Latest news with #NuclearAmbitions
CNN
12 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
What senators are saying after being briefed on the US strikes on Iran
Emerging from a highly anticipated classified briefing on Thursday, Democratic and Republican senators were not in agreement over exactly how much US strikes on Iran set back that country's nuclear program. Many Republicans said that they believe it will now take Iran years longer to build a nuclear weapon, though some acknowledged the threat is not completely neutralized. But Democrats said the picture is far less clear – and one said the US strikes set Iran back only by months. According to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it, the US military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran's nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available. But the early findings of the assessment are at odds with President Donald Trump's repeated claims that the strikes 'completely and totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. 'To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months. There's no doubt there was damage done to the program. But the allegations that we have obliterated their program just don't seem to stand up to reason,' Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters. 'I just don't think the president was telling the truth when he said the program was obliterated,' Murphy said, adding that he believed Iran still has 'significant remaining capability.' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, too, said that the briefing did not provide clear explanations to Trump's assertions. 'President Trump said that the nuclear stockpile was completely and totally obliterated. I did not receive an adequate answer to that question,' Schumer told reporters, accusing the White House of having 'no coherent strategy, no end game, no plan' for preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon in the future. The classified briefing on Thursday was long awaited inside the Capitol, with senators of both parties eager for more information after the surprise attack by the US on Iran. A slate of top US officials spoke to senators: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. That group will also brief House members Friday morning. Republican senators, including Trump's top allies, left the briefing touting the effectiveness of the US strikes and — in some instances — echoing Trump's precise language that it 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear weapon capacity. 'They were obliterated. Nobody can use them anytime soon,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump's trusted national security advisers who had been pushing for this exact type of strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Inside the secure room in the Capitol basement, key details of that early Pentagon intelligence assessment — which was first reported by CNN — were read aloud to senators during the briefing, according to one attendee, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. 'They walked through it and talked more about what it is and what exactly it says. I thought that answered a lot of questions,' said Hawley, who had been a vocal critic of US military intervention in the Iranian-Israeli conflict. 'Having listened to them now for an hour-plus walk through the intelligence and walk through what we know at this point, I think it's very fair to say that this military mission accomplished its objective for what they intended to do,' Hawley said. Other Republicans were more cautious in echoing Trump's initial language. Asked if Iran's facilities had been obliterated, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said: 'I believe the goals of the mission were accomplished. I think that's an ambiguous term, or could be interpreted different ways, so I would just say the goals of the mission were accomplished.' Cornyn said it was unclear how long it might take for Iran to build a nuclear weapon, adding: 'Well, I don't think anybody's been underground to assess the damage. So I don't know if anyone can give you a precise number. I certainly can't.' Asked if the sites were obliterated, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said, 'It's all in your definition.' Asked for his definition, Scott repeated to reporters: 'I think the military did an unbelievable job.' But Sen. Tom Cotton, who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, was more definitive. He said the strikes would 'protect the world from the risk of an Iranian nuclear weapon for years.' 'I believe that this mission was a tremendous success and that we have effectively destroyed Iran's nuclear program,' Cotton said, criticizing the focus on the early assessment produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's intelligence arm. CNN has reported that the final US military 'battle damage assessment' by the DIA could take days or even weeks to complete, multiple sources familiar with the Pentagon's process told CNN. The initial DIA analysis was produced just 24 hours after the attack, according to one of the sources. Because it was only a preliminary analysis, its judgments were 'low-confidence,' the sources said. It was not coordinated with the wider intelligence community, according to a US official, and the document itself acknowledged that it could take weeks to produce a finalized assessment. 'I think that Iranian nuclear development is set back years,' Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told reporters after the briefing. While a number of Democrats declined to weigh in at all on the briefing, Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said the briefing Thursday was 'constructive' even as he said the administration has more work to do to get a fuller assessment of the damages in his view. 'We do not have a complete assessment yet of the strikes of last week and when we do, I think that will answer a lot of currently unanswered questions,' Coons said. Asked by how much he felt the Iranian nuclear program was set back by the strikes, Coons said, 'we got more relevant details about that, but I think it is too early to actually fully grasp a number of critical and currently unanswered issues about what was exactly destroyed and exactly how long it would take to reconstruct it and what the intentions of the Iranian regime are.' Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also gave a cautious assessment of the strikes. 'Clearly, damage was inflicted on the Iranian nuclear program,' Warner said, though he added that 'it is going to take time to get a final assessment of how much damage.' 'The thing that I've had some concern about is when, people jump to a conclusion too early. I mean, clearly, the president making a comment on Saturday night, before any assessment of total obliteration – listen, I hope that is the final assessment. But if not, does that end up providing a false sense of comfort to the American people or for that matter, the world?' Warner said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Department issues ‘worldwide caution' security alert
(NewsNation) — On Sunday evening, the State Department issued a 'worldwide caution' security alert, almost 24 hours on from attacks on Iranian nuclear sites by the United States. In a release on its website, the State Department said, 'The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. 'The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution. Please read carefully our Travel Advisory, country information, and any recent security alerts when planning travel at It follows the Department of Homeland Security's issuance of a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin. US strikes 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear ambitions: Hegseth 'The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States,' the release said. 'Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks. 'Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland. 'Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.' Timeline: How US conducted bombings on Iranian nuclear sites Iran has said it will retaliate against attacks on its three nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said there will be a response Sunday. 'The U.S. has attacked us; what would you do in such a situation? Naturally, they must receive a response to their aggression,' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a call with France's leader, according to The Associated Press. Iran's U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council that the U.S. 'decided to destroy diplomacy' and that the Iranian military will decide the 'timing, nature and scale' of the country's 'proportionate response.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
What nuclear sites does Iran have and where are they?
Israeli forces launched attacks on Iranian nuclear and military facilities on Friday, escalating tensions amid concerns over Tehran 's nuclear ambitions. Israeli officials justified the strikes as a necessary measure to counter what they described as an impending threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, while an assessment from US intelligence agencies has indicated that Tehran is not actively pursuing nuclear weapons. The attacks occurred a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency 's Board of Governors criticised Iran for the first time in two decades for its lack of cooperation with inspectors. In response, Iran announced plans to establish a third enrichment site and replace existing centrifuges with more advanced models. These developments follow discussions between the US and Iran, which aimed to ease economic sanctions on Iran in return for significant restrictions on its uranium enrichment activities. Here is a look at some major Iranian nuclear sites and their importance in Tehran's programme. Natanz enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 135 miles southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site. Part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate sabotage attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. Fordo enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 60 miles southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but is not as big a facility as Natanz. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Iran only informed the UN nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the US and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. Bushehr nuclear power plant Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 465 miles south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. Arak heavy water reactor The Arak heavy water reactor is 155 miles southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre The facility in Isfahan, some 215 miles southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic programme. Tehran Research Reactor The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic programme. The US actually provided Iran the reactor in 1967 as part of America's 'Atoms for Peace' programme during the Cold War. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns.
