US intercepts Iranian call on damage to nuclear sites, as photos show likely repairs under way

4 days ago 3

Washington: An intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials suggests the United States did not inflict as much damage as anticipated when it struck Iran’s nuclear sites earlier this month, despite US President Donald Trump claiming the assault “obliterated” the facilities.

Satellite photographs taken since the strikes show repair and assessment work also appears to be under way at two of the three sites struck on June 22.

The intercepted Iranian communication played down the extent of damage caused by the strikes, The Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government. During the conversation overheard by the US, the Iranian officials wondered why the attacks had not been as destructive and extensive as anticipated.

But a source who declined to be named told Reuters that while the communication had been intercepted, there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful in their conversation, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators.

The report by the Post is the latest to raise questions about the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear program.

A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency cautioned the strikes may have only set back Iran by months, and the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, concurred with that on Sunday, saying Iran may be able to enrich uranium again within “a matter of months”.

But CIA director John Ratcliffe told sceptical US politicians in a classified hearing last week that the strikes had destroyed Iran’s lone metal conversion facility, a US official said, meaning it would now take years for Iran to build a nuclear bomb.

Ratcliffe also told politicians that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran’s amassed enriched uranium probably remained buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordow, two of the three facilities the US struck.

In an interview broadcast on Sunday on Fox News, Trump reiterated his confidence that the strikes on June 22 had destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities. “It was obliterated like nobody’s ever seen before. And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time,” he said.

The White House dismissed the Post report about the intercepted communication.

“The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post.

Satellite photos taken over the past three days also showed Iran was already undertaking repair and assessment works at Natanz and Fordow, the Institute for the Study of War said, noting that Iran had filled in a crater at Natanz caused by the US bunker-busting bombs. Heavy equipment, including an excavator and a crane, were also spotted near the bomb impact points at Fordow.

“A US weapons expert assessed that Iran may be filling the craters and conducting engineering damage assessments and radiological sampling,” the institute said of the Fordow images. “The US weapons expert also noted that two of the six [bomb] impact points have been covered by square slabs.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary said at least 71 people were killed by Israel’s strike on Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison last week, a day before the ceasefire took hold. Those killed included staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families.

CIA director John Ratcliffe told sceptical US politicians in a classified hearing last week that the strikes had destroyed Iran’s lone metal conversion facility.

While officials did not provide a breakdown of the casualty figures, the Washington-based Human Rights Activists in Iran said at least 35 were staff members and two were inmates. Others killed included a person walking in the prison vicinity and a woman who went to meet a judge about her imprisoned husband’s case, the organisation said.

The June 23 attack hit several prison buildings and prompted concerns from rights groups about inmates’ safety.

It remains unclear why Israel targeted the prison, which has been used to hold political prisoners, but it came on a day when the Israeli Defence Ministry said it was attacking “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran”.

AP, Reuters

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