US attacks on Iran damaged only one of three nuclear sites targeted: Report

President Trump reportedly called off a sustained, multi-week US bombing campaign that would have been needed to destroy Iran’s nuclear program

A new US intelligence assessment has concluded that only one of the three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities targeted in last month’s US airstrikes was seriously damaged, casting doubt on US President Donald Trump’s claims that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were completely obliterated, NBC News reported on 17 July.

According to five current and former US officials, the Fordow facility sustained significant damage, setting back enrichment activities there. However, the other two sites – Natanz and Isfahan – suffered only partial degradation. Intelligence suggests that Iran could resume operations at those locations within several months.

The findings, shared with US lawmakers and allied governments in recent days, indicate a more nuanced picture than the Trump administration initially presented. Following the strikes, President Trump declared the operation “a spectacular military success” and asserted that Iran’s “key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

However, the internal assessment suggests otherwise. While Fordow’s setback is considered major, analysts believe that the other facilities could quickly return to operational status, especially if Iran decides not to re-engage in nuclear negotiations.

A White House spokesperson maintained the administration’s line, stating, “Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities.” The Pentagon echoed that stance, with spokesman Sean Parnell dismissing media reports as “fake news” and reiterating that Iran’s nuclear program had been “destroyed, in the dirt.”

Despite such rhetoric, planning documents reveal that US Central Command had originally developed a broader military operation that included additional targets and a prolonged campaign that could have lasted weeks. President Trump ultimately rejected that plan, reportedly due to concerns over potential casualties and his desire to avoid further entanglement in the region.

“We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to,” one of the sources with knowledge of the plan told NBC News.

On the Iranian side, officials have offered conflicting responses. On 27 June, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged “excessive and serious” damage to some facilities following the US attack. But Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, dismissed the strikes as ineffective, stating that they “failed to accomplish anything significant.”

Several reports have emerged suggesting Iran was able to move much of its stockpile of enriched uranium to new locations in advance of the bombing.

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi explained that the extent of the damage done in the actual strikes was not crucial.

“Bombing cannot erase this knowledge – it will only come back stronger,” he stated.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, while the US and Israel claim Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon, which would help counter Israel’s nuclear capabilities.

‘The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is highly questionable,’ President Diaz-Canel said. After reviewing the resignation request of Cuba’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feito Cabrera, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Council of State approved her release from her duties.

This followed her recent appearances before two parliamentary commissions — the Commission for Attention to Local Organs of People’s Power and the Commission for Attention to Youth, Children and Women’s Rights — which took place Monday ahead of the fifth regular session of the National Assembly.

“As a result of the analysis conducted by the Party and government leadership with Marta Elena Feito Cabrera regarding her remarks at the joint meeting of two Permanent Working Commissions of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the comrade acknowledged her mistakes and submitted her resignation,” the official statement said.

“This request was submitted to the Political Bureau and the Council of State, which agreed to her removal, based on the lack of objectivity and sensitivity with which she addressed issues that are currently central to the political and governmental agenda — one focused on addressing real and never-desired phenomena in our society,” added the statement, which was broadcast during the prime-time edition of the Cuban National Television News.

The day before, Feito Cabrera made remarks regarding people in vulnerable situations and dismissed instances of homelessness in the country. Referring to individuals who clean windshields on the streets, she stated: “No, that’s not a homeless person. That’s someone who has found an easy way to make a living at a traffic light, cleaning windshields, and possibly then uses that money to buy alcoholic drinks on the corner.”

In response, top political and government authorities voiced criticism via digital platforms. Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and president of the Republic, said: “The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is highly questionable. The Revolution cannot leave anyone behind — that is our motto, our militant responsibility.”

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz also emphasized the need for great sensitivity in addressing the complexities of vulnerability and in seeking, with everyone’s participation, effective solutions to ensure no one is left behind. He described care for individuals, families and communities in vulnerable situations as a priority of the Revolution, highlighting humanism and social justice.

Previously, President Maduro proposed the creation of a Binational Economic Development Zone. On Wednesday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Colombia’s acting Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio held a meeting in Bogota, where Gil reiterated the importance of boosting land trade between the two countries.

“In the meeting, we reaffirmed our commitment to continue strengthening bilateral relations in all areas. In particular, we emphasized the importance of enhancing the Binational Economic Zone to boost the economy and cross-border trade between our peoples,” the Bolivarian official said.

He also expressed President Nicolas Maduro’s support for the ministerial meeting held July 15 and 16, aimed at taking action in support of Palestine, he added.

Gil is currently in Colombia to attend a meeting of the Hague Group, which is discussing legal and diplomatic measures in response to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Previously, in March, Maduro sent a proposal to Colombian President Gustavo Petro for a border zone of “shared development” between the two nations. At the time, the Bolivarian leader explained that the proposal includes the creation of a bilateral space in several border areas, such as the Catatumbo region.

The Bolivarian leader also said the plan involves joint investments in sectors such as agriculture, agribusiness and tourism, through a “public-private effort.”

During a speech in Tibu, a municipality in the Catatumbo region, Petro said he would speak with Maduro about a special economic zone along the border. Earlier this year, guerrilla violence in that region left at least 70 people dead and displaced more than 55,000.

U.S. clients account for 45 percent of Embraer’s commercial airline aircraft exports and 70 percent of its executive jets. On Tuesday, Francisco Gomes Neto, the CEO of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, warned that a 50 percent U.S. tariff on Brazilian goods would raise the cost of each Embraer aircraft by nearly US$9 million.

Gomes Neto, noted that the steep tax — effective on Aug. 1 — threatens to make the firm’s U.S. exports “unfeasible,” with disruptions rivaling those of the COVID-19 pandemic. He called the measure a potential “near-embargo” that could cripple trade ties.

The Embraer president emphasized that the U.S. is the company’s primary market, and if the 50 percent tariff takes effect, there is no immediate alternative market that can compensate for the lost demand.

According to company data, U.S. clients account for 45 percent of its commercial airline aircraft exports and 70 percent of its executive jets. The tariff could destabilize Embraer’s Brazilian and U.S. manufacturing units and its American supply chain, he added.

Embraer employs approximately 3,000 people across its U.S. subsidiaries, including manufacturing and service centers, after 45 years of operation in the country.

Gomes Neto explained that the 50 percent tariff would increase the production cost of each aircraft by an additional US$ 8.96 million, resulting in an annual increase of US$358 for the manufacturer.

Considering Embraer’s growth plans through 2030, the potential impact of the tariff could reach about US$3.6 billion. Despite the pressure, the CEO expressed “optimism” about ongoing Brazil-U.S. negotiations.

The former president asked retirees to organize politically to confront a cruel government. On Tuesday, former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who remains under house arrest, sent an audio message to retirees gathered at the Justicialist Party headquarters in Buenos Aires.

Her message of solidarity and support came at a time when far-right President Javier Milei “continues stealing more than 100,000 pesos per month from retirees, has announced he will veto the modest pension increase approved by Congress, and confirms he will crack down on retirees every Wednesday when they mobilize,” local media outlet Info135 commented.

“The only way to confront this government of cruelty is through organizing and love,” Fernandez said, noting that retirees are going through a difficult time as they have become one of the adjustment variables in Milei’s economic plan.

“This is not only due to the pension amounts, but also because of the lack of medication through the Comprehensive Medical Assistance Program (PAMI), and the loss of their purchasing power,” she said.

“Retirees are absolutely right to gather and send a message of organization, because political organization and love are the only ways to confront these cruel policies,” Fernandez said.

The former president emphasized that the neoliberal adjustment is being carried out at the expense of social protection services that previously benefited children and the elderly—two vulnerable groups located at opposite ends of the life cycle.

“Since taking office, Milei has taken a chainsaw to pensions. He reduced retirement payments, eliminated free medications, defunded PAMI, and annulled the pension moratorium. Additionally, he vetoed the law aimed at restoring their income and has already announced he will do so again,” said Fernanda Raverta, secretary for Older Adults of the Justicialist Party.