UN Watchdog Chief Believes Inspectors Will Return To Iran
The Istanbul-hosted meeting lasted about four hours and marks the first such engagement since Israel's mid-June strikes on Iran, which triggered a 12-day conflict, at the end of which the US intervened on Israel's side and bombed three key nuclear facilities.
Throughout the June war, top Iranian military commanders, nuclear experts, and hundreds of civilians were killed. Iran has said its nuclear sites were 'destroyed' but still maintains the capability and 'right' to enrich uranium for its domestic nuclear energy program.
Following Friday's talks, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended alongside senior diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, described the discussions with the European powers as 'serious, frank, and detailed'.
The talks were focused on sanctions relief and nuclear concerns, which each side expressed willingness to continue the discussions.
Despite Iran recently booting IAEA nuclear inspectors from the country, the UN nuclear watchdog remains optimistic of the return of a monitoring regimen:
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog is optimistic that inspectors will be able to return to Iran later this year, he said on Friday.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that it was important to start discussing with Tehran the modalities of restarting visits.
'We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken,' he said.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has once again warned that if 'snapback' sanctions are reinstated, Iran would respond with punitive countermeasures, including the possibility of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The NPT requires non-nuclear states to keep their nuclear activities strictly for peaceful, civilian use. Notably, Israel, which is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons – possibly dozens or over one hundred – has not signed the treaty, and Tehran has long blasted this international hypocrisy.
Under the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, Tehran committed to restricting its nuclear program to civilian purposes in return for the lifting of UN sanctions but the historic agreement included a 'snapback' provision allowing for the reimposition of those sanctions if Iran is found to be in violation of the agreement. But after Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA in April 2018, Iran has been saying essentially 'what deal?' …and that Washington can no longer be trusted.
Also read: Kabul Edges Toward Disaster As It Becomes First Modern Capital City To Run Out Of Water
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
5 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Putin Proposes Ceasefire Offering Donbas Region in Exchange During Moscow Meeting
During a meeting in Moscow last Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a detailed proposal to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to European and Ukrainian officials. The discussion took place between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin proposed handing over control of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas to Russia in return for a comprehensive ceasefire. This marks a slight retreat from Russia's earlier demands, which called for control over all territories along the front line between the two countries — a larger area extending beyond Donbas, reports the Wall Street Journal. Officials familiar with the talks revealed that Putin indicated willingness to agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew its forces from the entire eastern Donetsk region. Under the proposal, Russia would maintain control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 and insists be recognized as sovereign Russian territory. Currently, Russian forces occupy most of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Ukrainian troops continue to hold significant parts of these regions, including key cities that serve as strongholds in their defense efforts. The proposal represents a significant development in the conflict, though it remains unclear how Ukraine and its allies will respond.
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Germany Halts Arms Exports To Israel As World Reacts To Gaza Conquest Plan
Netanyahu's security cabinet has approved a plan to takeover the whole of the Gaza Strip, including intense operations in Gaza city, resulting in outrage among some European capitals, who see this as doubling down on the carnage which has left over 60,000 Palestinians dead, based on Gaza health sources. Germany has announced itself as the latest European nation to suspend its arms exports to Israel, noting that these could be used in human rights violations and potential war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Berlin backs the anti-Hamas fight, however. Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear as Israel's military is poised to take over Gaza city his government will not approve or transfer any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Merz says it was 'increasingly difficult to understand' how the Israeli military plan could achieve its war aims in a legitimate way, adding: 'Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.' The German arms industry has historically been among the globe's largest arms suppliers to Israel. Of course, the US has long been far and away the biggist supplier of arms, and under Trump this doesn't look to cease – with Germany coming in second, according to global monitors, over the last half-decade. 'Israel has the right to defend itself against the terror of Hamas,' Merz continued in his statement. 'The release of the hostages and determined negotiations on a ceasefire are our top priority. The disarmament of Hamas is essential. Hamas must not play a role in the future of Gaza.' But apparently Merz vehemently disagress with the practical how in terms of the methods whereby this is accomplished. Global critics have said Israel is conducting ethnic cleansing and ultimately plans to annex the strip. PM Netanyahu has sought to deflect this criticism by saying Israel will conquer the whole enclave, but that it doesn't ultimatley want to govern it. This vaguely suggests it could be handed over to an entity like the Palestinian Authority (PA) one day, but likely this would be done (or not done at all) by a future Israeli government. Shekel Falls After Cabinet Approves Plan to Seize Gaza City–Bloomberg Meanwhile other major powers like China are raising the alarm over Israel's takeover plan, with China on Friday expressing 'serious concerns' over the move on Gaza City, urging it to 'immediately cease its dangerous actions.' 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,' a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told the AFP. 'The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire.' 'A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured,' the Chinese government statement said. Beijing is 'willing to work together with the international community to help end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible,' it added.
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Putin Tells Trump He'll Halt War In Exchange For Eastern Ukraine
Russian President Putin has detailed his demands for a cease-fire in Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reports that the sweeping proposal demands major territorial concessions by Kiev and a push for global recognition of its claims in exchange for a halt to the fighting. Putin told Witkoff he would agree to a complete cease-fire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from all of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, according to officials briefed on the call. Russia would then control Donetsk, Luhansk, as well as the Crimea peninsula, which it seized in 2014 and wants recognized as sovereign Russian territory. Russia now occupies most of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Ukrainian forces still control sizable chunks of territory, including key cities that are now strongholds of its defense. European officials expressed serious reservations about the proposal As we detailed earlier, Bloomberg is reporting, according to people familiar with the matter, that Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion. US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain, the people said. Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area to Russia as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014. That would require Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a withdrawal of troops from parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions still held by Kyiv, handing Russia a victory that its army couldn't achieve militarily since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Such an outcome would represent a major win for Putin, who has long sought direct negotiations with the US on terms for ending the war that he started, sidelining Ukraine and its European allies. What are the odds Zelensky goes for this deal… and will Europe back it? Zelenskiy risks being presented with a take-it-or-leave-it deal to accept the loss of Ukrainian territory, while Europe fears it would be left to monitor a ceasefire as Putin rebuilds his forces. Russia would halt its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine along the current battlelines as part of the deal, the people said. They cautioned that the terms and plans of the accord were still in flux and could still change. Oil prices immediately tumbled on the report… The White House didn't reply to a request to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn't immediately respond to a request to comment. Ukraine declined to comment on the proposals. It's still unclear if Putin would agree to take part in a trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelenskiy next week, even if he had already struck an agreement with the US president, the people added. The Russian leader told reporters on Thursday that he didn't object to meeting Zelenskiy under the right conditions, though he said they don't exist now.
