Iran assesses the damage and lashes out after Israeli and US strikes damage its nuclear sites

DUBAI – Iran is assessing the harm and lashing retired implicit the American and Israeli airstrikes connected its atomic sites, though Tehran kept unfastened the anticipation Tuesday of resuming talks with the Washington implicit its atomic program.

The comments by authorities spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani besides included different acknowledgment that the American strikes astatine Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz — cardinal sites wrong Iran's programme — had been “seriously damaged” by the bombing. Iran's state-run IRNA quality bureau quoted Mohajerani arsenic making the remarks astatine a briefing for journalists.

That acknowledgment comes arsenic Iran's theocracy has dilatory begun to admit the standard of the harm wrought by the 12-day warfare with Israel, which saw Israeli combatant jets decimate the country's aerial defenses and conduct strikes astatine volition implicit the Islamic Republic. And keeping the doorway unfastened to talks with the United States apt shows Tehran wants to debar further economical symptom arsenic different deadline implicit U.N. sanctions loom.

"No day (for U.S. talks) is announced, and it's not astir apt precise soon, but a determination hasn't been made successful this field,” Mohajerani said.

Iran offers rising decease toll

Israeli airstrikes, which began June 13, decimated the precocious ranks of Iran’s almighty Revolutionary Guard and targeted its arsenal of ballistic missiles. The strikes besides deed Iran's atomic sites, which Israel claimed enactment Tehran wrong scope of a atomic weapon. U.S. quality agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran past had an organized atomic weapons programme successful 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, method measurement distant from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

On Monday, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir offered a sharply increased, government-issued decease toll from the war. He said that the Israeli attacks killed 935 “Iranian citizens,” including 38 children and 102 women, IRNA reported.

“The force aimed to alteration the country’s circumstances by assassinating subject commanders and scientists, intending to dispersed fearfulness and exert pressure," Jahangir added. However, helium asserted — similar others up to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — that Iran had “won” the war.

Iran has a agelong past of offering little decease counts astir unrest implicit governmental considerations. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, which has provided elaborate casualty figures from aggregate rounds of unrest successful Iran, has enactment the decease toll astatine 1,190 radical killed, including 436 civilians and 435 information unit members. The attacks wounded different 4,475 people, the radical said.

Activity seen astatine Iran's Fordo facility

Meanwhile, it appears that Iranian officials present are assessing the harm done by the American strikes conducted connected the 3 atomic sites connected June 22, namely those astatine Fordo, a tract built nether a mountain astir 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press amusement Iranian officials astatine Fordo connected Monday apt examining the harm caused by American bunker busters. Trucks could beryllium seen successful the images, arsenic good arsenic astatine slightest 1 crane and an excavator astatine tunnels connected the site. That corresponded to images changeable Sunday by Maxar Technologies likewise showing the ongoing work.

The tunnels apt had been filled successful by Iran earlier the strikes to support the facility. The beingness of trucks earlier the attacks has raised questions astir whether immoderate enriched uranium oregon centrifuges had been spirited distant earlier the attack, thing repeatedly claimed by Iranian officials. Even earlier the strikes, the IAEA warned that its inspectors had lost their “continuity of knowledge” regarding the program, meaning worldly could beryllium astatine undeclared sites successful the country.

Iran hasn't said what enactment is ongoing astatine the sites, though it has said that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran planned to contented a study astir the harm done by the strikes.

Hard-liners lash out

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whose illustration sharply roseate during the war, besides has kept unfastened the anticipation of talks with the U.S.

However, hard-liners wrong Iran are progressively criticizing immoderate effort astatine negotiations oregon practice with the West. Iran's hard-line Kayhan newspaper, successful a portion written by its Khamenei-appointed managing exertion Hossein Shariatmadari, mocked immoderate imaginable talks Tuesday by saying being a “traitor oregon anserine are 2 sides of the aforesaid coin.”

Shariatmadari's paper connected Saturday besides suggested that the IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, should beryllium “tried and executed” if helium visited Iran — thing that drew contiguous disapproval from European nations and others.

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