Key Points and Summary: While President Trump declared the US “Operation Midnight Hammer” strikes a “total” success that “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, a more complex picture is emerging.
-A preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, leaked to CNN, suggests the strikes only set back Iran’s program by a few months, not years.
-The report claims the bunker-buster bombs failed to collapse the underground facilities at Fordow and Natanz, and that Iran likely moved its enriched uranium stockpile beforehand.
-The White House has aggressively refuted the DIA’s assessment, but the conflicting reports create deep uncertainty about the true effectiveness of the US military action.
B-2 Bomber Strikes Did Not Wipeout Iran’s Nuclear Program Afterall
A preliminary U.S. intelligence report has concluded that the recent American airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure set the program back by only a few months, according to a CNN report that cites four people briefed on the document.
The early assessment, compiled by the Defense Intelligence Agency, allegedly contradicts repeated claims by President Donald Trump that the attacks “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear operations.
According to CNN’s sources, the core components of Iran’s nuclear program, including enriched uranium stockpiles and centrifuges, remain largely intact.
CNN’s report claimed that the 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 bombers failed to collapse the underground structures at Fordow and Natanz, with damage largely limited to aboveground facilities such as power infrastructure and uranium metal conversion plants.
Despite the strikes, Iran’s enriched uranium was reportedly moved before the bombing, preserving key elements of the country’s nuclear assets. The Isfahan site, struck by Tomahawk missiles rather than bunker busters, was believed to be too deeply buried for direct penetration.
One source also claimed that Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine were used to strike the Isfahan site over concerns that bunker buster bombs would not penetrate its lower levels, which are buried even deeper than the Fordow site.
How the White House Responded
The White House acknowledged the DIA report, although White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed its findings entirely.
“This alleged ‘assessment’ is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt said on X.
“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”
The Trump administration insists that the strikes were a total success. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House as he departed for the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday, said that Iran’s nuclear facilities are “under rock” and “demolished.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the president’s claims, saying, “Based on everything we have seen – and I’ve seen it all – our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.”
The DIA’s findings, however, diverge significantly from the White House’s claims. Analysts reportedly concluded that the centrifuges at Fordow and Natanz were not destroyed and that any setback to Iran’s nuclear ambitions would be temporary. One CNN source claimed that the DIA assessment suggests that the strikes only set back Iran “maybe a few months, tops.”
Comments made by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also diverged from official White House statements.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, McCaul claimed that after being briefed on the B-2 plan, it was clear to him that the strikes were “never meant to completely destroy the nuclear facilities,” but to “cause significant damage.”
McCaul added that the intention was “always known to be a temporary setback” – a claim that has not been publicly made by President Trump, his press secretary, or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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June 24, 2025 at 9:02 pm
Trump was lying through his teeth when he said fordow was totally obliterated.
Fordow is a nuclear site built with a protection layer of RC and rock of about 100 meters thick.
The gravity GBU-57 bombs dropped on fordow can only penetrate up to 60 meters of rock.
A site like fordow requires the USAF B61 bomb, not the GBU-57.
But using the B61 would be simply unacceptable. It would open up a whole new Pandora’s box of doomsday events.
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