IAEA to convene emergency meeting of board of governors on Monday, agency chief says
The UN nuclear watchdog plans to convene an emergency meeting of its board of governors on Monday, the agency's chief Rafael Grossi said in a post on social media platform X.
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Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
IAEA chief expects ‘very significant damage' at Iran's Fordow site
US bombing probably caused 'very significant' damage to the underground areas of Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment plant dug into a mountain, though no one can yet tell the extent, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday. 'Given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme(ly) vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,' Grossi said in a statement to an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors. Developing
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
As It Attacks Iran's Nuclear Program, Israel Maintains Ambiguity about Its Own
Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran's nuclear program because its archenemy's furtive efforts to build an atomic weapon are a threat to its existence. What's not-so-secret is that for decades Israel has been believed to be the Middle East's only nation with nuclear weapons, even though its leaders have refused to confirm or deny their existence, The Associated Press said. Israel's ambiguity has enabled it to bolster its deterrence against Iran and other enemies, experts say, without triggering a regional nuclear arms race or inviting preemptive attacks. Israel is one of just five countries that aren't party to a global nuclear nonproliferation treaty. That relieves it of international pressure to disarm, or even to allow inspectors to scrutinize its facilities. Critics in Iran and elsewhere have accused Western countries of hypocrisy for keeping strict tabs on Iran's nuclear program — which its leaders insist is only for peaceful purposes — while effectively giving Israel's suspected arsenal a free pass. On Sunday, the US military struck three nuclear sites in Iran, inserting itself into Israel's effort to destroy Iran's program. Here's a closer look at Israel's nuclear program: A history of nuclear ambiguity Israel opened its Negev Nuclear Research Center in the remote desert city of Dimona in 1958, under the country's first leader, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. He believed the tiny fledgling country surrounded by hostile neighbors needed nuclear deterrence as an extra measure of security. Some historians say they were meant to be used only in case of emergency, as a last resort. After it opened, Israel kept the work at Dimona hidden for a decade, telling United States' officials it was a textile factory, according to a 2022 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an academic journal. Relying on plutonium produced at Dimona, Israel has had the ability to fire nuclear warheads since the early 1970s, according to that article, co-authored by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a researcher at the same organization. Israel's policy of ambiguity suffered a major setback in 1986, when Dimona's activities were exposed by a former technician at the site, Mordechai Vanunu. He provided photographs and descriptions of the reactor to The Sunday Times of London. Vanunu served 18 years in prison for treason, and is not allowed to meet with foreigners or leave the country. ISRAEL POSSESSES DOZENS OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS, EXPERTS SAY Experts estimate Israel has between 80 and 200 nuclear warheads, although they say the lower end of that range is more likely. Israel also has stockpiled as much as 1,110 kilograms (2,425 pounds) of plutonium, potentially enough to make 277 nuclear weapons, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a global security organization. It has six submarines believed to be capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles believed to be capable of launching a nuclear warhead up to 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles), the organization says. Germany has supplied all of the submarines to Israel, which are docked in the northern city of Haifa, according to the article by Kristensen and Korda. NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST POSE RISKS In the Middle East, where conflicts abound, governments are often unstable, and regional alliances are often shifting, nuclear proliferation is particularly dangerous, said Or Rabinowitz, a scholar at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and a visiting associate professor at Stanford University. 'When nuclear armed states are at war, the world always takes notice because we don't like it when nuclear arsenals ... are available for decision makers,' she said. Rabinowitz says Israel's military leaders could consider deploying a nuclear weapon if they found themselves facing an extreme threat, such as a weapon of mass destruction being used against them. Three countries other than Israel have refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: India, Pakistan and South Sudan. North Korea has withdrawn. Iran has signed the treaty, but it was censured last week, shortly before Israel launched its operation, by the UN's nuclear watchdog — a day before Israel attacked — for violating its obligations. Israel's policy of ambiguity has helped it evade greater scrutiny, said Susie Snyder at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a group that works to promote adherence to the UN treaty. Its policy has also shined a light on the failure of Western countries to rein in nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, she said. They 'prefer not to be reminded of their own complicity,' she said.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Iran vows retaliation for US strikes as Israel keeps up attacks
Tehran: Tehran threatened on Monday to inflict 'serious' damage in retaliation for US strikes on the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities, as the Iran-Israel war entered its 11th day despite calls for de-escalation. Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting several blasts were heard over Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran as well as 'six Iranian regime airports' across the country, destroying fighter jets and helicopters. President Donald Trump said US warplanes used 'bunker buster' bombs to target sites in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, boasting the strikes had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities. Other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran's nuclear program, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat. Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US 'hostile act,' following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would 'pave the way for the extension of war in the region.' 'The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations,' he warned. Global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday. China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout. Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, condemned the US strikes and called for calm. Iran's foreign ministry accused Washington of betraying diplomacy. 'Future generations will not forget that the Iranians were in the middle of a diplomatic process with a country that is now at war with us,' said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Britain, France and Germany called on Iran 'not to take any further action that could destabilize the region.' As the world awaited Iran's response, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 'a big mistake.' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's oil supply. With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad. In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh said she was 'truly shocked' by the strikes. 'Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near,' she told AFP. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was 'behind' Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response. After the Pentagon stressed the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. 'But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes. 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!' Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments would 'finish' once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. 'We are very, very close to completing them,' he said. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage. 'Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,' he added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States of deciding to 'blow up' nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago. On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Iran.
