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Iran’s nuclear site at Fordo is attacked again, Iranian media says

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 20:11

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close up view of holes and craters on a ridge at Fordo enrichment facility in Iran after U.S. strikes, Sunday, June 22, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Iran's underground enrichment site at Fordo was hit again on Monday while Iran fired a salvo of missiles and drones at Israel and warned the United States that its military now has a “free hand” to attack U.S. targets in the wake of the Donald Trump administration's massive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The Fordo facility was one of those hit in Sunday's attack, and it was struck again on Monday, Iranian state television reported. There was no immediate word on damage nor who launched the attack, though Israel said earlier it was conducting airstrikes on Iran.

In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility already following Sunday's U.S. airstrike with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

“Given the explosive payload utilized […] very significant damage […] is expected to have occurred,” said Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

With Sunday's strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. Tehran said Washington had crossed “a very big red line” with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-busters.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran before U.S. strikes, Friday, June 20, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran after U.S. strikes, Sunday, June 22, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Israel said its defense systems were operating to intercept the latest Iranian threat, which apparently targeted the north and central areas of the country, and told people to head to shelters. Iran described the attack as a new wave of its "Operation True Promise 3,” saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.

Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem. There were no immediate reports of damage.

In Iran, witnesses reported Israeli airstrikes hit areas in the vicinity of Iran’s capital around midday. It wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted.

In Vienna, the IAEA's Grossi said that given the "explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred.” He added that “at this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordo.”

Also Monday, Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of the joint staff of armed forces, warned Washington that its strikes had given Iranian forces a “free hand “ to "act against U.S. interests and its army.”

A protester chants slogans as she holds a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a protest following the U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are based in the Middle East, many in locations within range of short-range Iranian missiles.

The United States described its attack on the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, as well as the Isfahan nuclear site, as a one-off to take out Iran's nuclear program, but President Donald Trump has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates.

Mousavi described the attack as a violation of Iran’s sovereignty and tantamount to invading the country, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

In the wake of the attacks, calls came from across the globe for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy to try and resolve the conflict.

On Monday, the European Union's top diplomat said the bloc remained “very much focused on the diplomatic solution.”

"The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge,” Kaja Kallas said at the start of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, where Iran has jumped to the top of the agenda.

This combo of pictures show President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

“Especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,” Kallas said, referring to a maritime route crucial for oil transport.

After Sunday's attacks, Iranian officials repeated their longtime threats of possibly closing the key shipping lane.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the United States, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief.

But after Trump pulled Washington out of the deal unilaterally during his first term, Tehran began enriching uranium up to 60 percent — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.

As he arrived in Brussels on Monday for a meeting with his EU counterparts, the German foreign minister renewed calls for Iran to agree again to direct talks with the United States, but said Europe still has a role to play.

“We already made it very clear to the Iranian side that a real precondition for a settlement to the conflict is that Iran be ready to negotiate directly with the United States,” he said, while adding that the European group known as the E3 “will contribute what we can.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Iran's key allies, in Moscow on Monday.

AP