Key Points and Summary – In a stunning new demand, Iran has declared it will only return to nuclear negotiations if the United States first provides compensation for the damage caused by recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on its nuclear facilities.
-Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the U.S. must “compensate Iran for the damage they have done” before any talks can proceed.
B-2 Stealth Bomber at USAF Museum July 19 2025. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
-The audacious condition, which is certain to be rejected by Washington, comes as a late-August deadline for a new nuclear deal looms, making a diplomatic solution seem more remote than ever.
Now Iran Wants Compensation
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told The Financial Times that talks over the future of its nuclear program can only continue if Washington agrees to provide compensation for the damage caused in June’s Operation Midnight Hammer strikes.
Araghchi echoed recent claims by Iranian officials that the door to diplomacy with Washington remains open, but drew a harder line this time, laying out its own conditions for nuclear talks.
“They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of…negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that (during future talks),” Araghchi told The Financial Times.
“And they have to compensate (Iran for) the damage they have done,” he continued.
The Damage Done…
While no reliable public estimate of the cost of the damage done to Iran’s nuclear sites exists, U.S. B-2 strikes on the country’s three main nuclear facilities have set back the nation’s nuclear program by a lot. While estimates of the time it will take to restart the program vary from a few months to two years, the reality is that the strikes caused significant damage that has set back the program overall by years.
A F-15 Strike Eagle, assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing, approaches a KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, for refueling over the southeastern United States, Aug. 29, 2024. A multi-mission avionics system sets the F-15 apart from other fighter aircraft. It includes a head-up display, advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, ultrahigh frequency communications, tactical navigation system and instrument landing system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin)
Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in June that Iran could have “cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium” within months – but the damage caused to its facilities during the recent American strikes undid work that took decades to complete.
The Natanz fuel enrichment plant was first revealed to the IAEA in 2002, with enrichment operations beginning around 2010. The Fordow plant was unveiled in 2009, with construction believed to have begun sometime between 2006 and 2007.
The Isfahan nuclear complex, which was also damaged during the B-2 strikes, first opened in 1984, with its Uranium Conversion Facility coming online in the early 2000s.
What Sort of Compensation Does Iran Want?
Araghchi did not expand on what kind of compensation he expects to receive from Washington.
The likelihood of the United States offering monetary compensation is slim – and likely just as slim as the chance Trump is willing to offer any other form of remuneration for Iran following years of trickery, dishonesty, and aggressive posturing towards the United States over its nuclear ambitions.
The Financial Times also reported that Araghchi has been in regular contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, exchanging messages in the weeks since the 12-day war came to an end.
However, discussions so far have produced no new agreement, and the clock is ticking as the end-of-August deadline for agreeing to a new nuclear deal approaches.
The deadline was set by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his European counterparts.
Failure to meet the deadline, Rubio said, would mean Britain, Germany, France, and the U.S. triggering a “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal, reimplementing sweeping sanctions against Iran.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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Philip D Steinert
August 2, 2025 at 11:44 am
Hahaha, that just tells me we need to hit them again.
JimShoes
August 2, 2025 at 4:05 pm
Tell Iran that the US will compensate them after they compensate those whose ships have been attacked, those who have lost property and/or loved ones in their proxy wars and otherwise make it right for all of the harm they have done!
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