Israeli Strikes Damage Iran's Underground Nuclear Site, Agency Says, as Trump Issues Ominous Warning

PTI, DUBAI, JUNE 17:  The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday it believes Israeli airstrikes on Iran's Natanz enrichment site have had “direct impacts” on the facility's underground centrifuge halls. The strikes are part of an air campaign Israel launched against its longtime foe five days ago, targeting Iran's military and nuclear program.

This marks the first time the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has assessed damage from the strikes in the underground parts of Natanz, which is the main enrichment facility of Iran's nuclear program.

“Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz,” the agency said. Already, an above-ground enrichment hall had been destroyed, as well as electrical equipment that powered the facility.

Israel continued to pound Iran Tuesday, while US President Donald Trump posted an ominous message warning Tehran residents to evacuate.

“IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote Monday night before returning to Washington early from a Group of Seven summit in Canada. “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he added.

The US president later denied he had rushed back to work on a ceasefire, telling reporters on Air Force One: “I'm not looking at a ceasefire. We're looking at better than a ceasefire.”

Asked why he had urged for the evacuation of Tehran, he said: “I just want people to be safe.”

Earlier, the Israeli military had called for some 330,000 residents of a neighborhood in downtown Tehran to evacuate. Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with around 10 million people, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Israel. People have been fleeing since hostilities began.