CIA Director John Ratcliffe has stated that recent U.S. airstrikes inflicted severe damage on Iran’s nuclear facilities, setting back its program by years.
His remarks stand in contrast to a leaked Pentagon intelligence report suggesting only minimal disruption.
Ratcliffe, speaking publicly on Wednesday, said key nuclear sites had been destroyed and would require years to rebuild. “New intelligence from a historically reliable source confirms the destruction of several key Iranian nuclear facilities,” he said, adding that Iran’s program would not recover quickly.
His statement comes amid political fallout over the earlier leaked assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which claimed the bombings had only delayed Iran’s nuclear capabilities by a few months. President Donald Trump sharply criticized the leak, calling the media reports “fake news” and insisting the operation had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking at a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump reiterated his stance: “It was very severe. It was obliteration.”
He added that talks with Iran could happen soon and may include a demand for Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, though Iran has not acknowledged any such plans.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told NBC News that direct and indirect communication between Washington and Tehran is ongoing.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard echoed Ratcliffe’s view, stating that Iran would need to completely rebuild the affected sites, Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan, which she said could take years.
The U.S. airstrikes, launched Saturday, involved 125 military aircraft targeting Iran’s three major nuclear facilities. Satellite imagery has revealed significant crater damage at Fordo and Isfahan, although it remains unclear whether the underground facilities were completely destroyed.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has confirmed “serious damage” to its nuclear infrastructure, with spokesperson Esmail Baghaei telling Al Jazeera, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” without offering further details.
The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission released a report stating that the strike on Fordo “destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure” and delayed Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon by “many years.”
However, there have been conflicting accounts. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s parliamentary leadership, claimed no irreversible damage occurred, particularly at Fordo.
Adding to the uncertainty, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi noted that Iran may have moved much of its highly enriched uranium prior to the attack, complicating damage assessments.
Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. U.S. intelligence agencies, even amid this crisis, have not publicly changed their long-standing view that Tehran is not actively developing nuclear weapons.
The situation remains fluid, with U.S. intelligence agencies continuing to evaluate the full extent of the strike’s impact.
