Fact Check: Pentagon Warned Trump That Bombs Wouldn't Fully Destroy Iran's Fordow Facility
What We Know
Following the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Fordow site, a classified report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) indicated that the strikes did not completely eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities. According to sources familiar with the report, the assessment concluded that while the airstrikes set back Iran's nuclear program by several months, they did not destroy its core components. Specifically, some centrifuges used for uranium enrichment remained intact, and the strikes did not affect Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, which were moved prior to the attacks (Washington Post, Reuters).
President Trump claimed that the strikes were a complete success, stating that "the sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed" (Washington Post). However, the DIA's report, described as "low confidence," contradicted this assertion, suggesting that the bombing did not achieve the intended goal of fully dismantling Iran's nuclear infrastructure (Washington Post).
Analysis
The claim that the Pentagon warned Trump that the bombs would not fully destroy the Fordow facility is supported by the DIA's assessment, which indicated that while significant damage was inflicted, the core components of Iran's nuclear program remained intact. This assessment was based on early bomb damage evaluations and was corroborated by multiple sources familiar with the intelligence report (Washington Post).
However, the reliability of the sources providing this information must be considered. The report was classified and leaked, which raises questions about the motivations behind its release. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the report's conclusions, labeling it as an attempt to undermine President Trump and the military's actions (Washington Post). This suggests a potential bias in the interpretation of the intelligence, as the administration sought to frame the airstrikes as a decisive victory.
Moreover, experts in nonproliferation have long argued that bombing alone cannot completely eliminate a nation's nuclear capabilities, particularly when those capabilities are spread across multiple sites (Washington Post). This context adds weight to the DIA's assessment that the strikes did not achieve their intended goal.
Conclusion
The claim that the Pentagon warned Trump that bombs wouldn't fully destroy Iran's Fordow facility is Partially True. While the DIA's report indicates that the airstrikes did not completely eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities, the framing of the claim lacks nuance. The strikes did cause significant damage and set back the program, but they did not achieve total destruction. The conflicting narratives from the Trump administration and intelligence sources highlight the complexity of the situation and the challenges in assessing the effectiveness of military action against entrenched nuclear programs.
