US Media: Israel Claims Iran Is Close to Building a Nuclear Bomb, While US Intelligence Says "Still a Long Way Off"?

According to CNN, when Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran last week, it also issued a number of serious warnings about Iran’s nuclear program, suggesting that Iran is rapidly approaching a point of no return in its pursuit of nuclear weapons and that action is necessary to prevent this outcome. However, according to four sources familiar with the matter, U.S. intelligence assessments have reached a different conclusion—namely, that Iran is not actively seeking to build nuclear weapons and is still three years away from being able to produce and launch a nuclear weapon at a target of its choosing. According to a U.S. official, despite Israel’s consecutive days of airstrikes, U.S. intelligence officials currently believe that Israel may have set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months at most. While Israel caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz, another fortified uranium enrichment site in Fordow was in fact not affected.