Attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was not as successful as expected

Moscow, June 25 – The United States (US) attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities failed to destroy core components of Tehran's atomic program and likely only delayed it by six months, according to an early US intelligence assessment described by sources familiar with the matter, cited Tuesday by CNN, NBC News, and The New York Times.

The confidential report indicates that the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan sites were not as severely damaged as some White House officials expected and that the Islamic Republic still retains control of almost all of its nuclear material, meaning that if it decides to develop a nuclear weapon, it could still do so relatively quickly.

Furthermore, it is noted that much of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile was moved before the attacks, which destroyed only a small portion of the nuclear material. The key component could have been transported to secret Iranian nuclear facilities, the report warns. One source even revealed that the centrifuges are virtually intact.

The damage was mainly limited to aboveground structures, which suffered severe damage, according to those interviewed.This includes the sites' electrical infrastructure and some of the facilities used to convert uranium into metal for alleged bomb-making.

In that regard, initial assessments of the destruction carried out by Israel have also questioned the effectiveness of the attacks. Israeli defense officials claimed to have gathered evidence that the underground facilities at Fordo were not destroyed.

Thus, the preliminary findings contradict President Donald Trump's initial statements that the facilities were completely destroyed. For its part, the Pentagon noted that the military operation went according to plan and was an overwhelming success.

Before the attack, the US army offered a range of possibilities about how much the Iranian program might be delayed following the bombing. These ranged from a minimum of a few months to a maximum of years.

For her part, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt questioned the report revealed to the press. "This so-called 'assessment' is completely wrong and was classified as 'confidential,' yet it was leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level insider in the intelligence community," she wrote on her X account.

"The leak of this so-called assessment is a clear attempt to denigrate President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who carried out a flawless mission to destroy Iran's nuclear program," the spokeswoman continued. "We all know what happens when fourteen 13,600-kilogram bombs are dropped on their targets: total annihilation," she concluded.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and asserted that Tehran had made a series of advance arrangements to restore them to operation.

The confrontation between Iran and Israel intensified after the US joined the military operation against Iran last Saturday night, attacking three major nuclear facilities. The US operation triggered an Iranian retaliatory strike on Monday against the largest US military base in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, Tel Aviv and Tehran announced a ceasefire amid the escalating conflict between the two nations, which began after Israel launched an unprovoked attack on Iran on June 13. (Text and photo: RT)