The Washington Post revealed that classified US intelligence evaluations contradict President Donald Trump's assertions regarding the effectiveness of American airstrikes against Iranian nuclear installations. The confidential Defense Intelligence Agency assessment indicates the attacks postponed Tehran's atomic program by several months rather than eliminating it entirely, according to three individuals with knowledge of the evaluation.
The classified DIA analysis examined Pentagon bomb damage evaluations from strikes targeting nuclear complexes at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which utilized earth-penetrating ordnance delivered by B-2 stealth bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, The Washington Post reported. The assessment determined that the bombardment failed to eliminate fundamental elements of Iran's nuclear infrastructure and likely delayed the program by months rather than years, one source disclosed.
Intelligence findings also suggest Iran relocated several quantities of its highly enriched uranium away from nuclear installations prior to the strikes, leaving uranium reserves unaffected, the individual stated, speaking anonymously to discuss classified intelligence information, according to The Washington Post. A second person familiar with the preliminary DIA evaluation – designated as "low confidence" – confirmed it determined some Iranian centrifuges used for uranium enrichment that could potentially be weaponized remained undamaged.
Trump has repeatedly declared the US bombardment of Iranian nuclear enrichment complexes achieved complete success. "The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it," he posted on social media Monday following the reports on the only-partial damage to the sites. Reports of the classified intelligence evaluation emerged as a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, brokered by Trump and Qatari leadership, remained fragile but intact.
On Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced the start of a ceasefire with Iran following the achievement of Operation Rising Lion's objectives. "Yesterday, a ceasefire with Iran began after all goals were met," Defrin said. "This operation was planned over years. Recognizing we faced a point of no return, we accelerated our plans. We achieved significant operational successes – all actions were executed with synchronization across all branches and divisions."
Defrin added, "It is too early to fully assess the operation's achievements, which will be discussed for years to come. Even at this moment, we maintain high alertness. Our missions are not complete, and we will continue to act for our future." He stressed that Iran's nuclear program, according to Israeli assessments, "has been set back for years."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian both recognized the ceasefire agreement and declared victory in the 12-day conflict. Prior to the truce, Iran launched missiles at the substantial US air installation in Qatar, claiming retaliation for American strikes on its nuclear facilities, with no reported casualties.
CNN initially disclosed the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment Tuesday morning. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt challenged the report's findings while not disputing its existence. "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 posted on X.
"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," she continued. "Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration."
Nuclear nonproliferation specialists and weapons experts have consistently maintained that eliminating Iran's decades-old atomic infrastructure through aerial bombardment alone would prove virtually impossible. Israel also struck numerous components of Iran's nuclear program, including installations at Natanz and Isfahan, during attacks initiated June 13.
The Trump administration arranged and subsequently delayed Iran briefings for House members Tuesday. Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois serving on the House Intelligence Committee, told The Washington Post widespread congressional belief exists that embarrassing assessment content prompted the Trump administration's decision to postpone the classified briefing. "They don't delay briefings that have good news," Quigley explained.
Quigley refused to discuss classified briefing content he received earlier this week but noted years of intelligence official warnings that aerial attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities would lack lasting impact. "I've been briefed on the likelihoods of how this would play out for years, and I was always told you have to finish the job with troops on the ground," he stated. "Nothing has changed my mind on that."
The DIA report, a Pentagon division, represents likely just one among numerous ongoing US intelligence evaluations of American airstrike damage. A senior administration official cautioned that battle damage assessments remain incomplete and other reports may reach different conclusions, according to The Washington Post.
The strikes inflicted enormous damage and Iran will be unable to reconstitute its nuclear program in the near future, the official stated. The Fordow installation particularly sustained devastating impact and will remain unusable for an extended period, the official added. Fordow houses Iran's most deeply buried facility containing chambers of rapidly spinning centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
