IAEA chief: Iran’s increasingly sophisticated nuclear program moving ‘ahead and sideways’

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, speaks at the start of the tenth annual review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the UN headquarters. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 03 August 2022
Follow

IAEA chief: Iran’s increasingly sophisticated nuclear program moving ‘ahead and sideways’

  • Rafael Mariano Grossi said that monitoring such a program while Iran blocks access to international inspectors is proving more difficult
  • Non-proliferation treaty represents ‘minimum common denominator that everybody has to abide by,’ Grossi told Arab News

NEW YORK: The Iranian nuclear program of 2022 is “very different” from the one in 2015 when the Joint Comprehensive Peace of Action was born, in the words of Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi, who lamented “the loss of visibility” into the program after Tehran blocked his agency’s access to nuclear facilities.

He described Iran’s program as “very ambitious, wide, technically sophisticated,” adding that it is moving ahead “very, very fast. And not only ahead but sideways as well because it’s growing in ambition and in capacity.

“I think that everybody recognizes that, starting with the Iranians who are saying that they are making strides and amazing advances.”

The progress has made monitoring Tehran’s program an increasingly difficult task.

“It is not impossible to verify it,” Grossi said. “But it will only take a lot of work. Work of a new nature.”

The IAEA chief was speaking on the sidelines of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. State parties to the NPT gather every five years in New York to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty and the implementation of its provisions: preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, destroying the existing nuclear arsenal in order to eventually achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The last review took place in 2015, the year the JCPOA was signed. The current summit was supposed to take place in 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic.

It is taking place at a critical juncture where Iran is moving closer to acquiring enough fissile material for a nuclear device, China and North Korea are building up their nuclear arsenals, and Russia and the US are halting bilateral nuclear talks about their own programs. With such increasing nuclear risks, some analysts have warned that the NPT regime as a whole is at stake.

At the opening of the long-delayed high-level meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave a dire warning that “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”

“At this point, when we are discussing all these incredible crises that we are faced with, the NPT has given us a minimum common denominator that everybody has to abide by so that this thing doesn’t go crazy,” Grossi told Arab News.

“We have to be clear on who is doing what and where,” he said, adding that the IAEA is “inspired and guided in more than one way” by the NPT.

Negotiators who have been attempting to revive the JCPOA in Vienna are taking into consideration that any verification of Iran’s program would require a “degree of access commensurate with the characteristics of that program, in order to be able to verify it,” said Grossi.

In June, Iran removed IAEA equipment, including 27 cameras installed under the JCPOA, after the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution criticizing Tehran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.

“Of course this implies that for a long period of time, now approaching two months, we had our visibility significantly reduced on certain facilities where these cameras were located,” said Grossi.

“So the issue of the whereabouts of the material and most importantly in the centrifuge part, the fabrication facilities, which is what this is mainly about — we will have to come to terms with Iran on how to account for them, when and if they agree on reviving the JCPOA.

“When you talk about the JCPOA, what they may agree or disagree to is up to them. What I need is to verify that what they agree to is being complied with.

“They may decide to allow a discreet number of centrifuges of one type or the other. They may decide to go back to the agreement. And the understanding is they want to go back to the amounts and the quantities and the levels that were agreed to back in 2015.

“If this is done, we will have to look into more things, in the sense that there were a number of centrifuges back then. There are many more now. They have different technological capabilities as well, and there are more facilities producing these centrifuges.

“So now, if the Iranians say, ‘I have this number of centrifuges’ — well, ok, thank you very much, but during two months, there were lots of activities in terms of producing parts for more centrifuges that the IAEA is not in a position to confirm.

“So we will have to find a way to address this. Again, it’s not impossible, but it’s technically very demanding and it needs Iran’s agreement to be done.”

It is not the number of centrifuges that matters, nor the breadth and depth of a nuclear program, but the transparency with which it is conducted, said Grossi. Evoking the third pillar of the NPT, which calls for promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, he reiterated that there are no limitations on what countries can develop as long as they remain transparent and give IAEA inspectors “all the access they need so that every gram of material” is accounted for.

Just as the NPT’s opening remarks were being broadcast on Aug. 1, Mohammed Eslami, Iran’s atomic energy chief, said that Tehran has the ability to build a nuclear weapon “but does not plan to do so.”

Grossi declined to comment on the intention behind Eslami’s statement, but he admitted: “I don’t like people talking about nuclear weapons, to be honest. I have devoted my entire life to nuclear non-proliferation. So, talk about nuclear weapons is not something I really fancy. But I am the head of the IAEA, and I do not tell countries what they can or cannot talk about.

“For me, what is important is that all activities in Iran are under strict IAEA verification. Then they can say what they want or don’t want. It does not add anything to the value of the conversation.”

Asked whether the JCPOA needs to be rewritten in order to allow the IAEA to account for what happened when the cameras were off, Grossi said that more than the agreement itself, “there will have some understanding between the IAEA and Iran. This is a matter for us and Iran.

“Perhaps, if they so wish, the JCPOA negotiators can agree that this is an indispensable issue. I cannot tell them what to say.

“But for me to guarantee and to tell you, ‘Ok this is the number of centrifuges they have,’ I will have to have some assurances about these periods of obscurity in specific places.”

Grossi told Arab News that he hopes to see a recommitment to the NPT at the end of the review conference and “a strong support for the work of the IAEA because, at the end of the day, it continues to be the sole voice and eyes and ears of the international community that we can have on these very thorny issues.”


One person killed, 4 injured in Israeli airstrike on car in Beirut

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site after a reported Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khaldeh, south of the capital Beirut.
Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

One person killed, 4 injured in Israeli airstrike on car in Beirut

  • Israeli military spokesperson says the army ‘targeted a terrorist in Lebanon who was involved in arms smuggling and advancing terrorist plots against Israeli citizens and army forces’
  • Israeli army forces enter Kfar Kila, the closest Lebanese town to Israel, on Thursday morning and blow up a civilian home

BEIRUT: An Israeli drone attack hit a car on Khaldeh Road in southern Beirut at about 5 p.m. on Thursday. Initial reports suggested one person was killed and at least four injured.

The drone fired two guided missiles at the vehicle, scoring direct hits. The road on which it was traveling was described as a typically busy road.

The Israeli army confirmed the attack. In a message posted on social media platform X, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “The Israeli army targeted a terrorist in Lebanon who was involved in arms smuggling and advancing terrorist plots against Israeli citizens and army forces on behalf of the Iranian Quds Force.”

The attack took place three days before US envoy Thomas Barrack is due visit to Beirut to receive Lebanon’s response to US disarmament proposals designed to restrict control of weapons in the country to the Lebanese state, and a day after Hezbollah reiterated its rejection of the demand.

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday that the group “categorically rejects any efforts to disarm. We do not accept being led into humiliation, nor surrendering our land or weapons to the Israeli enemy.”

The matter of weapons is “an internal Lebanese issue that must be addressed internally, without external supervision or interference,” he added.

“The party will not submit to any external threat or pressure. No one decides for us or imposes choices on us that we do not accept. Our weapons are our legitimate and legal right to confront the Israeli occupation.”

On Thursday morning, Israeli army forces entered the southern town of Kfar Kila and blew up a civilian home. Located across the border from the Israeli settlement of Metula, Kfar Kila is the closest Lebanese town to Israel, separated only by a border fence. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army maintain a permanent presence in the area.


Algeria jails historian who questioned Amazigh culture

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Algeria jails historian who questioned Amazigh culture

  • He was arrested on May 3 for “the crime of undermining national unity“
  • Belghit’s lawyer Toufik Hichour said on Facebook that a court sentenced him to five years

ALGIERS: An Algerian court on Thursday sentenced historian Mohamed Amine Belghit to five years in prison for offending national symbols, his lawyer said, after remarks questioning the existence of the native Amazigh culture.

Belghit sparked outrage in the North African country when he said in a recent interview that “the Amazigh language is an ideological project of Franco-Zionist origin,” and that “there’s no such thing as Amazigh culture.”

He was arrested on May 3 for “the crime of undermining national unity” by targeting “symbols of the nation and the republic” as well as “disseminating hate speech,” the prosecution said at the time.

On Thursday, Belghit’s lawyer Toufik Hichour said on Facebook that a court outside the capital Algiers sentenced him to five years behind bars.

The prosecutor had requested seven years jailtime and a fine of 700,000 dinars ($5,400).

Algeria in 2016 granted official status to Tamazight, the language of the Amazigh people, who are also known as Berbers.

The Berber new year celebration, Yennayer, was added in 2017 to the list of national holidays.

Belghit, a university professor, is no stranger to controversies.

His remarks often cause uproar, with critics accusing him of historical revisionism and hostility toward the Amazigh people.


Iran committed to Non-Proliferation Treaty, foreign minister says

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Iran committed to Non-Proliferation Treaty, foreign minister says

  • Abbas Araqchi made the comment a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog
  • Iran has accused the IAEA of siding with Western countries and providing a justification for Israel’s airstrikes

Iran remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday, a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
“Our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will be channeled through Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for obvious safety and security reasons,” Araqchi wrote in a post on X.
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday enacted the legislation passed by parliament last week to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, a move the US called “unacceptable.”
Araqchi’s comment on X was in response to a call from Germany’s Foreign Ministry urging Tehran to reverse its decision to shelve cooperation with the IAEA.
Araqchi accused Germany of “explicit support for Israel’s unlawful attack on Iran, including safeguarded nuclear sites.”
Iran has accused the IAEA of siding with Western countries and providing a justification for Israel’sJune 13-24 airstrikes on Iranian nuclear installations, which began a day after the UN agency’s board of governors voted to declare Tehran in violation of its obligations under the NPT.
Western powers have long suspected that Iran has sought to develop the means to build atomic bombs through its declared civilian atomic energy program. Iran has repeatedly said it is enriching uranium only for peaceful nuclear ends.
IAEA inspectors are mandated to ensure compliance with the NPT by seeking to verify that nuclear programs in treaty countries are not diverted for military purposes.
The law that went into effect on Wednesday mandates that any future inspection of Iranian nuclear sites by the IAEA needs approval by Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council.
“We are aware of these reports. The IAEA is awaiting further official information from Iran,” the Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog said in a statement.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular briefing on Wednesday that Iran needed to cooperate fully with the IAEA without further delay.


Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq to hand over weapons in first step toward disarmament

Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq to hand over weapons in first step toward disarmament

  • “A group of guerrilla fighters will come down from the mountains and will bid farewell to their arms in an effort to declare their good will for peace and democratic politics,” PKK said
  • A PKK spokesperson said the fighters will destroy their weapons “under the supervision of civil society institutions”

IRBIL, Iraq: A Kurdish militant group that has waged a long-running insurgency in Türkiye announced Thursday its fighters in northern Iraq will begin handing over their weapons, marking the first concrete step toward disarmament as part of a peace process.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.

Ocalan, 76, continues to wield significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite his 25-year imprisonment. His call to end the fighting marked a pivotal step toward ending the decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.

In the latest development, “a group of guerrilla fighters will come down from the mountains and will bid farewell to their arms in an effort to declare their good will for peace and democratic politics,” the PKK said in a statement Thursday.

The ceremony, which is expected to take place between July 10 and July 12 in the city of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, will be the first concrete move toward disarmament.

Zagros Hiwa, a PKK spokesperson, said the fighters will destroy their weapons “under the supervision of civil society institutions and interested parties.” The number of fighters who will take part has not yet been determined but might be between 20 and 30, he said.

For the PKK to take further steps toward disarmament, he said “the regime of isolation” imposed on Öcalan in prison “has to be abolished” and “constitutional, legal and political” must be taken to “ensure that the guerrilla who have abandoned the strategy of armed struggle could be reintegrated into democratic politics in Turkiye.”

An Iraqi Kurdish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the PKK members are expected to hand over their light weapons to the regional government.

The regional government is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, with the KDP overseeing the regional capital, Irbil, and the city of Dohuk. The PUK governs Sulaymaniyah.

The KDP has good relations with Türkiye and has been at odds with the PKK, while the PUK is closer to the PKK.

In Türkiye on Monday, Omer Celik, a spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, said the PKK could begin handing over arms “within days,” but did not provide details. Celik added that Erdogan would meet with members of the pro-Kurdish party next week to discuss the peace effort.

There was no immediate statement from Türkiye’s government on Thursday’s announcement.

The PKK has long maintained bases in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkish forces have launched offensives and airstrikes against the PKK in Iraq and have set up bases in the area. Scores of villages have emptied as a result.

The Iraqi government in Baghdad last year announced an official ban on the separatist group, which has long been prohibited in Türkiye.


Killings rise when Gaza Health Foundation distributes aid: Analysis

Palestinian children line up to receive a hot meal at a food distribution point in Nuseirat on June 30, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 03 July 2025
Follow

Killings rise when Gaza Health Foundation distributes aid: Analysis

  • Sky News finds correlation between aid drops, increased fatalities
  • UN labels GHF sites ‘death traps,’ amid claims Israeli soldiers deliberately fire at civilians

LONDON: An investigation has found an increase in deaths in Gaza correlated with aid distribution overseen by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Health Foundation.

The GHF took over humanitarian supply systems in the Palestinian enclave in May, replacing around 400 distribution sites run by other charities and NGOs with four designated facilities, called Secure Distribution Sites.

They were meant to ensure that aid did not fall into the hands of Hamas or other armed groups, which Israel alleges frequently happened under the previous UN-backed system.

However, Gaza’s health authorities say more than 600 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid at the sites, which the UN has labeled “death traps.” Israeli soldiers have been accused of opening fire directly at civilians.

Analysis conducted by Sky News suggests that killings rise when aid is distributed by the GHF.

Sky’s Data & Forensics Unit found that an average of 48 deaths and 189 injuries are reported when the GHF operates two or fewer aid distributions. That number rises almost threefold when it runs five to six aid drops. 

Sky reported that between June 5 and July 1, 77 aid distributions were conducted by the GHF. Of those, 23 — or 30 percent of the total — resulted in reports of violence, and at SDS4 half of all drops saw bloodshed.

A recent report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz interviewed Israeli soldiers who said they were ordered to fire at crowds of unarmed Palestinians at the GHF sites.

The Israeli military denies the allegations, but said it is investigating incidents where civilians have been harmed.

The UN, in its most recent update on June 24, put the number of casualties at GHF sites at 410, citing data available from nearby hospitals.

The GHF has been severely criticized for the manner in which aid is distributed, with footage obtained by Sky on June 15 showing Palestinians at SDS1 crowding and rummaging among hundreds of scattered aid packages discarded on the floor.

Sky’s analysis found that aid is often delivered in significantly smaller quantities than required, with supplies running out on average after just nine minutes. At 23 percent of aid drops, supplies were exhausted before the official opening time. 

Sky reported that 86 percent of distributions were announced to people in the area less than 30 minutes in advance, and that maps and instructions distributed to locals to navigate and access the sites were inaccurate or dangerous, including telling civilians trying to reach SDS2, 3 and 4 to congregate inside areas labeled live combat zones by Israel.

In addition, the congregation areas are typically some distance from the sites, causing surges when they open as people attempt to cover the open ground to access the aid.

The shortest distance from a waiting point to an SDS is 689 meters, at SDS4, approximately 10 minutes away on foot — more than the average time before supplies run out.

Sam Rose, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, called the GHF’s system a “free-for-all.”

He told Sky: “What they’re doing is, they’re loading up the boxes on the ground and then people just rush in.”

Rose added: “They (the GHF) don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t have anyone working on these operations who has any experience of operating, of administering food distributions because anyone who did have that experience wouldn’t want to be part of it because this isn’t how you treat people.”

A group of charities and humanitarian groups on Tuesday condemned the GHF’s operations, saying they violate international principles.

More than 200 groups have called for the reinstatement of the previous aid distribution system overseen by the UN.