Iran nuclear program set back 2 years after US strikes: Pentagon
"We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that," Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters.
"We believe that Iran's nuclear capability has been severely degraded, perhaps even their ambition to build a bomb," he added, though security experts have told Fox News Digital that Tehran is unlikely to be deterred in its ambition to build a nuclear weapon.
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The announcement reflects a far more positive assessment regarding the success of the June 22 strikes that targeted the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites than previous estimates regarding the extent to which Tehran's atomic capabilities had been degraded.
Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), over the weekend warned that Iran may be able to resume enriching uranium within a matter of months.
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The comments also coincided with reports that Iran may have been able to move some of its stockpiles of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, or possibly centrifuges, after satellite images showed more than a dozen cargo trucks were spotted at the Fordow nuclear site prior to the U.S. strikes.
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The U.S. has fervently denied that any intelligence suggests Iran was successful in moving its nuclear capabilities off site. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth became angry when asked about the possibility by reporters.
Fox News Digital has confirmed that Israel is continuing to monitor the security situation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi this week acknowledged that there was severe damage to the Fordow facility, though he also insisted that "the technology and knowhow is still there."
"No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged," Aragchi said during a CBS interview this week.
Though according to Parnell on Wednesday, "All of the intelligence that we've seen (has) led us to believe that Iran's – those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated."Original article source: Iran nuclear program set back 2 years after US strikes: Pentagon
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