A B-2 Spirit bomber takes off from Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a major US airbase in the Indian Ocean, in April 2025. B-2 aircraft have bombed Iran’s nuclear program over the last year, but the extent of the damage is still unclear. (US Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Anthony Hetlage)

Is Iran’s Nuclear Program Really ‘Totally Obliterated’? Here’s What We Know

Share this link on Facebook

Share this page on X (Twitter)

Share this link on LinkedIn

Share this page on Reddit

Email a link to this page

Unfortunately, the recent war has obstructed international visibility into Iran’s nuclear program—and re-establishing an inspection regime is likely to be a priority in future US-Iran talks.

The recent US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland may have reduced the immediate risk of renewed fighting. But it has left the most important issue between the two nations unresolved: Iran’s nuclear program, the stated cause of President Donald Trump’s launching of Operation Epic Fury in the first place.

Unfortunately, there is little reliable information on the status of Iran’s nuclear program, which had already been significantly degraded during the Israeli-led “Operation Rising Lion” and US-led “Operation Midnight Hammer” strikes of June 2025. Despite the Trump administration’s stated goal of dismantling the Iranian nuclear program, and despite the clear evidence that Iranian facilities were indeed damaged, it remains unknown whether Iran’s nuclear capabilities were actually........

© The National Interest