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The Pentagon has officially launched a criminal investigation into the leak of a highly classified intelligence report that assessed recent US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as causing only limited setbacks to their nuclear program.

Some shit you should know before you read: A few days back, CNN was the first to report on a leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that cast doubt on the effectiveness of recent US and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. The report, shared with multiple outlets, including the New York Times, NBC News, and Axios, concluded that the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months rather than destroying it outright. According to the DIA, much of Iran’s enriched uranium had already been relocated before the attacks, and critical underground infrastructure (especially at hardened sites like Fordo) likely remained structurally intact. The CNN report was authored by Natasha Bertrand, whose past coverage of intelligence matters has drawn scrutiny from critics for her role in earlier reporting on topics such as the Steele dossier and the Russia investigation. Conservative commentators and former intelligence officials have questioned her credibility, accusing her of promoting politically biased narratives.

What’s going on now: While speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon has officially launched a criminal investigation into the leak of a classified DIA report regarding the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Hegseth stated that the Department of Defense is working alongside the FBI to determine who was responsible for leaking what he described as internal battle damage assessments intended solely for operational review.

He noted that the leak was not only unauthorized but also dangerous, adding that it was being exploited by media outlets to politically undermine the president. He also characterized the leaked intelligence as a tentative, “low confidence” assessment and insisted that attempts to frame the mission as anything less than a success were misleading and politically motivated.

The leak has also pissed off President Trump. During his remarks at the summit, Trump labeled the news outlets that reported on the leaked intelligence (including CNN, NBC, and the New York Times) as “scum,” accusing them of conspiring to “demean one of the most successful military strikes in history.” He claimed the reporting was not just inaccurate, but intentionally distorted to downplay what he described as a “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Steve Witkoff, the administration’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, echoed Trump’s outrage in a Fox News interview, calling the leak “treasonous.” He argued that disclosing the preliminary intelligence assessment undermines national security and risks compromising US military operations.