US strikes delayed Iran's nuclear ambition by years, confirms Tehran

The article reports that recent coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on June 21, 2025, severely damaged Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, setting back its nuclear program by an estimated five to eight years. The strikes, part of "Operation Midnight Hammer," targeted Iran’s most fortified nuclear sites—the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, Natanz Nuclear Facility, and Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center—using U.S. B-2 bombers equipped with GBU-57 bunker buster bombs. Despite initial Iranian downplaying, Tehran has since acknowledged “excessive and serious” damage to its nuclear facilities, though it refuses to resume nuclear talks and hints at a new diplomatic approach without providing details. U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have dismissed earlier reports minimizing the strike’s impact, confirming that the operation was highly effective and monitored in real-time to prevent any pre-strike movement of nuclear materials. The strike marks the largest U.S. military action against