– President Trump claims Iranian nuclear sites were “completely destroyed.”
– U.S. intelligence assessment finds damage may have only delayed Iran’s program by “a few months.”
– Secretary Rubio announces probe into DIA report leak.
– White House slams media coverage, calls report “flat-out wrong.”
– CNN: Uranium stockpile and centrifuges reportedly remain intact.
Trump Doubles Down on Severity of Strikes
President Donald Trump on Wednesday asserted that recent U.S. missile strikes caused “very severe” damage to Iranian nuclear sites, even while admitting that American intelligence assessments remain inconclusive.
Speaking during a high-profile meeting in The Hague with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump stated:
Trump further claimed that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been set back “basically decades,” even as his own intelligence agencies warned the long-term effects may be minimal.
Conflicting Intelligence Sparks Internal Debate
According to a CNN report citing multiple sources, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. One source told CNN that “the centrifuges are largely intact,” and that enriched uranium was likely relocated ahead of the attacks.
A Reuters report corroborated this finding, noting that the DIA’s battle damage assessment—based on analysis from U.S. Central Command—contradicts Trump’s public claim of “total obliteration.”
Still, the White House disputed the DIA’s findings, issuing a strongly worded statement through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:
She added that the leak was “a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission.”
Rubio, Hegseth Dismiss DIA Report
Sitting alongside Trump in the Netherlands, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also questioned the credibility of the DIA report. Rubio announced that the administration had opened an internal investigation into the leak and implied the media misrepresented the findings.
Secretary Hegseth—who previously declared Iran’s nuclear ambitions had been “obliterated”—did not directly address the content of the leaked assessment but reiterated the operation’s success.
Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social, writing:
Outlook: What Comes Next?
Though Trump remains confident in the mission’s outcome, officials say the full impact of the strikes is still under review. Analysts warn that if key infrastructure and uranium stockpiles survived, Iran’s nuclear capabilities may rebound faster than expected. The intelligence community is continuing its damage assessment, and further updates are expected from U.S. Central Command.
As the NATO summit continues in The Hague, international scrutiny of the strike’s legality, effectiveness, and intelligence fallout is mounting.
(With inputs from CNN, Reuters, and other media reports)
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