Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.



US Flies Long-Range Bomber for Drill with South Korea as North Marks Key State Anniversary 

In this photo, provided by South Korea Air Force, two US Air Force B-1B bomber, top left, fly over the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jet, F-16 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets in South Korea during the joint aerial drills of South Korea and the United States, at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (South Korea Air Force via AP)
In this photo, provided by South Korea Air Force, two US Air Force B-1B bomber, top left, fly over the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jet, F-16 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets in South Korea during the joint aerial drills of South Korea and the United States, at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (South Korea Air Force via AP)
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US Flies Long-Range Bomber for Drill with South Korea as North Marks Key State Anniversary 

In this photo, provided by South Korea Air Force, two US Air Force B-1B bomber, top left, fly over the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jet, F-16 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets in South Korea during the joint aerial drills of South Korea and the United States, at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (South Korea Air Force via AP)
In this photo, provided by South Korea Air Force, two US Air Force B-1B bomber, top left, fly over the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jet, F-16 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets in South Korea during the joint aerial drills of South Korea and the United States, at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (South Korea Air Force via AP)

The United States flew long-range B-1B bombers in a show of force against North Korea on Tuesday, days after the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to resist a US-led push to eliminate the North’s nuclear program.

North Korea often reacts to the US deployment of B-1B bombers and other powerful military assets with missile tests and fiery rhetoric. Tuesday’s flyover of the US bombers could draw an angrier response because it happened when North Korea was marking a key anniversary — the 113th birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of the current leader.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the US bombers participated in a South Korea-US aerial drill over the Korean Peninsula to strengthen the allies’ combined operational capability and demonstrate their deterrence capability against North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.

A ministry statement said South Korean F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and American F-16 fighter jets also took part in the training. It said South Korea and the US will continue to expand their joint military exercises to respond to North Korean nuclear threats.

It was the second time a US B-1B's had participated in a drill with South Korea since President Donald Trump began his second term in January.

In February, North Korea’s Defense Ministry slammed the B-1B's earlier flyover as proof of intensifying US-led provocations since Trump’s inauguration. It pledged to counter the strategic threat of the US with strategic means. Days later, North Korea test-fired cruise missiles in what it called an attempt to show its nuclear counterattack capability.

Trump has repeatedly said he will reach out to Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy. North Korea hasn’t directly responded to Trump’s outreach.

Last Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong — Kim’s sister and a senior official — derided the US and its Asian allies over what she called their “daydream” of denuclearizing the North, insisting that the country will never give up its nuclear weapons program.

Her statement came as a response to a recent meeting among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan where they reaffirmed their commitment to push for the North’s denuclearization.

The Kim Il Sung birthday, called “the Day of Sun,” is one of the most important holidays in North Korea.

On Tuesday, the country's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued an editorial urging the public to rally behind Kim Jong Un to achieve national prosperity. In recent days, North Korea has held seminars, performances and other events commemorating the founder's achievements.