US did not destroy Iran's nuclear program, as Trump previously stated - CNN

The US military strikes on Iran several days ago did not lead to the destruction of the main components of the nuclear program. Tehran's progress in creating nuclear weapons was probably set back only a few months.

It was reported by CNN, citing US officials who have read the preliminary US intelligence assessment.

The report on the US strikes was prepared by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It is based on an assessment of combat damage conducted by US Central Command.

The initial conclusions of the DIA contradict the statement of US President Donald Trump, who said the day before that the Iranian nuclear program was completely destroyed as a result of the US strikes.

CNN's interlocutors said that according to the DIA assessment, Iran's enriched uranium stocks were not destroyed. Centrifuges, which are needed for enrichment, were also not significantly damaged.

One of the sources said that the Iranians managed to remove enriched uranium from the facilities before the strikes on them.

"So, according to the DIA assessment, the US set them back, perhaps for a few months, no more," CNN quotes one of the interlocutors as saying.

CNN sources added that the main damage at the facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan was to the structures located on the surface. This is energy infrastructure and facilities where uranium is converted into metal needed for the production of bombs.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on June 22, US President Donald Trump said that US troops had struck Iran's nuclear facilities.

Trump later said that as a result of the strikes, the uranium enrichment facilities "were completely and irreversibly destroyed."