The Islamic theocracy of Iran stated on Wednesday that it would work to preserve its illicit nuclear program “under any circumstances,” denying that the American airstrikes on key uranium enrichment facilities had marked an end to its nuclear ambitions.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei declared in an interview with the Qatari network Al Jazeera, according to the Iranian propaganda outlet PressTV, that Iran was “determined to preserve” its right to “enjoy nuclear energy … under any circumstances.” PressTV also cited officials from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) declaring that Tehran would “expand” its nuclear development, rather than contain it, in response to United Nations condemnation and military action by Israel and America.
Iran’s nuclear program sustained significant damage – both American officials and the United Nations nuclear oversight body affirmed this week – after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes against the uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz on Saturday. President Trump declared the sites had been “completely and totally obliterated” in a “spectacular military success by American troops in support of Israeli operations to contain the threat of an Iranian attack.
Iran has for years engaged in nuclear energy development while calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and promoting chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel.” President Trump attempted to engage in talks with the Iranian regime throughout the year in pursuit of an agreement to contain the Iran nuclear threat, sending a delegation to five separate negotiations mediated by the nation of Oman. The talks resulted in no agreements as Iranian diplomats insisted that they would not accept any limits to the country’s uranium enrichment. American officials countered that no nation on earth is enriching uranium at Iran’s pace without having a nuclear weapons program – and that no known civilian use for such a large stockpile exists.
The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) corroborated American accusations of Iran failing to abide by international law on June 12, passing a resolution condemning the country for violating its commitment to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Hours later, Israel began “Operation Rising Lion,” targeting some of Iran’s highest-ranking military officials and its military facilities to limit its capacity to fire back. Iran responded by targeting Israel’s population centers and killing at least two dozen civilians.
President Trump announced late on Monday that the nations had agreed to ceasefire. After a shaky first few hours, the ceasefire has, as of press time, remained in vigor. Iran refused to even acknowledge that it had agreed to a ceasefire, then threw a parade on Wednesday to declare “victory” against Israel and America.
In this context, Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei affirmed that Iran would continue to enrich uranium.
“Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy remains intact. Iran has every right under the NPT, under Article IV of the NPT, to enjoy nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and Iran is determined to preserve that right under any circumstances,” Baghaei declared.
Similarly, PressTV cited AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi stating that “the country’s nuclear program will continue to expand” despite the attacks.
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said in an interview on Thursday that his agency does not believe much remains of that nuclear program following the American strikes.
“I think that ‘annihilated’ is too much,” Grossi told Radio France International (RFI), “but it has suffered enormous damages.”
“What I can say, and in this I think everyone agrees, is that very considerable damages have been produced.”
Grossi predicted that, “with its reduced capacity, it will be much more difficult for Iran to continue at the same pace as before” to enrich uranium. While Iran has blocked IAEA inspectors from assessing the damaged sites, Grossi said that, based on satellite photos of the damage, the facility at Fordow appears to no longer be operable.
“Obviously we cannot evaluate this and nobody can say what is the grade of damage, but we know that, given the potency of these artifacts [the bombs] and the technical characteristics of a centrifuge,” he concluded, “these centrifuges are no longer operational because they are quite precise machines. There must be important physical damage.”
The “supreme leader” of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered a nationwide “victory” speech on Thursday marking the end of the conflict with Israel and America, contrary to the evidence of significant destruction in his country.
“I feel it is necessary to extend several congratulations to the great Iranian nation,” Khamenei declared, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. “We thank God for aiding our armed forces, who managed to breach their advanced multilayered defense systems and flatten large parts of their military and urban centers with powerful missile and weapons strikes,” he said.
“Here, too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious, delivering a harsh blow to the US, specifically targeting the Al Udeid base, one of its key regional bases, and inflicting damage,” he claimed.
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