The White Home’s remark comes days after a senior Trump aide stated Iran is one week away from having materials for nuclear bomb.
The White Home has insisted that final yr’s strikes in opposition to Iran destroyed the nation’s nuclear programme regardless of a current declare by a senior US official that Tehran is per week away from having bombmaking materials.
Karoline Leavitt, the White Home spokesperson, advised reporters on Tuesday that the June 2025 assault on Iran’s nuclear amenities, generally known as Operation Midnight Hammer, was an “overwhelmingly profitable mission”.
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The assault “did, in reality, obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities“, Leavitt stated.
However simply this weekend, President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff prompt that Iran is near having sufficient materials to construct a nuclear weapon.
“They’re most likely per week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making materials,” Witkoff advised Fox Information on Saturday.
Since final June’s strikes, Trump has repeatedly hailed the assault, arguing that it eradicated Iran’s nuclear programme and led to “peace” within the Center East. Operation Midnight Hammer got here in the direction of the top of a 12-day struggle Israel initiated with Iran that month.
However eight months later, US and Iranian officers are as soon as once more holding talks to succeed in a nuclear deal and avert one other struggle.
On Tuesday, Leavitt stated the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme had been “verified” by Trump and the United Nations’ watchdog, the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA).
“That doesn’t imply that Iran might by no means attempt once more to determine a nuclear programme that might straight threaten the USA and our allies overseas, and that’s what the president needs to make sure can by no means occur once more,” she added.
Final yr, after the US assault, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stated Iran may resume uranium enrichment “in a matter of months”.
However the UN company’s inspectors haven’t been capable of assess Iran’s nuclear websites because the US strikes.
The Pentagon’s public assessment was that the Iranian nuclear programme was set again by one to 2 years.
There was no official affirmation of the US claims that Iran has restarted nuclear enrichment after the assault.
After a go to by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US in December, Trump renewed his threats to assault Iran if it tries to rebuild its nuclear or missile programme.
Tensions have spiralled since then, with the US amassing military assets close to Iran.
Nonetheless, Tehran and Washington are set to carry the third spherical of negotiations this yr to push for a nuclear deal.
Iran, which denies looking for a nuclear weapon, has stated it might conform to minimal uranium enrichment beneath strict IAEA supervision in change for lifting sanctions in opposition to its economic system.
However Trump has repeatedly pressured that it’s looking for zero enrichment.
Enrichment is the method of isolating and concentrating a uncommon variant, or isotope, of uranium that may produce nuclear fission.
At low ranges, enriched uranium can energy electrical vegetation. If enriched to roughly 90 p.c, it may be used for nuclear weapons.
Earlier than the June 2025 struggle, Iran was enriching uranium at 60 p.c purity.
Tehran had been escalating its nuclear programme since 2018, when Trump, throughout his first time period, nixed a multilateral settlement that capped Iran’s enrichment at 3.67 p.c. He as an alternative began piling up sanctions on the Iranian economic system, as a part of a “most strain” marketing campaign.
The White Home on Tuesday prompt the army possibility in opposition to Iran stays on the desk.
“President Trump’s first possibility is all the time diplomacy. However as he has proven, he’s prepared to make use of the deadly drive of the USA army if vital,” Leavitt stated.
