UN Nuclear Agency to Hold Extraordinary Meeting on Iran Monday

Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Nuclear Agency to Hold Extraordinary Meeting on Iran Monday

Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)

The United Nations' nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes on the country, aimed in part at Tehran's atomic program.

In a statement late on Saturday, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran.

Iran had made the same request in a letter to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday following the strikes, which led to the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

As a result, the agency will hold a "special session of the IAEA Board of Governors on matters related to military strikes of the United States and Israel against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran", the IAEA said in a statement.

That extraordinary meeting will precede an already scheduled session of the board, which represents 35 countries.

Following the strikes, the IAEA said it was "closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, and urges restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region".

The UN nuclear watchdog had also stressed on Friday the "utmost urgency" of its request to verify all nuclear material in Iran, according to a confidential report seen by AFP.

Western countries led by the United States and Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, accuse Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions, but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes.



Türkiye’s Trade Minister Says Day-trip Crossings Halted at Iranian Border

Iranian nationals arrive in Türkiye through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran, in the province of Van, eastern Türkiye on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP)
Iranian nationals arrive in Türkiye through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran, in the province of Van, eastern Türkiye on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP)
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Türkiye’s Trade Minister Says Day-trip Crossings Halted at Iranian Border

Iranian nationals arrive in Türkiye through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran, in the province of Van, eastern Türkiye on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP)
Iranian nationals arrive in Türkiye through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran, in the province of Van, eastern Türkiye on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP)

Türkiye’s trade minister said on Monday that day-trip passenger crossings at three Turkish customs gates at the Iranian border have been mutually suspended ‌but Türkiye is allowing ‌its ⁠own citizens and third-country ⁠nationals to enter from Iran.

Minister Omer Bolat said in a statement ⁠on X that ‌Iran ‌was permitting its own ‌citizens to enter ‌Iran via Türkiye, adding that commercial cargo transits at all three ‌gates continued under controlled conditions.

"All our ⁠units ⁠continue to perform their duties on high alert to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of Türkiye’s border crossing services and trade flows," Bolat said.


Iran's Larijani Says 'Will Not Negotiate' with US

13 August 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, speaks during a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 August 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, speaks during a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Iran's Larijani Says 'Will Not Negotiate' with US

13 August 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, speaks during a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 August 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, speaks during a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran "will not negotiate with the United States", Ali Larijani, the head of Tehran's Supreme National Security Council said on Monday.

In a post on X, Larijani denied media reports that Iranian officials had sought to initiate talks with the Trump administration following a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which came after Tehran and Washington held nuclear negotiations.

US President Donald Trump's "delusional fantasies" have plunged the Middle East into chaos, he said.

"Trump plunged the region into chaos with his 'delusional fantasies' and now fears more American troop casualties," Larijani wrote on X.


Argentina's Milei Wants 'Strategic Alliance' with US to be State Policy

Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks during the opening of the 144th Ordinary Session of the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 01 March 2026. EPA/JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI
Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks during the opening of the 144th Ordinary Session of the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 01 March 2026. EPA/JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI
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Argentina's Milei Wants 'Strategic Alliance' with US to be State Policy

Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks during the opening of the 144th Ordinary Session of the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 01 March 2026. EPA/JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI
Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks during the opening of the 144th Ordinary Session of the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 01 March 2026. EPA/JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI

Argentina President Javier Milei said Sunday that he wants to make the "strategic alliance" with the United States led by ally President Donald Trump a "state policy."

In a state of the nation address to parliament, the Argentine leader said "the South Atlantic is the strategic battleground of the coming decades," arguing Argentina must be a "player" in the region.

"We must create the century of the Americas: Make Americas Great Again, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego," he added, according to AFP.

Devoting the majority of his speech to his government's macroeconomic successes over the past two years, particularly in combating inflation, Milei said he wanted to press his reforms further.

He announced an ambitious package of 90 reforms in an address to parliament on Sunday, which he said would "redesign" Argentina "for the next 50 years."

The reforms are expected to address the economy, taxes, the criminal code, the electoral system, education, justice and defense, Milei said in his address, which was marked by verbal clashes with opposition lawmakers.

There will be "nine uninterrupted months of structural reforms that will reshape the institutional architecture of the New Argentina," he said.

President since 2023, Milei begins this parliamentary year in a position of political strength, bolstered by his electoral success in the midterm elections in October.