US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were far less destructive than expected, according to intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials published by the Washington Post.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Saturday the "disrespectful and unacceptable" comments from Donald Trump, after the US president claimed to have saved Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from an "ugly and ignominious death".
International Atomic Energy Agency director general “Grossi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has threatened to respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, in his first public comments since a ceasefire with Israel was declared.
The US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy the country's nuclear programme and probably only set it back by months, according to an early Pentagon intelligence assessment of the attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to hold "important" talks with key ally Vladimir Putin on Monday, 48 hours after a major US attack on Iran's key nuclear facilities.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he set a day earlier.
Iran said on June 20 it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict.
