Washington DC [US], June 26 (ANI): Amid reports that the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites had caused minimal damage to the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, the Central Intelligence Agency, citing a 'body of credible intelligence', confirmed that the strikes by Washington had 'severely damaged' Tehran's key nuclear facilities and that it would take years to rebuild those structures.

In an official statement by the CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday (local time), 'CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.'

He added that the CIA continues to gather intelligence and keep decision-makers and oversight bodies informed, promising that updates would be shared with the public when possible due to the national significance of the matter.

'CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information to keep appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies fully informed. When possible, we will also provide updates and information to the American public, given the national importance of this matter and in every attempt to provide transparency,' the statement added.

The CIA's confirmation comes amid mounting reports of the scale and impact of the strikes launched by the US on those nuclear facilities on June 22, following a CNN finding that suggested that the strikes did not destroy nuclear sites in Iran as claimed by the US President or his administration.

The findings, first reported by CNN, citing seven individuals briefed on the assessments, noted that the early evaluation from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) suggested that the attacks only caused a temporary disruption, possibly setting Tehran's nuclear program back by a few months.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced that Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and senior military representatives at the Pentagon would be holding a media briefing, set for 8 am EST (5:30 PM IST) on Thursday, to highlight the role of American pilots involved in the complex and risky operation and to counter what the administration calls 'misleading and premature reporting' by US media outlets.

'Secretary of Defense (War!) Pete Hegseth, together with Military Representatives, will be holding a Major News Conference tomorrow morning at 8 A.M. EST at The Pentagon, in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots. These Patriots were very upset! After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times. They felt terribly! Fortunately for them and, as usual, solely for the purpose of demeaning PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, the Fake News (Times and CNN) lied and totally misrepresented the Facts, none of which they had (because it was too soon, there were no Facts out there yet!). The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable. Enjoy!' Trump stated in a post on Truth Social. (ANI)