How badly Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a> was set back remains murky. The prospects of renewed U.S.-Iran peace talks are up in the air. And whether U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> can leverage the moment to get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> \u2018s government and Hamas focused on a ceasefire and hostage deal that brings about an end to the 20-month war in Gaza<\/a> remains an open question.<\/p>\n Here is a look at what we still don\u2019t know:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An Iranian woman holds up her country\u2019s flag in an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n An Iranian woman holds up her country\u2019s flag in an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n How far Iran\u2019s nuclear program has been set back<\/p>\n Trump says three targets hit by American strikes were \u201cobliterated.\u201d His defense secretary said they were \u201cdestroyed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n A preliminary report issued by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage<\/a> to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities.<\/a><\/p>\n Rafael Grossi<\/a>, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d on Sunday that the three Iranian sites with \u201ccapabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.\u201d But, he added, \u201csome is still standing\u201d and that because capabilities remain, \u201cif they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.\u201d He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing inspectors access.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This combination of photos shows Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2025, from left, President Donald Trump in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, June 27, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a televised speech in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo\/Denes Erdos, from left, AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)<\/p>\n This combination of photos shows Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2025, from left, President Donald Trump in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, June 27, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a televised speech in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo\/Denes Erdos, from left, AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n What future US-Iran relations might look like<\/p>\n After the ceasefire deal came together, Trump spoke of potentially easing decades of biting sanctions on Tehran and predicted that Iran could become a \u201cgreat trading nation\u201d if it pulled back once-and-for-all from its nuclear program.<\/p>\n The talk of harmony didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first public appearance after the ceasefire was announced, claimed Tehran had delivered a \u201cslap to America\u2019s face.\u201d Trump responded by suggesting the supreme leader own up to the fact Iran \u201cgot beat to hell. The president also said he was backing off reviewing any immediate sanction relief, because of Khamenei\u2019s heated comments.<\/p>\n White House officials say the U.S. and Iran are already in early discussions about resuming negotiations that had ended after Israel began launching strikes. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says there\u2019s no agreement in place to restart talks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if Iran\u2019s leadership is ready to come to the table so soon after the fighting has ended \u2014 especially if Trump holds to the position that Iran must give up nuclear enrichment for even civilian use. And Trump has offered conflicting statements about his commitment to talks. \u201cWe may sign an agreement,\u201d he said Wednesday at a NATO summit press conference. He added, \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s that necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n What role Iran\u2019s supreme leader will play<\/p>\n Khamenei\u2019s age and recent diminished appearance have raised questions about the scope of his involvement in U.S.-Iran relations and the Islamic Republic\u2019s response to both American and Israeli strikes. But despite having spent the last few weeks in a bunker as threats to his life escalated, there is little indication that the ayatollah does not still reign supreme over the country\u2019s massive military and governmental operations.<\/p>\n Khamenei has ruled three times longer than his predecessor, the late Ruhollah Khomeini, and has shaped life for the country\u2019s more than 90 million people perhaps even more dramatically.<\/p>\n He entrenched the system of rule by the \u201cmullahs,\u201d or Shiite Muslim clerics. That secured his place in the eyes of hard-liners as the unquestionable authority, below only that of God. At the same time, Khamenei built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard<\/a> into the dominant force in Iran\u2019s military and internal politics.<\/p>\n How Iran might strike back<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s retaliatory missile attacks on a U.S. base in Qatar following the American bombardment were sloughed off by the White House as a half-hearted, face-saving measure. The U.S. was forewarned and the salvos were easily fended off.<\/p>\n Yet Iran remains a persistent threat, particularly via cyberwarfare. Hackers backing Tehran have already targeted U.S. banks, defense contractors and oil industry companies \u2014 but so far have not caused widespread disruptions to critical infrastructure or the economy.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week issued a public bulletin<\/a> warning of increased Iranian cyber threats. And the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is urging organizations that operate critical infrastructure like water systems, pipelines or power plants to stay vigilant.<\/p>\n Whether the Israel-Iran ceasefire will hold<\/p>\n It remains a fragile peace.<\/p>\n Immediately following the U.S. strikes, Trump got on the phone with Netanyahu and told the Israeli leader not to expect further U.S. offensive military action, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks.<\/p>\n But even as he agreed to deal, Netanyahu made clear that Israel will strike again \u201cif anyone in Iran tries to revive this project.\u201d<\/p>\n The ceasefire deal came without any agreement from Tehran on dismantling its nuclear program. Khamenei claims the attacks \u201cdid nothing significant\u201d to Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n Trump expressed confidence that Iran, at the moment, has no interest in getting its nuclear program back up. \u201cThe last thing they\u2019re thinking about right now is enriched uranium,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Still, Trump says he expects Iran to open itself to international inspection to verify that it doesn\u2019t restart its nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, or some other organization \u201cthat we respect, including ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether Trump can now press Netanyahu on Gaza<\/p>\n The president took a big gamble<\/a> with his decision to order strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear fortress.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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