June 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump and his administration have come out in force to support his claim that last weekend’s bombing completely destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities after a leaked preliminary U.S. intelligence report found the attack only set back the Islamic regime’s nuclear program by months.
During a NATO summit press conference in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump lashed out at news organizations that reported the leaked classified Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment, leaked Tuesday, saying the reports “maligned” the pilots of the B-2 bombers that bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday night.
“It was so bad they ended the war,” Trump said. “Somebody said in a certain way, you know, that it was so devastating, actually, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know, that ended a war, too, this ended a war in a different way, but it was so devastating.”
Trump quoted a statement purportedly from the International Atomic Energy Agency that stated: “We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.”
The White House also released the quote on its website along with comments from Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli officials and others commenting on the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
UPI has contacted the IAEA for confirmation.
U.S. B-2 bombers attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday night, including the underground Fordo site that was said could only be hit by U.S. bunker-buster bombs.
Following the attack, Trump said the sites were “obliterated” — an assessment undercut by a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency assessment reported by CNN and The New York Times, that found core components of Iran’s nuclear program remained intact and that the attack only set back the Islamic regime’s nuclear program by a matter of months.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, during the same press conference, lambasted the news agencies for their reporting while describing the leaked document as having been a low-assessment report, meaning there was low-confidence in the data in the report.
“And why is there low confidence? Because all of the evidence of what was just bombed by 12 30,000 pound bombs is buried under a mountain, devastated and obliterated,” an irate Hegseth said. “So, if you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordo, you better get a big shovel.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday also released a statement on the attack, saying, “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted attacks.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard similarly released a statement on X, stating, “New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.
“If the Iranian chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do,” she said.
The United States inserted itself in the Israel-Iran war, which began June 13, when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.
Iran responded by attacking Israel.
Following the U.S. bombing, Iran attacked a U.S. base in Qatar, after which Iran and Israel agreed to a fragile cease-fire, which Trump claims was brought about by his decision to attack Iran.
The IAEA on Tuesday issued a statement saying “we have seen extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran.”
“Regarding the additional strikes to Fordow … the IAEA assesses that access roads close to the underground facility and one of its entrances were hit.”
On his Truth Social media platform, Trump on Wednesday said Hegseth is scheduled to hold an 8 a.m. EST press conference at the Pentagon “in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots,” whom he claimed were very upset about the reporting of the leaked assessment.
“The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable,” he said “Enjoy!”
