Israel Calls to Support IAEA in its Investigations with Iran

Prime Minister Yair Lapid with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister's Office)
Prime Minister Yair Lapid with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister's Office)
TT
20

Israel Calls to Support IAEA in its Investigations with Iran

Prime Minister Yair Lapid with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister's Office)
Prime Minister Yair Lapid with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister's Office)

Israel objected to Tehran's request to end open probes by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), calling on major countries to support the "independence" of the watchdog investigating Iran's nuclear program.

Political sources in Tel Aviv said there were several faults and defects in the draft to revive the nuclear agreement presented by the EU to Iran, including that this agreement will not enter into force until after four stages to establish confidence between Iran and the United States.

They believe that during the four stages spanning over 165 days, Tehran will have the freedom to act as if there is almost no agreement and will start receiving its frozen assets after their gradual release.

Sources close to Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he was sending the head of Mossad, David Barnea, to put forward friendly proposals for Israeli-US cooperation.

Lapid stressed that the visit did not aim to provoke the US administration, as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to do. He confirmed that Barnea's visit came at the request of the Senate Intelligence Committee and not on his initiative.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis during his official visit to Basel on Monday.

Herzog called upon the Swiss and all other governments to oppose the Iranian nuclear program in no "uncertain terms."

"Iran has sworn itself to Israel's destruction and is working tirelessly to destabilize our region and the entire world," he said, adding that Iran's behavior cannot be met with silence and its activities cannot go unpunished.

"Such a state must not be allowed to possess nuclear capabilities. Iran must be denied such capabilities by all means necessary,” he added.

Herzog referred to the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, who said there would be no way back to a nuclear deal if the IAEA probe continues.

"The Iranian president's statement today is perfectly clear. It says, 'We don't respect the independence of the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate open cases,' which are major cases involving enriched uranium located by IAEA inspectors”, Herzog said.

The Israeli president urged Switzerland to do everything to ensure the IAEA's independence and deny Iran nuclear weapons.

Haaretz quoted a reliable source close to the Israeli government on Monday, reviewing the most critical points in the European draft agreement.

According to the understandings in the European Union's draft proposal presented last month, the treaty will be completed only after four rounds designed to establish trust between the parties.

The first stage, dubbed "day zero," is the day the agreement is signed.

Before signing, the sides should finalize a deal to release prisoners from Iran in exchange for money trapped in various international bank accounts and an initial easing of the sanctions.

At the same time, Iran will be required to freeze all its violations of the agreement until now but will be able to retain the inventory of uranium it has accumulated thus far.

During the second stage, the deal will be placed on the congressional table for a maximum of five days from the date of signing. For 30 days from that moment, members of Congress will be able to peruse and study the treaty, and throughout this period, there will be no possibility of easing the legislation's sanctions.

The third phase will enter into force 60 days after Congress approves, during which a representative of the US State Department will inform the UN Security Council and the IAEA about the decision to return to the agreement.

After an additional 60 days, the fourth and final stage would see the US formally return to the deal.

The US and Iran will issue a joint declaration of their commitment to the process, and Washington will lift additional sanctions on other companies.

Israel believes this formula contains many loopholes that must be addressed before signing it but refuses to talk about them publicly to maintain the level of friendly dialogue between the partners.

According to a government source, Lapid is unsatisfied with dialogue with the United States but has sent his envoys to France, Britain, and Germany.

However, the source revealed that Israel would request to slow the lifting of sanctions from the first to the fourth stage.

On Monday, Lapid met with Netanyahu to deliver a security briefing on the nuclear deal. Lapid's military secretary, Avi Gil, attended the meeting.

The meeting focused on the Iran deal and "the diplomatic and defense activities that Israel is leading to influence the issue," along with other unspecified national security issues.

Netanyahu spoke to the press after the briefing, saying he was "more worried after the meeting than before."

Meanwhile, former Mossad head Yossi Cohen said at a World Zionist Organization event in Switzerland that Mossad carried out many operations against Iran's nuclear program, including some deep inside Iranian territory.

"Without going into too many details, I can tell you the Mossad had many successes in the fight against Iran's nuclear program," Cohen said.

Referring to the Mossad operation in January 2018, he noted the operation to snatch the Iranian nuclear files, which he said showed "clear evidence" that Tehran lied about the military dimensions of its atomic program.

Cohen said Israel "will continue to do whatever needs to be done" to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear arms if a deal is signed.

"We can never allow a regime that calls for our destruction to get its finger on the nuclear trigger," he said.



Pope Francis’ Body to Be Taken to St Peter’s Ahead of Funeral 

People gather in St Peter's Square ahead of the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St Peter's Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP)
People gather in St Peter's Square ahead of the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St Peter's Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Pope Francis’ Body to Be Taken to St Peter’s Ahead of Funeral 

People gather in St Peter's Square ahead of the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St Peter's Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP)
People gather in St Peter's Square ahead of the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St Peter's Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP)

Pope Francis' body was due to be moved to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to allow Catholic faithful to pay their final respects ahead of a funeral expected to bring US President Donald Trump and dozens of other world leaders to Rome.

Francis, a groundbreaking reformer, died at 88 on Monday from a stroke and cardiac arrest, ending an often turbulent 12-year reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalized.

His body, lying in an open casket, was set to be taken from the chapel of the Vatican residence where he lived to St Peter's, entering through the central door, in a grand procession starting at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), with cardinals and Latin chants.

Long queues of people formed around the Vatican ahead of the procession, which will be followed by a religious service in the basilica. The faithful and the general public will then be allowed to visit the late pontiff until 7 p.m. on Friday.

A funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning in St Peter's Square, due to be led by the dean of the college of cardinals, 91-year-old Giovanni Battista Re.

At least 200,000 people are expected to attend the outdoor service, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, Fabio Ciciliano, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope on immigration, will be accompanied by first lady Melania. Leaders from Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Ukraine, EU institutions and Francis' home nation of Argentina also confirmed their presence.

CONCLAVE NOT FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS

Francis asked to be buried in St Mary Major, a Roman basilica he was particularly attached to, rather than St Peter's like many of his predecessors, with a simple inscription of his name in Latin, Franciscus.

On Tuesday, the Vatican released images of the late pope dressed in his vestments, holding a rosary, with Swiss Guards standing beside his casket. Dignitaries, including Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Jewish leaders, came to visit.

His death, which came after he had appeared in public the previous day, still frail after a bout of double pneumonia and a five-week hospital stay that ended on March 23, set in motion ancient rituals.

About 60 cardinals had gathered on Tuesday to decide funeral plans, with more meetings due in the coming days on other urgent business.

The conclave, which will choose the new pope, is not expected to start before May 6. There is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis, although British bookmakers have singled out Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, from Italy, as early favorites.

In the meantime, in the period known as the "sede vacante" (vacant seat) for the global Catholic Church, a cardinal known as the camerlengo (chamberlain), Irish-American Kevin Farrell, is in charge of ordinary affairs.