The CIA has stated that Iran\u2019s nuclear program has been \u201cseverely damaged\u201d following recent targeted strikes, pushing back on news reports that suggested a more limited impact\u2014reports which President Trump has repeatedly denounced as \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement released Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency had received \u201ccredible intelligence\u201d indicating that the three key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would need to be \u201crebuilt over the course of years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ratcliffe noted that the assessment was supported by \u201ca historically reliable and accurate source\/method\u201d and that the CIA would continue to update both lawmakers and the public \u201cwhen possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement follows reports from the New York Times, CNN, and other media outlets citing officials familiar with a Pentagon assessment, which concluded that the strikes delayed Iran\u2019s nuclear program by less than six months and failed to collapse the underground facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the reports, President Donald Trump criticized CNN and the New York Times, labeling their coverage as \u201cfake news\u201d and accusing them of downplaying the success of the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe just caught the Failing New York Times, working with Fake News CNN, cheating again!\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThey tried to demean the great work our B-2 pilots did, and they were wrong in doing so. TOTAL OBLITERATION!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior military officials would hold a news conference Thursday morning at the Pentagon \u201cin order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese Patriots were 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,\u201d Trump said, adding that the \u201cNews Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The CIA has stated that Iran\u2019s nuclear program has been \u201cseverely damaged\u201d following recent targeted strikes, pushing back on news reports that suggested a more limited impact\u2014reports which President Trump has repeatedly denounced as \u201cfake news.\u201d In a statement released Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency had received \u201ccredible intelligence\u201d indicating that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":56126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[327,552,3533,320,101,151],"class_list":["post-56125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-usnews","tag-central-intelligence-agency-cia","tag-iran","tag-iran-israel-conflict","tag-iran-nuclear-deal","tag-trump-administration","tag-united-states"],"yoast_head":"\n