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IAEA Chief: Washington Still Contributes to Nuclear Deal

IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi | Photo: AFP
IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi | Photo: AFP
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IAEA Chief: Washington Still Contributes to Nuclear Deal

IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi | Photo: AFP
IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi | Photo: AFP

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi confirmed Sunday that despite Washington’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal, it continues to contribute to the deal by providing financial support to international inspections to verify Iranian activities.

Speaking to dpa in Vienna ahead of his visit to Berlin, where he is set to meet Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and take part in the World Health Summit conference on Monday and Tuesday, Grossi said, “Washington provides us with important contributions that allow us to continue our work,” adding that without these addition funds – from Washington and elsewhere – the IAEA would not be able to resume its operations.

This is the first time Grossi uncovers the financial support offered by the US to inspection operations after Washington’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal two years ago.

Grossi's statement would put pressure on Iran and parties of the Nuclear Deal who earlier refused to recognize Washington’s right to activate the Deal’s mechanisms on the grounds after its withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018.

Last August, the US announced a move known as a “snapback”, which aims to re-establish all sanctions against Iran a month later.

It came as US President Donald Trump’s administration was unable to extend a UN Security Council embargo on conventional weapons being sent to Tehran.

Meanwhile, Grossi expressed the IAEA’s determination to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.

“The sooner we clarify all aspects that the IAEA will review, the better it will be for everyone, starting with Iran,” he said.

Grossi said IAEA inspectors have recently visited two sites in Iran where past nuclear activities may have taken place, adding that results of those visits would be announced in the coming two to four months.

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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

The Philippines ordered evacuations Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Usagi's arrival, as the UN's disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after recent storms killed more than 150 people.

The national weather service said Usagi -- the archipelago's fifth major storm in three weeks -- would likely make landfall Thursday in Cagayan province on the northeast tip of main island Luzon.

Provincial civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing said mayors had been ordered to evacuate residents in vulnerable areas, by force if necessary, as the 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour typhoon bears down on the country.

"Under (emergency protocols), all the mayors must implement the forced evacuation, especially for susceptible areas," he told AFP, adding as many as 40,000 people in the province lived in hazard-prone areas.

The area is set to be soaked in "intense to torrential" rain on Thursday and Friday, which can trigger floods and landslides with the ground still sodden from recent downpours, state weather forecaster Christopher Perez told reporters.

He urged residents of coastal areas to move inland due to the threat of storm surges and giant coastal waves up to three meters (nine feet) high, with shipping also facing the peril of 8–10-meter waves.

A sixth tropical storm, Man-yi, is expected to strengthen into a typhoon before hitting the center of the country as early as Friday, Perez said.

With more than 700,000 people forced out of their homes, the successive storms have taken a toll on the resources of both the government and local households, the UN said late Tuesday.

About 210,000 of those most affected by recent flooding need support for "critical lifesaving and protection efforts over the next three months", the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

"Typhoons are overlapping. As soon as communities attempt to recover from the shock, the next tropical storm is already hitting them again," UN Philippines Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said.

"In this context, the response capacity gets exhausted and budgets depleted."

The initiative "will help us mobilize the capacities and resources of the humanitarian community to better support government institutions at national, regional and local levels," Gonzalez added.

More than 28,000 people displaced by recent storms are still living in evacuation centers operated by local governments, the country's civil defense office said in its latest tally.

Government crews were still working to restore downed power and communication lines and clearing debris from roads.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people and keeping millions in enduring poverty.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.