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Toronto Sun
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Iran's president orders country to suspend co-operation with UN nuclear watchdog
Published Jul 02, 2025 • 5 minute read Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Reza Najafi, left, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. Photo by Michael Gruber / AP Photo DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's president on Wednesday ordered the country to suspend its co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after American and Israeli airstrikes hit its most-important nuclear facilities, likely further limiting inspectors' ability to track Tehran's program that had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The order by President Masoud Pezeshkian included no timetables or details about what that suspension would entail. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled in a CBS News interview that Tehran still would be willing to continue negotiations with the United States. 'I don't think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,' Araghchi said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that talks could start as early as this week. However, he added: 'The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.' Pressure tactic Iran has limited IAEA inspections in the past as a pressure tactic in negotiating with the West — though as of right now Tehran has denied that there's any immediate plans to resume talks with the United States that had been upended by the 12-day Iran-Israel war. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Iranian state television announced Pezeshkian's order, which followed a law passed by Iran's parliament to suspend that co-operation. The bill already received the approval of Iran's constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, on Thursday, and likely the support of the country's Supreme National Security Council, which Pezeshkian chairs. 'The government is mandated to immediately suspend all co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its related Safeguards Agreement,' state television quoted the bill as saying. 'This suspension will remain in effect until certain conditions are met, including the guaranteed security of nuclear facilities and scientists.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More It wasn't immediately clear what that would mean for the Vienna-based IAEA, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. The agency long has monitored Iran's nuclear program and said that it was waiting for an official communication from Iran on what the suspension meant. A diplomat with knowledge of IAEA operations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation in Iran, said that IAEA inspectors were still there after the announcement and hadn't been told by the government to leave. Israel condemns move Iran's decision drew an immediate condemnation from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its co-operation with the IAEA,' he said in an X post. 'This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.' Saar urged European nations that were part of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal to implement its so-called snapback clause. That would reimpose all UN sanctions on it originally lifted by Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, if one of its western parties declares the Islamic Republic is out of compliance with it. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, and the IAEA doesn't have access to its weapons-related facilities. Iran's decision stops short of experts' worst fears Iran's move so far stops short of what experts feared the most. They had been concerned that Tehran, in response to the war, could decide to fully end its co-operation with the IAEA, abandon the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and rush toward a bomb. That treaty has countries agree not to build or obtain nuclear weapons and allows the IAEA to conduct inspections to verify that countries correctly declared their programs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Iran's 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67% — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant, but far below the threshold of 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium. It also drastically reduced Iran's stockpile of uranium, limited its use of centrifuges and relied on the IAEA to oversee Tehran's compliance through additional oversight. The IAEA served as the main assessor of Iran's commitment to the deal. RECOMMENDED VIDEO But Trump, in his first term in 2018, unilaterally withdrew Washington from the accord, insisting it wasn't tough enough and didn't address Iran's missile program or its support for militant groups in the wider Middle East. That set in motion years of tensions, including attacks at sea and on land. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Iran had been enriching up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. It also has enough of a stockpile to build multiple nuclear bombs, should it choose to do so. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the IAEA, western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an organized weapons program up until 2003. Suspension comes after Israel, U.S. airstrikes Israeli airstrikes, which began June 13, decimated the upper ranks of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and targeted its arsenal of ballistic missiles. The strikes also hit Iran's nuclear sites, which Israel claimed put Tehran within reach of a nuclear weapon. Iran has said the Israeli attacks killed 935 'Iranian citizens,' including 38 children and 102 women. However, Iran has a long history of offering lower death counts around unrest over political considerations. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, has put the death toll at 1,190 people killed, including 436 civilians and 435 security force members. The attacks wounded another 4,475 people, the group said. Meanwhile, it appears that Iranian officials now are assessing the damage done by the American strikes conducted on the three nuclear sites on June 22, including those at Fordo, a site built under a mountain about 100 km southwest of Tehran. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show Iranian officials at Fordo on Monday likely examining the damage caused by American bunker-busters. Trucks could be seen in the images, as well as at least one crane and an excavator at tunnels on the site. That corresponded to images shot Sunday by Maxar Technologies similarly showing the ongoing work. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. U.S. intelligence suggests the facilities were 'completely obliterated' by the strikes, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday in a briefing, repeating the Trump administration's assertion. He said the operation set back Iran's nuclear program by up to two years. 'We destroyed the components they would need to build a bomb,' Parnell said. 'We believe Iran's nuclear capability has been severely degraded.' — Associated Press writers Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna, Amir Vahdat and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, and David Klepper in Washington contributed to this report. Sports Money News News MLB Editorial Cartoons
Straits Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Britain, France and Germany condemn 'threats' against head of IAEA watchdog
Reza Najafi, Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations (UN), waits for an emergency meeting of the agency's Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the U.S. attacks on the country's nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl Reza Najafi, Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations (UN), arrives for an emergency meeting of the agency's Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the U.S. attacks on the country's nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi arrives for an exceptional meeting of the agency's Board of Governors to discuss Israel's strike on Iran that have hit nuclear targets including the Natanz nuclear complex, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl DUBAI - Britain, France and Germany condemned on Monday what they described as threats against the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, and called on Iran to guarantee the safety of IAEA staff on its territory. "France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn threats against the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the Agency and the DG in carrying out their mandate," said a joint statement issued by the foreign affairs ministries of those three countries. "We call on Iranian authorities to refrain from any steps to cease cooperation with the IAEA. We urge Iran to immediately resume full cooperation in line with its legally binding obligations, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of IAEA personnel," they added. Their joint statement did not specify what threats had been made against Grossi. On Monday, Iran said it could not be expected to guarantee the safety of IAEA inspectors, so swiftly after its nuclear sites were hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes in the 12-day war that ended with a ceasefire last week. "How can they expect us to ensure the safety and security of the agency's inspectors when Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities were attacked a few days ago?" Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a news conference. The IAEA's board voted earlier this month to declare that Iran was in violation of its obligations under the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iranian officials have suggested that vote helped pave the way for Israel's attacks. Baghaei said a parliamentary bill approved by the Guardian Council makes it mandatory for the government to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. "Iran shouldn't be expected to accept its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) when the UN nuclear watchdog has stopped short of condemning the attacks on Iran's nuclear sites," Baghaei said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Iran-Israel conflict: Satellite images suggest US avoided Iran's nuclear reactors
Bloomberg Live Events You Might Also Like: What are the nuclear contamination risks from attacks on Iran? You Might Also Like: US bombs Iran's nuclear sites: All you need to know about the Iranian facilities that are hit by American strikes You Might Also Like: Where is Iran's uranium? Questions abound after US strikes Bloomberg (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel For all of the destruction the US Air Force visited on Iran's nuclear program, satellite images show that military planners were careful not to hit reactors at a key research absent from the International Atomic Energy Agency 's latest damage report are three research reactors operating at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Center. One of the so-called miniature neutron source reactors, made by China in 1991, runs on 900 grams (2 pounds) of bomb-grade officials said at the weekend that an assessment of the final damage from President Donald Trump 's decision to join Israel in attacking Iran will take some time. But as more images emerge, the Isfahan sites appear to have been intentionally left untouched, according to four senior officials in Vienna. They asked not to be identified in exchange for discussing sensitive responded to the US strikes by firing missiles at an American air base in Qatar. The barrage was intercepted and there were no casualties, Qatar on Monday, the IAEA's board of governors convened an emergency session on in the Austrian capital to discuss the ongoing strikes against Iran's nuclear program. Hitting an operational nuclear reactor, even if low powered like the ones at Isfahan, could set a grave precedent, the officials inspectors demanded the Islamic Republic inform them about the current location of its highly enriched uranium stockpile. Iran, meanwhile, warned the attacks have gravely damaged international diplomatic efforts to halt the spread of atomic attacks have 'delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow to the international non-proliferation regime conclusively demonstrating that the existing Non-Proliferation Treaty framework has been rendered ineffective,' Iran's IAEA envoy, Reza Najafi, told NPT was the grand bargain struck a half century ago. It gave signatories like Iran access to nuclear technologies on the condition they did not seek to make weapons. Because much of the tech is dual use — with applications in civilian or military lines of work — the treaty tasks the IAEA with ensuring nuclear material isn't engineers used the research reactors at Isfahan to study atomic reactions by irradiating different materials. That so-called neutron activation analysis played a crucial role in early US efforts to build nuclear weapons, but it's subsequently also become a valuable technique for industry and nuclear of the suspected locations of the mini-reactor neighbors a destroyed building next to a tiled square planted with trees. The damaged structure likely was landscaped for senior scientists and other personnel to congregate after using the reactor, one analyst well as attacking the Isfahan site, located 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Tehran, the US used B-2 stealth jets laden with Massive Ordnance Penetrators, known as GBU-57 bombs, to attempt to destroy Iran's underground uranium-enrichment sites in Natanz and images taken on Sunday of Fordow and distributed by Maxar Technologies showed craters, possible collapsed tunnel entrances and holes on top of a mountain ridge. The environmental hazards unleashed by the US and Israeli attacks so-far have remained localized, according to the IAEA.'The three sites targeted by the United States — also including Isfahan and Natanz — contained nuclear material in the form of uranium enriched to different levels, which may cause radioactive and chemical contamination within the facilities that were hit,' IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on only after enriched uranium is irradiated, either in a bomb or nuclear reactor, that more dangerous fallout is liable to spread. The IAEA wrote last week that a direct hit on Iran's only operating power reactor in Bushehr would carry the 'most serious' consequences because it would result in 'a very high release of radioactivity.'While striking Isfahan's operating units wouldn't result in the same level of catastrophe, it would mark another significant escalation in the conflict.
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Satellite images suggest US avoided Iran's nuclear reactors
For all of the destruction the U.S. Air Force visited on Iran's nuclear program, satellite images show that military planners were careful not to hit reactors at a key research facility. Notably absent from the International Atomic Energy Agency's latest damage report are three research reactors operating at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Center. One of the so-called miniature neutron source reactors, made by China in 1991, runs on 900 grams (2 pounds) of bomb-grade uranium. American officials said at the weekend that an assessment of the final damage from President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel in attacking Iran will take some time. But as more images emerge, the Isfahan sites appear to have been intentionally left untouched, according to four senior officials in Vienna. They asked not to be identified in exchange for discussing sensitive information. The IAEA's board of governors convened an emergency session on Monday in the Austrian capital to discuss the ongoing strikes against Iran's nuclear program. Hitting an operational nuclear reactor, even if low powered like the ones at Isfahan, could set a grave precedent, the officials said. Agency inspectors demanded the Islamic Republic inform them about the current location of its highly enriched uranium stockpile. Iran, meanwhile, warned the attacks have gravely damaged international diplomatic efforts to halt the spread of atomic weapons. U.S. attacks have "delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow to the international non-proliferation regime conclusively demonstrating that the existing Non-Proliferation Treaty framework has been rendered ineffective," Iran's IAEA envoy, Reza Najafi, told journalists. The NPT was the grand bargain struck a half century ago. It gave signatories like Iran access to nuclear technologies on the condition they did not seek to make weapons. Because much of the tech is dual use - with applications in civilian or military lines of work - the treaty tasks the IAEA with ensuring nuclear material isn't diverted. Iranian engineers used the research reactors at Isfahan to study atomic reactions by irradiating different materials. That so-called neutron activation analysis played a crucial role in early U.S. efforts to build nuclear weapons, but it's subsequently also become a valuable technique for industry and nuclear medicine. One of the suspected locations of the mini-reactor neighbors a destroyed building next to a tiled square planted with trees. The damaged structure likely was landscaped for senior scientists and other personnel to congregate after using the reactor, one analyst said. As well as attacking the Isfahan site, located 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Tehran, the U.S. used B-2 stealth jets laden with Massive Ordnance Penetrators, known as GBU-57 bombs, to attempt to destroy Iran's underground uranium-enrichment sites in Natanz and Fordow. Satellite images taken on Sunday of Fordow and distributed by Maxar Technologies showed craters, possible collapsed tunnel entrances and holes on top of a mountain ridge. The environmental hazards unleashed by the U.S. and Israeli attacks so-far have remained localized, according to the IAEA. "The three sites targeted by the United States - also including Isfahan and Natanz - contained nuclear material in the form of uranium enriched to different levels, which may cause radioactive and chemical contamination within the facilities that were hit," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Sunday. It's only after enriched uranium is irradiated, either in a bomb or nuclear reactor, that more dangerous fallout is liable to spread. The IAEA wrote last week that a direct hit on Iran's only operating power reactor in Bushehr would carry the "most serious" consequences because it would result in "a very high release of radioactivity." While striking Isfahan's operating units wouldn't result in the same level of catastrophe, it would mark another significant escalation in the conflict. ---------- -With assistance from Rachel Lavin, Hayley Warren, Yasufumi Saito and Spe Chen. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Iran says US caused irreparable harm to treaty on nuclear arms
Iran said U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites over the weekend have delivered an "irreparable blow" to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - a bedrock, international agreement preventing the spread of atomic bombs. Iran's envoy for the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, described U.S. attacks as an act of aggression that "delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow to the international non-proliferation regime conclusively demonstrating that the existing NPT framework has been rendered ineffective." He did not specify whether Iran would look to leave the NPT, something that would probably mean the United Nations' nuclear watchdog can no longer inspect the country's atomic facilities. Iran's envoy made the comments on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna, convened to discuss the ongoing strikes against Tehran's nuclear infrastructure. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterated his inspectors don't know the location of Iran's stockpile of enriched-uranium and demanded they be informed. "Any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location in Iran must be declared to the agency as required under Iran's safeguard agreement," he said, adding "there needs to be a cessation of hostilities for the necessary safety and security conditions to prevail so that Iran can let IAEA teams into the sites to assess the situation." On Sunday lawmakers in Tehran reviewed the possibility of the Islamic Republic withdrawing from the NPT in response to the U.S.'s attack. Any final decision to do so would have to be made by Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. carried out an extensive military operation against three nuclear sites in Iran - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan - over the weekend. President Donald Trump said they were "obliterated." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
