Damage to the Fordo enrichment facility after US-led strikes in Iran on June 23, 2025, seen in a satellite image from June 24. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES VIA AP
Since the strikes on Iranian nuclear installations during the 12-day war fought from June 13 to 25 between Iran and the US-Israeli alliance, official accounts have continued to conflict over the status of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. On July 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Le Monde that "The claim that a program has been annihilated (...) is a miscalculation." He also issued a warning, stating that the nuclear arms race had, in fact, been reignited. US President Donald Trump, on June 26, boasted that he had "completely destroyed the nuclear program" in Iran and labeled any reports indicating the contrary as "fake news."
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After 12-day war between Israel and Iran, many questions, few certainties
In early September, according to a French diplomatic source close to the Elysée, the Israelis delivered their own assessment to French authorities regarding the concentrated strikes in June on Iran's nuclear arsenal. The assessment contradicted the White House's position. According to this source familiar with the exchanges, Israel said that "while the centrifuge manufacturing sites and most of the uranium enrichment facilities were destroyed, particularly at Fordo and Natanz, Iran still possesses this type of equipment." Do they have enough? "Too few to restart the program in the short term, but it's only a matter of time," the Israeli intelligence services estimated, according to the source.
