Tehran Rejects Cooperation with IAEA Beyond Scope of Safeguards Agreement

A picture distributed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran of the sixth-generation centrifuges at an exhibition of the nuclear industry last week 
A picture distributed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran of the sixth-generation centrifuges at an exhibition of the nuclear industry last week 
TT

Tehran Rejects Cooperation with IAEA Beyond Scope of Safeguards Agreement

A picture distributed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran of the sixth-generation centrifuges at an exhibition of the nuclear industry last week 
A picture distributed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran of the sixth-generation centrifuges at an exhibition of the nuclear industry last week 

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said that his country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) falls under the IAEA safeguards.

Eslami dismissed comments that as many as 100 new cameras have been set up at a nuclear power plant in Isfahan.

“The AEOI will act based on the Strategic Action Plan,” he said.

The Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions was approved by the Iranian parliament in December 2020. It required the Iranian administration to restrict the IAEA inspections.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said last week that the country's nuclear authorities should continue working with the UN nuclear watchdog "under the framework of safeguards."

Khamenei called on Iranian authorities not to yield to the IAEA's "excessive and false demands".

"There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched," Khamenei said, according to state media.

"This is a good law ... which must be respected and not violated in providing access and information (to the IAEA)," added Khamenei

Having failed to revive the deal in indirect talks that have stalled since September, Iranian and Western officials have met repeatedly in recent weeks to sketch out steps that could curb Iran's fast-advancing nuclear work, free some US and European detainees held in Iran, and unfreeze some Iranian assets abroad.

Both sides are discussing more Iranian cooperation with the IAEA, Reuters quoted a Western official as saying, and could include Iran committing to pause enriching uranium by 60%.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani said in a tweet on Wednesday that he "had a serious and constructive" meeting with European Union foreign policy official Enrique Mora in Doha.

"We exchanged views and discussed a range of issues including negotiations on sanctions lifting,” he added.

For his part, Mora tweeted saying: “Intense talks yesterday and today with Vice Minister Bagheri Kani in Doha on a range of difficult bilateral, regional and international issues, including the way forward on the JCPOA.”

Kani said last week that he had met diplomats from the European Troika in the UAE to discuss "a range of issues and mutual concerns".

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the bloc was "keeping diplomatic channels open, including through this meeting in Doha, to address all issues of concern with Iran".



Israel Rattled by Talk That Netanyahu May Replace Defense Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
TT

Israel Rattled by Talk That Netanyahu May Replace Defense Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)

Reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shook the political landscape and sent Israeli financial markets lower on Monday.

Israel's leading television channels and news websites reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.

Such a move would be a major shock to the political and security landscape, especially with the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The shekel weakened 1% to nearly 3.75 versus the dollar, while main Tel Aviv share indices were down 1.4% to 1.6%.

The Israeli currency was expected to appreciate after data on Sunday showed Israel's inflation rate rose more than expected to 3.6% in August, a jump analysts said would delay rate cuts well into 2025 in contrast to expected rate cuts in the United States and Europe.

Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members of the coalition.

NETANYAHU AND GALLANT AT ODDS

It would not be the first time Netanyahu has tried to fire Gallant. The two have been at odds over a number of government policies and, more recently, the handling of the war in Gaza and the terms of a possible hostage release and ceasefire deal with the Hamas movement.

Centrist lawmakers criticized Netanyahu for getting sidetracked by political wrangling rather than focusing on the task at hand.

"Instead of the prime minister being busy with victory over Hamas, returning the hostages, with the war against Hezbollah and allowing (evacuated) residents of the north to return to their homes, he is busy with despicable political dealings and replacing the defense minister," centrist lawmaker Benny Gantz wrote on social media.

Police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads an ultranationalist party in Netanyahu's coalition, has for months been advocating to replace Gallant and called for his immediate dismissal.

"We must resolve the situation in the north and Gallant is not the right man to lead this," Ben-Gvir said referring to a possible escalation with Hezbollah.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced near the Lebanese border in the north due to daily rocket fire from Hezbollah.

Gallant, who rose to the rank of general during a 35-year military career, on Sunday told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin he was committed to returning residents back to their homes and that the "possibility for an agreed framework is running out."

On Monday, he said the only way to return residents evacuated from the north to their homes was with military action.

In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.