Description: Controversies continue to mount around the degree of success the US Midnight Hammer operation brought in depleting Iran’s nuclear program. After the leaked DIA assessments, the media pipeline was flooded with other unidentified and unnamed sources who claimed that even though the program has experienced substantial setbacks, caused by the attacks, it was still very active and could be revived completely. The Iranians remained reserved in their public portrayal of the attacks as they only confirmed the program was considerably damaged without getting into the degree of the damages. IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi, commented that damage assessment on the bombarded sites was impossible at this period of time, and while the US strikes might have backpedaled the Iranian nuclear program, their indigenous knowledge and sophistication of nuclear development could resuscitate the program in no time. Iran in the meantime passed a parliamentary law, prohibiting government officials to allow access to IAEA inspectors to its nuclear sites in the foreseeable future. US President Donald Trump reiterated his intentions that renewed aerial attack were possible if definitive intelligence reports signaled that Iran acted preemptively and relocated much of their enriched uranium to undisclosed locations.
Impact: The post – war victory parades were impeded by the DIA leak from last week as the conflicting statements from all the involved parties indicated that Israel and the US failed to achieve their ultimate strategic goals through the 12 – day war. Iran has been considerably weakened with much of its political and military echelon gone and the substantial reserves of their ballistic missile program wasted on intercepted attacks. Inconclusive information regarding the exact state of their nuclear program still emerges with the latest being the statements from IAEA’s Director General Grossi, who continues to push towards inspections access to Iran’s nuclear sites. Unresolved questions still remain, and the negative hostile and adversarial narrative still persists, which indicates that even if a direct diplomatic engagement is made in the upcoming period, no significant progress will be achieved while the ceasefire’s lifespan shortens by the day.