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Iran: IAEA Has No Right to Inspect Nuclear Sites Attacked in June 

A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
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Iran: IAEA Has No Right to Inspect Nuclear Sites Attacked in June 

A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.

The UN atomic watchdog has no right to demand inspections of sites attacked by the United States and Israel during the June war, said head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, stressing the need for a clear protocol to allow UN inspectors in such facilities.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Eslami criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) call for renewed inspections of three nuclear sites hit during the 12-day war, saying Tehran had already allowed inspectors to visit undamaged sites.

On Monday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated that Iran must allow inspectors access to the three key nuclear facilities that enrich uranium and that were hit by the US and Israel.

Speaking to RIA Novosti, Grossi said: “The agency’s activities in Iran are very limited. We are only allowed to access sites that were not hit.”

“The other three sites, Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, are even more significant since they still contain substantial amount of nuclear material and equipment, and we need to return there,” he urged.

In another interview with Radio France International (RFI), Grossi said: “Contact with Iran remains in place. We haven’t yet been able to restore cooperation to the required level, but I believe it is critically important.”

The dialogue continues through behind-the-scenes negotiations and confidential contacts, he added.

In response to Grossi’s demands, Eslami emphasized that inspections of facilities hit during the June war require a clear and defined protocol, reported the state-run ISNA agency.

“The UN agency, which has issued no condemnation [regarding Israel and US attacks on Iran in June] and has no established guidelines, has no right to claim it intends to conduct inspections,” he added.

“Pressure exerted on us under the influence of Israel, three European countries, and the United States has no impact on Iran. It is the agency that must answer to Iran and to the world,” he stressed.

Eslami also said that all of Iran’s nuclear facilities are fully registered with and have been under IAEA supervision.

“The current situation demands accountability from the agency, not further questioning of Iran,” he said, calling on the IAEA to clarify its position, explain why no condemnation was issued, and specify what procedures it intends to follow.

Also in Tehran, AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said there are currently no IAEA inspections under way, adding that inspections carried out in recent weeks were conducted with the permission of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and in line with the law on suspending cooperation with the IAEA.

He said all of those inspections were related to industrial matters at the sites that had not been attacked in June.

“Measures must definitely be considered regarding facilities that have been attacked,” he said, stressing that the safeguards agreement does not contain provisions for wartime conditions, and therefore, an understanding must be reached on this issue.

In such circumstances, he added, security becomes the most important matter and negotiations must be conducted with a security-oriented approach.

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World

UN Warns Hormuz Standstill Will Hit World’s Most Vulnerable

The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Warns Hormuz Standstill Will Hit World’s Most Vulnerable

The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)

The standstill in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Middle East war could hammer some of the world's most vulnerable people, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

The strait is the only sea passage from the Gulf towards the Indian Ocean, through which nearly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil supplies pass, as well as a significant amount of cargo.

Iran has all but blocked the waterway following the launch of the February 28 US-Israeli airstrikes on the country that triggered the war.

"The current shock comes at a time when many developing economies struggle to service their debt, face a tightening of fiscal space and limited capacity to absorb new price shocks," the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said.

"Higher energy, fertilizer and transport costs -- including freight rates, bunker fuel prices and insurance premiums -- may increase food costs and intensify cost-of-living pressures, particularly for the most vulnerable," it said.

UNCTAD added that, in terms of seaborne trade volume, in the week before the conflict 38 percent of crude oil, 29 percent of liquified petroleum gas, 19 percent of liquified natural gas and 19 percent refined oil products went through the strait.

But while an average of 129 ships transited daily through the passage between February 1 and 27, that number dropped to just three on March 3.

UNCTAD said the disruptions underscored the vulnerability of critical maritime chokepoints and their potential for disruption to them to send shocks across supply chains and commodity markets.

"Rising energy, transport and food costs could strain public finances and increase pressure on household budgets, potentially heightening economic and social pressures... particularly in economies heavily dependent on imported energy, fertilizers and staple foods," it said.

- Food aid hit -

UN rights chief Volker Turk echoed the alarm for the effect the plunge in commercial shipping activity could have, "particularly for the world's most vulnerable".

"The impact of an oil price surge will have a knock-on effect for macro-economic and social stability in many countries, particularly those already experiencing debt distress," he said.

The UN's World Food Program said the costs and time lost to the Strait of Hormuz disruptions were already impacting its humanitarian operations.

"This is nothing less than another seminal moment in global supply chain history," Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of WFP's food and nutrition analysis service, told reporters in Geneva.

Speaking from the WFP's Rome headquarters, he said shipping lines were diverting services and adding surcharges, leading to congestion "in places that are very far from Hormuz".

"We're seeing congestion in Asia. It's quite a severe disruption that's taking place right now," Bauer said.

"We're needing to go the long way around the Cape of Good Hope to reach some of our key geographies."

WFP's biggest operation is in Sudan, but now it is facing approximately 25 days of additional shipping time.

"It's basically 50 percent more than we would usually have. So that's really extending the supply chain and adding to cost," said Bauer.

World

Israel Says Iran Hacked Security Cameras

People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
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Israel Says Iran Hacked Security Cameras

People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)

Israel's cybersecurity directorate said it had identified "dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes" since the start of the war in the Middle East, urging the public to be vigilant.

"The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal," Cyber Israel wrote on X Monday.

Cyberattacks between Iran and Israel have been a frequent occurrence in recent years, as the two foes conducted a shadow war that culminated in open conflict last June and again on February 28.

In December 2025, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett -- who is set to run against incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu in a general election this year -- said he had been the victim of a cyberattack targeting his Telegram account, after hackers claimed to have broken into his phone.

Private messages, videos and photographs said to be taken from Bennett's phone were published on a hacker site named after "Handala", a character symbolizing the Palestinian cause, and on an associated X account.

Iran-linked hackers have stepped up their operations in the region since strikes began on the country, an expert told AFP.

Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point said in a report that since the launch of the US-Israeli offensive on February 28, it has seen hackers accessing surveillance cameras, which are widely used but often poorly secured.

The images were likely used to assess damage caused by the attacks or "to gather the necessary information" on "the habits (of targeted individuals) or locations to hit", Gil Messing, head of cyberintelligence at Check Point, told AFP.

The hackers "are part of (Iran's) army" and "are largely supported by the state", notably by the Revolutionary Guards and the ministry of intelligence and security, he added.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Israel had hacked nearly all of Tehran's traffic cameras for years in preparation for the operation that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the offensive.

World

Israeli Army Says Half of Iranian Missiles Have Cluster Munitions

An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Army Says Half of Iranian Missiles Have Cluster Munitions

An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's army estimated on Tuesday that around half of the missiles being fired at the country by Iran contained cluster munitions, posing an added danger to people on the ground.

"Approximately 50 percent of Iranian missiles fired toward Israel carry cluster warheads that disperse into smaller bombs in the air, creating additional falling debris hazards," a military official said, in comments shared by the defense ministry.

Cluster munitions explode in mid-air and scatter bomblets. Some of these submunitions do not explode on impact and can cause casualties over time, particularly among children.

"The radius of the impact is about ten kilometers. Although these contain less explosive material than a standard missile, the impact can still be lethal," the official said.

Two construction workers died from shrapnel wounds after missiles were fired at central Israel on Monday, with emergency workers at the site telling AFP the damage appeared to have been caused by a cluster munition.

Iran and Israel are not among the more than 100 countries that are party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their use, transfer, production and storage.

Both have reportedly used the munitions in earlier conflicts.

During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, Amnesty International said Tehran used cluster munitions at least three times, based on analysis of photos and videos, as well as media reports.

In 2007, a US government investigation found that Israel had probably violated arms export agreements with Washington when it dropped US-made cluster bombs in Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah the previous year.