12 hours ago
Sunrise host Nat Barr confronts Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadegh over top secret report US bombing failed to destroy nuclear program
Sunrise host Nat Barr has confronted Iranian Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi over the damage to the country's nuclear facilities bombed by the United States last weekend.
US President Donald Trump announced the US bombed three major facilities in Iran on Saturday, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump claimed the strikes 'completely and totally obliterated' Tehran's nuclear sites.
However, CNN leaked a report overnight of an intelligence assessment stating US strikes did not destroy the country's nuclear program. Instead, it only set it back by months.
White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said the report was just a 'clear attempt to demean Trump'.
Barr confronted Sadeghi on Wednesday, asking about the extent of the damage.
'I do not have any exact technical assessment and estimate (on what was destroyed),' Sadeghi said.
'That is something that the technical teams, with regard to Iran, and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) maybe, later on, have to find out about it, the dimension of the damage.
'Iran does have the right to peaceful nuclear usage.'
The IAEA governs the global proliferation of nuclear resources and technology and conducts inspections to ensure compliance.
Sadeghi called the US bombing an 'illegal action' and Iran's retaliation a defensive action.
Asked if Iran still has a working nuclear program, Sadeghi said: 'We have the right to use a peaceful nuclear program, including enrichment for peaceful uses.'
However, he said Iran is open to negotiations.
'(Iran has) been for a long time in co-operation with IAEA and in negotiation with the different international bodies ... and (we) just recently had five rounds of negotiations with the US Government,' he said.
'Therefore, we are ready to negotiate with them, but we keep our right for peaceful use of energy.'
Israel and Iran 'don't know what they are doing'
Earlier Trump had said of the Israel-Iran conflict: 'You know what? We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the (bleep) they're doing. Do you understand that?'
Sadeghi claimed the Israeli strikes were 'unprovoked'.
'Just reminding once more, it was started from an unprovoked attack by the Israeli regime against Iran that killed many innocents and 500 people martyred and also about 3,000 people injured and hospitalised,' he said.
'We just took defensive measure based on our right upon the Charter of United Nations and hard defensive actions and operations ... Iran has not attacked within 1400 years of the recent history to any neighbours.
'But Israelis have attacked, you know, about 10 major wars against the neighbourhood and many other countries.
'Therefore, as soon as we got the agreement about the ceasefire, we observed it.
'I believe that Mr Trump's reference was mainly to the Israeli side.'
Where is Iran's Supreme Leader?
Sadeghi was asked about the whereabouts of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
'(It) depends on the exigencies, and periodically the Ayatollah (will) address the people of Iran,' Sadeghi said.
'He's not in hiding. He just takes the proper measures, that is ordinary in war time that the enemy just imposed on us.'
