Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who plans to travel to Moscow to meet President Putin on Monday, has reacted to the major US bombing of his country's nuclear facilities by saying 'all options' are on the table militarily, and that this effectively has blown up any efforts at diplomacy.
"The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior," he said. "In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."
On Sunday morning, Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to present the overnight attacks as 'intentionally limited' in scope, and described that this is not a regime change operation. He told the Iranians to heed Trump's call to return to the negotiating table, and that the US military is ready to unleash more strikes if need be.
Vice President JD Vance too in fresh statements has expressed hope of pursuing a diplomatic solution. "We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s already been built out. We want to end their nuclear program," Vance told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday "We want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here," he added.
But at least on a public level, Iran's foreign ministry is saying the diplomatic path is over as the US has shut the door with its brazen attack. Iran's official nuclear energy agency has the most interesting characterization of the US action, in the below via state media:
The organization denounced the passive stance of the IAEA, which is not only ignoring the violations but, through its silence, enabling such aggressive behavior.
“It is unfortunate that this action—clearly against international law—has taken place with the indifference and, in some cases, complicity of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” the AEOI added.
The statement called on the global community to denounce “lawless jungle behavior” by the US and to stand by Iran in defending its legitimate rights.
The statement further called out 'the American enemy' in stating, "The American enemy, through a statement by its president in social media, has officially claimed responsibility for the attacks on these sites, which are under continuous monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) based on the safeguards agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)." And crucially:
Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, says efforts to develop the civilian nuclear sector will go on.
“This is not the first time our facilities are attacked,” Kamalvandi told Iran’s YJC news agency. “Considering our capabilities, the nuclear industry must continue.”
The elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has at the same time declared "now the war has begun" - as the region braces for the coming Iranian response.
Below is the IRGC statement as reprinted in Iraqi Kurdistan English-language media:
Shortly after the attack, the IRGC published a brief statement on its official X account, writing: “Now the war has begun for us.” The message underscores the gravity of the attack on one of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear sites and suggests that Tehran now considers itself fully engaged in open warfare.
Iran previously warned that it could hit back directly on US bases in the region if it comes under attack. No doubt, the Pentagon and US Central Command (CENTCOM) is bracing are such potential retaliation, which could come in the form of drones and ballistic missiles - as happened in Iraq following the Soleimani assassination during Trump's first term.
Recent reports have pointed to an American troop drawdown at a couple of bases in Syria, but not a full withdrawal of the occupation. US troops remain in Iraq, but also at many bases just across the water from Iran in the Arab Gulf kingdoms.
Iran's FM says the attacks are 'unforgiveable' and that it made the possibility of diplomacy moot:
To review the details of what happened overnight, the US deployed six B-2 bombers to drop 12 GBU-57 "bunker-buster" bombs on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site, marking the first time these massive 30,000-pound bombs were used in combat. The enrichment sites at Natanz and Isfahan were also attacked. The mission lasted about 37 hours with multiple refueling missions.
While the White House is now claiming Iran’s nuclear facilities were "completely and totally obliterated," officials say it's too early to confirm the full extent of the damage. Tehran is signaling only limited damage, and that entrances to the facilities were struck, at this point war propaganda is kicking in, and Iranian leaders will likely only conceal the full extent of the destruction.