The news surrounding the U.S. involvement in the Iran and Israel conflict continues to dominate the political headlines this week. Here is a look at what has happened over the last few days.

CIA Affirms Trump's Claims that U.S. Military Damaged Iranian Nuclear Sites

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is backing the claims of U.S. President Donald Trump, affirming that the weekend American strikes on Iran did indeed take out their nuclear capabilities.

Racliffe issued a statement on Wednesday asserting that the strikes "severely damaged" Iran's nuclear facilities. The director of the nation's top intelligence agency did not indicate if this was simply his personal assessment of the aftermath or if it was the official position of the CIA.

The statement came just one day after multiple media outlets reported that information from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggests that the U.S. bombs did not significantly damage Iran's uranium stockpile.

Pentagon Offers More Information About Strike

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered more information about the strikes on Iran during a Thursday morning Pentagon briefing. Hegseth doubled down on Trump's claims that the operation "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities.

The top defense official appeared defensive about the pushback that his agency has received over the last few days as conflicting reports continue to cast doubt on the success of the operation.

During the same briefing, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine provided more information about Operation Midnight Hammer. Caine said that the assault went as planned, detailing that 30,000-pound bombs did what they were supposed to do in destroying the facilities.

Also on Thursday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency released information confirming the group's belief that the centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear enrichment facilities are no longer operational. The global nuclear watchdog group confirmed that it has not yet heard from Tehran about when inspections of the sites can resume.

Trump Addresses Media After NATO Summit About Future Plans With Iran

President Trump addressed the media on Wednesday before departing the NATO summit in the Netherlands, answering questions about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. While speaking to reporters, Trump said that he has plans to meet with Iranian officials next week about the nuclear capabilities.

Just hours later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his first message since the ceasefire was declared. Khamenei presented the 13-minute pre-recorded statement on Thursday, speaking from an undisclosed location.

Not surprisingly given his past, Khamenei declared victory over both the U.S. and Israel. He also said that the Americans gained nothing from their targeted attacks on his country's nuclear sites.

The message clearly conveyed that his nation will "never surrender." The 86-year-old leader has become the prime target of Israeli forces since the conflict began nearly two weeks ago. The statement marked the first time that the leader had appeared in public since Israel took aim at Iran.

Iran Updates Casualty Numbers

Iranian state media agency IRIB released an update on the casualty numbers since the conflict with Israel began on June 13. The outlet confirmed that at least 627 people have died within its borders due to the missile strikes. In addition to the confirmed fatalities, the IRIB said that there have been at least 4,870 confirmed injuries.

Iranian government officials confirmed that Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani died in the recent round of strikes. Shadmani had just been promoted to serve as the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, assuming the top position on June 13 after the first round of Israeli strikes killed many of its top commanders.

Also of note, officials confirmed that at least 35 Iranian Air Force Defense Force personnel have been killed since the beginning of the conflict.

On a positive note, after a bit of a wobble on both sides, the truce between Israel and Iran is now holding. The truce initially went into effect on Tuesday, however, both sides immediately accused the other of violating the agreement. All has been quiet on that front since that time.

White House Changes How it Will Share Classified Information

The Trump administration told reporters that it will change how it shares classified information with members of Congress following an alleged leak of early U.S. intelligence regarding the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The White House believes that an early Defense Intelligence Agency report was leaked to the media after it was posted to CAPNET, a reporting system used by Congress to disseminate classified information. Because of the reported leak, the White House will lean on the system less. Trump's team also said that it will launch an investigation into the leak.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Thursday afternoon to share an intelligence briefing with the Senate.

All members of the Senate are invited to attend the classified briefing after it was rescheduled from earlier in the week. The House of Representatives is scheduled to be briefed about the same matter on Friday

Top Democrats serving on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have been vocal in their frustration at the lack of information from the Trump administration regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran.