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☆ Iran makes sweeping pledge of cooperation to IAEA before board meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran issued a joint statement on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's return from a trip to Tehran just two days before a quarterly meeting of the agency's 35-nation Board of Governors. "Iran expressed its readiness to ... provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues," the joint statement said. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters said Grossi "looks forward to ... prompt and full implementation of the Joint Statement". Follow-up talks in Iran between IAEA and Iranian officials aimed at hammering out the details would happen "very, very soon", Grossi said. Asked if all that monitoring equipment would be re-installed, Grossi replied "Yes".

☆ UN nuclear watchdog chief cites 'great expectation' in talks with Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 4 (Reuters) - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday talks were ongoing with Iran on two sets of important matters including the science sector, and there was "great expectation" about the process. Clearly, there is great expectation about our joint work in order to move forward in the issues that Iran and the agency are working on, to clarify and to bring credible assurances about the nuclear programme in Iran," Grossi told reporters in Tehran. Grossi said the talks were taking place in an "atmosphere of work, honesty and cooperation". Under a 2015 agreement with six world powers, Iran curbed its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions. Grossi said it was an “issue of necessity to have a very deep, serious systematic dialogue with Iran.

☆ U.S., Europe Split on Response to Iran’s Near-Weapons-Grade Nuclear Enrichment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. and its European allies have split over the response to Iran’s production of near-weapons-grade uranium, with Britain, France and Germany favoring a public censure of Tehran while the Biden administration is reluctant to do that, according to diplomats involved in the discussions. The International Atomic Energy Agency said this week that Iran had produced particles of enriched uranium of around 84% in recent weeks, just shy of the roughly 90% needed for weapons-grade nuclear fuel.

☆ A nuclear watchdog says it found uranium in Iran that's less than 7% away from bomb-making levels in enrichment purity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A UN nuclear watchdog has found uranium enriched to 83.7% purity at Iran's nuclear plants. The new findings come as Iran continually breaches its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. On February 19, Bloomberg reported that the highly enriched uranium had been discovered, citing two senior diplomats. That means it's been breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers, China, and Russia. Iran has in turned continually breached the deal, raising the level of its uranium enrichment and stockpiling more material.

☆ U.N. Agency Confirms Iran Produced Enriched Uranium Close to Weapons Grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iran has greatly expanded its nuclear work since 2019, a year after the Trump administration took the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear accord; a nuclear power plant, just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran, in 2010. The United Nations atomic agency confirmed Tuesday that its inspectors had found traces of near weapons-grade nuclear material at Iran’s underground Fordow facility but said Tehran continues to produce 60% enriched uranium at the site. In a confidential report sent to member states and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that during a check at Fordow on Jan. 22, the IAEA took samples which were found to contain highly enriched particles of up to 83.7%.

☆ IAEA report says pressing Iran on enrichment to near bomb-grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Diplomats said last week that the agency had found the traces at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), where Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity. The International Atomic Energy Agency chided Iran in an earlier report for making substantial changes to those cascades without informing it. The report also said Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, which is being produced at two sites, had grown by 25.2 kg to 87.5 kg since the last quarterly report. The total stockpile of uranium enriched to that and lower levels is estimated at 3,760.8 kg, the report said. Iran denies ever having sought nuclear weapons and says it only wants to master nuclear technology for civil uses.

☆ Pacific islands tap Taiwan ally Nauru for next top diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The top Pacific islands diplomatic post will pass to Taiwan ally Nauru next year, the 18-member regional bloc agreed Friday, as it resolved to face climate change and superpower rivalry as a united "family". The Pacific Islands Forum, meeting in Fiji, also said it would hold more talks with Japanese scientists and the International Atomic Energy Agency over Japan's plan to release treated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Some Pacific islands fear the water release could contaminate fish stocks but Tokyo has said it does not pose a risk, and the meeting agreed that "science and data" should guide political decisions on the issue. Nauru has diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, and Waqa has previously clashed with Chinese diplomats. The leaders agreed to consider establishing a special envoy's office in the United States, which has pledged to triple aid to the region.

☆ IAEA says it is in discussions with Iran after report of enrichment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

VIENNA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday it was discussing the results of recent verification activities with Iran after Bloomberg News reported that the agency had detected uranium enriched to 84% purity, which is close to weapons grade. "The IAEA is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran," the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Twitter. "The IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate." loadingReporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China, Iran call for Iran sanctions to be lifted; Xi to visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China, February 14, 2023. Xi also accepted an invitation from Raisi to visit Iran and would do so at his convenience, the two leaders said in a joint statement on the last day of a three-day state visit to China by Raisi. In 2018, then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran. "All relevant sanctions should be fully lifted in a verifiable manner to promote the full and effective implementation," Xi and Raisi said. China and Iran emphasised that lifting sanctions and ensuring Iran economic benefits were important components of the agreement, they said.

☆ Rural Ohio is facing comparisons to Chernobyl after a massive chemical leak caused by a train derailment. Here's what the disaster really has in common with the nuclear accident.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On February 3 a train derailment caused chemical spillage in East Palestine, Ohio. However, the environmental impact of the East Palestine incident should not be ignored, experts say. The chemicals in the East Palestine incident are also not as potent as the nuclear waste in Chernobyl. Nobody died as a result of the East Palestine chemical spillTwo people died immediately following the explosion at Chernobyl. East Palestine resulted in an evacuation, but it was short-livedAfter the derailment, close to 2,000 residents in East Palestine were asked to evacuate.

☆ France urges stronger international response to Iran's missile program
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna looks on during a news conference with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira ( not pictured ) at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File PhotoSummary French govt: Colonna spoke to Blinken on ThursdayDiscussed Iran, Ukraine, Armenia, AzerbaijanUrged stronger response to Iran missile programmePARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - There must be a stronger "international response" to the threat posed by Iran's ballistic missiles program, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told her U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken, France's Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The French Foreign Ministry said Colonna and Blinken had spoken by phone on Thursday, during which they discussed an array of topics, including Ukraine and Iran. Colonna and Blinken also reiterated their "full support" to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia almost a year ago, and discussed the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia says protection structures at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant near completion -TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - The construction of protective structures for key facilities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeast Ukraine is nearing completion, Russia's state TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an adviser to the head of Russia's nuclear plants operator. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, was captured by Russian troops in March of last year, in the opening days of Moscow's invasion in Ukraine. It remains close to the frontlines, and has repeatedly come under fire, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. "The erection of engineering and construction structures, which are designed to provide additional protection for important infrastructure facilities of the nuclear power plant, including those related to the storage of radioactive materials, is at the completion stage," TASS cited Renat Karchaa of Russia's nuclear plants operator Rosenergoatom as saying. In December, Russia said it had set up a shield over a storage site for spent nuclear waste at the plant.

☆ U.S., allies say IAEA report shows Iran inconsistent in meeting nuclear obligations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign marks the seat of Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ahead of a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A U.N. watchdog report shows Iran is being inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Friday. Iran said the IAEA's position on Tehran's nuclear work was not correct. Fordow is so sensitive that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers banned enrichment there. Since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Iran, the Islamic Republic has breached many of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear activities.

☆ How do you lose a radioactive capsule? Australian investigators are wondering too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —The discovery of a tiny lost radioactive capsule beside a remote highway in Western Australia raises many questions – not least how it escaped layers of radiation-proof packaging loaded onto a moving truck. Under the Radiation Safety Act 1975, only specially trained and licensed operators can package radioactive substances, but different rules apply to contractors hired to transport it, Steen said. “Any transport company can transport radioactive material provided they have got the license to do so,” she said. Staff from the National Emergency Management Agency, the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organization and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency also took part. This time, it traveled in a convoy of enclosed white vehicles – with big stickers warning of the presence of a radioactive substance.

☆ Austria expels four Russian envoys for breaching international agreements
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday without giving specifics. "Two diplomats at the Russian embassy have acted in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status. The two working at the Russian mission to the U.N. acted in a way that was inconsistent with the host country agreement between the United Nations and Austria, it added. Vienna is a major diplomatic centre hosting both the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency. The large diplomatic presence offers the opportunity to station intelligence agents there under a diplomatic cover granting them diplomatic immunity.

☆ IAEA chides Iran for undeclared change to Fordow uranium enrichment setup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Atomic Energy Agency found the change during an unannounced inspection on Jan. 21 at the Fordow Fuel enrichment Plant (FFEP), a site dug into a mountain where inspectors are stepping up checks after Iran said it would dramatically expand enrichment. Fordow is so sensitive that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers banned enrichment there. Since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions against Iran, the Islamic Republic has breached many of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear activities. The IAEA has had regular access to Fordow to carry out verification activities like inspections and it is in talks with Iran on stepping up those activities, the report said. However, some other safeguards measures are still required and are being discussed with Iran," the report added.

☆ Iran reports drone attack on defense facility
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency says the attack occurred late Saturday and caused minor damage to a rooftop. Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for over a decade that has included covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. They said the attempted attack against a building belonging to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization "left no casualties or damage and was unable to disrupt the Iranian nuclear program. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top nuclear scientist. U.S. intelligence agencies, Western nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003.

☆ Russia was making big plans for Ukraine's nuclear power plants before its invasion fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Those plans depended in part on seizing Ukraine's nuclear power plants and using them for leverage. Dmytro Smolyenko/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesAccording to the RUSI report, Russia's war plans viewed Ukraine's nuclear power plants as a means to achieve Moscow's larger aims. The Kremlin's plan envisioned three uses for the Ukrainian nuclear power facilities once the invasion was underway. Moscow also incorporated Ukraine's nuclear power facilities into its information operations. Fighting in a nuclear plantThe Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on August 29.

☆ Blasts near Ukraine nuclear plant, says UN watchdog; Russia calls it provocation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog on Thursday reported powerful explosions near Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and renewed calls for a security zone around the plant. Russian forces seized the plant in early March, soon after invading neighbouring Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of firing around it near the front lines, prompting the IAEA to place experts at all of Ukraine's five nuclear stations. Grossi, who visited Ukraine last week, said IAEA monitors routinely reported explosions near the plant. On the other, they are again sowing doubt in Western public opinion that somehow Russia cannot cope with upholding nuclear safety."

☆ Iran has an obligation to give up its nuclear program, Saudi minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Iran should relinquish its nuclear program, which violates international agreements, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said Wednesday from the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I believe that Iran has an obligation to give up its nuclear program. Photo: Planet Labs Inc. | APUnder the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal — which involved the U.S. and other powers and lifted economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program — Iran's uranium enrichment was limited to 3.67%, enough for a civilian nuclear energy program. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and that having one is its sovereign right. Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv.

☆ Ukraine official says time for U.N. peacekeepers at nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine wants the United Nations to send peacekeepers to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant even without a deal with Russia to establish a safety zone there, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company said. But the comment was the first time a Ukraine nuclear official has suggested publicly peacekeepers should be deployed in the absence of an agreement to create a safety zone at the plant, which Russia took control of soon after invading the country on Feb. 24. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, has suffered repeated shelling and power cuts, raising concerns of radioactive catastrophe. Ukraine and Russia trade blame for the shellingRafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had hoped to mediate an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on a safety zone by January. However, the absence of a safety zone could complicate drawing the boundaries for a peacekeeping mission's area of control, potentially exposing peacekeepers to danger.

☆ Russia's Rosatom sees 2022 exports growth at 15% - report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Rosatom GK FollowDec 26 (Reuters) - Russia's Rosatom expects its 2022 exports growth at 15%, while its foreign order portfolio has remained stable at $200 billion, the state nuclear energy company's Chief Executive Officer Alexei Likhachev told the Russian Izvestia newspaper. The growth comes, among others, from contracts already being implemented, supplies of fuel, enriched uranium products, as well as conversion services, Likhachev said. It also includes the construction of 23 nuclear power units at projects in a dozen countries, he added. Rosatom has been in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency about a safe zone around Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, which Russian troops captured in March. In August, Rosatom and its Finnish partner Fennovoima have filed claims for billions of dollars in damages from each other over Fennovoima's decision to cancel a planned nuclear power plant in Finland.

☆ Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region says shelling of nuclear plant has almost stopped
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The top Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region said on Friday that shelling of the Russian-controlled nuclear power plant there had "almost stopped". Speaking on Russian state television, Russian-installed regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky said that Russian troops would not leave the nuclear power station, and that it would never return to Ukrainian control. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest, was captured by Russian forces in March, soon after their invasion of Ukraine. The plant remains near the frontlines, and has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency is attempting to broker an agreement around the plant's security, proposing to create a safe zone around it.

He long has sought Patriot missiles to help counter three months of Russian missile and drone strikes on civilian infrastructure, including Ukraine's power grid. Switching to Russian, Zelenskiy warned that "citizens of Russia must clearly understand that terror never goes without a response." REPORTED REINFORCEMENTSUkraine has driven Russian forces from the areas around its capital Kyiv and second biggest city Kharkiv. Moscow is now focused on holding areas its forces occupy in southern and eastern Ukraine - around a fifth of the country. Russian forces shelled the southern Kherson region 61 times in 24 hours, half of those within Kherson city, killing one person, Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said.

To Russian security agencies operating in Ukraine, he said late on Monday in comments translated by Reuters: "Yes, it is difficult for you now. The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult." Both Putin and Lukashenko were also at pains to dismiss the idea of Russia annexing or absorbing Belarus. Russian troops that moved to Belarus in October will conduct battalion tactical exercises, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing the defence ministry. It also said Ukrainian air and artillery forces carried out more than a dozen strikes on Russian troops and hardware, including ammunition dumps, and shot down two helicopters.

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