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

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

That assessment is much more optimistic than the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. The Pentagon on Wednesday sharpened its assessment of Iran's nuclear program, declaring that Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon following the U.

Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes, and so peaceful. But it had enriched uranium to a near weapons-grade level, and well beyond what is needed for energy, putting it close to developing a bomb if it opted to do so.

President Donald J. Trump did what any real Commander-in-Chief must do when faced with a direct threat to American security and the safety of our allies. He acted. And he acted decisively. The strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were not just a show of strength — they were a message.

Iran will not retaliate further against the United States’s strikes on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program or pursue nuclear “militarization,” according to one of the country’s top diplomats. “As long as there is no act of aggression being perpetrated by the United States against us,