On Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe took the unusual step of publicly supporting President Donald Trump, asserting that the bombing of Iran has “severely damaged” its nuclear enrichment program.
Ratcliffe, who was appointed by Trump and previously served as a Republican member of Congress, has not been as visible in the administration’s public relations efforts to counter reports suggesting that the bombing had minimal impact on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
However, on Thursday, he referenced a “body of credible intelligence” indicating that President Trump is justified in describing Iran’s nuclear program as having been “totally obliterated.”
“The CIA can confirm that credible intelligence suggests Iran’s Nuclear Program has been significantly harmed by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable source/method indicating that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and will require years to rebuild,” Ratcliffe stated in a press release.
