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As the total damage to three Iranian nuclear sites continues to be assessed, one Middle East expert states that Iran’s announced evaluation reinforces U.S. and Israeli perspectives.
Israel, which claims the strikes have set back the Iranian nuclear program by years, is in the best position to evaluate the situation and has strong incentives to ensure accuracy, according to Jacob Olidort, director of the Center of American Security at the America First Policy Institute.
“Both the US and Israel assert they achieved their objectives,” Olidort stated. “Israel presumably planned this for many years and asserts it has succeeded in destroying Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities.”
The U.S. conducted a surprise strike using B-2 stealth bombers and bunker-buster bombs targeting Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities on Saturday.
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This satellite image by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordow following U.S. airstrikes, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Some media outlets have contested the claims that the sites were destroyed and set Iran back significantly in its nuclear ambitions.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated on Wednesday that “our nuclear installations have been seriously damaged, that’s for sure,” though he refrained from providing specifics.
Olidort observed that “everything Iran is doing now is to save face.”
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“We should never take anything Iran says at face value, but their assessment can only strengthen the views of Israel and the U.S.,” he added.
Map of US strikes on Iran. (Source)
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, confirmed on Thursday that the damage from the strikes on Iranian facilities is “very, very, very considerable.”
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“I think annihilated is too strong a word, but it has suffered enormous damage,” Grossi commented to French broadcaster RFI.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
