Iran says Fordo, other nuke sites ‘seriously damaged’ by bombings

The US bombing of Iran’s key Fordo nuclear site has “seriously and heavily damaged” the facility, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says in an interview with CBS News.

“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordo. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araghchi says in the interview, excerpts of which were previously released.

“The Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran… is currently undertaking evaluation and assessment, the report of which will be submitted to the government,” he says.

On Tuesday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told a press conference that the country’s nuclear sites had sustained “serious damage” in the Israeli and US bombing campaigns, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news outlet reports.

However, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government.

President Donald Trump has said the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, but US officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the strikes.