US Intel Wings Face Scrutiny Over Iran Nuclear Strikes Narrative

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US Intel Agencies Face Politicization Concerns Amid Trump Narrative Push

By TRH News Desk

NEW DELHI, June 26, 2025 – A controversy is brewing within the US intelligence community following CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s statement claiming that “a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes.” The assertion, which aligns closely with US President Donald Trump’s narrative of “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, sparked skepticism.

Analysts and lawmakers questioned whether the intelligence community is succumbing to political pressure. The abrupt postponement of classified congressional briefings further added to accusations of politicization, casting a shadow over the credibility of US intelligence assessments.

Ratcliffe’s statement, posted on the CIA’s official X account, emphasized that “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” citing “new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method.” This directly contradicts an earlier leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment, reported by CNN and NPR, which suggested US strikes on Iran’s Natanz, Fordow, and Esfahan facilities set back the nuclear program by only “a few months.” The discrepancy has raised eyebrows, with Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst at RAND, posting on X: “Highly unusual for CIA to publicly acknowledge it has intelligence supportive of the President’s narrative. Does CIA have intel that is somehow superior to DIA’s? And isn’t it still too early to make a credible BDA (battle damage assessment)? Couple this with the Trump admin postponing classified briefings to Congress and it’s hard to believe politicization is NOT happening here.”

The Trump administration’s decision to delay briefings scheduled for June 24, 2025, intensified suspicions. The briefings were meant to include Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and other top officials. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move “outrageous,” warning that briefings led solely by political appointees like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth risked parroting Trump’s narrative. House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the strikes as within Trump’s authority, but Democrats, including Senate Intelligence Committee member Mark Warner, demanded transparency, with Warner telling NPR, “What are the next steps? How do we make sure that there’s not Iran racing now to a dirty bomb?”

The CIA’s public endorsement of Trump’s claims has drawn sharp criticism for its timing and tone. The BBC noted that Ratcliffe’s statement came after Trump, at a NATO summit in The Hague, dismissed the DIA’s assessment as “inconclusive” and insisted Iran’s program was set back “by decades.” US Defence Secretary Hegseth called the DIA report “preliminary” and “low-confidence,” while the FBI launched an investigation into the leak. Independent experts, like Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute, told NPR that satellite imagery showed “limited” damage to Fordow’s critical infrastructure, undermining claims of widespread destruction.

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