Intercepted communications among senior Iranian officials suggest that this month’s US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were perceived by Tehran as less destructive than anticipated, according to four individuals familiar with classified intelligence shared within the US government.
The Washington Post reported that these private conversations, which were not intended for public disclosure, involved Iranian officials speculating why the American assault -- ordered by President Donald Trump -- wasn’t as damaging as expected. The individuals, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the material, said these intercepted messages complicate the narrative put forth by the Trump administration, which has portrayed the mission as a total success.
President Trump previously declared that the operation had “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. While his administration has not denied the existence of the intercepted intelligence, it has strongly disputed the Iranian assessment, questioning Tehran’s ability to judge the extent of damage inflicted on the three nuclear sites targeted in the attack -- Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
“It’s shameful that The Washington Post is helping people commit felonies by publishing out-of-context leaks,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized. “The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over.”
Military analysts largely agree that the operation involved significant American firepower, including 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles, which inflicted serious damage. However, debate continues over how long it will take Iran to recover, especially in light of reports suggesting Iran moved much of its enriched uranium stockpile prior to the attack. Additionally, while two of the facilities’ entrances were reportedly sealed, the core underground structures may have remained largely intact.
One Trump administration official insisted that critical facilities, including Iran’s metal conversion plant -- essential for building nuclear warheads -- were destroyed. “...we’ve destroyed their metal conversion facility. We know that our weapons were delivered precisely where we wanted them to be delivered and they had the effect that we wanted,” the official said.
During classified briefings to Congress, CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly informed lawmakers that key nuclear infrastructure had been wiped out. The destruction of the metal conversion facility alone could set Iran’s nuclear program back years, he stated. Ratcliffe also told legislators that most of Iran’s enriched uranium was likely stored at Isfahan and Fordow at the time of the strikes.
A senior US intelligence official, responding to inquiries by The Washington Post, cautioned against over-reliance on a single intercepted conversation. “Signals intelligence is valuable, but one slice of signals intelligence on its own does not reflect the full intelligence picture.”
“A single phone call between unnamed Iranians is not the same as an intelligence assessment, which takes into account a body of evidence, with multiple sources and methods,” this official said.
Signals intelligence -- gathered from phone calls, emails, and other electronic communications -- forms a significant portion of the intelligence President Trump receives in his daily briefings. However, experts warn that such intelligence, while powerful, can sometimes lack context and must be corroborated with additional information.
Trump has been angered by media reports that question the success of the operation. In a Truth Social post, he blamed Democrats for leaking preliminary assessments from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which indicated the strikes might have delayed Iran’s nuclear progress by only a few months. He urged that those responsible for the leaks be prosecuted.
In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News, Trump dismissed claims that Iran moved its uranium stockpile ahead of the attack. “I don’t think they did,” he said. “I don’t think they did, no. It’s very hard to do; it’s very dangerous to do. … They didn’t know we were coming until just then.”
The DIA’s early assessment, released within 24 hours of the operation, acknowledged that some of Iran’s centrifuges remained intact. However, it also emphasized that a full damage assessment would take several days to weeks to complete.
Despite this, the Trump administration has maintained its narrative of overwhelming success. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strike as “the most complex and secretive military operation in history,” asserting that it had achieved all its goals.
