
CIA says intelligence indicates Iran's nuclear program severely damaged
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday said a body of credible intelligence indicated that Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged by recent U.S. strikes, and that it would take years to be rebuilt.
"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 said in a statement.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
US Treasury's Bessent extends measures to avoid debt ceiling breach
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday extended the department's authority to continue extraordinary cash management measures to keep from breaching the federal debt ceiling by nearly a month, until July 24. Bessent said in a letter to congressional leaders that he had determined that the "debt issuance suspension period" previously scheduled to expire on Friday needed to continue. The declaration allows the Treasury to suspend funding from government pension and retiree healthcare funds that are not needed to pay immediate benefits. Bessent has estimated that the Treasury would no longer be able to pay all of its obligations without an increase or suspension of the debt limit some time during the mid-to-late summer. His letter did not provide any specific updates to this timing, although he told reporters on Tuesday that the so-called debt ceiling "X-date" could change if courts interfered with President Donald Trump's tariffs, which pulled in a record $23 billion in customs revenue during May. But his extension to July 24 appeared partly aimed at keeping pressure on Congress to raise the debt ceiling as part of a massive tax-and-spending package before its traditional August recess. "Based on our current estimates, we continue to believe that Congress must act to increase or suspend the debt ceiling as soon as possible before its scheduled August recess to protect the full faith and credit of the United States," Bessent said in the letter.


Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
The latest US foray into military action has a name: The Trump Doctrine
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - With his order for B-2 bombers to strike Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday, President Donald Trump swerved away from his usual reluctance to use military force, directly involving the U.S. in a foreign war and alarming many of his "America First" supporters. Now, the thinking behind his decision has a name, according to Vice President JD Vance: the Trump Doctrine. Vance laid out the elements in remarks on Tuesday: articulate a clear American interest, try to solve a problem with diplomacy and, if that fails, "use overwhelming military power to solve it and then you get the hell out of there before it ever becomes a protracted conflict." To some observers, however, the new doctrine sounds like an effort to offer a tidy framework to describe a foreign policy that often looks unpredictable and inconsistent. "It's hard for me to relate seriously to something called the 'Trump Doctrine,'" said Middle East analyst Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "I don't think Trump has a doctrine. I think Trump has only held instincts." Trump's decision to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran came after Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei said Iran would not give up its ability to enrich uranium. Soon after the U.S. strikes, Trump announced a ceasefire, which has mostly held. On Wednesday, Trump vowed again that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and said talks with Tehran would resume next week. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. 'President Trump and Vice President Vance are the perfect team because they share the same 'peace through strength' vision for U.S. foreign policy," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in response to a request for comment. Trump faces pressure to explain his decision to intervene in the Israel-Iran conflict. Vance, who previously embraced isolationism, has been one of the administration's main messengers on the issue. Trump helped win over voters by arguing that the "stupid" U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had left the United States in a quagmire and that he would work to avoid foreign entanglements. He has mostly stuck to the pledge, with some exceptions: the use of American force against Houthi rebels launching attacks from Yemen this year, and his orders to kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019 and Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020. But the prospect of the United States getting dragged into an extended conflict with Iran angered many in the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, including prominent Trump supporters like strategist Steve Bannon and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson. Opinion polling also reflects deep concern among Americans about what might come next. Some 79% of Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday said they worried "that Iran may target U.S. civilians in response to the U.S. airstrikes." Melanie Sisson, a senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Vance appears to be trying to satisfy Trump's right flank by "trying to figure out how to explain how and why the administration can undertake a military action without it being a prelude to war." To some, Vance's Trump Doctrine rings true. "Vance has provided an accurate summary of President Trump's approach over recent days to the conflict in the Middle East," said Clifford May, founder and president of Washington's Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. "Most outside analysts, and certainly most historians, may think the term 'doctrine' is premature. But if President Trump builds on this successful use of U.S. force, it would be a tremendous doctrine for President Trump to boast," May added. Still, whether the new framework sticks will likely depend on how the current conflict ends. It is too soon to 'pronounce either that this was a brilliant success or that it was a massive strategic failure," said Rebecca Lissner, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "We need to see how the diplomacy plays out and where we actually land in terms of constraint, visibility and survival of the Iranian nuclear program."


The Guardian
42 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: ‘Daddy' Trump showered with praise on triumphant lap through Nato summit
On the back of hailing US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as a 'victory for everybody', president Trump has claimed success at the Nato summit in The Hague, praising the commitment by Nato allies to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP. The US president described the summit as 'a very historic milestone'. It was, he said, 'something that no one really thought possible. And they said: 'You did it, sir, you did it'. Well, I don't know if I did it … but I think I did.' The US president also received sycophantic praise from Nato secretary general Mark Rutte who, referring to Trump's foul mouthed outburst about Iran and Israel a day earlier, said rather remarkably: 'Daddy sometimes has to use strong language'. Here are the key stories at a glance: A relaxed Donald Trump said Nato's decision to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP was a 'big win' for western civilisation in a digressive press conference at a summit in The Hague where he reaffirmed the US's commitment to the military alliance. Read the full story Donald Trump and the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, have admitted to some doubt over the scale of the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear sites by the US bombing at the weekend, after a leaked Pentagon assessment said the Iranian programme had been set back by only a few months. Read the full story Voice of America (VOA) may have been used to broadcast Donald Trump's message to Iranians in Farsi during weekend military strikes, the president's senior adviser told Congress on Wednesday, revealing how the crumbling, traditionally independent news service is possibly functioning as a conduit for presidential messaging. Read the full story The attorney general, Pam Bondi, professed ignorance of reports of immigration officials hiding their faces with masks during round-ups of undocumented people, despite widespread video evidence and reports that they are instilling pervasive fear and panic. Read the full story A court in Costa Rica has ordered authorities to release foreign migrants who were locked up in a shelter after being deported by the US. About 200 people from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were brought to the Central American nation in February under an agreement with the US administration of Donald Trump, a move criticized by human rights organizations. Read the full story Plans to open a massive federal immigration processing center in a California desert community has sparked outrage among advocacy groups who argue it will come at a 'long-term cost' and 'fuel harm'. Read the full story The first meeting of a critical federal vaccine panel was a high-profile display of how the US health secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr has injected chaos into vaccine policy infrastructure. Read the full story Donald Trump and CBS could settle their legal battle over a contested interview with Kamala Harris for $20m as the dispute continues to shadow a major media merger. The New Jersey Democratic representative who is facing felony charges after a recent incident during a visit to an Ice detention facility pleaded not guilty in federal court. The vice-mayor of a small California city is under fire after appearing to call on street gangs to organize in the face of immigration sweeps by federal agents in Los Angeles. Catching up? Here's what happened on 24 June 2025.