US President Donald Trump has once again asserted his claims on Washington “obliterating” Iranian nuclear sites during its targeted strikes on June 22, riding on Israel’s assessment made by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) on those sites.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday (local time), Trump noted the assessment made by IAEC on the Fordow nuclear site in Iran, where Israel’s primary nuclear regulatory authority stated that the US’ strike had “destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.”
“Israel just stated that the Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED! Thank you to our great B-2 pilots, and all others involved!” Trump wrote.
IAEC Claims Setback to Iran’s Nuclear Program “By Many Years”
Trump’s announcement came in the wake of an assessment made by the IAEC, where they detailed the impact of the US strike on Fordow and other nuclear sites, noting that the strikes in Fordow had destroyed its “critical infrastructure” and made the enrichment facility “inoperable”.
In its statement, as announced by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, IAEC also noted that the US strikes combined with Israel’s attacks on the facilities had caused a major setback to Tehran’s nuclear weapons development programme by “many years”.
“The devastating US strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, have set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years. The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material,” IAEC read.
US Intelligence Contradicts Trump’s Claims of Destruction
Trump’s repeated remarks on the US destroying Iran’s nuclear sites and causing a major setback to its nuclear development programme have gained much pace following a CNN finding that suggested that the strikes did not destroy nuclear sites in Iran as claimed by the US President or his administration.
The findings, first reported by CNN, citing seven individuals briefed on the assessments, noted that the early evaluation from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) suggested that the attacks only caused a temporary disruption, possibly setting Tehran’s nuclear program back by a few months.
CNN further reported that the findings based on a battle damage assessment by US Central Command contradict public claims made by US President Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asserted that the US “completely obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
As per CNN, citing intelligence sources, the centrifuges in Iran’s nuclear facilities remain mostly functional, and enriched uranium stockpiles were likely moved before the strikes.
Conflict Escalates Between Iran and Israel Amid Ongoing Strikes
The conflict between Iran and Israel began on June 13 when Israel launched a large-scale airstrike targeting Iranian military and nuclear facilities under “Operation Rising Lion”. Iran responded by launching “Operation True Promise 3”, a campaign involving missile and drone attacks against Israel’s infrastructure.
Trump Also Claims Role in Averting India-Pakistan Nuclear War
US President Donald Trump has claimed he stopped a potential nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening to withhold trade deals.
Speaking at a NATO summit in Hague, President Trump doubled down on his claims at the press conference Wednesday, saying he used “a series of phone calls on trade” to convince the nuclear-armed neighbours to step back from military confrontation during escalating tensions in May 2025.
“I said if you’re going to go fighting each other, we’re not doing any trade deal,” Trump told reporters at the conclusion of the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
“We stopped the nuclear war,” he added.
Trump referenced recent diplomatic meetings, saying Pakistani general Asim Munir had visited his office the previous week while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a great friend of mine” and “a great gentleman.”
According to the President’s account, both countries chose potential economic partnerships over military action when presented with the option.
“I got them to reason, and I said, we’re not doing a trade deal if you’re going to fight. They said, no, I want to do the trade deal,” Trump explained.
The comments represent the President’s most latest public account of his claimed role in mediating the India-Pakistan crisis that erupted earlier this year.
However, Trump’s characterisation of events has been disputed by Indian officials.
The Indian government has previously contested the President’s assertion that US mediation was decisive in achieving the ceasefire between the two nations in May 2025.
Meanwhile, India has clarified that the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan took place on May 10 following contacts between the two DGMOs.
(With Inputs From ANI)
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