TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday (Jun 26) denied it’s set to renew nuclear talks with america after the top of a 12-day conflict with Israel, and accused Washington of exaggerating the impact of US strikes.
Essentially the most severe battle but between Israel and Iran derailed nuclear talks between Iran and america, but President Donald Trump stated Washington would maintain discussions with Tehran subsequent week, together with his particular envoy Steve Witkoff expressing hope “for a complete peace settlement”.
However Iran’s Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi shut down what he stated was “hypothesis” that Tehran would come to the desk and stated it “shouldn’t be taken significantly”.
“I want to state clearly that no settlement, association or dialog has been made to begin new negotiations,” he stated on state tv. “No plan has been set but to begin negotiations.”
Araghchi’s denial got here as Iranian lawmakers handed a “binding” Invoice suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and after supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Trump of exaggerating the impression of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
In a televised speech – his first look since a ceasefire within the conflict with Israel – Khamenei hailed what he described as Iran’s “victory” over Israel, vowed by no means to yield to US stress and insisted Washington had been dealt a humiliating “slap”.
“The American president exaggerated events in uncommon methods, and it turned out that he wanted this exaggeration,” Khamenei stated, rejecting US claims Iran’s nuclear programme had been set again by many years.
The strikes, he insisted, had completed “nothing vital” to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Araghchi, for his half, referred to as the injury “severe” and stated an in depth evaluation was below manner.
Trump stated key services, together with the underground Fordow uranium enrichment web site, had been “obliterated” by American B-2 bombers.
Posting on his Reality Social platform, he dismissed hypothesis Iran may need eliminated enriched uranium previous to the raid, saying: “Nothing was taken out … too harmful, and really heavy and onerous to maneuver!”
He added that satellite tv for pc pictures confirmed vans on the web site solely as a result of Iranian crews had been making an attempt to defend the power with concrete.
Khamenei dismissed such claims, saying “the Islamic republic received, and in retaliation dealt a extreme slap to the face of America”.
Either side have claimed victory: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to as it a “historic win”, whereas Khamenei stated Iran’s missile retaliation had introduced Israel to the brink of collapse.
US DEFENCE
In Washington, the true impression of the strikes has sparked sharp political and intelligence debates.
A leaked categorized evaluation prompt the injury to Iran’s nuclear programme could also be much less extreme than initially claimed – presumably delaying progress by just a few months.
That contrasts with statements from senior US officers.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated a number of services would have to be “rebuilt over the course of years”.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accused the media of misrepresenting the operation.
He stated america used huge GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on Fordow and one other underground web site, whereas submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles focused a 3rd facility.
“President Trump created the circumstances to finish the conflict, decimating – select your phrase – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth stated.
Doubts stay about whether or not Iran quietly eliminated some 400kg of enriched uranium from its most delicate websites earlier than the strikes – probably hiding nuclear materials elsewhere within the nation.
