CIA chief says Iran’s nuclear facilities “severely damaged”, contradicting leaked intel report

WASHINGTON DC (MNTV) — The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has said that American airstrikes inflicted long-term damage on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, pushing back its nuclear capabilities by years.

H9wever, the remarks contradict a leaked US intelligence report that had downplayed the extent of the destruction.

Speaking on Wednesday during a NATO summit in The Hague, US President Donald Trump defended the operation, describing it as “obliteration,” and rejected media reports citing preliminary assessments that claimed Iran’s key nuclear facilities remained largely intact.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that the strikes destroyed critical components of several sites and that the intelligence was based on information from what he described as a “historically reliable and accurate” source.

“This will take Iran years to recover from,” Ratcliffe said, although he stopped short of declaring that the Iranian nuclear program had been eliminated altogether.

The US military launched coordinated strikes on Saturday targeting three primary nuclear sites—Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan—using 125 aircraft.

Satellite imagery released since the attack showed multiple craters near suspected underground installations, including over potential centrifuge halls and ventilation shafts.

However, analysts noted it remains uncertain whether the underground infrastructure was fully neutralized.

The strikes came amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, brokered earlier this week by Trump, bringing a halt to 12 days of hostilities.

A leaked preliminary analysis from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), published Tuesday by US media, concluded the strikes set Iran’s nuclear timeline back only “a few months.”

The DIA characterized the assessment as low-confidence and noted it was based on initial observations.

Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” in a social media post, accusing the media of misrepresenting facts without credible sources.

He announced that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and senior military officials would deliver an “irrefutable” statement at the Pentagon on Thursday.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard also sided with the White House, writing on social media that rebuilding all three nuclear facilities from scratch would likely take Iran several years.

The Pentagon has not confirmed the full extent of damage, but officials said evaluations are ongoing and subject to revision as more data becomes available. The United States has 18 intelligence agencies, often offering differing conclusions based on their scope and mandate.

US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told NBC News that there have been both direct and indirect communications with Iran, despite Tehran officially denying any talks.

Trump said on Wednesday he plans to seek a formal commitment from Iran to end its nuclear ambitions during potential negotiations next week.

In Iran, government officials have offered mixed responses. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that the facilities had “definitely sustained serious damage,” without providing further detail.

However, Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s parliamentary leadership, claimed Fordo had not suffered irreversible losses.

A report by the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission echoed the CIA’s position, asserting that the strikes had destroyed essential infrastructure at Fordo and significantly delayed Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran may have moved some of its enriched uranium to undisclosed locations prior to the US assault.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear activities are intended for peaceful purposes, and past US intelligence assessments have found no conclusive evidence that Tehran is pursuing atomic weapons.