Trump dismissed DIA report as “inconclusive”
which suggests the strikes may have only set
back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a few months
Web Desk
The Hague: US President Donald Trump has hailed the ongoing ceasefire between Iran and Israel as a “victory for everybody,” crediting the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as the decisive action that ended the 12-day conflict.
Speaking at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump said the United States’ use of bunker-busting bombs on nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan brought the war to an end. “It was very severe. It was obliteration,” he told reporters, likening the impact of the strikes to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Trump Shrugs Off Doubts About Nuclear Damage
Despite a leaked intelligence assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) suggesting the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a few months, Trump dismissed the report as “inconclusive.”
“They presented a report that wasn’t finished,” Trump said, adding, “The intelligence says, ‘We don’t know.’ I think we can take the ‘we don’t know’ as a yes.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sitting beside Trump at the summit, also rejected the DIA’s findings. Hegseth described the report as “preliminary” and of “low confidence,” accusing some US media outlets of spinning the story to undermine Trump.
White House and Israeli Officials Back Trump’s Claims
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the DIA assessment “flat-out wrong,” stating, “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff also rejected the assessment, saying the strikes caused severe damage to Iranian centrifuges and infrastructure, making it “almost impossible” to restart the program anytime soon. “In many experts’ views, it will take years to rebuild,” he told Fox News.
The Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) echoed that assessment, claiming the Fordow enrichment site is now “inoperable” and the combined strikes from the US and Israel have “set back Iran’s nuclear capability by many years.”
Accusations of Leaks and Disinformation
Witkoff called the leak of the DIA report “treasonous” and urged an investigation into the source. Trump allies allege the leak is part of a broader effort to discredit the administration’s military success.
Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington, noted the emergence of an “information war” over how the bombing’s effectiveness is being portrayed in the media. “We are seeing how intelligence leaks and political messaging are shaping public perception of Trump’s role,” he said.
As tensions remain high, Trump warned that the conflict could reignite but expressed confidence in upcoming talks between US and Iranian officials scheduled for next week.
