Skeptical Democrats had gone into the briefing with two pressing questions: Did Iran pose an imminent threat to Americans, thereby justifyingĀ President TrumpāsĀ move to launch the strikes without congressional approval? And did the attacks āobliterateā Iranās capacity to make nuclear weapons, as Trump has claimed?
Ā
Leaving the closed-door gathering, Democrats said they got satisfactory answers to neither question.
Ā
āI would say that that particular briefing left me with more concerns and a true lack of clarity on how we are defining the mission and the success of it,ā said Rep.Ā Katherine ClarkĀ (Mass.), the Democratic whip.Ā
Ā
Rep.Ā Bill FosterĀ (D-Ill.), a former nuclear physicist, said the U.S. strikes likely knocked out Iranās centrifuges and other infrastructure required to enrich uranium in the future. But thereās no evidence, he said, that the attacks destroyed Iranās existing stockpiles of enriched uranium. If those are intact, he warned, Iran could still produce weapons with the strength of a Hiroshima bomb in āa very small breakout time.ā
Ā
āThe goal of this mission, from the start, was to secure or destroy that material,ā he said. āThatās where theyāre hiding the ball. And thatās what we have to keep our eyes on.ā
Ā
Fridayās House briefing came six days after Trump ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in an effort to dismantle Tehranās ability to produce nuclear weapons. The briefing was conducted by top administration officials ā including Defense SecretaryĀ Pete Hegseth,Ā CIA DirectorĀ John RatcliffeĀ and Secretary of StateĀ Marco RubioĀ ā who had also briefed Senate lawmakers a day earlier.
Ā
Trump has repeatedly said the mission was an unqualified success, āobliteratingā Iranās nuclear capacity and setting the program back by years. And the presidentās GOP allies in the Capitol echoed that message after the briefing.
Ā
āIt is clear, everyone can see by the videos, that these massive ordinance penetrating bombs did the job,ā SpeakerĀ Mike JohnsonĀ (R-La.) said. āI think their key facilities have been disabled, and I think Iran is now a long time away from doing what they might have done before this very successful operation.āĀ
Ā
A preliminary report from theĀ Pentagonās Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reached different conclusions, finding that the strikes set back Iranās nuclear program by months, rather than years. More recent statements from the CIA and Trumpās head of national intelligence have disputed the DIA report, creating mixed messages from the administration about the success of the mission.Ā
Ā
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
