Iran vows to rebuild nuclear sites ‘stronger than before’

 As mediator Oman encouraged Tehran and Washington to resume stalled diplomacy, Iran declared on Sunday that it would rebuild nuclear sites hit by US and Israeli strikes “stronger than before.”

Although US President Donald Trump has stated that the strikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear program, it is still unclear how much damage was actually done.

During a visit to the nation’s nuclear organization, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that Tehran “will build (the destroyed sites) stronger than before.”

“By destroying buildings… we will not be set back,” he said in a video posted to his official website, adding that Iranian scientists still had the necessary nuclear know-how.

Pezeshkian didn’t go into detail. Prior to the strikes in February, he made similar statements, stating that Tehran would rebuild its installations in the event that they were attacked.

In June, Israel began an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which set off a 12-day war in which it killed numerous senior scientists and targeted military and nuclear installations in addition to residential areas.

Iran fired a volley of ballistic missiles against Israeli cities in retaliation.

After the United States declared a ceasefire in July, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the damage in Iran was “serious and severe.”

Pezeshkian’s comments came as Oman, Iran’s traditional intermediary, urged the two countries on Saturday to resume talks.

“We want to return to the negotiations between Iran (and) the United States,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Sunday that Tehran “has received messages” on resuming diplomacy, without providing further details.

This year, Oman held five rounds of U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Israel began attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities three days prior to the sixth round.

Since Britain, Germany, and France activated the “snapback” mechanism over Tehran’s alleged non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has been subject to the reinstatement of UN sanctions.