Iran is assessing the damage to its nuclear industry following Israel’s intensive 12-day campaign against it, and arrangements have been made for its restoration, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Tuesday.
“The plan is to prevent interruptions in the process of production and services,” Eslami said, according to Iran’s state-owned Mehr News, claiming that Tehran had been prepared for damage to its nuclear sites.
Iran’s nuclear program took serious blows in Israel’s bombings since June 13, and particularly early on Sunday, when the US dropped massive bunker-buster munitions and fired missiles at three of its nuclear facilities, joining the Israeli campaign.
The Israeli and American strikes targeted uranium enrichment sites and various research and development facilities tied to the program. Washington and Jerusalem have asserted that the bombings caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and set the country back considerably.
Early Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel following the strikes, urging both sides “not to violate it.” It was not immediately clear how Washington and Jerusalem intended to solidify the military achievements and prevent Iran from restarting its nuclear efforts following that announcement.
Both countries confirmed the ceasefire after it was announced, but the truce appeared on the verge of collapse mere hours after his declaration, when Iran launched two missiles toward northern Israel. Israel’s leaders vowed retaliation.
Iran’s ISNA news agency asserted that reports Iran had fired missiles after the ceasefire took effect were false.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Tuesday that he had written to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to propose a meeting and urged cooperation after the ceasefire was announced.
Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi at an extraordinary IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria on June 23, 2025. (Joe Klamar/AFP)
Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, wrote in a post on X that Iran resuming cooperation with the agency could lead to a diplomatic solution to the long-standing controversy over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Meanwhile, France welcomed Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, calling for a “complete cessation of hostilities.”
“It is in everyone’s interest to avoid a new cycle of violence, the consequences of which would be catastrophic for the entire region,” it said.
“Iran must never possess nuclear weapons,” the French statement continued. “In this regard, France urges Iran to engage immediately in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its destabilizing activities.”
That statement came as Israel promised retaliation for the Tuesday morning missile attack.
Israel has said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Tehran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.
Iran retaliated for Israel’s attacks by launching some 550 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones at Israel. Iran’s missile attacks killed 28 people and wounded thousands in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
Some of the missiles hit apartment buildings, a university and a hospital, causing heavy damage.
You appreciate our wartime journalism
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable during the ongoing Israel-Iran war, when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘272776440645465’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
