Damage from US strikes in Iran less than expected: Washington Post

Recent US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities caused less damage than anticipated, according to hints gathered from conversations among Iranian officials.This information was reported by the American news outlet The Washington Post in a report published Sunday (June 29).Earlier, the United States had carried out attacks targeting three of Iran’s nuclear centers, including a strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility using advanced B-2 stealth bombers.Immediately after the attacks, US intelligence had concluded in their initial assessment that the strikes had not destroyed Iran’s key nuclear program components. They believed the strikes only set back Iran’s nuclear activities by a few months. However, the Trump administration rejected this assessment.The influential American newspaper stated that conversations among senior Iranian officials intercepted by US signal intelligence indicated that the actual damage from the recent US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites was much less than initially anticipated.The Washington Post report said US signal intelligence had captured discussions among top-level Iranian officials. These conversations revealed Iranian officials questioning among themselves why the strikes ordered by Trump had failed to cause the expected level of destruction.However, a senior US intelligence official cautioned the Washington Post that a full intelligence assessment cannot be made based solely on a single phone conversation or isolated source. In his words: “One phone call does not give the whole picture.”President Trump, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top officials have claimed that the strikes completely destroyed Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities.On the other hand, Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that while there was significant damage from the attacks, many critical components had already been removed in advance, limiting long-term harm. However, Trump dismissed Iran’s statement, saying: “They didn’t move anything. They never imagined we would do so much.”According to reports from US media outlets CNN and The New York Times, early US intelligence assessments after the strikes concluded: “The attack has only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few months, not long-term.”But the White House has refused to accept this assessment. CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated: “According to new intelligence, the strikes caused such ‘deep damage’ that it will take Iran several years to rebuild.”