Iran: Complete destruction or just minor damage?

US President Donald Trump remains convinced that the attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities "totally destroyed them" and set Tehran's nuclear program "back decades." At the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said that the Iranian regime: "will not be building bombs again for a long time."

Trump also called reports by the New York Times and CNN that Iran's nuclear program had only been hampered for a few months by the attacks "fake news" and used insults against the newspaper and television station.

Non-destructive damage

The New York Times and CNN reported that initial intelligence assessments indicated that the weekend US bombings failed to destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities. According to the intelligence report, the bombings only destroyed the entrances to the Fordow facility, but not the underground buildings themselves.

The five-page intelligence report also assumes that Iran had moved its enriched uranium stockpiles to other areas before the attacks were launched, the New York Times writes.

Careful assessment from Israel

Israel gave a cautious assessment of the effect of the strikes. "It is still too early to judge the results of the operation," said Israeli military spokeswoman Effie Defrin. But she added: "I believe we have dealt a serious blow to the nuclear program. We have set it back several years."

Iran reports heavy damage

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the damage to the nuclear facilities was severe. A spokesman told Al Jazeera that he could not provide any details, but that the attacks from bunker-busting bombs were strong and the damage was severe.

IAEA seeks to inspect

The UN Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, may provide clarification on the situation. It is insisting that it be allowed access to the attacked nuclear facilities as soon as possible.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the return of his inspectors was a top priority. They must assess the effects of the attacks and verify the stockpiles of enriched uranium, he told a news conference after a meeting of the Austrian Security Cabinet in Vienna. That includes three uranium enrichment plants.

Grossi acknowledged that inspecting war-damaged facilities is difficult. Iran's state-run IRIB radio and television reported that the parliament in Tehran had decided to temporarily suspend cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA./ DW