Iran says war with Israel caused 'serious' damage to nuclear sites

Iran says war with Israel caused 'serious' damage to nuclear sites
by AFP Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) June 26, 2025

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that damage to Iran's nuclear sites from the 12-day war with Israel was "serious", as the country begins assessing the conflict's impact.

"A detailed assessment of the damage is being carried out by experts from the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran)," he told state television.

"Now, the discussion of demanding damages and the necessity of providing them has been placed as one of the important issues on the country's diplomatic agenda," he added.

"These damages are serious, and expert studies and political decision-making are underway at the same time."

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that air strikes that the United States launched against Iran's nuclear sites in support of ally Israel "obliterated" the facilities.

Trump admin insists Iran strikes success, attacks media
Washington (AFP) June 26, 2025 - The Trump administration went on the offensive against the media Thursday over coverage of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, insisting the operation was a total success and berating journalists for reporting on an intelligence assessment that raised doubts.

American B-2 bombers hit two Iranian nuclear sites with massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs last weekend, while a guided missile submarine struck a third site with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

President Donald Trump "created the conditions to end the war, decimating -- choose your word -- obliterating, destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon, referring to a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.

Trump himself has called the strikes a "spectacular military success" and repeatedly said they "obliterated" the nuclear sites.

But US media revealed a preliminary American intelligence assessment earlier this week that said the strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program by months -- coverage sharply criticized by Hegseth and others.

"Whether it's fake news CNN, MSNBC or the New York Times, there's been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment," Hegseth said.

The document was "leaked because someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn't successful," he said.

Trump -- who has also personally slammed coverage of the intelligence report, calling for journalists to lose their jobs -- on Thursday accused Democrats of leaking the assessment and said they should be prosecuted.

- 'Get a big shovel' -

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt meanwhile told journalists that the Iran strikes were "one of the most successful operations in United States history," and joined Trump in lashing out personally at CNN's Natasha Bertrand -- one of the reporters who broke the story on the preliminary assessment.

Bertrand has been "used by people who dislike Donald Trump in this government to push fake and false narratives," Leavitt said.

CNN has issued a statement saying it stands behind the journalist and her reporting.

In his remarks Thursday morning, Hegseth did not definitively state that the enriched uranium and centrifuges at the heart of Iran's controversial nuclear program had been wiped out. He cited intelligence officials as saying the nuclear facilities were destroyed, but gave little detail.

"If you want to know what's going on at Fordo, you better go there and get a big shovel, because no one's under there right now," he said, referring to the deep-underground nuclear site.

Among the officials cited by Hegseth was US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who said the previous day that "Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed."

He also referred to a statement by CIA chief John Ratcliffe, who pointed to a "historically reliable and accurate" source of information indicating that "several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years."

Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign targeting Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and top military brass on June 13 in a bid to end the country's nuclear program, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes but Washington and other powers insist is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path to replace the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in 2018, but he ultimately decided to take military action.

The US operation was massive, involving more than 125 US aircraft including stealth bombers, fighters and aerial refueling tankers as well as a guided missile submarine.

Iran strikes damage hard to assess under Israeli military censorship
Jerusalem (AFP) June 26, 2025 - Israel has acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the 12-day war with Iran, but the true extent of the damage may never be known due to stringent press restrictions.

Such regulations are nothing new in Israel, where any written or visual publication deemed potentially harmful to the loosely defined concept of "national security" can be banned by law.

Censorship predates the creation of Israel in 1948, when the territory was under a British mandate.

But with the recent missile barrages from Iran that managed to breach Israel's vaunted air defences and kill 28 people, the restrictions were further tightened.

Any broadcast from a "combat zone or missile impact site" requires written authorisation from the military censor, according to the Israeli Government Press Office, which is responsible for government communications and for accrediting journalists.

This requirement is particularly stringent when strikes land near military bases, oil refineries, or other facilities deemed strategic.

"There is, of course, a very real national security dimension. You don't want to tell the enemy exactly where its bombs landed, or help them improve targeting," said Jerome Bourdon, professor of media sociology at Tel Aviv University.

"But this also maintains uncertainty around the country's vulnerability to external threats. We probably will never know the full extent of the damage," he added.

- 'Reverse the narrative' -

Most of the government's communication during the war focused on its military successes, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday praising a "historic victory" over Iran.

For Bourdon, the tightening of media coverage also reflects "a very clear desire to reverse the narrative", at a time when Israel faces harsh international criticism over its war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and triggered dire humanitarian conditions.

On June 19, Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Tehran of "deliberately targeting hospitals and residential buildings" after a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba was hit, injuring around 40 people.

Katz accused Iran of "the most serious war crimes", while Iran denied intentionally targeting the health centre.

Meanwhile, human rights defenders regularly condemn Israel's destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza and the targeting of hospitals under the claim that they are used by Palestinian militants.

During the war with Iran, media coverage near sites of missile strikes in Israel's civilian areas was occasionally hindered, as foreign reporters were prevented from filming wide shots or specifying the exact location of the impacts.

In the central Israeli city of Ramat Gan, police interrupted the live broadcast of two Western news agencies filming a gutted building, suspecting them of providing the footage to Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Israel banned the outlet in May 2024, alleging it has ties with Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Al Jazeera has denied.

- 'Illegal content' -

In a statement, police said they had acted to stop the broadcast of "illegal content" in accordance with the "policy" of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The far-right cabinet member, known for his incendiary rhetoric against critics, vowed on June 16 to take tough action against anyone who "undermines the security of the state".

"Zero tolerance for those who help the enemy," echoed Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.

The two ministers "make claims that exceed the legal framework of their powers, and also are very, very extreme," said Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute.

"Usually, they make a lot of noise" in order to "get political gain from this publicity," she told AFP.

Beyond political calculations, "these officials show a deep mistrust, a real hostility toward the liberal Israeli media, and especially toward the foreign media," said professor Bourdon.

The Government Press Office on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to "freedom of the press... as a fundamental right" and insisted it makes "no distinction between Israeli and non-Israeli journalists".