Iran Acknowledges Nuclear Site Damage For First Time Since US Strikes: 'That's For Sure...'

Last Updated:June 25, 2025, 17:59 IST

This marks Iran’s first formal confirmation of the impact of US B-2 bomber strikes, which targeted three major nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs.

US President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei | AP Image

For the first time since US airstrikes, Iran officially acknowledged significant damage to its nuclear facilities. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure."

While he declined to offer further details, the statement marks Iran’s first formal confirmation of the impact of US B-2 bomber strikes, which targeted three major nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs. The strikes were hailed by US President Donald Trump as having “completely and fully obliterated" Iran’s nuclear program- claims met with skepticism amid conflicting intelligence assessments.

US Strikes On Iran Nuclear Sites

The US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure involved 125 military aircraft and struck three key facilities- Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Satellite imagery later revealed six fresh craters clustered around two entry points at Fordow, with similar impact marks at Isfahan, owing to the use of bunker-buster bombs. Following this, Donald Trump hailed the strikes as a “spectacular military success. However, a leaked assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) cast doubt on that claim, estimating that the strikes may have set Iran’s nuclear programme back by only a few months while not completely destroying it.

US And Israeli Officials Say Objective Achieved

Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said that the joint US-Israeli objective had been achieved which was “the total destruction of the enrichment capacity."

At the NATO summit in The Hague, Donald Trump dismissed intelligence findings that suggested Iran’s programme had only been delayed by a few months, saying it would take “years" for Tehran to rebuild. Israel’s military echoed that view as it said that the Iranian program had been “significantly damaged" and “set back by years."

IAEA Says Iran Still Has Technical Capability 

Despite the physical damage, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi cautioned that Iran retains the technical and industrial knowledge to eventually restart its nuclear programme.

“The technical knowledge is there, and the industrial capacity is there," Rafael Grossi said, adding, “That no one can deny, so we need to work together with them."

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News world Iran Acknowledges Nuclear Site Damage For First Time Since US Strikes: 'That's For Sure...'