Iran’s nuclear core survived US strikes: Pentagon report

A classified US intelligence report has concluded that the recent American airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities fell far short of destroying the country’s nuclear capabilities — contrary to the public claims made by President Donald Trump and his administration.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, cited by CNN, the June 20 strikes launched by B-2 stealth bombers targeting three strategic nuclear sites have only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months at best. The assessment, based on battle damage analysis by U.S. Central Command, suggests that Tehran's critical nuclear infrastructure remains largely operational.

In stark contrast to President Trump's assertion that Iran's nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated,” the DIA report reveals that Iran had already relocated around 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity — just short of weapons-grade—to undisclosed locations prior to the strikes. Intelligence officials now fear this stockpile could be housed at secret nuclear sites still beyond US reach.

Moreover, the centrifuges—central to uranium enrichment and a key target of both American and Israeli strikes—remain “largely intact,” according to two sources familiar with the findings. “The DIA assessment is that the U.S. set them back maybe a few months, tops,” one source told CNN.

The White House acknowledged the existence of the classified assessment but swiftly rejected its conclusions. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the report as “flat-out wrong,” dismissing the source as an “anonymous, low-level loser” within the intelligence community.

“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,” Leavitt posted on X, doubling down on Trump’s version of events.

However, Vice President JD Vance appeared to contradict the administration’s narrative when he admitted that the U.S. was still unaware of the location of Iran’s enriched uranium. “We are going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel,” he said.

As conflicting narratives swirl between the Pentagon and the White House, one reality stands clear: Iran’s nuclear ambitions, while bruised, are far from broken.