‘Iran nuclear sites severely damaged’: US intel chief Gabbard, CIA director back Trump’s claim on US strikes | World News
US President Donald Trump now has the backing of America’s spy agencies heads in his claims that US strikes on June 20 “completely destroyed and obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites, diverging from a leaked intelligence report which claimed American strikes did not damage the core components of Tehran’s nuclear programme but has only set it back months.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard backed President Trump’s claims that key nuclear sites had been destroyed but Radcliffe stopped short of declaring that Iran’s nuclear programme was completely eliminated.
The development comes after an initial assessment of the strike was prepared the Defense Intelligence Agency, the intelligence arm of the Pentagon and the report got leaked in US media which claimed the June 20 Washington strike did not damage the core components of Tehran’s nuclear programme but only set it back months.
New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do.
The…
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) June 25, 2025
However, Trump reiterated his stance that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities while rejecting the leaked intelligence report saying it was “inconclusive”. The Republican president on Wednesday posted on his Truth Social account that the “fake news” media had “lied and totally misrepresented the facts, none of which they had”.
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In a statement, CIA Director Ratcliffe said “New intelligence from an horically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” BBC reported.
Gabbard, while extending support to Trump’s Iranian strikes claim, called out the media for “selectively releasing portions” of the leaked intelligence report and “undermining President Trump’s decisive leadership”.
In a post on X, Gabbard said “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do.”
