President Donald Trump insists Iran’s nuclear programme has been set back “decades” by recent US military strikes, despite an intelligence report casting doubt on their success.
The leaked assessment from the Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Agency estimates the attacks at the weekend set Iran’s nuclear programme back only “a few months”.
But speaking at a NATO summit, Trump said the strikes caused a “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear sites
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, sitting alongside Trump, says the leaked report is “preliminary” and “low confidence”, and suggests a “political motive”
Hegseth called the operation “flawless” and used the press conference to attack the leak, which he says has a “political motive”.
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In Iran, meanwhile, the deputy political director of the country’s state broadcaster, Hassan Abedini, claims the three sites targeted by the US had been evacuated a while ago, and that Iran “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out”.
Israel also conducted its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country has been successful in curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, as well as destroying its missile arsenal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) boss, Rafael Grossi, said it is undeniable that Iran maintains the industrial capacity and technical knowledge for its nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Israel and Iran seems to be holding.
