US Intel Undercuts Trump's Iran Strike Victory Lap

Source: Maxar Technologies - BBC

 

US intelligence report disputes Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear programme was obliterated in recent airstrikes

 

A classified US intelligence report has disputed President Donald Trump’s assertion that US airstrikes ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program. According to an initial report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the airstrikes had only a partial disruption and likely set Iran back by only a few months.

The evaluation, provided to CNN by several sources, is drawn from a preliminary battle damage assessment report prepared by US Central Command. This report was made after the June 22 bombing of nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. However, the bombings severely damaged aboveground structures, the central underground equipment, centrifuges, and enriched uranium are still largely intact.

 

White House Denies Intelligence Conclusions

 

President Trump, who’s in the Netherlands for the NATO summit, shot down the report and labeled the mission “one of the most successful military strikes in history.” In a post on Truth Social, he said: “The nuclear facilities in Iran are destroyed!”

 

 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt forcefully rejected the evaluation, declaring it ‘flat-out wrong’ and implying that it was leaked by a ‘low-level loser’ in the intelligence community to discredit the President. “Everyone knows what happens when you release fourteen 30,000-pound bombs onto their targets: complete obliteration,” she added.

 

 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed the administration’s position, declaring that Iran’s nuclear aspirations “have been obliterated.”

 

Core Nuclear Facilities Reportedly Withstood

 

Individuals close to the DIA report that Iran’s 60% enriched uranium inventory was relocated off-site before the bombing. Satellite photographs also indicated increased truck traffic around the facilities in advance of the bombing, implying that Iran expected the bombing.

The majority of Iran’s centrifuges are thought to be undamaged. Independent arms expert Jeffrey Lewis, of the Middlebury Institute, stated that the attacks did not damage deeply buried sites at Fordow and Isfahan. “These facilities have the potential to facilitate a rapid resumption of Iran’s nuclear program,” Lewis stated.

 

Congressional Briefings Delayed

 

Planned House and Senate classified briefings were suddenly cancelled on Tuesday. Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan claimed the White House cancelled the House briefing so it could not be scrutinized. “Trump cancelled the briefing because his staff knows they can’t substantiate his bluster,” Ryan tweeted on X.

 

 

Israeli officials, who worked with the US on the operation, also reported less-than-anticipated damage at Fordow. Although Israel insists that the attacks delayed Iran’s program by as long as two years, US intelligence sources are more guarded.

The Pentagon has confirmed that post-strike intelligence analysis continues.