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Strikes didn’t destroy Iran’s nuclear sites, US intel finds, contradicting Trump, CNN reports
Recent U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities did not eliminate the core components of Tehran’s nuclear program and likely delayed it by only a few months, according to an early assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), CNN reported on June 24, citing four sources familiar with the findings.
The analysis, based on a battle damage report from U.S. Central Command, contradicts public statements by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who claimed the operation had "obliterated" Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
"So the (DIA) assessment is that the U.S. set them back maybe a few months, tops," one source told CNN, adding that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed and that most centrifuges remain “intact.”
The White House acknowledged the assessment’s existence but strongly dismissed it. "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," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “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 program. Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
Trump, for his part, stood by his assessment of the mission's success. “I think it’s been completely demolished,” he said on Tuesday. “Those pilots hit their targets. Those targets were obliterated, and the pilots should be given credit.” Asked if Iran could rebuild, Trump responded: “That place is under rock. That place is demolished.”
While both Trump and Hegseth praised the strikes as decisive, others expressed caution. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said it was “way too early” to determine whether Iran retained nuclear capabilities.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also avoided endorsing the president’s characterization. “I’ve been briefed on this plan in the past, and it was never meant to completely destroy the nuclear facilities, but rather cause significant damage,” McCaul told CNN. “But it was always known to be a temporary setback.”
The DIA’s assessment reportedly found that damage at the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites was mostly limited to aboveground infrastructure, such as power systems and uranium metal processing buildings. The underground facilities—where Iran's most sensitive nuclear work takes place—were largely unaffected, the sources said.
According to CNN, Israel had been carrying out its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities prior to the U.S. operation, but relied on U.S. B-2 bombers equipped with 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs to finish the job. Despite over a dozen bombs being dropped on Fordow and Natanz, the sites’ key components remain intact, the sources said.
The U.S. also reportedly used Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine to target Isfahan, rather than deploying bunker busters. A source said this was due to doubts over whether the bombs could penetrate Isfahan’s deep underground levels, which are believed to be even more fortified than Fordow.
Two sources also told CNN that Iran likely retains undisclosed nuclear facilities that were not targeted and remain operational.
Meanwhile, classified briefings for lawmakers on the strikes were postponed. The all-Senate briefing was rescheduled for Thursday, and the House briefing’s new date remains unclear.
The Kyiv IndependentAndrew Chakhoyan
