After US and Israeli strikes, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces a critical choice: rebuild the same regime or open up in a way that could threaten his hold on power.

An intense online war of words between Iran's Supreme Leader and U.S. President over recent nuclear strikes is escalating tensions.

"Khamenei's position is surely weakened," Arash Azizi, who unveiled an alleged plot against the supreme leader, told Newsweek.

The question now is what a shaken Islamic Republic in dire economic straits will do with what Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a moderate, has called “a golden opportunity for change.”

The assessment widens the divide with President Trump, who has claimed that Tehran has given up its nuclear ambitions after a U.S. attack.

Iran likely can resume uranium enrichment to make a nuclear bomb in a few months, despite damage to nuclear facilities by United States and Israel airstrikes, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog chief said.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to its nuclear program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium “in a matter of months,” contradicting President Donald Trump’s claims the US set Tehran’s ambitions back by decades.

Iran's Foreign Minister set firm conditions for any renewed talks with the United States, signaling that Tehran remains open to diplomacy but not without conditions, in a new interview with CBS News.

Foreign minister’s comments come as the G7 calls for negotiations on a deal to address Iran’s nuclear programme.