CNN
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The US military attacks at three Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy core elements of the country’s nuclear program, and likely set it every few months, according to an early US intelligence report assessment, explained by seven people.
The previously unreported assessment was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense Intelligence Agency. This is based on a combat damage assessment carried out by the US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strike, one source said.
The analysis of damage to the site and the impact of strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing and could change as more intelligence becomes available. However, the early discoveries oppose President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he “completely and completely wiped out” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility. Defense Secretary Pete Hegses also said on Sunday that Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been “extincted.”
Two people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched uranium has not been destroyed. One of the people said that the centrifuges are largely “unharmed.” Another source said the intelligence assessed enriched uranium and moved from the site prior to the US strike.
“So the (DIA) rating is that the US has probably retreated its tops for a few months,” the person added.
The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment, but they said they opposed it.
White House press chief Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement: “This suspected rating was incorrect and classified as a ‘top secret’ but was leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the Intelligence News community. Drop 14 30,000 pound bombs completely on your target.
The US military has said the operation went according to plan and is “overwhelming success.”
It is still too early for the US to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the strike, and no source explains how DIA assessments compare to the views of other agencies in the intelligence reporting community. The US continues to receive intelligence reports, including from within Iran when assessing damages.
Israel had been struggling at Iran’s nuclear facilities for days leading up to US military operations, but claimed that a US 30,000-pound bunkerbuster bomb was needed to finish the job. The US B-2 bomber dropped two nuclear facilities, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and the Natantz Enrichment Plant, but the bombs did not completely eliminate the site’s centrifuge and highly concentrated uranium, according to people familiar with the assessment.
Instead, the impact on all three sites, Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, was severely damaged, as the majority were restricted to ground structures, sources say. This includes the site’s power infrastructure and some of the above ground facilities used to convert uranium into metal for bomb creation.
Israeli assessments of the impact of the US strike found that Fordow’s damage was less than expected. However, Israeli officials believe that a two-year combination of US-Israel military action at multiple nuclear sites that have retreated Iran’s nuclear program for two years, assuming that Israel can reconstruct what is not allowed to do so. However, Israel also publicly stated that Iran’s programme had retreated for two years before the US military operation.
Hegseth told CNN, “Based on everything we saw, and I’ve seen it all – our bombing campaign has wiped out Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our huge bombs hit exactly in the right place with each target, and the effects of those bombs are buried beneath a mountain of Iranian tiled rubs.
On Tuesday morning, Trump reiterated his belief that the damage caused by a strike was important.
“I think it was completely demolished,” he said, “These pilots hit the targets. Those targets should be wiped out and credited to the pilots.”
When asked about the possibility of Iran rebuilding its nuclear program, Trump replied, “The location is under a rock. The location is being destroyed.”
Trump and Hegses were bullish about the success of the strike, but the chairman of Dan Kane’s co-chief said on Sunday that it was “too early” to comment on whether Iran still maintains nuclear capabilities, while the damage assessment is still ongoing.
Rep. Michael McCall, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, did not reflect Trump’s claim that Iranian programs were “expunged” when he was pressed by CNN on Tuesday.
“I have been described in the past about this plan, but never completely destroyed the nuclear facility, but not causing any serious damage,” McCaul told CNN, referring to the US military’s plan to attack Iran’s nuclear facility. “But it was always known to be a temporary setback.”
Jeffrey Lewis, an arms expert and professor at the Middlebury International Institute, agreed to the assessment that after a thorough review of commercial satellite images from the strikesite, the attack appears to have not ended Iran’s nuclear program.
“The ceasefire has come without Israel or the United States able to destroy several major underground nuclear facilities, including Isfahan and Parkin,” Lewis said of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announced by Trump on Monday. Parkin is an independent nuclear complex near Tehran.
“These facilities could serve as the basis for the rapid restructuring of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Earlier Tuesday, both the House and Senate classified briefings on surgery were cancelled.
The entire Senate briefing was moved Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the issue.
Two separate sources familiar to him told CNN that briefings for all House members have also been postponed. It was not immediately clear why it was delayed or when it would be scheduled.
New York Democrat Pat Ryan said on X on Tuesday that “Trump just cancelled a briefing on a classified home on Iran’s strike with zero explanation. The real reason is that he claimed he destroyed “all nuclear facilities and capabilities.” His team knows they can’t back up his bluester and BS. ”
As CNN reported, there have been long been doubts as to whether the US bunkerbuster bomb, known as a massive US weapon intruder, could completely destroy Iran’s highly-enhanced nuclear sites, particularly buried underground.
In particular, the US attacked Isfahan with a Tomahawk missile launched from a submarine in place of a bunkerbuster bomb. This is because there was an understanding that the bomb would likely not penetrate well into lower levels of Isfahan.
US officials believe Iran is not targeting strikes and is also maintaining secret nuclear facilities that continue to remain operational.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Reported by Kaitlan Collins, Jim Sciutto, Lauren Fox and Annie Grayer of CNN.