nuclear

Israel’s aerial assault on Iran has destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Natanz, where there is now “contamination”, according to Rafael Grossi, chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

Grossi delivered the update during an emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York on Friday, where he and other senior UN officials urged both Israel and Iran to show restraint to prevent a deeper regional conflict.

“I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities should never be attacked regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He reported radiological and chemical contamination inside the Natanz facility, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60 percent. However, he added that the contamination is “manageable with appropriate measures”, and said the IAEA is ready to send nuclear security experts to help secure the sites if requested.

“I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation,” he added.

UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo also urged both sides to show “maximum restraint at this critical moment”.

“A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” she told the council. “We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences.”

Israeli ‘declaration of war’

The 15-member Security Council, also joined by representatives of Israel and Iran, met at Iran’s request after Israel struck several Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites in the early hours of Friday, and carried out assassinations of senior military officials and nuclear scientists.

Iran’s UN Envoy Amir Saeid Iravani told the emergency meeting that the attacks, which he described as a “declaration of war” and “a direct assault on international order”, had killed 78 people and injured more than 320.

He accused the US of providing Israel with both intelligence and political support for the attacks, the consequences of which he said it “shares full responsibility” for.

“Supporting Israel today is supporting war crimes,” he said.

The US representative, McCoy Pitt, insisted the US was not involved militarily in the strikes, but defended them as necessary for the self-defence of Israel.

He warned that the “consequences for Iran would be dire” if it targeted US bases or citizens in retaliation. “Iran’s leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time,” he said.

‘How long did the world expect us to wait?’

Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon cast its attack on Iran’s nuclear sites as “an act of national preservation”, claiming Iran was days away from producing enough fissile material for multiple bombs.

“This operation was carried out because the alternative was unthinkable,” said Danon. “How long did the world expect us to wait? Until they assemble the bomb? Until they mount it on a Shahab missile? Until it is en route to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?”

“We will not hesitate, we will not relent, and we will not allow a genocidal regime to endanger our people,” said Danon

An Iranian counterattack on Israel took place while the UN meeting was in progress, with Iran firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israeli targets.

“Iran affirms its inherent right to self-defence,” said Iran’s Iravani, promising to respond “decisively and proportionately” against Israel.

“This is not a threat, this is the natural, legal and necessary consequence of an unprovoked military act,” he said.

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN ambassador, told the council Israel’s actions in the Middle East are “pushing the region to a large-scale nuclear catastrophe”.

“This completely unprovoked attack, no matter what Israel says to the contrary, is a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law,” he said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says Tehran’s response to Israel’s attack will not not be ‘half measured’.

Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a major attack on Tehran’s nuclear sites.

Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded across Israel on Friday night. This follows an unprecedented attack by Israel in the early hours of Friday, which targeted Iranian nuclear sites, senior military commanders and scientists.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel’s strikes had “initiated a war” and it would not be allowed to do “hit and run” attacks without consequences.

“The Zionist regime [Israel] will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime. The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” Khamenei said in a statement.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Iran “carried out its crushing and precise response against dozens of targets, military centres and airbases” in Israel at the command of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Three separate waves of attacks were launched at Israel on Friday night, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.

At least one projectile impacted central Tel Aviv, said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan.

A modern apartment block was hit in central Tel Aviv, and according to live footage from the scene, fires raged inside some of the apartments, with smoke billowing from the building.

Another residential building, next to the apartment block, also appeared to have suffered significant damage, with windows blown and pieces of twisted metal hanging from its exterior.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing emergency services, said 15 people have been wounded in central Israel, with one in moderate condition.

The Israeli public has been instructed to remain in shelters.

Israel’s attacks on Iran killed several top Iranian generals and scientists, including the armed forces chief of staff, Major-General Mohammed Bagheri, and the IRGC chief, Hossein Salami.

However, Major-General Mohammed Pakpour was swiftly promoted to replace Salami.

In a letter to Khamenei read out on state television, Pakpour promised that “the gates of hell will open to the child-killing regime”, referring to Israel.

During Israel’s surprise attack in the early hours of Friday, its military said it had struck more than 200 targets across Iran.

Before Iran’s retaliatory strikes, Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier-General Effie Defrin told journalists that Israel’s army was “continuing to strike”.

“Iran has the ability to significantly harm the Israeli home front”, Defrin told a televised news conference that was cut short due to what the army said was an incoming attack.

The army also urged citizens to stick close to “protected spaces” and avoid public gatherings amid a potential Iranian attack on Israel.

In a statement earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected “several waves of Iranian attacks”.

President Donald Trump has urged Iran to agree to US demands to restrict its nuclear programme as Tehran promised a strong response to Israeli air strikes targeting its nuclear sites and military facilities, killing at least two senior military commanders and several nuclear scientists.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump warned that the “next already planned attacks” on Iran would be “even more brutal” and urged Iranian officials to “make a deal before there is nothing left”.

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left… JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said that the United States had no part in the Israeli attacks and urged Iran not to target American interests or personnel in the region in retaliation, but Tehran said Washington would be “responsible for consequences”.

Iran promised a harsh response to the barrage, and Israel said it was trying to intercept about 100 drones launched towards Israeli territory in retaliation.

Iranian state media has reported that Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, were both killed in the attacks. Nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi were also killed.

Some 200 Israeli warplanes took part in overnight air strikes on Iran, hitting more than 100 targets in the country, according to Israeli army spokesman, Brigadier General Effie Defrin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the “heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme”, taking aim at the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.

The attacks would “continue as many days as it takes”, he said.

Iranian media reported explosions, including some at the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said Natanz had sustained damage but no casualties had been reported.

On Friday afternoon, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported a new Israeli attack in the city of Tabriz, northwest of Iran.

‘Severe punishment for Israel’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” after the assault. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Tehran has a “legal and legitimate” right to respond.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to address the public, also said in a statement on his official X account: “The Zionist regime will regret its action today.”

Israel’s military said on Friday it was intercepting Iranian drones. The country’s public broadcaster and Channel 12 reported that Israel also intercepted drones over Saudi Arabia.

At about 08:00 GMT, Israeli media reported that an earlier order requiring citizens to remain near protected areas had been lifted.

In the Iranian city of Qom, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Jamkaran Mosque to demand a “severe punishment” for Israel in response to the strikes.

Mohammad Eslami, a research fellow at Tehran University, said Iranian leaders are preparing an imminent strike on Israel targeting military and nuclear facilities.

“The Iranian military were thinking about this scenario for many years and also in recent days, we have heard lots of statements by the Defence Ministry of Iran that they are ready for any strike by the Israelis,” he told Al Jazeera from Tehran.

“Most Iranian political parties support defending the country because all Iranians [know] the history of Iraq attacking Iran. This is not about political points of view,” he added.

Nuclear talks

US and Iranian officials are due to attend a sixth round of talks over Iran’s nuclear programme in Oman on Sunday.

The two sides have been negotiating over Iran’s enrichment of uranium, with Trump stating recently that “zero” enrichment should be allowed in Iran. He has also said repeatedly that Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

Tehran has consistently said that its nuclear programme is only for civilian purposes.

Iran said in a statement that Israel’s “cowardly” attack showed why Iran had to insist on enrichment, nuclear technology and missile power.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors on Thursday declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi says Iran has reported no elevated radiation levels after Israel’s attack on the Natanz nuclear facility. He warned of risks to public safety and urged all sides to avoid further escalation.

When and where did the strikes happen?

Reuters

What has Israel said?

How has Iran responded?

What has the US said?

What is Iran’s nuclear programme?

Who has been killed?

The world’s nuclear watchdog has ruled Iran has failed to comply with its nuclear obligations. The crisis comes as the US says it’s reducing staffing at regional embassies as tensions escalate. Soraya Lennie breaks it down.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

US officials tell news agencies that Israel has started attacking sites in Iran as blasts reported in Tehran.

Explosions have been reported northeast of Iran’s capital Tehran, according to the state-run news agency Nour News.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly conducted a strike in Iran, the Axios news agency reports, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the operation.

Two unnamed US officials have also told the Reuters news agency that Israel has carried out an attack in Iran. The officials said Washington did not assist in the attack and declined to provide further details.

The Israeli military is yet to publicly confirm the attack. But in a post on X, the military announced that Israel’s civil and public security guidelines had been changed to “essential activity” as of 03:00 local time (00:00 GMT).

“The guidelines include: a ban on educational activities, gatherings, and workplaces, except for essential businesses,” it said.

More to follow shortly …

Israel has been pushing to strike Iran for months, if not years. Signs this week that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was potentially imminent have ratcheted up fears of a regional conflict, particularly in light of the US withdrawal of some diplomatic staff and their dependents from Iraq and the wider region.

US President Donald Trump’s comments have added to the sense that a military confrontation is coming, saying on Thursday that a strike “could very well happen”.

And yet, at the same time, Trump said that he would not call the strike imminent, and wanted to avoid a conflict.

Earlier in the week, Israeli media reported that Trump had also asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dial down talk of a strike against Iran, adding to the sense that Trump himself wanted to avoid any conflict with Iran, especially as nuclear talks between Iran and the US are ongoing – with the next round set to take place on Sunday.

Whether an Israeli strike will take place in the short term is thus still unclear.

“One way of looking at this is that it may be part of the larger picture,” Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, said of the role the threat of unilateral action from Israel may play in US negotiations with Iran. “It may be that the US is using their ‘crazy friend’ as a tactic to bring pressure upon Iran … On the other hand, it may be that the crazy friend means business.”

Possibility of a strike

Israel’s opposition to Iran is longstanding.

Through the course of its 20-month-long war on Gaza, Netanyahu has seized on the opportunity to confront a foe he has consistently pitched as his country’s ultimate nemesis.

In addition to boasting that he was responsible for Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme in 2018, Netanyahu has also ordered air strikes, assassinations and cyberattacks designed to either slow or halt Iran’s nuclear programme.

The Israeli right-wing, led by Netanyahu, has long considered Iran an existential threat and believes that the country seeks a nuclear weapon, despite Iranian denials.

Iran also supports anti-Israeli groups across the region, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis. With many of Iran’s allies, particularly Hezbollah, severely weakened after fighting Israel since 2023, some in Israel view this as the perfect opportunity to also deliver a knockout blow to Iran itself.

Speaking to the New York Times on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official said that military and government officials have already met in anticipation of a potential Israeli strike.

According to the unnamed official, any strike by Israel would be met with the immediate launch of hundreds of ballistic missiles.

“Logically, and I’m stressing ‘logically,’ Israel shouldn’t strike at Iran,” Mekelberg said, “Even with US support, it likely wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“However, in this environment, there are no voices that are going to restrain Netanyahu: not the foreign minister, not the defence minister,” he said.

“The head of the Shin Bet [domestic intelligence service], who would normally counsel Netanyahu, has been forced out, and the attorney general, who might also advise him, [Netanyahu is] trying to get dismissed,” Mekelberg added. “That leaves no one, perhaps other than some voices in the military and Mossad, that could act as a check on Netanyahu.”

In need of a friend

Internationally, both Israel and Netanyahu have become increasingly isolated, throwing their relationship with the US into sharp focus.

In the last few weeks, many Western states have increased their opposition towards Israel’s war on Gaza.

Earlier in the week, five countries – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom – sanctioned two of Netanyahu’s government ministers, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leaving Israel more reliant upon US support than ever, observers said.

“I can’t see Israel taking any action without the US,” Mitchell Barak, an Israeli pollster and former political aide to several senior Israeli political figures, including Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera.

“Something is definitely going on, but I can’t see Israel doing anything without the tacit or active support of the US.”

“This could be a negotiating tactic on the part of Trump. He’s entered negotiations, and he wants results. Now, he sees Iran stalling, the IAEA report condemning them, and suddenly, he’s got Netanyahu threatening to strike if they don’t cut a deal,” he said.

Other observers questioned the timing of both reports of Trump restraining Netanyahu’s threat of strikes, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency report – which determined that Iran was not complying with its commitment to international nuclear safeguards – falling so close to Sunday’s talks.

“Right now, every taxi in Tel Aviv will tell you that Israel’s about to strike at Iran,” Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador and consul general in New York, told Al Jazeera. “I may be wrong, but I really doubt it.

“Netanyahu’s unlikely to do anything without the US’s greenlight. It’s not the way he or Israel works,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s going to let up,” Pinkas said of negotiations likely to continue beyond Sunday, “I fully expect Trump to again speak of having to restrain Netanyahu. It’s just another means of exerting pressure on Iran.”

However, that is not to rule out a strike from Israel altogether.

“There may be one, but if there is, it’ll come at the US’s request and be of some peripheral target with no real value.”

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have remained defiant amid concerns that Israel could launch an attack on Iran as the global nuclear watchdog adopts another Western-led censure resolution.

Even as Oman confirmed on Thursday that it will host a sixth round of talks on Sunday between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme, reports by outlets such as The New York Times, quoting officials in the US and Europe, warned that Israel is “ready” to attack Iran, even without military backing from Washington. Israel has long threatened to attack Iran’s nuclear sites.

The administration of US President Donald Trump also carried out a partial evacuation of embassy staff in Iraq and dependants of US personnel across the Middle East in a sign of escalating tension in the region.

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” said Trump at a White House event on Thursday, commenting on the likelihood of an Israeli strike.

“We will not give in to America’s coercion and bullying,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised speech in the western city of Ilam on Thursday, pointing out that Iran resisted eight years of invasion in the 1980s by neighbouring Iraq, which was backed by many foreign powers.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told state television that if Israel attacks, it would be met with a “history-making” response that would go far beyond Iran’s two rounds of retaliatory strikes on Israel last year.

He said Iran is not “defenceless and encircled” like Gaza, where the Israeli military has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

Speaking to a crowd in Tehran, IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said Iran’s armed forces have made significant strides in improving their attacking capabilities in the months since the previous missile barrages launched against Israel.

“If they think the axis of resistance and Iran have been weakened and then boast based on that, it is all a dream,” said the commander, who leads the external force of the IRGC, which is tasked with expanding Iran’s regional influence.

Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, announced on Thursday that he has given the order to launch more military exercises after a series of large-scale drills were held across Iran earlier this year. An array of missiles and drones, warships, special forces and even underground missile bases featured in those drills.

On Wednesday, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh reiterated that all US military bases in countries across the region are legitimate targets if conflict breaks out with the US.

He said Iran had successfully launched an unnamed ballistic missile last week with a 2,000kg (4,410lb) warhead and promised casualties “on the other side will be greater and would force the US to leave the region”.

Iran to build third enrichment site

After days of deliberation, the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday passed a resolution to censure Iran over its advancing nuclear programme and several outstanding cases involving unexplained nuclear materials found at Iranian sites.

The resolution was put forward in Vienna by the US along with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the three European nations who are still party to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018.

The global nuclear watchdog has adopted several Western-led censure resolutions against Iran over the past few years, but the one on Thursday was the most serious in nearly two decades because it alleges Iran is not complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs branded the accusation “completely baseless and fabricated” and said Western powers are using the international body as a tool for exerting political pressure.

Tehran’s response was also significant. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Foreign Ministry jointly announced that the country would build its third uranium enrichment site at a “secure” location.

They added that first-generation centrifuges will be replaced with sixth-generation machines at the Fordow enrichment plant, which will considerably boost Iran’s ability to create highly enriched uranium.

The Natanz and Fordow facilities, both built deep underground to protect them against bunker-buster munitions used by the US and Israel, are currently the only facilities enriching uranium in Iran. They are both under heavy supervision by the IAEA.

Iran is now enriching uranium up to 60 percent and maintains that its nuclear programme is strictly peaceful and has civilian uses, such as power generation and the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals. Uranium must be at 90 percent purity to build nuclear weapons.

‘Zero’ enrichment demand looms over talks

Iran and the US are once again heading to Muscat even as they still disagree over enrichment, the key issue for any potential agreement.

The 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium up to 3.67 percent under IAEA monitoring, but Trump, who now says he is less confident about a deal with Iran, has insisted on “zero” enrichment taking place inside Iran.

Tehran, which this week rejected another US proposal that included zero enrichment, is slated to offer a counterproposal soon to try to advance the negotiations.

Ideas for a nuclear consortium that includes Iran’s neighbours to bolster trust have so far failed to provide any breakthrough.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad chief David Barnea are expected to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday before he heads to the Omani capital for the latest round of talks.

Tehran leans on national sentiment

In Tehran’s Vanak Square, authorities this week installed a huge sculpture of Arash Kamangir (Arash the Archer), a hero in Iranian mythology.

The story of Arash involved the hero putting his life in danger by climbing Mount Damavand – the highest peak in Iran at 5,609 metres (18,402ft) and a symbol of national pride – to use his archery skills to set Iran’s borders. In the story, his arrow flies for days before setting Iran’s boundaries with Turan, a historical region in Central Asia.

The story is one that evokes a sense of national pride among all Iranians. When images of the sculpture went viral on social media, some Iranians praised the move while others criticised it as an attempt to tap nationalist sentiment at a time when Iran may be attacked.

مجسمه بزرگ ۱۵ متری از آرش کمانگیر امروز در میدان ونک تهران نصب شد. pic.twitter.com/QQBglpxWXO

— Azadeh Mokhtari (@AzadeMokhtari) June 10, 2025

Translation: A 15-metre-high [50ft-high] sculpture of Arash Kamangir was installed at Tehran’s Vanak Square today.

But even with the spectre of war seeming to loom over Iran again, markets in the country have remained relatively stable in recent weeks as they anticipate the results of negotiations with the US.

The Iranian rial changed hands in Tehran for about 840,000 per US dollar on Thursday, having only slightly dipped compared with the days before and its news of more military and political pressure on Iran.

“Most people I’ve spoken to here are following the news of the talks with the US and Israel’s threats very closely, but there’s no panic,” a 36-year-old vendor at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar told Al Jazeera, asking to remain anonymous.

After years of stringent sanctions, along with local mismanagement, Iran has been facing consistently high inflation. It currently stands above 30 percent. Iranians are also cut off from international payment networks and banned from most international services due to the sanctions.

“Nobody wants a war,” the vendor said. “We have enough problems as is. I really hope they reach a deal.”

BREAKINGBREAKING,

IAEA resolution passes with 19 votes in favour , three against and 11 abstentions, diplomatic sources say.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors has approved a resolution declaring Iran is not complying with its commitment to international nuclear safeguards, diplomatic sources told Al Jazeera.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors resolution passed on Thursday with 19 votes in favour, three against and 11 abstentions.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Vienna, said that Russia, China and Burkina Faso were among the members of the 35-seat board to vote against the resolution.

A text of the resolution seen by Reuters news agency said that “Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019” to provide IAEA “with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations constitute non-compliance with its obligations” under its agreement with the UN agency.

Ahelbarra described passage of the resolution as a “significant diplomatic development”, noting that it was the first time in almost 20 years that the IAEA had accused Iran of breaching its non-proliferation obligations.

“Iran has a very small window to answer the resolution. Otherwise, it will face, massive, massive repercussions including the potential of further isolation and wide-range of sanctions.”

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said that Iran will likely have a “tough response” to the IAEA resolution, adding that the upcoming talks between the US and Iran on Sunday would be “highly-influenced” by the vote in Vienna.

Iran’s Press TV quoted the foreign ministry as saying that the board resolution “has no technical and legal basis.”

Head of nuclear watchdog warns Israeli strike may harden Iran’s resolve on nuclear arms as diplomacy stalls.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could push Tehran closer to developing nuclear weapons as indirect talks between the United States and Iran continue through Omani mediation.

Speaking to i24 News and The Jerusalem Post, Grossi said Iranian officials had cautioned him about the potential consequences of a strike.

“A strike could potentially have an amalgamating effect, solidifying Iran’s determination – I will say it plainly – to pursue a nuclear weapon or withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” he said in an interview that was published on Monday.

Grossi added that he did not believe Israel would launch such an operation.

“But one thing is certain,” he said, “The [Iranian] programme runs wide and deep. And when I say ‘deep’, I mean it. Many of these facilities are extremely well-protected. Disrupting them would require overwhelming and devastating force.”

He made his comments as Iran prepares a counteroffer to a US proposal for a new nuclear deal.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that the US offer lacked key elements and failed to address sanctions relief – a longstanding demand from Tehran.

“We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side through Oman once it is finalised,” Baghaei said without elaborating on the details.

He also criticised the IAEA’s latest report on Iran’s nuclear programme as “unbalanced”, accusing it of relying on “forged documents” from Israel. The IAEA had recently described Iran’s cooperation as “less than satisfactory”, particularly in clarifying past nuclear activities at undeclared locations.

The US and Iran are trying to strike a new nuclear deal after a 2015 agreement was abandoned by US President Donald Trump in 2018 during his first term.

In a surprise comment last week, Trump said he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to jeopardise the fragile negotiations.

“I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution,” Trump said.

It remains unclear when the next round of indirect negotiations will take place. Baghaei said talks are ongoing but did not give a date for the next meeting

Tehran indicates it will not accept the US proposal made during the fifth round of talks last month.

Iran will soon present a counterproposal for a nuclear deal to the United States, according to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Esmaeil Baghaei, the ministry’s spokesman, told a weekly news conference on Monday that Iran was not satisfied with a US proposal and it would present its version via mediator Oman.

This marks the first public sign that Tehran will not accept the US proposal after the fifth round of talks last month, during which Iran said it had received “elements” of a US proposal and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said the text contained “ambiguities”.

Baqhaei criticised the US proposal on Monday as “lacking elements” reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations, but he did not provide details.

“We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side through Oman once it is finalised,” he said.

Baghaei said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions – a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.

Five rounds of talks

Tehran and Washington have held talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace a deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran’s uranium enrichment. Tehran defends it as a “nonnegotiable” right and Washington describes it as a “red line”.

Trump, who has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions on Iran since retaking office in January, has repeatedly said Tehran will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.

Last week, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the US proposal as against Iran’s interests, pledging to continue enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers view as a potential pathway to building nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will convene a Board of Governors meeting from Monday to Friday in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities.

The meeting comes after the IAEA released a report criticising “less than satisfactory” cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.

Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on “forged documents” provided by Israel.

It is not yet clear when the sixth round of nuclear talks will take place between Tehran and Washington, Baghaei said.

IAEA head Grossi describes the new government as ‘committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation’.

Syria’s new government has agreed to give inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to suspected former nuclear sites immediately, according to the agency’s chief, as Damascus makes further inroads to rejoining the international fold.

Rafael Grossi, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog’s director-general, was speaking Wednesday to The Associated Press news agency in Damascus, where he met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other officials.

The visit was a key part of the IAEA’s efforts to restore access to sites associated with Syria’s nuclear programme since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

The agency’s aim is “to bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgement of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons”, Grossi said. He described the new government as “committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation” and said he is hopeful of finishing the inspection process within months.

Grossi’s visit also marks another step towards international acceptance of Syria’s new government after the United States and European Union lifted sanctions on the country last month. Israel has taken an opposite approach to its Western allies, launching more than 200 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria over the past six months, despite the two countries holding indirect talks in early May.

An IAEA team visited some sites of interest last year. Syria under al-Assad is believed to have operated an extensive clandestine nuclear programme, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea in eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

The IAEA described the reactor as being “not configured to produce electricity” — raising the concern that Damascus sought a nuclear weapon there by producing weapons-grade plutonium.

The reactor site only became public knowledge after Israel, the region’s only nuclear power, launched air strikes in 2007, destroying the facility. Syria later levelled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA’s questions.

Grossi said inspectors plan to return to the reactor in Deir az Zor and three other related sites. Other sites under IAEA safeguards include a miniature neutron source reactor in Damascus and a facility in Homs that can process yellow-cake uranium.

While there are no indications that there have been releases of radiation from the sites, Grossi said, the watchdog is concerned that “enriched uranium can be lying somewhere and could be reused, could be smuggled, could be trafficked”.

He said al-Sharaa had shown a “very positive disposition to talk to us and to allow us to carry out the activities we need to”.

Grossi revealed that the IAEA is also prepared to transfer equipment for nuclear medicine and help rebuild the radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and oncology infrastructure in a health system severely weakened by nearly 14 years of civil war.

“And the president has expressed to me he’s interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well,” Grossi added.

A number of other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, are pursuing nuclear energy in some form.

CHINA has given rare insight into its souped-up DF-5B nuclear missile – a 7,500-mile-range weapon with staggering explosive power.

The missile is said to pack hundreds of times the destructive force of the bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands in World War II.

5

5

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Although China has long kept its nuke programme secret, state broadcaster CCTV revealed details about the upgraded DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday.

This missile boasts a maximum range of 7,500 miles and an accuracy of 0.3 miles, as per reports by journalist Li Zexin on X.

This range is enough to reach most of Europe and nearly all of the US from launch sites inside China.

For example, the distance from Beijing to London is around 5,000 miles and from China to New York is roughly 7,000 miles.

The DF-5B is said to deliver a yield of three to four megatonnes.

This is about 200 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which had an estimated explosive yield of about 15 kilotonnes of TNT.

It also far surpasses the destructive power of the bomb unleashed on Nagasaki, which had a yield of around 21 kilotonnes of TNT.

The hi-tech missile has integrated Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle technology – allowing it to carry and release multiple nuclear warheads at once.

A single DF-5B missile can release up to 10 warheads, striking different targets across wide areas.

Since each warhead is independent, missile defence systems find it much harder to intercept, making this weapon far more lethal than other known weapons.

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CCTV described the missile as China’s “first-generation strategic ICBM”.

The DF-5B, first created in 2015, is an upgraded variant of China’s original DF-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which entered service in 1981.

It’s unclear why this information was released, but it is believed that Beijing wants to showcase its military modernisation and deter potential threats.

It comes just days after China deployed its most dangerous nuclear bombers to a tiny island, as revealed by satellite pictures.

Aerial photos show two hulking H-6 bombers on an airfield on Woody Island in the South China Sea, taken on May 19.

The long-range aircraft date back to the 1950s, and were modelled on Soviet-era warplanes.

But they have been upgraded to carry modern weapons, including hypersonic and nuclear missiles.

They are considered China’s most advanced bombers, and this is the first time they have been spotted on the outpost in five years.

US intelligence previously warned that China could seize Taiwan’s smaller islands as the first step of a full-scale invasion.

In September 2024, China launched a nuclear-capable missile into the Pacific Ocean, marking the first test in 40 years.

The ICBM, launched by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, carried a dummy warhead.

The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement the rocket “fell into expected sea areas”, and that it was a “routine arrangement in our annual training plan”.

China said the test was not directed at any country or target, and that it “informed the countries concerned in advance”, reports claimed.

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June 3 (UPI) — Constellation Energy Corporation announced Tuesday it has made a deal to provide the Meta technology company with clean energy for a couple of decades.

Constellation said it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Meta for the output of the Clinton Clean Energy Center, located in Clinton, Ill., to help Meta meet its clean energy goals and operations in central and southern Illinois with more than 1,100 megawatts of emissions-free nuclear energy.

“We are excited to partner with Constellation and the Clinton community to ensure the long-term operations of the nuclear plant, add new capacity, and help preserve over 1,000 jobs,” Meta’s Head of Global Energy Urvi Parekh said.

The agreement will launch in June of 2027, and supports the relicensing and continued operations of Constellation’s high-performing nuclear facility in Clinton once the state’s ratepayer-funded zero-emission credit program has expired. The deal will allow the facility to expand its energy output by 30 megawatts and preserve 1,100 local jobs. The pact is also expected to bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, and to provide $1 million to area nonprofits over a period of five years.

Constellation CEO and president Joe Dominguez said the company was proud to partner with Meta as it “figured out that supporting the relicensing and expansion of existing plants is just as impactful as finding new sources of energy.”

“Sometimes the most important part of our journey forward is to stop taking steps backwards,” Dominguez said.

The Clinton Clean Energy Center, which employs more than 530 people, contributes around $13.5 million in annual taxes and generates enough electricity to power over 800,000 homes, was scheduled to close in 2017 due to several years of financial losses. However, it was saved by the Future Energy Jobs Act, which created a Zero Emission Credit program that provided the plant enough financial support to support it into 2027.

The deal with Meta will replace that program and keep the plant operational without ratepayer support.

Meta’s deal with the plant also fits its pledge signed in March to join other major corporate energy users to support the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

Both companies have apparently already benefited financially following the agreement, as Constellation shares were up 2.38% by 7:45 a.m. in pre-market trading, while Meta jumped 3.62%.

Washington has not been clear on ‘how and through what mechanism’ sanctions would be lifted, says Tehran.

Iran has demanded that the United States clarify exactly how sanctions will be lifted if the two sides are to reach a new agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei made the comments on Monday, days after the US submitted what it described as an “acceptable” proposal. Unverified reports claim that Iran sees the offer as a “non-starter” and is preparing to reject it.

The pair has conducted seven weeks of negotiations over the nuclear programme, with the US seeking assurances that it is peaceful, while Iran hopes to escape punishing sanctions that have battered its economy in recent years.

However, Tehran is now demanding Washington detail what it is offering, reflecting scepticism voiced earlier this year by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In remarks carried by the official IRNA news agency, Baghaei stressed the need for guarantees regarding the “real end of the sanctions”, including details on “how and through what mechanism” they would be removed.

“The American side has not yet provided the necessary clarity in this regard,” he said.

Baghaei also reiterated Iran’s intention to continue enriching uranium for “peaceful” purposes.

US envoy Steve Witkoff has said President Donald Trump opposes Tehran continuing any enrichment, calling it a “red line”.

A leaked United Nations report shows that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched to 60 percent, short of the roughly 90 percent required for atomic weapons but significantly above the 4 percent or so needed for power production.

Baghaei dismissed the report as biased, accusing unnamed Western countries of pressuring the UN to act against Iran’s interests.

Official sources cited by The New York Times said the recent US proposal includes a call for Iran to end all enrichment.

While Tehran has confirmed receipt of the proposal, which the White House described as being in Iran’s “best interest”, it has said it is still reviewing the document.

“Receiving a text certainly does not mean accepting it, nor does it even mean that it is acceptable,” Baghaei said.

The Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian diplomat as saying that Tehran is in the process of “drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection”.

The official described the proposal as a “non-starter” because it does not soften the US’s stance on enrichment or offer a “clear explanation” of sanctions relief, according to the report.

Iran has held five rounds of talks with the US since April 12 in search of a new agreement to replace the deal with the leading powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has delivered its most damning allegations against Iran in nearly two decades.

It comes as the United States proposes a nuclear deal that it says is in Tehran’s best interests to accept.

But Tehran is accusing the West of political pressure and warns it will take “appropriate countermeasures” if European powers reimpose sanctions.

So is there still room for a deal?

Or will the US, United Kingdom, France and Germany declare Iran in violation of its nonproliferation obligations?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Hassan Ahmadian – assistant professor at the University of Tehran

Ali Vaez – Iran project director at the International Crisis Group

Sahil Shah – independent security analyst specialising in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation policy

May 31 (UPI) — Iran has increased production of highly enriched uranium, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, as the nation conducts talks with the United States on a nuclear deal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the Middle East country now possesses more than 408.6 kilograms, or 900 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60% purity as of May 17, according to a confidential report obtained by the BBC and Al Jazeera.

That’s a nearly 50% increase since February.

In December, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly moving closer to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.

This is enough for about 10 nuclear weapons if further refined.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state producing uranium at this level.

“The significantly increased production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium by Iran … is of serious concern,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.

IAEA concluded that Tehran conducted nuclear activities at three previously unknown sites: Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, Turquzabad.

And IAEA stated said it “cannot verify” the development of nuclear weapons, citing Iran’s refusal to grant access to senior inspectors and not answer questions about its nuclear history.

The IAEA board plans to meet in the coming days to discuss next steps.

Iran has long said its nuclear enrichment is for peaceful purposes.

“If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised speech. “We agree with them on this issue.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday in a statement that Iran is “totally determined” to acquire nuclear weapons.

“Such a level of enrichment exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever,” Netanyahu’s office said.

U.S. officials estimate Ian could produce weapons-grade material in less than two weeks and potentially build a bomb within months.

Since talks began in April, both sides have expressed optimism but are divided over key issues, including whether Iran can continue enrichment under any future agreement.

Two of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s advisors — Ali Larijani and Kamal Kharazi — have suggested Iran might reconsider building nuclear weapons if international pressure mounts.

The IAEA findings could be a negotiation tool for Iran, Hamed Mousavi, professor of political science at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera.

“I think both sides are trying to build leverage against the other side,” he said. “From the Iranian perspective, an advancement in the nuclear program is going to bring them leverage at the negotiation table with the Americans.

“Enriching up to 60% – from the Iranian perspective – is a sort of leverage against the Americans to lift sanctions.”

He said the U.S. could threaten more sanctions and refer the situation to the U.N. Security Council for its breach of the 2006 non-proliferation agreement.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he sees a nuclear deal with Iran that would allow the destruction of labs and inspections. Iran has rejected inspections.

He said a deal is “very strong, where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody getting killed.”

In 2018, Trump unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed harsh sanctions.

In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union.

Some sanctions on Iran were lifted for limits on its nuclear development program.