U.S. Military General Contradicts Trump

The U.S. military chose not to deploy bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s deeply buried Isfahan nuclear facility during last weekend’s strikes because the location is so far underground that even the most powerful U.S. munitions likely wouldn’t have reached it. That explanation came from Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine during a classified briefing with senators on Thursday, according to three individuals present and a fourth person briefed on the discussion.

This detail directly contradicts President Trump’s earlier public claims that the U.S. strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, specifically targeting all three major sites Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. While Fordow and Natanz were hit with over a dozen bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 bombers, Isfahan was only targeted by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a U.S. submarine.

Isfahan is believed by U.S. intelligence to house nearly 60% of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile the core component needed for any future nuclear weapon. During the same briefing, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that key elements of Iran’s nuclear material remain at both Isfahan and Fordow. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present at the classified session.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) later told CNN that parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure are buried so deeply that “we can never reach them.” He warned that Iran could now relocate more of its materials into these inaccessible zones, shielding them from future attacks.

An initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded the U.S. strikes did not destroy Iran’s existing enriched uranium or the essential components of its nuclear program. Instead, the operation likely set the program back by only a few months. The DIA also suggested Iran may have moved some enriched uranium out of the targeted facilities in advance of the attacks another point at odds with Trump’s claim on Friday that “nothing was moved.”

Republican lawmakers who attended the classified briefing acknowledged that not all of Iran’s nuclear materials were eliminated. Still, they insisted that wasn’t the goal. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said, “My understanding is most of it’s still there. We need a full accounting. That’s why Iran has to come to the table… so the IAEA can account for every ounce of enriched uranium.”

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) echoed the sentiment, stating, “The purpose of the mission was to eliminate certain particular aspects of their nuclear program. Those were eliminated. To get rid of the nuclear material was not part of the mission.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) added, “The program was obliterated at those three sites. But they still have ambitions. I don’t know where the 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium exists. But it wasn’t part of the targets.”

Graham insisted that the physical facilities were rendered unusable: “The sites were obliterated. Nobody can use them anytime soon.” Still, the absence of bunker-busters at the Isfahan site and the persistence of Iran’s stockpile raise significant questions especially in light of Trump’s earlier insistence that the mission was a total success.