WASHINGTON, DC – New media reports in the US cite the intelligence report review, questioning President Donald Trump’s claim that Washington’s military “eliminated” Iran’s nuclear program last month.
The Washington Post and NBC News reported that US officials say one of three Iranian nuclear facilities targeted by the US (the Fordow facility) has been destroyed.
A report in the post released Friday raised questions about whether the centrifuge used to enrich uranium at the deepest level of Fordow had been destroyed or moved prior to the attack.
“We cannot say it has been wiped out,” an unidentified official told the newspaper, referring to Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump argues that the US strike is a “magnificent” success and is surged by reports questioning the level of damages they inflicted in Iran’s nuclear program.
A US intelligence assessment, leaked to several media outlets after last month’s attack, said the strike failed to destroy key elements of Iran’s nuclear program, only delaying the work in a few months.
However, the Pentagon said early in July that the attack had degraded Iran’s program for a year or two.
The strike at Fordow was initially considered to be the most guarded facility buried in the mountains, but initially appeared on the central stage, but reports from NBC News and Washington Post suggest that Natanz and Isfahan facilities also have deep tunnels.
“Unexplicable”
Instead, the US military did not use bombs that destroy the vast bunkers against Isfahan’s site and targeted surface infrastructure.
A council aide familiar with intelligence briefings posted that the Pentagon rated Isfahan’s underground facilities as “least invading.”
The Pentagon responded to both reports, repeatedly saying that all three sites had been “completely and completely wiped out.”
Israel launched the war by attacking Iran without direct provocation last month, endorsing its US administration’s reputation and threatens further strikes against Tehran if it resumes its nuclear program.
For some of this, Tehran does not provide details regarding the status of its nuclear site.
Some Iranian officials say the facility has caused great damage from our and Israeli attacks. However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Trump had “exaggerated” the impact of the strike after the war.
The location and status of Iran’s highly enriched uranium also remains unknown.
Iran’s nuclear agency and regulators in neighboring states have said they have not detected a surge in radiation after the bombing, suggesting that the strike will not result in uranium contamination.
However, Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, did not rule out that the attack could have damaged the uranium container.
“I don’t know where this material is or if some of it could have been attacked during these 12 days,” Grossi told CBS News last month.
According to Grossi, Iran could resume enriching uranium in a “monthly problem.”
war
Israel launched a massive attack on Iran on June 13, killing some of the finest military officials, as well as nuclear scientists.
The bombing campaign targeted military facilities, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings across the country, killing hundreds of civilians.
Iran responded with a barrage of missiles against Israel, which left widespread destruction and claimed at least 29 lives.
The US took part in an Israeli campaign on June 22nd, struggling three nuclear sites. Iran retaliated with a missile attack on an air base that houses US troops in Qatar.
Initially, Trump said the Iranian attack was blocked, but after satellite images showed damage to the base, the Pentagon admitted that one of the missiles was not intercepted.
“One Iranian ballistic missile affected Al-Udaid Air Force Base on June 23, while the remaining missiles were intercepted by US and Qatar air defense systems,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Al Jazeera in an email last week.
“This impact caused minimal damage to the equipment and structures at the base. There were no injuries.”
After reaching a ceasefire to end the 12-day war, both the US and Iran expressed their willingness to engage in diplomacy to resolve the nuclear file. However, the lecture has not been realized.
Iran and the United States had regularly held nuclear talks before Israel began the war in June.
EU-Iran Talks
During his first term in 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
With the agreement, Iran has reduced its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions on its economy.
Recently, European officials have suggested that “snapback” sanctions against Iran could be imposed as part of a deal that has long been breached by the US.
Tehran, which began enriching uranium beyond the limits set by the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, argues that Washington is the party that signed a deal, and that the deal recognizes Iran’s right to fulfill it.
Last night there was a joint newsletter with E3 FMS & EU HR, and we clarified the following points:
It was the US that withdrawn from the two-year negotiation agreement adjusted by the EU in 2015, not Iran. And we left the negotiation table this June… pic.twitter.com/nfqdk2hzd4 was the one who chose…
– July 18, 2025, Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut said he had spoken with top diplomats (known as E3) from France, Britain and Germany, as well as the top representatives of the European Union on Friday.
Araghchi said Europeans should put aside “a worn-out policy of threat and pressure.”
“It was the US that withdrawn from the two-year negotiation agreement coordinated by the EU in 2015, not Iran, and it was the US that left the negotiation table this June and chose the military option rather than Iran,” the Iranian foreign minister said in a social media post.
“A new round of consultation is only possible if the other party is ready for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial nuclear deal.”
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear bomb. Meanwhile, Israel is widely believed to have undeclared nuclear weapons.
