President Donald Trump has strongly dismissed media reports claiming that the US airstrikes on Iran did not succeed in destroying its nuclear facilities. Labeling the coverage as "FAKE NEWS," Trump insisted that the targeted sites were "completely destroyed," directly contradicting early intelligence assessments suggesting the attacks may have only delayed Tehran's nuclear programme by a few months.
'Nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed'
In a post on Truth social, Donald Trump said: "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. The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed! both The Times and CNN are getting slammed by the public!"
White House called the assessment "flat-out wrong"
Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also dismissed the report in a forceful statement, labeling it "flat-out wrong."
"The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran's nuclear program," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration."
What does the report state?
The report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which was first disclosed by CNN, states that the US military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months.
According to the assessment, while the June 22 strikes caused substantial damage to sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, Iran's nuclear infrastructure remains largely intact, contradicting public assertions by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Two people familiar with the intelligence, who spoke on condition of anonymity to news agency AP, said the report found that while the Saturday strikes at the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, they were not totally destroyed.
The assessment found that at least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium was moved out of multiple sites before the US strikes and survived, according to the people, and it also found that Iran's centrifuges are largely intact.
At the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant, the entrance collapsed and infrastructure was damaged, so that will take time to fix, but the underground infrastructure was not destroyed, according to one of the people. The person also said that previous assessments had warned of this outcome at Fordo.
Also Read: US strikes failed to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, only delayed it: Intelligence report
Also Read: Trump warns Israel against bombing Iran, accuses both nations of violating ceasefire
