Iranian officials reportedly called U.S. strikes on nuclear sites less destructive than expected – WP

Senior Iranian officials considered recent U.S. airstrikes on nuclear facilities to be less destructive than anticipated, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing American intelligence sources.

According to the report, the remarks were made during a private phone call intercepted by U.S. intelligence, in which officials questioned why the strikes ordered by President Donald Trump had not caused greater damage.

White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt dismissed the report as an “out-of-context leak,” saying: “It’s nonsense to think anonymous Iranian officials know what happened hundreds of feet beneath the rubble. Their nuclear program is finished.”

Earlier, CNN reported that a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded the strikes did not destroy Iran’s core nuclear infrastructure, and likely only delayed Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb by several months. The Pentagon noted the assessment was made with low confidence.

On June 25, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that the facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “effectively wiped off the map.”