CIA Reveals Intelligence Showing U.S. ‘Destroyed’ Key Iranian Nuclear Facilities

WASHINGTON — Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe clarified Wednesday that the CIA has new intelligence indicating “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed” by the recent U.S. strikes.

The CIA published a statement from Ratcliffe late Wednesday afternoon amid legacy media reporting claiming that the United States failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, as President Donald Trump has said, and only set it back by months. The New York Times specifically argued that the report upended the victory Trump had hoped to celebrate at the NATO summit.

Trump’s team has aggressively pushed back on the stories. The president himself said Iran’s nuclear sites were obliterated, Israel has also stated the sites were obliterated, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.”

Ratcliffe’s statement noted not only that several nuclear facilities were destroyed but also that Iran’s Nuclear Program has been “severely damaged.”

“CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” Ratcliffe said in a statement. “This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.”

USA Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, USA President Donald Trump and USA Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the press conference at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed,” he added. “When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency.”

Earlier on Wednesday, DNI Tulsi Gabbard also put out a statement arguing that “new intelligence” shows that “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.”

“If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordo, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do,” Gabbard said.

“The propaganda media has deployed their usual tactic,” she added: “selectively release portions of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (intentionally leaving out the fact that the assessment was written with ‘low confidence’) to try to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the brave servicemen and women who flawlessly executed a truly historic mission to keep the American people safe and secure.”