Israeli officials see “significant” damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Iran says nuclear facilities ‘badly damaged’ by US strikes
Iran says its nuclear installations were ‘badly damaged’ by US air strikes. It is the first time an Iranian official has addressed the scope of damage caused by the June 22 strikes. US President Donald Trump disputed a US intelligence report that said the attacks had limited impact on Iran’s nuclear program below ground. US military planners were careful not to hit reactors at the Isfahan research facility which appears to have been intentionally left untouched, according to four senior officials in Vienna. The IAEA Director General has said “very significant damage is expected to have occurred” at Fordow. Israel Atomic Energy Commission said the US strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. It said both Israeli and US attacks set back the country’s ability to develop its nuclear weapons by “many years”
TEHRAN – Iran said its nuclear installations were “badly damaged” by US air strikes, the first such comments by Tehran as debate grows over how much the bombardment managed to dent the Islamic Republic’s atomic programme.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera TV in an interview on June 25.
Mr Baghaei did not give further details and said the authorities were still assessing the situation on the ground. He added that the US attacks were a “detrimental blow” to international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iran is a signatory.
The comments are the first time an Iranian official has addressed the scope of damage caused by the June 22 strikes which involved US attacks on three nuclear facilities in Iran using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bombs.
The comments came hours after US President Donald Trump disputed a US intelligence report that said the attacks had limited impact on Iran’s nuclear program below ground.
An assessment from the Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Agency said the bombing likely did not cripple the core components stored underground including centrifuges, according to people familiar with its contents.
Commenting on the intelligence leak, Mr Trump said the report was “very inconclusive” but that he still believed the sites were demolished.
“The intelligence says we don’t know,” he told reporters at a NATO summit in the Hague. “It could have been very severe. That’s what the intelligence says. So I guess that’s correct, but I think we can take that we don’t know. It was very severe. It was obliteration.”
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has said “very significant damage is expected to have occurred” at Fordow, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site which is built under a mountain. The IAEA has not had access to Iran since Israel started attacking Iran on June 13.
Satellite images suggest US avoided Iran’s nuclear reactors
Satellite images show that US military planners were careful not to hit reactors at the Isfahan research facility which appears to have been intentionally left untouched, according to four senior officials in Vienna.
The Israel Atomic Energy Commission said the US strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. It said both Israeli and US attacks set back the country’s ability to develop its nuclear weapons by “many years”.
Mr Trump brokered a ceasefire to end the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding on June 25. The president had lashed out at both countries a day earlier, and particularly Israel, over what he said were early violations of the truce. Both nations have said they’ll honour the ceasefire provided their enemy does the same. BLOOMBERG
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Trump says U.S. and Iran will meet next week
The assessment also found that the U.S. strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back by around three to six months. Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed and Tehran’s centrifuges remain largely intact. The intelligence findings appear to contradict both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who have asserted that the strikes completely “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear sites. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the “alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN”
U.S. missile strikes did not completely destroy Iran’s key nuclear sites, an initial American assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency found, according to three people familiar with the report who spoke to NBC News.
“We were assuming that the damage was going to be much more significant than this assessment is finding,” one of the three sources told NBC News. “This assessment is already finding that these core pieces are still intact. That’s a bad sign for the overall program.”
The assessment also found that the U.S. strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back by around three to six months. But Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed and Tehran’s centrifuges remain largely intact.
CNN first reported the existence of the report.
The assessment was based on U.S. Central Command’s analysis of battle damage from the bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. That analysis is ongoing.
The New York Times reported that the preliminary, classified report found the bombings did not collapse underground buildings of the Iranian nuclear sites.
The intelligence findings appear to contradict both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who have asserted that the strikes completely “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear sites.
Asked for comment by CNBC, the Pentagon shared a statement from Hegseth that, “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.”
“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target — and worked perfectly,” Hegseth said in the statement. “The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, “The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News in a statement that the “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,” Leavitt said.
She added: “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
— Kevin Breuninger
Iranian Military Hiding Extent Of Damage To Nuclear Facilities From Political Leadership, Israel Believes
Israeli officials say they don’t know the extent of the damage caused by the U.S. strikes on Iran. The White House says the report is “flat-out wrong” and was leaked by a “low-level loser” The Pentagon has said that the attacks were a success and that the damage to Iran’s infrastructure is minimal. The U.N. says that Iran’s nuclear program is in danger of being compromised by the attacks, which are believed to have been carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
An Israeli official told Axios that the country is doing its own damage assessment and that military leaders have been downplaying it. “he Iranians themselves still don’t even have a clear idea what happened to some of their nuclear facilities,” another official told the outlet.
Israel does believe the attacks have caused significant damage to the sites, contradicting the Pentagon’s initial assessment that no extensive damage was caused by the bombing.
According to Axios, Israeli officials are “perplexed” by the leaked intelligence report. Even though the country has not produced a final report on the strikes, the initial evaluation is far more optimistic, with an official telling the outlet that there are “no indications the bunker-buster bombs didn’t work.” “Nobody here is disappointed,” the official added.
The view is much more closer to President Donald Trump’s, who has claimed Iran’s nuclear facilities have been “obliterated.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also slammed the report on Tuesday, saying that the 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 official went on to say that the report 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 concluded.
Trump has expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the strikes, as has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. military has also referred to the operation as an “overwhelming success.”
The three sites hit in the attacks, Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, sustained severe damage in their aboveground structures, leading Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to reiterate that Iran’s nuclear facilities “have been obliterated.”
Israeli officials said that at Natanz, the above-ground enrichment facility was completely destroyed and that signs point to the collapse of the underground infrastructure. The full extent of the damages to Fordow and Isfahan is still being assessed. “We doubt that these facilities can be activated any time in the near future,” another official told Axios. Moreover, officials believe that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is buried beneath rubble at Isfahan and Fordow.
Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say
The assessment was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes. The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment but said they disagreed with it. The impact to all three sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — was largely restricted to aboveground structures, which were severely damaged, the sources said. The US military has said the operation went as planned and that it was an “overwhelming success.’ “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 White House said in a statement. The assessment is still early for the US to have a comprehensive picture of the impact of the strikes, and none of the sources described how the DIA assessment compares to the view of other agencies in theintelligence community.
The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it.
The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is 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 early findings are at odds with President Donald 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 Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. One of the people said the centrifuges are largely “intact.” Another source said 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.
The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment but said they disagreed with it.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement: “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.”
Trump, who’s in the Netherlands attending this week’s NATO summit, pushed back on CNN’s report in a Truth Social post. “One of the most successful military strikes in history,” Trump wrote in the all-caps post adding, “The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!”
Hegseth, who is also at the NATO summit, said Wednesday the assessment was “a top secret report; it was preliminary; it was low confidence;” adding that there were political motives behind leaking it and that an FBI investigation was underway to identify the leaker.
The US military has said the operation went as planned and that it was an “overwhelming success.”
It is still early for the US to have a comprehensive picture of the impact of the strikes, and none of the sources described how the DIA assessment compares to the view of other agencies in the intelligence community. The US is continuing to pick up intelligence, including from within Iran as they assess the damage.
Israel had been carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities for days leading up to the US military operation but claimed to need the US’ 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs to finish the job. While US B-2 bombers dropped over a dozen of the bombs on two of the nuclear facilities, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant and the Natanz Enrichment Complex, the bombs did not fully eliminate the sites’ centrifuges and highly enriched uranium, according to the people familiar with the assessment.
Instead, the impact to all three sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — was largely restricted to aboveground structures, which were severely damaged, the sources said. That includes the sites’ power infrastructure and some of the aboveground facilities used to turn uranium into metal for bomb-making.
The Israeli assessment of the impact of the US strikes also found less damage on Fordow than expected. However, Israeli officials believe the combination of US and Israeli military action on multiple nuclear sites set back the Iranian nuclear program by two years, assuming they are able to rebuild it unimpeded which Israel would not allow. But Israel had also stated publicly before the US military operation that Iran’s program had been set back by two years.
Hegseth also told CNN, “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.“
On Tuesday morning, Trump repeated his belief the damage from the strikes was significant.
“I think it’s been completely demolished,” he said, adding, “Those pilots hit their targets. Those targets were obliterated, and the pilots should be given credit.”
On Wednesday, Trump lashed out at the media, including CNN, though he maintained the strikes put Iran’s nuclear ambitions back decades. Still, the US president acknowledged the intelligence was “inconclusive” and preliminary, and suggested Israel would provide a fuller picture shortly with its own findings.
“The intelligence was very inconclusive,” Trump said at the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Hague. “The intelligence says we don’t know. It could have been very severe.”
On Wednesday morning, a senior DIA official said in a statement that “We have still not been able to review the actual physical sites themselves, which will give us the best indication. We are working with the FBI and other authorities to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.”
While Trump and Hegseth have been bullish about the success of the strikes, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said Sunday that while the damage assessment was still ongoing it would be “way too early” to comment on whether Iran still retains some nuclear capabilities.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would not echo Trump’s claims that the Iranian program had been “obliterated” when pressed by CNN on Tuesday.
“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, referring to the US military plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. “But it was always known to be a temporary setback.”
Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has closely reviewed commercial satellite imagery of the strike sites, agreed with the assessment that the attacks do not appear to have ended Iran’s nuclear program.
“The ceasefire came without either Israel or the United States being able to destroy several key underground nuclear facilities, including near Natanz, Isfahan and Parchin,” Lewis said, referring to the ceasefire between Israel and Iran that Trump announced on Monday. Parchin is a separate nuclear complex near Tehran.
“These facilities could serve as the basis for the rapid reconstitution of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Earlier on Tuesday, classified briefings for both the House and Senate on the operation were canceled.
The all-Senate briefing has been moved to Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Two separate sources familiar told CNN the briefing for all House lawmakers has also been postponed. It was not immediately clear why it was delayed or when it would be rescheduled.
Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of New York said on X on Tuesday that “Trump just cancelled a classified House briefing on the Iran strikes with zero explanation. The real reason? He claims he destroyed ‘all nuclear facilities and capability;’ his team knows they can’t back up his bluster and BS.”
As CNN has reported, there have long been questions about whether the US’ bunker-buster bombs, known as Massive Ordnance Penetrators, would be able to fully destroy Iran’s highly fortified nuclear sites that are buried deep underground — particularly at Fordow and Isfahan, Iran’s largest nuclear research complex.
Notably, the US struck Isfahan with Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine instead of a bunker-buster bomb. That is because there was an understanding that the bomb would likely not successfully penetrate Isfahan’s lower levels, which are buried even deeper than Fordow, one of the sources said.
US officials believe Iran also maintains secret nuclear facilities that were not targeted in the strike and remain operational, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Jim Sciutto, Kevin Liptak, Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer and DJ Judd contributed reporting.
U.S. officials confirm massive damage to Iran’s nuclear sites
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged.” Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission called the US-led operation “devastating” The strikes, particularly on the Fordow facility, destroyed critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment site inoperable. The large-scale mission involved more than 125 US aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, refueling tankers, fighter jets, and a guided missile submarine. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said US assessments showed that Iran’s nuclear sites sustained “extremely severe damage and destruction”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that “our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” referring to key sites targeted in Saturday’s attack.
Israel’s military echoed that conclusion. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said Iran’s program was “significantly damaged,” while Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission called the US-led operation “devastating.” The commission noted that the strikes, particularly on the Fordow facility, destroyed critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment site inoperable.
“We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, have set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,” it said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said US assessments showed that Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites sustained “extremely severe damage and destruction.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the strikes, which included bunker-busting bombs at Fordow, resulted in “devastation underneath” the mountain site.
The large-scale mission involved more than 125 US aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, refueling tankers, fighter jets, and a guided missile submarine, according to Caine.
The coordinated assessment comes despite earlier reports citing a leaked, low-confidence intelligence assessment suggesting the damage may have been less extensive. The Defense Intelligence Agency clarified that the initial report was based on preliminary data and would be refined as further intelligence is collected.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed doubts over the strike’s effectiveness. He was reported by Fox News saying that Iran’s nuclear program “today looks nothing like it did just a week ago.” He said, “This was complete and total obliteration. They are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago because of what President Trump did.”
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi also acknowledged the scale of destruction, saying that significant damage likely occurred at the targeted facilities, including hits on uranium conversion buildings and tunnel entrances at Isfahan, as well as the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz.