Trump Grapples for Upper Hand in Debate Over Damage from US Strikes on Iran

Trump Grapples for Upper Hand in Debate: President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an early intelligence assessment that U.S. strikes inflicted only a marginal setback on Iran's nuclear program, insisting that his country's spies did not have the full picture and defending his own swift conclusion that American bombs and missiles delivered a crushing blow.

“This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,” Trump said as his administration scrambled to support his claims, made only hours after the attack, that Iranian nuclear facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.”

Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military officials would hold an “interesting and irrefutable” news conference Thursday morning to “fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots” who carried out the mission.

The US president added that the "great American pilots" who flew the bombers to strike Iran are "very upset."

"After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times," he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump's statement defending the US strikes comes after he told reporters ahead of the NATO Summit in the Netherlands that the intelligence regarding the strikes is “inconclusive.”

As doubts remain about US damage done to the Iranian nuclear programme, Trump added that a press conference will be held by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.

The issue dominated Trump's attendance at NATO's annual summit in the Netherlands, which was otherwise focused on European security. The White House highlighted an Israeli statement that Iran's nuclear efforts were delayed by years, much longer than the few months determined by American intelligence. A spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry also said the facilities have suffered significant damage.

Also Read: Delhi University Axes Pakistan, China & Islam Papers from Political Science PG Syllabus, Faculty Raise Objections

But those comments fell short of Trump's hyperbole and did little to suggest that U.S. strikes had eliminated the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in an interview with Politico, limited his own assessment to saying Iran was “much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action.”

Drawing reliable conclusions about the impact of the U.S. strikes remains difficult, especially only days after they took place. That makes the issue a breeding ground for competing claims that could determine how American voters view Trump's risky decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran.

Jeffrey Lewis, a professor of nonproliferation at the Middlebury Institute, said Trump was trying to have it both ways.

"If it's too early to know, why is Trump saying it's obliterated?" he said. "Either it's too early to know, or you know."

Also at stake are Trump’s next steps in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts could be required to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program.

Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials would meet soon, resuming a dialogue that was interrupted by nearly two weeks of war, even as he suggested that negotiations were no longer necessary.

“I don’t care if I have an agreement or not,” Trump said, because Iran was too badly damaged to even consider rebuilding its program. “They’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it.”

Iran maintains that its atomic ambitions are for peaceful purposes, while U.S. and Israeli leaders have described the country’s nuclear program as the precursor to obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Also Read: Gambhir Told to Pull Pant Aside: ‘Your Lower‑Order Can’t Contribute — Next Time You’re at 130…’

The episode has triggered some of Trump’s long-standing vendettas against leaks and intelligence officials, whom he has often viewed as a part of a “deep state” dedicated to undermining his agenda. He also lashed out at media outlets that reported on the classified assessment, describing them as “scum” and “disgusting.”

The intelligence assessment was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is part of the Pentagon. Out of all the country's spy services, it's usually “the fastest on the draw” to produce preliminary results, said Frank Montoya, a former counterintelligence leader.

“They have to respond quickly to what the war fighters are looking for, but those preliminary assessments are still based on information that’s out there,” Montoya said.

Leon Panetta, who held top national security roles under President Barack Obama, said it's too soon to have a more complete understanding of the strikes' impact.

“Bottom line is, that’s going to take an extended period of time, at least a number of weeks, before we have a full assessment of the damage done by the attack,” Panetta said.

However, Trump administration officials have been chiming in with their own statements emphasizing the damage done by the American mission.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said there’s “a body of credible intelligence” showing “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.”

The leaked Pentagon report has claimed that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, especially Fordow, have set back the country's nuclear programme by may “ a few months.”

The intelligence report disputed Trump's claim that the US had caused severe damage to Iran and its nuclear programme.

After the US strike on Iran, several Iranian officials had stated that the attack had not done much damage to their nuclear programme. State media TV further reported that Iran had already moved its uranium stockpile from the plants in anticipation of an attack, which the Pentagon report also confirmed.

Meanwhile, Israel has also claimed it has left the Iranian programme “in total ruins”. However, Tel Aviv has added that the actual damage done to the nuclear plants and programme is “yet to be assessed.”

Also Read: Hoax Threats & Fake Air India Crash Warning: Inside a Techie’s Revenge Plot Over Unrequited Love