Iran has not agreed to inspections or given up enrichment, says Trump

The US president says helium volition not let Tehran to resume its atomic programme, adding Iranian officials privation to conscionable with him.

United States President Donald Trump has said Iran has not agreed to inspections of its atomic programme oregon to giving up enriching uranium.

He told reporters connected committee Air Force One connected Friday that helium believed Tehran’s atomic programme had been “set backmost permanently”, though helium conceded Iran could restart it astatine a antithetic location.

Trump said helium would sermon Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erstwhile helium visits the White House connected Monday, wherever a imaginable Gaza ceasefire is expected to apical the agenda.

Trump said, arsenic helium travelled to New Jersey aft an Independence Day solemnisation astatine the White House, “I would deliberation they’d person to commencement astatine a antithetic location. And if they did start, it would beryllium a problem.”

Trump said helium would not let Tehran to resume its atomic programme, adding that Iranian officials wanted to conscionable with him.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said connected Friday it had pulled retired its inspectors from Iran arsenic a standoff deepens implicit their instrumentality to the country’s atomic facilities that were bombed by the US and Israel.

The US and Israel accidental Iran was enriching uranium to physique atomic weapons. Tehran denies wanting to nutrient a atomic bomb, reiterating for years that its atomic programme has been for civilian usage only. Neither US quality nor the UN atomic watchdog main Rafael Grossi said they had recovered immoderate impervious that Tehran was gathering a atomic weapon.

Israel launched its archetypal subject strikes connected Iran’s atomic sites successful a 12-day warfare with the Islamic Republic 3 weeks ago, with the US intervening connected the broadside of its staunch state by launching monolithic strikes connected the sites connected June 22.

The IAEA’s inspectors person been incapable to inspect Iran’s facilities since the opening of the conflict, adjacent though Grossi has said that it is his apical priority.

Grossi stressed “the important importance” of holding talks with Iran to resume its monitoring and verification enactment arsenic soon arsenic possible.

Distrust of IAEA

In the aftermath of the US and Israeli attacks, Iran, which has said it is inactive committed to the Treaty connected the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), made painfully wide its burgeoning distrust of the IAEA.

Since the commencement of the conflict, Iranian officials person sharply criticised the IAEA, not lone for failing to condemn the Israeli and US strikes, but besides for passing a resolution connected June 12 accusing Tehran of non-compliance with its atomic obligations, the time earlier Israel attacked.

On Wednesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the state to chopped ties with the atomic watchdog. A measure to suspend practice had already been passed successful the Iranian parliament and approved by the country’s Guardian Council.

Guardian Council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif said the determination had been taken for the “full respect for the nationalist sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

The measure itself says the suspension “will stay successful effect until definite conditions are met, including the guaranteed information of atomic facilities and scientists”, according to Iranian authorities television.

While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of immoderate suspension, it is unclear erstwhile the agency’s inspectors volition beryllium capable to instrumentality to Iran.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi summarily dismissed Grossi’s petition to sojourn atomic facilities bombed by Israel and the US. “Grossi’s insistence connected visiting the bombed sites nether the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and perchance adjacent malign successful intent,” Araghchi said.

The US claims subject strikes either destroyed oregon severely damaged Iran’s 3 uranium enrichment sites.

But it was little wide what had happened to overmuch of Iran’s 9 tonnes of enriched uranium, particularly the much than 400kg (880 pounds) enriched to up to 60 percent purity, a person measurement but not successful the realm of weapons people astatine 90 percent oregon more.