US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that Washington will again attack Iran, “if necessary”, acknowledging that the American bombing had severely damaged Iran’s key nuclear facilities.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, had earlier acknowledged the impact of the US strike. He stated that the damage to the country’s nuclear infrastructure was “serious and severe” and vowed that Iran would not give up on its nuclear enrichment program as it was now a “question of national pride.”
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously, we cannot give up on enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride; our enrichment is so dear to us.” Araghchi told Fox News.
Trump’s warning “we will do it again, if necessary!” came in his social media platform, Truth Social, in response to Araghchi.
“Our facilities have been damaged – seriously damaged, the extent of which is now under evaluation by our atomic energy organisation,” Araghchi said. However, he refused to comment on whether any enriched uranium survived the strikes. The foreign minister reasserted that Iran would not accept any nuclear agreement that restricts its nuclear capability or right to enrich uranium.
The US launched a military strike named ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ on June 22, targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. It utilised B-2 stealth bombers with GBU-57 "bunker buster" bombs and Tomahawk missiles. The operation aimed to severely degrade Iran's nuclear program and was part of the broader Iran-Israel war, marking the first operational use of the GBU-57.
