A preliminary US assessment concluded that the strikes launched by Washington on three Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of Tehran's nuclear program, but rather likely set it back by only several months.

The assessment, described by three people familiar with the matter, according to CNN, was prepared by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency and has not yet been made public.

A source said the report is based on a damage assessment conducted by US Central Command following the strikes on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities, announced by US President Donald Trump early Sunday morning.

According to CNN, the analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran's nuclear ambitions is still ongoing and may change as more intelligence becomes available.

But the initial findings, according to the sources, contradict Trump's repeated claims that the strikes"totally destroyed" Iran's uranium enrichment facilities, and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's statements on Sunday that Iran's nuclear ambitions were"eliminated."

Two people familiar with the assessment said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium had not been destroyed, and one of the sources added that"the centrifuges are largely intact."

The source continued: "The US Defense Intelligence Agency's assessment is that the United States has set the facilities back a few months at most."

After the United States entered the conflict between "Israel" and Iran, Trump said that his forces had"totally and completely destroyed" Tehran's main nuclear sites.

But experts say it is not clear whether the strikes eliminated the nuclear program, with Iran likely having moved its stockpile of highly enriched uranium from the targeted sites before the strikes, which were widely expected. Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon.