Statements from all parties regarding damage to Iran's nuclear facilities remain inconsistent: reports
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog says US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to its nuclear program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium "in a matter of months," contradicting US President Donald Trump's claims that the US set Tehran's ambitions back by decades, CNN reported.
President Trump said Sunday that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated like nobody's ever seen before" by Israeli and US strikes this month, reiterating his contention that Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon after American bombings of three key nuclear facilities last week, according to the Times of Israel.
"That meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time," Trump said. "The bomb went through it like it was butter, like it was absolute butter," he said of the bunker-buster strike on the underground Fordo facility, buried deep underground. "It's just thousands of tons of rock in that room right now. The whole place was just destroyed."
The US obtained intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials discussing the US military strikes on Iran's nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected, said four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the US government, according to Washington Post.
A source, who declined to be named, confirmed that account to Reuters but said there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators.
The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the Trump administration has told Iran through mediators it wants to return to negotiations, but had "not made their position clear" on the "very important question" of further attacks while talks are taking place.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran will "insist" on being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting accusations that Iran was secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.
Global Times
President Trump said Sunday that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated like nobody's ever seen before" by Israeli and US strikes this month, reiterating his contention that Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon after American bombings of three key nuclear facilities last week, according to the Times of Israel.
"That meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time," Trump said. "The bomb went through it like it was butter, like it was absolute butter," he said of the bunker-buster strike on the underground Fordo facility, buried deep underground. "It's just thousands of tons of rock in that room right now. The whole place was just destroyed."
The US obtained intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials discussing the US military strikes on Iran's nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected, said four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the US government, according to Washington Post.
A source, who declined to be named, confirmed that account to Reuters but said there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators.
The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the Trump administration has told Iran through mediators it wants to return to negotiations, but had "not made their position clear" on the "very important question" of further attacks while talks are taking place.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran will "insist" on being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting accusations that Iran was secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.
Global Times
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