US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells Politico that Iran is “much further away
from a nuclear weapon” after a US strike on Iran’s three main nuclear sites over
the weekend.
“The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than
they were before the president took this bold action,” Rubio tells Politico.
“Significant, very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of
different components, and we’re just learning more about it,” he adds.
It was reported yesterday that a preliminary US intelligence assessment has
determined that US strikes over the weekend on Iranian nuclear facilities have set
back Tehran’s program by only a matter of months.
The US carried out the strikes after over a week of attacks by Israel on Iran’s
nuclear and military sites.
Iran’s parliament has approved a bill to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear
watchdog, Iran’s Nournews reports.
The country’s Supreme National Security Council would still need to give final
approval to the move, the report says.
“The International Atomic Energy Agency, which refused to even marginally condemn
the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, put its international credibility up for
auction,” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says, according to
state TV, announcing that “the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran will suspend its
cooperation with the IAEA until the security of the nuclear facilities is
guaranteed.”
It was reported yesterday that a preliminary US intelligence assessment has
determined that US strikes over the weekend on Iranian nuclear facilities have set
back Tehran’s program by only a matter of months.
Iran, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, has consistently denied seeking to
acquire nuclear weapons. However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no
peaceful application, has obstructed international inspectors from checking its
nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel says it
has recently taken steps toward weaponization.