President Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday that the media worked together to "diminish" the impact of the U.S. attack. Iranian Nuclear sites during the weekend after a leaked damage assessment of the incident was released.
Previously today, the Secretary of Defense had stated Pete Hegseth said The leaked damage assessment report, suggesting that the airstrikes only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by several months, was seen as an effort to "discredit" Trump. Both Hegseth and Trump maintained that the facilities were “completely destroyed.”
"FAKE NEWS CNN, ALONGSIDE THE FLOUNDERING NEW YORK TIMES, HAS JOINED FORCES TO TRY AND DIMINISH ONE OF THEMOST IMPRESSIVE MILITARY OPERATIONS ON RECORD," Trump posted on Truth Social. "THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED! BOTH THE TIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC!"
“Given all that we have observed—and I’ve witnessed it all—our airstrikes completely incapacitated Iran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons,” Hegseth stated, responding to the reports. Trump concurred. Hegseth's comment on Truth Social.
"The large bombs struck precisely the intended location at every target and functioned flawlessly. The effects of these explosives lie hidden beneath heaps of debris in Iran; thus, anybody claiming that the bombs weren’t extremely destructive is merely attempting to discredit the President and the successful operation," he stated.
The Vice President, JD Vance, also conveyed this. Pentagon official's assessment that the sites had been "completely erased."
An assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Defense Department’s The intelligence wing examined the destruction caused by the United States' B-2 bombings equipped with 30,000-pound bunker busters, along with subsequent smaller attacks carried out by Israel's air force, according to multiple reports. The Damage Assessment Report from the U.S. Central Command indicated that the assaults on the nuclear sites, notably the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, delayed Iran’s nuclear progress by fewer than six months, as per estimates made by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Steve Witkoff, who served as the special envoy for the Middle East under the Trump administration, labeled the leaking of the report as "traitorous."
"Releasing this kind of information, regardless of what the details entail or which party it benefits, is utterly unacceptable. It amounts to an act of treachery. Consequently, such actions must be thoroughly examined, and those who perpetrated it, as well as anyone found responsible, should face consequences," he stated during a Fox News interview.
Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) stated that the strikes were not intended to utterly annihilate the facilities.
"I have reviewed this plan previously, and it was not intended to entirely obliterate the nuclear sites; instead, it aimed to inflict substantial harm. However, it was consistently understood as only a short-term hindrance," he explained to CNN.
U.S. STRIKES APPEAR TO HAVE TEMPORARILY SET BACK IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM BY ONLY A FEW MONTHS, ACCORDING TO INTEL Suggests
On Monday night, Trump declared a truce between Israel and Iran; however, he showed irritation as it seemed to break soon afterward. The ceasefire has remained intact ever since.
"We essentially have two nations that have been engaged in such prolonged and intense conflict that they've lost sight of their objectives," Trump stated as he departed from the White House en route to a NATO summit.