---
title: "Leaked intel on Iran’s nuclear facilities came from report on whether to strike targets again"
description: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated on Thursday that the U.S. military considered launching further attacks against Iranian nuclear sites after the [air and missile strikes over the weekend.]()"
date: "2025-06-26"
modified: "2025-06-26"
authors:
  - name: "Jeff Schogol"
    job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/iran-intelligence-report-strikes/"
categories:
  - "Around the World"
  - "Iran"
  - "Middle East"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "attack"
  - "iran"
---

# Leaked intel on Iran’s nuclear facilities came from report on whether to strike targets again

![B-2 Spirit](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/B-2-Spirit.jpg>)
*A B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber flies behind a KC-135 Stratotanker, June 27, 2023. Air Force Senior Airman Mark Sulaica.*

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated on Thursday that the U.S. military considered launching further attacks against Iranian nuclear sites after the [air and missile strikes over the weekend.](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/pentagon-midnight-hammer-iran/>)

Hegseth spoke to reporters on Thursday after [CNN first reported](<https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/intel-assessment-us-strikes-iran-nuclear-sites>) that a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment had found the strikes [may not have destroyed Iran’s nuclear program](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/operation-midnight-hammer-assessment-iran/>), and may have only set it back by months. Other media outlets, including the [The New York Times](<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html>) and [The Washington Post,](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/24/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump/4244d0fa-513d-11f0-baaa-ba1025f321a8_story.html>) have reported on the agency’s findings.

“Actually, the report that was discussed, this preliminary report, was called a ‘restrike report,’” Hegseth said during Thursday’s Pentagon news briefing. “It comes to us to give us an assessment whether a target would need to be restruck, right? That's the reason why. So, it’s based on \[an\] internal feedback loop that we’re supposed to have access to. Unfortunately, someone took advantage of that.”

https://youtu.be/G94myHod-vw

When asked about Hegsteh’s comments and if the U.S. military is considering future strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, a U.S. official told Task & Purpose that “the assessments are ongoing, we will not speculate about future operations,” adding that Hegsteh had made it clear that “we plan and have options for every scenario.”

On Thursday, Hegseth described the recent U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities as “highly successful,” and he said the Defense Intelligence Agency report cited by news outlets was a “preliminary assessment,” which acknowledges that it takes weeks of collecting data to make a determination on the effectiveness of the strikes.

“There’s low confidence in this particular report,” Hegseth said. “It says in the report there are gaps in the information.”

## The latest on Task & Purpose

- **Operation Midnight Hammer damaged, but may not have**[ **destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites**](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/operation-midnight-hammer-assessment-iran/>)
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- **Marines and sailors are** [**building trenches**](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-marines-trenches-drones/>) **for the drone age**
- **The Army is** [**deactivating**](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-military-police-force-changes/>) **police units in deep cuts to number of military cops**

## Author
Jeff Schogol is the senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.

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