Iranian diplomat says nuclear installations "badly damaged" after US strike

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has confirmed that the country’s nuclear facilities were “seriously damaged” as a result of U.S. strikes.

“Yes, our nuclear installations have been badly damaged,” he stated in an interview with Al Jazeera, as reported by Caliber.Az.

“That’s for sure because [they have] come under repeated attacks,” he said.

“I have nothing to add on this issue because it’s a matter of technical issue,” he went on, noting that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and other relevant agencies are addressing it.

Replying to whether Iran terminated cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Baghaei said Iran’s parliament has voted to suspend – but not end – cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

The legislation “talks about suspending, not putting an end to the cooperation”, he explained.

“Don’t you think it is only natural for the representatives of a nation that has come under an egregious act of aggression to reconsider the way they have been dealing with the IAEA?” he asked.

To recall, on June 21, the U.S. Air Force and Navy launched a coordinated attack on Iran's Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, Natanz Nuclear Facility, and Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center. The operation involved 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that dropped fourteen 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) "bunker buster" bombs on Fordow, a heavily fortified underground facility.

Additionally, over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from a U.S. submarine targeting Natanz and Isfahan. President Trump announced the strikes via Truth Social, describing them as a "spectacular military success" and claiming the sites were "totally obliterated." The U.S. strikes were the first direct American offensive action in the Iran-Israel 12-day war, which began on June 13 and ceased on June 24.

By Khagan Isayev