New Delhi: A secret communication between senior Iranian officers has sparked new questions in Washington. Regardless of a dramatic airstrike by U.S. stealth B2 bombers on June 22 – the place 14,000-kg bombs have been dropped on Fordow’s nuclear website – a tapped name suggests the harm was not what the world was led to consider.
This was not the primary pink flag. A categorized report circulating throughout the Pentagon had already raised doubts. The preliminary evaluation, leaked to pick intelligence insiders, warned that the assaults might have solely delayed Iran’s nuclear capabilities by months. Not destroyed them. Not dismantled. Simply delayed.
The intercepted Iranian chatter, now verified by 4 sources aware of U.S. intelligence briefings, paints a chilling image. Iranian officers, talking in non-public, reportedly claimed the precise influence of the U.S. airstrikes was far lower than anticipated. They mentioned Fordow withstood the shock. They mentioned the core of the programme may nonetheless be intact.
However that declare raises a query – are the Iranians bluffing? Or are they exposing a reality america will not be able to admit?
A U.S. intelligence official, talking to The Washington Submit on background, warned towards taking the Iranian chatter at face worth. Sign intelligence, he mentioned, usually reveals solely fragments. “It isn’t the complete image,” the publication has quoted the supply as saying.
This dialogue has now spilled into political corridors. President Donald Trump doubled down and insisted the Iranian nuclear programme was “completely obliterated”. His claims turned rallying cries for his supporters. However inside army circles, there’s warning. Some high officers even admitted that it could take weeks and months to evaluate what actually did take harm, which is buried below a whole bunch of ft of strengthened concrete.
His phrases have change into a rallying cry for his supporters. But inside army circles, warning stays. Some high officers admit that assessing harm buried below a whole bunch of ft of strengthened concrete might take weeks, if not months.
The White Home, in the meantime, issued a rebuttal to the story. Press Secretary Carolyn dismissed the report as “nonsense”. “How would nameless Iranian officers know what’s buried beneath a whole bunch of ft of rubble? Their nuclear programme is completed. Interval,” she mentioned.
And but, the lingering uncertainty stays. If Fordow survived, even partially, it could elevate questions for each U.S. intelligence credibility and the effectiveness of its most superior bunker-busting weapons.
One factor is evident that one thing didn’t go as deliberate. And the world might not know the entire reality for a very long time.