Pentagon Says June Strikes Set Iran Nuclear Program Back Two Years

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that last month’s U.S. air-strikes on Iran’s underground nuclear sites have set Tehran’s atomic programme back by an estimated one to two years. Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters the facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan were “completely obliterated,” adding that internal intelligence points “closer to two years” of lost progress.

The new assessment is more modest than President Donald Trump’s earlier claim that the attacks had destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability for decades, yet it still represents a sharper estimate than an initial Defence Intelligence Agency view that spoke of only months of disruption. The Pentagon said evaluations will continue as more data are analysed.

Carried out under the codename “Midnight Hammer” on 22 June, the joint U.S.–Israeli operation employed bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles against three heavily fortified sites. While Washington hails the mission as a strategic success, the International Atomic Energy Agency has cautioned that Iran could, in principle, resume enrichment within months if stockpiled material and technical expertise remain intact.

Iran’s parliament has since voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, prompting the U.S. State Department to label the move “unacceptable” and urge Tehran to restore access for inspectors. How quickly Iran can rebuild its nuclear infrastructure now hinges on both the physical damage done and the diplomatic fallout from the June strikes.