President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that Israeli agents inspected Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility following recent U.S. airstrikes and reported the site was “totally obliterated.”
He also issued a warning that further action would be taken if Iran resumed uranium enrichment, FirstPost reported.
“They have guys who go in after the strike, and they said it was total obliteration,” Trump told attendees and reporters at a NATO meeting in The Hague this week.
Trump added that Israel is currently preparing a full damage assessment and suggested that Iran had no time to relocate any materials from the site before the strike.
He compared the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, claiming both had a similarly decisive effect in bringing conflict to a halt.
Trump’s rhetoric grew increasingly dramatic over the course of the day, as he dismissed reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran’s 400kg stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium had gone missing, Forbes noted further.
Earlier this week, U.S. Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the U.S. was uncertain about the whereabouts of the uranium and said the issue would be addressed in upcoming discussions with Iranian officials.
On Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that Iran’s nuclear program had sustained significant damage and would require years to rebuild. “Several key nuclear facilities were destroyed,” he said, citing reliable intelligence sources.
Trump also announced a US-Iran meeting is likely to happen next week to discuss Tehran’s nuke program. “We may sign an agreement, or we may not,” he said. “I don’t care if I have an agreement or not.”
Also, the president appeared less certain about a lasting cease-fire and peace between Israel and Iran after announcing earlier in the week that it would last “forever.”
“They’re both tired… but could it start again? Maybe. Maybe soon,” he said, per FirstPost.
Meanwhile, a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report shortly after the strikes claimed that the Iranian programs had only been set back “by months,” but that assessment — which news outlets like CNN and the New York Times failed to mention — said the intel was of “low confidence.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this week that the FBI is working with the Pentagon to find out who was responsible for the leak and that criminal charges are likely.
Speaking to Fox News host Jesse Watters on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) insinuated that the leak had to come from a member of the House or Senate on the intelligence committees because of their access to those reports.
“Right now, they are looking for a leaker. So does Congress — how does this work? Now they are looking at Congress. I thought at first it was a Pentagon guy, but now they are saying it could have been a member of Congress. Do they go into a computer and access it, like, how does this work?” the host said to Graham.
“You get the report. You get the initial assessment, members of Congress do on certain committees. We can rule me out as a leaker,” Graham responded.
“I’m not pushing the narrative, this was not a very good strike,” Graham said. This was obliteration by the definition in the dictionary and if you were on the ground …,” he said before Watters interrupted to ask him to explain how it works in Congress with intelligence reports.
“We get information—certain committees do—about the initial Defense Intelligence Agency assessment. Somebody leaked that assessment to suggest that the operation was not what Trump said it was,” the senator said.
“They have a political motivation. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this out. It is somebody who wants to undercut Trump. Is that a member of Congress? Could be. I don’t care what your title is. If you leaked classified information, you should go to jail,” he said.
