Trump declares Iran’s Nuclear program destroyed, but intelligence contradicts him

The most pressing issue on the global agenda in recent days has been the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, and the United States' entry into the war by striking Iranian nuclear facilities. After the U.S. attack, Iran retaliated by targeting American bases in Qatar and Iraq. Shortly afterward, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that a ceasefire had been reached and an agreement had been signed.

What we bring to your attention today is a major operation carried out during this conflict. On June 21, U.S. military aircraft launched airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Following the operation, President Trump announced that Iran’s primary uranium enrichment sites had been destroyed.

However, U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly disagree with the White House’s assessment. According to reports from CNN and The New York Times published on June 24, citing sources within the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon does not believe Iran’s nuclear program has been irreversibly damaged.

Sources within Pentagon intelligence said the strikes on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan likely delayed Iran’s nuclear progress by only a few months. According to them, key centrifuges—used for uranium enrichment—were likely moved in advance and remain largely intact.

It is worth noting that shortly after the attacks, Hassan Abedini, deputy political director of Iranian state television, confirmed that crucial nuclear materials had already been removed from the three sites before the strikes occurred. Satellite images appeared to corroborate this, showing a convoy of trucks near the Fordow facility two days before the U.S. operation.

CNN reports that the bulk of the damage inflicted by U.S. strikes affected above-ground structures. Many military experts believe that Israel persuaded the U.S. to participate in the attacks because Washington possesses specialized GBU-57A bombs, capable of penetrating deeply buried targets like the Fordow uranium enrichment facility beneath a mountain.

An unnamed Israeli official told reporters that Iran’s smaller, secret uranium enrichment sites were left untouched during the strikes. He speculated that Tehran had constructed such hidden facilities to ensure the nuclear program's survival even if major complexes like Fordow and Isfahan were destroyed.

 Bloomberg: U.S. deliberately avoided targeting reactors

A Bloomberg report, citing satellite imagery and anonymous sources within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), echoed this assessment. As an example, images of the Isfahan site showed that while most surrounding buildings were destroyed, three key reactors remained undamaged. According to IAEA sources, there was also no detected increase in radiation levels at any of the three targeted facilities — a typical indicator when reactors are hit.

Bloomberg sources suggest that this outcome was deliberate, although the IAEA did not offer a rationale for why the United States avoided damaging nuclear reactors directly.

Meanwhile, Tehran continues to assert that the American strikes have not halted its nuclear ambitions. On June 24, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, appeared on state television to declare that Iran had prepared contingency plans to restart its nuclear activities and would ensure uninterrupted development despite Israeli and American strikes.

President Trump, for his part, has strongly criticized media outlets that questioned the success of the U.S. operation. On his platform, Truth Social, he accused CNN and The New York Times of “colluding to disgrace one of the most successful military operations in history.”

He described the press as “unlucky” and “trash,” insisting they owed an apology to the pilots who carried out the mission, and praised the U.S. military for a “great job.”

Trump also retweeted a Fox News interview with his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, in which Whitkoff claimed the destruction of the Fordow facility was a success.

In turn, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt echoed the President’s remarks, calling the media’s doubts “an attempt to discredit the President” and “undermine the bravery of our pilots.”

In a social media post, Leavitt claimed that CNN’s reporting was based on information from “an anonymous loser at a low level in the intelligence community.”

“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen bombs on a target from 30,000 feet: destruction,” she wrote.