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Congress to Establish Task Force to Monitor Iran's Nuclear Program

US Capitol Building (AFP)
US Capitol Building (AFP)
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Congress to Establish Task Force to Monitor Iran's Nuclear Program

US Capitol Building (AFP)
US Capitol Building (AFP)

The US Congress approved the inclusion of provisions from the Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability Monitoring Act of 2022, with bipartisan support to establish a State Department-led joint task force to monitor and regularly provide reports to Congress regarding Iran's nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The lawmakers approved the bill noting that the task force shall submit a detailed report to the appropriate congressional committees every four months, including accurate information on the uranium enrichment program, the storage of nuclear materials, armament, and the missile program, that would pose a threat to US targets.

The bill has been included in next year's defense budget to be approved by Congress this week, ensuring decisive approval.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez welcomed the law's inclusion in the defense budget, saying the inclusion of the legislation to better track Iran's nuclear efforts in the NDAA is an important step forward as the US continues to look for creative ways to address Iran's illicit nuclear program fully.

The senator stressed the importance of the project, noting that its approval would contribute to boosting efforts to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear weapons state and potentially igniting a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous tinderbox in the world.

For his part, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on the US government to stay "focused on monitoring Iranian nuclear ambitions."

Graham said the extra monitoring would make it harder for Iran to break out in a nuclear fashion.

Project details

The draft requires the Secretary of State to form a task force that includes officials from the State Department, Intelligence, and the Ministry of Energy, specialized in monitoring Iran's nuclear program, provided that it submits an immediate report to Congress within 72 hours of the receipt of intelligence on the development in the nuclear weapons capabilities.

The bill requires the administration to submit an annual "comprehensive plan for engaging with allies and regional partners" in all relevant multilateral fora to address such nuclear weapons and missile activities.

It must also include a description of a coordinated whole-of-government approach to use political, economic, and security-related tools to address such activities.

The unclassified portion of the report required shall be made available to the public on an internet website of the Department of State.

The bill clearly stated that Congress should push for any necessary steps to ensure that the Iranian Republic does not develop a nuclear weapons capability, referring to the military option that the administration did not rule out in its recent statements.

The lawmakers' request is not limited to Iran only but extends to its regional agents and destabilizing activities to provide Congress with a clear picture of Iran's malign activities at the domestic and international levels.

It also includes drone development activities and details of the United States' efforts to counter Iran's political and military influence.

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Mayotte Faces Environment, Biodiversity Crisis after Cyclone

This photograph shows a truck unloading a garbage in a waste disposal site in the city of Tsountsou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
This photograph shows a truck unloading a garbage in a waste disposal site in the city of Tsountsou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Mayotte Faces Environment, Biodiversity Crisis after Cyclone

This photograph shows a truck unloading a garbage in a waste disposal site in the city of Tsountsou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
This photograph shows a truck unloading a garbage in a waste disposal site in the city of Tsountsou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

Mayotte has changed beyond recognition since a cyclone devastated the Indian Ocean territory, sparking an environment and biodiversity crisis that could last for a decade or more, scientists say.

After barreling into the archipelago at 200 kilometers per hour (125 mph), Cyclone Chido left behind scenes of desolation: Trees mowed down as far as the eye can see, sturdy tree trunks blown apart as if struck by mortars, the previous green of the foliage replaced by a sad brown.

"It's an environmental disaster," said Raima Fadul, a biologist. "There are no more trees. Those still standing have lost their tops... The cyclone flattened the vegetation."

A gigantic baobab over 300 years old collapsed onto a restaurant. Part of the mangrove is now completely bare and black. A three-meter (10-feet) earth mound looms where an acacia tree, half a century old, was uprooted by the violent storm.

One effect of the vegetation's sudden disappearance is that Mayotte's slums, formerly hidden by lush greenery, are now starkly apparent, making visible their number, and their sprawl.

- 'We never realized' -

"All we saw before were mango trees, coconut trees and a forest," said Rouchdat Mourchidi, an education counselor checking on what remains of a family plot on the island's heights. "We never realized there were metal shacks there because they were hidden in vegetation."

Trees have always played the crucial role of channeling rain and slowing down potential floods. Now that they are gone, any torrential downpour will wash soil into the lagoon below, covering the seabed in mud.

As a result, part of the lagoon's coral reef will be killed off, said Fadul, leading to the loss of some of the 300 species of fish, corals, vertebrates and mollusks present in the reef's ecosystem.

On land, wildlife is already suffering from the loss of forest cover. Small dark lemurs called makis are now being spotted increasingly in urban areas where they come in search of food, and where they will probably die.

Bats, pollinators with an important role to play in future reforestation, are also becoming rarer after losing their nesting spots in trees.

There are also grave concerns for lizards, insects and flowering plants that used to proliferate on Mayotte.

- 'In 10 years' time' -

One ray of hope is that Mayotte's tropical climate will help accelerate future tree growth, said Benoit Loussier, regional director of the National Forestry Office.

"In 10 years' time, plantations may have restored a forest cover" of eight meters (26 feet) high, he said.

But this can happen only if the population resists the obvious temptation to convert destroyed forest zones into farmland.

This illegal activity was already in evidence before the cyclone, notably due to desperately poor illegal immigrants practicing subsistence farming.

In 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that 6.7 percent of Mayotte's woodland had been cleared between 2011 and 2016, a deforestation proportion comparable to that seen in Argentina or Indonesia.

The risk of illicit replanting is all the more acute as crops were also destroyed by Cyclone Chido.

Another looming risk is "subsistence poaching" of turtles, warned Lamya Essemlali at Sea Shepherd, a wildlife preservation NGO, as Mayotte's poorest go hungry while food aid is still slow to arrive.

Officially Mayotte has 320,000 inhabitants -- with unregistered undocumented migrants probably adding another 100,000 -- packed into a territory of 374 square kilometers (144 square miles), resulting in a population density eight times that of mainland France.

The median income in Mayotte is 260 euros ($271) a month, according to the national statistics institute Insee, six times less than in mainland France.