Iran: No Intention to Expel IAEA Inspectors

FILE PHOTO: The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flutters in front of their headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flutters in front of their headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
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Iran: No Intention to Expel IAEA Inspectors

FILE PHOTO: The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flutters in front of their headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flutters in front of their headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said that Tehran does not intend to expel the UN nuclear watchdog's inspectors, clarifying the implications of a controversial law approved by parliament last month.

The law, passed by the conservative dominated legislature despite opposition from the government, mandates Iran to discontinue certain inspections by late February if key conditions are not met, stoking international concerns about a possible expulsion of inspectors.

However, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that under the December law "Iran's cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) will not cease and it does not mean expelling the agency's inspectors."

According to AFP, the December law mandated the government to stop "the implementation of the additional protocol" to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on February 21, if the US does not lift unilateral sanctions or other key parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran do not help Tehran to bypass those sanctions.

The "additional protocol" is a document prescribing intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.

At present, such inspections are carried out under this protocol, in addition to regular IAEA inspections under the 2015 deal, but the additional protocol has never been ratified by Iran's parliament.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani slammed the December legislation -- known as the "strategic action plan for the lifting of sanctions and the protection of the Iranian people's interests" -- as "detrimental to the course of diplomatic activities" when it was still before parliament.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the 2015 multilateral nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions on Tehran in 2018.

Iran in response has retreated from most of its key nuclear commitments under the 2015 deal, which gives Tehran relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

Rouhani's government has signaled a readiness to engage with US President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20 and who has likewise expressed willingness to return to diplomacy with Tehran.



US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

A US Senate report released on Sunday said a "cascade" of failures allowed a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year and faulted Secret Service discipline including the lack of firings in the wake of the attack.

The report, released a year after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in planning and execution of the rally, said Reuters.

"This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said. The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well visiting foreign leaders and some other senior officials.

One attendee of the July 13, 2024, rally was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents.

"This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats," the committee's Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said in a statement.

Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency's role, and six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.

The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired.

Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee.

"Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day," Curran said.