Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday issued a fiery pledge to reconstruct the nation’s nuclear facilities “with greater strength,” five months after coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hammered three key sites in a bid to cripple Tehran’s atomic ambitions.
Speaking during a high-profile visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) in Tehran, Pezeshkian toured exhibits of radiopharmaceuticals and medical isotopes before addressing scientists and state media. “Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us – we will rebuild, and with greater strength,” he declared, emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear know-how resides “in the minds of our scientists,” not vulnerable infrastructure.
The strikes in question unfolded in June 2025 amid the brief but intense “12-Day War.” U.S. B-2 stealth bombers dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (30,000-pound “bunker-busters”) on underground halls at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, while submarines fired Tomahawk missiles. President Donald Trump hailed the operation – codenamed “Midnight Hammer” – as having “completely obliterated” Iran’s enrichment capacity. Early U.S. intelligence assessments, however, described damage as “moderate to severe” rather than total, setting the program back by months to two years at most.
Pezeshkian categorically rejected accusations of weaponization: “Building a nuclear weapon is not on our agenda, and they know this.” He lambasted “targeted propaganda” for equating “nuclear” with bombs, insisting 99% of applications serve medicine, agriculture, and energy. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi echoed that no evidence exists of an active weapons program, though Tehran has curtailed inspections since the attacks.
In a major escalation of ambitions, AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami announced plans for eight new Russian-built nuclear power plants – four in Bushehr and four along northern and southern coasts – targeting 20,000 MW by 2041. Satellite imagery already shows security perimeters and fresh construction at struck sites, defying Trump’s July warning of “far worse” follow-up strikes.
