Iranian Foreign Minister Confirms Major Damage to Nuclear Sites, Contradicting Ayatollah’s Claims

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed in a state TV interview that U.S. military strikes caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, despite Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s claim that the impact was minimal.

Araghchi stated, “the level of damage is high, and it’s serious damage,” according to the Associated Press.
Assessments after the strikes show that Iran’s nuclear sites were heavily damaged in both U.S. and Israeli attacks. Iran, Israel, and the U.S. agree on the extent of the damage, despite a leaked intelligence report suggesting otherwise.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, in spite of hiding in a hole somewhere and not seeing the result of the attack for himself, downplayed the impact, saying, “the Americans failed to achieve anything significant in their attack on nuclear facilities.” 

He seems more focused on appearing strong than acknowledging the truth. He called Iran’s attack on the U.S. airbase Al-Udeid in Qatar a “heavy slap to the U.S.’s face,” while President Donald Trump called it a “very weak response” and thanked Iran for providing “early notice.”

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed on Tuesday that the agency observed “extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran, including its uranium conversion and enrichment facilities.”

Araghchi also discussed the possibility of resuming talks with the U.S., noting that the strikes “made it more complicated and more difficult” but did not completely rule out negotiations.

Nuclear talks were already uncertain before the U.S.’s Operation Midnight Hammer, as Iran accused the U.S. of being “complicit” in Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, according to Reuters, citing Iranian U.N. Ambassador Ali Bahreini.

On Wednesday, President Trump expressed hope about restarting nuclear talks with Iran, stating, “We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war. They fought. Now they're going back to their world. I don't care if I have an agreement or not. The only thing we would be asking for is what we're asking for before about, we want no nuclear [program]. But we destroyed the nuclear.”

Despite Trump’s comments, there are no confirmed plans for the two countries to meet soon.

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