Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday the U.S. military objectives in Iran had been achieved after about five weeks, but he said the fight was not over because the end point still had to be the shutdown of Iran’s nuclear program and the free flow of traffic through the Straits of Hormuz.
Appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on May 10, 2026, Wright said he was not aware of an Iranian response but expected one soon. He said the Trump administration’s aims in the conflict had been met on the military side, adding that Iran’s ability to produce missiles and drones had been wiped out and that its navy, air force and air defense forces across the country had been ended.
Wright’s remarks put the administration’s case in stark terms: the battlefield phase, he said, had run its course, but the nuclear file remained open. He said the U.S. end state in Iran was clear — free traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the Iranian nuclear program — and he said that meant the issue of enriched uranium still had to be dealt with.
The interview also underscored how central the Energy Department would be to that effort. Wright said the department would definitely be involved in any move to handle Iran’s enriched uranium because the nuclear expertise in the United States sits within his department, and he said personnel had been ready and monitoring developments in Iran.
He said Iran has nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent, describing it as close to weapons grade. That stockpile, along with how it might be addressed, is the part of the confrontation that remains unresolved even after the military objectives Wright says were achieved.
Wright also told Brennan that he was not aware of any response from Iran, though he suspected one would come very soon. Asked about next steps, he said simply, “We don't know,” and added later, “We're open to all ideas.”
That leaves the administration with a narrower but still consequential problem: if the military phase is, in Wright’s words, finished, the outcome now turns on whether Washington can prevent Iran’s nuclear program from surviving in another form.
