The Pentagon has opened a formal criminal investigation into the leak of a classified Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment that downplayed the long-term effectiveness of recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The probe, being conducted in coordination with the FBI, was confirmed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during remarks at the NATO summit on Wednesday.
Hegseth acknowledged the existence of the classified report, which assesses that the damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear facilities may not have significantly delayed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
He characterized the report’s conclusions as “low confidence” and preliminary, and he criticized the media for misrepresenting the situation. “This information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments,” Hegseth stated. “CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success.”
The leak triggered sharp reactions from top officials. Sitting alongside President Donald Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Hegseth reiterated that the full scope of the damage is still being assessed but said the Pentagon believes the strikes caused “moderate to severe, and we believe far more likely severe and obliterated” damage.
The leak of the Iran strike battle damage assessment is clearly being coordinated by comms professionals considering almost every natsec reporter has gotten a copy right before Trump’s big appearance at NATO. The timing and scale of this show this isn’t an Ed Snowden situation.
— Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) June 24, 2025
The classified DIA assessment, first reported by CNN, suggested that the weekend’s airstrikes may have set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, largely because enriched uranium had been relocated prior to the attacks. The revelation contradicted earlier public statements from the administration, which described the operation as a crippling blow.
Rubio pushed back strongly on those claims. Speaking to Politico, he asserted, “They are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action.” Rubio detailed that 14 of the U.S. military’s most powerful bunker-buster bombs were used on three key Iranian nuclear sites, and that the strikes inflicted “significant, very significant, substantial damage.”
President Trump echoed those statements, insisting the operation had accomplished its core objective. “Iran is not going to have a bomb. They’re not going to enrich,” Trump said. His remarks reinforced the administration’s message that the strikes were both strategically necessary and militarily effective.
Israeli military officials also weighed in. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, stated it was “still early to assess the results of the operation” but noted, “I believe we have delivered a significant hit to the nuclear program, and I can also say that we have delayed it by several years.”
