In an uncommon and important admission, Iran has admitted that its nuclear facilities were “badly damaged” by the recent US military action. This is the first official word from Tehran on the scale of damage caused during the US-Israeli joint offensive.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed the news in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” He added. But he refused to give additional information on the level of damage or operation of the facilities.
The announcement follows shortly after the US military sent B-2 stealth bombers, which carry bunker-buster bombs, to attack three major Iranian nuclear sites: Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
Trump Declares Victory, Predicts Diplomacy
Earlier on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump had proclaimed the mission a success and asserted it ended the war between Iran and Israel. “My decision to join Israel’s strikes against Iran ended the war. A victory for everybody,” he told journalists at The Hague.
Trump also weighed in on the initial report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency that had indicated that the strikes had pushed back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months. Trump refuted the report, “The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don’t know. It could’ve been very severe. That’s what the intelligence suggests.” “It was very severe. It was obliteration. Iran’s nuclear program has been put back decades.”
He further expressed confidence that Iran would not attempt to rebuild its damaged facilities and would instead opt for diplomatic engagement.
“I’ll tell you, the last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now. They want to recover,” Trump said. When asked if the US would strike again if Iran resumed enrichment, he answered directly, “Sure.”
Israel Confirms Strikes, UN Yet to Inspect
Israel, also involved in the attack, declared that it had succeeded in disabling Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops had “brought Iran’s nuclear facilities to ruin.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not yet confirmed the level of damage. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi stressed the importance of returning inspectors to the targeted locations:
“My number 1 priority is to get inspectors back to assess the impact and verify Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.”