WASHINGTON : Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that the strikes left Iran’s nuclear ambitions “in ruins,” a newly released US intelligence assessment paints a different picture. According to the report, the weekend attacks only set Iran’s program back by a few months — far from the “complete and total obliteration” that Trump has insisted upon.

Trump, addressing reporters on Wednesday, remained defiant, saying the strikes had “set them back decades” and that “they’re not going to be building bombs for a long time.” He also commented on the ceasefire, describing it as “going very well,” even as tensions simmer beneath the surface.

The contradiction between the President’s statement and the intelligence community’s findings has triggered confusion in Washington. Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, defended the operation, insisting the airstrikes met their objectives. The White House dismissed the intelligence report as “flat-out wrong.”

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