The US and Iran are at odds over the impact of recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. According to a leaked intelligence report, the attacks only set Iran’s nuclear program back by a few months. However, US President Donald Trump disputed this assessment, claiming that the strikes led to the “virtual obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and set its atomic program back “by decades”.
Trump made these comments while speaking at a NATO summit in The Hague, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Both officials echoed Trump’s skepticism about the leaked intelligence report.
Hegseth described the preliminary Pentagon assessment as having “low confidence” and suggested that the leak was politically motivated. “Any assessment that tells you it was something otherwise is speculating with other motives,” he said, characterizing the leak as “completely false”.
Rubio also questioned the credibility of the leaked report, implying that the contents had been distorted in the media. He labeled the leakers as “professional stabbers”. The leaked Defense Intelligence Agency evaluation warned that it was an early assessment that could change as more information becomes available about the sites.
According to sources familiar with the report, the strikes on the heavily fortified enrichment facilities at Fordo and Natanz sealed off entrances but failed to destroy underground structures.
The preliminary assessment also indicated that some of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had been moved prior to the attack. Iran’s centrifuges remain largely “intact” with the destruction limited to aboveground buildings.
In US intelligence terminology, “low confidence” typically indicates that the information is either poorly sourced, fragmented, or uncertain. Hegseth’s reference to the report being “low confidence” suggests that it is tentative and its findings may change as more detail emerges.
The US struck three nuclear sites in Iran using “bunker buster” bombs designed to penetrate hardened underground targets. While the specific munitions used in the attack have not been confirmed, the 30,000lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) was thought to be the only weapon capable of destroying Iran’s underground enrichment facilities.
Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said that “all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction”. However, Hassan Abedini, the deputy political director of Iran’s state broadcaster, claimed that the three sites targeted by the US had been evacuated a “while ago”, and that Iran “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out”.
The international community has been closely watching the situation, with NATO’s 32 members agreeing to ramp up defense spending and reaffirm their commitment to collective security. The US and Israel have hailed the mission as a success, while Iran has vowed to respond decisively to the attacks.