Iran’s nuclear program ‘severely damaged’ by US strikes: CIA

Washington: CIA Director John Ratcliffe has asserted that the agency had gathered “a body of credible evidence” suggesting that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure suffered extensive damage in recent US airstrikes, reinforcing the White House’s narrative that Tehran’s atomic ambitions have been drastically curtailed.

Ratcliffe, without divulging specifics, issued a statement on Wednesday (local time), stating that the intelligence came from “a historically reliable source/method” and indicated that “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.” While Ratcliffe did not clarify whether his remarks represented a formal agency assessment or his personal interpretation of the data, the statement underscored the intelligence community’s ongoing review of the impact of Saturday’s coordinated US strikes on Iran’s Natanz, Fordow, and Esfahan sites.

The CIA’s remarks came as a counterpoint to an earlier preliminary analysis by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which suggested that the airstrikes had not completely destroyed crucial components of Iran’s nuclear program.

According to the DIA, Iran’s nuclear capabilities may have been delayed by only a few months, raising questions about the long-term effectiveness of the military operation.

The White House dismissed that view, calling it “wrong” and affirming that US President Donald Trump’s assertion — that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon — remained accurate. (IANS)

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