Iran Admits American Strikes 'Badly Damaged' Its Nuclear Facilities Amid Conflicting Claims

Following US strikes, Iran confirmed significant damage to its nuclear facilities. A ceasefire was brokered by Qatar after US contact. Iran accuses Israel of war crimes but asserts national resolve.

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Source : ABP

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed on Wednesday that the nuclear facilities of the country have been badly damaged in strikes by America over the weekend. Baghaei, speaking to Al Jazeera, refused to go into detail but conceded the strikes on Sunday by American B-2 bombers using the bunker buster bombs had been significant. 

“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” he said as quoted by The Times Of Israel.

On the ceasefire, he said that Iran agreed to it after being approached by Qatar, which had been contacted by the United States. While Iranian people “suffered a lot” from the war, they stood firmly against attacks from the US and Israel, he told Al Jazeera.

“Our people were massacred by Israel aggression,” Baghaei said. 

“That’s war crimes, crimes against humanity and they [Israel] have to be held accountable”. “But the point is our people showed they are resolute in their defence of national security and sovereignty,” he added.

He also aid that the parliament of Iran 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 also said that the bill sets conditions for the future of Iran’s engagement with the IAEA, including guarantees for the safety and security of Iranian scientists and nuclear facilities. It also calls for respect for Iran’s rights under the NPT, the international treaty under which non-nuclear-weapon states commit not to pursue nuclear arms but have the right to develop peaceful nuclear energy, he said.

“If we are going to be a responsible member of the NPT, we have to be able to enjoy the rights that are afforded to every state of this treaty,” added Baghaei.

US Airstrikes Did Not Destroy Nuclear Capability Of Iran

The US airstrikes did not destroy the nuclear capability of Iran and only set it back by a few months, reports news agency Reuters quoting preliminary U.S. intelligence assessments. News agency BBC reported that US President Trump declared once againthe nuclear sites in Iran "completely destroyed" and accused the media of "an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history". 

Airspace Of Iran To Remain Closed Through Tomorrow

A spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development said that the airspace will remain closed through 1400 local time, or 1030 GMT, tomorrow.