CIA Director John Ratcliffe issued a public statement Wednesday addressing the current state of Iran’s nuclear program following recent military actions.
“CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” he said.
Ratcliffe noted that intelligence gathering is ongoing and that relevant officials continue to be briefed. He added that the agency would also work to keep the American people informed. “CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency,” added Ratcliffe.
In a separate announcement earlier that day, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reinforced the assessment, explaining that the recent airstrikes had inflicted long-term setbacks on Iran’s nuclear development.
“New intelligence confirms what POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X.
She went on to call out major media networks, accusing them of distorting the facts in their coverage. “The propaganda media has deployed their usual tactic: selectively release portions of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (intentionally leaving out the fact that the assessment was written with ‘low confidence’) to try to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the brave servicemen and women who flawlessly executed a truly historic mission to keep the American people safe and secure,” she wrote.
The previous evening, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to denounce reports by CNN and the New York Times, both of which questioned the effectiveness of the strikes.
“Fake news CNN, together with the failing New York Times, have teamed up in an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history. The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed! Both the Times and CNN are getting slammed by the public!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump also reposted remarks from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who strongly defended the outcome of the military action. “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.”
Hegseth emphasized the precision and power of the bombing operation, pushing back against any suggestion that the results were overstated. “Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission,” added Hegseth.
{Matzav.com}