SAEDNEWS: The United Nations’ top nuclear inspector warns that Iran may resume uranium enrichment within months, contradicting President Trump’s boast that his June 22 bunker‑busting attack had “obliterated” Tehran’s program—and marking the U.S. strike as a strategic defeat.
According to Saed News, citing The New York Times, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), delivered a sobering assessment in a June 29 interview with CBS News: despite the “severe” damage inflicted by 14 GBU‑57 bunker‑busting bombs on Iran’s two principal enrichment sites, Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure was not “totally” destroyed and could be back online in a “matter of months.” This stands in stark contrast to President Trump’s repeated assertion that the U.S. assault had “obliterated” Iran’s capacity and ended its nuclear ambitions for good .
Mr. Grossi’s analysis aligns with preliminary U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimates and corroborating evaluations from several European intelligence services, all of which conclude the attack set Iran back only a few months—far short of the crippling blow Trump declared . Outside experts further note that the greatest setback for Iran may have been to its undeveloped conversion laboratory near Isfahan, intended to turn enriched uranium into the metallic form needed for a weapon; rebuilding that capability could take years, but not decades.
In defiance of Mr. Grossi’s caution, President Trump has doubled down on his original narrative. In a June 29 Fox News interview, he threatened to sue CNN and The New York Times for reporting the DIA’s findings, and even suggested using the Justice Department to compel journalists to name sources. “It was obliterated like nobody’s ever seen before,” Mr. Trump insisted, while offering to lift sanctions if Iran abandoned all future enrichment and agreed to full inspections
IAEA inspectors, who remained in Tehran throughout the region’s recent conflicts, report that Iran’s stockpiles of near‑bomb‑grade uranium were stored in car‑portable canisters—raising the likelihood that the material could have been moved to undisclosed “protected” sites before the bombing. Some U.S. agencies believe convoys were indeed seen near Isfahan in the days leading up to the strike, suggesting that Tehran preserved much of its enriched uranium stockpile despite the attack.
Analysts say the episode has widened the U.S.‑Iran divide and underscored the limitations of military action as a tool to halt nuclear proliferation. While Mr. Trump publicly maintains that Iran’s “nuclear ambitions” are in abeyance “for a period of time,” Saed News sources caution that only a negotiated diplomatic framework—backed by rigorous inspections—can ensure Tehran’s long‑term compliance.
As Washington and Tehran navigate the aftermath of the failed “obliteration” strategy, the IAEA’s warning serves as a reminder: without sustained international oversight, Iran’s nuclear program may rebound far sooner than anticipated.
