Iran-Israel latest: Trump strikes did not destroy Tehran’s nuclear sites, intelligence report suggests

US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy the country’s nuclear program and only set back Tehran’s program by only a matter of months, a preliminary US intelligence assessment suggests.

Analysts said that, if the assessment was based on satellite imagery, the extent of damage to the deeply buried Fordow uranium enrichment facility would not necessarily be revealed.

The initial report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s main intelligence arm and one of 18 US intelligence agencies.

However, President Donald Trump and high-ranking US officials – including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the weekend strikes, which used a combination of bunker-busting bombs and more conventional weapons, essentially eliminated Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump’s administration on Tuesday told the U.N Security Council that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “degraded” Iran’s nuclear program, short of Trump’s earlier assertion that the facilities had been “obliterated.”

Asked for comment, the White House pointed to a statement by spokesperson Karoline Leavitt to CNN, which first reported the assessment, that the “alleged” conclusion was “flat-out wrong.”

“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,” she said.

A US official said a more refined report was expected in the coming days and weeks.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied earlier reports on Tuesday that there was a drone attack in the northwestern city of Tabriz, three Iranian news sites reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media said air defences were activated in the area amid a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed families of the hostages and said: “We have not ceased for a moment, even a single one, including during this war, from our efforts to return home all of our hostages.

“Again: Both the living and the deceased. And we will not relent from this sacred mission until it is complete,” he added.

In a statement addressed to the citizens of Israel and bereaved families, he continued: “Your dear ones, our heroes, did not fall in vain – because it is their heroism and sacrifice that made it possible to dismantle the Iranian axis.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a meeting with US President Donald Trump the he welcomed the Iran-Israel ceasefire achieved through US efforts and emphasised the importance of dialogue in ending the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

In a statement addressed to the citizens of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they had removed the threat of nuclear weapons.

He said: “We removed two existential threats: The threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles. Had we not acted now, the State of Israel would have soon faced the danger of annihilation.”

He added: “For decades, I have promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons. And indeed, in all of the swift actions that our soldiers carried out, we sent Iran’s nuclear project to oblivion.

“And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild this project – we will act with the same determination and the same force to cut off any such attempt. I reiterate: Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has responded to the report that US strikes did not destroy Iranian nuclear sites.

He told CNN, “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.

“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly.

“The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.“

In a statement addressed to the citizens of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US president Donald Trump for “defending Israel’ and “removing the Iranian nuclear threat”.

In the statement written in Hebrew he said: “The US decision to join the campaign, not only on the defensive side, but also on the offensive side, was historic. It has never happened before.

“This was the fruit of a diplomatic effort that I led, together with Minister Dermer, with President Trump and his team.

“I must tell you Israel has never had as great a friend in the White House, and I thank him very much for the joint work.

“It has major implications for Israel’s national security, for the security of each and every one of you, and for your children and grand-children, and for the face of the Middle East.”

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for Iran to “come to the negotiating table”.

The UK prime minister met with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz at the NATO summit in The Hague earlier today.

“The leaders reflected on the volatile situation in the Middle East,” Starmer’s office said in a statement.

“Now was the time for diplomacy and for Iran to come to the negotiating table, they agreed.”

Donald Trump made it clear over the weekend: he wants to be the most powerful president in modern history.

Saturday evening’s announcement of U.S. strikes on three Iranian targets tied to the country’s nuclear program triggered angry statements from Democrats who accused the president of drawing the country into another Middle East war with potentially no end in sight.

Now directly involved, U.S. participation in the Iran-Israel conflict quickly became an opportunity for Trump to both push the boundaries of the Executive Branch’s power and continue a trend he began in January: the centralization of the Executive Branch’s policy and power within the Oval Office.

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