President Trump described the outcome as a complete success, stating: “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” He added that the most significant destruction occurred “far below ground level,” including targets “deeply imbedded into the rock.”
Israeli intelligence corroborated the extent of the damage, with the Israel Atomic Energy Commission confirming that the Fordow enrichment facility was destroyed. They stated: “The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.”
Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, echoed this assessment, saying: “We significantly damaged the nuclear program… we set it back by years, I repeat, years.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also admitted: “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance assured the public of the operation’s effectiveness: “They are much further away from a nuclear program today than they were 24 hours ago.” He added that the Fordow facility was “substantially set back,” which was the mission’s primary goal.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth affirmed the strikes’ impact, stating: “Our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.” He emphasised the precision of the mission: “Given the 30,000 pounds of explosions… it was DEVASTATION underneath Fordow.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan “Razin” Caine detailed the scale of the operation, revealing that more than 125 U.S. aircraft participated, including B2 stealth bombers, multiple fighter jets, and a guided missile submarine. He confirmed that “all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed contrary reports as inaccurate: “That story is a false story and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported.” He added, “This was complete and total obliteration… they are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago.”
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff clarified the specifics of the Fordow strike: “We put 12 bunker buster bombs on Fordow… it was obliterated.” He called alternative accounts “completely preposterous.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declared the mission a “resounding success,” affirming that U.S. missiles “obliterated key Iranian capabilities needed to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provided technical confirmation of the effects, with Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi noting “very significant damage” due to the vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges. He added that the Esfahan and Natanz sites were hit with cruise missiles and ground-penetrating munitions, respectively.
David Albright, President of the Institute for Science and International Security, concluded: “Israel’s and U.S. attacks have effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program.” According to Andrea Stricker of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the damage at Fordow was likely to have left its centrifuges “damaged or inoperable.”
Brian Carter of the American Enterprise Institute confirmed that the three sites were “badly, badly damaged.” Spencer Faragasso, also of the Institute for Science and International Security, noted that it “may possibly take years for Iran to reconstitute the capabilities it lost.”
Source: The White House.
