How US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities changed the landscape of conflict
Experts say the US has been thrown into the conflict against Iran based on fake information about the latter's nuclear facilities.
Image: Atta Kenare / AFP
The recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have sparked intense debate, with the focus shifting from the act of aggression itself to the scale of destruction inflicted on Iran's nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump initially claimed the damage was "monumental" and that the nuclear sites were "obliterated."
However, the Pentagon's own report suggests that the damage was less severe, setting back Iran's nuclear program by only three months.
The discrepancy between Trump's claims and the Pentagon's report has raised questions about the accuracy of the damage assessment.
While Trump claimed to be happy about the damage, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, reportedly said that the US strikes inflicted "extremely severe damage and destruction" on Iran's nuclear facilities, but the extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
The US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have deepened the conflict in the Middle East, and the international community is waiting to see how the situation unfolds.
Disagreement over the extent of the damage has raised questions about the effectiveness of the US strategy and the potential consequences for the region from experts.
International relations expert Bruce Spector noted that there are "a couple of things that must be focused on, including the disagreement over the extent of the damage".
"The Pentagon's intelligence agency's leaked report said the damage was rather less significant than a number of other organisations internationally had said," Spector said.
"What we need to concentrate on is what happens going forward. Will the Iranians finally start rebuilding a nuclear program? And if they do, is it headed toward the creation of a bomb or a nuclear device?"
Spector thinks the best way to evaluate the situation is to look at what happens next.
"If Iran's program has been decimated or obliterated, then there isn't much point cooperating because there isn't much of a program to cooperate over," he said.
"If that's a kind of a threat to allow the Iranians to begin to reconstitute their program, that's a whole different thing altogether."
Spector noted that there are 18 different organisations in the US that focus on different aspects of information gathering, and they have yet to offer their analysis.
"A lot of it will be second-hand intelligence…"It will be a while until we have a consensus on this,' Spector said.
Meanwhile North Korea has since 'strongly' condemned the US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities as a grave violation of a sovereign state's security interests and territorial rights, the North's state media reported.
The US and Israel are the culprits of the current tensions in the Middle East born out of Jerusalem's "ceaseless war moves and territorial expansion" accepted and encouraged by the West," North Korea's foreign ministry said.
"North Korea strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US which ... violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state.
"The just international community should raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel's confrontational acts," the statement added.
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
G20 president SA warns global turmoil hurts poorer nations
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola warned Thursday that growing global fragmentation was fuelling unprecedented turmoil and disproportionately harming poorer nations, urging a united G20 response. WATCH: Discussion | Flurry of engagement during SA's G20 presidency The remarks come as international cooperation is under increasing strain, with multiple devastating conflicts and humanitarian crises. "State rivalries are fuelling fragmentation, with economic decoupling, and proxy conflicts undermining global stability," Lamola said during a meeting of G20 diplomats. The so-called sherpas gathered at a resort around 185 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg in preparation for the summit of the world's major economies under South Africa's presidency in November. Speaking to AFP, Lamola said he was "hopeful that the declaration will persuade and help to encourage the message of peace, good friendly neighbours and the language of de-escalation." The three days-long talks are expected to set the tone of the summit in November. Resolutions taken by the bloc are non-binding in nature and have often failed to reach a consensus on a range of issues including its core finance remit. The bloc's richest member -- the United States -- which is due to take over the presidency did not send a representative to the talks. In February, Washington also skipped a meeting of foreign ministers in South Africa, suggesting relations between the two countries remain fraught. South Africa, the first African nation to hold the rotating year-long G20 presidency, aims to champion Global South priorities, including boosting climate resilience and tackling poor countries' debt. Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated discussions at the last G20 summit in Brazil as well as calls for ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon. The G20 includes G7 nations, the European Union and African Union as well as Russia, China, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
Spain PM alleges 'genocide' in Gaza as rescuers say 56 killed
GAZA - Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a "genocide", as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 56 people. After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million face famine-like conditions. Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following a blockade of more than two months, but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations. Israel meanwhile is pressing its bombardment of the territory, in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating militant group Hamas -- whose unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. Spain's Sanchez said Gaza was in a "catastrophic situation of genocide" and urged the European Union to immediately suspend its cooperation deal with Israel. AFP | Eyad BABA The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive who is one of the first European leaders, and the most senior, to use the term "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza. Speaking ahead of an EU summit in Brussels, Sanchez mentioned an EU report which found "indications" Israel was breaching its rights obligations under the cooperation deal, which forms the basis for trade ties. The text cited Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory, the high number of civilian casualties, attacks on journalists and the massive displacement and destruction caused by the war. The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, said Israeli forces killed 56 people on Thursday, including six who were waiting for aid in two separate locations. The Israeli military said its troops had "fired warning shots" in order to prevent "suspects from approaching them" near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, where Palestinians gather each night for rations. - 'Only two girls survived' - Israel began its Gaza offensive to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages seized by militants during the 7 October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's military campaign has killed at least 56,259 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The United Nations considers its figures reliable. AFP footage from a hospital in central Gaza on Wednesday showed Palestinians sobbing over bloodied body bags containing their loved ones who had been killed in an Israeli strike. AFP | Omar AL-QATTAA "They (killed) the father, mother and brothers, only two girls survived. One of them is a baby girl aged one year and two months and the other one is five years old," one mourner said. Beyond daily bombardment, Gaza's health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies. The United Nations has condemned the "weaponisation of food" in Gaza, and slammed a US- and Israeli-backed body that has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations there. The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was brought into the territory in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns. The GHF denies deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the territory. - Ceasefire push - US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that "I think great progress is being made on Gaza" to end the Israel-Hamas war. He linked his optimism about imminent "very good news" to a ceasefire agreed Tuesday between Israel and Hamas's backer Iran to end their 12-day war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing calls from opposition politicians, relatives of hostages being held in Gaza and even members of his ruling coalition to bring an end to the fighting. Key mediator Qatar said this week it would launch a new push for a ceasefire. Hamas official Taher al-Nunu on Wednesday said talks with mediators had "intensified" but said the group had "not yet received any new proposals" to end the war. Israel declined to comment on any new ceasefire talks beyond saying efforts to return Israeli hostages in Gaza were ongoing "on the battlefield and via negotiations". Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
How US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities changed the landscape of conflict
Experts say the US has been thrown into the conflict against Iran based on fake information about the latter's nuclear facilities. Image: Atta Kenare / AFP The recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have sparked intense debate, with the focus shifting from the act of aggression itself to the scale of destruction inflicted on Iran's nuclear program. US President Donald Trump initially claimed the damage was "monumental" and that the nuclear sites were "obliterated." However, the Pentagon's own report suggests that the damage was less severe, setting back Iran's nuclear program by only three months. The discrepancy between Trump's claims and the Pentagon's report has raised questions about the accuracy of the damage assessment. While Trump claimed to be happy about the damage, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, reportedly said that the US strikes inflicted "extremely severe damage and destruction" on Iran's nuclear facilities, but the extent of the damage is still being assessed. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have deepened the conflict in the Middle East, and the international community is waiting to see how the situation unfolds. Disagreement over the extent of the damage has raised questions about the effectiveness of the US strategy and the potential consequences for the region from experts. International relations expert Bruce Spector noted that there are "a couple of things that must be focused on, including the disagreement over the extent of the damage". "The Pentagon's intelligence agency's leaked report said the damage was rather less significant than a number of other organisations internationally had said," Spector said. "What we need to concentrate on is what happens going forward. Will the Iranians finally start rebuilding a nuclear program? And if they do, is it headed toward the creation of a bomb or a nuclear device?" Spector thinks the best way to evaluate the situation is to look at what happens next. "If Iran's program has been decimated or obliterated, then there isn't much point cooperating because there isn't much of a program to cooperate over," he said. "If that's a kind of a threat to allow the Iranians to begin to reconstitute their program, that's a whole different thing altogether." Spector noted that there are 18 different organisations in the US that focus on different aspects of information gathering, and they have yet to offer their analysis. "A lot of it will be second-hand intelligence…"It will be a while until we have a consensus on this,' Spector said. Meanwhile North Korea has since 'strongly' condemned the US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities as a grave violation of a sovereign state's security interests and territorial rights, the North's state media reported. The US and Israel are the culprits of the current tensions in the Middle East born out of Jerusalem's "ceaseless war moves and territorial expansion" accepted and encouraged by the West," North Korea's foreign ministry said. "North Korea strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US which ... violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state. "The just international community should raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel's confrontational acts," the statement added.
