IAEA: Monitoring Devices Return to Some Iranian Sites

Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (file photo: Reuters)
Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (file photo: Reuters)
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IAEA: Monitoring Devices Return to Some Iranian Sites

Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (file photo: Reuters)
Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (file photo: Reuters)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran has reinstalled some monitoring equipment initially put under the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, which Iran removed last year.

The director of the UN agency, Rafael Grossi, said in two quarterly reports that the agency was "awaiting Iran's engagement to address" issues, including installing more monitoring equipment announced months ago.

The monitoring equipment included surveillance cameras at a site in Isfahan, where centrifuge parts are made, and monitoring equipment at two declared enrichment facilities, according to the two confidential reports addressed to IAEA member states.

- Undisclosed sites

Regarding the ongoing investigation of traces of uranium in three undisclosed sites, the agency said that Iran had provided a "satisfactory answer" on one of them to explain the presence of particles there.

The report stated that the agency has no further questions, and the issue is no longer pending.

Iranian media said Tuesday that it settled two disputed cases with the IAEA, one related to finding traces of uranium at the Marivan site in Abadah, in Fars province.

The Marivan site is the first of three locations to be addressed under a work plan Iran, and the IAEA agreed upon last March. It was not reported in the 2015 nuclear deal talks.

Iran also announced a settlement over the IAEA's discovery of traces of 83.7 percent enriched uranium at the Fordow facility earlier this year.

- Iran stockpile

The IAEA reports confirmed that Iran continues to violate the restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities, and its total stockpile of enriched uranium continues to grow and is now 23 times the 202.8-kg limit set by the 2015 deal, at 4.7 tons.

The permissible limit in the agreement is 202.8 kilograms.

Iran's stock of enriched uranium has enriched to up to 60 percent to 141.1 kilograms since February.

Last October, the IAEA estimated that Iran possessed 62.3 percent of uranium of the 60 percent uranium. Back then, experts said Iran's stockpile was enough to make one bomb if it decided to do so.

After relations between Iran and the West deteriorated, Tehran limited its cooperation with the agency and removed surveillance cameras from some facilities.

It also gradually reneged on most of its commitments within the framework of the agreement concluded in 2015 between Tehran and the US, France, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany after then-President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal.

The US State Department said it has "full confidence" in the IAEA and that President Joe "absolutely committed to never allowing Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," according to the Associated Press.

"We appreciate the IAEA's extensive efforts to engage Iran on longstanding questions related to Iran's safeguards obligations," the State Department said. "We have made clear that Iran must fully uphold its safeguards obligations."



US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
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US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP

A US immigration judge has blocked the deportation of a Palestinian graduate student who helped organize protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza, according to US media reports.

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents last year as he was attending an interview to become a US citizen.

Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of demonstrations that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel began a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian born in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has been a legal US permanent resident since 2015 and graduated from the prestigious New York university in May. He has been free from federal custody since April.

In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said that President Donald Trump's administration did not provide sufficient evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States, multiple media outlets reported.

Froes reportedly questioned the authenticity of a copy of a document purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said Mahdawi's activism "could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment," according to the New York Times.

Rubio has argued that federal law grants him the authority to summarily revoke visas and deport migrants who pose threats to US foreign policy.

The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which marked a setback in the Republican president's efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus activists.

The administration has also attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, another student activist who co-founded a Palestinian student group at Columbia, alongside Mahdawi.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government's attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys and published Tuesday by several media outlets.

"This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice."


Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
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Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)

A fire broke out in Iran's Parand near the capital city Tehran, state media reported on Wednesday, publishing videos of smoke rising over the area which is close to several military and strategic sites in the country's Tehran province, Reuters reported.

"The black smoke seen near the city of Parand is the result of a fire in the reeds around the Parand river bank... fire fighters are on site and the fire extinguishing operation is underway", state media cited the Parand fire department as saying.


Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force it wants assurances from the United States that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three sources told Reuters.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the first formal meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, alongside delegations from at least 20 countries.

Trump, who will chair the meeting, is expected to announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave.

Three government sources said during the Washington visit Sharif wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before making a decision on deploying troops.

"We are ready to send troops. Let me make it clear that our troops could only be part of a peace mission in Gaza," said one of the sources, a close aide of Sharif.

"We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question," he said.

Analysts say Pakistan would be an asset to the multinational force, with its experienced military that has gone to war with arch-rival India and tackled insurgencies.

"We can send initially a couple of thousand troops anytime, but we need to know what role they are going to play," the source added.

Two of the sources said it was likely Sharif, who has met Trump earlier this year in Davos and late last year at the White House, would either have an audience with him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day at the White House.

Initially designed to cement Gaza's ceasefire, Trump sees the Board of Peace, launched in late January, taking a wider role in resolving global conflicts. Some countries have reacted cautiously, fearing it could become a rival to the United Nations.

While Pakistan has supported the establishment of the board, it has voiced concerns against the mission to demilitarize Gaza's militant group Hamas.