The CIA has confirmed that the US military strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure caused significant long-term damage, stating that key facilities were destroyed and would take years to rebuild.
In a public statement issued on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said, "CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years."
Ratcliffe added that the agency was continuing to gather intelligence and would keep US leadership informed.
"CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency," he said.
The CIA’s statement challenges earlier findings reportedly circulated within the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which had estimated that the strikes had only set back Iran’s nuclear activities by a few months. That preliminary assessment, first reported by CNN and based on unnamed officials familiar with the review, suggested the sites remained largely operational despite the bombings. The early DIA assessment, marked as “low confidence”, estimated Iran’s programme may only have been set back by three to six months.
Seven individuals briefed on the early intelligence told CNN that while the operation was complex, the structural damage may not have been as comprehensive as initially claimed by the White House. These reports triggered widespread debate within Washington’s national security circles.
According to sources familiar with the document, the review was based on satellite data gathered within 24 hours of the raid and has not yet been finalised.
Trump defends mission, announces Pentagon briefing
US President Donald Trump responded sharply to the media coverage, accusing major US outlets of misrepresenting the facts. He announced that Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and top Pentagon officials would hold a detailed news conference on Thursday to highlight the mission’s success and the risks taken by US pilots.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Secretary of Defense (War!) Pete Hegseth, together with Military Representatives, will be holding a Major News Conference tomorrow morning at 8 A.M. EST at The Pentagon, in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots. These Patriots were very upset!"
He continued, "After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times. They felt terribly! Fortunately for them and, as usual, solely for the purpose of demeaning PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, the Fake News (Times and CNN) lied and totally misrepresented the Facts, none of which they had (because it was too soon, there were no Facts out there yet!). The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable. Enjoy!"
Military launched 125-aircraft assault on Iran's nuclear sites
The US operation involved 125 military aircraft targeting three of Iran’s main nuclear sites — Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan — in coordinated strikes. Satellite images taken afterwards show large craters around entrances at Fordo and similar damage at Isfahan. However, it remains unclear whether the underground structures housing sensitive equipment were destroyed.
Trump, speaking to reporters, said: “The area around the nuclear facilities was burned black. The underground tunnels where uranium was enriched and stored — all collapsed.”
He added that questioning the operation’s success was “very unfair to the pilots, who risked their lives for our country.”
Iran acknowledges damage, but says no ‘irreversible’ losses
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.” But Iranian MP adviser Mehdi Mohammadi claimed soon after the attacks that “no irreversible damage was sustained” at Fordo.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said in Vienna that it is possible Iran had moved some of its highly enriched uranium to safer locations in the early stages of the attack. “It is a scenario we cannot rule out,” he said.
Israel weighs in: Damage likely to delay Iran's nuclear capability by ‘years’
Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission stated on Wednesday that the strikes had “rendered the Fordo underground enrichment site inoperable,” and declared that the damage had “set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.”
The joint American-Israeli campaign, the Commission said, had crippled critical infrastructure. It added: “The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.”
The fallout has sparked fierce criticism of US intelligence agencies and media outlets that reported the DIA leak. Trump described those reports as “scum” and “disgusting,” and said journalists were “trying to make him look bad.”
At a press conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the leaked DIA analysis as flawed: “The evidence of what was bombed is buried under a mountain, devastated and obliterated.” He accused reporters of using early, unverified reports to damage the president politically.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute, said: “If it’s too early to know, why is Trump saying it’s obliterated? Either it’s too early to know, or you know.”
One critical concern is whether Iran managed to secure its enriched uranium stockpile and advanced centrifuges before the bombing. Arms control experts say if those components were preserved, Iran could restart its nuclear programme even without the three bombed sites.
Trump dismissed that possibility: “I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out, because we acted fast,” he said. “It’s very hard to move that kind of material, and very dangerous.”
Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary, urged patience: “That’s going to take an extended period of time, at least a number of weeks, before we have a full assessment of the damage done by the attack.”
Talks ahead, but Trump downplays need for diplomacy
Trump said US and Iranian officials would meet soon to resume talks. However, he also downplayed the need for negotiations: “I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. They’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it.”
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed to NBC that there had been “direct and indirect communication” with Tehran. However, Iran has not officially acknowledged the prospect of talks.
The leak of the DIA report has led the White House to consider limiting the flow of classified documents to Congress. According to a senior official quoted anonymously, classified briefings originally scheduled for Tuesday are now expected later in the week.
The administration's move to reduce oversight is likely to face pushback from lawmakers, especially amid increasing political division over how the Iran strikes are being represented to the public.
As multiple agencies continue to assess the damage — and global attention remains fixed on whether Iran can rebuild — one thing is certain: the full consequences of the US strikes are yet to be seen.
In a public statement issued on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said, "CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years."
Ratcliffe added that the agency was continuing to gather intelligence and would keep US leadership informed.
"CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency," he said.
The CIA’s statement challenges earlier findings reportedly circulated within the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which had estimated that the strikes had only set back Iran’s nuclear activities by a few months. That preliminary assessment, first reported by CNN and based on unnamed officials familiar with the review, suggested the sites remained largely operational despite the bombings. The early DIA assessment, marked as “low confidence”, estimated Iran’s programme may only have been set back by three to six months.
Seven individuals briefed on the early intelligence told CNN that while the operation was complex, the structural damage may not have been as comprehensive as initially claimed by the White House. These reports triggered widespread debate within Washington’s national security circles.
According to sources familiar with the document, the review was based on satellite data gathered within 24 hours of the raid and has not yet been finalised.
Trump defends mission, announces Pentagon briefing
US President Donald Trump responded sharply to the media coverage, accusing major US outlets of misrepresenting the facts. He announced that Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and top Pentagon officials would hold a detailed news conference on Thursday to highlight the mission’s success and the risks taken by US pilots.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Secretary of Defense (War!) Pete Hegseth, together with Military Representatives, will be holding a Major News Conference tomorrow morning at 8 A.M. EST at The Pentagon, in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots. These Patriots were very upset!"
He continued, "After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times. They felt terribly! Fortunately for them and, as usual, solely for the purpose of demeaning PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, the Fake News (Times and CNN) lied and totally misrepresented the Facts, none of which they had (because it was too soon, there were no Facts out there yet!). The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable. Enjoy!"
Military launched 125-aircraft assault on Iran's nuclear sites
The US operation involved 125 military aircraft targeting three of Iran’s main nuclear sites — Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan — in coordinated strikes. Satellite images taken afterwards show large craters around entrances at Fordo and similar damage at Isfahan. However, it remains unclear whether the underground structures housing sensitive equipment were destroyed.
Trump, speaking to reporters, said: “The area around the nuclear facilities was burned black. The underground tunnels where uranium was enriched and stored — all collapsed.”
He added that questioning the operation’s success was “very unfair to the pilots, who risked their lives for our country.”
Iran acknowledges damage, but says no ‘irreversible’ losses
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.” But Iranian MP adviser Mehdi Mohammadi claimed soon after the attacks that “no irreversible damage was sustained” at Fordo.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said in Vienna that it is possible Iran had moved some of its highly enriched uranium to safer locations in the early stages of the attack. “It is a scenario we cannot rule out,” he said.
Israel weighs in: Damage likely to delay Iran's nuclear capability by ‘years’
Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission stated on Wednesday that the strikes had “rendered the Fordo underground enrichment site inoperable,” and declared that the damage had “set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.”
The joint American-Israeli campaign, the Commission said, had crippled critical infrastructure. It added: “The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.”
The fallout has sparked fierce criticism of US intelligence agencies and media outlets that reported the DIA leak. Trump described those reports as “scum” and “disgusting,” and said journalists were “trying to make him look bad.”
At a press conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the leaked DIA analysis as flawed: “The evidence of what was bombed is buried under a mountain, devastated and obliterated.” He accused reporters of using early, unverified reports to damage the president politically.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute, said: “If it’s too early to know, why is Trump saying it’s obliterated? Either it’s too early to know, or you know.”
One critical concern is whether Iran managed to secure its enriched uranium stockpile and advanced centrifuges before the bombing. Arms control experts say if those components were preserved, Iran could restart its nuclear programme even without the three bombed sites.
Trump dismissed that possibility: “I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out, because we acted fast,” he said. “It’s very hard to move that kind of material, and very dangerous.”
Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary, urged patience: “That’s going to take an extended period of time, at least a number of weeks, before we have a full assessment of the damage done by the attack.”
Talks ahead, but Trump downplays need for diplomacy
Trump said US and Iranian officials would meet soon to resume talks. However, he also downplayed the need for negotiations: “I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. They’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it.”
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed to NBC that there had been “direct and indirect communication” with Tehran. However, Iran has not officially acknowledged the prospect of talks.
The leak of the DIA report has led the White House to consider limiting the flow of classified documents to Congress. According to a senior official quoted anonymously, classified briefings originally scheduled for Tuesday are now expected later in the week.
The administration's move to reduce oversight is likely to face pushback from lawmakers, especially amid increasing political division over how the Iran strikes are being represented to the public.
As multiple agencies continue to assess the damage — and global attention remains fixed on whether Iran can rebuild — one thing is certain: the full consequences of the US strikes are yet to be seen.
You may also like
Liverpool can sell five stars to fund mega £150m Alexander Isak transfer
After Baahubali and RRR, director Rajamouli steps into video game. But in a different role
'100% Communist Lunatic': Donald Trump Unleashes Rant Against Zohran Mamdani After Primary Win In NYC Mayoral Elections (VISUALS)
Mumbai Rains: Lake Levels See Slight Rise To Nearly 36% As City Receives Light Showers
Mumbai Weather News: Overcast Skies Take Over City; IMD Issues Yellow Alert For Konkan Region
