Trump says intelligence on Iran strikes ‘inconclusive' as leaked report questions damage claims

Indian Express

7 hours ago

US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have admitted that the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities by recent American airstrikes may not be as extensive as initially claimed, following a leaked Pentagon assessment that suggests the program was only set back by a few months.
Speaking at the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said the US intelligence community had provided inconclusive findings. 'The intelligence says we don't know. It could've been very severe. That's what the intelligence suggests,' he told reporters, The Guardian reported. 'The intelligence was very inconclusive'
However, he quickly returned to his earlier language, asserting: 'It was very severe. There was obliteration.'
As per The Guardian, Trump even compared the use of US bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Fordow and Natanz enrichment sites to the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , highlighting, in his view, their conflict-ending impact.
Defence Secretary Hegseth, who had previously declared Iran's nuclear capabilities 'obliterated,' softened his tone, describing the damage as 'moderate to severe.' He also vowed an FBI investigation into the leaks but insisted the information was 'false.'
The apparent shift comes after CNN reported on a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment, which indicated that Iran's key underground nuclear facilities — particularly at Fordow and Natanz — were not destroyed, and that key components, including centrifuges, could be restored within months.
The Guardian and other outlets independently confirmed the CNN report, which cited sources calling the assessment 'low-confidence.' However, a US official told the Guardian that further analysis could downgrade the estimate further, noting that most of Iran's 400kg stockpile of 60 per cent enriched uranium had been relocated before the bombing and was now unaccounted for.
While US and Israeli bombs targeted Fordow, Natanz and other facilities, much of the destruction appears limited to aboveground structures. Satellite imagery and nuclear experts have warned that Iran retains the ability to reconstitute its program relatively quickly — particularly if it shifts activity to secret sites that were not hit.
Israel's military offered a more optimistic view. Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the Israeli Air Force's sorties 'struck a significant blow' to Iran's nuclear infrastructure and estimated the program was 'pushed years backward.' According to CNN, Israeli intelligence assessments estimate the delay at about two years.
Concern is growing over Iran's possible withdrawal from the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Iranian parliament is reportedly preparing a bill to pave the way for such a move, which would end the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and eliminate any remaining oversight.
The disappearance of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile and the uncertainty surrounding the fate of its nuclear infrastructure have been described by nuclear experts as a serious blow to nonproliferation efforts.