Pentagon reports Iran's nuclear facilities were "completely obliterated" in June strikes, offering a more optimistic assessment than earlier estimates while Iran acknowledges damage.

The ultimate success of the U.S. and Israeli strikes, and so Trump's decision to intervene militarily, depends on how Iran chooses to react. Some analysts fear this action will accelerate Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, with hardliners in Tehran now viewing it as an urgent priority.

US airstrikes on Iran set back the country’s nuclear program by one to two years, a Pentagon spokesman said, adding to uncertainty around the status of the country’s facilities after President Donald Trump said they’d been obliterated.