Amid President Trump’s assertions of “total obliteration” at Iranian nuclear sites, the FBI has launched an investigation into a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report that reportedly downplayed the extent of the damage.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently probing the leak of a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report to CNN that assessed the damage from President Donald Trump’s recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the investigation on Wednesday during the NATO summit, vehemently criticizing the media’s portrayal of the leak as an attempt “to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success.”
The leaked report, first revealed by CNN, suggested that preliminary findings indicated the June 21 strikes on the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear facilities did not entirely dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, contradicting President Trump’s pronouncements of “total obliteration.” CNN cited seven anonymous sources briefed on the report, who claimed Iran’s nuclear program would only be set back by months.
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However, the White House and a senior DIA official swiftly pushed back against these reported findings, asserting that the assessment was incomplete and did not fully reflect the extent of the damage.
“This is a preliminary, low-confidence report & will continue to be refined as additional intelligence becomes available,” a DIA official stated, adding, “We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.” The FBI, when contacted, stated it could not confirm or deny any specific investigation.
Despite the leaked report, President Trump continues to maintain that the American military has caused “total obliteration” at the three key Iranian nuclear sites, setting the country’s atomic program back by “decades.” Speaking at the NATO summit, the US leader confidently declared that Tehran won’t be “building bombs for a long time.”
“Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly,” Hegseth said. “The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is now significantly behind its pre-strike capabilities.
“Anything in the world can be rebuilt, but now we know where it is. If they try to rebuild it, we’ll have options there as well,” Rubio said. Intriguingly, the Iranian Foreign Ministry itself admitted that the nuclear sites were “badly damaged,” despite the leaked reports suggesting otherwise.
Crucially, high-resolution satellite images taken on Tuesday appear to validate President Trump’s claims of extensive damage at the three key installations, suggesting a substantial sabotage of Iran’s atomic capabilities. Specifically, the uranium enrichment facility at Fordow shows large craters, possible collapsed tunnel entrances, and holes on top of a mountain ridge – indicators of intense and successful targeting.
The statements from the Trump administration are echoed by various international and domestic sources, reinforcing the severity of the impact.
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President Trump himself reiterated that “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” The Israel Atomic Energy Commission further supported this, stating that the “devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir likewise assessed a setback of “years.”
Vice President JD Vance, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan “Razin” Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard all provided strong endorsements of the mission’s success, emphasizing the “complete and total obliteration” and “extremely severe damage and destruction” inflicted upon the sites.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi indicated that “very significant damage is expected to have occurred,” noting the “explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges.”
He detailed hits on buildings related to uranium conversion and entrances to tunnels at Esfahan, as well as the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz with ground-penetrating munitions.
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Independent assessments from experts like David Albright, President of the Institute for Science and International Security, and Andrea Stricker, Deputy Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, suggest that Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program has been effectively “destroyed” and that it will be “a long time” before Iran recovers its previous capabilities.
Brian Carter of the American Enterprise Institute and Spencer Faragasso of the Institute for Science and International Security also confirmed “badly, badly damaged” sites and a potential setback of “years.”
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