Iran: Any Hostile Measure Will Suspend Arrangements with IAEA

09 September 2025, Egypt, Cairo: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R), sign an agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program, in presence of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. Photo: Stringer/dpa
09 September 2025, Egypt, Cairo: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R), sign an agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program, in presence of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. Photo: Stringer/dpa
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Iran: Any Hostile Measure Will Suspend Arrangements with IAEA

09 September 2025, Egypt, Cairo: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R), sign an agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program, in presence of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. Photo: Stringer/dpa
09 September 2025, Egypt, Cairo: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R), sign an agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program, in presence of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Sunday that any hostile measures against Tehran will suspend an agreement signed in Cairo last week by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

In a statement, the Council said arrangements included in the agreement signed by Iran and the UN atomic watchdog were reviewed and approved by its nuclear committee.

“The text of these arrangements was reviewed by the Nuclear Committee of the Supreme National Security Council, and what has been signed is essentially the same as what was approved by that committee,” the statement read.

It noted that the Committee, which is composed of senior officials from relevant institutions, has always been authorized by the SNSC to make decisions.

For the new agreement with the IAEA, the Committee has acted in accordance with the usual procedure, the statement added.

The statement also provided an explanation on how Iran and the IAEA should cooperate on the three nuclear sites of Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow that were struck by the US and Israel last June.

It said, after the necessary security and safety conditions are established, Iran will submit its report to the IAEA only after obtaining the opinion of the SNSC. Also, the practical methods for Iran-IAEA cooperation on the report submitted to the agency should be agreed upon by the two sides, and that any action must be approved by the SNSC.

“Should any hostile measures be taken against Iran or its nuclear facilities - including the revival of previously closed UN Security Council resolutions - the implementation of these arrangements will be immediately suspended,” the Council said.

The spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Council, Ebrahim Rezaei, said that on Saturday, the council held a three-hour meeting with the foreign minister to review the Iran-IAEA amendment.

The spokesperson noted that the memorandum was accepted in line with parliamentary law, meaning cooperation with the IAEA will only occur within that framework and the Supreme National Security Council.

He said Araghchi informed deputies that in the new agreement, the IAEA accepted new conditions for cooperation between the two sides and the need to take into account Iran's security concerns.

The FARS news agency quoted Araghchi as saying that the meeting in Parliament was “very good and constructive.”

Araghchi told deputies that any UN inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities will require further negotiations and approval from the Supreme National Security Council.

 



Thousands March in US to Back Iranian Anti-government Protesters

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
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Thousands March in US to Back Iranian Anti-government Protesters

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Thousands in the United States staged large demonstrations Sunday denouncing the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in Iran.

Several thousand people marched in Los Angeles, home to the world's largest Iranian diaspora, while several hundred others gathered in New York, AFP journalist's in both cities reported.

US protesters could be seen carrying signs condemning a "New Holocaust," a "genocide in the making," and the "terror" of the Iranian government.

"My heart is heavy and my soul is crushed, I'm at loss for words to describe how angry I am," said Perry Faraz at the demonstration in Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the US.

The 62-year-old payroll manager, who fled Iran in 2006, learned this week that one of her young cousins had been killed during the overseas rallies held in her native country.

"He wasn't even 10 years old, that's horrible," she said.

Demonstrations sparked by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests late December in what has been widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in recent years.

The rallies subsided after a government crackdown in Iran that rights groups have called a "massacre" carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights says it has verified the deaths of 3,428 protesters killed by security forces, confirming cases through sources within Iran’s health and medical system, witnesses and independent sources.

The NGO warned that the true toll is likely to be far higher. Media cannot independently confirm the figure and Iranian officials have not given an exact death toll.

- Calls for US intervention -

"This mass murdering of the population is terribly upsetting," Ali Parvaneh, a 65-year-old lawyer protesting in LA said.

Like many protesters, Parvaneh carried a "Make Iran Great Again" sign and said he wanted US President Donald Trump to intervene by targeting the country's powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Some in the crowd in LA went as far as to call for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has been in power for more than 25 years.

After having attacked Iranian nuclear sites in June, Trump sent mixed signals on possible US intervention this week.

The Republican first threatened to intervene if Iranian protesters were killed, but then said he was satisfied by Iranian assurances that demonstrators would not be executed.

"I really hope that Trump will go one step beyond just voicing support," Parvaneh said.

Many protesting in the Californian city chanted slogans in support of the US president and Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran who was deposed by the popular uprising in 1979.

- 'Don't need a puppet' -

Parvaneh echoed Pahlavi's popularity among some segments of Iran's exiled and expatriate population.

"Had the monarchy stayed in place, it would be much different and Iran would be in a much better situation," he said.

Pahlavi's support base is concentrated abroad while his political sway within Iran is limited.

The former Shah's son, who lives in exile near Washington, said this week he would be ready to return to Iran -- but it is unclear if most Iranians want this.

The Iranian opposition remains divided, and memories of the Shah's brutal repression of his left-wing opponents remain vivid.

Last week, a man caused minor injuries when he drove a truck into a demonstration held by Iranians in Los Angeles, carrying a sign that read: "No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don't Repeat 1953. No Mullah."

The sign was referring to the 1953 coup that saw Iran's government overthrown in a US- and UK-backed operation that had seen Pahlavi installed as the country's leader.

In Los Angeles's Westwood neighborhood, nicknamed "Tehrangeles," Roozbeh Farahanipour believes the diaspora must support Iranians without infringing on their "right to decide their own future."

"They don't need a puppet implanted by the West," said the 54-year-old restaurant owner.

Others in California also share that view.

"Trump is playing the Iranian people," said poet Karim Farsis, a resident of the San Francisco Bay area.

Farsis, an academic, stresses that it is US sanctions -- including those imposed by Trump -- and the Republican's ripping up of a nuclear deal that have contributed in large part to the suffering of the Iranian people.

She also criticized the almost complete ban on Iranians entering the US since June.

"We're living in a really twisted moment," she said. "Trump is saying to Iranians: 'Keep protesting, take over your institutions.'

"But if they find themselves in danger, they can't even find refuge in the United States."


Iran President Says Any Attack on Supreme Leader Would Be Declaration of War

 In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
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Iran President Says Any Attack on Supreme Leader Would Be Declaration of War

 In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack on the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei would mean a declaration of war.

"An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation," Pezeshkian said in a post on X in an apparent response to US President Donald Trump saying it was time to look for a new leader in Iran.


Quake Hits Northeast Sicily, No Damage Reported

 A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Quake Hits Northeast Sicily, No Damage Reported

 A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)

A light earthquake hit the northeastern corner of Sicily on Sunday, authorities said, but no damage was immediately reported.

The quake registering 4.0 on the Richter and Moment Magnitude scales was centered two kilometers (just over a mile) from Militello Rosmarino in the northeastern province of Messina, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV).

It occurred at 2:54 pm local time (1354 GMT) and had a depth of eight kilometers, INGV said.

Il Mattino newspaper said the earthquake was felt throughout the Messina area but no damage to people or buildings had been reported.

The town of approximately 1,200 inhabitants is located just north of the Nebrodi park, Sicily's largest protected area.

Tremors occur frequently in the northeast of Sicily, with a 2.5 magnitude quake occurring at Piraino, to the east, on Saturday.