Iran vows to rebuild nuclear sites after Western airstrikes

Iran will rebuild nuclear facilities targeted in US and Israeli strikes earlier this year, President Masoud Pezeshkian has said, reiterating that his country is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

In June 2025, the US and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, causing major damage, according to satellite imagery and defense analysts. They described it as preemptive strikes to halt Iran’s progress toward developing a bomb.

Afterward, President Donald Trump warned that the US could launch renewed strikes if Iran restarts the damaged sites. Tehran, which insists its program is peaceful, condemned the attacks as a violation of sovereignty.

“The scientific knowledge is in the minds of our scientists. Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us – we will rebuild, and with greater strength,” Pezeshkian told state media on Sunday during a visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

He said that while nuclear technology has destructive potential, “only a fraction of its applications relate to weapons,” adding that most serve medicine, agriculture, and industry. Pezeshkian rejected Western claims that Iran seeks to develop nukes, saying, “building a nuclear weapon is not on our agenda, and they know this.”

“Unfortunately, targeted propaganda has made the word ‘nuclear’ synonymous with bomb-making… All our nuclear activities are aimed at solving citizens’ problems and non-military issues,” he stressed.

Western nations have long accused Iran of seeking to obtain a nuclear bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported earlier this year that Tehran has enriched uranium to 60%, short of the 90% required for weapons.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi later said there is no proof that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, noting that enriched uranium alone does not constitute a weapon.

Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which were relaunched this year and were aimed at curbing enrichment for sanctions relief, have stalled since the strikes in June. Tehran later restricted Western monitoring of its nuclear sites, demanding guarantees before talks resume.

AEOI head Mohammad Eslami announced on Sunday that Iran plans to build eight new nuclear power plants in cooperation with Russia to expand its energy capacity. The facilities aim to generate 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2041.