Ali Shamkhani, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted on Sunday that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains preserved despite a wave of US airstrikes on its nuclear infrastructure.
“Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn’t over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain,” Shamkhani posted on X. He further said, “The political and operational initiative is now with the side that plays smart, avoids blind strikes. Surprises will continue!”
Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn’t over, enriched materials,#indigenous_knowledge, #political_will remain. With #legitimate_defense right, political and operational initiative is now with the side that plays smart, avoids blind strikes. Surprises will continue!
— علی شمخانی (@alishamkhani_ir) June 22, 2025
Americans Must Receive A Response To Their Aggression: Iranian President
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing the aftermath of the airstrikes for the first time, held Washington responsible for escalating tensions. “The Americans must receive a response to their aggression,” Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron, as quoted by Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
He added that the strikes “showed that America is the main factor behind the Zionist regime’s hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and accused the US of stepping in after witnessing Israel’s failure to contain Iran. “The United States joined the arena after witnessing Israel’s impotence,” he said, according to IRNA.
Rubio Warns Against Blocking Strait of Hormuz, Urges China’s Intervention
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned Tehran against any attempt to block the Strait of Hormuz — a key global oil passage — amid speculation following the strikes on Iran’s Fordow, Ifshahan and Natanz nuclear facilities. Speaking to Fox News, Rubio said, “I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil.”
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours,” he added.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor through which roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass. The narrow channel, only 33 km wide at its tightest point, separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and links the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
‘Not a War’, Says Rubio, But Warns Iran of US Capabilities
Rubio clarified that the strikes — which involved B-2 stealth bombers, over 125 aircraft, 14 bunker-buster bombs, and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles — were not a declaration of war. “Trump wrote to Iran asking them to not have a nuclearised program. They tried playing him,” he told Fox News, adding that any retaliation from Tehran would be “a terrible mistake.”
“We have capabilities they haven’t even seen yet,” Rubio warned, stressing that while the US is open to negotiations, it also stands prepared for escalation. He revealed the strikes followed Iran’s failure to meet a 60-day deadline issued earlier this year by President Trump to negotiate a new nuclear agreement.
“The element of surprise in timing was to ensure the safety of our servicemen and women who were in harm’s way while carrying out the operation,” he said.
