The US launched a surprise attack against three nuclear sites in Iran last week — with President Donald Trump insisting that the facilities had been “obliterated”. The POTUS also dismissed a preliminary US intelligence assessment said that the airstrikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months. Iranian officials however revealed on Wednesday that the damage to the three key sites was “substantial”.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera.
The three nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have faced multiple Israeli military attacks this month — with the International Atomic Energy Agency confirming that there had been no radiation leaks. It also suffered significant damage after being struck by bunker buster bombs dropped from American B-2 stealth bomber jets. Satellite images paint a somewhat confusing picture with visible damage to some parts of the nuclear sites, while others remain unblemished. It was also not clear how many of the underground nuclear establishments were impacted by the strikes. The White House pointed to a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission that said Iran faced a setback of “many years.”
The assertion from Baghaei came even as the Iranian Parliament passed a bill to suspend its cooperation with the IAEA. Iran continues to insist that it will not give up its civilian nuclear programme following the massive attacks from Israel and the US.