US strike set back Iran's nuclear effort a few months: early intel assessment
A preliminary report by the Defense Intelligence Agency contradicts White House, SecDef on the results of Saturday's bunker-busting mission.
The early findings, which were produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, say the strikes only set Iran’s nuclear weapons program back by a few months. The person confirmed the existence of the DIA report, which was first reported by CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Under orders from President Donald Trump, U.S. bombers struck the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday night. Trump said the B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missile launches “obliterated” the three nuclear targets.
The DIA assessment, however, says that the bombings did not fully wipe out the underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium needed for nuclear weapons, and that only much of the aboveground facilities were damaged, the person said.
DIA did not return a request for comment. It’s likely that other U.S. intelligence offices are gathering information about the effectiveness of the strikes and that analysts are still crafting more detailed assessments about the future of Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities. A classified congressional intelligence briefing about the strikes was scheduled for Tuesday, but was pushed back to Thursday.
House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., told the Washington Post that there is widespread belief across Congress that the briefing was delayed because of the findings in the DIA report.
On Sunday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said it is “way too early” to provide a comment on whether Iran still retains any nuclear capabilities.
The White House referred Nextgov/FCW to an X post from press secretary Karoline Leavitt that said the DIA assessment is “flat-out wrong” and was leaked to the press “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,” she wrote. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.” ]]>
