Iranian parliament approves bill to suspend cooperation with IAEA
Iran's government approved legislation to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The bill comes after the United States launched strikes on several Iranian nuclear facilities.June 26, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
an hour ago
- The National
'I spent four years in Iran's Evin Prison, but strength has come from it'
The retired civil engineer, now 71, had been visiting his mum in the north of Tehran when he was suddenly arrested and imprisoned having been falsely accused of spying for Israel's Mossad Intelligence agency, despite having lived in the UK for 20 years. He spent nearly five years in the jail in foul conditions, facing long hours of interrogation and threats, which eventually drove him to attempt to take his own life three times. But through his own and his family's perseverance and determination, he has lived to tell the tale. In March 2022, Ashoori was released from Evin Prison alongside fellow British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. READ MORE: Glasgow arts centre temporarily closes after pro-Palestine protest Their release followed months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran and the repaying of a debt owed by the UK to Iran. The UK paid £393.8m owed to Iran after it cancelled an order for British-made Chieftain tanks following the overthrow of the Shah in the revolution of 1979. Now dad-of-two Ashoori will be sharing his incredible story with the people of Scotland at an exhibition accounting his experiences in Perth, run by the local Amnesty International group. Ashoori told The National he wanted to convey some crucial messages in the account of his ordeal and remind people that what happened to him could have happened to anyone. 'If we as the British public are indifferent to the things that are happening around us, it will come and knock at our door,' he said. 'So we should be vigilant. I was an ordinary person, I was living my own life, and I was involved with engineering, my main hobby was astronomy, nothing to do with politics and I fell into this trap. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. 'My other message is that there are two golden rules for victory; golden rule number one is always remember that perseverance pays off, as it did for me. Golden rule number two is never forget golden rule number one. (Image: Amnesty International) 'It was because of perseverance by my family that I am now here. Otherwise I would be among my friends who are now being transferred from Evin prison after that attack to a far worse prison in south of Tehran. Their life has turned from hell, to triple hell." Evin Prison came under attack by Israel earlier this week amid strikes elsewhere in Tehran. The exhibition at St John's Kirk in Perth – devised by Ashoori himself with the support of Amnesty International – will recreate the emotional and physical reality of his detention and will feature personal items Ashoori was able to smuggle out of Tehran's notorious Evin prison after his release. It will feature a reconstruction of his arrest, the crowded conditions in cockroach- and bedbug-infested communal cells, and how the inspiration of hoping to run the London marathon after his release helped Ashoori cope with his time in jail. It is miraculous he is now able to share this story of resolve and courage when a few years before, he had been in solitary confinement, with a floodlight beaming down onto his head 24 hours a day and malfunctioning air conditioning. 'All that it could blow was hot air,' he said. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment 'The food was foul, and I could hear very clearly the sound of crying and whimpering of my neighbouring cells. So, there was sleep deprivation, long hours of interrogation trying to force me to make confessions. 'Then came the threats. They had my laptop, and they printed pictures of my family members. They used to come and say, 'look this is your son smiling, next time you're going to have a picture of his corpse'. 'When you are going through that day after day, you reach a threshold. Eventually, because of those pressures and lack of sleep, you tend to believe what they say. 'I reached a point where I reasoned with myself that the only way to protect my family members from harm was not to be. That led to three suicide attempts. Luckily, I survived.' Amid the torture and despair Ashoori was going through, there was glimpses of hope he held onto, through running while in prison and the poetry society he created with other inmates. One of his fellow prisoners opened his eyes to a collection of poems called Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire, which he reflects on regularly in the healthy, happy life he now leads – which has included him living out his dream of running the London Marathon no less than four times. 'After being released, the Anoosheh Ashoori that was so indifferent to all these things became quite active. So many good things emerged, one of them was the London Marathon, of course,' he said. 'The Flowers of Evil collection of poems [taught us] even from the darkest places, goodness can emerge. Strength can emerge. That is what happened.' The Surviving Evin exhibition is running from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 6, at St John's Kirk, Perth.
Spectator
2 hours ago
- Spectator
Iran's supreme leader looks more deluded than defiant
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has made his first public comments since the ceasefire with Israel took hold. Khamenei, who has ultimate authority over all major decisions in the country, has not been seen or heard from in more than a week. His pre-recorded speech, aired on state television, is meant to put an end to rising speculation about his fate after he went into hiding at the start of the conflict. In the televised address, the Iranian leader hailed his country's 'victory' over Israel and vowed never to surrender to the United States. The Iranian leader was eager to tell anyone who would listen that the US bombing of his country's nuclear sites 'did not achieve anything' Defiant as ever – and with his trademark habit of being entirely divorced from reality – the Iranian leader was eager to tell anyone who would listen that the US bombing of his country's nuclear sites 'did not achieve anything'. That, to say the least, is something of an understatement. US forces struck three nuclear sites with huge bunker-busting bombs, with US president Donald Trump claiming the attacks had 'obliterated' the facilities. Khamenei was dismissive of Trump's claims. 'Anyone who heard his remarks could tell there was a different reality behind his words – they could do nothing,' the 86-year-old Iranian leader said. Khamenei had an alternative reading of events, in which Iran apparently 'delivered a heavy slap to the US's face' – a reference to an Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Qatar on Monday, which led to no casualties. The Americans were give advance notice of the Iranian plans. Trump himself mockingly described the Iranian action as 'very weak', claiming that 13 of the 14 missiles fired had been intercepted. Even so, according to the Ayatollah's rewriting of recent history, the Americans are now on notice that Iran is ready to respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East. What's Khamenei's game? Few will be convinced by his bid to minimise the national humiliation that his regime suffered during the 12-day war with Iran. Just as implausible is the idea that Iran has emerged 'victorious' from this conflict, and in a position of strength to reek revenge if attacked by its enemies at some future point. Khamenei's televised remarks were delivered from an undisclosed location in front of a brown curtain. He was seated between an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Despite the show of bravado, he remains at a secret location reportedly somewhere in the capital Tehran. Communications are kept to a minimum for security reasons. It is the first time since Khamenei assumed absolute power in 1989 that he has been forced into hiding during a war – reflecting the real fear and worry in his inner circle. The supreme leader cuts something of a diminished figure. It is hard to project power and authority from a secret bunker, and no one can be sure anymore how much real control Khamenei wields. His main priority remains to stay alive. High-ranking military officials and nuclear scientists were targeted by Israel in the opening stages of the conflict. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not rule out targeting Khamenei directly. President Trump hinted that the Americans knew exactly where Khamenei was hiding, but said that a decision to kill the Iranian leader had not been made. This latest television address by the Iranian leader is meant to project a sense of business as usual. He must know – his fellow countrymen and women certainly do – that everything has changed. It is anything but business as usual. That is why the country's supreme leader is reduced to delivering the occasional recorded video message on television from a secret location. Khamenei can spit fire and vengeance all he likes, but even he cannot be sure what the future holds for him or his nation.
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Iran's Supreme Leader makes first public statement after end of Israel-Iran war
Mr Khamenei spoke in a video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19, looking and sounding more tired than he did only a week ago. He told viewers that the US had only intervened in the war because 'it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed'. The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US's face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region. — (@khamenei_ir) June 26, 2025 But he said, however, that the US 'achieved no gains from this war'. 'The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America's face,' he said, in apparent reference to an Iranian missile attack on an American base in Qatar on Monday, which caused no casualties. The 86-year-old Mr Khamenei hasn't been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists. Following an American attack on June 22, which hit the nuclear sites with bunker-buster bombs, US President Donald Trump was able to help negotiate a ceasefire that came into effect on Tuesday. In his appearance on Thursday, he sat in front of plain brown curtains to give his address, similar to his June 19 message.
