The United States intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials, which the Iranian side believes indicate that the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities was less severe than anticipated during U.S. airstrikes.
According to a report by The Washington Post on June 29, citing four sources, senior Iranian officials mentioned in intercepted communications that the scale and destructive power of the U.S. airstrikes were lower than their expectations.
There is currently much debate regarding the extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities and the impact of the nuclear program.
President Donald Trump of the United States has stated that Iran’s nuclear facilities have been “completely and utterly destroyed.”
However, American media revealed that according to an assessment by the National Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. bombings did not “destroy” the underground nuclear facilities. Some high-enriched uranium had already been moved before the U.S. action, and most of the centrifuges used for uranium enrichment remained intact after the bombing. The airstrike only slowed down the progress of Iran’s nuclear program by several months.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
U.S. government officials have not denied intercepting communications from Iranian officials, but they have stated that these statements are unreliable.
A U.S. official said that the U.S. airstrikes precisely hit their targets. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded: “Claims from an anonymous Iranian official about the situation under rubble hundreds of feet below are pure nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is finished.”
John Brennan, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, attended a closed hearing in Congress last week. According to reports by The Washington Post and Associated Press on June 29, Brennan said that multiple key facilities of Iran’s nuclear program were completely destroyed, including the sole “metal conversion” facility located inside the Isfahan nuclear complex. This facility is crucial for converting concentrated uranium gas into metal, which is essential for creating the explosive core of nuclear weapons. According to Brennan, it would take Iran several years to rebuild this facility.
Latham also mentioned that most of Iran’s enriched uranium might still be buried in the bombed-out facilities in Forod and Isfahan.
Representatives from the United States attending the hearings had differing views on these assessment results.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told the media, “I still believe we haven’t completely thwarted” Iran’s nuclear program. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump’s ally, expressed belief that Iran’s nuclear program was delayed for several years.
The United States is demanding that it be recognized as an aggressor.
Iran has firmly denied attempts to build nuclear weapons, emphasizing its right to use nuclear energy peacefully.
On June 29, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, requesting that the Security Council designate Israel and the United States as aggressors and hold them accountable for their actions, including war reparations.
During an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majdi Tarkhah-Laviani stated that if the United States wanted to resume negotiations with Iran, it must commit not to launch further strikes against Iran. On June 27, Trump warned that if intelligence indicated Iran could enrich uranium to military levels, the United States would “without doubt” retaliate with airstrikes.
Amir Saleh Elahi, the Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, expressed in an interview with CBS that if the International Atomic Energy Agency fulfilled its duties, Iran might resume cooperation with it. On June 25, Iran’s Parliament passed a bill suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This measure was approved by the Constitutional Guardianship Committee of Iran. The Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Khalighi, once stated that the International Atomic Energy Agency had failed to fulfill any obligations and had become a political tool.