Russia says no evidence Iran working on nuclear weapons

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow has not found any proof that Iran is working on nuclear weapons. Former President Trump claimed that military action was necessary to stop Iran from creating a nuclear weapon and to hinder its long-range missile program. Iran has denied pursuing nuclear weapons, arguing that the attacks from the U.S. and Israel were unprovoked, especially as Tehran and Washington were negotiating a nuclear deal. In 2018, Trump pulled the U.S. out of an international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear activities, just three years after it was established. Additionally, the entrances to Iran’s underground uranium-enrichment facility in Natanz, which had previously been bombed, were hit during the recent military actions by the U.S. and Israel, as confirmed by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday. The underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) is one of three uranium-enrichment sites in Iran that were operational when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iranian nuclear installations last June. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on X that it has verified damage to the entrance buildings of the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant based on recent satellite images. The IAEA added that no radiological issues are expected and no further damage has been detected at the FEP itself, which suffered significant damage during the conflict in June. This finding aligns with a report from the Institute for Science and International Security, a U.S. think tank, which was released on Monday after Iran announced that Natanz was struck on Sunday. The IAEA noted that the military strikes were not significant.