In a first, Iran says N-facilities 'badly damaged' in US strikes
Iran said its nuclear installations were "badly damaged" by US airstrikes, the first such comments by Tehran as debate grows over how much the bombardment managed to dent the Islamic Republic's atomic programme.
"Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that's for sure," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera TV in an interview on Wednesday.
Baghaei did not give further details and said authorities were still assessing the situation on the ground. He added that the US attacks were a "detrimental blow" to international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iran is a signatory.
The comments are the first time an Iranian official has addressed the scope of damage caused by the June 22 strikes which involved US attacks on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
Trump contests intel report
The comments came hours after US President Trump disputed a US intelligence report that said the attacks had limited impact on Iran's nuclear programme below ground.
An assessment from the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency said the bombing likely didn't cripple the core components stored underground including centrifuges, according to people familiar with its contents.
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Commenting on the intelligence leak, Trump said the report was "very inconclusive" but that he still believed the sites were demolished. "The intelligence says we don't know," he told reporters at a Nato summit in the Hague. "It could have been very severe. That's what the intelligence says. So I guess that's correct, but I think we can take that we don't know. It was very severe. It was obliteration."
'War's over; talks next'
Trump said the US would hold a meeting with Iran next week but cast doubt on the need for a diplomatic agreement, citing the damage that the US bombing had done to its key nuclear sites. He said the conflict was effectively "over" after the US mission - though he also warned: "Can it start again? I guess someday it can. It could maybe start soon."
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