Washington: Intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials suggest the recent US military strikes on Iran's nuclear program caused less damage than expected, according to a report by The Washington Post on Sunday.

According to TRTworld.com, the classified signals intelligence revealed Iranian officials privately discussing why the attacks ordered by US President Donald Trump were not as destructive as anticipated. The newspaper cited four people familiar with the issue to support these claims.

However, a senior US intelligence official emphasized to the newspaper that a single piece of signals intelligence does not provide a comprehensive view of the situation. The official warned that a solitary phone call is not equivalent to a complete assessment based on multiple sources.

A preliminary US intelligence assessment, as reported by CNN and The New York Times, suggested the strikes may have set Iran's program back only by a few months—a view that the White House disputes.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated that new intelligence has found the attacks caused severe damage that will take years to rebuild.