President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about the need for a new nuclear deal with Iran, citing the success of recent US strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities. “I don’t think it’s that necessary,” Trump said when asked about the potential for a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Trump disputed an early US intelligence report on the effectiveness of the US’s strikes on Iran, saying it was incomplete. “They presented a report that wasn’t finished. We’re talking about something that took place three days ago,” Trump said. “They didn’t see it. All they can do is take a guess.” He repeated that the nuclear facility has “been obliterated, totally obliterated.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe contradicted Trump’s claims, saying the agency had obtained “credible evidence” indicating Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged” by the recent strikes. “This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” Ratcliffe said.
Despite his skepticism about a nuclear deal, Trump said the US would meet with Iran next week. “We’re going to be meeting with Iran next week, and we’re going to be talking about a deal,” Trump said.
Iran’s nuclear installations were “badly damaged” after “repeated attacks” by Israel and the US, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said the 12-day conflict “severely damaged several” of Iran’s nuclear sites.
At least 627 people were killed in Iran during its conflict with Israel, Iranian state media reported, citing the country’s health ministry. At least 4,870 other people were injured during that time. The health ministry said 86% of the victims died at the scene of Israeli attacks.