News Brief
14 GBU-57 Bunker Busters, 30 Tomahawk Missiles Used In Iran Strike, But US Intel Says Two Nuclear Sites Survived
US B-2 Stealth Bomber
A Pentagon intelligence report indicates that US airstrikes ordered by Donald Trump failed to completely destroy two of Iran’s three nuclear facilities that were targeted, only delaying its programme by a few months, reported The New York Times.
The report, prepared by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), says two of the main nuclear sites -- Fordow and Natanz -- were not completely destroyed.
The DIA is the intelligence branch of the Pentagon and worked with US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, to assess the damage after the recent strikes ordered by Trump.
The DIA report warned that Iran’s uranium-enrichment centrifuges could be restarted within months, allowing the nuclear programme to resume faster than previously assumed.
Before the attacks, Iran reportedly moved 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, possibly using 16 cargo trucks seen via satellite outside Fordow to relocate the material to secret locations.
These findings contradict President Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was totally eliminated in the strikes.
In response, Trump shared Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks on Truth Social to reinforce his position.
In his earlier Saturday night address, Trump hailed the operation as a huge success.
"The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace," Trump had said after the strikes.
Trump claimed the US had destroyed all three key Iranian nuclear sites — Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan — in the operation.
Fordow is one of Iran's most protected facilities, built deep beneath the Zagros Mountains under about 45 to 90 metres (roughly 150 to 300 feet) of hard rock.
As early as January, US defence officials had reportedly cautioned that even the 13,000-kg GBU-57 ‘bunker buster’ might not neutralise Fordow due to its deep-buried design.
During the operation, B-2 bombers reportedly dropped 12 GBU-57 bombs on Fordow and two on Natanz, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched at Isfahan from a US Navy submarine.
Trump dismissed the Pentagon report, accusing The New York Times and CNN of undermining what he described as “the most successful military strikes in history.”
"THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED! BOTH THE TIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC," he wrote on Truth Social.
The White House also refuted the intelligence assessment and called the report "fake news".
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement, "The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran's nuclear program."
Speaking at a Sunday briefing, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who helped lead the mission, offered a more reserved evaluation.
Caine stated the targets had “sustained severe damage and destruction,” but clarified that a complete post-strike assessment was not completed.
