Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, with no current enrichment, despite U.S. and Israeli bombings of key sites.
Iran has not enriched any uranium since the United States targeted several of its nuclear facilities in June, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, dismissing the possibility of restarting nuclear talks with Washington.
“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran,” Araghchi said, according to The Associated Press. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities—our enrichment facilities—have been attacked.”
The U.S. struck the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in an operation called Midnight Hammer, using B-2 bombers with bunker-buster bombs after Israeli airstrikes had weakened Iran’s air defenses. While Washington hailed the strikes as having “obliterated” Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, some experts caution that deeply buried sites and existing uranium stockpiles may still pose risks.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said earlier this month that Iran is “no longer enriching uranium” but retains expertise and highly enriched material. Grossi noted the three sites were “severely damaged” with “very little” nuclear activity.
Araghchi reiterated Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology. “Iran’s right for enrichment, for peaceful use of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is undeniable,” he said.
The IAEA has struggled to verify Iran’s stockpiles since June, citing “lost continuity of knowledge” at bombed sites. Tehran has agreed to some inspections, but activity at its facilities remains under close international scrutiny.
The IAEA board will meet later this week in Vienna, where Western powers may propose a resolution against Iran, which Tehran warns could harm cooperation with the agency.