UK Indicates it Will Send Battle Tanks to Ukraine 

Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
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UK Indicates it Will Send Battle Tanks to Ukraine 

Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated on Saturday that Britain would send Ukraine some of its main battle tanks along with additional artillery support, drawing swift reproach from the Russian Embassy in London. 

During a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sunak "outlined the UK's ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems", a spokesperson for the prime minister said. 

"The leaders reflected on the current state of Russia's war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues," the spokesperson added. 

Media reports have suggested Britain was in discussions with Ukraine to deliver the Challengers to help the country fight Moscow's forces. 

Sunak's office said earlier this week that Britain would coordinate its support with allies after Germany, France and the United States all indicated last week they would provide armored vehicles to Ukraine. 

According to Sky News, about a dozen tanks would be supplied, the first time such Western weaponry had been pledged. Sunak's office said further details about the tanks' deployment would be provided shortly. 

The Russian Embassy in London said the decision to send the tanks would drag out the confrontation, lead to more victims including civilians, and was evidence of "the increasingly obvious involvement of London in the conflict". 

"As for the Challenger 2 tanks, they are unlikely to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield, but they will become a legitimate large target for the Russian artillery," the embassy said, according to comments cited by the TASS news agency. 

The Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to attack other tanks, and has been in service with the British Army since 1994. It has been deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq, according to the army. 

"The prime minister and President Zelenskiy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland's offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks," Sunak's spokesperson said. 

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's staff, thanked Britain for its new defense package. 

"This is an important contribution to the defense of freedom and democracy in Europe. We are grateful to Rishi Sunak and the (British) people for their help," he said on Twitter. 



IAEA Pulls Inspectors from Iran as Standoff over Access Drags on

FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
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IAEA Pulls Inspectors from Iran as Standoff over Access Drags on

FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo

The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country's nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.

Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in a 12-day war three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran's facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.

Iran's parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency's inspectors will be able to return to Iran.

"An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict," the IAEA said on X.

According to Reuters, diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors' safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.

Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.

IAEA WANTS TALKS

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"(Grossi) reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible," the IAEA said.

The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran's three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran's nine tons of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.

That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries' declarations. But the bombing of Iran's facilities has now muddied the waters.

"We cannot afford that .... the inspection regime is interrupted," Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.