United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have likely only set the country’s nuclear program back by a few months, according to a Pentagon report.
The Defense Intelligence Agency preliminary report concluded that U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy two of these sites, per The Guardian. U.S. President Donald Trump had said following the strikes that the three nuclear enrichment sites had been entirely destroyed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the report’s factfulness. “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt told CNN.
“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”
Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was not damaged, according to the report, having been moved from the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites before the U.S. attacks began.
The facilities above ground were heavily damaged, the report said, including power infrastructure, but these strikes did not significantly impact the centrifuges at these facilities.
The U.S. launched fourteen “bunker buster” bombs at these sites in the early morning of 22 June, Iranian time. It also fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan facilities.
Iran then launched missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar. While Trump has said Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire yesterday, Israeli forces continued to bomb Iran until the two countries acknowledged the ceasefire today.
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