Pentagon Spox Says ‘I Think We Are Thinking’ Iran’s Nuclear Program Has Been Set Back ‘Two Years’
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed, albeit with uncertain language, that the U.S. military believes its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites set Iran’s nuclear program back two years.
During a rare Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Parnell said, “First, our assessment of the battle damage around Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan remains unchanged. I mean, we believe and certainly all of the intelligence that we’ve seen have led us to believe that Iran’s — those facilities especially — have been completely obliterated.”
“The interesting kind of side point about this, Tara, is that all of the conversations that we’ve had since Operation Midnight Hammer with our allies all around the world, but certainly also in the region, they say a couple of things. They share our sentiments about the degradation of Iran’s nuclear program and the fact that we have degraded their program by one to two years, at least. Intel assessments inside the department assess that, and I think their intelligence shares that conclusion,” he concluded.
“Assessments by this department think it’s been degraded or delayed by one to two years?” followed up the reporter, asking for confirmation.
“I think we’re thinking probably closer to two years—like, degraded their program by two years,” Parnell replied.
The exchange was notable given President Donald Trump and his administration’s combative defense of the strikes, including Trump saying Iran’s nuclear program was set back “basically decades” and “it’s gone for years.”
In recent days, Trump has attacked CNN and the New York Times and threatened to sue both outlets for publishing reports on a leaked Pentagon assessment that said Trump’s bombings only set Iran’s nuclear program back a few months. The assessment was labeled as an initial intelligence finding, but contradicted Trump’s public claims that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “obliterated.” Trump’s lawyer wrote to the Times, calling its reporting “false,” “defamatory,” and “unpatriotic” while demanding it be retracted.
David McCraw, the Times’s deputy general counsel, replied to Trump’s lawyer, saying, “No retraction is needed. No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”
Last Wednesday, Trump called for CNN’s lead reporter on the story to be fired, writing, “Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.’” CNN released a statement in response, saying:
We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand’s journalism and specifically her and her colleagues’ reporting of the early intelligence assessment of the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. CNN’s reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump’s own deep skepticism about it. However, we do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.
Watch the clip above.
