Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the country’s nuclear program remains “intact” despite admitting that US and Israeli strikes in June severely damaged several facilities, in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
Iran’s “peaceful nuclear program is intact, as we are speaking,” CNN quoted Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying in a interview.
He acknowledged that the strikes had “ruined many of our infrastructure, machineries” and “buildings,” but said the program was “very much based on our indigenous knowledge” and dispersed across a “huge country – 90 million people.”
“And this country is not a country that you can bomb and then think that you are going to ruin everything,” Khatibzadeh added.
The 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June and subsequent US airstrikes targeted the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites.
US President Donald Trump had initially said Fordow had been "obliterated," but an early US intelligence assessment indicated the attacks badly damaged the three facilities but may have set Iran’s program back by only up to two years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report Wednesday that checking Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium was “long overdue,” with inspectors still barred from entering the bombed sites.
CNN's report said Khatibzadeh did not comment on whether enrichment was taking place at Iran’s facilities, but said any future dialogue with the United States would require recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium.
“Delusions of zero enrichment inside Iran or trying to deprive Iran from its basic rights is not going to be an option for Iran,” CNN quoted Khatibzadeh as saying.
Khatibzadeh’s remarks come as Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is no longer enriching uranium after Israeli and US strikes in June, but added the country will not give up its right to enrichment or nuclear technology.
The Energy Ministry’s atmospheric water technologies organization said the first flight of the 2024–25 water year was conducted on Saturday over northwestern Iran, where Lake Urmia – once the Middle East’s largest saltwater lake – has largely dried into a salt plain after years of drought, over-extraction and extreme heat.
Mohammad-Mehdi Javadianzadeh, who heads the state body, said a specialized aircraft equipped for cloud seeding was deployed as a suitable weather system passed over the region.
He said teams plan to conduct operations “on all incoming systems that are technically viable” and are assessing conditions over Tehran and other provinces to determine whether additional flights can be launched in the coming days.
He said the aim is to maintain continuous operational capacity in the northwest, with authorities planning to base a dedicated aircraft in Tabriz to service both East and West Azarbaijan provinces.
The program is expected to run until mid-May using both aircraft and drones. Cloud seeding, Javadianzadeh added, is internationally recognized as a cost-effective tool for atmospheric water harvesting.
“Cloud seeding has been shown to increase precipitation and is used around the world not only to enhance rainfall but also to suppress hail, disperse fog and increase hydropower reserves,” he said.
But he warned that the technology has limits and requires clear public messaging: “If the issue is not explained properly, expectations beyond the capacity of the technology or disappointment with it may emerge among society and decision-makers.”
Cloud seeding widely used, but not a cure-all
Cloud seeding is used in more than 50 countries, including the United States, China, Australia and several Middle Eastern states. Scientific reviews suggest that under favorable atmospheric conditions the process can boost precipitation by 5 to 15 percent, though results vary widely and remain difficult to measure precisely.
Iran’s neighbors – especially the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – have expanded large-scale seeding programs, with the UAE carrying out more than 200 missions a year and investing in drone-based techniques similar to those Iran has begun deploying.
Experts say that while cloud seeding can marginally increase rainfall, it cannot compensate for decades of overuse, aquifer depletion and climate-driven aridity across the region.
Prayers for rain held nationwide
The new operations come as Iran faces what water specialists describe as a nationwide emergency. Reservoirs supplying Tehran are at or near historic lows, and authorities warn the capital could face extensive rationing if winter rains fail. Some neighborhoods have already reported intermittent cuts.
This week, cities across Iran held rain-seeking prayers as clerics urged the faithful to perform the traditional salat al-istisqa amid the worsening drought.
In Tehran, worshippers gathered at the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in the north of the capital on Friday. Similar ceremonies were held in Mashhad, Qom and Qazvin.
Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli said the prayer is “asking for water in all forms, not just rain,” calling it a moment for repentance and unity as water shortages deepen nationwide.
Experts say Iran is experiencing “water bankruptcy,” a condition in which consumption has exceeded renewable supply after decades of over-pumping, large-scale basin transfers and agricultural expansion.
Northwestern Iran has been among the hardest-hit regions. Lake Urmia’s collapse has triggered expanding salt storms that have damaged farmland and forced some residents to leave nearby villages, according to local media and environmental researchers.
Officials say unauthorized wells and heavy irrigation remain major drivers of groundwater decline.
Meteorological officials say rainfall so far this autumn is nearly 90% below long-term averages, making it the driest season in half a century.
