falling on these nuclear sites essentially the message was we're not at war with Iran we're at war with Iran's nuclear program and there is time for Iran to get back to the table and the president seeks peace but as we talked about before we came to this press conference and Rachel you mentioned the deception uh and the the effort to really tighten down on operational security you heard a little bit about that not only decoy planes going different places also ghost planes on radars as well as the B2s going to the west while others flew from Whiteitman Air Base Air Force Base in Missouri um they are not saying exactly what the battle damage assessment is rightfully so they're waiting for some more details on the ground uh but that's really the big question where does Iran's nuclear uh program stand tonight it s or today and this sounds like uh it is pretty devastated and decimated brad do you have any sense as to how they quote unquote complete a BDA a battle damage assessment because you know at this point I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's unlikely that the Iranians are going to welcome in inspectors to look at what's left yeah the Israelis are on the ground they're on the ground in significant numbers we don't know exactly how where when uh but they will provide uh some battle damage assessment from the ground and then obviously our satellites and um and what we have in the air uh can give us decent pictures i think uh the question about the nuclear material is what the chairman of the joint chiefs was asked and said he's going to need more time i was struck by you know this isn't about regime change this is very precision we talked about that going in that was the message from the president last night uh and it is one in which uh the Iranian leadership has to make a decision now but if there is an attack on a US facility US people US soldiers US bases um all bets are off brad they were asked um Pete Hexth was Secretary Hexth was asked if the administration is in direct contact with Iran of course he said yes public and private measures but something I've he said he said they know exactly what steps they need to take for peace he didn't say what those steps are what do you think those steps are well to give up enrichment uh has been one of the bars to to start and um and I think there's a long list that they've been talking about with the Europeans that has circulated around that the Iranians turned their back on in Geneva um they may turn their back the other way uh go back to the table uh considering what they just saw last night uh but we'll see the the question really is the Iranian leadership and how when we hear from them so far it's been a lot of bluster online a lot of social media saying you know the the response is yet to come it is going to be devastating for Israel and the US um clearly we'll see and we mentioned the tentacles of terrorist cells that we really have to be careful of yeah you know Brad I was really also struck by Pete Hegsth in particular Secretary Hegth talking about the desire for peace the desire to make sure that this does not go beyond these strikes that do Donald Trump the president wants them at the negotiating table to end this that was very encouraging to somebody like me who's very concerned about this expanding into regime change that felt good on the other hand there's a lot of trip wires here we've got the bases that are there that are are are somewhat vulnerable um despite the threats from the US government saying don't touch our men um we also have the Houthis who have now torn up their um ceasefire agreement so there could be something that happens to our ships in in the Red Sea and then of course what I'm most concerned about is the fact that we've had four years of Joe Biden's open border and these sleeper cells so talk to me about how uh President Trump um Homeland Security Pete Het everybody involved is working to mitigate those very real threats on the homeland included um to make sure this doesn't expand into a greater war because as you know Brett there's a lot of political implications here by the way not hearing much about the big beautiful bill that was the number one issue until Israel strike um but also the fact that you know this is not a left-right issue there are a lot of people in the MAGA base who voted for Donald Trump because they wanted peace and really hope that this leads to peace so I know I'm throwing a lot out there but talk to me about the politics around this um considering all of those things well first of all the threat of uh the terrorist reach of the Iranian regime which has been doing it for decades uh through proxies uh doing some very bad things um you know the president came to the conclusion that those tentacles those terrorist reach elements with a nuclear weapon or some nuclear uh uh even a dirty bomb is exponentially more of a threat to the US and to our allies and decided it was time to act um if you're worried about you know the retaliation imagine the retaliation with Iran with a nuclear bomb let's just put that aside there is a higher state of alert uh the FBI the Homeland Security uh individual cities have been on higher states of alert uh since this all happened uh at the over the past week or so uh but now they'll be even more so and the amount of strength military strength we have in the the region uh suggests they're going to do a lot uh to try to protect those bases directly uh beyond what is normally done uh as for the politics of this you know you're right there is no left and right there are Republicans who say it's not constitutional who say that there should be uh Congress should weigh in um however you have Democrats who say this is the right move and it protects uh the homeland i think there's going to be a lot of vocal voices uh the question is next steps and right now the president's signaling that this is a very limited operation uh unless Iran acts to get us in uh Israel is not going to convince the US to do anything more than we're saying we're going to do um and I think that boots on the ground are completely off the table you know Brett we were just showing our our viewers the photos that the White House put out from the situation room and had I been in that Pentagon press briefing I think my question would have been to Chairman Kaine what was behind what's the story behind his uh Texas looked like Texas hookum horns in a downward position he seemed to be like literally physically showing us some sort of operational explaining it and you know I think we pull that one up here and you'll see it in just a second but what's interesting Brett is you know when you were talking about the proxies Hezbollah hasn't fired a single shot hamas is on its back the Houthis very very uh uh neutralized you you wonder if they're taking in some of this in listening perhaps particularly there's the shot that one right there he's talking about an operation which has once again shown American dominance globally at a time when there wasn't the deterren deterrence of the last administration now obviously American deterrence appears to be back you've got to think the proxies are paying very close attention to this yeah definitely it looks to me like there's two bunker buster bombs coming out of two B2s heading towards Fordo but I'm just guessing there um and by the way as far as asking those questions in the briefing it does bring me back to those days of being in that front row and there are still some guys there that are there from the time that I was there they're a little bit grayer uh but they are very knowledgeable about the US military as they ask those questions uh I I think yeah the the you have to watch uh not only the Iranian leadership uh but what you hear from Hezbollah which by the way so far has been very quiet uh since the major walkie-talkie attack by Israel uh their leadership hasn't piped up at all hamas there are really not a lot of leaders they're they're in hiding and um and the Houthis in Yemen have really taken it on the chin their leadership uh just taken out the Israelis took out a meeting just last week um of of the Houthi leadership so we'll see uh they're they're not impotent they have a response iran does um and that's what the US has to watch very closely brett to build on Griff's question here beyond the rebel groups there was one line in there pete Hex said it exactly like this showing the world that American deterrence is back griff alluded to that i hear that and I think beyond those rebel groups to the question I asked you before we got into the press conference to me that's sending a message to Russia that's sending a message to North Korea and just like firing uh missiles at Syria during dessert this sends a message to Xi Jinping that we mean business we are going to use our might to deter and you better watch out and not do something stupid was that your takeaway 100% it reestablishes deterrence for the US a president that is willing to pull the trigger despite political winds in his own party that perhaps are pushing him not to uh he is willing to act on his the intelligence he gets as well as his gut instinct uh in his mind to protect the United States uh that is his definition of America first and that sends a message not just to Iran but to Russia and to China as they encircle Taiwan it sends a message that the US uh is willing to act with the best and biggest military in the world uh do we want to get engaged around the world no can we afford to be in two wars at the same time no uh but action uh and reaction to things that are happening uh clearly that was a signal around the world brett do we have a clear understanding of whose intel this was based on is it Israeli intel American intel i know that a lot of Americans are you know they trust Donald Trump President Trump they absolutely trust Pete Hegathth but the intel apparatus that was in place before is still there and this is the intel apparatus that you know told us that there was Russia collusion and there was you know weapons of mass destruction and so h how can we as Americans know that we're getting the best intel and that it's not biased i totally agree with you asking those questions and and ahead of the Iraq war um you know we asked a lot of questions and there were 17 international intelligence agencies that told us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction um it wasn't the case so there are real questions at the end of that briefing you heard that reference to director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's testimony on Capitol Hill in March in which she said they are moving forward with their nuclear u uh as far as their material However the decision has not been made to move forward with a bomb between March and this action today the president said he's convinced uh that he's seen intelligence that suggests that they were moving forward and getting closer uh to the point where he thought it was imminent that is what the Israeli prime minister says um and now Tulsi Gabbard and others have linked up saying that it was moving forward to the point where it was a threat you have to trust it until we see it um but that is what they are saying publicly and uh answering that question well you know just adding to to Rachel's question which is really such an important question about that it does appear unlike Iraq you referenced that the intelligence this time is at least much clearer in so far as we had this May 31 report out of the IAEA which is the UN's nuclear watchdog for the first time breaking in 20 years saying that Iran was in breach of nuclear nonprololiferation treaty uh enriching uranium up to 60% they they say this Brett they say quote "The fact that Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched to 60% remains a matter of serious concern." That's coming at the end uh of May and it does track obviously we would assume with our intelligence exactly and so what they IAA essentially was saying was they are enriching past the point of the civilian program they are enriching in uranium they have the material but they have not made the decision to move forward with a bomb so the Iranians are saying "We're not going to make a bomb." Yet we're stockpiling this weaponsgrade material and tomorrow they could turn and say "We want to make a bomb." That was the imminent threat uh and the IAEA was public on that i think there was more intelligence that suggested other things were happening as far as moving components around Iran well Brett thank you for joining us this morning thanks for hanging with us during the press briefing of course everybody can see you on a special edition of Special Report tonight at 6 x at 6 p.m thanks Brett thanks Brett we'll see you then thank you Brett i'm Steve Ducey i'm Brian Kilme and I'm Anley Airheart and click here to subscribe to the Fox News YouTube page to catch our hottest interviews and most compelling analysis