Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have fiercely criticized the leak of a classified intelligence report to CNN, which they say undermines the success of recent U.S. military operations against Iran’s nuclear program.
The backlash follows CNN’s report that cited an initial U.S. intelligence assessment concluding that the strikes failed to “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear capabilities as President Trump had claimed. The report, attributed to the Defense Intelligence Agency, reportedly indicated that the U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites only delayed Tehran’s program by a few months.
The assessment was classified as “top secret,” raising serious concerns about the breach of national security protocols. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the leak and disputed the accuracy of the assessment in a fiery statement.
“This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” she said. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.
Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.” Echoing those sentiments was Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, who appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” Tuesday night.
“It goes without saying that leaking that kind of information, whatever the information, whatever site it comes out on, it’s outrageous,” Witkoff declared. “It’s treasonous. It ought to be investigated.” He called for the leaker to be held accountable, emphasizing that such disclosures could endanger future operations and lives.
Witkoff then outlined the Trump administration’s military objectives and insisted the mission achieved its intended results. He highlighted three key Iranian facilities targeted in the strikes. “It was hit with a 30,000-pound bunker buster, and it could not survive that hit,” he said of Iran’s lone conversion facility.
“So they have no conversion opportunity, and that means they cannot weaponize even if they’ve enriched to 90%.” Witkoff also asserted that two other nuclear reactors—one above ground and one underground—were completely “eviscerated.” Regarding the Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, Witkoff confirmed that a dozen bunker-buster bombs were deployed.
“There’s no doubt that it breached the canopy. There’s no doubt that it reached the depth that these bunker buster bombs go to. And there’s no doubt that it was obliterated,” he stated. Both Leavitt and Witkoff dismissed any narrative contradicting the mission’s success as “completely preposterous.”