Israel Declares Victory Despite Contradictory US Intelligence

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a "historic victory" against Iran despite U.S. intelligence reports concluding that the U.S. strikes failed to destroy Tehran's nuclear program and only set it back by a few months.

In a speech to the nation following the ceasefire announcement, Netanyahu claimed, "Iran will not have nuclear weapons."

"We have thwarted Iran's nuclear project," Netanyahu boasted, as cited by Arab News.

"And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt."

Israel stated that its bombing campaign, which began on June 13, was aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, an ambition continuously denied by Tehran.

Israel's military claimed that its strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program "by years."

Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday, ending a 12-day war, after U.S. President Donald Trump joined the conflict with bunker-busting bombs over the weekend that were claimed to have destroyed Iran's main nuclear site.

However, early leaked U.S. intelligence reports to CNN, as reported by Anadolu, concluded that the U.S. strikes against Iran only set back its nuclear program by a few months and failed to destroy it.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed the assessment's authenticity but said it was "way off."

After Trump angrily rebuked both sides for early ceasefire violations on Tuesday, Tehran announced that it would respect the terms of the agreement if Israel did the same. Meanwhile, Israel said that it had refrained from further attacks.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is ready to return to negotiations on its nuclear program, but it will continue to "assert its legitimate rights" to peaceful atomic energy use.

U.S. media on Tuesday cited individuals familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency's findings, stating that the American strikes did not fully eliminate Iran's centrifuges or its enriched uranium stockpiles.

The attacks closed entries to several facilities without destroying underground buildings, according to the report.

Leavitt responded on social media, "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."

While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict so far marks their most damaging confrontation.

Israel's strikes on nuclear and military targets - killing scientists and senior military figures, as well as residential areas, sparked a wave of Iranian missile fire into Israel.

The war culminated in a US strike on Iran's underground nuclear site using bunker-busting bombs, not possessed by Israel, followed by Iran's retaliation targeting the largest US military facility in the Middle East.

Trump dismissed the response as "weak" and thanked Tehran for its prior notification, and announced the outline of the ceasefire just hours later.

Some in Israel welcomed the prospect of a ceasefire. "Everyone is tired. We just want to have some peace of mind," said Tel Aviv resident Tammy Shel. "For us, for the Iranian people, for the Palestinians, for everyone in the region."

People in Iran remain unsure whether the peace will hold.

Amir, 28, fled from Tehran to the Caspian Sea coast and said over the phone, "I really don’t know... about the ceasefire but honestly, I don’t think things will return to normal."

Israel's strikes on Iran killed at least 610 civilians and injured over 4,700, according to the Iranian health ministry.

The international community reacted with cautious optimism to the ceasefire.

Saudi Arabia and the European Union welcomed Trump's announcement, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia hopes "that this will be a sustainable ceasefire."

However, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of an "increased" risk of Iran quietly enriching uranium following the attack on its nuclear site.

After the ceasefire was announced, Israel's military chief, Eyal Zamir, said Israel's focus will now revert to Gaza.

Israel's opposition, the Palestinian Authority, and major groups representing Israeli hostage families all called for a Gaza ceasefire to complement the Iran ceasefire.

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