According to the assessment, damage was mostly limited to overground structure and Iranian centrifuges are said to be largely intact.
A Pentagon intelligence assessment of US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities has cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s claims of obliterating the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.
According to the US media reports, the early assessment by Pentagon says that the US attack has only set Iran’s nuclear programme back “a few months, tops”.
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According to the assessment, damage was mostly limited to overground structure and Iranian centrifuges are said to be largely intact.
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The reports claimed that some ground infrastructure was destroyed in the US attack but the main nuclear facilities, which are deep underground, were intact.
Tunnels entry points at two of the three nuclear facilities were sealed and that Iran could soon resume its nuclear program, depnding on the time it takes to make repairs.
Another report also claimed that Iran’s enriched nuclear stockpile is still safe as it was moved in time before the US attack.
After the Pentagon intelligence report leak, Trump lashed out at US media, accusing some media outlets of demeaning “one of the most successful military strikes in the history”.
“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 TIIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC!” the US President said in a post on his Truth Social.
The United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, including the most highly fortified Fordow (Fordo), on eary Sunday morning. Natanz, and Esfahan were the other two sites the US targeted.
Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, which was the primary target of the US attack, was constructed with reinforced concrete at a depth of 80-90 m under the mountain rocks. It could only be penetrated by the massive GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which only the US has.
During the attack, six B-2 bombers dropped a dozen 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker buster bombs at the Fordow nuclear site.
US Navy was also involved in the strike, and its submarines fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. A B-2 bomber also dropped two GBU-57 bombs on Natanz.
Trump had claimed that the attack was “very successful” and that it has “obliterated” Iranian nuclear program.
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