President Donald Trump is sticking to his guns on the effects of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, even as an analysis from the Pentagon has undermined his claims of “total obliteration.”
The report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, leaked Tuesday, states that the strikes caused a slowdown in Iran’s nuclear program by “a few months, tops,” per CNN, stating that the enriched stockpiles of uranium were not destroyed and that the country’s centrifuges mainly remained “intact.”
Iranian authorities have also insisted that they plan to “resume without interruption” their nuclear research, which they have claimed is for civilian purposes.
“We are ready to restart enrichment; our program will not stop,” the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said.
Speaking to reporters at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, however, Trump defended the effectiveness of the attacks. “I believe it was total obliteration,” the president told reporters.
Trump rejected the analysis, claiming that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were delayed “by decades.”
“It’s gone for years,” the president added.
Two people close to the report allege that Iran was able to relocate much of the enriched uranium prior to the strikes, according to ABC News.
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“I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out, because we acted fast,” Trump said. “If it would have taken two weeks, maybe. But it’s very hard to remove that kind of material, very hard and very dangerous. Plus, they knew we were coming, and if they know we’re coming, they’re not going to be down there.”
Trump also called the report “very inconclusive,” while at the same time asserting that the strikes were “very severe. It was obliteration.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has since launched a criminal investigation into the leak, calling its finding “low confidence.”
“We’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now because this information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments,” Hegseth said at the NATO summit on Wednesday. Hegseth described the reporting on the leaked findings as “spin” against Trump, calling the strikes “an overwhelming success.”
Independent experts have added their voices to the analysis of the strikes, as well.
“Even if the US had destroyed Fordow, Iran retained a number of other underground facilities that were never bombed,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who tracks Iran’s nuclear progress.
David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, echoed Lewis when speaking with NPR, saying that “significant amounts” of enriched uranium are probably still available to Tehran.
“So, this is not over by any means,” said Albright.
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