A lasting ceasefire between Iran and Israel would be a “positive development” for both regional and global stability, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.
“If the ceasefire between Iran and Israel succeeds, it will be a good development that makes the Mideast and the entire world safer,” Merz said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Iran’s nuclear facilities were "badly damaged" in US and Israeli strikes, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, adding that the attacks dealt a serious blow not only to infrastructure but also to diplomatic efforts.
“Our nuclear installations were badly damaged, that’s for sure, because they came under attack by Israeli and American aggressors,” Baghaei told Al Jazeera.
The strikes, he said, caused “a detrimental blow” to international law, ethics, and diplomacy.
Baghaei said that while Iran has not abandoned diplomacy, it questions the intentions of Western governments. “They are talking about dialogue and diplomacy, but at the same time, they are committing acts of aggression. These contradictions have only created more and more problems,” he said.
Asked whether Iran is willing to resume talks with the US, Baghaei said Tehran is focused for now on internal security and the public’s anger after the attacks.
“We have nothing to say about those contradictory remarks regarding diplomacy or negotiations,” he said. “We have to make sure whether the other parties are really serious when they're talking about diplomacy — or whether it is, again, part of their tactics to make more problems for the region and for my country.”
He also defended Iran’s move to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying the parliament’s decision was a direct and natural response to aggression. “Don’t you think it is only natural for the representatives of a nation that has come under an egregious act of aggression to reconsider the way they have been dealing with the IAEA?” he said.
Baghaei added that Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy remains intact and non-negotiable under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “Iran is prepared to reserve that right under any circumstances,” he said.
Israel carried out a wide-scale military campaign inside Iran over a 12-day conflict, striking more than 1,480 targets and launching around 1,500 air sorties that dropped 3,500 munitions, Israeli media and defense sources reported.
The campaign, focused largely on western Iran and Tehran, also included long-range strikes as far as Mashhad airport, approximately 2,300 km from Israel.
According to data from the Israeli military and national rescue services (MDA), 29 Israelis were killed during the conflict – 28 by Iranian missile fire and one woman reportedly suffering cardiac arrest during air raid sirens.
The Israeli Air Force conducted 600 mid-air refueling operations during the offensive, which also targeted 80 Iranian air defense systems and 250 missile launch platforms.
Eight nuclear sites across Iran were bombed, with severe damage reported at two key facilities. Initial waves of airstrikes targeted Natanz and Isfahan, while subsequent attacks hit Arak, Parchin, Karaj, Bonab, and Tehran.
According to analysis by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), the strikes significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and eliminated much of the country’s strategic launch capability.
Iran fired approximately 600 missiles at Israeli territory in retaliation. Fatalities were recorded in multiple cities, including Rishon LeZion, Haifa, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ata, and Beersheba. More than 30,000 buildings across Israel were damaged during the hostilities.
