Iran obtaining IAEA documents is 'bad', shows poor cooperation, Grossi says
VIENNA, June 9 (Reuters) - Iran's acquisition of confidential U.N. nuclear watchdog documents is a 'bad' step that goes against the spirit of cooperation that should exist between the agency and Tehran, its chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report on Iran to member states on May 31 seen by Reuters that it had "conclusive evidence of highly confidential documents belonging to the Agency having been actively collected and analysed by Iran".
The report said that "raises serious concerns regarding Iran's spirit of collaboration" and could undermine the IAEA's work in Iran, but Tehran said in a statement to member states last week that the accusation in the report was "slanderous" and had been made "without presenting any substantiated proof or document".
The IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors is holding a quarterly meeting this week. The United States, Britain, France and Germany plan to propose a resolution for the board to adopt that would declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations over other failings outlined in the report.
"Here, unfortunately, and this dates to a few years ago ... we could determine with all clarity that documents that belong to the agency were in the hands of Iranian authorities, which is bad," Grossi told a press conference. "We believe that an action like this is not compatible with the spirit of cooperation."
Asked about the nature of the documents and whether they were originally Iranian ones that had been seized by Israel and supplied to the agency, Grossi said: "No. We received documents from member states, and also we have our own assessments on documents, on equipment, etc."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
CHRIS PLEASANCE explains why the IDF HAD to act when Greta Thunberg's 'freedom flotilla' got within 17 miles of gaza
Israel has a lot of reasons for imposing a naval blockade on Gaza, none of which are directly to do with stopping aid from getting in, Chris Pleasance explains why the IDF stopped the 'freedom flotilla' when they did. Click above to watch the full video.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
14 dead after ‘Israeli forces and allies fired at crowd near Gaza aid site'
Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli and US supported food distribution centre in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's Health Ministry and local hospitals said 14 people were killed in the reported attack early on Monday. Advertisement The gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them, witnesses said. Israeli army vehicles transport a group of soldiers and journalists inside the southern Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel recently acknowledged supporting local armed groups opposed to Hamas. – The latest in a string of shootings It was the latest in a number of shootings that have killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds since the rollout of a new food distribution system, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Advertisement Israel and the US say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the UN and major aid groups. Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centres since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centres, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. Advertisement The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli and US supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centres themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centres represents 'a great danger'. Palestinians carry bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds', according to a Facebook site associated with the group. Advertisement A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Shots fired from the 'dangerous zone' Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometre (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organise the crowds into lines on the road. Advertisement When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centres in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting UN aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Hussein Shamimi, who was also in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed. 'There was an ambush… the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,' he said. Mohamed Kabaga, a Palestinian displaced from northern Gaza, said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organise them. 'They fired at us directly,' he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Younis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Mr Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4×4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. 'We didn't receive anything,' he said. 'They shot us.' Nasser Hospital said several men had been shot in the upper body, including some in the head. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, said six people were killed and more than 99 wounded, some of them at another GHF centre in central Gaza. – The 20-month war rages on The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced some 90% of the population and left the territory almost completely reliant on international aid. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump's new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement
President Donald Trump 's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president's escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect. During Trump's first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries created chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy. In the hours after the new ban took effect, no disruptions were immediately discernible at Los Angeles International Airport. And passengers appeared to move steadily through an international arrival area at Miami International Airport, where Magda Moreno and her husband flew home Monday from Cuba. 'Everything was normal," said Moreno, a Cuban American who had traveled to the Caribbean island nation to visit family. "They only asked me where I was coming from and how many days I was in Cuba.' Asked about the new travel restrictions for Cubans, Moreno, a U.S. citizen, said: 'It is difficult not being able to bring the family and for them not being able to enter into the U.S.' Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport earlier Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the U.S. are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest. 'I have family in Haiti, so it's pretty upsetting to see and hear,' Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. 'I don't think it's a good thing. I think it's very upsetting.' Many immigration experts say the new ban is more carefully crafted and appears designed to beat court challenges that hampered the first by focusing on the visa application process. Trump said this time that some countries had 'deficient' screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the U.S. after their visas expired. Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump's proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries. Trump also tied the new ban to a terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. U.S. officials say the man charged in the attack overstayed a tourist visa. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees. 'This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,' said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organization. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long war there. Afghanistan had been one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.
