News Update: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Time: 9.58 AM (IST)
US President Donald Trump has forcefully dismissed a new intelligence assessment that contradicts his administration&rsquo;s claim of having &ldquo;completely and totally obliterated&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s nuclear enrichment infrastructure during recent airstrikes.
According to classified findings from the US Defence Intelligence Agency, accessed by American media outlets, the strikes did not fully neutralise Iran&rsquo;s nuclear capabilities. Instead, the agency reportedly concluded that the air raids have only set Iran&rsquo;s nuclear programme back by a few months. Crucially, much of Iran&rsquo;s enriched uranium stockpile was believed to have been relocated before the attacks took place.
Reacting to the media disclosures, President Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday, lashing out at CNN and The New York Times, the two outlets that reported on the assessment. He accused both of spreading &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; and attempting to undermine what he described as one of the &ldquo;most successful military strikes in history.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!&rdquo; Trump wrote. &ldquo;Both the Times and CNN are getting slammed by the public.&rdquo;
The Defence Department has not officially commented on the report&rsquo;s contents, while White House officials continue to maintain that the strikes delivered a crippling blow to Iran&rsquo;s nuclear ambitions.
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News Release: Wednesday, June 25,2025
Time: 5.45 AM (IST)
Trump&rsquo;s Claims of Iran Nuclear Strike Success Disputed by Pentagon Assessment
 Early report indicates limited damage to core nuclear infrastructure despite bold White House assertions
In a development that casts doubt on the White House&rsquo;s confident rhetoric, an early assessment by the Pentagon&rsquo;s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has concluded that recent <a title="USA" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/trump-s-ceasefire-crumbles-as-strikes-resume/14793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US</a> airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities inflicted only limited damage and are unlikely to have dealt a decisive blow to Tehran&rsquo;s atomic ambitions.
The findings, reported by CNN and based on a preliminary battle damage assessment by US Central Command, suggest the strikes may have set <a title="Iran" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/iran-death-toll-from-israeli-strikes-crosses-600-ministry/14815" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran&rsquo;s</a> nuclear programme back by mere months &mdash; far from the "complete obliteration" claimed by President Donald Trump.
President Trump had heralded the strikes on three key nuclear sites &mdash; Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan &mdash; as a resounding success. Speaking shortly after the operation, he declared that the attacks had &ldquo;completely and totally obliterated&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s enrichment capabilities. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed the sentiment, stating that Iran&rsquo;s nuclear aspirations had been &ldquo;obliterated.&rdquo;
However, sources familiar with the classified DIA assessment have painted a far more cautious picture. According to individuals briefed on the report, the strikes primarily affected above-ground infrastructure, including power supplies and support buildings. The more critical subterranean components &mdash; where uranium enrichment occurs &mdash; remained largely unscathed.
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ALSO READ: https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/qatar-condemns-iran-s-strike-on-us-air-base/14794
CNN quoted one of the sources involved in the analysis: &ldquo;The DIA assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops.&rdquo; This assessment was further reinforced by intelligence indicating that Iran had pre-emptively moved enriched uranium from at least one of the targeted sites prior to the bombing.
Despite the internal assessment, the White House has pushed back forcefully. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the report, telling CNN that it was based on leaks from a &ldquo;low-level loser in the intelligence community,&rdquo; and insisted the airstrikes were flawlessly executed. &ldquo;Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,&rdquo; she stated.
The strikes involved B-2 bombers deploying more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on two of Iran&rsquo;s most fortified nuclear facilities: the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and the Natanz Enrichment Complex. Despite their formidable payload, sources noted that the blasts failed to destroy the hardened underground centrifuges or Iran&rsquo;s stockpiles of enriched uranium.
CNN further reported that, while Iran&rsquo;s programme has undoubtedly suffered disruption, the damage is unlikely to be long-lasting unless followed up by continued military pressure or sabotage efforts.
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ALSO READ: https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/global-outrage-as-iran-strikes-us-bases-in-qatar/14752
The situation remains fluid. While the US intelligence community continues to gather data from within Iran, no consensus yet exists among all agencies regarding the full extent of the damage. This ambiguity has given rise to a political tug-of-war, with the White House portraying the operation as a strategic triumph while Pentagon analysts suggest a far more nuanced outcome.
President Trump&rsquo;s claims of a conclusive success appear premature at best, particularly given that Iran&rsquo;s core nuclear infrastructure &mdash; long shielded by subterranean reinforcement and strategic dispersion &mdash; seems to have withstood one of the most aggressive US bombing campaigns in years.

Iran's Fordo nuclear site (image courtesy Maxar)

Trump calls CIA leak 'fake news', insists Iran's nuclear sites were ‘completely destroyed’

Did US Strikes Fail to Cripple Iran’s Nukes?

Trump calls CIA leak 'fake news', insists Iran's nuclear sites were ‘completely destroyed’

June 25, 2025 | 05:45 IST