Iran has officially acknowledged that several of its nuclear facilities sustained severe damage during U.S. airstrikes over the weekend, raising fresh tensions even as a tenuous ceasefire with Israel appeared to be taking hold.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei admitted the extent of the damage inflicted during Sunday\u2019s strikes, which were carried out by American B-2 bombers armed with bunker-buster munitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Baghaei said, though he refrained from disclosing further operational details.<\/p>\n
Despite the strike\u2019s severity, the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, brokered by the United States after nearly two weeks of escalating hostilities, remained intact for a second consecutive day on Wednesday. Initial accusations of ceasefire violations from both sides gradually subsided, bringing cautious optimism that the pause in fighting might pave the way toward more lasting diplomatic engagement.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking from a NATO summit in the Netherlands, expressed confidence in the ceasefire\u2019s progress. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to have a bomb, and they\u2019re not going to enrich,\u201d Trump asserted, underscoring Washington\u2019s continued stance on curbing Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n
However, Tehran remains defiant. On Wednesday, Iran\u2019s parliament voted to fast-track legislation that would effectively suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a major blow to global nuclear oversight efforts. The move came in direct response to the U.S. strike and what Iranian lawmakers described as the IAEA\u2019s silence in condemning the attack.<\/p>\n
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf accused the IAEA of failing to even \u201cpretend to condemn\u201d the targeting of Iran\u2019s nuclear infrastructure. \u201cUntil the safety of our nuclear sites is guaranteed, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran will suspend all cooperation,\u201d Qalibaf declared, adding that the country\u2019s peaceful nuclear program would now proceed at a faster pace.<\/p>\n
In Vienna, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed he had contacted Iranian authorities seeking to resume inspections, stating that it was vital to reassess Iran\u2019s uranium stockpiles, particularly after Tehran claimed to have relocated key materials ahead of the strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to return. We need to engage,\u201d Grossi told reporters, while acknowledging Iran\u2019s well-established technical knowledge and industrial capacity, despite the reported setbacks.<\/p>\n
While President Trump has publicly claimed the strikes \u201ccompletely and fully obliterated\u201d Iran\u2019s nuclear program, conflicting assessments have emerged. A U.S. intelligence report, cited anonymously by officials, suggests that Tehran\u2019s enrichment program may only have been delayed by a few months. Trump dismissed the report, saying it would take Iran \u201cyears\u201d to recover.<\/p>\n
Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin echoed Trump\u2019s view, stating the assessed damage was extensive and that the strikes had likely set back Iran\u2019s nuclear timeline by several years.<\/p>\n
Still, questions remain. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, appeared on Fox News Tuesday night and claimed that the objective of neutralizing Iran\u2019s enrichment capacity had been achieved. \u201cThe proof is in the pudding. No one\u2019s shooting anymore. It\u2019s over,\u201d he said, suggesting the ceasefire and the damage inflicted had brought hostilities to a standstill.<\/p>\n
Yet, the path forward remains uncertain. Iran\u2019s insistence on pursuing its nuclear program, even at a faster pace, and the potential breakdown of cooperation with international watchdogs, may only prolong tensions in the region. As all sides cautiously monitor the situation, global focus now shifts to whether diplomacy can fill the void left by missiles, drones, and bombers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran has officially acknowledged that several of its nuclear facilities sustained severe damage during U.S. airstrikes over the weekend, raising fresh tensions even as a tenuous ceasefire with Israel appeared…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n