TEHRAN – The Trump administration is having a hard time proving to some U.S. media outlets that its June 22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were successful, meaning they led to the facilities’ “obliteration”, as Donald Trump and his cabinet members like to put it. Iran has yet to comment on the full extent of the damage caused by American bombs.

Some American media outlets have used what they describe as “leaked” intelligence to suggest the attacks have not been successful. The CNN said the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has concluded that while surface structures sustained damage, critical underground centrifuges and enriched uranium stockpiles survived unscathed. 

In a rage, Trump lashed out at media outlets covering the leak, calling CNN, the New York Times, and MSNBC “scum” and “fake news” for undermining what he termed “one of the most successful military strikes in history.” He made the remarks while attending a NATO forum in Hague. 

Other officials made more or less similar remarks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth derided the DIA findings as a “preliminary, low-confidence” report leaked for political motives, vowing an FBI hunt for the “anonymous, low-level loser” responsible. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff branded the leak “treasonous,” insisting all three sites were “damaged or destroyed” and reconstruction would take “years.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused leakers of being “professional stabbers” aiming to sabotage diplomacy. 

In an interview with Western media, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the country’s nuclear installations were “badly damaged”. “That’s for sure because [they have] come under repeated attacks,” he stated. Baghaei, however, said he has nothing more to add as damage assessment is a “matter of technical issue.”