US President Donald Trump on Monday compared the impact of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites to the end of World War II, saying the damage was severe even though available intelligence reports did not share his belief that the objectives were achieved, Reuters reported.
His comments followed reports by Reuters and other media outlets on Tuesday that the US Defense Department's intelligence agency estimated the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program by only a few months, even though Trump and administration officials say it was destroyed.
"The intelligence was... very inconclusive," Trump told reporters at a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ahead of a plenary meeting of NATO leaders in The Hague.
"The intelligence says, "We don't know, it could have been very severe." That's what the intelligence says. So I guess that's correct, but I think we can accept "we don't know." It was very severe. It was a wipeout," Trump added.