White House rejects reports that Iran nuclear sites not as badly damaged as claimed

Assessment says centrifuges largely 'intact'

A satellite image shows damaged buildings at Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre, after it was hit by US air strikes. Reuters

The White House has denied reports that said an early intelligence assessment found the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites did not destroy them.

The attacks on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites failed to destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear programme and probably only set it back by months, CNN, The New York Times and AP said on Tuesday, quoting sources.

CNN reported that two sources said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium had not been destroyed, and that the centrifuges are largely “intact". The report noted that analysis was continuing and could change as more intelligence becomes available.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump blasted the outlets that carried the story, saying "they tried to demean the great work our B-2 pilots did, and they were wrong in doing so".

"We've collected additional intelligence, and we've also spoken to people who have seen the site – and the site is obliterated," he said on his Truth Social platform.

CIA director John Radcliffe said in a statement that his agency had determined Iran's nuclear programme was "severely damaged" in the strikes. He added that "new intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method [indicated] that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years".

The assessment is being carried out by the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, and the leaked report was based on a battle-damage assessment conducted by US Central Command after the bombings.

Mr Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, went on Fox News to say that whoever had leaked the information to the media was "treasonous".

"The reporting out there that in some way suggests that we did not achieve the objective is just completely preposterous," Mr Witkoff said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the veracity of the "alleged assessment" and said it had been leaked by "an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community".

Mr Trump, speaking after the strikes, called them a "spectacular military success" that destroyed Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities.

"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," he said in a national address on Saturday night.

On Sunday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US had “devastated” Iran's nuclear programme, although the strikes were "intentionally limited".

Iranian state media, however, said that all three sites had been evacuated and their contents moved before the bombings.

Satellite imagery from the days ahead of the US strikes showed activity near the Fordow site. Sixteen lorries could be seen near the site's tunnel entrance before apparently moving away a day later, according to satellite imagery firm Maxar.

New lorries and several bulldozers appeared close to the main entrance by Friday, with one lorry very close to the main tunnel entrance, Maxar said.