Donald Trump again claims US strikes caused ‘final damage’ to Iran’s nuclear program, but UN watchdog has DOUBTS

Iran’s nuclear program suffered significant damage from recent U.S. airstrikes but was not destroyed, and it could be operational again within months, according to the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

In contrast, President Donald Trump offered a far more definitive assessment, telling Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that the main nuclear site was reduced to “just thousands of tons of rock in that room right now,” claiming the entire facility had been destroyed, adding ‘we did the final damage’.

"They did not move anything; they moved themselves. What we did was amazing; there were energy commissions that went there, and there were thousands of tons of rocks in the room. Everything was destroyed. And, the other two sites also. We did the final damage," said Trump.

Responding to conflicting assessments of recent U.S. strikes on Iran, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), cautioned that Iran retains the capability to quickly resume its nuclear activities. Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Grossi criticized the idea of relying on short-term military setbacks to counter long-term nuclear threats, CNN reported.

“This hourglass approach in weapons of mass destruction is not a good idea,” Grossi said. He explained that Iran still possesses the infrastructure to restart uranium enrichment rapidly: “They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.”

He added, “Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”

The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which began earlier this month, was triggered by a surprise Israeli offensive targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Israel claimed the strikes were intended to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In response, Iran strongly denied any nuclear weapons ambitions, reiterating that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

Meanwhile, Tehran's nuclear program was also significantly damaged by the strikes, killing key scientists, damage to Iran's missile production industry and battering Iran's aerial defence system, according to the Israelis' assessment.

(With inputs from agencies)