US President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed media accounts that recent American airstrikes only partially destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying the operation had “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
Addressing the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump referred to the weekend strike as a “massive” and “precise” attack that showcased unparalleled US military capability and concluded what he referred to as the “12-day war” between Israel and Iran.
It was called obliteration,” Trump said to reporters. “No other military on earth could’ve done it, and this amazing display of American power has set the stage for peace with a historic ceasefire.
Trump asserted that the airstrikes particularly those on the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site made Iran’s nuclear program unusable “for a lot of years to come.” Quoting Israeli intelligence, he insisted that Fordow was “completely destroyed” and compared the effect with World War II coming to an end, saying, “This ended the war in a different fashion but it was so destructive.
Conversely, a number of US media, such as CNN and The New York Times, wrote this week that the Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) estimates that the strikes were temporary setbacks only, with Iran’s stockpiles of uranium and major centrifuges being intact.
Trump and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth refuted these allegations, blaming media for political bias. Hegseth stated the actual scale of destruction is still hidden under debris and reaffirmed the precision and efficacy of the strikes.
Iran officially has not verified the extent of the destruction, but Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi admitted extensive damage to nuclear sites.
Trump went on to reiterate intentions to negotiate with Iran next week, vowing to call for an end to the development of all nuclear weapons.
