WASHINGTON – A US preliminary and confidential report states that the American bombing to Iran’s nuclear facilities has blocked the entrances of two of the complexes, but has not collapsed its underground buildings, according to authorities familiar with the findings.
The initial results indicate that the weekend attacks delayed the Iranian nuclear program in just a few months, authorities said.
Before the attack, US intelligence agencies had estimated that if Iran tried to accelerate the manufacture of a bomb, it would take about three months. After American Air Force attacks and days of Israeli Air Force attacks, the Defense Intelligence Agency report assessed that the program was delayed in less than six months.
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Former employees stated that any hasty effort from Iran to obtain a bomb would result in a relatively small and rudimentary device. Producing a miniaturized warhead would be much more difficult, and it is unclear how much the most advanced research work was affected.
The conclusions suggest that President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated was exaggerated, at least based on the initial assessment of the damage. The congress had been summoned to a briefing session about the attack on Tuesday (24), in which legislators expected to question the findings, but the meeting was postponed. Senators will now be informed on Thursday (26).
The report also pointed out that much of Iran’s enriched uranium stock was moved before the attacks, which destroyed little of the nuclear material. Part of this reserve may have been transferred to secret places maintained by Iran.
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Some Israeli officers said Iran has maintained small clandestine enrichment facilities, built so that the Iranian government could continue its nuclear program in case of attack on larger facilities.
Authorities warned that the five -page classified report is just an initial assessment, and new analyzes will come as more information is collected and Iran inspect the three locations – Ford, Natanz and Isfahan. One of the officers said that the documents presented to people in the administration were “mixed”, but that other evaluations will still be made.
But Defense Intelligence Agency report indicates that the places were not damaged as much as some members of administration expected and that Iran maintains control over almost all its nuclear material. This means that if I decide to make a nuclear weapon, it could still do it relatively fast.
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The authorities heard for this article spoke on condition of anonymity because the reports of the report remain classified.
The White House challenged the evaluation. Karoline Leavitt, the presidential spokesman, said she was “completely wrong.”
“The leakage of this supposed assessment is a clear attempt to reduce President Trump and discredit the brave riders who have performed a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program,” he said in a statement. “Everyone knows what happens when you launch 14 pumps of 30,000 pounds exactly in your targets: total destruction.”
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The attacks severely damaged the electrical system in Ford, which is right inside a mountain to protect it from attacks, authorities said. It is unclear how long it will take to Iran to access underground buildings, repair the electrical systems and reinstall the equipment that has been removed.
The first reviews of damage made by the Israelis also raised doubts about the effectiveness of the attacks. Israeli defense officers said they had evidence that underground facilities in Fordo were not destroyed.
Before the operation, the US Army presented to authorities a series of scenarios about how much the attack could delay the Iranian program. Estimates ranged from a few months to a few years.
Some officers warned that such prognoses are inaccurate and that it is impossible to know accurately how long Iran would take to rebuild if desired.
Trump stated that B-2 bombings and Navy Tomahawk Missile attacks “eradicated” the three Iranian nuclear places, a statement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced at a Pentagon news conference on Sunday.
But General Dan Caine, head of the joint staff, was more cautious in describing the effects of the action.
“This operation is designed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure,” Caine said at Sunday’s press conference.
The final evaluation of battle damage to the military operation against Iran, said Caine, was yet to come. He said the initial analysis showed that the three attacked Iranian nuclear places “suffered severe damage and destruction.”
At a Senate hearing on Monday, Democrats were also more cautious in contesting Trump’s assessment.
“We are still waiting for the final battle damage ratings,” said Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the oldest democrat of the armed services committee.
Military officers said that to cause more significant damage to underground facilities, multiple attacks would be needed. However, Trump announced that he would interrupt the actions after approving the first wave of attacks.
Representatives of the Defense Intelligence Agency did not respond to requests for comment.
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