US President Donald Trump has described an intelligence report regarding the damage to Iran’s nuclear program as “inconclusive”.
Nonetheless, he indicated that the extent of the damage could be “severe”.
“The intelligence was very inconclusive. It states we don’t have definite information. It could’ve been very severe. That’s what the intelligence suggests,” Mr. Trump told reporters prior to the NATO summit.
“It was very severe. There was obliteration,” he continued.
Earlier, Mr. Trump dismissed US media reports claiming that intelligence assessed that the US strikes on Iran delayed the nation’s nuclear program by a few months.
This came after he posted on social media that the nuclear sites had been “completely destroyed”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed a “historic victory” against Iran, despite the US intelligence report.
Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire yesterday, concluding 12 days of reciprocal strikes, following Mr. Trump’s involvement in the conflict with bunker-busting bombs over the weekend, which he claimed destroyed key Iranian nuclear sites.
Watch: Donald Trump states that the damage from US strikes on Iran was ‘severe’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the US intelligence’s authenticity, but asserted it was “flat-out wrong”.
In an address to the nation following the ceasefire announcement, Mr. Netanyahu stated: “Iran will not attain a nuclear weapon.”
“We have thwarted Iran’s nuclear initiatives,” he added. “And if anyone in Iran attempts to revive it, we will act with the same resolve, with the same intensity to prevent any efforts.”
UN agency to evaluate Iranian nuclear sites
The head of the UN nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi, revealed that his inspectors’ top priority is to return to Iran’s nuclear facilities to evaluate the impact of recent military actions on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“This is our number one priority,” Mr. Grossi said at an Austrian cabinet meeting in Vienna.
He seeks to send inspectors back to Iranian sites, including the three facilities where uranium was being enriched before Israel launched strikes on June 13.
Latest Middle East updates
When asked if Iran had updated him on the status of its enriched uranium stocks, especially the uranium enriched to nearly 60% purity, close to weapons-grade, he referenced a letter he received from Iran.
He indicated that Iran would implement “special measures” to safeguard its nuclear materials and equipment.
“They didn’t provide specifics on what that entails, but it was clearly implied. We can surmise that much of that material remains intact,” Mr. Grossi said, suggesting that many of these materials survived the attacks.
Iran’s parliament approved a bill to halt cooperation with the IAEA, according to state-aligned news outlet Nournews, adding that such a move would need the top security body’s approval.
Cooperation with the IAEA is mandated under the non-proliferation treaty, which allows Iran access to nuclear technology as long as it refrains from pursuing weapons.
Israel claimed that its bombing campaign aimed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, a goal Iran has consistently denied.
Israel’s military contended that its strikes had postponed Iran’s nuclear program “by years”.
After Mr. Trump reprimanded both parties for initial breaches of the truce, Iran declared it would adhere to the terms of the agreement if Israel did the same, while Israel maintained it had abstained from further strikes.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his country’s willingness to re-enter negotiations regarding its nuclear program, although he affirmed that Iran would continue to “assert its legitimate rights” to peacefully use atomic energy.
Leaked US intelligence
US media reported, citing sources familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency findings, that the US strikes did not fully eradicate Iran’s centrifuges or its stockpile of enriched uranium.
The strikes blocked entrances to certain facilities without demolishing underground structures, according to the report.
Ms. Leavitt responded via social media: “The leak of this alleged assessment is a blatant attempt to undermine President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who successfully executed a mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the leak was a ‘clear attempt to demean’ the President.
While Iran and Israel have engaged in a shadow conflict for decades, their recent 12-day confrontation was the most destructive skirmish between them.
Israeli airstrikes targeted nuclear and military sites—resulting in the deaths of scientists and senior military officials—as well as residential areas, leading to waves of Iranian missile attacks on Israel.
Watch: JD Vance praises US President’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites
The conflict culminated in US strikes on underground Iranian nuclear facilities utilizing bunker-busting bombs—capabilities Israel lacks—followed by an Iranian response targeting the largest US military base in the Middle East, located in Qatar.
Mr. Trump dismissed that response as “weak”, thanking Iran for providing advance notice and announcing the foundation of the ceasefire just hours later.
