Iran’s Nuclear Program Damaged, Full Destruction Unconfirmed

After the US air strikes, President Donald Trump said in an address to his nation on June 21 that Iran’s enrichment facilities were obliterated. But a day later Trump was adding caveats on social media. His posts were using the word ‘monumental’, a different connotation to ‘obliterated’ that would mean completely destroyed. And then he was making posts on why monumental is no different from obliterated. He wrote, ‘Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!’

Others in the government too were making riders. In an interview to NBC News, US vice president JD Vance refused to confirm when asked outright if the destruction was total and replied, “I’m not going to get into sensitive intelligence about what we’ve seen on the ground there in Iran, but we’ve seen a lot, and I feel very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon, and that was the goal of this attack.” The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Dan Caine would only go as far as stating there was severe damage and destruction, and it would take time to come up with a final assessment.

It is also not known whether Iran still has a stockpile of enriched uranium that it hid before the strikes. A New York Times article that suggested it was possible. It said, ‘But there was also evidence, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the intelligence, that Iran had moved equipment and uranium from the site in recent days. And there was growing evidence that the Iranians, attuned to Mr. Trump’s repeated threats to take military action, had removed 400 kilograms, or roughly 880 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. That is just below the 90 percent that is usually used in nuclear weapons.’ Most however agree that if Iran had a nuclear program it will be delayed given the damage to the infrastructure by the strikes.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi gave a briefing to the United National Security Council on June 22 and called for ‘maximum restraint’ while averring the IAEA stand that there should never be armed attacks on nuclear facilities because of the potential for radioactive fallout. He said, “Military escalation threatens lives and delays a diplomatic solution for the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. It also threatens the global non-proliferation regime.”

Dan CaineDonald TrumpIAEAIran latest newsIran nuclear programJD VanceMiddle East conflictnon-proliferationnuclear facilitiesnuclear weaponRafael Grossiuranium stockpileUS airstrikesWeb Exclusive