Araqchi: US bombing caused extensive damage to the Fordow site
Araqchi: US bombing caused extensive damage to the Fordow site
2025-07-02 00:01
Shafaq News – Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that the US bombing of Iran’s Fordow nuclear site “caused severe and extensive damage” to the facility, stressing that the damage assessment is still underway by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and that a report will be submitted to the government.
“No one knows exactly what happened at Fordow, but what we know so far is that the facilities sustained significant and devastating damage,” Araghchi added in an interview with CBS News.
He pointed out that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program will undoubtedly remain peaceful. He said that Iran has made significant efforts in this area, and that its people have endured years of sanctions, assassinations, and sabotage attacks. However, throughout this period, it has been careful to keep its enrichment program within peaceful limits.
He added, “Enrichment has become a source of national pride for Iranians, and after the 12-day war, no one can abandon this industry. It is a source of national pride that will remain, and we will certainly work to preserve it.”
Araghchi concluded by stressing that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful and that it does not intend to move toward manufacturing nuclear weapons.
On Tuesday, the Iranian government, through its spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, acknowledged that Iranian nuclear sites had sustained significant damage as a result of recent US strikes, while simultaneously denying the US president’s announcement regarding Tehran’s request for negotiations.
“Yes, our nuclear sites were severely damaged, and many officials have confirmed this,” Mohajerani was quoted as saying by Iran’s IRNA news agency, in the first official statement revealing the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure following the US attack.
These statements come as new satellite images released earlier Tuesday show continued activity at the Fordow nuclear facility, despite being attacked by US B-2 bombers more than a week ago.
The US President had stated that the strikes had completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites and that Iran had requested negotiations, claims that Tehran officially denied through several government officials.
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