Iranian president pledges to rebuild nuclear program

Defence affairs analysis - Nik Martin with AFP, dpa, Reuters

Iranian President Masoud Pezeskhian said Tehran aims to rebuild the nuclear facilities damaged by attacks by US and Israeli forces in June.

The statement comes in defiance of US President Donald Trump's threat to order fresh attacks should Tehran try to repair the four sites hit, including the Natanz uranium enrichment complex and Isfahan nuclear power plant.

Iran has been in an on-off confrontation with the West over its nuclear program for more than two decades, since secret enrichment sites were exposed.

During a visit to the country's nuclear agency, Pezeshkian said Iran would "not be set back" in rebuilding the damaged sites.

"Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us," he said. "We will rebuild and with greater strength."

He stressed once again, in a video posted to social media, that Tehran was not pursuing a nuclear weapons program and insisted its plans were purely civilian in nature.

"It's all intended for solving the problems of the people, for disease, for the health of the people," Pezeshkian added.

Iran's nuclear program has defied Western scrutiny since 2003, when covert enrichment facilities were uncovered, sparking two decades of sanctions, sabotage and failed talks.

Tensions had been building this year after Iran enriched uranium to 83% purity in April — far beyond civilian needs and also well below the level needed for nuclear weapons. Tehran then expelled IAEA inspectors in May, prompting threats from the United States and Israel.

Israel views Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat and in June, waged a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, with the help of US B-2 bombers that can reach deeply buried sites.

Trump claimed at the time that Iran's nuclear program had been destroyed, while Tehran spoke of severe damage.

There is no independent assessment of the destruction as Tehran has ceased all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).