U.S. Strikes on Iran Did Not Damage Nuclear Program

U.S. airstrikes on Iran collapsed the entrances to two nuclear facilities, but the underground bunkers themselves remained undamaged, The New York Times reports, citing officials who have seen a classified U.S. military intelligence report with preliminary assessments of the 12-day war’s aftermath.

The strikes, ordered by former President Donald Trump over the weekend, are believed to have set back Iran’s nuclear weapons program by only a few months.

Prior to the U.S. entering the conflict, American intelligence assessed that Iran would need at least three months to hurriedly produce a nuclear bomb. Following the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign, the new report estimates that the Iranian regime will now require just under six months to reach the same goal.

Israeli officials told that Iran appeared to have anticipated the strikes and had constructed additional secret facilities in preparation. According to the American intelligence report, Iran moved much of its enriched uranium stockpile to these undisclosed locations ahead of the U.S. attacks.

As a result, Tehran has preserved most of its nuclear progress and retains the capacity to rapidly build a bomb. However, former U.S. officials cautioned that any rushed attempt would likely result in a relatively small and “crude” nuclear weapon.

One notable impact was reported at the Fordow facility, a hardened site built into a mountain. U.S. airstrikes reportedly damaged its power supply systems, potentially making access and repair difficult for Iranian authorities. Initial Israeli assessments similarly indicate that the Fordow structures remained largely intact.

Military officials told NYT that the original plan involved multiple waves of strikes to inflict serious damage on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—but Trump halted the operation after the initial round.

Notably, before the U.S. formally entered the conflict, American intelligence had assessed that Iran had not yet made a final decision to build a nuclear weapon, though it had already accumulated enough enriched uranium to do so.