No signs of radioactive contamination after US attack on Iran, says nuclear watchdog
THE UN'S NUCLEAR watchdog has said there has been no increase in radiation levels in Iran after the US bombed the country's nuclear sites overnight.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any change in radiation levels 'as of this time'.
Nearby countries also reported no change in radiation levels. Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said that they had been monitoring the situation and the situation is 'normal'.
The full extent of the attack on Iran's nuclear capabilities is not yet known; however Israel's president
told the BBC this morning
that 'it's quite clear… that the Iranian nuclear program has been hit substantially'.
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Iran has maintained its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only, and US intelligence agencies have found that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. The US and Israel have controversially argued that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon, making it an imminent threat.
'Following attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran… the IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time,' the nuclear watchdog posted on X, just hours after Donald Trump said the US strikes had 'totally obliterated' Iran's main nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.
Saudi Arabia said 'no radioactive effects were detected' in the Gulf region.
'No radioactive effects were detected on the environment of the Kingdom and the Arab Gulf states as a result of the American military targeting of Iran's nuclear facilities,' the kingdom's Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission wrote in a post on X.
Kuwait's National Guard also posted on X that 'radiation levels in Kuwait's airspace and waters are stable, and the situation is normal'.
Iran has said its nuclear programme will not be stopped.
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Ireland's reaction to the US bombing Iran: 'There is an urgent need for de-escalation'
'There are many targets left': How Trump announced to the world that the US had bombed Iran
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons labelled the US attack as 'senseless and wreckless' this morning, adding that military action against Iran is 'not the way to resolve concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme'.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation said the American strikes could 'undermine international efforts to prevent further proliferation of nuclear weapons'.
It is not clear whether the US will continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a nine-day war with Iran.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
US attack on Iran was carried out ‘in full co-ordination' with Israel
'Fordow is gone' was the simple message sent by US president Donald Trump on social media early on Sunday, putting an end to days of speculation over whether he would be willing to provide the coup de grace to Iran's nuclear project. Seven B-2 bombers dropped a dozen 'bunker buster' bombs on the Fordow nuclear facility while navy submarines fired 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles at two other nuclear sites, Natanz and Isfahan. The US strikes came nine days after Israel's surprise attack on Iran, launching a war that has reshaped the Middle East, lifting Israel's military supremacy to new heights while leaving Iran and its so-called Axis of Resistance in tatters – and, at the same time, reinforcing Washington's image as the pre-eminent global superpower. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the US attack was carried out 'in full co-ordination' with Israel and was a continuation of the Israeli military and Mossad operations in Iran against the Iranian nuclear programme, which he said threatened Israel's existence and endangered world peace. READ MORE 'At the beginning of the operation, I promised you that Iran's nuclear facilities would be destroyed one way or another. That promise has been kept,' he said. 'President Trump is leading the free world with strength. He is a great friend of Israel, a friend like no other.' Despite the apparent success of the American bombing, it remains unclear how much of its supply of enriched uranium Iran managed to transfer away from the nuclear sites that were hit. [ US attack on Iran 'not about regime change', says defence secretary after Trump hails 'spectacular military success' ] Israel's national security council chief Tzachi Hanegbi said the US attack had pushed Iran's nuclear programme back by several years. A few hours later, Iran launched 30 ballistic missiles towards Israel, scoring direct hits in Tel Aviv and another location in central Israel, injuring 30 people. However, the attack was no bigger than similar strikes last week. The discipline of residents, who headed to safe rooms and bomb shelters, ensured there were no fatalities despite large damage to buildings. Israel temporarily closed its airspace after the US attack and reinstituted strict guidelines for public gatherings, permitting only essential activity. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran reserved all options to defend its sovereignty, interests and people', warning that the US attack would have 'everlasting consequences.' However, Iran's military options appear limited and would be likely prompt a US counter attack. Houthis in Yemen also threatened to respond, after previously warning that a US strike would lead to a resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. For much of his political career Netanyahu has made thwarting Iran's nuclear programme his priority, raising the issue in speech after speech in apocalyptic terms, arguing that Iran would not be deterred and that an Iranian nuclear bomb would present an existential threat to Israel. With Israeli intelligence concluding Tehran was moving dangerously close to the bomb, something had to give between the two rival regional powers. Israel believed that following the defeat of Hizbullah and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria last year, Tehran took a strategic decision to acquire a nuclear bomb and already had enough enriched fissile material for at least nine bombs. The decades-long waiting game was over. The deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, resulted in the biggest number of Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust. Most Israelis believed this traumatic event would become Netanyahu's legacy: a day of infamy he would never be able to erase. But he now sees an opportunity to reshape that legacy once again and go down in history as the leader who with patience and determination saved Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation. It's a narrative that the majority of the Israeli public appear to be buying into – for now, at least.


The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Very volatile conflict', says Harris as evacuation of 15 Irish citizens from Israel underway amid US strikes on Iran
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ coverage of Pope Francis's funeral and election of Pope Leo cost €150k
RTÉ's coverage of the death of Pope Francis and the subsequent election of Pope Leo cost the broadcaster €150,000. Figures released under Freedom of Information show that the broadcaster's extensive coverage of the death of the pontiff included €4,200 in venue hire and over €1,200 in subsistence costs for management grade staff from Radio 1, with the overall costs of travel, hotels, and subsistence coming in at around €150,000 in total. RTÉ provided hours of coverage across its platforms upon the death of Pope Francis in April, including his funeral and the election of American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church and the successor to Francis as Pope Leo. The station's output included a special broadcast of its flagship Prime Time programme with records showing that staff airfares and hotels for that show cost around €3,600. While the cost of flights was one of the larger outlays, some airfares came in at as little as €13. The world's media and thousands of pilgrims descended on the Vatican City upon the death of Pope Francis, with mourners standing in line for hours to pay their final respects while his body lay in state in St Peter's Basilica ahead of his funeral. That was followed by coverage ahead of the papal conclave which lasted just over a day and a half and resulted in the election of the first American pope. In response to the FOI request, RTÉ said: "In relation to hotels, it is not possible to extract a precise spend on this alone so we have included 'staff subsistence' which would cover this and other costs. "Similar to civil and public servants, RTÉ personnel were paid to a set 'day rate' which would cover the cost of accommodation as well as food etc. "[T]he costs incurred were necessary to allow RTÉ fulfil its obligations to provide comprehensive coverage of two major global events across radio, television and online in both Irish and English. "Those who travelled provided many hours of coverage for all radio and television news and current affairs programming as well as online content spanning the days between the death of Pope Francis to the election of Pope Leo." Read More Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza in first general audience