Iran Needs To Show The World It Is Not Seeking Nukes – IAEA
The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran should give assurances to the world that it is not making nuclear weapons as it already has enough material to make several bombs.
The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran should give assurances to the world that it is not making nuclear weapons as it already has enough material to make several bombs.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks during an event to address the nuclear challenges in Iran, Ukraine and North Korea, hosted by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs on Monday.
The IAEA chief stated that if Iran wants to continue enriching uranium at 60-percent level and higher, “they should know that [they] must give credible assurances to the international community about what they are doing to a stock of highly enriched uranium, for which the needs of a peaceful nuclear program are... not so clear.”
He also expressed concerns about Iran not coming clean about several issues regarding traces of uranium at several older sites. Without explicitly mentioning Israel, he said concerns about Iran’s nuclear program has prompted certain regional countries to hint at “taking some action about what is going on in Iran.”
Israel has repeatedly warned of action against its archnemesis Iran, highlighting that it will not be deterred by the Biden administration's efforts to restart any nuclear deal with Iran. "Israel will do what it needs to do to defend itself by itself against the threat of Iran to annihilate it with nuclear weapons,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier in August. He was referring to a recent unwritten prisoner exchange agreement between Washington and Tehran that many – such as Qatar – hope to expand to a multifaceted accord that contains the regime’s nuclear program and restrains its proxy militias in Iraq and Syria. There are also speculations by Iran-based media about a comprehensive deal in the making with the United States.
Grossi stressed the necessity of “a system, a program, be it JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) or any other agreement or understanding that would allow the IAEA to have the visibility on Iran’s nuclear program, which is commensurate with the capability that Iran has.”
“Iran has accumulated enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons,” Grossi said, emphasizing that “I must say Iran does not have nuclear weapons... It is important that we make the distinction between having the capabilities and having nuclear weapons.”
He underscored that it is also important not to lose sight of the fact that “we need to come to a point where Iran’s nuclear program is stabilized and where we have the diplomatic conditions and systems to provide credibility there.”
He added that it is a regrettable situation that the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequent worries have pushed concerns about Iran’s nuclear program out of the media and politicians’ attention. “We have not been able to come to a point where we can say that everything is ok.”
Grossi highlighted that following the US withdrawal from JCPOA under then-president Donald Trump in 2018, Iran gradually abandoned the restraints imposed by the agreement. “At the moment, although this agreement has not been declared as obsolete or dead... it is an empty shell,” he said, noting that “nobody is observing any commitment, provision, or obligation in this agreement.”
He pointed out that Iran is currently enriching uranium at 60 percent, underlining that back in January the IAEA sampled from a cascade of centrifuges at an enrichment plant in Iran and reached to the conclusion that Tehran is enriching at 84 percent. “Weapon level is 90 percent,” he explained.
In February, Iran’s Nuclear Agency Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi implicitly accepted the accusation, claiming that finding the highly-enriched uranium particles in the pipes connecting centrifuges was a “normal issue.” “It’s a natural thing in enrichment... The machine is spinning fast. If the amount of the feed decreases for a moment, the enrichment will increase by a few percent,” he said.
Despite recent reports saying that Iran has slowed the buildup of uranium needed for weapons, the regime’s nuclear chief said this week that enrichment is going on in accordance with a domestic law.
Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was referring to the bill passed by the parliament in December 2020, dubbed the “Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect Iranian Nation's Interest.” The bill obligated the government to step up Iran’s nuclear program and enrich uranium beyond the limits set by the 2015 nuclear agreement until US sanctions would be lifted.
Tehran Times, an Iranian government newspaper August 27 published a US government memo purportedly sent to US Iran envoy Robert Malley informing him of his security access suspension.
US House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman McCaul issued a brief statement on Monday voicing deep concern that an alleged State Department memo has reached the Iranian government, while the US Congress knows very little about why Malley has been suspended without pay.
“If this memo is authentic, it is extremely concerning especially since this is not the first time the Iranian regime’s mouthpiece has appeared to have sensitive U.S. government information recently while Congress is kept in the dark,”McCaul said in his statement.
The State Department refused to comment on Monday when asked by Iran International. A spokesperson said, “We are aware of these reports,” but “The department does not comment on internal matters.” The Spokesperson added, “We have nothing further to share at this time due to privacy considerations.”
Iran International first reported June 29 that Malley had been absent for a considerable time, his security clearance was suspended, and he is under investigation related to his handling of classified documents. The Involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was also reported, although until now no official details have been announced, except that Malley is on “unpaid leave.”
The document published by Tehran Times, purportedly from Erin Smart, Director of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Personnel Security and Suitability, cites three reasons for Malley's suspension: “Personal Conduct,” “Handling of Protected Information,” and “Use of Information Technology.” The memorandum further underscores that Malley's “continued national security eligibility is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security."
While Iran International has yet to independently verify the document's authenticity, it has been informally corroborated by two congressional sources, who have described it as seemingly "authentic." Politico also reported that a source “familiar with the investigation into Malley who has seen the original memo…that the Tehran Times’ version appeared to match that original.”
The Biden administration's refusal to provide more information to Congress even in a confidential briefing, arguing that privacy considerations are a hindrance, has led McCaul to threaten a subpoena.
“I have requested transparency from the State Department on the ongoing Robert Malley saga and will continue to demand answers,” the Chairman said in his statement.
He concluded by suggesting that there could be a security breach at the State Department. “This latest chapter raises serious questions about how the regime obtained this potentially authentic document and what other sensitive or classified information they may have. The State Department needs to do a top to bottom security review, because I am concerned they have a leak.”
Other Republicans, who were already angry about the Biden administration agreeing to release $9 billion of Iran’s funds from South Korea and Iraq, also started to weigh in.
“It is shocking and, to my knowledge, unprecedented that a propaganda arm of Iran’s terrorist regime got its hands on what appears to be a ‘Sensitive But Unclassified’ April 2023 memo related to the suspension of Special Envoy Rob Malley’s security clearance,” Sen. Bill Hagerty, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement.He asked for the State Department Inspector General to investigate how the Tehran Times obtained the Malley memo.
Pierre Poilievre is also the leader of the country’s Official Opposition -- the party possessing the most seats in the House of Commons that is not the governing party. The Conservative Party of Canada, or the Tories, is leading in opinion polls and projections for the upcoming federal election, slated to take place on or before October 20, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament.
After a campaign event among Iranian Canadians on Sunday, Poilievre said on his X account, “Inspiring a group of freedom-loving Canadians who want to ban IRGC terrorists and kick regime thugs out of Canada. That is what I will do.”
Echoing the same sentiments, Anna Roberts -- another Conservative Party parliamentarian – said after another campaign event for Poilievre that “IRGC terrorists should not be free to roam our streets and should be kicked out of Canada.” “A common sense Conservative government will bring home safety in our streets,” she added on her X account.
The promise has resonated with a large group of Iranians who have been critical of Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his failure to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. There are 73 groups on Canada's terrorist list, but the Revolutionary Guard is not one of them. Ottawa has intensified measures against the regime in recent years, especially following the downing of a civilian airliner by IRGC in 2020 killing dozens of Canadians and the nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of police.
Pundit Babak Taghvaee said earlier in the week, “Canada is a Paradise for IRGC terrorists, authorities of Iran's Islamic Regime and their supporters.”
On Saturday, a video went viral in which a supporter of the Iranian regime chanted slogans in support of the Islamic Republic and its leaders Ali Khamenei through a megaphone as he passed through a neighborhood with a lot of Iranian shops and businesses.
So far, Canada has sanctioned 170 Iranian individuals and 192 Iranian entities, including key IRGC and members of the regime’s security, intelligence and economic apparatuses. In 2012, Canada designated Iran as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act.
In June, Canada's Senate passed a non-binding motion to designate the the Guards as a terror organization. Ratna Omidvar, an independent senator for Ontario who fled Iran in 1981 and has been campaigning fiercely against the IRGC, said at the time that “the crimes of the Islamic regime and the IRGC go beyond the borders of Iran", citing the contribution of the IRGC to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, for which Iran has supplied kamikaze drones. In June 2018, the Canadian parliament passed another similar motion, introduced by MP Garnet Genuis, to designate the IRGC but the government did not follow up on the action.
The federal government has referred to the IRGC as a terrorist organization, described its leadership as terrorists, announced measures to make its senior members inadmissible to Canada, and has listed the outfit’s extraterritorial expeditionary division Quds Force as a terrorist entity. However, despite numerous calls from the federal Conservative party, activists and even US lawmakers as well as the families of victims of the Ukrainian flight that was shot down by the IRGC, the government has refused to designate the whole entity as a terrorist entity under the country’s Criminal Code.
The airliner was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the IRGC as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. All 176 passengers and crew, including 63 Canadians and 10 from Sweden, as well as 82 Iranian citizens on the plane died in the disaster.
Canadian officials said last year that the designation of the group would be too much of a “blunt instrument” that could punish innocent people in Canada who were conscripted into the IRGC as part of their mandatory military service.
Following years of campaigning by human rights activists and Iranians dissidents, Canada finally announced sanctions last November against the IRGC, permanently banning over 10,000 of its officers and other senior officials from entering Canada. However, the ban on regime officials “applies to those who were senior officials at any time from November 15, 2019, onwards,” practically giving the greenlight to a large number of regime officials to reside in Canada.