Pentagon’s Assessment on Iran’s Nuclear Program

The Pentagon has revealed that U.S. airstrikes targeting three significant Iranian nuclear sites in late June have potentially delayed Iran’s nuclear advancements by “one to two years,” with a leaning towards the latter, as stated by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Parnell underlined the extent of the damage, supporting President Trump’s earlier claim that the sites were “completely obliterated.” However, he suggested that a delay of nearly two years seems more accurate.

This estimate contrasts with a previously “leaked” assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which indicated that the delay might only be a few months, a report shared with CNN.

On Wednesday, Parnell elaborated on this evaluation during a briefing with reporters.

“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,” he remarked. “We believe that Iran’s nuclear capability has been severely degraded, perhaps even their ambition to build a bomb,” Parnell added.

Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi acknowledged significant damage to the Fordow facility but insisted that the underlying technology remained intact.

“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Aragchi mentioned in an interview with CBS.

Parnell, however, reiterated that all intelligence collected suggests these facilities have been thoroughly destroyed.

Interestingly, even some outlets, typically critical of Israel, like Al Jazeera, disclosed that satellite images indicate infrastructure at Fordow undergoing repairs. Still, the IAEA confirmed that centrifuges are non-operational and that the underground labs have sustained “enormous” damage.