IDF claims Iran’s nuclear weapons program set back by years

Satellite images released on Wednesday show widespread surface damage at nuclear sites, while leaked Pentagon assessment pours cold water on extent of the damage.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

Israel has declared its recent campaign against Iran a major success, with IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effi Defrin stating on Wednesday that all operational objectives had been achieved, the Israeli Ynet news outlet reported.

However, new US intelligence assessments paint a more sobering picture, suggesting that Tehran’s nuclear capabilities may have survived the attack largely intact.

“Our assessment is that we significantly disrupted the nuclear program and set it back by years,” Defrin told reporters.

Quoting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, Defrin added, “There is an Iran before the operation – and there is an Iran after.”

The remarks came as newly released satellite images revealed the extent of the destruction inflicted by US and Israeli airstrikes on several key Iranian nuclear sites.

High-resolution imagery from Maxar Technologies shows major structural damage at facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan – some of the most fortified sites in Iran’s nuclear network.

At the underground Fordow site, images show craters near main access points and the complete leveling of several above-ground structures.

The Isfahan facility, which houses small Chinese-built research reactors, also sustained heavy damage, particularly to its tunnel entrances.

Despite the apparent precision of the strikes, reports from the Bloomberg news agency suggest that US forces deliberately avoided hitting three small reactors containing nearly a kilogram of weapons-grade enriched uranium.

Natanz, another cornerstone of Iran’s enrichment program, was struck with bunker-busting munitions, creating twin craters that have since been filled in.

The IAEA, which convened an emergency session earlier this week, voiced concern about the attack’s precedent and demanded Iran reveal the location of its enriched uranium stockpile.

Iran has accused the US of undermining global diplomacy and warned that the strikes dealt a “severe blow” to nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

Despite Israel’s public claims of success, internal assessments from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), cited by CNN TV network, tell a different story.

The classified report concludes that the strikes only delayed Iran’s nuclear progress by a few months and failed to destroy critical infrastructure.

Most centrifuges remained functional, and Iran’s uranium stockpile was untouched, according to the DIA.

These findings contradict earlier public statements from US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who hailed the operation as a total success and claimed Iran’s nuclear ambitions had been “completely eliminated.”

Israeli officials, while maintaining the operation was effective, reportedly acknowledged that the Fordow facility remains operational.

Asked about the report, a White House spokesperson confirmed its existence but rejected its conclusions.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff criticized the leak, calling it “a traitorous act” in an interview with Fox TV network.

As tensions remain high and both military and diplomatic assessments diverge, the true impact of the strikes may take weeks or months to fully emerge.