Iranian Foreign Minister, Khamenei offer contradictory views on nuclear site damage

Contradictory views are coming from the top Iranian leadership regarding the extent of damage inflicted on the fortified Iranian nuclear facilities by US airstrikes, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying on Thursday that the nuclear facilities have suffered “excessive and serious damage”. However, on the same day, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the US did not “accomplish anything significant” from the air strikes and declared victory over Israel and the US.

Khamenei also contradicted US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US Air Force’s bunker buster bombs, officially known as Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), had “totally obliterated” three Iranian nuclear facilities.

“The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid air base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” Khamenei had said.

Also Read: Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, but future of Iran’s nuclear ambitions remains uncertain

No US-Iran nuclear talks

According to a BBC report, the Iranian Foreign Minister also ruled out any possibility of resuming nuclear talks with the US. Araghchi clarified that there was “no arrangement, agreement or conversation” to initiate fresh negotiations, adding that Tehran was examining what was in the “interest of the Iranian people.” He also said that Iran’s approach to diplomacy was taking a “new form.” However, he did not elaborate further.

In a reported attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, the Trump administration was considering granting Iran access to funds of $30 billion to build a civilian nuclear programme catering to its needs of power generation. The CNN reported that the US was also considering easing sanctions and freeing up billions of dollars of restricted Iranian funds.

Also Read: Iran delivered a heavy slap on US' face, says Khamenei

No cooperation with IAEA?

However, adopting a stern approach with regard to its nuclear programme, the Iranian Parliament recently passed a bill ending its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which, if implemented, would mean Iran would no longer be bound to allow nuclear inspectors inside its facilities.

Despite Trump’s repeated promise of not allowing the US to get dragged into foreign wars during his presidential campaign, the US got directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict when its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers struck three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

Contrary to the claims made by Trump and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth of inflicting severe damage on the Iranian nuclear sites, a leaked initial assessment report by the Pentagon had reportedly stated that the nuclear sites were not taken out permanently and the US strikes had only set back Iran’s nuclear programmes only by a few months.