Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the figure at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was "probably closer to two years." Parnell did not provide evidence to back up his assessment.
"We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department (of Defense) assess that," Parnell told a news briefing.
U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 using more than a dozen 30,000-pound (13,600-kg) bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
More: Iran enacts law suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
The evolving U.S. intelligence about the impact of the strikes is being closely watched, after President Donald Trump said almost immediately after they took place that Iran's program had been obliterated, language echoed by Parnell at Wednesday's briefing.
Such conclusions often take the U.S. intelligence community weeks or more to determine.
"All of the intelligence that we've seen (has) led us to believe that Iran's -- those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated," Parnell said.
Over the weekend, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, raising doubts about how effective U.S. strikes to destroy Tehran's nuclear program have been.
Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it.
But U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its highly enriched uranium to shield it from U.S. strikes.
A preliminary assessment last week from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that the strikes may have only set back Iran's nuclear program by months. But Trump administration officials said that assessment was low confidence and had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the strikes on the Fordow nuclear site caused severe damage.
"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," Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
24 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
More than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry, including over 1 million children, U.N. says
UNITED NATIONS — More than 17 million people in conflict-torn Yemen are going hungry, including over a million children under the age of 5 who are suffering from 'life-threatening acute malnutrition,' the United Nations humanitarian chief said Wednesday. Tom Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council that the food security crisis in the Arab world's poorest country, which is beset by civil war, has been accelerating since late 2023. The number of people going hungry could climb to over 18 million by September, he warned, and the number of children with acute malnutrition could surge to 1.2 million early next year, 'leaving many at risk of permanent physical and cognitive damage.' Fletcher said the U.N. hasn't seen the current level of deprivation since before a U.N.-brokered truce in early 2022. He noted that it is unfolding as global funding for humanitarian aid is plummeting, which means reductions or cuts in food. According to the U.N., as of mid-May, the U.N.'s $2.5-billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen this year had received just $222 million, just 9%. Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the government. The war has devastated Yemen, created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and turned into a stalemated proxy conflict. More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed. Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the council in a video briefing that two Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea this week — the first in over seven months — and Israeli airstrikes on the capital and key ports are escalating the conflict. The Houthis have vowed to keep targeting vessels in the key waterway until the war in Gaza ends. Grundberg said freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be safeguarded and stressed that 'Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country.' 'The stakes for Yemen are simply too high,' he said. 'Yemen's future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve.' Grundberg warned that a military solution to the civil war 'remains a dangerous illusion that risks deepening Yemen's suffering.' Negotiations offer the best hope to address the complex conflict, he said, and the longer it is drawn out 'there is a risk that divisions could deepen further.' Grundberg said both sides must signal a willingness to explore peaceful avenues — and an important signal would be the release of all conflict-related detainees. The parties have agreed to an all-for-all release, he said, but the process has stagnated for over a year. Lederer writes for the Associated Press.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
More than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry, including over 1 million children, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 17 million people in conflict-torn Yemen are going hungry, including over a million children under the age of 5 who are suffering from 'life-threatening acute malnutrition,' the United Nations humanitarian chief said Wednesday. Tom Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council that the food security crisis in the Arab world's poorest country, which is beset by civil war, has been accelerating since late 2023. The number of people going hungry could climb to over 18 million by September, he warned, and the number of children with acute malnutrition could surge to 1.2 million early next year, 'leaving many at risk of permanent physical and cognitive damage.' Fletcher said the U.N. hasn't seen the current level of deprivation since before a U.N.-brokered truce in early 2022. He noted that it is unfolding as global funding for humanitarian aid is plummeting, which means reductions or cuts in food. According to the U.N., as of mid-May, the U.N.'s $2.5 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen this year had received just $222 million, just 9%. Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the government. The war has devastated Yemen, created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters , and turned into a stalemated proxy conflict. More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed. Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the council in a video briefing that two Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea this week – the first in over seven months – and Israeli airstrikes on the capital and key ports are escalating the conflict. The Houthis have vowed to keep targeting vessels in the key waterway until the war in Gaza ends. Grundberg said freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be safeguarded and stressed that 'Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country.' 'The stakes for Yemen are simply too high,' he said. 'Yemen's future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve.' Grundberg warned that a military solution to the civil war 'remains a dangerous illusion that risks deepening Yemen's suffering.' Negotiations offer the best hope to address the complex conflict, he said, and the longer it is drawn out 'there is a risk that divisions could deepen further.' Grundberg said both sides must signal a willingness to explore peaceful avenues — and an important signal would be the release of all conflict-related detainees. The parties have agreed to an all-for-all release, he said, but the process has stagnated for over a year. ___ Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
an hour ago
Trump admin decision to pause and restart weapons shipments to Ukraine: TIMELINE
President Donald Trump is continuing to dodge questions on who ordered the pause on U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine last week. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump pushed back to a reporter who asked him on Tuesday who was responsible. He continued to obfuscate on Wednesday, when asked directly who made the order, not taking responsibility for the action and not blaming anyone else. Here's a detailed timeline of events, which shows the White House was aware of the pause in real time and Trump's decision to reverse the action -- following an unproductive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent series of brutal Russian assaults on Ukraine. July 1: Announcement of pause On the evening of Tuesday, July 1, ABC News reported the White House confirmed it has stopped the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons that were on track to be sent to Ukraine. Officials said the decision followed an assessment of U.S. stockpiles. "This decision was made to put America's interests first following a DOD review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned -- just ask Iran." July 2: Officials dance around how to describe the pause The next day, Wednesday, Pentagon and State Department officials danced around how to characterize a pause in weapons shipments to Ukraine. Three U.S. officials familiar with the effort said the U.S. has temporarily paused the shipment of air-defense interceptors and precision munitions intended for Ukraine. When asked, the White House confirmed the decision on Tuesday and said it was made "to put America's interests first following a DOD review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe." The Defense Department was calling this a "capability review" of all foreign munition shipments to US allies, with the chief Pentagon spokesman saying "we can't give weapons to everybody all around the world." "What we've done here at the Department of Defense is create a framework to analyze what munitions we're sending where, to help the President and the Secretary of Defense make decisions," said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. "This capability review, and that's exactly what it is, it's a capability review– is being conducted to ensure US military aid aligns with our defense priorities. And we will not be providing any updates to specific quantities or types of munitions being provided to Ukraine or the timelines associated with these transfers." July 3: Trump speaks with Putin, disputes question on weapons pause Trump wrote on social media that he would be speaking with Putin on Thursday morning. After, speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump suggested they didn't make any progress. "We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. I'm not happy about that," Trump said. Trump also notably disputed a reporter's question that the U.S. was pausing weapons. "We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't," Trump said. That same day, ABC News reported relevant congressional leaders were not informed of the Pentagon's decision to pause some munitions intended for Ukraine, two congressional sources told ABC News. July 4: Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, Trump speaks with Zelenskyy More than 500 Russian attack drones and missiles were fired at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X on Friday. Trump then spoke with Zelenskyy, who later provided a positive assessment. "As for the call with the President of the United States of America, which took place yesterday, I'd say it was probably the best conversation we've had so far, extremely fruitful. We discussed air defense among other things. I'm grateful for the readiness to assist. Patriot systems are the key to defending against ballistic threats. We also discussed several other topical issues, which our teams will follow up on in detail at upcoming meetings," Zelenskyy said. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump told Zelenskyy during that he wasn't responsible for the halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv. Trump said that he had directed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear sites last month but hadn't ordered the department to freeze the arms deliveries, according to people briefed on the conversation, the Journal reported. July 5-6: Russia continues intense strikes on Ukraine Russia targeted Ukraine with 322 drones, according to the Ukrainian air force on Saturday, July 5. Approximately 292 of them were "neutralized", either shot down or suppressed by other means. Eleven people were injured in the Kharkiv, including 2 children, in a drone strike overnight there, according to local emergency services. On Sunday, ABC News reported 14 people were killed and 37 injured in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks in the last 24 hours. July 7: White House changes tune, Trump says he'll ship weapons On Monday morning, Dozens were injured in Ukraine after another intense Russian drone attack that saw a residential building in Kharkiv take a direct hit. The Trump administration appears still to be blocking the shipment of air defense weapons it froze last week. The White House then changed its tune, saying pause was to review "all aid" to Ukraine during an afternoon press conference. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to walk through the decision to halt weapons to Ukraine. Leavitt stated that this was a standard review by the Pentagon of all weapons and aid to all countries that the U.S. supports. Trump said he would ship weapons to Ukraine during dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. "We're going to send some more weapons. We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves," Trump said. "They're getting hit very hard. Now. They're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, your defensive weapons, primarily. But they're getting hit very, very hard." Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the munitions previously designated for Ukraine will be sent at Trump's direction. July 8: Trump says he doesn't know who approved pause During a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting next to him, Trump said he didn't know who signed off on the weapons pause. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump told a reporter who asked who ordered the pause. Trump also repeated he was "very unhappy" with Putin and said he was looking into sanctions on Russia as a consequence. July 9: Trump continues to say he's unsure who issued pause On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported the largest aerial assault on Ukraine from Russia since the start of the war. Trump was asked about the conflict and the weapons pause again as he met with African leaders in the State Dining Room. "Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?" a reporter asked the president. "Well, I haven't thought about it, because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but I have, no I have not gone into it," he said. The reporter followed up by asking, "What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?" "I would know if a decision was made, I will know," Trump stressed. "I'll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I'd give the order, but I haven't done that yet."
