A preliminary United States intelligence assessment has revealed that U.S. airstrikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months.
Earlier on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, both Iran and Israel signalled that the air war between the two nations had ended, at least for now, after United States President Donald Trump publicly scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced at 0500 GMT.
As the two countries lifted civilian restrictions after 12 days of war – which the U.S. joined with an attack on Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities – each sought to claim victory.
Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. deployment of 30,000-pound bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.
But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment by one of his administration’s intelligence agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.
One of the sources said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear program, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been set back only a month or two. Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
Oil prices rise as investors assess Iran-Israel ceasefire
The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat out wrong.”
According to the report, which was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities, but did not collapse underground buildings.
Some centrifuges still remained intact after the attacks, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed person familiar with the report.
Trump’s administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “degraded” Iran’s nuclear program, short of Trump’s earlier assertion that the facilities had been “obliterated.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the attack on Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its weapons program.
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