The Trump administration has insisted that the operation was a total success and berated journalists for reporting on the intelligence assessment report.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday accused his political rivals of leaking a classified intelligence report suggesting that recent American airstrikes failed to fully destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “They should be prosecuted!”
Background on the Strikes
Last week, the U.S. joined Israel in launching a coordinated military strike against three key Iranian nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — which Washington and Tel Aviv claim were being used to secretly develop a nuclear weapon.
The attack involved American B-2 stealth bombers dropping GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on two of the sites, while a U.S. Navy submarine launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at the third.
President Trump had praised the mission, saying it “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that claim, saying Iran’s nuclear ambitions had been “obliterated.”
Leaked Report Says Otherwise
However, a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment — leaked to the media — paints a less conclusive picture. According to CNN, two officials familiar with the classified report said that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed, and that most of its centrifuges remained intact.
The report suggests that, while the strikes may have inflicted serious damage, they only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months, not years as initially claimed.
Trump Administration Pushes Back
The Trump administration has dismissed the leaked report and condemned media coverage of it.
“Whether it’s Fake News CNN, MSNBC, or The New York Times, there’s been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment,” said Defense Secretary Hegseth, according to AFP.
He accused the source of the leak of having a political motive, saying: “The document was leaked because someone had an agenda to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn’t successful.”
As the White House continues to defend the strike’s effectiveness, the leak has reignited debate over transparency, national security, and the political motives behind intelligence disclosures.
