Live updates: Trump officials rebut reports that U.S. strikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear program

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that his country “will strike again” if Iran “thinks of rebuilding” its nuclear program.

“We destroyed the key facilities in Arak, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Netanyahu says during remarks to the nation, NBC News reports.

He touts Israel’s attack on Iran as “a historic victory” and says that his country would have “faced the danger of annihilation” if it did not act.

He also says Israel “has never had a greater friend” than Trump, who he says “joined our cause in an unprecedented way.”

“We must not ease up. Hamas must be defeated, and our hostages must be brought home,” Netanyahu says, adding that Israel has “no intention of easing off the gas pedal.”

— Erin Doherty

U.S. missile strikes did not completely destroy Iran’s key nuclear sites, CNN first reported, citing an early U.S. intelligence assessment described to the news outlet by three sources briefed on it.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed, two of those people told CNN.

One of the people said Tehran’s centrifuges remain largely “intact,” adding that the “assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops,” CNN reported.

The assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency was based on U.S. Central Command’s analysis of battle damage from the bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. That analysis is ongoing, CNN reported.

The New York Times, citing officials familiar with the findings, later reported that a preliminary classified U.S. report found the bombings did not collapse the underground buildings of the Iranian nuclear sites.

The Times also reported that the early assessment is that the strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program by just a few months.

The reports appear to contradict Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who have asserted that the strikes completely “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear sites.

Asked for comment by CNBC, the Pentagon shared a statement from Hegseth that, “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons.”

“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target — and worked perfectly,” Hegseth said in the statement. “The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, “The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement that the “alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community.”

“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program,” Leavitt said.

She added: “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

— Kevin Breuninger

The classified House briefing on the Middle East, originally scheduled for today, is now set to take place on Friday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says.

“Senior Administration officials will present the latest information pertaining to the situation involving Israel and Iran,” he says in a post on X.

Earlier, he said the classified briefing was postponed “due to ongoing developments in the Middle East.”

“This decision reflects the need to ensure that Members receive timely and complete information aligned with the current circumstances,” Johnson writes on X.

— Erin Doherty

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, says he spoke with U.S. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to thank Trump for taking action “against the Iranian nuclear threat.”

“I emphasized that Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does,” Katz says in an X post. “We agreed to deepen the close U.S.-Israel security cooperation.”

Katz writes that Hegseth “praised Israel and the IDF for the historic achievements made.”

— Kevin Breuninger

Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport is returning to normal operations, the country’s airports authority says.

“Restrictions on the number of incoming and outgoing flights, as well as the number of passengers on each flight, have been lifted,” the Times of Israel reports from an Israel Airports Authority statement.

“In addition, restrictions on the arrival of passengers and accompanying persons at the airports have been lifted,” the statement continues.

Iran’s airspace is also partially open, according to flight monitoring company FlightRadar24.

“Iranian airspace is now open to international arrivals and departures to/from Tehran with prior permission,” FlightRadar24 wrote on X.

— Erin Doherty

Several of the Iranian nuclear sites struck by Israeli and U.S. missiles have sustained “extensive damage” to their uranium conversion and enrichment facilities, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says.

“Our assessment is that there has been some localized radioactive as well as chemical release inside the affected facilities that contained nuclear material – mainly uranium enriched to varying degrees,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a press release.

Grossi said that “there has been no report of increased off-site radiation levels” or radiological impact in neighboring countries. And “crucially in terms of nuclear safety, Iran’s research and power reactors were not targeted,” he added.

U.S. strikes at Iran’s Natanz nuclear site created two impact holes above the subterranean halls that were used for enrichment, the IAEA release said. “Based on its knowledge of what these halls contained, the IAEA assesses that this strike may have caused localized contamination and chemical hazards,” the agency said.

 — Kevin Breuninger

Israel has lifted war-related restrictions across the country that had banned public gatherings, closed schools, shuttered all but essential businesses, and limited air travel.

“Following a situation assessment and approval by Defense Minister Israel Katz, it has been decided that starting today at [8 p.m. local time], the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines will be updated,” Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

As part of these changes, “all areas of the country will transition to full operational activity without restrictions,” the IDF said.

– Dan Mangan

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slams the delay of the Senate’s classified briefing on Iran as “outrageous,” “evasive” and “derelict.”

“This last minute postponement of our briefing is outrageous,” he tells reporters after the briefing, originally scheduled for today, was moved to Thursday, NBC News reports.

“It’s evasive, it’s derelict. They’re bobbing and weaving and ducking,” he says.

The briefing is reportedly postponed to allow for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to return from the NATO summit and attend.

— Erin Doherty

Stocks are posting gains today, amid cautious optimism about the Israel-Iran ceasefire.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 500 points, or 1.1%, with the S&P 500 also posting a 1.1% increase of nearly 70 points and the Nasdaq Composite up nearly 300 points, or 1.4%.

At least 18 stocks in the S&P 500 are trading at new 52-week highs today.

– Laya Neelakandan

Several members of Congress are questioning what has become of Iran’s stock of enriched uranium in the days since the U.S. damaged three nuclear facilities with airstrikes and bombs.

Atomic energy watchdogs estimate that Iran has at least 9 kilos of uranium enriched to 60%, a level that could relatively easily be further enriched to 90%, or weapons grade.

Republican Rep. Scott Perry, Penn., told CNN he suspects Iran still has enriched uranium even after the American strikes. “I will put it this way. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it still exists,” he said.

Perry told CNN’s John Berman he also believed Iran was still “a terrorist regime.”

“So after these 12 days there is still a terrorist regime in power with enriched uranium?” Berman asked.

 “That is absolutely true. Yeah, I think that’s a correct characterization,” said Perry.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal is also concerned about the threat that Iran’s enriched uranium poses to the United States.

Blumenthal told NBC he wants the administration to tell senators “how effective the strikes against the Iranian nuclear capability have been. Where is the enriched uranium that seemingly was removed from Fordo?”  

“I believe deeply that a nuclear armed Iran is a threat to the entire world, including the United States, but confronting that threat requires a strategy as well as strength. I see no indication of a coherent strategy here. The president needs to explain to the American people as well as to Congress what the strategy is,” said Blumenthal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is arguing that the War Powers Act, a Nixon-era law limiting the president’s power to unilaterally wage war, is unconstitutional.

Johnson also vowed that a pending resolution to bar U.S. military action in Iran under that law will not pass the House.

The Speaker told reporters that Trump’s decision to order strikes on Iranian nuclear targets over the weekend was “clearly” within his powers under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

He said he agreed with scholars who believe that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 violates Article II.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., alongside Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, last week introduced a War Powers resolution that would bar the U.S. military from “unauthorized hostilities” in Iran. But Massie said Monday evening that he would not advance his resolution if the Iran-Israel ceasefire holds, Politico reported.

Read more about Johnson’s War Powers Act dilemma here.

— Kevin Breuninger

Vice Admiral Charles Cooper II, Trump’s nominee to serve as commander of U.S. Central Command, warns of an “emerging axis” among Iran, North Korea, Russia and China.

“We’ve certainly seen the tactical implications of support from Iran to Russia,” he said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“We’ve seen tactical implications of Chinese companies providing sensors and weapons and components to Iran, who ship them to the Houthis who shoot them at Americans,” he added.

“I think we need to call those types of things out more, but clearly that emerging foursome, that axis, is one that we need to pay attention to.”

— Erin Doherty

Oil prices have fallen sharply now that Trump says China can keep buying oil from Iran, a sign that the U.S. is easing its maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic in the wake of a ceasefire with Israel.

Global benchmark Brent fell $4.14, or 5.79%, to $67.34 per barrel by 11:55 a.m. ET. U.S. crude oil was last down $3.97, or 5.79%, to $65.54 a barrel. Prices closed 7% lower on Monday as the oil market bet that the conflict in the Middle East was winding down.

“China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!”

— Spencer Kimball

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling the U.S.’s weekend missile strike on Iran nuclear sites “unwise and unnecessary” in a new New York Times op-ed.

“Now that it’s done, I very much hope it succeeded,” Blinken, who served under former President Joe Biden, wrote.

“I can only hope that we inflicted maximum damage — damage that gives the president the leverage he needs to finally deliver the deal he has so far failed to achieve,” he wrote.

– Laya Neelakandan

A former Defense Department official says the next phase in the Iran-Israel conflict will be at the negotiating table.

Michèle Flournoy, WestExec Advisors co-founder and managing partner and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the Obama administration, said the focus now should be on putting pressure on both sides.

The key is to assess how much damage was actually done to Iran’s nuclear programs and determine whether Iran will come to the negotiating table “more seriously than it did before,” she told CNBC’s Squawk Box.

“I understand that we all want to sigh a big sigh of relief today with the ceasefire, but this is far from over as yet,” she added.

– Laya Neelakandan

Two classified briefings for Congress on Iran that were scheduled for this afternoon have been postponed, NBC News’ Frank Thorp reports.

The decision to postpone the briefings comes as a fragile ceasefire appears to be taking hold, and both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are in the Netherlands with Trump to attend the NATO summit.

It was unclear when the House briefing would be held, but the Senate briefing is scheduled for Thursday.

Thorp notes this will be the first classified briefing since the U.S. strikes last weekend to which all members of Congress are invited, not just a small group of intelligence committee leaders and party leadership.

— Christina Wilkie

Trump is claiming in a new Truth Social post that Israel and Iran both desired a ceasefire after more than a week of exchanging rocket fire.

“Both Israel and Iran wanted to stop the War, equally! It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!”

While U.S. bombing did significant damage to three nuclear facilities, it did not eliminate Iran’s enriched uranium. U.S. intelligence officials have admitted in recent days they do not know where much of that material is being stored.

— Christina Wilkie