Washington, Jun 25 (AP) President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that US strikes delivered a crushing blow to Iran’s nuclear programme despite a preliminary American intelligence assessment suggesting that the assault inflicted only a marginal setback. 鈥淭his was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,鈥 Trump said as his administration deployed a phalanx of top officials to defend his claims that Iran’s nuclear programme was 鈥渃ompletely and fully obliterated.鈥 Also Read | ‘Iran-Israel Ceasefire Going Very Good’, Says US President Donald Trump. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the leaked intelligence assessment, which said Iran suffered a delay of only a few months, was 鈥減reliminary鈥 and 鈥渓ow confidence.鈥 Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the officials who disclosed the findings are 鈥減rofessional stabbers.鈥 The White House pointed to a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission that said Iran faced a setback of 鈥渕any years.鈥 Also Read | ‘IAEA Has Lost Its Credibility’: Iranian Parliament Approves Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog After US Strikes 3 Nuclear Sites in Iran. Drawing reliable conclusions about the impact of the US strikes is difficult, making the issue a breeding ground for competing claims that could determine how American voters view Trump’s risky decision to join Israel’s attacks on Iran. Also at stake are Trump’s next steps in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts could be required to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear programme. Iran maintains that its atomic ambitions are for peaceful purposes, while US and Israeli leaders have described the country’s nuclear programme as the precursor to obtaining a nuclear weapon. One of the targets of the US attack was Fordo, where nuclear infrastructure is buried deep underground. The Israeli commission said in a statement that the bombing 鈥渞endered the enrichment facility inoperable.鈥 The statement was distributed by the White House and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 鈥淭he American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other parts of Iran’s military nuclear programme, have 鈥渟et back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,鈥 the statement said. In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that there was significant damage from US bombers. 鈥淥ur nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,鈥 he said. The episode has triggered some of Trump’s longstanding vendettas against leaks and intelligence officials, who he has often viewed as a part of a 鈥渄eep state鈥 dedicated to undermining his agenda. He also lashed out at media outlets that reported on the classified assessment, describing them as 鈥渟cum” and 鈥渄isgusting.鈥 Trump said questioning the effectiveness of the strikes was disrespectful to the military, which flew stealth bombers halfway around the world to attack the nuclear facilities with weapons designed to penetrate deep underground. The reports, he said, were 鈥渧ery unfair to the pilots, who risked their lives for our country.鈥 One critical question is whether enriched uranium, which could be developed into fuel for a nuclear bomb, was moved out of facilities before the US strikes. 鈥淚 believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out, because we acted fast,鈥 Trump said. He added that 鈥渋t’s very hard to move that kind of material, and very dangerous.鈥 Classified briefings for lawmakers, originally scheduled for Tuesday, are now expected to take place on Thursday and Friday. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)