US and Israeli air strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site have only delayed the programme by a few months, according to three individuals briefed on the matter who spoke to CNN.
The initial US intelligence assessment was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency and has not been previously reported, states the outlet. Satellite imagery from the last day indicates significant damage, but intelligence agencies are still assessing the full extent of the destruction.
One source revealed that this evaluation was conducted by US Central Command following the strikes, adding that this may change as more information becomes available. However, these findings do not align with President Donald Trump’s claim that the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant was ‘obliterated.’
Two sources who viewed the assessment also told CNN that ‘Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed,’ and one suggested that ‘the centrifuges are largely intact. ‘ “So the (DIA) assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops,” they added, reports the Mirror US.
In response, the White House stated that they are aware of the statements but ‘disagree’ with the intelligence provided. On Tuesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the report, labelling it a “clear attempt to demean President Trump.”
Leavitt further commented, “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.
“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,” Leavitt told CNN in response.
Israeli intelligence released Tuesday afternoon claimed ‘victory’ but also agreed that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been set back ‘a few years’ though not ‘obliterated.’
On the eve of the US strikes, where the U.S. dropped 14 Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP) bombs (or bunker buster bombs), and about two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles on three Iranian nuclear compounds, including Fordo, Trump said the mission ‘completely and totally obliterated’ Iran’s main nuclear site.
Addressing the nation alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth, Trump remarked: “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel’s war against Iran brought the country’s nuclear programme “to ruin.”
Speaking in a televised statement, he listed Israel’s achievements in the war, including its attacks on top generals and nuclear scientists. He said Israel destroyed nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan, along with the Arak heavy water reactor.”
“For dozens of years,” he continued. “I promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons and indeed … we brought to ruin Iran’s nuclear programme.”
On Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir also confirmed, “We have set Iran’s nuclear project back by years, and the same goes for its missile program.”