Trump warns US will attack Iran's nuclear sites again 'if necessary'

Middle East Eye

7 days ago

US President Donald Trump touted the possibility of attacking Iran again after the Islamic Republic's foreign minister said three nuclear facilities had been badly damaged in strikes in June.
Trump issued the warning in a social media post on Monday after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that Tehran could not give up its nuclear enrichment programme, even though it was damaged by US strikes.
"It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously, we cannot give up on enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride," Araghchi said.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump referenced Araghchi's comments about the nuclear sites being severely damaged and said: "Of course they are, just like I said, and we will do it again, if necessary!"
The US carried out strikes on Iran's Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities on 22 June, assisting Israel, which had already been trading missile fire with Tehran since 13 July.
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Iran responded to the strikes by firing ballistic missiles at the US's al-Udeid military base in Qatar. Washington and Doha were informed at least one day earlier about the choreographed strikes.
Shortly after, the US announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, capping 12 days of unprecedented fighting.
Since then, several news sites have questioned the extent of the damage on the Iranian nuclear sites.
CNN cited an early US intelligence assessment which suggested that the strikes set back Iran's nuclear programme only by months, rather than destroying it.
And on Thursday, NBC News reported that one of Iran's nuclear sites was severely damaged, but two other facilities were only degraded to the point that the Islamic Republic could restart uranium enrichment at them within months.
Trump has said that the US and Iran will meet to restart negotiations. However, on Wednesday, he told reporters that he was "in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site".
For its part, Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Trump's first term, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions.
Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis.
"Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul on the deal's future.
Western powers, led by the United States and backed by Israel, have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons.
Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.
Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April, but a planned meeting on 15 June was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering a 12-day conflict.
"At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America," Baqaei said Monday.