On Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe took the unusual step of publicly supporting President Donald Trump, asserting that the bombing of Iran has “severely damaged” its nuclear enrichment program.
Ratcliffe, who was appointed by Trump and previously served as a Republican member of Congress, has not been as visible in the administration’s public relations efforts to counter reports suggesting that the bombing had minimal impact on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
However, on Thursday, he referenced a “body of credible intelligence” indicating that President Trump is justified in describing Iran’s nuclear program as having been “totally obliterated.”
“The CIA can confirm that credible intelligence suggests Iran’s Nuclear Program has been significantly harmed by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable source/method indicating that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and will require years to rebuild,” Ratcliffe stated in a press release.
He elaborated that the agency is collaborating with Israeli partners and confidential sources to further evaluate the long-term effects on Iran’s nuclear program.
“The CIA continues to gather additional reliably sourced information to keep relevant decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When feasible, we will also share updates and information with the American public, considering the national significance of this issue and our commitment to transparency,” he concluded.
Ratcliffe’s evaluation comes after a similar assessment by Israeli intelligence agencies, which determined that Iran’s nuclear program has been delayed by at least two years. President Trump has utilized this intelligence to counter reports from CNN and the New York Times.
The CIA’s analysis provides Trump with a significant advantage as he attempts to take credit for a bombing that initially split his most steadfast supporters into pro-war and isolationist factions. This also serves as further evidence of the administration’s serious approach to media reporting, implying that the bombing did not achieve the success Trump asserts.
On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made equally persuasive statements indicating that U.S. intelligence agencies under her leadership have arrived at conclusions similar to those of the CIA.
“New intelligence corroborates what @POTUS has repeatedly stated: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. Should the Iranians decide to reconstruct, they would need to entirely rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan), which would likely take years,” Gabbard stated on social media.
“The propaganda media has employed their typical strategy: selectively releasing segments of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (deliberately omitting the fact that the assessment was composed with ‘low confidence’) to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the courageous servicemen and women who executed a truly historic mission to ensure the safety and security of the American people,” Gabbard added on Wednesday.
Gabbard’s comments follow several days in which she contradicted the administration’s claim that Iran was nearing the development of a nuclear weapon.
After Gabbard issued a statement asserting that U.S. intelligence “continues to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon,” Trump publicly dismissed her assertion.
“She’s incorrect,” he told reporters on Friday.
In addition to disseminating reports from the CIA and Israeli intelligence, the White House has sought to redirect the narrative towards adversarial media outlets, thereby promoting counterfactual assertions regarding the bombing.
On Wednesday, President Trump elicited laughter from a large NATO assembly when he called upon CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, suggesting that she should dedicate more of her reporting to the valor of American troops. During a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth specifically criticized Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin, accusing her of jeopardizing the operation by incorporating ‘deep state’ counterclaims into her reports.
