U.S. Strikes Set Back Iran Nuclear Program by a Few Months, Initial Report Says

A preliminary classified intelligence report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency counters the White House’s claims of more extensive damage.

A satellite image shows an overview of Iran’s Fordow nuclear site after recent airstrikes.

A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found that the U.S. military’s strikes last week on three Iranian nuclear facilities only set back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by a few months, countering claims made by President Trump and the White House, according to people familiar with the intelligence.

U.S. Strikes Set Back Iran Nuclear Program by a Few Months, Initial Report Says

The initial findings, written by the Defense Intelligence Agency, relied on military damage assessments following the bombings, the people said, adding that the assessment could change as more intelligence is collected.

A senior administration official confirmed the report’s existence but said it had not risen to the level of being shared with Defense Department’s top leaders. U.S. intelligence agencies frequently produce classified reports that are later revised, sometimes substantially, as more information is collected. Such reports don’t necessarily reflect the views of other spy agencies, and disagreement among the agencies isn’t uncommon.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a post on X that the “alleged ‘assessment’ is flat out wrong,” and described the report as classified at the top-secret level. She also blamed an “anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community” for leaking the report to the media. CNN first reported on the assessment.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees all intelligence agencies in the U.S. government, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Updates to follow as news develops.

Write to Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com, Jared Malsin at jared.malsin@wsj.com and Lara Seligman at lara.seligman@wsj.com