President Donald Trump addressed reporters on Wednesday amidst ongoing discussions at a NATO summit, revealing that a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment regarding the damage inflicted on Iranian nuclear facilities following recent strikes was described as inconclusive.
Despite the lack of clarity in the intelligence gathered, Trump expressed his strong belief that the damage caused was severe.
“The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says, ‘We don’t know, it could have been very severe’ — that’s what the intelligence says,” Trump conveyed to the media.
He further elaborated on his previous use of the term ‘obliteration’ to describe the impact of the strikes, suggesting it had led to misunderstandings.
“The original word that I used — I guess it got us in trouble, because it’s a strong word — it was ‘obliteration.’ And you’ll see that — and it’s going to come out. Israel is doing a report on it, I understand. And I was told that they said it was total obliteration,” he stated.
In contrast to Trump’s assertions, a U.S. official who requested anonymity revealed Tuesday that early assessments from the Defense Intelligence Agency indicated that the strikes did not lead to a complete obliteration of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
Instead, the evaluation suggested that the U.S. military actions had only set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a few months, a finding first reported by CNN.
Following the military actions, which involved using extensive bunker-buster bombs targeting key nuclear sites, Trump had previously hailed the operation as a “spectacular military success” and claimed that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.”
However, the U.S. official indicated that damage to critical infrastructure at the Fordo facility was limited, directly contradicting Trump’s claim of total destruction.
Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the bombing operation as a “flawless mission” and suggested that it caused “devastation underneath Fordo.”
He also acknowledged that the early intelligence evaluation was preliminary and described the damage as “moderate to severe,” while expressing a belief that it was likely more severe and in line with Trump’s characterization of obliteration.
Hegseth also mentioned an investigation by the FBI into how the details of the intelligence assessment were leaked to the press, underscoring the sensitivity surrounding the issue.
Independent experts have voiced skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the strikes in eliminating Iran’s nuclear program.
Experts who reviewed satellite imagery indicated that, despite the U.S. military action, vital components of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain intact.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey stated, “At the end of the day there are some really important things that haven’t been hit. If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike.”
Many experts assert that Iran’s nuclear program extends beyond its physical facilities and is deeply entrenched in the knowledge possessed by its scientists and engineers, which is significantly harder to target or eradicate.
Kenneth Pollack, vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute, emphasized this point by stating, “The simple fact is that Israel was never going to be able to eliminate Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapons entirely if Iranians choose to do so. The knowledge is just too widespread within the Iranian system.”
In a response to the U.S. strikes, Iranian officials have insisted that they will not comply with any demands to stop uranium enrichment, a crucial element in the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared in a statement on X in Farsi that the country would “completely disregard” Israel’s calls to halt enrichment activities and continue pursuing its own interests.
Furthermore, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, Hamad Eslami, confirmed that assessment efforts regarding the damage from the attacks were underway but emphasized that Iran had prepared extensively beforehand.
Eslami assured that the plan in place would ensure no disruption occurred in their uranium production and service processes.
President Trump speculated that Iran may have lacked sufficient time to evacuate enriched materials from the Fordo facility before the strikes occurred, describing the removal of such material as “very hard and very dangerous.”
He concluded by stating, “We believe it’s all down there.”
In the aftermath of the strikes, military officials provided an initial intelligence evaluation to select senators, including Mark Warner, the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee from Virginia.
Warner expressed his concerns in an interview, stating, “I have a whole lot of questions for this administration. What are the next steps? How do we make sure that there’s not Iran racing now to a dirty bomb? These are questions that we and frankly, the American people, deserve answers to.”
A full classified briefing that was expected for the Senate on Tuesday was postponed, with rescheduling discussions continuing later in the week.
image source from：npr
