- Following the joint Israeli-American strike on nuclear facilities, Iran has acknowledged the damage but continues to project defiance and an unwillingness to abandon uranium enrichment.
- Senior security officials warn that the real test still lies ahead: Will Iran pursue a new nuclear agreement or head toward open confrontation with Israel and the United States?
The joint U.S.-Israeli strike in June targeting three Iranian nuclear sites shook the leadership in Tehran, but it does not appear to have broken its spirit. In a rare move, Iran admitted that the damage was “severe and significant,” diverging from its usual pattern of denial.
This acknowledgment likely stems from strategic considerations—possibly an effort to rally the Iranian public around the regime, or to pressure the international community by signaling the possibility of a military response to attacks on its nuclear infrastructure.
The messages from the Trump administration have been unequivocal: President Trump declared that “we completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear program.”
However, an assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) paints a more cautious picture. According to the DIA, the strikes on the major sites—Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—did not eliminate the nuclear program but merely delayed its operation by several months.
Ironically, senior security officials now fear that the very blow meant to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions may accelerate them. Iran is expected to soon resume its uranium enrichment activities—this time under deliberate opacity, away from the eyes of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In fact, Iran may choose to sever cooperation with the IAEA altogether, pushing its nuclear program into a more secretive and dangerous phase.
Operational changes are reportedly under consideration in Iran: deepening the underground locations of nuclear facilities, expanding their geographical dispersal, and upgrading their protective fortifications. In other words, rather than halting the nuclear project, Iran may be advancing and reinforcing it.
Now, as Iran’s nuclear sites recede from international oversight and operate further in the shadows, the path to a nuclear weapon has, unfortunately, become easier.
At this stage, according to senior security officials, Iran faces two clear options:
- Return to the negotiating table for a new nuclear deal, with a firm Western demand that it renounces uranium enrichment. Such an agreement would restore international oversight and halt further escalation.
- A complete severance—Iran would reject any demand to abandon enrichment and continue quietly and covertly developing its nuclear program.
Such a course would likely result in harsher sanctions from Western countries, including activation of the “snapback” mechanism, which would fully reinstate international sanctions by October 18 of this year.
What Comes Next?
Iran is approaching a critical moment of decision. While it is interested in a new agreement that would lift the harsh economic sanctions imposed on it, it stubbornly clings to the principle of domestic uranium enrichment.
The clock is ticking against it. Any attempt to rehabilitate damaged nuclear facilities or to construct new clandestine sites will likely prompt further attacks by Israel and the United States.
Therefore, senior security officials believe that the Trump administration must not remain passive. In their view, it should present Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a clear ultimatum: make a decision—here and now—on whether to accept a new nuclear deal under Western terms or face continued military and economic confrontation.
