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US President Donald Trump has rejected a cautious early assessment by his own Pentagon on damage to Iranian nuclear sites and Democrats have doubted the success of air strikes, as Iran policy increasingly divides Washington.
"(The pilots) knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times," Trump posted on social media on Wednesday.
He linked the success of the strikes to his own diplomatic prowess, hitting back at news outlets which published a leaked preliminary assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency saying the air strikes only set Iran's nuclear program by months.
Trump said a press conference on the attacks' impact would prove "irrefutable."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to acknowledge the report's veracity but said leakers had "an agenda."
"I would say that story’s a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening," Rubio told Politico.
The spirited defense came after Trump rounded on Republican critics of his decision to attack without Congressional authorization.
Sidelined Democrats clap back
As the nuclear attack unfolded, the Trump administration briefed Capitol Hill majority leaders from his own Republican Party but not Democrats.
The president's sharing of intelligence along party lines, if confirmed, would break with precedent of most of the recent decades where the commander-in-chief shared information on bipartisan lines.
Lawmakers from the minority criticized the move and wondered aloud what the strikes had accomplished.
"Iran’s highly enriched uranium could be moved in as little as 10 carloads," Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia wrote on X.
"Do we really have confidence we know where this is? Do we really have confidence it wasn’t moved before our strikes?"
During two months of US-Iran talks, Democrats had largely remained silently supportive of Trump's diplomatic effort to end Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado accused the Trump administration of withholding classified information on Iran from Congress.
"The nation's intelligence agency leadership must attend tomorrow's Senate briefing in addition to Secretaries Hegseth and Rubio," he posted on X.
A video released by Iranian authorities shows that Ward 209 of Evin Prison—the section operated by the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS)— was damaged in Israel’s strike, according to activist and former inmate Hossein Razzagh.
"Many friends were held in this notorious ward, and there’s still no news about them," he posted on X.
Ward 209 lies outside the prison’s regular judicial oversight. Rights groups have documented the use of prolonged solitary confinement, harsh interrogations, and restricted legal access in the ward, which typically holds political detainees, activists, dual nationals, and foreign nationals.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday he is hopeful for a comprehensive peace agreement with Iran, adding that Iran could never have an enrichment program.
“Enrichment is the red line, and beyond that, weaponization,” Witkoff told CNBC.
“Now the issue is how we build a civil nuclear program for you that does not have enrichment, much like the non-enrichment programs in the UAE today and that many other countries operate.”
He said any nuclear projects with Iran should be under robust observation, and the US would like to take part.
“It would be robust observation, and the Iranians accept that; we talked about it. Hopefully, if they have nothing to hide, then they have no issue with robust observation.”
Asked about President Trump’s recent decision to ease some sanctions on Iran to allow it to sell oil to China, Witkoff said: “It was a signal from the president. This was a signal to the Chinese that we want to work with you. Hopefully, that becomes the signal to the Iranians.”
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he is not abandoning his maximum pressure strategy against Tehran but is also not aiming to cut off Iran’s oil sales as the country's reconstruction depends on those revenues.
“Iran just had a war. They fought it bravely,” Trump said Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
“I’m not giving up (on the maximum pressure policy). I could stop their oil business if I wanted. (But) I don’t want to do that," he said when asked if he is easing sanctions on Iran.
"They’re going to need money to put that country back to shape. We want to see that happen. We’re not taking over the oil. We could have. But putting that country back into shape desperately needs money."
The remarks mark a notable shift in tone. Just weeks earlier, in early May, Trump had threatened to impose immediate secondary sanctions on any country buying “even small amounts of oil or petrochemicals from Iran.”
That warning was part of his administration’s revived maximum pressure campaign, reintroduced this February after a pause under the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften his stance, posting on Truth Social: “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran.”
The post drew immediate speculation about a possible rollback of sanctions.
However, the Wall Street Journal cited a senior White House official as saying Trump was “simply calling attention to the fact that, because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China.”
The official was quoted as saying that US sanctions on countries importing Iranian oil remain fully in effect.
In his Wednesday remarks, Trump did not clarify whether he plans to formally issue a sanctions waiver or simply return to what critics described as lax enforcement of US sanctions during the Biden era.
'Uncanny ability'
Trump's Mideast envoy for talks with Iran which are due to resume next week said the move is a sign of Trump's diplomatic prowess.
"It was a signal from the President, you know, he's got this uncanny ability to take the temperature of how people are feeling about certain things," he told Fox News.
"This was a signal to the Chinese that we want to work with you, that we're not interested in hurting your economy, we're interested in in working together with you in unison, and hopefully that becomes a signal to the Iranians," he added.
During Trump’s first term, strict sanctions enforcement had nearly eliminated Iran’s legal oil exports, bringing them down to 200,000 barrels per day. Under the Biden administration, the enforcement of sanctions eased, and exports to China surged — peaking at 1.7 million barrels per day in early 2025.
China is Iran’s primary oil customer, reportedly buying around 90 percent of its exports, according to Reuters.
Iranian crude is often shipped in shadow fleets that mask the origin of the oil before it arrives at China’s independent “teapot” refineries. These facilities frequently pay in Chinese yuan, bypassing the US dollar-based global financial system.
Eyewitnesses reported to Iran International hearing what sounded like air defense activities in various cities throughout Iran as a truce with Israel enters its third day on Thursday local time.
The cities included Anzali in the North, Ahvaz in the South, Parand near Tehran and the reported activity was especially pronounced in Rasht near the Caspian Sea.
