China Says Open to Meeting with US Defense Secretary 

China's State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 12, 2022. (Reuters)
China's State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 12, 2022. (Reuters)
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China Says Open to Meeting with US Defense Secretary 

China's State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 12, 2022. (Reuters)
China's State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 12, 2022. (Reuters)

China said on Sunday it is open to a meeting with the US defense secretary on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Cambodia this week, in a sign of thawing relations after the countries' top leaders met earlier this month.  

China Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and US Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd previously confirmed separately that they would attend the forum with Southeast Asian countries, the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.  

On Sunday, China's defense ministry issued a statement featuring a question about whether the two would meet, with spokesman Tan Kefei quoted as saying, "China holds a proactive and open attitude for exchange with the United States."  

He also said both sides are coordinating regarding an "exchange" at the forum, set to take place on Wednesday.  

A meeting would represent the first high-level military exchange between the countries since China halted regular dialogue between military commanders in August in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. 

China regards democratically ruled Taiwan as a renegade province.  

In Indonesia last week, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit, China President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face meeting since the latter took office in early 2021.  

Ties between the world's two largest economies have deteriorated in recent years amid issues such as trade, human rights and Taiwan. 



No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
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No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali

US defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes on Iran's nuclear program over the weekend.

"I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth said, Reuters reported.

After the strikes, several experts also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early Sunday morning and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the US and UN nuclear inspectors.

They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60% highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. Hegseth's comments denying those claims came at a news briefing where he accused the media of downplaying the success of US strikes on Iran's nuclear program following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.

Hegseth said the assessment was low confidence, and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged by recent US strikes, and that it would take years to rebuild.