US Strikes On Iran Nuclear Sites May Have Set Back Programme By Two Years: Pentagon

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Last Updated:July 03, 2025, 07:34 IST

Speaking at a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said internal intelligence assessments suggest a degradation of Iran’s nuclear capabilities by “one to two years.”

The Pentagon has claimed that recent US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities may have set back Tehran’s program by up to two years, reported Reuters. The statement marks a significantly more confident assessment compared to earlier cautious intelligence estimates following the operation.

Speaking at a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said internal intelligence assessments suggest a degradation of Iran’s nuclear capabilities by “one to two years." “All of the intelligence that we’ve seen has led us to believe that those facilities, especially, have been completely obliterated," Parnell said, though he did not present specific evidence to support this conclusion.

The US conducted coordinated airstrikes on June 22, targeting three key Iranian nuclear sites using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles. The strikes, which President Donald Trump hailed at the time as having “obliterated" Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, were initially assessed by the Defense Intelligence Agency to have caused only a few months’ delay—an assessment deemed “low confidence" by administration officials and later updated.

The true impact of the strikes remains contested. Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said over the weekend that Iran could resume enriched uranium production within months, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the operation. Experts have also warned that Iran may have moved stockpiles of near weapons-grade enriched uranium from the heavily fortified Fordow site prior to the strikes.

However, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated he had seen no credible intelligence suggesting such relocation had taken place. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi acknowledged in a CBS interview that the Fordow facility had suffered “serious and heavy" damage but declined to offer specifics. “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," Araqchi said.

As intelligence agencies continue to refine their assessments, the fallout from the strikes could shape US-Iran relations and nuclear diplomacy in the coming months.

Abhro Banerjee

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...Read More

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