Latest news with #AhmadSadeghi
Daily Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Telegraph
Sunrise host Natt Barr clashes with Iranian ambassador on live TV
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Iran's man in Australia has sheepishly played down reports that the nation's nuclear program largely survived surprise US bunker-buster strikes over the weekend. Iranian ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi spent much of a Sunrise interview this morning defending the nation's right to 'peaceful nuclear usage' and to respond to 'illegal' attacks from Israel and the US in recent days. In a brief but prickly exchange, Sunrise host Nat Barr accused Iran of breaching international obligations regarding nuclear development before demanding to know if reports out of Washington, stating the program remains intact, are correct. 'I think you had just breached your agreement under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty right before this, but let's ask you, what did the US destroy when they bombed Iran several days ago?' Barr asked. Addressing Barr's lead statement, Mr Sadeghi asserted, 'We didn't breach our commitments – I don't know what reference you are doing'. Sunrise host Nat Barr accused Iran of breaching international obligations regarding nuclear development. Iranian ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi defended the nation's right to 'peaceful nuclear usage'. The UN nuclear energy watchdog ruled days before fighting in the region began that, indeed, Iran was in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to reveal information about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple sites. For its part, Tehran has been highly critical of the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessments before and after this month's 12-day war with Israel. Addressing the damage from the US strikes, Mr Sadeghi said: 'I do not have any exact technical assessment and estimate (on the damage)'. This Tuesday, June 24, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at Fordo enrichment facility after strikes in Iran on June 23. Picture: Maxar Technologies via AP 'That is something that the technical teams, with regard to Iran, and the IAEA, maybe, later on, have to find out about, the dimension of the damage. Of course, a leaked report from US military intelligence overnight purportedly found that US President Donald Trump's weekend air strikes on Iran left most of its nuclear infrastructure intact, and its capacity to develop nuclear weapons was 'likely only set back by months'. Mr Trump said this morning in full caps on Truth Social: 'THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!' Originally published as Sunrise host Natt Barr clashes with Iranian ambassador on live TV
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Sunrise host Natt Barr clashes with Iranian ambassador on live TV
Iran's man in Australia has sheepishly played down reports that the nation's nuclear program largely survived surprise US bunker-buster strikes over the weekend. Iranian ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi spent much of a Sunrise interview this morning defending the nation's right to 'peaceful nuclear usage' and to respond to 'illegal' attacks from Israel and the US in recent days. In a brief but prickly exchange, Sunrise host Nat Barr accused Iran of breaching international obligations regarding nuclear development before demanding to know if reports out of Washington, stating the program remains intact, are correct. 'I think you had just breached your agreement under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty right before this, but let's ask you, what did the US destroy when they bombed Iran several days ago?' Barr asked. Addressing Barr's lead statement, Mr Sadeghi asserted, 'We didn't breach our commitments – I don't know what reference you are doing'. The UN nuclear energy watchdog ruled days before fighting in the region began that, indeed, Iran was in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to reveal information about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple sites. For its part, Tehran has been highly critical of the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessments before and after this month's 12-day war with Israel. Addressing the damage from the US strikes, Mr Sadeghi said: 'I do not have any exact technical assessment and estimate (on the damage)'. 'That is something that the technical teams, with regard to Iran, and the IAEA, maybe, later on, have to find out about, the dimension of the damage. Of course, a leaked report from US military intelligence overnight purportedly found that US President Donald Trump's weekend air strikes on Iran left most of its nuclear infrastructure intact, and its capacity to develop nuclear weapons was 'likely only set back by months'.
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
'Disastrous reaction': Iran's ambassador warns against Western intervention to topple Ayatollah
Iran's ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, has told SBS News there would be a "disastrous reaction" if the West attempted a regime change in Iran. Source: SBS News After US President Donald Trump floated the possibility of "regime change" in Iran, the nation's ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, has warned any Western-led attempt to remove Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be so severe that he does "not want even to talk about it". In a wide-ranging interview with SBS, Sadeghi described Iran as "clearly a peaceful nation" that has a "right to enrich uranium", while referring to US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities as "unprovoked and against international law". Here are five key takeaways from SBS' interview with Sadeghi. Asked about the consequences of any attempted regime-change — either Western-led or resulting from an internal uprising — Sadeghi's response was unequivocal. "I just advise our adversaries not to even think about it," he told SBS World News. "Of course, it would be a very disastrous reaction. I cannot imagine. I do not want even to talk about it." Asked if he meant a military response, Sadeghi said: "I do not want to even consider it, that they [the US or Israel] would dare to do that, first of all." In relation to a civil uprising, he said the Iranian people had galvanised around Khamenei. "After these illegal attacks against Iran, solidarity and unity among Iranian people from different [ethnic] groups and ages has solidified," he said. Rana Dadpour from Australian United Solidarity for Iran rejected that claim, suggesting Iranian people were "united in surviving brutality". "At a time when Iranians are being arrested, executed, and silenced under wartime conditions, it is both misleading and morally indefensible to suggest that the people are united behind the regime," she said. "Right now, people are afraid for their lives. Political prisoners are being rushed through executions, and access to the internet has been cut — not just to hide the scale of repression from the world, but to block Iranians from organising, accessing information, or simply reaching loved ones. " As the Australian government urged Iran to return to the negotiating table and condemned its retaliatory strikes on US bases in Qatar and Iraq on Tuesday morning, Sadeghi rejected the notion that Iran was the party at fault. "Iran was already engaging in diplomacy and at the table," he said. "We had five rounds of negotiation, and the sixth was supposed to take place on June 30." The US strikes came just two days after Trump announced a two-week negotiation window, during which time the US would decide on a course of action. Sadeghi also referenced Trump's 2018 decision to end the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, brokered two years earlier by the Obama administration — which imposed restrictions on Iran's civilian nuclear enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief. "As you recall, in 2015, Iran was not the one leaving the negotiating table or leaving the agreement. Iran carried out all out commitments under the JCPOA," Sadeghi said. Inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities have become more difficult since the agreement was scrapped. When asked about the legality of the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pointed to the need for Iran to "never acquire a nuclear weapon" and the regime's support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — all designated terrorist organisations in Australia. "The Iranians … have been a very destructive force in the region," Albanese told Sky News. "What we want to see is regional peace and security." Sadeghi said Iran is "clearly a peaceful nation". "If you go back through history, 500 years ago up to now, Iran has not attacked, premeditated, or conducted a pre-emptive strike against any neighbours." Asked what he considered Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel — the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, claiming 1,200 Israeli lives and seeing 250 Israelis taken hostage — Sadeghi said: "October 7 was not the beginning of the process". While labelling the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as an "unprovoked and imposed war against us", Sadeghi was reluctant to weigh in on the extent of the damage to the nuclear facility at Fordow, which Trump claimed had been "obliterated". "Obliteration is a very drastic and grave term," Sadeghi said. "Based on the Atomic Energy Agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran report, no radiation has come out [of the facility.] There is no technical report that is verified about the dimensions of the damage." He also defended Iran's "right to enrich" uranium, while skirting questions about the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) reports that Iran had stockpiled uranium enriched to 60 per cent. "The percentage of the enrichment, it is something that would be negotiated between a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Iran is a signatory of, and the IAEA, based on the need on the ground," he said. "Iran has medical use of medical isotopes, of nuclear energy." According to the IAEA, uranium enriched beyond 20 per cent is "highly enriched". For civilian nuclear reactors, uranium is typically enriched to a level between 3 and 5 per cent. However, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi also stated the agency did not find "any proof" Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. There are more than 3,000 Australian citizens in Iran who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs for assisted departure, and more than 1,200 in Israel. Albanese has said "the safety of Australians in the region is our priority". Sadeghi said Iran supported the safe passage of dual nationals out of Iran, including via the Azerbaijan-Iran border, where DFAT has stationed consular staff. "We do have information that they are passing safely," he said. Given Iran's imposition of internet outages, many Australians with loved ones in Iran have told SBS it is extremely difficult to contact family members on the ground — suggesting they also fear reprisals for speaking with Western media. "I don't know anything about such preoccupation or anxiety among anybody. I am in touch with a few Iranian-Australians in Iran … they are free to speak. Criticism in Iran is a matter of daily life, Sadeghi said. SBS has previously reported on concerns held by dual citizens about foreign interference and intimidation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps within Australia, with community members stating there is "overwhelming evidence" of harassment and threats. According to Human Rights Watch, the regime's crackdown on the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests sparked by the brutal death of Mahsa Amini in police custody led to the deaths of more than 500 protesters, including 68 children. It reports "scores of activists, including human rights defenders, members of ethnic and religious minorities, and dissidents, remain in prison". World Politics Politics Canberra Share this with family and friends
ABC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Is Iran set to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
As the bombs keep landing and Israel continues its devastating attacks on Iran's nuclear program, it's easy to forget Iran remains a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. Up until Israel's strikes Iran was still submitting to inspections by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The nuclear watchdog has continued to gather data on Iran's nuclear program, but Tehran has increasingly placed severe restrictions on access. But with the devastating damage to its nuclear installations, some analysts believe this confrontation could drive Iran out of the treaty — and actually provide more impetus to develop nuclear weapons. "Iran's reaction would be, 'What was the point of adhering to the Non-Proliferation Treaty?'" Middle East historian Ibrahim al-Marashi told 7.30. "'We might as well, even with all the damage done, we should get a nuclear weapon. As our ultimate guarantor of survival.'" In an interview with 730 this week, Iran's ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi denied his country is developing a nuclear weapon. "The nuclear program of Iran is for the peaceful measures," Mr. Sadeghi said. The NPT came into force in 1970 and currently more than 190 countries are signatories. Its aim is to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Inspections in Iran have become more difficult since the US walked away from an agreement with the country in 2018. That deal saw the US and other countries loosen economic sanctions in return for Iran agreeing not to develop a nuclear weapon. "The deal was working until Donald Trump was elected in 2016," said Barbara Slavin from not-for-profit think tank the Stimson Centre. She's been analysing American-Iranian relations for four decades. "[Trump] began criticising the agreement and he finally left it in 2018, while Iran was still in full compliance with that deal. Now following that, Iran gradually began to ramp up the programme again, to the point where it was very, very advanced." The day before Israel launched its first attacks, the IAEA declared Iran was in breach of its NPT obligations and said it could not assure that Iran's nuclear programme was only peaceful. "Just before the Israelis attacked, the IAEA board of governors actually issued a censure resolution against the Iranian government for its lack of cooperation," Ms Slavin said. "I think the Israelis thought that strengthened their case to attack Iran." Israel has long argued that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten its existence. But Ms Slavin and many analysts point out there's an important caveat to that argument: Although it is not officially acknowledged, Israel is believed to possess multiple nuclear weapons. "So if Israel really felt that its existence was at stake, it could use nuclear weapons against Iran or any other adversary. That's why Israel developed nuclear weapons in the 1960s," Ms Slavin said. Mr al-Marashi says that contradiction — that Iran is part of the NPT and Israel isn't — is hard to ignore. "A lot of commentators or just regular people would say that there's a double standard: that Iran [belongs to] the NPT, but that Israel practises a policy of nuclear opacity," Mr al-Marashi said. "Not being a member of the NPT … [Israel] deliberately tries to be vague about its nuclear arsenal to keep people guessing." While not confirming it has nuclear weapons, Israel argues a nuclear capable Iran poses an existential threat because its leaders have repeatedly said they want to destroy Israel. Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
AU Financial Review
20-06-2025
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Iran's envoy warns Australia to stay out of Middle East war
Iran's top local diplomat has warned against Australia supporting any US escalation of air strikes against his country's nuclear program, saying American intervention would widen the war and threaten commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, two major arteries for the world's oil supply. In an interview with AFR Weekend, ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi said any attempt to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Israel's defence minister has suggested, would also be met with a fierce response.
