US air strikes failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites, sources say
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People inspecting the apparent remains of a ballistic missile in northern Israel, following an attack by Iran on June 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- US intel suggests strikes only delayed Iran's nuclear programme by months, contradicting Trump's claim of total destruction.
- Trump brokered a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran, with Qatar mediating Tehran's agreement after escalating tensions.
- Both sides accepted the ceasefire but accused each other of violations, highlighting deep mistrust, with cautious relief expressed.
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WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL - US air strikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and set it back by only a few months, according to a preliminary US intelligence assessment, as a shaky ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel.
Earlier on June 24, both Iran and Israel signalled that the air war between the two nations had ended, at least for now, after Mr Trump scolded them for violating a ceasefire he had announced
As the two countries lifted civilian restrictions after 12 days of war – which the US had joined with an attack on Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities – each sought to claim victory.
Mr Trump said at the weekend that the US deployment of 13,600kg bombs
But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment by one of his administration’s intelligence agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.
One of the sources said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear programme – much of which is buried deep underground – may have been set back by only a month or two.
Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat-out wrong”.
According to the report, which was produced by the Defence Intelligence Agency, the strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities, but did not collapse underground buildings, said one of the people familiar with its findings.
Some centrifuges still remained intact after the attacks, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed person familiar with the report.
Mr Trump rebuffed the US media reports, saying in a post on Truth Social: “The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!”
His administration told the UN Security Council
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 24
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said in video remarks issued by his office.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a “great victory”, according to Iranian media. Mr Pezeshkian also told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Tehran was ready to resolve differences
Israel launched the surprise air war
Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.
‘Great victory’
Israel’s military lifted restrictions on activity across the country
A senior White House official said Mr Trump brokered the ceasefire deal with Mr Netanyahu, and other administration officials were in touch with the Iranians.
The truce appeared fragile: Both Israel and Iran took hours to acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire and accused each other of violating it.
Mr Trump scolded both sides but aimed especially stinging criticism at Israel, telling the close US ally to “calm down now”. He later said Israel called off further attacks at his command.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said he told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that his country would respect the ceasefire unless Iran violated it.
Mr Pezeshkian likewise said Iran would honour the ceasefire as long as Israel did, according to Iranian media.
A satellite view showing the site of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant, after the US struck the nuclear facility on June 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Whether the Israel-Iran truce can hold is a major question, given the deep mistrust between the two nations. But Mr Trump’s ability to broker a ceasefire showed Washington retains some leverage in the volatile region.
Israeli armed forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said a “significant chapter” of the conflict had concluded but the campaign against Iran was not over. He said the military would refocus on its war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza.
Iran’s military command also warned Israel and the US to learn from the “crushing blows” it had delivered during the conflict.
Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed in their country by Israeli strikes and 4,746 injured. Iran’s retaliatory bombardment killed 28 people in Israel, the first time its air defences were penetrated by large numbers of Iranian missiles.
Oil prices plunged and stock markets rallied worldwide in a sign of confidence inspired by the ceasefire, which allayed fears of disruption to critical oil supplies from the Gulf.
Ceasefire violations?
Earlier in the day, Mr Trump admonished Israel with an obscenity in an extraordinary outburst at an ally whose air war he had joined two days before by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites.
Before departing the White House en route to a Nato summit
“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” Mr Trump said. Iran and Israel had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”.
Mr Netanyahu’s office acknowledged Israel bombed a radar site near Tehran in what it said was retaliation for Iranian missiles fired three and a half hours after the ceasefire was due to begin.
It did not explicitly say whether the strike on the radar site took place before or after they spoke. The Islamic republic denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour and a half beyond the time the truce was meant to start.
“Who mediated or how it happened doesn’t matter,” said Mr Reza Sharifi, 38, heading back to Tehran from Rasht on the Caspian Sea, where he had fled with his family.
“The war is over. It never should have started in the first place.” REUTERS
