Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that the 12-day battle with Israel caused “serious” damage to Iran’s nuclear sites, as the country began to examine the conflict’s consequences.
“A detailed assessment of the damage is being carried out by experts from the Atomic Energy Organisation (of Iran),” he told state television.
“Now, the discussion of demanding damages and the necessity of providing them has been placed as one of the important issues on the country’s diplomatic agenda,” he added.
“These damages are serious, and expert studies and political decision-making are underway at the same time.”
However, according to a Pentagon intelligence assessment of the operation, US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the country’s nuclear programme and most likely pushed it back by months.
The White House stated that the “flat-out wrong” assessment was leaked by “a low-level loser in the intelligence community”.
President Donald Trump declared the Arab nation’s nuclear sites “completely destroyed” and accused the media of “an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history”.
