Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Wednesday confirmed that the country’s nuclear facilities had been “badly damaged” in American strikes over the weekend, amid differing assessments of the success of operations against Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei told Al Jazeera.
Iran’s announcement came after news outlets including Reuters and CNN reported that a U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded that American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not significantly damage the country’s nuclear program.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Wednesday that U.S. airstrikes over the weekend caused extensive damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, setting the program back by years.
“The CIA can confirm that credible intelligence indicates that Iran’s nuclear program has been significantly damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” Ratcliffe said.
“The CIA continues to gather additional, reliable information to ensure that appropriate decision-makers and oversight bodies are fully informed,” he added.
Saturday’s strikes, carried out by B-2 bombers with bunker-buster munitions, hit multiple sites including the Fordo enrichment facility, Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, and the Natanz complex.
U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said more than 125 American aircraft participated in the attack, including stealth bombers, fighter jets, surveillance platforms, and support aircraft. “All three sites sustained extremely severe damage,” he said during a press briefing.
Satellite imagery published by the BBC on Wednesday revealed six large craters at Fordo, damaged tunnel entrances at Isfahan, and two visible craters at Natanz. BBC said repair work appears to have begun to fill craters at the Natanz enrichment complex following the U.S. strikes.
Maxar Satellite Imagery collected on the morning of June 22 shows extensive damage at the Fordo underground complex.
Several large craters are visible across the ridge, and a wide area is covered in grey-blue ash, consistent with an airstrike aftermath.
Satellite image (c)… pic.twitter.com/8evJGxha4D
— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) June 25, 2025
