What President Trump branded a “historic obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear program is now being torn apart by leaked intelligence—and the reality isn’t lining up with the bravado.
According to sources familiar with classified Pentagon assessments obtained by NBC News, only one of the three sites bombed in the June assault—Fordow—suffered enough damage to significantly disrupt Iran’s nuclear activities. The other two, Natanz and Isfahan, are expected to be back online within months.
This revelation stands in stark contrast to President Trump’s declaration last month during a primetime press conference flanked by VP JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“We destroyed the nuclear,” Trump boasted. “Iran will not have nuclear. We blew it up. It’s blown up to kingdom come.”
But reality says otherwise.
Buried Truths
U.S. officials reportedly knew ahead of the operation—dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer—that both Natanz and Isfahan were buried too deep for even the 30,000-pound GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs to fully penetrate. Only Fordow was truly within reach. At Isfahan, the military relied on Tomahawk missiles, which were only effective against surface-level targets.
An early Pentagon analysis leaked just one day after the attack showed that while the entrances to Natanz and Isfahan were damaged, the core infrastructure beneath remained intact.
A revised assessment later found slightly more damage than previously thought, but still fell short of Trump’s claims of “total annihilation.”
The Road Not Taken
NBC also reported that U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla had pitched a more comprehensive plan: multiple waves of strikes across six facilities, including Iranian air defense and missile systems.
But Trump rejected it.
The alternative campaign, which would have taken weeks and likely resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, didn’t fit with Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to avoid entangling wars.
“He wanted the headlines, not the consequences,” said one former intelligence official briefed on the operation. “This was about optics, not strategy.”
Political Theater, Not Tactical Triumph
Despite the administration’s insistence that the strikes were a strategic win, military experts and allied intelligence reports paint a murkier picture.
“Fordow was hit hard, no doubt,” said Dr. Andrea Khalid, a nuclear proliferation analyst with the Brookings Institution. “But Natanz and Isfahan were always hardened targets. Everyone knew that.”
A senior Israeli official confirmed that Iran retained access to much of its pre-strike enriched uranium stockpile, much of which had reportedly been moved prior to the assault.
Even the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency raised concerns that Iran had preemptively shifted materials and personnel, minimizing the impact of the American-led strikes.
Denial at the Top
Still, the Trump White House remains in denial.
“Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. “America and the world are safer thanks to his decisive action.”
At the Pentagon, chief spokesperson Sean Parnell doubled down, dismissing critical reporting as “fake news” and insisting all three sites were “completely and totally obliterated.”
Meanwhile, reports from Iranian state media—normally dismissed in U.S. coverage—appear to align with U.S. intelligence in at least one respect: uranium enrichment work in Natanz is expected to resume by October.
The Bigger Picture
Iran has long claimed its nuclear program is civilian in nature. While enrichment levels were well above domestic energy requirements, there’s been no conclusive proof Iran was close to building a weapon at the time of the strikes.
The same can’t be said about Trump’s ambitions.
“He wanted a moment,” said Khalid. “Instead, he got a news cycle.”
Trump, unfazed by mounting scrutiny, told conservative talk radio last week that he would “absolutely” consider another strike on Iran if enrichment restarts—further stoking fears of a long-term military standoff.
As the dust settles on Operation Midnight Hammer, one thing is clear: the mission may have been loud, but the impact was far from deafening. And the fallout—both political and nuclear—is just beginning.
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The “leaker” of intelligence information should be hanged in public!
We won’t know anything for sure until someone trustworthy gets in there… IF it can be gotten into…
Apparently, the author of this article is too interested in opposing Trump in any way possible rather than stressing the fact that the mission was successful in every way it was made planned. Yes, more could have planned and achieved, but that is not what should be stressed. Instead, this author is relying on \”leaks\” without any verification as to whether or not the information in the supposed \”leak\” is or was correct. While admitting that each strike hit its target and achieved its intended purpose, this author is choosing to make derogatory statements about OUR PRESIDENT, thereby exhibiting for the world to see the true hateful intent of the article. Instead, praise should be offered for our military\’s successful completion of each aspect of the plan. America needs positivity not more negativism.
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Horsehockey! CBS Propaganda! Those bunker busters were perfectly placed and went very deep one right after the other! BS!
Typical next gen news media bias
these aren’t leaks. our gov. has proved this. see AP today