US Strikes Set Back Iran's Nuclear Program, Report Reveals

A U.S. intelligence report suggests that Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months after U.S. strikes and was not completely obliterated as President Donald Trump has said, according to two people familiar with the early assessment.

The report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency contradicts statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities. It found that while the strikes did significant damage, the facilities were not totally destroyed. The U.S. has held out hope of restarting negotiations with Iran to convince it to give up its nuclear program entirely, but some experts fear that the strikes could push Tehran toward developing a functioning weapon.

The assessment also suggests that at least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium was moved out of multiple sites before the strikes and survived. The report found that Iran's centrifuges are largely intact. At the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, the entrance collapsed, but the underground infrastructure was not destroyed.

The White House rejected the assessment, calling it wrong, and Trump defended his characterization of the strike's impact. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there would be an investigation into how the intelligence assessment leaked and dismissed it as preliminary.

Outside experts suspected Iran had likely hidden the core components of its nuclear program. Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has enriched significant quantities of uranium beyond civilian use levels.

Iranian Foreign Minister informed U.N. nuclear watchdog chief that Tehran would adopt special measures to protect its nuclear equipment and materials. Satellite imagery showed trucks and bulldozers at the Fordo site before the strikes.

Experts say Iran could still have a solid foundation for a reconstituted covert program and for getting a bomb, but launching a covert nuclear program would be at a disadvantage.

According to the source: AP News.