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(Updates story with President Trump’s reaction)
Investing.com-- A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report has concluded that recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities likely did not destroy the core components of Tehran’s program, but merely delayed it by a few months, media reports stated on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials briefed on the matter.
The assessment by the Pentagon’s intelligence arm found that underground infrastructure, including centrifuges and enriched uranium stockpiles at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, remained mostly intact and potentially repairable within a month or two, reports stated.
CNN first reported details of the DIA (BME:DIDA) assessment on Tuesday.
However, late Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated that Iran’s nuclear sites were completely destroyed, while he attacked media outlets for downplaying the success of the strikes.
"FAKE NEWS CNN, TOGETHER WITH THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES, HAVE TEAMED UP IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY," Trump posted on Truth Social.
President Donald Trump had described the mission as a “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capability soon after the operation ended.
White House officials have also dismissed the DIA findings as “flat‑out wrong,” while affirming the strike degraded Iran’s nuclear capacities.
But satellite imagery referenced by the reports shows that Tehran may have moved key materials to protected locations before the strikes.
This comes after President Trump, on late Monday, announced a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran, but doubts lingered over the truce’s durability, as Trump criticized both Israel and Iran for breaching the deal shortly after announcing it.