71 killed in Israeli attack on Iran prison, official says

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the situation in the Middle East is "calming down" and the conflict between Israel and Iran appears to be "in the past," in comments Thursday.

"This means that it will be possible to develop economic relations with all countries in the region, including Iran," Putin said.

In order to "preserve and consolidate the fragile truce" between Israel, Iran and the U.S., all parties need to return to the negotiating track as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement Thursday.

"The settlement of the Iranian nuclear program, like the resolution of other crises in the Middle East, can only be achieved through diplomacy and negotiations. There is no reasonable alternative to this," Zakharova said in a statement, made in Russian.

"The specific practical initiatives put forward by the Russian President aimed at finding mutually acceptable solutions remain on the table. They have been communicated to all parties involved: the U.S., Israel and Iran," she said.

-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova and Anna Sergeeva

The centrifuges at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility "have suffered a great deal," International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi said Thursday.

"Given the scale and capacity of the military means used, we can deduce that the centrifuges have suffered a great deal, if [they] have not been destroyed,” Grossi said, originally in French.

When asked if it's possible that some of the technology or centrifuges at Fordow survived, are still operational or have been moved, Grossi said "it’s a hypothesis," that can’t be ruled out.

Grossi said while he understands the logic behind Israel and the U.S.’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, he said he believed "there was a diplomatic path." Grossi acknowledged Iran was not cooperating in the U.S.-Iran negotiations before military intervention was taken.

"I could never say the solution was [using the] military. I’m not criticizing. It’s not my position to do so," Grossi said. "Until the day military action was triggered, Iran was not cooperating in the necessary way."

-ABC News' Leontine Gallois, Cindy Smith and Chris Boccia

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after the first bomb struck the target, "the pilots stated, quote, 'this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight.'"

"Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won't see an impact crater, because they're designed to deeply bury and then function ... All six weapons at each vent at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go," Caine said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Pete Hegseth, the U.S. secretary of defense, said at a press conference Thursday the media is "undermining the success" of Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran.

"There are so many aspects of what our brave men and women did and, because of the hatred of this press corps, are undermined because your people are trying to leak and spin that it wasn't successful. It's irresponsible," Hegseth said as he addressed the media at the Pentagon.

"It's an important responsibility and, time and time again, classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad," Hegseth continued. "What's really happening is you're undermining the success of incredible B-2 pilots and incredible F-35 pilots and incredible refuels and incredible air defenders who accomplish their mission and set back a nuclear program in ways that other presidents would have dreamed. How about we celebrate that?"