Category Archives: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Iran and Europe seek to break nuclear impasse before return of Trump

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Talks held in Geneva as Iran looks to avoid potential snapback of UN sanctions over nuclear programme

Iran and the so-called E3 grouping of the UK, France and Germany have agreed to continue holding talks in the near future in an attempt to find a way out of an impasse over Tehran’s nuclear programme, in what may be the last chance of a breakthrough before Donald Trump takes up the US presidency again.

Trump, who pursued a policy of “maximum economic pressure” against Iran during his first term, returns to the White House on 20 January.

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Iran says it could end ban on possessing nuclear weapons if sanctions reimposed

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Comments made after nuclear inspectorate board passed motion censuring Iran for building uranium stockpile

The nuclear debate inside Iran is likely to shift towards the possession of its own weapons if the west goes ahead with a threat to reimpose all UN sanctions, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in an interview that Iran already had the capability and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, but said they did not form part of its security strategy. He also said Tehran was prepared to keep supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Iranian minister to meet European counterparts after nuclear offer rejected

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Meeting comes amid fears Middle East tensions will lead Iran to redouble its efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, will meet his European counterparts in Geneva on Friday after the collapse of a deal last week under which Iran would have limited its uranium enrichment to 60% purity, just below the threshold to make nuclear weapons.

The offer was regarded by Iran as a first step to rebuilding confidence between it and the west over what it insists is its civilian nuclear programme. There are growing fears that wider tensions in the Middle East could result in Tehran redoubling efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon and trying to declare it necessary for its national self-defence.

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Iran has offered to keep uranium below purity levels for a bomb, IAEA confirms

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UN inspectorate chief calls Tehran’s move a ‘concrete step in the right direction’, amid threat of restored sanctions

Iran has offered to keep its stock of uranium enriched up to 60% – below the purity levels required to make a nuclear bomb – the head of the UN nuclear inspectorate, Rafael Grossi, has confirmed amid the threat of restored European sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear activities.

“I think this is … a concrete step in the right direction. We have a fact which has been verified by us. It is the first time Iran has agreed to take a different path,” Grossi said in Vienna on Tuesday.

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Nuclear watchdog votes to censure Iran for non-cooperation with inspectors

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Clash between Iran and west over nuclear programme looms as US drops objections and joins European states condemning Tehran

A fresh confrontation between Tehran and the west is looming over Iran’s nuclear programme after the board of the UN nuclear watchdog voted heavily to censure the country for its repeated failure to cooperate with UN nuclear inspectors.

The vote by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) members was passed with 20 represented countries in favour, two against, and 12 abstentions. The two countries to vote against were Russia and China.

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Nuclear issue looms over Iranian presidential election to succeed Raisi

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About 80 candidates put names forward for vetting against backdrop of confrontation with west

About 80 candidates have registered to stand in Iran’s presidential election on 28 June, taking place against the backdrop of a growing confrontation with the west over Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme and UN access to its nuclear sites.

The winner will replace Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

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Iran presidential election: up to 20 possible contenders gear up for battle

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As official mourning for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi ends, here are some of the names of his potential successors

The end of official mourning for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has unleashed a battle for succession in which as many as 20 credible names have been proposed.

All candidates have to be cleared by the 12-strong elite body known as the Guardian Council, and the regime is torn between ensuring continuity on the one hand and on the other, allowing an open competition that stimulates turnout and gives the victor legitimacy.

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Diplomats fear growing power of Iranian factions that want nuclear weapons

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Warnings that war in Gaza and Iran’s lack of cooperation on its nuclear programme are strengthening hand of hardliners

There are growing fears among diplomats in the US and Europe that Iran’s largely unmonitored nuclear programme and the destabilisation caused by the Gaza conflict are strengthening the hand of Iranian factions that back the development of nuclear weapons.

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, has reiterated in recent days that his country is pursuing a civilian nuclear programme for now.

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South Koreans confront IAEA chief over Fukushima water release

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Rafael Grossi met with protests in Seoul during visit to try to calm fears over radioactive water discharge

Protesters have confronted the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog during a visit to South Korea in an attempt to calm fears over Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from its Fukushima plant.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived in Seoul on Friday to meet the foreign minister and a top nuclear safety official during a three-day visit after his trip to Japan.

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Ukrainian dam collapse ‘no immediate risk’ to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

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But IAEA says damage to Nova Kakhovka dam raises long-term concerns for power station’s future

The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and the draining of the reservoir behind it does not pose an immediate safety threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant further upstream, but will have long-term implications for its future, according to Ukrainian and UN experts.

The Ukrainian nuclear energy corporation, Energoatom, put out a statement on the Telegram social media platform saying the situation at the plant, the biggest nuclear power station in Europe, was “under control”.

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Libyan general says 2.5 tonnes of missing uranium found near storage base

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UN nuclear watchdog raised alarm hours earlier amid concerns about radiological and security risks

More than 2 tonnes of natural uranium reported missing by the UN’s nuclear watchdog in war-torn Libya have been found, a general in the country’s east has said.

Gen Khaled al-Mahjoub, the commander of eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar’s communications division, said the containers of uranium had been recovered barely 5km (3 miles) from where they had been stored in southern Libya, and after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported their disappearance earlier on Thursday.

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Australia seeks talks with global nuclear watchdog to allay Aukus fears

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Government has promised not to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel as part of the nuclear-powered submarine program

The Albanese government has requested formal talks with the global nuclear watchdog to allay any concerns Aukus could lead to undeclared nuclear activities in Australia or the diversion of enriched uranium.

The government has also invited senior officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Australia this year, attempting to head off a fresh campaign from China, which urged the body not to fall for “high-sounding rhetoric”.

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IAEA chief qualifies claim that Iran will restore nuclear site monitoring

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Head of UN nuclear watchdog had said Tehran agreed to restore equipment and hand over data

The head of the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate was forced to qualify some of the claims he made about commitments he had extracted from Iran at the weekend about increasing access to UN inspectors.

At his first press conference on his return from Tehran on Saturday, Rafael Grossi said “yes” when asked if Iran had pledged to restore all the cameras and other surveillance equipment that it had removed from its nuclear-related sites. But at Monday’s press conference he qualified this, saying it required further discussion.

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IAEA chief holds ‘constructive’ talks in Iran after uranium enrichment findings

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Rafael Grossi to meet president to ‘relaunch dialogue’ on nuclear programme, says source, following discovery of 83.7% enrichment

The UN nuclear watchdog chief has said he has had “constructive” meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran after the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level.

The two-day visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, comes as the Vienna-based organisation seeks greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities.

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Shelling of Zaporizhzhia is playing with fire, says UN nuclear chief, as blasts reported

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Explosions cause damage at Ukrainian power plant, as Kyiv says it will investigate videos allegedly of surrendering Russians being shot

The UN nuclear energy watchdog has said the forces behind the shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant are “playing with fire”, after a series of explosions shook the facility.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has experts based at Zaporizhzhia, reported on Sunday that powerful explosions had shaken the area on Saturday night and Sunday. It said its on-site experts saw some of the explosions from their windows.

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UN nuclear inspectors shut down Russian ‘dirty bomb’ claim against Ukraine

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy says findings are ‘clear and irrefutable’ after IAEA finds no evidence of undeclared nuclear activities and materials

The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed it found no sign of undeclared nuclear activity after inspecting three sites at Ukraine’s request in response to Russian allegations that work was being done on a “dirty bomb”.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning to use such a bomb – a conventional explosive device laced with radioactive material – and said institutes linked to the nuclear industry were involved in preparations, without presenting evidence. Ukraine’s government denies the accusation.

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Israel warns over Iran uranium capability with nuclear talks at halt

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As IAEA board meets, Israel says Iran will be able to produce enough material for three warheads in weeks

Tensions around a breakdown in talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme escalated on Monday when Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, claimed that Iran would be able to produce enough enriched uranium to make three nuclear warheads within a few weeks.

Gantz also revealed a map detailing 10 facilities in Syria allegedly being used to arm Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah. He said the facilities represented a threat to Israel’s security.

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Putin and Macron trade blame over risk at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

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Last operating reactor has now been shut down, says Energoatom, to transfer facility to ‘safest state’

Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have traded blame over safety concerns at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which has been a focal point of fighting in recent weeks.

Separate readouts of a phone call between the French and Russian presidents highlighted the difficulties in trying to find an accord to ensure safety at the site.

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Offsite power supply to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant destroyed

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IAEA says shelling makes the ‘situation increasingly precarious’ as reliable supply is unlikely to be restored

A vital offsite electricity supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been destroyed by shelling and there is little likelihood a reliable supply will be re-established, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief has said.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said shelling had destroyed the switchyard of a nearby thermal power plant.

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