President Trump Confirms Success of U.S. Strikes in Iran Despite Leaked Reports

During a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, President Donald Trump emphasized the significant impact of U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Contrasting a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report suggesting the attack had minimal effect, Trump asserted that the U.S. actions had set Iran’s nuclear aspirations back by decades.

“We hear it was obliteration. It was a virtual obliteration,” Trump said in the presence of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, highlighting the visible damage to the targeted sites. “If you look at the before and the after picture, everything above [ground] is burned black, the trees, everything.” He also indicated significant subterranean damage caused by the strikes.

Leak Investigation Underway

Amidst the controversy, Secretary Hegseth revealed that the leaked report was highly confidential, and disclosed that a rigorous investigation is being carried out by the Department of Defense in collaboration with the FBI to identify the source of the leaks to major news outlets including CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Questions About the Leaked Report’s Accuracy

The disputed Defense Intelligence Agency report assessed that the strike might have delayed Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months and mentioned possible prior relocation of some enriched uranium. However, Trump and his team challenged this view vigorously. “I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast,” Trump stated, describing the attack as potent and decisive, which led to Iran agreeing to a ceasefire.

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Secretary Hegseth criticized the media for their portrayal of the intelligence, describing the U.S. operation as “flawless” and executed perfectly by B-2 pilots. “And given the 30,000 pounds of explosives and capability of those munitions, it was devastation underneath Fordo and the amount of munitions, six per location,” he explained, dismissing some media narratives as speculative with ulterior motives.

Political Reactions and Additional Perspectives

Secretary Rubio commented on the motivations behind the leaks, suggesting that individuals used the preliminary and low-confidence report to mischaracterize the outcome for political reasons. “They read it, and then they go out and characterize it the way they want it characterized,” he remarked, highlighting the disappearance of a key nuclear conversion facility from maps, which points to the strikes’ effectiveness.

Meanwhile, reports from Israeli intelligence have confirmed substantial damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, significantly contradicting the leaked U.S. report and suggesting a major setback for Iran’s nuclear potential.

The final assessment by Israel on the full impact of the joint U.S.-Israeli operation on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is still pending, further contributing to the ongoing debate over the strikes’ true efficacy.