How Trump’s war has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear capabilities: report

WorldPolitics
5 May 2026 • 10:28 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

How Trump’s war has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear capabilities: report

  • U.S. intelligence assessments suggest that military actions initiated by Trump have done little to slow Iran’s nuclear capabilities, according to Reuters news agency, citing intelligence sources familiar with the matter.
  • A key objective of the war, which began on February 28, was to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
  • Two months into the conflict, intelligence sources indicate Tehran’s nuclear program remains broadly unchanged since last year’s U.S. attack.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the intelligence report as 'speculation' but later told lawmakers Iran 'had not given up their nuclear ambitions'.
  • The White House, through spokeswoman Olivia Wales, asserted that operations 'obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities' and 'decimated Iran’s defense industrial base'.

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