The UN's atomic watchdog says it is willing to make a deal on inspections with Iran's new leadership that could renew nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has spoken to Iran's acting chief diplomat since a helicopter crash killed president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on May 19.
Mr Grossi told the IAEA's ruling board on Monday that Iran had agreed to resume talks postponed by a mourning period.
Under an agreement, the IAEA could be given wider access to nuclear centres in Iran, which is increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Britain, France and Germany have submitted a wide-ranging draft resolution against Iran to the UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board of governors to be voted on this week, Reuters reported later on Monday.
The European powers are pushing for the resolution despite US concerns that the move could lead Iran to respond by escalating its nuclear activities.
Although Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, the IAEA says it cannot confirm its intentions are peaceful while its monitoring is incomplete.
Alarm bells have been rung at the IAEA's Vienna headquarters by a recent Iranian warning that its nuclear doctrine could change if it is threatened by Israel.
Iran has also indicated that it will respond if the US and European powers push a new resolution through the IAEA's board condemning Tehran's activities.
Mr Grossi said that any wider resumption of talks, such as a new version of the 2015 deal that lifted sanctions on Iran, would need the IAEA to have full oversight.
Iran has openly stopped complying with limits on its nuclear activity since the US pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018.
Obstruction by Tehran means the agency is "now, in some areas, guessing" as to Iran's use of centrifuges and other nuclear activities, Mr Grossi said.
It is hoped that "at some point there will be a return to diplomacy, a return to a general framework, call it JCPOA version two, or version three, or any other name", he said.
"For that to happen, the agency will have to be able to say what the basis is, and what I have been explaining to my Iranian counterparts is that if I am not able, I won’t.
"I will not sign on any report saying that Iran has a number of centrifuges, or parts for centrifuges, if I cannot see [them]."
The IAEA is also pressing Iran to explain the presence of uranium particles at two undeclared sites, Varamin and Turquzabad.
The board was told there had been "no progress" on that front due to Iran failing to provide "technically credible explanations".
Mr Grossi visited Tehran in early May to discuss how the IAEA could have "more access, more visibility" at Iranian sites.
A team of IAEA technical experts was sent to Tehran last month to discuss further details but had to pack its bags after the helicopter crash on May 19.
The crash in heavy fog in north-west Iran killed the president, the foreign minister, and two other officials as well as bodyguards and flight crew.
Mr Grossi said he had told Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani of the IAEA's desire to "continue working" in a call last Friday.
The IAEA hopes its inspectors could "have more cameras, have more online systems, have perhaps more frequency of visits, have visits to places that we are not visiting at the moment", he said. "This is the idea."
The five pillars of Islam
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
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The five pillars of Islam
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
