Latest news with #diplomats
Asharq Al-Awsat
11 hours ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Diplomats: West Plans to Push IAEA Board to Find Iran in Breach of Duties
Western powers are preparing to push the UN nuclear watchdog's board at its next quarterly meeting to declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, a move bound to enrage Tehran, diplomats said. The step is likely to further complicate talks between the United States and Iran aimed at imposing fresh restrictions on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Washington and its European allies Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, proposed past resolutions adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors calling on Iran to quickly take steps such as explain uranium traces the IAEA found at undeclared sites. The IAEA is preparing to send member states its quarterly reports on Iran before the next board meeting, which begins on June 9. One of those will be a longer, "comprehensive" account of issues including Iran's cooperation, as demanded by a board resolution in November, and diplomats expect it to be damning. "We expect the comprehensive report to be tough, but there were already no doubts over Iran not keeping its non-proliferation commitments," one European official told Reuters. Once that report is issued, the United States will draft a proposed resolution text declaring Iran in breach of its so-called safeguards obligations, three diplomats said. A fourth said the Western powers were preparing a draft resolution without going into specifics. The text will be discussed with countries on the board in coming days before being formally submitted to the board by the four Western powers during the quarterly meeting as has happened with previous resolutions, diplomats said. SECURITY COUNCIL The last time the board took the step of formally declaring Iran in breach of its safeguards obligations was in September 2005 as part of a diplomatic standoff that stemmed from the discovery of clandestine nuclear activities in Iran. The United States and IAEA now believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons program that it halted in 2003. Iran denies ever having had a weapons program and says it is only using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. A separate IAEA board resolution passed in February 2006 referred Iran's non-compliance to the UN Security Council, which later imposed sanctions on Iran. The diplomats said it had not yet been determined at what point the Western powers would seek to have the matter referred to the Security Council, and it is unclear what action if any the Security Council would then take against Iran. The most immediate effect of a resolution is likely to be on Tehran's talks with the United States and any further nuclear steps Iran decides to take on the ground. The board has passed all recent resolutions proposed by the Western powers on Iran, and there is little doubt that this one would go through as well. The only question is how large the majority would be. Russia and China have been the only countries to consistently oppose such resolutions. Iran bristles at resolutions and other criticism of it at the IAEA board, taking steps such as accelerating and expanding its uranium enrichment program or barring top IAEA inspectors. It is already enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, which can easily be further enriched to the roughly 90% of weapons grade. It has enough material at that level, if enriched further, for six nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.
SBS Australia
17 hours ago
- General
- SBS Australia
Australia and US meet ahead of Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit
Australia and US meet ahead of Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit Published 30 May 2025, 9:11 am Military leaders and diplomats from across the world are gathering in Singapore this weekend, for Asia's premier defence summit. The Shangri La dialogue will host representatives from 47 countries, with strategic competition between the US and China again set to dominate.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
As antisemitism rises, these are the best ways to keep Jews safe
Regarding The Post's May 23 front-page article 'Death, shock at Jewish museum': This is a somber time during Jewish American Heritage Month: Two young professionals from the Israeli Embassy were shot and killed last week as they were leaving an event for diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. I think it's worth discussing a factor that does not seem to have come up much in discussions of the shootings: visible security at the venue.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
US Orders Pause in Student-Visa Interviews Ahead of New Vetting
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies worldwide to stop scheduling new interviews for student-visa applicants as the Trump administration weighs stricter vetting of social-media profiles. The directive, laid out in a cable sent to diplomats worldwide on Tuesday, marks the latest effort by the administration to restrict foreign students' entry to American schools over claims they have contributed to an atmosphere that promotes antisemitism.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Backing for a Nippon Steel Deal Leaves Big Questions
By and Toshiro Hasegawa Updated on Save After more than 17 months of lobbying and close-fought negotiations to secure control of United States Steel Corp., Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. appeared on Friday to have received a presidential blessing. Days later, however, investors, executives and diplomats are still unsure of what exactly the US president endorsed.
