Enriched Uranium Moved Before Airstrikes... Delay Less Than Six Months
White House Refutes, Saying "Assessment Is Completely Incorrect"
Briefing on Iran Airstrikes Abruptly Postponed... Some Blame the DIA
On June 21 (local time), the United States struck three nuclear facilities in Iran. However, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), under the US Department of Defense, has issued an initial assessment that the airstrikes did not destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear program, according to reports by CNN and other outlets on June 24.
According to sources, this assessment is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command following the airstrikes. The evaluation found that Iran's nuclear program has only been delayed by several months. However, as the damage analysis is still ongoing, the assessment may change.
Multiple sources told CNN that Iran's enriched uranium storage facilities were not destroyed. One official stated that most of the centrifuges remained intact. Another source said that the enriched uranium had been moved to a different facility prior to the US airstrikes, and that the US could only delay Iran's nuclear development by, at most, several months. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also stated that about a week before Israel's surprise preemptive strike on Iran on June 13, IAEA inspectors confirmed the presence of nuclear material in Isfahan, but he now believes it has been moved elsewhere. Enriched uranium can be used as material for nuclear weapons.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that the DIA's report acknowledged a delay in Iran's nuclear program, but assessed that the delay would be less than six months.
Foreign media noted that these assessment results contradict statements from the Donald Trump administration. President Trump has claimed that the attack "completely destroyed" Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also stated that Iran's nuclear ambitions had been destroyed.
However, while the White House acknowledged the existence of such assessments, it maintained its disagreement and continued to support President Trump's position that Iran's nuclear facilities had been completely destroyed. White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt told CNN, "These assessments are completely incorrect and were leaked to CNN by a low-level intelligence failure, despite being classified as 'top secret'." She also assessed that the US military's operation proceeded as planned and was an overwhelming success.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Trump administration abruptly postponed a scheduled briefing to the US Congress regarding the airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The Senate briefing was rescheduled for June 26, and the House briefing for June 27.
Although the specific reasons for the postponement were not disclosed, Representative Mike Quigley (Illinois), a Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post (WP) that there was a widespread belief in Congress that the postponement was due to the embarrassing content of the assessment. He said that intelligence authorities had told him that the airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities would not have a lasting effect, adding, "I have received briefings for years on how this would unfold, and I have always been told that ground troops would need to be deployed to finish the job."
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