The Trump administration has intensified its defence of weekend attacks on Iran, citing 'new intelligence' to support claims of complete success and criticising a leaked assessment suggesting Tehran's nuclear programme was set back by only months. The row comes amid reports that the White House will limit sharing of classified documents with Congress.
Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on X that 'new intelligence confirms' President Trump's statements, adding that 'Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed'. CIA director John Ratcliffe stated that a 'historically reliable' source indicated 'several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years'.
The leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment concluded key components of the nuclear programme could be restarted within months. It also found that much of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile had been moved before the strikes, possibly to secret sites. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it lost 'visibility' of the material when 'hostilities began'.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back, telling Fox News there was 'no indication that that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strikes'. She said the sites were 'buried under miles and miles of rubble'. The US military dropped 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticised the reported decision to limit information sharing, saying 'senators deserve information'. Classified briefings for lawmakers were postponed from Tuesday to Thursday and Friday. At a Nato summit, Trump ceded the stage to defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who accused the media of using the leak to politically damage Trump.
