TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday expressed doubts about Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire agreed between the two sides after a 12-day conflict.
The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian sites, killing at least 606 people and injuring 5,332, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.
Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and injuring more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“We did not start the war, but we have responded to the aggressor with all our power,” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was quoted as saying by state television, referring to Israel.
“We have serious doubts over the enemy’s compliance with its commitments, including the ceasefire. we are ready to respond with force,” if attacked again, he added, six days into the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
The United States also joined Israel in its war, conducting strikes on three key facilities used for Iran’s atomic programme.
Trump has warned that if Iran enriches uranium to levels sufficient for weaponisation, the US would consider launching additional military strikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is “serious,” but the details are unknown. US President Donald Trump insisted Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades.”
Meanwhile, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months,” despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks.
According to the UN nuclear watchdog, Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent in 2021, well above the 3.67 percent limit set by a 2015 agreement from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
Israel has maintained ambiguity about its atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads.
