CNN reported the assessment was based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said.
The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available. But the Trump-hating network said early findings were at odds with President Trump’s repeated claims that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said on Sunday that Iran’s nuclear ambitions “have been obliterated.”
Two of the people familiar with the assessment said it alleged Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. One of the people said the centrifuges, crucial to uranium enrichment, are largely “intact.” Another source quoted by CNN claimed that the intelligence assessed enriched uranium was moved out of the sites prior to the US strikes.
“So, the (DIA) assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops,” this person added, according to CNN’s gleeful report.
However, the Trump White House, and most independent observers, came to a different conclusion.
In an outraged statement released after the CNN report, the Trump White House Press Office said, “The precision strikes perfectly hit their targets and destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, resulting in the total obliteration of Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon. Parts of this inconclusive, low-confidence intelligence assessment were leaked to Fake News CNN to undermine the President and more egregiously, disparage the brave pilots who successfully conducted this mission.”
The Defense Intelligence Agency also released a statement saying, "This is a preliminary, low confidence report and will continue to be refined as additional intelligence becomes available. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of classified information."
Other independent observers also backed President Trump’s assessment that the Iranian nuclear weapons production facilities were “obliterated.”
Israel Atomic Energy Commission: “The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable,” said the statement, which the White House distributed. “We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years. The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir: “I can say here that the assessment is that we significantly damaged the nuclear program, and I can also say that we set it back by years, I repeat, years.”
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi: “Given the explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred. At the Esfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit, with the US confirming their use of cruise missiles. Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit. At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit, with the US confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions.”
Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright: “Overall, Israel’s and U.S. attacks have effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program. It will be a long time before Iran comes anywhere near the capability it had before the attack.”
Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director Andrea Stricker: “I think that because of the massive damage and the shock wave that would have been sent by 12 Massive Ordnance Penetrators at the Fordow site, that it likely would render its centrifuges damaged or inoperable.”
American Enterprise Institute Middle East Portfolio Manager Brian Carter: “There is no question that the bombing campaign ‘badly, badly damaged’ the three sites.”
Institute for Science and International Security Senior Research Fellow Spencer Faragasso: “Overall, it may possibly take years for Iran to reconstitute the capabilities it lost at these facilities.”
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement, “For dozens of years I promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons and indeed ... we brought to ruin Iran’s nuclear program.” He said the United States joining Israel was a historic move and praised Trump.
However, the Epoch Times reported the head of the UN atomic agency, while confirming observations of significant damage at Iran’s nuclear sites, signaled that international investigators are unsure of where Iran’s uranium is located following the strikes or whether it was moved.
Speaking to Fox News on June 24, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi was asked about 900 pounds of uranium that Iran reportedly possessed. He then indicated that the UN agency doesn’t know.
“I have to be very precise. …We are the IAEA, so we are not speculating here,” he said. “We do not have information of the whereabouts of this material.”
The bottom line: Iran’s uranium enrichment and weapons production facilities were hit hard, but whether the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of nuclear bomb-making materials was destroyed remains to be confirmed.
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