His comments followed reports by Reuters and other media outlets on Tuesday revealing that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency had assessed that the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program by just a few months, despite Trump and administration officials saying it had been obliterated.
"The intelligence says, 'We don't know, it could have been very severe.' That's what the intelligence says. So I guess that's correct, but I think we can take the 'we don't know.' It was very severe. It was obliteration."
In a series of at-times testy exchanges at a press conference later in the day, Trump sharply criticized journalists for their reporting on the assessment.
Trump said the U.S. strikes were responsible for ending the war between Israel and Iran.
SUCCESS OF IRAN STRIKES CRUCIAL FOR TRUMP
His right-leaning supporters had argued loudly beforehand that such military intervention was inconsistent with Trump's domestic-focused "Make America Great Again" agenda and his promise to avoid foreign entanglements.
He was flanked at both appearances by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who also cast doubt on the reliability of the DIA assessment. Hegseth in particular cast much of his fury at the news media.
He said the FBI was investigating a potential leak. Rubio suggested that those responsible for sharing the report had mischaracterized it, saying: "This is the game they play."
At the concluding press conference, Trump referenced a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission - that country's nuclear regulator - assessing that Iran's nuclear program had been set back by "many years."
He said the U.S. plans to meet with the Iranians next week to discuss next steps regarding their nuclear program, but he said he did not think Iran would want to get back into "the nuclear business" after the strikes.
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