US Intel Assessment of Iran’s Nuclear Program Unchanged Since Midnight Hammer

The US intelligence community assesses that Iran’s nuclear program remains largely unchanged since the US attacked and damaged several facilities last year. 

Three sources familiar with the estimate told Reuters that the intelligence community believes it will take Iran to rebuild the facilities that were damaged during Operation Midnight Hammer. The attack was authorized by Trump last June and involved the US dropping large bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities. 

Secretary of War Peter Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have told Congress in the past month that Tehran had not attempted to rebuild the nuclear facilities destroyed during Operation Midnight Hammer. 

That the intelligence assessment of Iran’s nuclear program remains largely unchanged suggests that the US and Israel have not targeted Tehran’s nuclear facilities during the current conflict. 

The US and Israel have claimed that Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons. However, the international nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has repeatedly affirmed that Tehran limits its nuclear program to civilian purposes. 

Additionally, last year’s US intelligence community threat assessment assessed that Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program. 

The future of Iran’s nuclear program is currently a significant impasse in ending the conflict. Washington is demanding that Tehran halt all nuclear enrichment and transfer its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to the US. Iran does not want to negotiate an end to the war that does not include its nuclear program and address the issue once the conflict concludes.