WASHINGTON, June 25 — U.S. airstrikes on three of Iran’s most fortified nuclear facilities have failed to significantly impair Tehran’s atomic program, according to a classified assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), throwing cold water on the White House’s claims of success.
The highly anticipated operation, carried out last week, involved B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs on Iran’s underground complexes in Natanz and Fordow, while Tomahawk cruise missiles hit the facility in Isfahan. But a post-strike damage review by U.S. Central Command, detailed in the DIA report and cited by CNN, concluded that the damage was largely superficial and Iran’s key nuclear assets remain mostly unscathed.
Despite early statements by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasting that the sites were “completely destroyed,” the intelligence review tells a different story.
“The DIA believes the operation set Iran back only by a few months — no more than that,” one source told CNN.
The report indicates that the bulk of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and advanced centrifuges were left intact, housed in deep underground structures the bombs failed to penetrate fully. The strikes reportedly damaged above-ground infrastructure and support systems but failed to reach the most critical parts of the facilities.
Independent analysis supports these findings. Nuclear weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis, after reviewing satellite imagery, stated that Iran’s underground nuclear capability appears “largely rebuildable” and warned that the country could resume full operations sooner than expected.
Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, while defending the rationale behind the strike, admitted it was intended to “disrupt, not destroy” Iran’s program — a sharp contrast to the administration’s earlier rhetoric.
White House Pushback and Political Fallout
The White House has forcefully denied the DIA’s findings, calling them “completely false” and accusing an unnamed “low-level anonymous informant” of trying to undercut the president.
Amid the fallout, scheduled intelligence briefings for Congress on the strike were abruptly canceled. Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan blasted the move, accusing the administration of “hiding behind canceled meetings to avoid accountability for inflating the operation’s success.”
In a surprising twist, Iranian General Ismail Qaani — previously believed to have been killed in the strikes — made a public appearance, further undermining the narrative of a decisive U.S. victory.
What Comes Next?
With growing questions about the effectiveness of the strike, intelligence officials warn that Iran may still have covert nuclear sites that remain untouched — and fully operational.
Still, President Trump doubled down on Tuesday, reiterating his claim that “the facilities were completely destroyed,” despite mounting evidence to the contrary from U.S. intelligence, satellite analysis, and global experts.
As tensions simmer and facts diverge, one thing is clear: the nuclear standoff with Iran is far from over — and the battle between rhetoric and reality is only beginning.
