Iranian authorities confirm that nuclear facilities were “seriously damaged” in US air strikes

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to media reports, a spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Iran's nuclear facilities were “seriously damaged” during the US air strike, but he did not provide further details. This is the first time Iran has acknowledged the damage caused by the US air strike on its nuclear facilities last weekend.

On June 21, local time, the US military dispatched fighter jets to attack Iran's three nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. On the same night, US President Trump said in a speech that Iran's key nuclear facilities had been “completely destroyed.”

In the early morning of June 22, local time, Iran said that Iran had evacuated the three nuclear facilities and transferred materials from the nuclear facilities some time ago, and the US attack should have caused no major damage. Iran's National Nuclear Safety System Center said that after the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities were attacked by the United States, it immediately investigated and assessed whether nuclear contamination had occurred in the regions concerned, and confirmed that no signs of contamination had been found so far.

However, according to media reports on June 24, a confidential preliminary intelligence assessment provided by an agency under the US Department of Defense shows that the US military strike failed to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, and probably only delayed the development of Iran's nuclear program for several months. The report pointed out that the assessment report provided by the US Defense Intelligence Service believes that the US military's previous attacks on Iran's three nuclear facilities did not destroy their core parts, and the centrifuges used for uranium enrichment are “still complete.” According to another report, the US military attack only blocked the entrances to two nuclear facilities and did not destroy their underground structures. The development of Iran's nuclear program may be delayed, but the delay is not expected to exceed 6 months.

Trump and US Secretary of Defense Hegseth denied the claims, insisting that the US military attack “completely destroyed” Iran's nuclear facilities. Trump denounced the relevant reports as “fake news” on social platforms and stressed: “Iran's nuclear facilities have been completely destroyed!” White House press secretary Caroline Levitt also responded, “This so-called assessment report is completely wrong.”

According to some sources, Iran's Fordau nuclear facility is hidden hundreds of meters underground and has multiple entrances and exits that are difficult to discern. The structure has been specially strengthened and highly confidential. Even with photographs taken by space satellites or high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, the damage information that can be obtained is relatively limited.