White House Rejects Report of Probe Showing Only Limited Setback to Iran’s Nuke Sites

Early U.S. intelligence findings indicate that the recent American air campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities, while damaging, may have only temporarily hindered Tehran’s atomic ambitions, officials privy to the classified report told the New York Times and CNN Tuesday.

The White House was quick to push back on the report.

“FAKE NEWS CNN STRIKES AGAIN,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote

“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.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,” she wrote.

The alleged assessment suggests that the strikes, which reportedly involved U.S. B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles targeting facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, primarily sealed off entrances to two sites rather than causing a complete collapse of their underground structures. This has led to the conclusion that Iran’s nuclear program might be delayed by a mere few months.

Before the military action, U.S. intelligence agencies estimated Iran could develop a rudimentary nuclear device within approximately three months if it chose to expedite its efforts. The new Defense Intelligence Agency report, following both U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, now estimates a delay of less than six months.

Experts note that any rapid attempt by Iran would likely result in a less sophisticated weapon, with the impact on more advanced miniaturization research still unclear.

These initial findings appear to contradict President Trump’s earlier pronouncements that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure had been “obliterated.” A planned congressional briefing on the strike’s assessment was postponed from Tuesday to Thursday.
Adding to the complexities, the report suggests a significant portion of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was relocated prior to the attacks, meaning much of the nuclear material remains intact and potentially moved to undisclosed locations. Some Israeli officials share this belief, suspecting Iran maintains covert enrichment sites.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly disputed the assessment, calling it “flat-out wrong” and an attempt to “demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots.” She asserted that the precise deployment of “14 30,000-pound bombs” would result in “total obliteration.”

While the full extent of the damage is still being evaluated, and further assessments are anticipated, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s initial report indicates the sites were not as severely impacted as some administration officials had hoped. This raises concerns that Iran could still quickly advance towards nuclear weapon development if it chooses to do so.