Ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls US strikes on Iran a shot in the arm for American credibility

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities are a significant moment for the Middle East and a sign of bolstered American credibility on the global stage.Rice joined “Special Report” on Thursday after the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, praising the American military and Israeli forces for their accomplishments.“We will eventually know precisely how much the Iranian program was damaged, but I think all of the evidence is that it was substantially, significantly damaged to the place that, for a while at least, it will be hard to build a nuclear weapon,” she said.Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites were hit early Sunday morning by US B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles as part of Operation Midnight Hammer.The B-2 bombers flew for 37 hours non-stop from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to drop 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Fordow and two on Natanz. More than two dozen cruise missiles were also launched at Isfahan from a US submarine.Top Trump administration officials have maintained the “obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear program in the days following the strikes despite questions regarding the whereabouts of the Islamic Republic’s highly enriched uranium. “President Trump directed the most complex and secretive military operation in history.And it was a resounding success, resulting in a ceasefire agreement and the end of the 12 Day War,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Thursday press briefing at the Pentagon. “There’s been a lot of discussion about what happened and what didn’t happen.

Step back for a second.Because of decisive military action, President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating, choose your word, obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”Rice told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that she believes the US strikes set Iran’s...