It is too early to determine damage to Iran's nuclear facilities, says IDF
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that the “major objectives” of the operation have been achieved
A day after a leaked US intelligence assessment report on the aftermath of the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities stated that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme was not permanently destroyed and only set back by a few months, the Israeli military has said that it was “too early” to assess the damage inflicted during the US attack.
What IDF says
Speaking to reporters, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said on Wednesday (June 25) that although the “major objectives” of the operation have been achieved but it was still “too early to determine” the results of the strikes on different sections of Iran’s nuclear programme.
“We met all the objectives of the operation as defined for us, even better than we thought. But it is still too early to determine, we are investigating the results of the strikes on the different sections of the nuclear program,” Defrin told reporters as quoted by the Times of Israel.
His comments come a day after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the Israeli military had set “Iran’s nuclear project back by years” and the same could be said about Tehran’s missile programme.
Also Read: Trump wants a Peace Nobel; what does it really take to win Nobel Prize?
Trump defends his claim
However, US President Donald Trump has stood by his earlier claim that the US airstrikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme. Speaking to reporters at the Nato summit in the Netherlands, Trump argued that if the Iranian nuclear facilities were not destroyed, Tehran would not have agreed to the ceasefire, reported the BBC.
During the press conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the “conversion facility” required to make nuclear bombs was permanently destroyed and could not be used again.
Also Read: Iran-Israel ceasefire: Don't drop those bombs, Trump warns Israel
Political motive
Describing the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “flawless”, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth alleged that there was a “political motive” behind the leaking of the intelligence report.
Earlier, Trump had lashed out at a section of media outlets over reports claiming that, as per a classified intelligence assessment, the US airstrikes did not permanently obliterate Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities.