When asked by a journalist about possible diplomatic solutions after the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Hegseth said that he could only confirm that the US had sent both public and private messages to the Iranian side through various channels to give Tehran the opportunity to return to the negotiating table.

Iran and the United States resumed talks on Iran's nuclear program this year, but on June 13, Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran, claiming that Iran was close to starting to develop a nuclear weapon.

Tehran has always denied this accusation, claiming that its nuclear program is intended solely for civilian purposes.

After the start of Israeli attacks, which provoked an Iranian response, nuclear weapons talks with the United States were suspended.

Talks between Washington and Tehran on a new nuclear deal resumed in April. The aim is to conclude a new nuclear agreement to replace the 2015 agreement that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. Trump had threatened military consequences if diplomacy failed.

Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that the US strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites were"incredible and overwhelming successes."

The "precision strike" on the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz was carried out"in the middle of the night" to "destroy or severely degrade Iran's nuclear program," Hegseth said.

The attack was powerful and"devastated Iran's nuclear program," he added.

"The operation was not directed against Iranian troops or the Iranian people," Hegseth stressed, adding that"no other country on planet Earth could have carried out this operation."