President Donald Trump issued a sharp rebuke Tuesday night in response to reports from CNN and The New York Times, which cited U.S. intelligence findings indicating that the recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure had not resulted in the complete destruction of the sites.
“Fake news CNN, together with the failing New York Times, have teamed up in an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history. The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed! Both the Times and CNN are getting slammed by the public!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post, pushing back against what he described as a smear campaign.
Trump also spotlighted a statement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who stood by the administration’s portrayal of the operation’s effectiveness. “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.”
Hegseth elaborated further, stating, “Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”
Despite these declarations, both CNN and The New York Times reported that vital elements of Iran’s nuclear apparatus had survived the assault. According to their sources, while the strikes inflicted damage, they are believed to have delayed rather than dismantled Iran’s nuclear capabilities—possibly by just a few months.
In a strongly worded denial, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized CNN for publishing the findings, which she suggested were unreliable and politically motivated.
“FAKE NEWS CNN STRIKES AGAIN: This alleged ‘assessment’ is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt posted on X.
She continued by accusing the media of seeking to discredit both President Trump and the military personnel behind the operation. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”
Leavitt concluded with a direct rebuttal of the intelligence claims: “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,” she said.
{Matzav.com}
