Early intel assessment says Iran’s nuclear program was only set back ‘a few months’ : NPR

US officials who are not allowed to speak publicly confirmed an early intelligence report assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which said on Saturday night that the massive US air campaign against Iran’s three nuclear sites did not “eliminate” Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme as President Trump claimed to have been “months.”

CNN was the first to release news of the DIA rating.

Authorities told NPR that military authorities provided Intel’s early assessment to select a senator.

“I have a lot of questions about this administration,” Warner said. Everything is considered. “What is the next step? How do we make sure Iran is not racing dirty bombs now? These are questions that we and frankly, Americans deserve the answer.”

The full Senate was scheduled to obtain a briefing classified from the administration on Tuesday afternoon, but was cancelled later in the week and moved.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt denounced the CNN report; I’m saying it on social media It is “completely wrong” and claims that a critical nuclear facility has been destroyed. She said the leak was “a clear attempt to lightly mean President Trump.”

The White House did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for further comment.

The assessment comes within a day when a Trump-declared ceasefire between Israel and Iran comes into effect and both parties agree to end the battle. Israel has repeatedly said that the goal in the war is to stop Iran’s nuclear program and prevent it from its ability to create nuclear weapons.

Speaking to the Air Force early Tuesday, Trump claimed that the target was met.

“They probably aren’t enriched and don’t have nuclear weapons,” he said. “And the last thing in their minds is nuclear weapons. They don’t even want to think about nuclear weapons.”

However, officials in Iran were directly in conflict with this.

In the statement of x In Persia, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagh Garribah said Iran would “completely ignore” Israel’s demands to stop enriching uranium, a key component of its nuclear weapons. He said Iran will continue to move forward with their own self-interest.

It appears that the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency Hamad Eslami has confirmed this. Session of semi-official Iranian news agency They were still assessing the damage from the attack on Saturday night, but had prepared in advance. “Our plan is not to allow any interruption to the production and service processes,” he said.

The US used a massive bunkerbuster bomb on Saturday to target three of Iran’s major nuclear facilities, including what was called Ford, built deep in the mountains.

Speaking at the White House after those strikes, Trump called the strike “an epic military success.”

“Iran’s major nuclear enrichment facilities have completely disappeared,” he said.

However, the official US NPR said the Intelligence Report Assessment concluded that there was “limited” damage, particularly to the critical infrastructure of the Fordo facility.

Independent expert NPR spoke the day after a US strike analyzed commercial satellite images and came to a similar conclusion, saying Iranian nuclear companies were far from destruction.

“At the end of the day there are some really important things that have never been a hit,” says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury International Institute in Monterey, which tracks Iran’s nuclear facilities. “If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike.”

Experts have long warned that Iran’s nuclear capabilities are not only in its facilities but also in its deep knowledge, but also in its attacks are much more difficult.

“The simple fact is that if Iranians choose to do so, Israel cannot rule out Iran’s ability to fully construct nuclear weapons,” says Kenneth Pollack, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute. “Knowledge is widespread within the Iranian system.”

NPR’s Tom Bowman contributed to this report from Washington, DC