Iran Is an Ever More ‘Relevant’ Problem, Nuclear Watchdog Chief Says

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi listens during the opening session of the fifth IAEA Nuclear Power Ministerial Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2022. (AFP)
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi listens during the opening session of the fifth IAEA Nuclear Power Ministerial Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2022. (AFP)
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Iran Is an Ever More ‘Relevant’ Problem, Nuclear Watchdog Chief Says

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi listens during the opening session of the fifth IAEA Nuclear Power Ministerial Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2022. (AFP)
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi listens during the opening session of the fifth IAEA Nuclear Power Ministerial Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2022. (AFP)

Iran is a problem that is ever more "relevant", the UN nuclear watchdog's chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Friday, in an apparent reference to the growing number of advanced centrifuges Tehran is using to enrich uranium.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said in recent confidential reports to member states seen by Reuters that Iran has been installing and enriching with more cascades, or clusters, of advanced centrifuges at its underground enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow.

At the same time, indirect talks with the United States on reviving a largely hollowed-out 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are stalled, with officials saying one important sticking point has been Iran's demand that the IAEA end an investigation into uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

Asked in an on-stage discussion in Washington how he sees the world today, Grossi started with Iran rather than Ukraine and said it "continues to be a problem".

"I see every day through my inspectors how this problem is getting more and more relevant, and I'm choosing a word which is neutral. It's an even more relevant problem every day," Grossi told the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, without elaborating.

He added later that he would not cave to political pressure over his investigation of the uranium traces and his efforts to obtain explanations from Iran on how they came to be there.

"I will never do anything in the verification area under political pretenses or for political reasons. The IAEA has to do what it has to do. I say it here publicly and I've said it to my Iranian counterparts many times when they request that we look elsewhere."



Ukraine Stages Drone Attack on Russia’s Saratov Region, Causing Big Fire

 In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
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Ukraine Stages Drone Attack on Russia’s Saratov Region, Causing Big Fire

 In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)

Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia overnight and attacked the Saratov region, causing a major fire in the city of Engels, the local governor said on Wednesday.

The region hosts a major air base for strategic bomber planes that form part of Russia's nuclear forces. Ukraine has attacked the base with drones before, but there was no word on whether it had been targeted on this occasion.

Russian news reports said the fire was at an oil facility. Unverified videos and photos published on social media showed a large fire burning with orange flames, sending thick clouds of smoke into the night sky.

Regional governor Roman Busargin said the cities of Saratov and Engels, on opposite sides of the Volga river, had been subject to a "mass drone attack" and there was a fire at an industrial site, but that there were no known casualties.

"There are sufficient forces and resources to localize the fire," he posted on Telegram.

Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that 11 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed overnight over the Saratov region, and 21 over other parts of Russia and the Azov Sea. It did not mention any damage.

The Engels air base is located about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. In December 2022, three Russian air force personnel were killed when a drone was shot down there.

Independent news outlet Astra said the oil depot where the fire was burning provided fuel for the air base. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that.