E-Paper
'Sure': Trump and Co. say Iran's nuke sites totally wiped out but will strike again if needed
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Iranian nuclear facilities can't be found on the map and have been wiped out.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to rule out future US strikes on Iran if the country starts to rebuild its nuclear facilities.
Asked if the US would strike if Iran rebuilds again, Trump gave a one-word answer.
“Sure,” the Republican said during the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
On the other hand, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Iranian nuclear facilities can't be found on the map after they were struck by B-2 bombers on Saturday and claimed that they have been wiped out.
A preliminary US intelligence assessment said that the US airstrikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months. Asked about the intelligence reports, Trump said, "they really don't know."
Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.
Trump brokered a ceasefire to end the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding early Wednesday. The president had lashed out at both countries Tuesday, and particularly Israel, over what he said were early violations of the truce. Both nations have said they’ll honour the ceasefire provided the other does the same.
US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites
The US on Saturday bombed three of Iran's nuclear sites during the country's conflict with Israel. These sites were Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Tehran is said to have moved its enriched uranium stockpile before the strikes, a point Donald Trump has denied.
The US used bunker buster bombs to bomb the subterranean sites, after which Iran retaliated by firing missiles at the US military base in Qatar. Trump revealed that Tehran had informed them before the attack, so no casualties were reported.
