Latest news with #LisaLeutner
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Straits Times
IAEA says no damage seen at Iran's Fordow or Khondab nuclear sites
The Iranian flag flutters outside the IAEA headquarters after the first day of the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner IAEA says no damage seen at Iran's Fordow or Khondab nuclear sites No damage was seen at Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or the Khondab heavy water reactor under construction, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday. Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran's Nuclear Regulatory Authority had informed it of no change in off-site radiation levels in Isfahan, the site of one of the nuclear targets struck on Friday by Israeli forces. The IAEA also said that four critical buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site had been damaged, including a uranium conversion facility and a fuel plate fabrication plant. "As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected," the agency said in a post on X. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN nuclear watchdog's board to meet over Israel's Iran strikes, diplomats say
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is seen at their headquarters during a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File photo FILE PHOTO: The IAEA flag flutters outside their headquarters after the first day of the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters outside the IAEA headquarters after the first day of the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo VIENNA - An exceptional meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors will be held on Monday to discuss Israel's strikes on Iran after at least one country on the board requested one at Friday's regular, quarterly session of the body, diplomats said. Any country on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can call a meeting under its rules. Iran, which is not on the board, requested a meeting and its call was supported by board members Russia, China and Venezuela, diplomats said. The diplomats gave differing accounts as to which board member was the first to clearly make the request. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Monday, diplomats at Friday's closed-door meeting said before any public announcement of the emergency meeting. The IAEA said earlier on Friday that Iran's Natanz nuclear site, which includes an underground uranium enrichment plant and a smaller above-ground pilot enrichment plant, had been targeted by Israel's strikes. There was no sign of any push for a resolution or other action on Monday by the 35-nation board, said the IAEA's top policymaking body. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Trump says an Israeli attack on Iran is not imminent but is concerned it 'could very well happen'
Published Jun 12, 2025 • 5 minute read In this June 7, 2021, file photo, the flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) waves at the entrance of the Vienna International Center in Vienna. Photo by Lisa Leutner / AP WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says an Israeli attack on Iran over Tehran's nuclear program is not imminent but 'could very well happen.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. Trump added that he remains concerned a 'massive conflict' could occur in the Middle East if Iran does not negotiate a deal, but that he continues to urge Tehran to make a deal. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. VIENNA — Iran said it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, ratcheting up tensions with the UN on Thursday immediately after its atomic watchdog agency censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,' the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization said in a joint statement. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency, its first in 20 years over Iranian non-compliance, could set in motion an effort to restore sanctions on Iran later this year. U.S. President Donald Trump had previously warned that Israel or America could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. A sixth round of Iran-U.S. talks is scheduled to begin Sunday in Oman, and as tensions simmer some American government staffers deemed nonessential have begun leaving the Gulf region. Nineteen countries on the IAEA's board of governors voted for the resolution to censure Iran, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S. Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, while 11 abstained and two did not vote. The resolution calls on Iran to provide answers 'without delay' in a long-running investigation into traces of uranium found at several locations Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites, according to a draft seen by The Associated Press. Western officials suspect the uranium traces could provide further evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003. Iran lists steps in retaliation for censure Speaking to Iranian state television after the UN agency's vote, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that his agency immediately informed the IAEA of actions Tehran would take. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'One is the launch of a third secure site' for enrichment, spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said. He did not elaborate on the location, but the organization's chief, Mohammad Eslami, later described the site as 'already built, prepared, and located in a secure and invulnerable place.' Another step would be replacing old centrifuges with advanced ones at an underground site at Fordo. 'Our production of enriched materials will significantly increase,' Kamalvandi said. Iran has two underground sites, at Fordo and Natanz, and it has been building tunnels in the mountains near Natanz since suspected Israeli sabotage attacks targeted that facility. Iran said other measures were also being planned in response to the UN agency's censure. The IAEA draft resolution said 'Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran … constitutes non-compliance with its obligations.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Under those obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses. The IAEA's draft resolution hints at reporting Iran to the UN Security Council to consider more sanctions, stressing that the global body is the 'organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.' It also said it supports 'a diplomatic solution to the problems,' which includes the talks between the U.S. and Iran. Still a chance for Iran to cooperate with IAEA A senior Western diplomat last week described the UN watchdog resolution as a 'serious step,' but added that Western nations are 'not closing the door to diplomacy on this issue.' However, if Iran fails to cooperate, an extraordinary IAEA board meeting will likely be held in the summer, during which another resolution could get passed that will refer the issue to the Security Council, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue with the media. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. France, the U.K. and Germany have repeatedly threatened in the past to reinstate sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Iran does not provide 'technically credible' answers to the UN nuclear watchdog's questions. The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October. That puts the West on a clock to exert pressure on Tehran over its program before losing that power. Thursday's resolution follows the IAEA's so-called 'comprehensive report' that was circulated among member states last weekend. In the report, the UN nuclear watchdog said that Iran's cooperation with the agency has 'been less than satisfactory' when it comes to uranium traces discovered by agency inspectors at several locations in Iran. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One of the sites became known publicly in 2018, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed it at the United Nations and called it a clandestine nuclear warehouse hidden at a rug-cleaning plant. Iran denied this, but in 2019, IAEA inspectors detected the presence of uranium traces there as well as at two other sites. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, who campaigned on reaching out to the West, struck a harder line after the IAEA vote. 'I don't know how to cooperate with the outside world to stop them from doing evil acts and let the people live independently in this country,' Pezeshkian said. 'We will continue down our own path; we will have enrichment.' — Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. Toronto & GTA Canada Celebrity World World
The Star
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Slovak startup InoBat launches battery for military drones
FILE PHOTO: A staff works inside the EV battery production unit of Inobat, a Slovakian battery maker, in Voderady, Slovakia December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Slovak startup InoBat plans to launch a battery designed for military drones and unmanned aerial systems, it said on Monday, as it responds to an upsurge in European defence spending. The company will start producing the E10 cell in September and is in "in early-stage collaboration with selected European drone manufacturers," CEO Marian Bocek told Reuters. "We are engaging with drone manufacturers that require a technologically superior European battery solution," Bocek said. The company's previous focus has been electric vehicle and electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle batteries. As Europe scrambles to increase production of tanks, radars and weapons following U.S. President Donald Trump's demands that it take care of its own defence, some companies have begun retooling automotive plants for military production. Rheinmetall, Europe's largest ammunition maker, for instance, has said it will repurpose two automotive parts plants to make defence equipment and French munitions company Europlasma is taking over a foundry formerly owned by French carmaker. InoBat said the E10 cell charges in under 15 minutes, can handle a 40% greater payload and provide 60% longer flight time than cells currently on the market. Bocek said it was "was a natural evolution" for InoBat "driven by demand for European-made, high-spec batteries in both defence and industrial drone markets". The Slovak battery maker has raised over 400 million euros ($447 million), including 100 million euro in funding announced in December. Chinese battery maker Gotion holds a 10% stake in InoBat, and the two companies have a joint venture that will start producing EV batteries for Volkswagen in 2027. CEO Bocek told Reuters the drone battery business is separate from its joint venture with Gotion and is entirely compliant with NATO supply chain requirements. ($1 = 0.8942 euros)
