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West Avoids Seriously Confronting Iran as IAEA Meets

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
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West Avoids Seriously Confronting Iran as IAEA Meets

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner

A quarterly meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog's main policy-making body began on Monday with Western powers again choosing not to seriously confront Iran over its failure to cooperate with the agency on a range of issues, diplomats said.
It is more than a year since the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution ordering Iran to cooperate with a years-long IAEA investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites, saying it was "essential and urgent" for Iran to explain the traces.
Since then the number of undeclared sites being investigated has shrunk to two from three but the list of problems between the IAEA and Iran has only grown. Iran failed to fully honor an agreement to re-install IAEA cameras at some sites and in September barred some of the agency's most valued inspectors.
"I ... deeply regret that Iran has yet to reverse its decision to withdraw the designations for several experienced Agency inspectors," director general Rafael Grossi told the Board meeting.
"Only through constructive and meaningful engagement can all of these concerns be addressed and once again I call upon Iran to cooperate fully and unambiguously with the Agency."
With Israel's military offensive in Gaza continuing in response to Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks, heightening tensions across the Middle East, the United States did not want to risk further diplomatic escalation with Iran by pushing for a resolution against it at the IAEA, diplomats said.
"If you did do an (IAEA Board) resolution right now ... it's too dangerous to do anything that could be construed as a wrong signal that could trigger a miscalculation," a Western diplomat said, citing various factors.
"The region is in this heightened state, you don't have a ceasefire or resolution of any sort in Gaza, we don't have the prospects of any kind of nuclear solution, and ... the US is going into presidential elections," they said.
Diplomats had said before the Board meeting that the three European powers that proposed the last resolution jointly with the United States and generally act in coordination with Washington - Britain, France, and Germany, known as the 'E3' - were pushing for a resolution and had drafted a text.
Washington, however, has opposed seeking a resolution against Iran for months, at least in part because of the impending US presidential election in November, diplomats have said, and again it was the most reluctant of the four powers.
The United States and E3 have been vocal in criticizing Iran on these and other issues, such as its growing stockpile of enriched uranium that would be enough, if enriched further, to fuel several nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such intention.

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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)

One week after its worst cyclone in nearly a century, and a day after a testy presidential visit, France’s impoverished Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte is still grappling with counting the dead, restoring essential services and aiding a beleaguered population.

Cyclone Chido wreaked devastation across the archipelago. Already stretched thin, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering not only from cyclone-related injuries but also from dehydration, malnutrition and disease.

At Mayotte’s main hospital in the capital, Mamoudzou, doctors faced a cascade of crises.

“We lost 40% of patient rooms, about 50 to 60 beds,” said Dr. Roger Serhal, chief of the obstetrics and gynecology department. “There are so many patients coming to the hospital, and we don’t have space to admit them.”

As Chido battered the archipelago last weekend with 220 kph (136 mph) winds, Serhal and his team delivered three babies, including by cesarean section.

The hospital’s structural damage has forced staff to triage patients, prioritizing the most severe cases. Though the official death toll remains 35, according to the French Interior Ministry on Saturday, the number of seriously injured has risen to 78, with 2,432 others sustaining minor injuries. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq has warned that any estimates are likely major undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.”

Emergency aid was being delivered by air and sea. Since the cyclone, 31 tons of food and 108 tons of water have arrived, with an additional 1.6 million liters of water expected Monday aboard a container ship, according to the Interior Ministry.

The hospital is operating at 50% capacity, while 109 patients have been evacuated to mainland France for urgent care. Three advanced medical posts have been established on Grande-Terre, Mayotte’s main island, to address the surge in need.

The storm has devastated entire neighborhoods. Many people ignored warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme. Even worse, many migrants avoided shelters out of fear of deportation, authorities said, adding there could be hundreds or possibly thousands of fatalities.

Doctors fear that the lack of clean water and electricity — compounded by overcrowded living conditions — is setting the stage for a health crisis. “Patients are coming because their illnesses are untreated, there’s no water, and no electricity. We’re concerned about epidemics, like the cholera outbreak we stopped just months ago,” said Dr. Vincent Gilles, the hospital’s emergency medical director.

The hospital staff continues to work tirelessly, but resources are running dangerously low. “If we have rain it will be catastrophic,” Serhal said.

Among the patients struggling to recover is Saindou Mohamadi, 54, who fractured his arm and sprained his ankle during the storm that left his home completely destroyed.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mohamadi expressed despair for his family. “My mother is sick, I’m sick, and my child is sick,” he said. “They need to eat, but I’m the one who takes care of the food, and now we have nothing.” With six children to support, Mohamadi is among countless residents left homeless and destitute.

“I’m not alone,” he said. “There are many of us who have lost everything — our houses, our food. I want the government to care about us, to give us food and a place to sleep.”

Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of over 320,000 people, is also home to an estimated 100,000 migrants, many living in precarious conditions.

The poorest overseas region of France and, by extension, the European Union has long struggled with systemic neglect and underinvestment. Around 75% of its population lives in poverty, and the archipelago’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to withstand a disaster of this magnitude. Chido’s destruction has compounded these challenges, leaving many residents with little faith in the government’s ability to provide timely and adequate relief.

Efforts to deliver emergency aid, including airlifts of water and food, are underway, but the scale of the need is staggering. Mayotte’s airport remains closed to civilian flights due to damage, further complicating logistics.

French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit on Friday, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and pledged to rebuild but faced criticism from residents frustrated by the slow pace of aid.

Calling the archipelago “totally devastated,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau painted a bleak picture — with some 70% of the population gravely affected by the catastrophe, and many left homeless and vulnerable. For now, the island’s residents and its overstretched medical staff are left to confront the daunting aftermath of Chido, one day at a time.