WASHINGTON (June 22, 2025) – The US struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday. In a joint press conference this morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said “U.S. strikes caused “extremely severe damage” at three nuclear facilities in Iran. Adding that it was too early to tell the full scale of the destruction at the sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.”
The George Washington University has experts available to provide context and analysis on the region. To speak with an expert, please contact Media Relations Specialist Shannon Mitchell at shannon [dot] mitchell
gwu [dot] edu (shannon[dot]mitchell[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Sina Azodi, Professorial Lecturer at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. Azodi is an expert in international relations of the Middle East, Iranian Foreign Policy, U.S.-Iranian Relations, Nuclear non-proliferation, Iran’s nuclear program and Iranian politics.
Azodi discusses the threats of rising tensions between Iran and Israel, and his current
research involves exploring the roots of the Iranian nuclear program and his dissertation focused on "Iran's Nuclear Program: A Struggle for Security and Modernity" traces the evolution of Iran's nuclear program.
Alexander Downes, Professor of political science and international affairs, is co-director of the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at GW. Downes's book Targeting Civilians in War was published by Cornell University Press in 2008 and won the Joseph Lepgold Prize awarded by Georgetown University for the best book in international relations published in that year. Downes has written on a variety of subjects in international security, including civilian victimization, foreign-imposed regime change, military effectiveness, democracy, coercion, alliances, and solutions to civil wars.
-GW-