Intel leaders say that new intelligence shows that Iranian nuclear sites may take “years” for rebuilding

The heads of the main American intelligence agencies issued data on Wednesday about what they said was “a new intelligence about the damage resulting from the recent American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as each of them indicated that the Iranian program was likely to have been subjected to” years “.

The statements were issued after President Trump stumbled on a leak, Initial evaluation It was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which said that the nuclear program of Branan was returned until after months.

Mr. Trump had ordered air strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities late on Saturday, which increased an Israeli campaign for more than a week against targets in Iran.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe He said In a statement on Wednesday, “A group of reliable intelligence indicates that the Iranian nuclear program has been severely affected by the recent targeted strikes.”

“This includes a new intelligence from a source/reliable and accurate method destroyed by many major Iranian nuclear facilities and will be rebuilt over the years.”

He added that the agency will continue to collect “additional information confiscated reliably” for its participation with policy makers, and at the possible, submit updates to the public.

A CIA spokesman (CIA) refused to clarify the intelligence referred to by the Ratcliffe statement, including the level of trust associated with it or whether it includes the Israeli or other foreign information.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Director of National Intelligence, Toulcy Gabbard Books on x “The new intelligence confirms what President Trump said several times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.”

“If the Iranians choose to rebuild, they will have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordo, Asfahhan) completely, which may take years to do,” said Gabbard’s statement.

The intelligence official later confirmed to CBS News that the information that Gabbard is sharing was based on a new American intelligence, but he refused to determine the level of confidence.

None of the data was directly dealt with some of the questions raised by the lawmakers and expansion experts in the wake of the strikes on the remaining nuclear capabilities that Iran might keep.

There are also conflicting views on whether Iranian officials have been able to transport enriched uranium away from the sites before they bombed them. At least the DIA evaluation indicated that some enriched uranium has been transferred, according to one source familiar with it.

But when asked whether the fertilized materials were successfully transferred during the availability of the press after the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, President Trump said: “We believe that we hit them very severely and quickly, they did not move.”

Also president He said The United States and Iran were expected to hold “next week” talks. This coordination is still unclear, at the present time, but it is expected that a special envoy to the Middle East will lead Steve Wittouf the conversations, if that happens. Witkev spoke with the Iranian Foreign Minister, and recently, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance became the most involved in diplomacy.

Ratcliffe and Gabard was scheduled to participate in a classification in the Senate on Tuesday about the American strikes in Iran, but the session was canceled and rescued on Thursday. The house is expected to be informed on Friday. It is not clear whether both leaders will participate in both briefing.

On Wednesday, Ratcliffe and Gabard’s comments on Wednesday included criticism of the leakage to the media for the evaluation of DIA, which a spokesman for that agency later said it was issued with low confidence and will be revised with additional intelligence.

The first DIA report said that the entrances to two Iranian nuclear sites – including the Fordo facility – was closed in strikes, but Iran can reshape elements of its program by simply dug and make water and electrical systems, according to sources informed on it.

The evaluation also provided a set of possibilities for the period that Iran can take to restore access to underground facilities and resume some operations, from a few months to less than a year, a source familiar with the evaluation CBS News said.

Administration officials have exploded these results, which are incompatible with the repeated assurances of Mr. Trump that the air strikes on Saturday night “have grabbed” Iranian nuclear facilities.

Speaking from the NATO summit, Mr. Trump He said The air strikes restore Iran’s program through “basic contracts”.

“They said that it might be limited or it might be very severe. They really did not know,” said Mr. Trump about the American intelligence assessments.

He appears alongside the Minister of Defense, Beit Higseth said on Wednesday that the damage to the sites was wide.

“If you want to conduct an evaluation of what happened in Fordo, it is better to get a large shovel and really deepen, because the Iranian nuclear program has blurred,” he told reporters.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of General Dan Kane said in the availability of the press on Sunday after the strikes that assessing the damage of the full battle of the strikes “will take some time.”

He said at the time that the three goals “were severely damaged and destroyed.”

Higseth is scheduled to lead a press conference on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump He said “Everyone will be installed and cannot be refuted.”

Margaret Brennanand

Nancy Cordesand

Eleanor Watson and

Elice Kim

He contributed to this report.