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Republican senators told Fox News Digital that after receiving a fuller intelligence report on airstrikes authorized by President Donald Trump against Iran’s nuclear facilities that they believe the initial leaked reports underestimating the damage were inaccurate and politically motivated.
“I think the leaked intelligence report was not accurate, and given the 14 bunker-buster bombs that were dropped on the Iranian nuclear weapons facility, I think that the clear evidence is the damage was overwhelming,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
In response to why so many media outlets ran with the leaked story, Cruz told Fox News Digital that “clearly there was a political agenda at play.”
Earlier this week, CNN, citing people familiar with the assessment, reported that the early consensus within the Defense Intelligence Agency is that the strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan didn’t destroy key components of Iran’s nuclear program nor destroy its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
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The outlet also reported that the strike likely only set back Iran’s nuclear program by several months, not years, as touted by the Trump administration.
Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth railed against the “fake news” media during a NATO summit press conference for casting doubt that the U.S. strikes on Iran obliterated the country’s nuclear program.
“A statement came in from the Atomic Energy Commission of Israel,” Trump said during a Wednesday press conference from The Hague as he wrapped up his NATO summit trip in the Netherlands. “They’re very serious people, as you know.”
“‘The devastating U.S. strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable,'” Trump read from the letter. “‘It was devastated. We assessed that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come. This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.'”
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Senators received a classified intelligence briefing on the strikes from top national security officials on Thursday.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that widespread reporting on the leaked report was to “try to undermine Trump, of course.”
“Listen, we walked through this in the briefing, without getting into things I shouldn’t talk about. Basically, that is not an accurate picture, and it didn’t purport to be,” said Hawley. “What they were quoting was actually not a full intelligence report; it was more akin to an after-action, early assessment guess. So, without saying more, basically it was very misrepresented.”
“And the thing is,” he went on, “any reporter who covers the Pentagon and covers national security, they would know that. So, I have to say, kind of bad faith, I think, by our reporter friends in the liberal media who are clearly just trying to undermine the president.”
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At least one Democratic senator, meanwhile, was also pleased with what was said during the briefing.
“Most of my questions were answered. I think it was a good briefing,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “I think Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. Hopefully, this has set back that program dramatically. And ultimately, we will see them go to the negotiating table, because that’s the real long-term solution.”
While many Democrats have called the strikes an unconstitutional move by the president, Shaheen said, “it was a limited, contained strike” and “I think if it dramatically set back Iran’s nuclear program – initial reports are that it has – that’s a good thing.”
Other Democratic senators, however, were still not so mollified by the briefing.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told Fox News Digital that the briefing “has not changed” his prior assessment that the strikes were a “clear violation of our Constitution” and that “Trump is yet again betraying Americans by embroiling the United States directly in this conflict.”
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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that the briefing “didn’t change my view, but I think I’d rather just leave it there, because it’s all classified.”
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., was more vague on whether his opinion had been changed.
“I can’t tell you what I learned in a classified briefing. I can tell you that it was destructive,” said Coons. “We do not yet have a full and complete picture of exactly what capabilities were degraded or destroyed and what additional risks we may face or what decisions the Iranian regime may make.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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