The Pentagon has confirmed that US airstrikes on Iran have severely decimated the regime’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell stated tthat “We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessmeents inside the Department [of Defense] assess that.”
Parnell continued, explaining that “We believe that Iran’s nuclear capability has been severely degraded, perhaps even their ambition to build a bomb.”
From Fox News:
The announcement reflects a far more positive assessment regarding the success of the June 22 strikes that targeted the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites than previous estimates regarding the extent to which Tehran’s atomic capabilities had been degraded.
Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), over the weekend warned that Iran may be able to resume enriching uranium within a matter of months.
The comments also coincided with reports that Iran may have been able to move some of its stockpiles of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, or possibly centrifuges, after satellite images showed more than a dozen cargo trucks were spotted at the Fordow nuclear site prior to the U.S. strikes.
The U.S. has fervently denied that any intelligence suggests Iran was successful in moving its nuclear capabilities off site. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth became angry when asked about the possibility by reporters.
America carried out a limited strike on Iranian nuclear facilities which are a 100 per cent military target
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) June 22, 2025
So Iran responds with indiscriminate rocket fire against random Israeli civilian neighbourhoods
If you don’t condemn this you are a hypocrite. pic.twitter.com/bSZBHvkbod
The Pentagon’s announcement comes after multiple legacy media outlets published reports claiming the strikes did only a modicum of damage. Some suggested that he only pushed Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio flatly rejected the reports during an interview with Politico. “What typically happens is someone reads a report and leaks it with their own spin, often to embarrass the administration or oppose the action,” he told reporter Dasha Burns. “The Iranian program, the nuclear program today, looks nothing like it did just a week ago.”
Rubio argued that the Iranian regime is “much further from a nuclear weapon today than before the president took this bold action.”
🚨NEW VIDEO RIGHT NOW: AP News Agency Report
— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) June 13, 2025
⚠️⚠️ American fighter jets enter Iranian airspace.
Israel also just hit one of their domestic airports. pic.twitter.com/bhIMlCBSGd
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo, Norway, next week to re-engage negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reported. These would be the first major talks between the two nations since the US airstrikes.