The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that the Fordow centrifuges are "no longer operational."

BarcelonaUS attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities come under scrutiny this week, after the press leaked intelligence reports denying the destruction of the plants, and the CIA director came out to deny them, stating that the impact of the projectiles had caused "serious damage." This afternoon, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency released new conclusions about the attacks. In an interview on Radio France Internationale, Rafael Grossi stated that the centrifuges at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, the largest and until now considered inaccessible, "are no longer operational." Although its operators were unable to access the site since the US bunker-busting projectiles hit, the organization's director affirms that, given the power of the bombs and the technical characteristics of the plant, he can confirm that "these centrifuges are no longer working." Grossi did not dare to affirm that Iran's nuclear program had been destroyed, as Donald Trump had claimed, but he did maintain that it had suffered "enormous damage."

For his part, the US Secretary of Defense provided details this Thursday of the US operation against Iranian facilities, amid complaints from US congressmen who reproach him for not seeking House approval to launch the attack. Pete Hegseth insisted that the US bombings "without a doubt" destroyed Tehran's nuclear capabilities and dodged the issue by stating that he was unaware of any report suggesting that anyone had moved enriched uranium from the plants before the attack. The Secretary of Defense vehemently praised what he called "the most complex and secret military operation in US history" and harshly criticized the press for echoing preliminary intelligence reports that estimated that Iran's nuclear program would only be delayed by about six months, rather than six months. In the same appearance, US Chief of Staff General Dan Caine revealed that Operation Midnight Hammer was "the culmination of more than 15 years of development and testing" to destroy Iran's atomic capabilities.

This issue was also addressed - from the opposite narrative - by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who spoke this Thursday for the first time since the end of the war with Israel, and asserted that his country had delivered "a good slap in the face to the United States." In a televised address to the nation in which he was blunt against the White House, Khamenei stressed that the US "has not achieved any significant success" by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Moreover, he criticized that Donald Trump has crafted an "unusually exaggerated" account of events in an attempt to "distort the truth."Instead, he took pride in Iran's attack on "one of the key US bases in the region," in Qatar, while Washington "tried to downplay it," he said.

Khamenei, who has declared Iran's victory against Israel, explained that Trump asked Iran to "surrender." A request that, according to the supreme leader, was "too big for the mouth of the president of the United States." "For a great country and nation like Iran, the mere mention of surrender is an insult," he said. For the leader of the ayatollahs, Trump has made it clear that Americans have been opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran from the beginning. In this sense, the leader criticized the United States for clinging to pretexts such as the nuclear program, women's rights, or human rights, when deep down they only want "Iran to surrender."

Challenge to the International Atomic Energy Agency

In parallel, Iran's Guardian Council approved this Thursday the plan for the Islamic Republic to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iranian, as the plan entails banning the IAEA from entering Iran and expelling all inspectors. In addition, Iran's state nuclear agency will be prohibited from sharing information or reports on Iran's nuclear program with the international body, which is precisely what was being sought to avoid during the negotiations with the White House. chosen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and six jurists elected by Parliament, however, foresees that cooperation with the agency could be resumed if Iran is guaranteed that its nuclear facilities and its scientists—at least eleven have lost their lives in Israeli attacks—are safe and is also given a green light because the