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A preliminary US intelligence assessment has concluded that the June 21 airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities have set back Tehran’s nuclear program by only a few months — far less than what President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have publicly claimed.According to three sources cited by Reuters, the report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon’s primary intelligence body. One source said the program may have been delayed “only a month or two,” noting that Iran’s enriched uranium stocks remained intact.“The U.S. did not know the extent of the damage yet,” one US official told the news outlet on condition of anonymity.Operation Midnight Hammer: Details of the strikeThe weekend operation, named Operation Midnight Hammer, involved 14 GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs dropped by US B-2 stealth bombers on Fordow and Natanz, along with over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired at Isfahan.US defense officials said the strikes aimed to eliminate Iran’s ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels. However, uncertainties remain over whether Iran had moved key uranium stocks prior to the assault.“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a statement provided to Reuters. “The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran.”“The president, without, knock on wood, having a single American casualty, obliterated the Iranian nuclear program,” Vice President JD Vance told Fox News emphasising the success of the strike.“We are now in a place where we weren’t a week ago. A week ago, Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon. Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it,” he added.“There’s zero evidence that I’ve seen that the nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday.Congressional briefings scheduled for Tuesday were abruptly canceled, adding to lawmakers’ frustration and raising further questions about transparency.IAEA yet to verify damageThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has been unable to verify the full extent of the damage, particularly at the deeply buried Fordow site.“At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday.Grossi later posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had written to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to request a meeting and encourage renewed cooperation following the ceasefire between Iran and Israel.“Resuming cooperation could lead to a diplomatic solution,” Grossi added.
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