Back to news from Iran, this was in an article in Newsweek.
Originally Posted by excerpts from that article
Iran's nuclear facilities were "severely damaged" in military strikes launched by the United States last month, the country's president has said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian told conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that the U.S. strikes on Iran were "illegal," and that the nation had never intended to develop a nuclear bomb. President Donald Trump announced on June 21 that the U.S. had conducted successful airstrikes against three key Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Pezeshkian added that Iran was ready to resume talks on verifying its nuclear program after it suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the Israeli and U.S. strikes. He also said that Israel had attempted to assassinate him.
Pezeshkian's interview offers the clearest snapshot yet into Tehran's thinking following last month's military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites which Trump says were destroyed, following Israel's Operation Rising Lion. It also raises the possibility that Iran could cooperate with the IAEA although the president's comments that Tehran never wanted to develop a nuclear bomb are likely to be widely dismissed.
In a wide-ranging interview released Monday, Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran's rhetoric, vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S, that Iran had never sought to develop a nuclear bomb. Pezeshkian said Israel's attacks had "torpedoed" negotiations Tehran was undertaking with the U.S. but added that Iran was ready to have its nuclear program supervised. However, U.S. attacks had damaged many pieces of equipment and facilities "therefore we don't have any access to them." He also said Israel tried to assassinate him by bombarding an area in which he was holding a meeting "but they failed." Trump has already said he blocked Israel from trying to assassinate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: "We are ready to hold talks over it... we stand ready to have these supervisions." He also said: "It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel." Speculation will remain over the state of Iran's nuclear program especially regarding the location of its enriched uranium.
Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association said in an article released Monday that the bombardment of underground portions of the Natanz and Fordow uranium enrichment plants and the Isfahan uranium conversion facility "inflicted heavy damage but did not eliminate the program."
There is some interesting messaging going on there, but 'we can start talks again' seems to be trickling out. (All of the
bold text is my attempt at emphasis)