President Trump said on Truth Social on Monday night that the US will bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities again “if necessary,” a post that came in response to comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Araghchi told Fox News host Brett Baier earlier in the day that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “very severely” damaged and “destroyed” by the US strikes.
“Of course they are [destroyed], just like I said, and we will do it again, if necessary! As interviewed by Bret Baier,” Trump said.
“Fake News CNN should immediately fire their phony ‘reporter’ and apologize to me and the great pilots who ‘OBLITERATED’ Iran’s nuclear sites,” Trump added, referring to a report that said US intelligence assessed the US airstrikes didn’t destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities and only set back the program by a few months.
Araghchi said that Iran was still assessing the damage to its nuclear facilities and reaffirmed that Tehran did not seek a nuclear bomb.
US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had no evidence that Iran decided to pursue a nuclear weapon before Israel launched the 12-Day War on June 13 with surprise airstrikes, which came under the cover of US-Iran nuclear negotiations.
Trump has also previously threatened to bomb Iran again if it restarted its nuclear enrichment program. Araghchi said that while Iran’s nuclear enrichment is currently halted due to the US strikes, Tehran wouldn’t give up enrichment since it wants to produce its own fuel and because the program has become a matter of “national pride.”
