US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend failed to destroy key components of Iran’s nuclear programme, contrary to President Donald Trump’s claims, US media reported on Tuesday.
An initial assessment by US intelligence agencies indicates that the strikes have likely only caused a delay of several months in Iran's nuclear programme, according to sources quoted by CNN and The New York Times.
The evaluation, conducted by the Defense Intelligence Agency of the Department of Defense, is still being analysed, and the conclusions may change, according to CNN.
The New York Times reports that Iran’s nuclear programme has been set back by less than six months, and that there is scepticism within the Israeli military about the extent of the damage.
It was previously estimated that Iran could produce a nuclear bomb within three months if it chose to do so.
Following the bombing, President Trump claimed that significant Iranian nuclear infrastructure had been “wiped out” by the so-called bunker busters. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also described the attack on Sunday as an overwhelming success, stating that the Iranian nuclear programme had been devastated.
According to insiders, Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was not destroyed, as much of it had been relocated before the attack. The five-page report also suggests that the centrifuges are largely “intact.”
Further, sources indicate that the damage at the nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan is limited to above-ground structures. Iran is also believed to have secret nuclear facilities that were not targeted in the attack.
The White House informed news outlets that it was aware of the analysis but disagreed with its assessments.
“This alleged ‘assessment’ is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme,” she added. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
US military struck the nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on the night from Saturday to Sunday. The first two sites were hit by special bunker busters designed to inflict damage deep underground, while Isfahan was struck with Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine.
