After the dust from the bombs and missiles settled, a war of words and a quest for the truth began.

Donald Trump triumphantly claimed that America “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, after striking three sites with GBU-57 bunker busting bombs and tomahawk missiles, setting it back “basically decades”.

But Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said: “The Americans were unable to accomplish anything significant.”

Israeli intelligence said the damage was “very significant” but the Pentagon’s early assessment found that “the US set them back maybe a few months, tops”.

Damage sustained

Israel and America’s attacks had two clear objectives: cripple Iran’s ability to make weapons-grade uranium and stop them using their already enriched uranium to make a weapon.

The first target was the Natanz enrichment plant. Israel’s initial strikes on Natanz disabled its main electrical substation, the main power lines, back-up generators and the fuel tanks which make them run.