A preliminary US intelligence assessment reportedly found that Iran's nuclear program has only been set back by a few months following US strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities, according to Reuters.
According to the assessment, Tehran would be able to restart its nuclear program in months, Reuters said, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The assessment are at odds with US President Donald Trump's assertions that the US strikes "fully obliterated" Iran's nuclear program.
How did the Trump administration respond?
The damage assessment was first reported by CNN, which asked the White House for comment, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the "alleged" assessment was "flat-out wrong."
"Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration," she was quoted as saying.
Trump has denied the news on his Truth Social platform. In a post written in capital letters, he described CNN as "fake news," writing the reporting aimed to "demean one of the most successful military strikes in history." He maintained that Iran's nuclear sites are now "completely destroyed."
