Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged that American military strikes caused substantial destruction at the nation's Fordo nuclear installation, CBS reported. The senior diplomat's admission marks the first high-level Iranian confirmation of significant damage to the Islamic Republic's atomic infrastructure.
"No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordo. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged," Araghchi stated during a television interview with CBS News that aired Tuesday. The foreign minister's comments represent a departure from Tehran's typical practice of downplaying attack consequences.
Iranian atomic energy authorities are conducting comprehensive evaluations of the destruction, Araghchi revealed. "The Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran... is currently undertaking evaluation and assessment, the report of which will be submitted to the government," he explained in the broadcast interview.
Intercepted Iranian communications have minimized the scope of destruction from American strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing four individuals familiar with classified intelligence circulating among US government officials, according to CBS News. President Donald Trump claimed the operations "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, though American officials acknowledge that forming a complete damage assessment from the weekend military strikes will require additional time.
Diplomatic leverage strategy
Tehran's president issued a directive Wednesday mandating the suspension of the nation's collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency following US and Israeli aerial bombardments targeting Iran's most critical nuclear installations, potentially further restricting inspectors' capacity to monitor Tehran's atomic program that had been processing uranium to near weapons-grade concentrations, according to AP. President Masoud Pezeshkian's directive, however, contained no specific timelines or details regarding what the suspension would encompass.
Pezeshkian's directive, nonetheless, offered no concrete schedules or specifics about the nature of the suspension. Iran has previously restricted IAEA oversight as a negotiating strategy with Western powers – although Tehran currently denies any immediate plans to restart discussions with the US that were disrupted by the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict, AP reported.
Tehran has previously constrained IAEA examinations as a bargaining mechanism in negotiations with Western nations – though presently Iran has rejected any immediate intentions to resume negotiations with Washington that were interrupted by the 12-day Iran-Israel war. Iranian state broadcasting announced Pezeshkian's directive, which followed legislation approved by Iran's parliament to halt that collaboration, according to AP.
The legislation already secured approval from Iran's constitutional oversight body, the Guardian Council, on Thursday, and presumably gained backing from the nation's Supreme National Security Council, which Pezeshkian leads. Iranian state media announced Pezeshkian's order, which came after a bill passed by Iran's parliament to suspend that cooperation, AP reported.
