Iran admits nuclear sites badly damaged by US, Israeli strikes

Iran has admitted for the first time that its nuclear facilities were “badly damaged” following American and Israeli airstrikes over the weekend, even as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, brokered by US President Donald Trump. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, adding that the attacks dealt a serious blow not only to infrastructure but also to diplomatic efforts. “Our nuclear installations were badly damaged, that’s for sure, because they came under attack by Israeli and American aggressors,” Baghaei told Al Jazeera. 
The strikes, he said, caused “a detrimental blow” to international law, ethics, and diplomacy. Baghaei said that while Iran has not abandoned diplomacy, it questions the intentions of Western governments. “They are talking about dialogue and diplomacy, but at the same time, they are committing acts of aggression. These contradictions have only created more and more problems,” he said. Asked whether Iran is willing to resume talks with the US, Baghaei said Tehran is focused for now on internal security and the public’s anger after the attacks. 
He also defended Iran’s move to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying the parliament’s decision was a direct and natural response to aggression. “Don’t you think it is only natural for the representatives of a nation that has come under an egregious act of aggression to reconsider the way they have been dealing with the IAEA?” he said. Baghaei added that Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy remains intact and non-negotiable under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “Iran is prepared to reserve that right under any circumstances,” he said.