The Trump administration strongly defended its recent airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Wednesday, with multiple top officials challenging early intelligence reports that suggested limited impact from the attacks.
According to Politico, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released statements confirming that new intelligence shows Iran’s nuclear facilities were “destroyed” in the weekend strikes. Their statements came as a response to media reports about an early Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment that claimed the strikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, contradicting that echo how Donald Trump’s top General ruins his perfect Iran story, putting military credibility above politics.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly criticized those questioning the effectiveness of the strikes during a NATO summit press conference in the Netherlands, a stark contrast to when this resurfaced video reveals how Pete Hegseth really feels about ‘dumpy Trumpy,’ calling Trump ‘all bluster, very little substance. “Anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the successful mission,” Hegseth declared. He also mentioned that the Pentagon and the FBI are investigating how the classified DIA report was leaked.
New intelligence suggests strikes caused severe damage to nuclear facilities
According to Ratcliffe’s statement, credible intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program has suffered severe damage. He mentioned that several key nuclear facilities were destroyed and would take years to rebuild, citing information from what he called a “historically reliable and accurate source.”
Gabbard supported these claims on the social media platform X, stating that new intelligence confirms President Trump’s repeated statements about the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The DNI spokesperson later confirmed that the intelligence Gabbard referenced was from U.S. sources.
Washington (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Thursday that American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were a success, backing President Donald Trump and berating the media for covering https://t.co/jwMzgpfral pic.twitter.com/mKwZNQplTi
— zeta panama (@zetacompa) June 26, 2025
Israel’s support came through a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which included an assessment from Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission. The commission stated that the combined U.S. and Israeli attacks had set back Iran’s nuclear weapons development capabilities by many years.
President Trump, who expressed anger over the leaked DIA assessment, announced that Defense Secretary Hegseth would hold a “Major News Conference” on Thursday morning. Trump described the upcoming briefing as both “interesting and irrefutable,” suggesting that more information about the strike damage would be revealed.
Daniel Shapiro, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East during the Biden administration, advised waiting for more concrete data before making final conclusions. He suggested that a proper assessment of such strikes typically takes several weeks to complete.
