Un Watchdog: Iran Nuclear Program Suffered 'enormous Damage'

Iran's nuclear facilities "suffered enormous damage" from the U.S. airstrikes Saturday, but more extensive evaluation is needed, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Thursday.

"I think 'annihilated' is too much, but it has suffered enormous damage," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Rafael Grossi told French broadcaster RFI. "I know there's a lot of debate about the degree of annihilation, total destruction, and so on, what I can tell you, and I think everyone agrees on this, is that very considerable damage has been done."

"Obviously, you have to go to the site and that is not easy, there is debris and it is no longer an operational facility," he added.

President Trump has maintained that the three sites targeted were "completely and totally obliterated," but reports this week, based on an initial U.S. intelligence analysis, raised questions about the severity of the damage.

Trump said that the strikes set Iran's nuclear capabilities back by "decades," but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied that the damage was that significant during his first public remarks on the bombings Thursday.

"They could not achieve anything significant," Khamenei said in a 10-minute recorded statement.

Grossi declined to speculate on the extent of the blow to Iran's overall nuclear capabilities by the U.S. bombings of the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan enrichment sites.

"It is true that with its reduced capabilities, it will be much more difficult for Iran to continue at the same pace as before," he said. "But what the president's statement implies is a military objective and that, as you know, is a matter of intent — it is subjective."

"We do not judge intentions, we analyze and evaluate what we see on the ground," the watchdog chief added.

Grossi reached out to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about resuming the watchdog's evaluations, which were being conducted in a limited capacity before Israel launched its surprise attack on Tehran's nuclear and military sites on June 12. He said he has not heard back.

"Obviously, there is some tension at the moment," the IAEA leader added. "There are political voices in Iran who believe that the agency has not been impartial."