IAEA deputy chief to visit Tehran for cooperation talks amid nuclear standoff
'A deputy director general of [Rafael] Grossi will come to Tehran tomorrow, while there are no plans to visit any nuclear sites until we reach a framework, and [our] bilateral cooperation will not begin,' Abbas Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
He said negotiations with the IAEA will focus on setting the terms for renewed engagement.
On June 25, Iran's parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing it of bias toward Israel and the United States amid recent attacks on the country.
Araghchi added that Iran's contacts with European countries 'are continuing,' but dismissed threats from European signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to trigger the snapback mechanism restoring UN sanctions.
'Our position is that snapback is not relevant. In our opinion, Europe is not considered a participant in the JCPOA,' he said.
The remarks come after Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Iran and the United States were disrupted when Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior commanders and nuclear scientists.
Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities.
The 12-day escalation ended with a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on June 24. — Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
8 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Funerals held for journalists killed in Israeli strike on Gaza City
JERUSALEM — An outpouring of grief and condemnation has followed Israel's assassination of prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, including and five other staff members. Crowds have gathered in Gaza to mourn the journalists who were among seven people killed by Israel in a military strike on Gaza late Sunday. The Israeli military said it targeted 28-year-old al-Sharif, alleging he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas", but has produced little evidence to support that claim. Al Jazeera called it a "targeted assassination" and "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom". The UN condemned the killings as a "grave breach of international humanitarian law", while the Committee to Protect Journalists said 186 journalists have now been killed since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023. Al Jazeera English's director of news, Salah Negm, has just said the Israeli strike amounted to 'killing the messenger and trying to eliminate any eyewitness to atrocities and genocide.' 'They have been working for two years under very difficult circumstances, risking their lives in order for one thing to happen, to bring the truth about what is happening in Gaza to the outside world,' Negm told CNN's Christina Macfarlane on Connect the World. 'Our correspondents died doing this.' The Israeli government does not allow international news organizations into Gaza to report freely, so many outlets rely on Gaza-based reporters for coverage. The Palestinian group Hamas has decried Israel's assassination of Al Jazeera's journalists in Gaza. In a statement, Hamas described the attack as part of a 'widespread targeting of journalists unprecedented in any war', saying it aimed to silence media coverage in Gaza ahead of 'major crimes' planned against Palestinians in the besieged territory. It called on the United Nations Security Council and the international community to condemn the killings and take immediate action to hold Israeli leaders accountable for what it called war crimes. It added that al-Sharif had been a 'symbol of free journalism', documenting scenes of famine in Gaza and the impact of Israel's crippling siege. The drone attack late on Sunday hit a tent for journalists positioned outside the main gate of Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, killing seven people. Among the dead were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal. A sixth journalist, Mohammad al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter, was also reported killed in the air attack. Reporters Without Borders said three more journalists were wounded in the same strike. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has called on the world to hold Israel to account after the killing of the five Al Jazeera staff. 'A press badge is no shield against genocidal war criminals who fear the world witnessing their atrocities,' said Baghaei, accusing Israel of assassinating the journalists 'in cold blood'. 'Strong condemnation is the bare minimum for any decent human being, but the world must act immediately to stop this harrowing genocide and hold the criminals accountable,' he added. 'Indifference and inaction are complicity in Israel's crimes.' Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, has strongly criticised Israel over the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, calling it a shocking violation of press freedom. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, offered condolences to 'the Al Jazeera family' and called for an investigation. 'We have always been very clear in condemning all killings of journalists,' Dujarric said. 'In Gaza, and everywhere, media workers should be able to carry out their work freely and without harassment, intimidation or fear of being targeted.' The Israeli strike came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In a 24 July video, Israel's army spokesperson Avichay Adraee criticized the Qatar-based network and accused al-Sharif of being part of Hamas' military wing. Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) raised concerns for his safety, saying he was targeted by "an Israeli military smear campaign.' Al-Sharif has extensively reported on the war in Gaza from inside the Strip amid an ongoing media blackout imposed by Israel. Just hours before the attack on him, al-Sharif had posted on X about Israel's 'intense, concentrated bombardment' on eastern and southern Gaza City. Known for his fearless reporting from northern Gaza, he had become one of the most recognisable voices documenting the ongoing Israeli genocide in the enclave. Meanwhile, a video of Anas al-Sharif's daughter has resurfaced following his assassination by Israeli forces. The clip, which had been posted on al-Sharif's X account on June 16, shows four-year-old Sham speaking from the northern Gaza Strip and is accompanied by the caption: 'My little Sham Anas Al-Sharif's message to the world, after 620 days of the war of extermination in Gaza: How can this small heart bear these heavy burdens?! Our children are the fruits of pain ripened by the war!'. In the video, the girl says: 'I am the child Sham Anas al-Sharif from the northern Gaza Strip. I am four years old. I have lived through the war. 'The occupation bombed us and bombed the houses. Netanyahu doesn't want to stop the war. I wish I could go back to our home in Jabalia. 'The occupation bombed our house and killed my grandfather [Sidou]. I want to live like the children of the world. The occupation keeps bombing us. 'We want the war to end because we are tired. We want food. We want chicken. We want meat. We want water. We want everything. I am scared for my dad because of the bombing. We want the war to stop. We call on the world. End the war.' — Agencies
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Bangladesh court hears graft case against ex-PM Sheikh Hasina
DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh on Monday heard cases brought by the anti-corruption organization against ex-leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, including her daughter who has served as a top UN official. Three officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) read out testimonies in three separate cases over an alleged land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka. Hasina, 77, fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, after weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule. She has defied orders to return from India, including to attend her separate and ongoing trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity, over the deadly crackdown on the uprising. Hasina has been named in six corruption cases, along with her US-based son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and her daughter Saima Wazed, who has been serving as the World Health Organization's Southeast Asia chief in New Delhi. 'If found guilty, Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and Saima Wazed could face up to 14 years in prison,' ACC lawyer Khan Mohammad Mainul Hossain told AFP. Wazed is on leave from the WHO and a new official has taken up a post as 'officer-in-charge.' In total, six cases have been filed of alleged corruption connected to Hasina. Among those named in other cases, some slated to be heard later in August, are Hasina's sister, Sheikh Rehana, and her children — including British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq. Tulip Siddiq resigned as the UK government's anti-corruption minister in January, denying any wrongdoing after being named in multiple probes in Bangladesh. Siddiq's lawyers have said the allegations against her are false.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three-Quarters of UN Members Support Palestinian Statehood
Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will at the UN General Assembly in September. The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian group's attack on October 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own. The action breaks with a long-held view that Palestinians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel. According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada and Britain. Here is a quick recap of the Palestinians' quest for statehood: On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side. Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state. Within a week, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Türkiye, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries followed suit. The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis for the Middle East peace process. South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims. This came in response to Israel's decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank. In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership. The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States. In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to "non-member observer state". Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted the Palestinians as a state party. Israel's offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has boosted support for Palestinian statehood. Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step in 2024. So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members. Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden's move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel. Other member states, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, had already done so in 1988, long before joining the EU. On the other hand, some former Eastern bloc countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, do not or no longer recognize a state of Palestine. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that "Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own" at the UN General Assembly. France said last month it intends to recognize a Palestinian state come September, while Britain said it would do the same unless Israel takes "substantive steps", including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Canada also plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, marking a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel. Among other countries that could also formally express recognition, Malta, Finland and Portugal have raised the possibility.
