US 'must now await' response, Iran warns, downplaying nuclear damage
Iranian officials on Sunday vowed to retaliate after US airstrikes hit three of the country’s nuclear sites, while downplaying the extent of the damage.
President Donald Trump called the operation “very successful,” claiming in an address to the nation on Saturday night that Iran’s key enrichment facilities at Fordow, Esfahan and Natanz had been “completely and totally obliterated.”
The strikes marked a dramatic escalation after more than a week of Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear, military and government targets, and retaliatory missile barrages from Tehran.
Iran vows response
The strikes drew swift and widespread condemnation from Iranian officials and state institutions, with both vowing to retaliate. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the American action a “grave violation” of the United Nations Charter in a post on X early Sunday, Tehran time.
“In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions permitting legitimate self-defense, Iran reserves all options to protect its sovereignty, interests and people,” he said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the United States would come to “deep[ly] regret” the attack.
“Today’s aggression by the terrorist US regime has granted the Islamic Republic of Iran … the option to respond in ways that go beyond the delusional calculations of the aggressor alliance,” said the IRGC in a Sunday statement carried by the state-run Press TV. “Those who have violated this land must now await responses that will bring deep regret.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran would respond “if the aggression persists” from the United States, according to his official website.
“We did not initiate this conflict, nor do we wish to prolong it. However, if the aggression persists, we will respond decisively,” said Pezeshkian in a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi early Sunday morning.
The United States has around 30,000 to 40,000 troops in the Middle East, including in Iraq and Gulf states. Iran struck US military forces in Iraq in early 2020 after the US assassinated IRGC Quds Force chief Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.
The IRGC said it fired various ballistic missiles at unspecified targets throughout Israel on Sunday, IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported.
The Israeli military reported a launch of Iranian missiles early Sunday morning local time. Later on Sunday, Israel’s military said they struck Iranian fighter jets, missile launchers and other targets in the country.
IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour said on Sunday there will be “no pause” in Iranian strikes against Israel, Tasnim reported.
Pakpour assumed his position last week after Israel killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami, in an airstrike at the start of the current conflict.
Iran’s nuclear energy organization said that the Islamic Republic would not give up its program after the US strikes.
“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great nation of Iran that, despite the malicious plots of enemies, it will not allow the path of development in this national industry — achieved through the blood of nuclear martyrs — to be halted,” said the organization in a statement.
Press TV reported on Sunday that the Iranian parliament approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, though the Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on the matter. The waterway, located between Iran and Oman, receives around 20% of the world’s oil flows.
Some damage reported
Iranian officials have not reported significant damage to the nuclear facilities, though they have provided little information on the matter so far. Morteza Haidari, spokesperson for the Qom province’s crisis management administration, said early Sunday morning local time that “part of the perimeter of the Fordow nuclear site was subjected to an aerial attack by the enemy.”
The Fordow nuclear site is located in central Qom province.
The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that the entrance and exit gates of Fordow were damaged in the attack.
Some in the Iranian parliament have downplayed the damage to Fordow. Mohammad Manan Raisi, a member of the Iranian parliament from Qom, said Fordow was “not seriously damaged” in the attack, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on X on Sunday that Fordow has “long been evacuated and has not suffered any irreversible damage.”
Deputy Gov. of Esfahan province Akbar Salehi said several explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites, Mehr reported.
The Natanz and Esfahan sites are located in the province.
Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said on Sunday that there are no radiation leaks at present from any of the US and Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities, Tasnim reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that “no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time” following the attacks on Fordow, Esfahan and Natanz. The UN nuclear watchdog will hold an emergency meeting on Monday.
Diplomatic movements
Araghchi told reporters on Sunday that he would visit Russia on Monday to meet with President Vladimir Putin for “serious consultations,” Mehr reported. The outlet did not specify the exact reason for the visit but said the trip “comes amid the Israeli and US aggression on Iran’s soil.”
Iran’s mission to the UN demanded in a letter on Sunday that the Security Council hold an emergency meeting on the attack.
