The White House distributed a statement to reporters on Wednesday from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission stating that the US strike on Fordow rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.
"We assess that the American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran's military nuclear program, has set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years," the handout stated.
If Iran does not gain access to nuclear materials, this "achievement can continue indefinitely," the handout concluded.
Shortly after the White House released the handout, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) released the statement as well.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, also said US strikes had caused significant damage to its nuclear facilities, Al Jazeera reported.
"Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure," Baghaei said Wednesday, according to the report.
During a press conference, Trump slammed CNN and The New York Times for reports claiming the damage at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan was minimal.
The CNN Tuesday report highlighted the results of an assessment that claimed that the US strikes on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan did not destroy core components of Iran's nuclear program, arguing that the strikes only set the program back months.
'Flat-out wrong' assessment
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the claims, insisting that they were "flat-out wrong."
The assessment was classified as top secret, but was leaked by an anonymous "low-level loser in the intelligence community" in a "clear attempt to demean President [Donald] Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program," according to Leavitt.
"Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: Total obliteration," she added.
Both Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US targeted attacks destroyed the nuclear sites. Hegseth told CNN that "anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the successful mission."
A CNN spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post: "CNN stands by our thorough reporting on an early intelligence assessment of the recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which other news organizations have since confirmed. The White House has acknowledged the existence of the assessment, and their statement is included in our story. "
This is a developing story.