logo
Iran claims without evidence that it took Israeli nuclear files

Iran claims without evidence that it took Israeli nuclear files

Japan Todaya day ago

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib attends the inauguration ceremony of the 6th term of the Assembly of Experts in Tehran, Iran, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
By JON GAMBRELL
Iran's intelligence minister claimed without offering evidence Sunday that Tehran seized an 'important treasury' of information regarding Israel's nuclear program, ahead of a week in which the Islamic Republic likely will face new diplomatic pressure over its own program.
The remarks by Esmail Khatib follow Iranian state television claiming Saturday that Iranian intelligence officials seized documents, again without any evidence. Israel, whose undeclared atomic weapons program makes it the only country in the Mideast with nuclear bombs, has not acknowledged any such Iranian operation targeting it — though there have been arrests of Israelis allegedly spying for Tehran amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Iran, meanwhile, will likely face censure this week from the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency over longstanding questions about its program. Iran has also signaled it will reject a proposal from the United States after five rounds of negotiations over its nuclear program — setting the stage for that long-running crisis to potentially spike as well.
Responding to questions from an Iranian state TV reporter Sunday after a Cabinet meeting, Khatib said members of the Intelligence Ministry 'achieved an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence of the Zionist regime and it was transferred into the country with God's help.'
He claimed thousands of pages of documents had been obtained and insisted they would be made public soon. Among them were documents related to the U.S., Europe and other countries, he claimed, obtained through 'infiltration' and 'access to the sources.'
He did not elaborate on the methods used. However, Khatib, a Shiite cleric, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 over directing 'cyber espionage and ransomware attacks in support of Iran's political goals.'
For Iran, the claim may be designed to show the public that the theocracy was able to respond to a 2018 Israeli operation that spirited out what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a 'half ton' of documents related to Iran's program. That Israeli announcement came just before President Donald Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which greatly limited its program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
This week, Western nations are expect to go before the IAEA's Board of Governors with a proposal to find Iran in noncompliance with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. It could be the first time in decades — and likely would kick the issue to the U.N. Security Council.
That could see one of the Western countries involved in the 2015 nuclear deal invoke the so-called 'snapback' of U.N. sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October — putting the West on a clock to exert pressure on Tehran over its program before losing that power.
Iran now enriches uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Tehran has enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple atomic bombs should it choose to do so.
Without a deal with the U.S., Iran's long-ailing economy could enter a freefall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the U.S. might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Experts fear Tehran in response could decide to fully end its cooperation with the IAEA and rush toward a bomb.
Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.N. says most flour delivered in Gaza looted or taken by starving people
U.N. says most flour delivered in Gaza looted or taken by starving people

Japan Times

time3 hours ago

  • Japan Times

U.N. says most flour delivered in Gaza looted or taken by starving people

The United Nations said on Monday that it has only been able to bring minimal flour into Gaza since Israel lifted an aid blockade three weeks ago and that it has mostly been looted by armed gangs or taken by starving Palestinians. The organization has transported 4,600 metric tons of wheat flour into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only entry point Israel allows it to use, Deputy U.N. spokesperson Fahan Haq told reporters. Haq said aid groups in Gaza estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 tons of wheat flour were needed to give each family in Gaza a bag of flour and "ease the pressure on markets and reduce desperation." "Most of it was taken by desperate, starving people before the supplies reached their destinations. In some cases, the supplies were looted by armed gangs," Haq said. According to World Food Program guidelines, 4,600 tons of flour would provide roughly eight days' worth of bread for Gaza's 2 million residents, based on a standard daily ration of 300 grams per person. Haq called for Israel to let in far more aid via multiple crossings and routes. The U.N. has mostly delivered flour along with limited medical and nutrition items since Israel lifted the 11-week blockade in mid-May. Experts warn Gaza is at risk of famine, with the rate of young children suffering acute malnutrition nearly tripling. Israel and the United States want the U.N. to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the U.N. has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the militants deny. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Monday so far it has given out 11.4 million meals. Israel makes the U.N. offload aid on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, where it then has to be picked by the U.N. and aid groups already in Gaza. The U.N. has accused Israel of regularly denying access requests.

Boat carrying Greta Thunberg and human rights group arrives in southern Israel
Boat carrying Greta Thunberg and human rights group arrives in southern Israel

NHK

time5 hours ago

  • NHK

Boat carrying Greta Thunberg and human rights group arrives in southern Israel

A boat carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in southern Israel. Thunberg and a human rights group had been headed toward Gaza to deliver food and medicine, but were stopped by Israeli authorities on Monday. Israel's Foreign Ministry disclosed that night that the boat had docked at Ashdod Port. It said, "The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health." It released images showing Thunberg on a boat at the port flying the Israeli flag in the background. The ministry said, "Upon arrival, arrangements will be made for their return to their respective home countries." The operator of the boat Thunberg was on has criticized Israel's actions, saying, "We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers."

President Donald Trump Pushes Ahead with His Maximalist Immigration Campaign in Face of LA Protests
President Donald Trump Pushes Ahead with His Maximalist Immigration Campaign in Face of LA Protests

Yomiuri Shimbun

time6 hours ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

President Donald Trump Pushes Ahead with His Maximalist Immigration Campaign in Face of LA Protests

The Associated Press National Guard stand guard near the metropolitan detention center Monday, June 9, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump made no secret of his willingness to exert a maximalist approach to enforcing immigration laws and keeping order as he campaigned to return to the White House. The fulfillment of that pledge is now on full display in Los Angeles. The president has put hundreds of National Guard troops on the streets to quell protests over his administration's immigration raids, a deployment that state and city officials say has only inflamed tensions. Trump called up the California National Guard over the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — the first time in 60 years a president has done so — and is deploying active-duty troops to support the guard. By overriding Newsom, Trump is already going beyond what he did to respond to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when he warned he could send troops to contain demonstrations that turned violent if governors in the states did not act to do so themselves. Trump said in September of that year that he 'can't call in the National Guard unless we're requested by a governor' and that 'we have to go by the laws.' But now, the past and current president is moving swiftly, with little internal restraint to test the bounds of his executive authority in order to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand by him once it's operationalized nationwide, as Trump looks to secure billions from Congress to dramatically expand the country's detention and deportation operations. For now, Trump is betting that they will. 'If we didn't do the job, that place would be burning down,' Trump told reporters Monday, speaking about California. 'I feel we had no choice. … I don't want to see what happened so many times in this country.' 'A crisis of Trump's own making' The protests began to unfold Friday as federal authorities arrested immigrants in several locations throughout the sprawling city, including in the fashion district of Los Angeles and at a Home Depot. The anger over the administration's actions quickly spread, with protests in Chicago and Boston as demonstrations in the southern California city also continued Monday. But Trump and other administration officials remained unbowed, capitalizing on the images of burning cars, graffiti and Mexican flags — which, while not dominant, started to become the defining images of the unrest — to bolster their law-and-order cause. Leaders in the country's most populous state were similarly defiant. California officials sued the Trump administration Monday, with the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, arguing that the deployment of troops 'trampled' on the state's sovereignty and pushing for a restraining order. The initial deployment of 300 National Guard troops was expected to quickly expand to the full 4,000 that has been authorized by Trump. The state's senior Democratic senator, Alex Padilla, said in an interview that 'this is absolutely a crisis of Trump's own making.' 'There are a lot of people who are passionate about speaking up for fundamental rights and respecting due process, but the deployment of National Guard only serves to escalate tensions and the situation,' Padilla told The Associated Press. 'It's exactly what Donald Trump wanted to do.' Padilla slammed the deployment as 'counterproductive' and said the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was not advised ahead of the federalization of the National Guard. His office has also pushed the Pentagon for a justification on the deployment, and 'as far as we're told, the Department of Defense isn't sure what the mission is here,' Padilla added. Candidate Trump previewed immigration strategy during campaign Much of this was predictable. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to conduct the largest domestic deportation operation in American history to expel millions of immigrants in the country without legal status. He often praised President Dwight D. Eisenhower's military-style immigration raids, and the candidate and his advisers suggested they would have broad power to deploy troops domestically to enact Trump's far-reaching immigration and public safety goals. Trump's speedy deployment in California of troops against those whom the president has alluded to as 'insurrectionists' on social media is a sharp contrast to his decision to issue no order or formal request for National Guard troops during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, despite his repeated and false assertions that he had made such an offer. Trump is now surrounded by officials who have no interest in constraining his power. In 2020, Trump's then-Pentagon chief publicly rebuked Trump's threat to send in troops using the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers the president to use the military within the U.S. and against American citizens. Current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled support on his personal X account for deploying troops to California, writing, 'The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,' referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The Defense Department said Monday it is deploying about 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles to support National Guard troops already on the ground to respond to the protests. White House responds to an 'incompetent' governor Protesters over the weekend blocked off a major freeway and burned self-driving cars as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades in clashes that encompassed several downtown blocks in Los Angeles and led to several dozen arrests. Much of the city saw no violence. But the protests prompted Trump to issue the directive Saturday mobilizing the California National Guard over Newsom's objections. The president and his top immigration aides accused the governor of mismanaging the protests, with border czar Tom Homan asserting in a Fox News interview Monday that Newsom stoked anti-ICE sentiments and waited two days to declare unlawful assembly in the city. Trump told Newsom in a phone call Friday evening to get the situation in Los Angeles under control, a White House official said. It was only when the administration felt Newsom was not restoring order in the city — and after Trump watched the situation escalate for 24 hours and White House officials saw imagery of federal law enforcement officers with lacerations and other injuries — that the president moved to deploy the Guard, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. 'He's an incompetent governor,' Trump said Monday. 'Look at the job he's doing in California. He's destroying one of our great states.' Local law enforcement officials said Los Angeles police responded as quickly as they could once the protests erupted, and Newsom repeatedly asserted that state and city authorities had the situation under control. 'Los Angeles is no stranger to demonstrations and protests and rallies and marches,' Padilla said. 'Local law enforcement knows how to handle this and has a rapport with the community and community leaders to be able to allow for that.' The aggressive moves prompted blowback from some of Trump's erstwhile allies. Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump and was hired to direct Latino outreach, called the recent escalation 'unacceptable and inhumane.' 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' said Garcia, referring to Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and key architect of Trump's immigration crackdown. The tactics could be just a preview to what more could come from the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. GOP lawmakers are working to pass a massive tax-and-border package that includes billions to hire thousands of new officers for Border Patrol and for ICE. The goal, under the Trump-backed plan, is to remove 1 million immigrants without status annually and house 100,000 people in immigration detention centers.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store