A preliminary U.S. intelligence report indicates that recent airstrikes on Iran have only temporarily hindered its nuclear programme, delaying it by just a few months. The early assessment coincides with the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Three sources familiar with the classified report, speaking anonymously to Reuters, revealed that the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) prepared the assessment. Two of the sources noted that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium remained intact, and the nuclear programme may have only been set back by one to two months.
This contradicts President Trump’s public declaration that the U.S. military action had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. In response to the leaked report, Trump denounced the media coverage, labelling outlets like CNN and The New York Times as “fake news.” On his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that Iranian nuclear sites were "completely destroyed" and called the strike “one of the most successful military operations in history.”
The White House also dismissed the intelligence assessment, calling it “flat out wrong.” Nonetheless, during a briefing to the UN Security Council, Trump’s administration described the strikes as having "degraded" Iran's nuclear capabilities—noticeably softer language than the president's initial claims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Trump’s earlier tone, stating that Israel had neutralized the threat of nuclear annihilation during its 12-day war with Iran. He claimed the Israeli military had eliminated both the nuclear threat and the danger posed by 20,000 ballistic missiles.
Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and killing senior military leaders. Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Israeli cities, escalating the conflict to its most dangerous point in decades. However, both nations signalled a halt to hostilities after Trump publicly reprimanded them for violating a ceasefire he had declared.
Iran maintains its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and denies seeking atomic weapons.
