CIA Director: US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities caused long-term damage

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has told US lawmakers that recent American military strikes delivered a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear program by destroying its sole metal conversion facility — a development that could take Tehran years to recover from, a US official said on June 29.

The official, speaking to the Washington Times on condition of anonymity due to the classified nature of the information, said Ratcliffe detailed the impact of the strikes during a closed-door hearing last week. The briefing comes amid continued skepticism from Democratic lawmakers about the true extent of the damage inflicted before a ceasefire with Israel was reached on June 24, Caliber.Az reports.

“It was obliterating like nobody’s ever seen before,” President Donald Trump said during an interview on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time.”

According to Ratcliffe’s assessment, most of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile likely remains buried beneath the rubble of the Isfahan and Fordo nuclear sites, two of the three major facilities targeted by US strikes. While the uranium may have survived, the destruction of the metal conversion facility — which was located at Isfahan — has severely crippled Iran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the near future.

The process of metallisation, which involves converting enriched uranium gas into dense metal, is a critical step in producing a nuclear weapon.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed the extent of the damage in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation. 

He said that the three Iranian sites with “capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.’” However, he added, “some is still standing” and cautioned that “if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.” Grossi emphasised that a full damage assessment hinges on Iran allowing inspectors into the sites.

“Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,” he said.

Despite these nuances, President Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran’s nuclear program has been “obliterated.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also declared the sites “destroyed.” A preliminary report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency acknowledged significant damage at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, but stopped short of declaring the sites completely destroyed.

Israeli officials have echoed these findings, claiming the strikes have set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back by “many years.” The CIA director also briefed lawmakers that Iran’s air defence systems were shattered during the 12-day military campaign, leaving Tehran vulnerable to future Israeli strikes should it attempt to restart its nuclear development.

“You can’t do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the recent NATO summit. “We can’t even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can’t even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It’s gone. It’s wiped out.”

According to Israeli military assessments, the strikes not only impaired Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities but also killed key nuclear scientists, disrupted missile production, and critically weakened its aerial defense network.

Still, Grossi and some Democratic lawmakers caution that the physical damage does not erase Iran’s technical expertise.

By Sabina Mammadli