
IAEA says its inspectors have left Iran
Iran has claimed that IAEA activities served as an excuse for Israel and the United States to attack its nuclear facilities.
Earlier in the week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the suspension of Tehran's cooperation with the IAEA.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the UN atomic agency was pulling its inspectors out of Iran over safety concerns.
The newspaper said their departure means that the possibility of significant international access to Iran's nuclear sites is extremely unlikely, and would allow Tehran to carry out nuclear activities unchecked.
The IAEA said in May that Iran has more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent. But the whereabouts of the uranium after US attacks on its nuclear facilities is not known.
The IAEA stressed the importance of discussing with Iran the resumption of its monitoring and verification activities as soon as possible.
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Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israel declares Gaza fighting pause amid deepening hunger crisis
Israel declared a "tactical pause" in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the U.N. and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and angrily rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians. In a statement, the army said it coordinated its decisions with the U.N. and international organizations to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip." There was no immediate official response from the U.N. or nongovernmental aid agencies operating in Gaza, and privately skeptical humanitarian sources said they were waiting to see the results on the ground of the Israeli announcement. The pause in fighting would be limited to areas where the military says Israeli troops are not currently operating — Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City — and last from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. every day. But the Israeli statement added that "designated secure routes" had been opened across all of Gaza to enable the safe passage of U.N. and humanitarian aid organization convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine. The Israeli military said these operations, alongside its ongoing campaign against Palestinian armed groups, should disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip." Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation. Before Israel announced the airborne delivery of seven pallets of food, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them. On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defense agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centers. "We ask God and our Arab brothers to work harder to reach a ceasefire before we all die," Gaza resident Hossam Sobh said, adding that he had feared death as he recovered a bag of flour under the nose of an Israeli tank. Also Saturday, Israeli troops boarded a boat carrying activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea to challenge a naval blockade. The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with more than 100 NGOs warning recently that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza. On Telegram, the Israeli military announced it "carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip." Humanitarian chiefs are deeply skeptical that air drops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than 2 million inhabitants. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart air drops. The United Arab Emirates said it would resume air drops "immediately." A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians." Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges that U.N. agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organizations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza. A separate aid operation is underway through the Israeli— and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points. On Saturday evening, the live feed on the Handala boat belonging to pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. The soldiers moved in as the boat approached Gaza and three video live feeds of the scene broadcasting online were cut minutes later. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israel allows aid air drops to Gaza to resume
Israel said Saturday that it air dropped aid into the Gaza Strip and would open humanitarian corridors, as it faced growing international condemnation over the deepening hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory. Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume. Before Israel announced the delivery of seven aid packages, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them. The decision to loosen the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defense agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centers. The same day, Israeli troops boarded a boat carrying activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea and deliver a small quantity of supplies to the aid-starved population. The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with international NGOs warning of soaring malnutrition among children. On Telegram, the Israeli military announced it "carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip." Earlier, Israel said humanitarian corridors for U.N. aid convoys to deliver "food and medicine" would also be designated. This would improve the humanitarian situation, and disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip," it added. Israel's foreign ministry posted on X that a "humanitarian pause" would apply to certain parts of Gaza on Sunday morning to facilitate the aid deliveries. Humanitarian chiefs are deeply skeptical that air drops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than 2 million inhabitants. They are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart air drops. Starmer's office said that in a call with his French and German counterparts the "prime minister set out how the U.K. will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance." The United Arab Emirates said it would resume air drops "immediately." "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. "Air drops are resuming once more, immediately." A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians." Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that U.N. agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organizations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza. A separate aid operation is underway through the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points. On Saturday evening, the live feed on the Handala boat belonging to pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. The soldiers moved in as the boat approached Gaza and three video live feeds of the scene broadcasting online were cut minutes later. Israeli forces last month intercepted and boarded another boat run by the same group, the Madleen. Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed over 50 people on Saturday, including 14 killed in separate incidents near aid distribution centers. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean press agencies are unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.


Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
Most ICE detainees have no criminal history as detention reaches record levels
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