Latest news with #HamidRezaHajiBabaei
Fox News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Rubio condemns Iran's 'unacceptable' threats against IAEA director
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday said alleged calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi are "unacceptable and should be condemned." Rubio's warning came after Iranian parliament vice speaker Hamid Reza Haji Babaei banned Grossi and removed surveillance from its nuclear facilities, accusing Israel of acquiring "sensitive facility data," according to a report from Mehr news. "We support the lAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the lAEA for their dedication and professionalism," Rubio wrote in an X post. "We call on Iran to provide for the safety and security of IAEA personnel." The lAEA this week commented on damage at Iranian nuclear facilities, following U.S. airstrikes on key nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. While speaking on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum," Grossi said Isfahan and Natanz were damaged, with Natanz showing "very serious damage" in one of the centrifuge halls where enrichment was being performed. Though a ceasefire agreement was made between Israel and Iran, Grossi alleged 900 pounds of potentially enriched uranium had been taken to an ancient site near Isfahan. "I have to be very precise, Martha," Grossi said. "We are the IAEA, so we are not speculating here. We do not have information of the whereabouts of this material." He claimed Iranian officials had told him they were taking protective measures, which could include moving the material. "My job is to try to see where is this material, because Iran has an obligation to report and account for all the material that they have, and this is going to continue to be my work," Grossi said. President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal Tehran signed with the U.S., U.K., European Union, France, Germany and Russia in 2018, prompting Iranian threats to remove cameras and limit access to its facilities. Rubio did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
United News of India
a day ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Radiation level in region normal post US attacks on Iranian N-sites: IAEA DG
New Delhi, June 28 (UNI) Radiation levels in the Gulf region remain normal following the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict while the Islamic Republic asserted that it would carry out uranium enrichment within its territory and would no longer allow installation of surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, quoting data from the International Radiation Monitoring System (IRMS), said this 48-nation network would have detected an important radioactive release from any damaged nuclear power reactor. 'From a nuclear safety perspective, Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor represented our main concern as any strike affecting those facilities – including their off-site power lines – could have caused a radiological accident with potential consequences in Iran as well as beyond its borders in the case of the Bushehr plant. It did not happen, and the worst nuclear safety scenario was thereby avoided,' he said. Stressing that nuclear facilities should never be attacked, he reiterated that Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites would have caused localized radioactive releases inside the impacted facilities and localized toxic effects. But there has been no report of increased off-site radiation levels. He emphasised the need for IAEA inspectors to continue their verification activities in Iran, as required under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the Agency. However, Iran said it would no longer allow the IAEA DG or the installation of surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities. Iran has already decided to pull out of the IAEA, the organisation it had joined in 1958. Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, Vice Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, today said Iran's decision stems from the discovery of sensitive facility data within documents obtained from the Israeli regime. Speaking at a ceremony he said 'The recent 12-day war is a continuation of the 47-year-old hostilities led by the United States against the Iranian nation. The core of this enmity is not about missiles or the nuclear program—it's about the people of Iran.' Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the Islamic Republic insists on carrying out the uranium enrichment within its territory. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iravani said establishing a consortium to carry out nuclear activities may act as a complement, but it will never replace Iran's domestic programme. Iran has always sought a peaceful solution to address possible concerns about its peaceful nuclear program, the envoy said. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei had said Tehran would support establishment of a consortium to carry out nuclear activities. However, this did not mean the Islamic Republic would abandon enrichment within Iran. UNI RB PRS
