Latest news with #IranNuclearProgram
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
UN, Iran and Egypt meet in Cairo to discuss Tehran's nuclear program
Iranian, Egyptian and UN leaders met in Cairo on Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear program after a report from the UN nuclear watchdog agency said that Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the agency compiled the report, because Iranian's uranium enrichment was a continuing concern for the IAEA's board of governors. 'We hope that by providing the clarification we will be providing an incentive for clarity, an incentive for a peaceful solution and a diplomatic solution,' Grossi said in Cairo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Grossi as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. Opinion: With instability on the rise, more countries could turn to nuclear weapons The confidential IAEA report, which was seen by the Associated Press on Saturday, raised a stern warning, saying Iran is now 'the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material,' something the agency said was of 'serious concern.' Iranian leadership believes the IAEA report is politically motivated by Grossi's hopes to become the next UN secretary-general. Grossi is attempting to attract votes of several members of the U.N. Security Council with the report, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, told the official IRNA news agency late Sunday. 'He basically has chosen a political attitude, and this political attitude has led the environment to be more political rather that technical,' Eslami said. The IAEA report said that Iran, as of May 17, had amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent. That is an increase of almost 50 per cent since the IAEA's last report in February. The 60-per-cent enriched material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected many of the report's findings. Gharibabadi noted on Sunday that out of the IAEA's 682 inspections of 32 states, 493 were carried out in Iran alone. 'So long as a country's nuclear activities are under the IAEA's monitoring, there is no cause for concern,' he said. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran is neither pursuing nuclear weapons nor does it possess any undeclared nuclear materials or activities.' Canada's relations with Tehran stuck in deep freeze, despite Iranian hopes Iran is concerned that the U.S. hasn't provided enough transparency about what Iran can gain from the talks, Esmail Baghaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday. 'It must be crystal clear to us that how the unfair sanctions against the Iranian nation will be removed,' Baghaei said. The U.S.-Iran talks are an attempt to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, which have strained relations for almost 50 years. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is mediating in the U.S.-Iran talks, visited Tehran on Saturday to present the Washington's latest proposal for ongoing discussions. Araghchi said on Monday in Cairo that Iran will reply to the U.S. approach soon, but there will be no agreement unless Iran's right to enrichment is respected. Iran doesn't plan on leaving the negotiating table, but if the U.S. wants to pressure Iran to give up its entire nuclear program, rather than work with Iran's assurances of a peaceful program, the negotiations won't make any progress, he said. The fifth round of talks between the U.S. and Iran concluded in Rome last week with 'some but not conclusive progress,' al-Busaidi said at the time.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
UN, Iran and Egypt meet in Cairo to discuss Iran's nuclear program
Iranian, Egyptian and U.N. leaders met in Cairo on Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear program after a report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said that Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the agency compiled the report, because Iranian's uranium enrichment was an ongoing concern for the IAEA's board of governors. 'We hope that by providing the clarification we will be providing an incentive for clarity, an incentive for a peaceful solution and a diplomatic solution,' Grossi said in Cairo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Grossi as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. IAEA expresses 'serious concern' The confidential IAEA report, which was seen by The Associated Press on Saturday, raised a stern warning, saying Iran is now 'the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material,' something the agency said was of 'serious concern.' Iranian leadership believes the IAEA report is politically motivated by Grossi's hopes to become the next U.N. secretary-general. Grossi is attempting to attract votes of several members of the U.N. Security Council with the report, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, told the official IRNA news agency late Sunday. 'He basically has chosen a political attitude, and this political attitude has led the environment to be more political rather that technical," Eslami said. The IAEA report said that Iran, as of May 17, had amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. That is an increase of almost 50% since the IAEA's last report in February. The 60% enriched material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected many of the report's findings. Gharibabadi noted on Sunday that out of the IAEA's 682 inspections of 32 states, 493 were carried out in Iran alone. 'So long as a country's nuclear activities are under the IAEA's monitoring, there is no cause for concern,' he said. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran is neither pursuing nuclear weapons nor does it possess any undeclared nuclear materials or activities.' Questions about U.S. transparency Iran is concerned that the U.S. hasn't provided enough transparency about what Iran can gain from the talks, Esmail Baghaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday. 'It must be crystal clear to us that how the unfair sanctions against the Iranian nation will be removed,' Baghaei said. The U.S.-Iran talks are an attempt to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, which have strained relations for almost 50 years. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is mediating in the U.S.-Iran talks, visited Tehran on Saturday to present the Washington's latest proposal for ongoing discussions. Araghchi said on Monday in Cairo that Iran will reply to the U.S. approach soon, but there will be no agreement unless Iran's right to enrichment is respected. Iran doesn't plan on leaving the negotiating table, but if the U.S. wants to pressure Iran to give up its entire nuclear program, rather than work with Iran's assurances of a peaceful program, the negotiations won't make any progress, he said. The fifth round of talks between the U.S. and Iran concluded in Rome last week with 'some but not conclusive progress,' al-Busaidi said at the time. Melanie Lidman reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Iran's Latest Nuclear Weapons Progress
Which is more troubling—what we know about Iran's nuclear program or what we don't know? Two new reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) underscore Iran's unceasing pursuit of nuclear weapons and longtime deception about its efforts. The IAEA is the United Nations nuclear watchdog, and its new reports were prepared in advance of a board meeting. In the past, Iran would slow its uranium enrichment before IAEA meetings and escape with a slap on the wrist. This time the Iranians haven't bothered with the charade. They've increased their stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium by about half since early February, the IAEA finds, amassing enough for 10 nuclear weapons. Note that this is since President Trump took office. Iran is the only state without nukes to produce 60%-enriched uranium, which is a stone's throw from weapons-grade and well beyond the levels required for civilian energy or research. The only reason to enrich to that level is for nuclear bombs, and Iran has been adding one bomb's worth of fissile material a month. A second IAEA report details Iran's noncompliance with an investigation into its undeclared nuclear material. Under its safeguards agreement, part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is obligated to account fully for its nuclear material and activities.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Israel says after IAEA report, the international community must stop Iran
Israel said on Saturday that the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency showed that Iran's nuclear program was not peaceful and that Tehran remained determined to complete its nuclear weapons program. 'The international community must act now to stop Iran,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement, adding that the level of uranium enrichment Iran had reached 'exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever.'
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Iran may pause enrichment for US nod on nuclear rights, release of frozen funds, Iranian sources say
DUBAI, May 28 (Reuters) - Iran may pause uranium enrichment if the U.S. releases frozen Iranian funds and recognises Tehran's right to refine uranium for civilian use under a "political deal" that could lead to a broader nuclear accord, two Iranian official sources said. The sources, close to the negotiating team, said on Wednesday a "political understanding with the United States could be reached soon" if Washington accepted Tehran's conditions. One of the sources said the matter "has not been discussed yet" during the talks with the United States. The sources told Reuters that under this arrangement, Tehran would halt uranium enrichment for a year, ship part of its highly enriched stock abroad or convert it into fuel plates for civilian nuclear purposes. A temporary pause to enrichment would be a way to overcome an impasse over clashing red lines after five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that any new nuclear deal with Iran - to replace a failed 2015 accord between Tehran and six world powers - must include a commitment to scrap enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied such intentions, saying it wants nuclear energy only for civilian purposes, and has publicly rejected Washington's demand to scrap enrichment as an attack on its national sovereignty. In Washington, a U.S. official told Reuters the proposal aired by the Iranian sources had not been brought to the negotiating table to date. The U.S. State Department and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this article. The Iranian sources said Tehran would not agree to dismantling of its nuclear programme or infrastructure or sealing of its nuclear installations as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Instead, they said, Trump must publicly recognise Iran's sovereign right to enrichment as a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and authorise a release of Iranian oil revenues frozen by sanctions, including $6 billion in Qatar. Iran has not yet been able to access the $6 billion parked in a Qatar bank that was unfrozen under a U.S.-Iranian prisoner swap in 2023, during U.S. President Joe Biden's administration. "Tehran wants its funds to be transferred to Iran with no conditions or limitations. If that means lifting some sanctions, then it should be done too," the second source said. The sources said the political agreement would give the current nuclear diplomacy a greater chance to yield results by providing more time to hammer out a consensus on hard-to-bridge issues needed for a permanent treaty. "The idea is not to reach an interim deal, it would (rather) be a political agreement to show both sides are seeking to defuse tensions," said the second Iranian source. Western diplomats are sceptical of chances for U.S.-Iranian reconciliation on enrichment. They warn that a temporary political agreement would face resistance from European powers unless Iran displayed a serious commitment to scaling back its nuclear activity with verification by the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Even if gaps over enrichment narrow, lifting sanctions quickly would remain difficult. The U.S. favours phasing out nuclear-related sanctions while Iran demands immediate removal of all U.S.-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. Asked whether critical U.S. sanctions, reimposed since 2018 when Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 pact, could be rescinded during an enrichment pause, the first source said: "There have been discussions over how to lift the sanctions during the five rounds of talks." Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Iran's clerical establishment is grappling with mounting crises - energy and water shortages, a plunge in the value of its currency, losses among regional militia proxies in wars with Israel, and growing fears of an Israeli strike on its nuclear sites - all exacerbated by Trump's hardline stance. Trump's revival of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since he re-entered the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal. Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran's leadership "has no better option" than a new deal to avert economic chaos at home that could jeopardise clerical rule. Nationwide protests over social repression and economic hardship in recent years met with harsh crackdowns but exposed the Islamic Republic's vulnerability to public discontent and drew more Western sanctions over human rights violations.
