Araghchi says attacks dealt blow to nuclear facilities

The presentation in line with common government practice was made by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine.

“The briefing raised more questions than it answered," Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said baldly.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he left the briefing unsure about whether the US President Donald Trump was telling the truth and urged talks.

"Ultimately, the only way to truly constrain Iran's nuclear program is diplomacy. You cannot bomb knowledge out of existence. No matter how many scientists you kill, there are still people in Iran who know how to work centrifuges," he told reporters.

"To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months," the Connecticut lawmaker added.

"I just do not think the President was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated. There's certainly damage done to the program, but there is still significant remaining capability."

Rallying to Trump's defense, Arkansas Republican and Iran hawk Senator Tom Cotton said the president's detractors must be mentally ill.

"Some Democrats, some in the media, seem that's such a case of Trump derangement syndrome that they're rooting for the survival of Iran's nuclear program versus celebrating the success of our pilots and their crews," Cotton said.

"I think we've caused catastrophic damage to Iran's nuclear program," Cotton insisted.

"If you look at the whole span of what happened over 12 days, the targeting of Iran's nuclear scientists, the underground bunkers, the centrifuges, the centrifuge manufacturing sites, the gas to metal conversion sites, that's why we're confident - since all of those are single points of failure in an effort to get a nuclear weapon - that we have had an extraordinary success," he added.

Decision-making regarding the truce was handled instead by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who moved swiftly to respond to a ceasefire proposal from US President Donald Trump.

A source familiar with the details of the deliberations told Iran International that the council intended to respond quickly to the American proposal. However, at the time, there was no opportunity to contact Khamenei. The ceasefire was therefore approved and communicated without the supreme leader’s knowledge.

In recent days, Khamenei’s communication capabilities have been severely limited due to security concerns, particularly fears of an attack on his location.

Iran International previously reported that Khamenei and close family members, including his son Mojtaba, were relocated to a secure bunker in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, soon after the conflict began.

Earlier this month, Iran International reported that Khamenei had transferred key decision-making powers to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after the start of the attacks by Israel. The transfer of authority was viewed as a precautionary step to ensure continuity of command in the event of an escalation or direct threat to the leader’s safety.

Iran has not officially confirmed the location of the Supreme Leader or the details of the internal deliberations surrounding the ceasefire.

First message after ceasefire

Earlier in the day, Khamenei released his first public message since the ceasefire took effect on Tuesday, delivering a televised address in which he declared victory over Israel and said the United States was dealt a blow during the conflict.

“The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees,” he said. “The United States gained nothing and received a harsh slap in return.”

The setting of Thursday’s video matched earlier wartime messages, suggesting he remains in the same secure location.

Trump had previously posted on Truth Social that the US knew where Khamenei was hiding, describing him as an “easy target” and warning that American patience was “wearing thin.”

However, in remarks following the ceasefire announcement, Trump adopted a more measured tone, suggesting that “regime change takes chaos,” and adding, “we don’t want to see so much chaos, so we’ll see how it does.”

He also confirmed that the US is preparing for a new round of talks with Iran in the coming week.

Khamenei said Israel was “crushed” under Iranian strikes and claimed the US failed to achieve its goals after entering the conflict to protect its ally.

“The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees,” he said, adding that the United States “gained nothing” and received “a harsh slap” in return.

The setting of Thursday’s video appeared identical to his previous wartime address. Iran International previously reported that Khamenei and his family were moved to a secure underground bunker in Lavizan, north of Tehran, shortly after the conflict began.

Iran’s supreme leader says US ultimately seeks 'surrender and defeat of Iran'

In his message, Khamenei responded to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said Iran must “surrender.” Khamenei dismissed the demand as insulting and claimed it revealed the true objective of US policy.

Khamenei said Trump’s remarks revealed that the issue was not Iran’s nuclear program or missile development, but rather a broader effort to force the Islamic Republic into submission. “It’s no longer about enrichment or missiles,” he said. “It’s about surrender. That’s what they want.” He added that such language was “beneath the dignity of a president” and would only strengthen Iran’s resolve. “A country with our history and culture will never accept this kind of humiliation,” he said.

Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US knew Khamenei’s location and called him an “easy target,” adding, “We are not going to take him out—at least not for now.” He also warned that American patience was “wearing thin.”

Days later, Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Speaking afterward, he appeared to soften his tone, saying, “Regime change takes chaos, and ideally, we don't want to see so much chaos, so we'll see how it does.” He added that the US is preparing for a new round of talks with Iran next week.

"(The pilots) knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times," Trump posted on social media on Wednesday.

He linked the success of the strikes to his own diplomatic prowess, hitting back at news outlets which published a leaked preliminary assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency saying the air strikes only set Iran's nuclear program by months.

Trump said a press conference on the attacks' impact would prove "irrefutable."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to acknowledge the report's veracity but said leakers had "an agenda."

"I would say that story’s a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening," Rubio told Politico.

The spirited defense came after Trump rounded on Republican critics of his decision to attack without Congressional authorization.

Sidelined Democrats clap back

As the nuclear attack unfolded, the Trump administration briefed Capitol Hill majority leaders from his own Republican Party but not Democrats.

The president's sharing of intelligence along party lines, if confirmed, would break with precedent of most of the recent decades where the commander-in-chief shared information on bipartisan lines.

Lawmakers from the minority criticized the move and wondered aloud what the strikes had accomplished.

"Iran’s highly enriched uranium could be moved in as little as 10 carloads," Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia wrote on X.

"Do we really have confidence we know where this is? Do we really have confidence it wasn’t moved before our strikes?"

During two months of US-Iran talks, Democrats had largely remained silently supportive of Trump's diplomatic effort to end Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado accused the Trump administration of withholding classified information on Iran from Congress.

"The nation's intelligence agency leadership must attend tomorrow's Senate briefing in addition to Secretaries Hegseth and Rubio," he posted on X.

“Iran just had a war. They fought it bravely,” Trump said Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

“I’m not giving up (on the maximum pressure policy). I could stop their oil business if I wanted. (But) I don’t want to do that," he said when asked if he is easing sanctions on Iran.

"They’re going to need money to put that country back to shape. We want to see that happen. We’re not taking over the oil. We could have. But putting that country back into shape desperately needs money."

The remarks mark a notable shift in tone. Just weeks earlier, in early May, Trump had threatened to impose immediate secondary sanctions on any country buying “even small amounts of oil or petrochemicals from Iran.”

That warning was part of his administration’s revived maximum pressure campaign, reintroduced this February after a pause under the Biden administration.

On Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften his stance, posting on Truth Social: “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran.”

The post drew immediate speculation about a possible rollback of sanctions.

However, the Wall Street Journal cited a senior White House official as saying Trump was “simply calling attention to the fact that, because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China.”

The official was quoted as saying that US sanctions on countries importing Iranian oil remain fully in effect.

In his Wednesday remarks, Trump did not clarify whether he plans to formally issue a sanctions waiver or simply return to what critics described as lax enforcement of US sanctions during the Biden era.

'Uncanny ability'

Trump's Mideast envoy for talks with Iran which are due to resume next week said the move is a sign of Trump's diplomatic prowess.

"It was a signal from the President, you know, he's got this uncanny ability to take the temperature of how people are feeling about certain things," he told Fox News.

"This was a signal to the Chinese that we want to work with you, that we're not interested in hurting your economy, we're interested in in working together with you in unison, and hopefully that becomes a signal to the Iranians," he added.

During Trump’s first term, strict sanctions enforcement had nearly eliminated Iran’s legal oil exports, bringing them down to 200,000 barrels per day. Under the Biden administration, the enforcement of sanctions eased, and exports to China surged — peaking at 1.7 million barrels per day in early 2025.

China is Iran’s primary oil customer, reportedly buying around 90 percent of its exports, according to Reuters.

Iranian crude is often shipped in shadow fleets that mask the origin of the oil before it arrives at China’s independent “teapot” refineries. These facilities frequently pay in Chinese yuan, bypassing the US dollar-based global financial system.