President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could strike Iran's nuclear sites again "if necessary." Trump issued the warning in a social media post on Monday evening after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that Tehran cannot give up its nuclear enrichment programme, even though it was damaged in US bombings last month. "It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously, we cannot give up on enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride," Araghchi said. On his Truth Social platform, Trump referenced Araghchi's comments about the nuclear sites being severely damaged and said: "Of course they are, just like I said, and we will do it again, if necessary!" The US strikes on 22 June hit three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — during Israel's 12-day conflict with Iran. Days after a US-brokered ceasefire was announced, Trump claimed that Washington's strikes had "completely and fully obliterated" Iran's nuclear sites. However, Trump's claim was called into question when a subsequent US intelligence report found that Iran's nuclear programme had only been set back a few months. The White House firmly pushed back on the assessment, calling it "flat-out wrong". Trump's social media post followed an announcement by Iran on Monday that it would hold renewed talks on Friday with European nations over its nuclear programme. The meeting in Istanbul will be the first since the Israel-Iran ceasefire was reached late last month, and follows similar discussions in the Turkish city in May. The talks will bring Iranian officials together with counterparts from the UK, France and Germany — known as the E3 nations — and the European Union's foreign policy chief. "The topic of the talks is clear, lifting sanctions and issues related to the peaceful nuclear program of Iran," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday. Under a 2015 deal designed to limit Iran's nuclear activities, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran agreed to tough restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of international sanctions. The deal began to unravel in 2018, when the US pulled out and started to reintroduce certain sanctions. European nations have recently threatened to trigger the 2015 deal's "snapback" mechanism, which would allow sanctions to be reimposed in the case of non-compliance by Tehran. Iran has gradually increased its nuclear activities, including enriching uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog. Tehran denies allegations that it is seeking a nuclear weapon and has long said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. — Euronews
