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One of the main drivers behind Israel’s decision to strike Iran this month was a highly alarming breakthrough in Iran’s nuclear program, which suggested it was much closer to a nuclear bomb than previously believed by Israeli officials, a report by Israel's Channel 12 said.
The report added that a group of Iranian scientists had been secretly working on nuclear weapons development in a way that caused serious concern among Israeli intelligence and leadership.
It said that the operation aimed to stop this effort and specifically target the scientists involved — who, according to the report, “were indeed eliminated.”
French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart called for Tehran's return to the negotiating table to address ballistic and nuclear issues, and for the resumption of the IAEA's work in Iran, his X account said.
He also called on Tehran to respect the ceasefire with Israel and to help restore peace in the region, the post on his X said.
Macron said he also called for the release of French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris and the protection of French nationals and facilities in Iran, which "must not be subject to any threats."
Israel has "intentionally targeted medical personnel and health and treatment facilities, resulting in heavy casualties and widespread destruction," Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations said in a report to the UN Secretary General.
Amir-Saeed Iravani said the attacks were in "blatant contradiction with international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and all relevant conventions."
"Israelis had located a meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and planned to strike it to kill the heads of the three branches of power, then assassinate the Supreme Leader to finish off Iran altogether, but that didn't happen," said Ali Khamenei's advisor Ali Larijani in a televised interview on Sunday.
The United States intercepted private communications between senior Iranian officials discussing the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, in which the officials said the attacks were less damaging than expected, The Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government.
In the exchanges, Iranian officials speculated on why the strikes ordered by President Donald Trump were not as extensive or destructive as they had anticipated, the report added citing the unnamed sources.
The Trump administration did not dispute the existence of the intercepted messages but firmly rejected the Iranian assessment, casting doubt on Tehran’s ability to evaluate the level of destruction at the three targeted nuclear facilities.
“It’s shameful that The Washington Post is helping people commit felonies by publishing out-of-context leaks,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over.”
