US intelligence data shows that Iran's nuclear facilities were not “completely destroyed”, as Washington claims. What else does the information from the services make clear.
According to two people familiar with the initial assessment, a US intelligence report shows that Iran's nuclear program was delayed by just a few months after the US strikes and was not “completely destroyed”, as President Donald Trump has claimed. Such reports have appeared in a number of American media outlets, including the "New York Times", CNN and "Associated Press".
What information does the report contain?
The report, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday, contradicts statements by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the state of Iran's nuclear facilities after the attack. According to sources with the "Associated Press", the report found that while the strikes on the nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan caused significant damage, the facilities were not completely destroyed.
According to the intelligence report, only the entrances to the Fordow facility, built deep in the mountain, were destroyed, but not the underground buildings themselves. According to CNN, the attack has delayed Iran's nuclear program by "at most a few months." The American media outlet says it could be less than six months. However, both CNN and the New York Times emphasize that this is an initial report and that further investigations may lead to different conclusions.
What the Trump administration is saying
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt criticized the media outlets that published the conclusions of the "top secret" report. In a post on Platform X, she said that the information was not true. According to her, "everyone knows" that in an attack like the one carried out by the US on Sunday, only one thing happens - "total destruction".
US President Donald Trump also wrote on his social network Truth Social that the information reported by the media is not true. He reaffirmed his initial statement - that Iran's nuclear facilities have been completely destroyed.
What experts think
Outside experts suspected that Iran may have already hidden or moved the main components of its nuclear program, after being faced with the possibility of American "bunker destroyer" bombs be used against its nuclear facilities.
Bulldozers and trucks seen in satellite images taken just days before the strikes have fueled speculation among experts that Iran may have moved its half-ton stockpile of enriched uranium to an unknown location, the "Associated Press" reports. The incomplete destruction of its nuclear facilities could still leave the country with the ability to acquire weapons-grade uranium and build a bomb.