Iran’s nuclear program ‘set back by years,’ IDF says, as new satellite images show de

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen Effi Defrin said on Wednesday that Israel achieved all the operational objectives in the fight against Iran, but added that it was too early to assess the full impact of the military campaign. ” Our assessment is that we significantly disrupted the nuclear program and set it back by years,” Defrin said.

“I can say, in accordance with the statement of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, that there is an Iran before the operation – and there is an Iran after.”

In Isfahan, access tunnels to the site appear to have taken direct hits. Earlier reports suggested the U.S. strike aimed to finish what Israeli air raids had started, targeting what remained after partial destruction by Israeli forces. Bloomberg reported that, although the U.S. deployed highly destructive munitions, it appeared to deliberately avoid striking three small research reactors still operating at the Isfahan facility. Built by China in 1991, those reactors contain approximately 900 grams of weapons-grade enriched uranium.

At Natanz, satellite images reveal two distinct craters left by the U.S. strike, both of which have since been filled with earth. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which convened an emergency meeting earlier this week in response to the attacks, warned that even limited damage to a low-yield nuclear reactor could set a dangerous international precedent. The agency has demanded that Iran disclose the current location of its enriched uranium stockpile. Tehran, for its part, accused the U.S. of inflicting severe harm on diplomatic efforts aimed at curbing nuclear proliferation.

Sources cited in the report noted that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remained intact and that most centrifuges survived the attack. The New York Times likewise reported that U.S. intelligence believes the damage was limited. Israeli sources echoed this view, stating that the Fordow facility remained operational.

A White House spokesperson confirmed the existence of the DIA report to CNN but emphasized that the administration does not accept its conclusions. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, called for an investigation into the leak, telling Fox News: “It’s obvious that leaking this kind of information is outrageous—a traitorous act.”