Strike Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program by Only a Few Months, U.S. Report Says
A preliminary classified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report says the American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities but did not collapse their underground buildings, according to officials familiar with the findings.
The early findings conclude that the strikes over the weekend set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, the officials said.
Before the attack, U.S. intelligence agencies had said that if Iran tried to rush to making a bomb, it would take about three months. After the U.S. bombing run and days of attacks by the Israeli Air Force, the report by the Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that the program was delayed less than six months.
The report also said much of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was moved before the strikes.
The White House took issue with the assessment. Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokeswoman, said it was “flat-out wrong.”
“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,” she said in a statement. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop 14 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
But in fact, Leavitt is sounding more like the Ayatollahs. Post-action reports are designed to assess and provide feedback that may inform future decisions, weapon design and battle planning. No, Ms Leavitt, no one knows what happens when an weapon that has never been tested during actual combat, is dropped. This is EXACTLY why you assess the damage and learn.
Initial Israeli damage assessments have also raised questions of the effectiveness of the strikes. Israeli defense officials said they have also collected evidence that the underground facilities at Fordo were not destroyed.
The early findings conclude that the strikes over the weekend set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, the officials said.
Before the attack, U.S. intelligence agencies had said that if Iran tried to rush to making a bomb, it would take about three months. After the U.S. bombing run and days of attacks by the Israeli Air Force, the report by the Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that the program was delayed less than six months.
The report also said much of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was moved before the strikes.
The White House took issue with the assessment. Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokeswoman, said it was “flat-out wrong.”
“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,” she said in a statement. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop 14 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
But in fact, Leavitt is sounding more like the Ayatollahs. Post-action reports are designed to assess and provide feedback that may inform future decisions, weapon design and battle planning. No, Ms Leavitt, no one knows what happens when an weapon that has never been tested during actual combat, is dropped. This is EXACTLY why you assess the damage and learn.
Initial Israeli damage assessments have also raised questions of the effectiveness of the strikes. Israeli defense officials said they have also collected evidence that the underground facilities at Fordo were not destroyed.
