Iran's deputy foreign minister told CNN the country's nuclear program remains "intact" despite U.S. and Israeli strikes that damaged sites including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. He acknowledged infrastructure damage but said the program is dispersed and rooted in domestic expertise across roughly 90 million people. The IAEA reports inspectors still cannot enter the damaged sites, and Iran's foreign minister said enrichment is not happening "right now." Khatibzadeh said future talks with the U.S. would have to accept Iran's right to pursue uranium enrichment and defended missile repairs amid reports of foreign assistance.
Iran Says Nuclear Program ‘Intact’ After U.S. and Israeli Strikes — IAEA Still Locked Out
Iran's deputy foreign minister told CNN the country's nuclear program remains "intact" despite U.S. and Israeli strikes that damaged sites including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. He acknowledged infrastructure damage but said the program is dispersed and rooted in domestic expertise across roughly 90 million people. The IAEA reports inspectors still cannot enter the damaged sites, and Iran's foreign minister said enrichment is not happening "right now." Khatibzadeh said future talks with the U.S. would have to accept Iran's right to pursue uranium enrichment and defended missile repairs amid reports of foreign assistance.
01:37 AM, 11/17/2025Security
Iran says nuclear program 'intact' after strikes; IAEA inspectors still barred
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told CNN that Tehran's nuclear program remains "intact" despite heavy damage to facilities from U.S. and Israeli strikes earlier this year. He said Iran will protect its nuclear effort and reiterated that it is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The precise condition of Iran's nuclear infrastructure remains uncertain after a 12-day confrontation between Israel and Iran in June and U.S. airstrikes that struck the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites. Early U.S. intelligence assessments indicated the attacks caused significant damage but suggested Iran's overall program may have been delayed by up to around two years.
"They ruined many of our infrastructure, machineries and buildings," Khatibzadeh said, adding that Iran's program is "very much based on our indigenous knowledge" and is widely dispersed across a country of roughly 90 million people.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said enrichment is not taking place "right now" because some facilities were attacked. Uranium enrichment produces fuel for nuclear reactors and, at higher enrichment levels, material that could be used in weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a confidential report that inspectors have still not been allowed back into the damaged sites and that verification of Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium is "long overdue." Reuters reported the agency's findings.
Khatibzadeh declined to confirm whether enrichment was occurring at specific sites. He also said any future dialogue with the United States would require an acceptance of Iran's right to pursue uranium enrichment, dismissing what he called "delusions of zero enrichment inside Iran."
On military matters, Khatibzadeh defended Iran's missile and defensive programs as "legitimate" and described recent activity as a period of "repair and recovery" following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran in June. Multiple outlets have reported signs that Iran is rebuilding aspects of its ballistic missile capability despite renewed U.N. sanctions prohibiting arms transfers and missile-related activity.
European intelligence sources cited by Western media have alleged that Chinese firms supplied components, including shipments of sodium perchlorate, a missile propellant precursor, to Iran since late September. Khatibzadeh said Tehran has "very close relations" with China and Russia, relationships he said predate recent regional events.
Asked for a message to the Trump administration, the deputy foreign minister framed Iran as resilient: "This country is the oldest living, continuous civilization on earth... a master of survival," he said.
Reporting contributed by CNN. This story has been updated.