U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger while signing an executive order on artificial intelligence in the Oval Office, with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick standing beside him. The event took place at the White House in Washington, D.C., on December 11, 2025.
During a press conference afterward, a reporter challenged one of Trump’s repeated claims about a bombing campaign carried out by his administration.
Trump had just signed an order that blocks individual states from creating their own laws regulating AI. After the signing, he answered questions from reporters. One asked about his efforts to end the war in Gaza. Trump shifted to talking about airstrikes his administration launched against Iran, saying the attacks completely destroyed Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons.
He pointed to a small model of a B-2 bomber on his desk and said, “We went in with this very plane. We flew over there and, now that it’s been confirmed by the Atomic Energy Commission, we can say we obliterated their nuclear capability.”
A reporter immediately pushed back, saying that Trump’s own National Security Strategy document states the bombing did not wipe out Iran’s program.
Trump insisted he was right. The reporter repeated that the official report only said the strikes “set them back,” not eliminated the program.
Trump replied that the Atomic Energy Commission and people who inspected the site described the damage as “obliterated.”
The administration faced heavy criticism for the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, even though public attention has recently shifted to other issues. Trump has continued to insist that the June attacks completely destroyed three nuclear sites, despite conflicting reports about how much damage was actually done.
