The Trump administration is pressing back on a new intelligence assessment, first reported by NBC News, that contradicts President Trump’s repeated assertions that U.S. airstrikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities last month.
Citing five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the latest assessment, NBC News reported Thursday that Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment site was mostly destroyed in the U.S. military operation, while two others — Isfahan and Natanz — may have only been set back by months and could resume operations.
“The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill’s sister network NewsNation on Thursday. “President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated.”
“There is no doubt about that,” he added.
The White House also pushed back on the latest NBC News report.
“As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told NewsNation. “America and the world are safer thanks to his decisive action.”
Reports first surfaced last month, shortly after the U.S. launched its surprise attacks on Tehran’s nuclear sites, that U.S. intelligence officials at the Defense Department found that the attacks did not destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The president and his allies forcefully pushed back on that assessment.
NBC News reported that American and Israeli leaders have since discussed whether additional strikes on two less-damaged facilities could be necessary if Iran does not restart negotiations on a nuclear deal.
The U.S. launched its “Operation Midnight Hammer” on the three key nuclear facilities on June 21 as Tehran and Israel traded airstrikes. The Israel-Iran conflict halted the U.S.’s efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran meant to prohibit the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
