‘Iran’s Nuclear Sites Obliterated in US Strikes’: CIA Chief Claims Long-Term Setback, Trump Hails ‘Victory’

New Delhi: In a strong counter to earlier reports downplaying the impact of recent U.S. strikes on Iran, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has asserted that credible intelligence confirms severe damage to Iran’s nuclear program. According to Ratcliffe, the targeted strikes on key facilities have not only disrupted Tehran’s nuclear ambitions but could set back its capabilities by years.

“This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source, indicating that several critical Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would require years to be rebuilt,” Ratcliffe said in a statement released Wednesday.

His remarks come amid conflicting narratives within the U.S. intelligence community. While some earlier assessments suggested that Iran’s nuclear program may have been delayed by only a few months, high-level officials, including Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have pushed back against that view.

Speaking to Politico on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Rubio said: “Iran is much further away from a nuclear weapon than it was before the President took this bold action. That’s the most important takeaway.” He added that more information was coming in, but that the damage was significant and substantial, affecting various components of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump also weighed in, dismissing earlier intelligence estimates as understatements. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that the Iranian nuclear sites were completely destroyed, calling the airstrikes “a victory for everybody.”

“It was very severe. It was obliteration,” Trump said, referring to the use of massive bunker-busting bombs in the attack on Iran’s three major nuclear facilities last Sunday. He added that the strikes had played a crucial role in bringing about the swift ceasefire between Israel and Iran, ending 12 days of the most intense fighting between the two adversaries in decades.

Trump also signaled a potential diplomatic overture, saying he would likely seek a formal commitment from Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions in upcoming negotiations. The ceasefire, which took effect Tuesday, followed a series of dramatic escalations, including Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure and Tehran’s missile retaliation.

Meanwhile, citizens in both Iran and Israel are slowly returning to routine life after the high-stakes conflict. The fighting claimed over 900 lives in Iran and 28 in Israel, and left large swathes of Iran’s defense and nuclear infrastructure in ruins, according to both official claims and independent assessments.

Despite lingering concerns, the ceasefire has so far held, and global powers continue to call for restraint, with many eyes now on what unfolds in the anticipated U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks next week.

While much remains uncertain, the narrative emerging from Washington is clear: the U.S. considers its latest strikes not just a tactical success, but a strategic blow to Iran’s long-running nuclear aspirations.