Iran Still Wants A Nuclear Weapon Despite ‘serious Damage’ From Us, Israeli Strikes: Expert Warns

Iran is preparing its adjacent measurement successful what 1 information master warns remains its main objective: processing a nuclear weapon.

"Repair, reconstitute and rebuild is going to beryllium nan modus operandi of nan Islamic Republic of Iran," Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of nan Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program told Fox News Digital. "It conscionable depends connected really are they going to beryllium doing it? While flirting pinch nan world community? Are they going to spell acheronian wholly altogether?

"All of this remains to beryllium seen," he added.

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses nan media during nan voting of Parliament Elections successful Tehran, Iran connected May 10, 2024. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Spokesman for nan regime, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed this week that nan Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites had been "seriously damaged" pursuing nan U.S. and Israeli strikes connected Iran's atomic programme past month. 

Questions stay complete nan extent of damage that was incurred, arsenic good arsenic skepticism complete whether Iran was capable to move immoderate enriched uranium aliases centrifuges distant from nan heavy guarded sites anterior to nan strikes. 

Though nan Trump management said connected Wednesday that it had "obliterated" nan 3 accommodation it struck, and has fervently rejected reports suggesting that Iranian officials whitethorn person been capable to transportation immoderate elements of nan regime’s coveted atomic program, Israeli officials confirmed this week that they are continuing to show nan business closely.

Experts successful nan U.S. and Israel person said they judge Iran is still assessing nan grade of nan harm from nan "bunker busting" bombs, and that nan authorities will look to retrieve and repair what it tin — meaning it whitethorn beryllium looking to bargain time.

"No doubt, nan authorities will still person a negotiated strategy designed to rope-a-dope anybody, and to find arsenic overmuch clip arsenic imaginable for this authorities to do that," Ben Taleblu said.

The Iranian regime this week suggested it remained unfastened to negotiations pinch nan U.S. aft President Donald Trump signaled that nan talks could statesman arsenic soon arsenic adjacent week, though aggregate Iranian officials said that that timeframe was overly ambitious. 

"I don’t deliberation negotiations will restart arsenic quickly arsenic that," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said successful a CBS News interview. "The doors of diplomacy will ne'er slam shut." 

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This outer image by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran's underground atomic enrichment tract astatine Fordow pursuing U.S. airstrikes targeting nan facility, connected Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

But nan authorities besides took steps to further inhibit nan UN atomic watchdog — which is tasked pinch search each nation’s atomic programs — and suspended each relationship pinch nan International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) connected Wednesday. 

That aforesaid day, nan State Department condemned nan move, and spokesperson Tammy Bruce said it was "unacceptable that Iran chose to suspend practice pinch nan IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity."

Iran has constricted IAEA entree successful nan past and Ben Taleblu based on Tehran will apt look to do this again arsenic it attempts to clasp connected to any bargaining spot it can.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's adjacent step, and apt astir vulnerable capacity correct now, is its negotiated capability," nan Iranian information master argued. "This is nan capacity of nan authorities to either participate negotiations pinch a anemic manus and time off pinch a beardown hand, aliases effort to forestall a subject triumph of its adversaries from becoming a governmental victory. 

"If negotiations do return spot betwixt nan U.S. and nan Iranians, beryllium they nonstop aliases indirect, nan Iranians are going to beryllium dangling IAEA access. This is already their astir important weapon," he added. 

Ben Taleblu explained that utilizing nan IAEA arsenic a bargaining spot not only enables Iran to play for clip arsenic it looks to re-establish its atomic program, but to sow section successful nan U.S. by creating uncertainty. 

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This photograph released connected Nov. 5, 2019, by nan Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows centrifuge machines successful nan Natanz uranium enrichment installation successful cardinal Iran.  (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

"By diminishing nan monitoring and by circumscribing and moreover cutting IAEA entree to these facilities, nan authorities is trying to make America person to trust connected intelligence alone," he said. "And arsenic you spot from nan very politicized debates complete nan conflict harm assessment, relying connected intelligence unsocial without sources connected nan crushed inspecting nan sites, inspecting nan facilities, documenting nan fissile material, tin lead to drastically different conclusions being taken by akin but not nan aforesaid intelligence organizations aliases representatives."

Ultimately, Iran is not going to springiness up connected its atomic ambitions, Ben Taleblu warned, noting that Tehran’s information servants of nan state wholly changed during its warfare pinch Iraq successful nan 1980s. 

"Everything that we look from nan authorities that is simply a information threat was started past — nan ballistic rocket program, nan drone program, nan maritime aggression, nan transnational violent servants of nan state and nan atomic programme each person their origins successful nan 1980s," he said.  "By resurrecting this atomic program, nan Islamic Republic was not engaging successful a subject adjacent experiment. 

A large banner depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed adjacent to a ballistic rocket successful Baharestan Square successful Tehran, Iran, connected September 26, 2024, connected nan sideline of an accumulation which marks nan 44th day of nan commencement of Iran-Iraq war.  (Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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"The Islamic Republic was seeking an eventual deterrent," Ben Taleblu continued. "It was seeking an eventual deterrence because it had a imagination for what nan region and nan world should look like, and it was consenting to put overseas argumentation musculus and nan resources of its authorities down that vision."

The master connected nan Iranian authorities warned that Iran’s 40-year "obsession" pinch processing its atomic programme to execute its geopolitical intends is not going to alteration because of U.S. subject intervention.