US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites only set back program months, Pentagon report says

Source: The Guardian

Tue 24 Jun 2025 16.49 EDT
Last modified on Tue 24 Jun 2025 16.50 EDT


An initial classified US assessment of Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months, according to two people familiar with the report.

The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – concluded key components of the nuclear program including centrifuges were capable of being restarted within months.

The report also found that much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be put to use for a possible nuclear weapon was moved before the strikes and may have been moved to other secret nuclear sites maintained by Iran.

The findings by the DIA, which were based on a preliminary battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, suggests Trump’s declaration about the sites being “obliterated” may have been overstated.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/24/iran-strikes-nuclear-sites-report