US, European Countries Call on Iran to Work with UN Watchdog 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)
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US, European Countries Call on Iran to Work with UN Watchdog 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)

Iran must "cooperate fully" with the UN's nuclear watchdog, according to a draft resolution submitted to the agency's board by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and seen by AFP on Wednesday.

Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared in recent years, with relations being further strained in the wake of a 12-day war in June that saw Israeli and US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

Since the war, agency inspectors have not been granted access to key nuclear sites such as Fordo and Natanz, which were hit in the strikes in June, but they have been able to visit other sites.

The draft, which is expected to be voted on by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during its meeting this week, stresses that it is "imperative" for Iran to comply with its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

It also urges Iran to provide "access that the agency requests".

Last week the IAEA called on Iran to allow it to verify its enriched uranium inventories, especially its sensitive stockpile of highly enriched uranium that was "long overdue", according to a confidential report seen by AFP.

"Iran has failed over the past five months to provide the IAEA with requested information regarding the status of its enriched uranium stockpiles and safeguarded nuclear facilities," the resolution reads.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the country had no undeclared uranium enrichment sites.

Araghchi added there was "no enrichment" taking place at present because the sites were damaged in the recent war with Israel.

The assertion came after US media outlets, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, reported that Iran had accelerated construction at a secret underground nuclear site called "Pickaxe Mountain", or Kuh-e Kolang, near its Natanz facility.

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war during which the US briefly joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

In the aftermath of the war, Tehran suspended its cooperation with the IAEA and restricted the watchdog's inspectors from accessing the bombed sites, accusing it of bias and failing to condemn the attacks.

During Sunday's forum in Tehran, Iranian officials warned the UN body against adopting an anti-Iran resolution.

"In case of a resolution, Iran will consider a review of its relations with the IAEA and will conduct a fundamental review," said Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi.



Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
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Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)

Britain will this week hold a meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street press conference, without specifying the day of the talks.

The meeting will "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities", Starmer said.

"Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped," he added.

The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", Starmer said.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.

Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on February 28, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

A fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.

"I do have to level with people on this. This (reopening) will not be easy," Starmer said.

The UK leader also backed NATO following renewed criticism of the eight-decade-old alliance by US President Donald Trump.

"NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO," Starmer said.

Trump told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in an article published Wednesday that NATO was a "paper tiger".

Asked whether he would reconsider US membership, he replied: "Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration," the paper reported.

Last month, Trump told the Financial Times that it would be "very bad for the future of NATO" if members fail to help reopen the vital waterway.

On Tuesday, he said that countries which have not joined the war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US would not help them.


France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

NATO is a military alliance that ensures the security of the Euro-atlantic area and is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz that would breach international law, France's junior army minister said on Wednesday.

"Let me remind you what NATO is. It is a military alliance concerned with the security of the Euro-Atlantic region. It is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which would be a breach of international law," Alice Rufo said at the War & Peace conference in Paris, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to back US military action against Iran, according to an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph.


King Charles to Address US Congress on April 28

King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
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King Charles to Address US Congress on April 28

King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)
King Charles greets the public outside Clitheroe Station (AP)

Britain's King Charles will address the US Congress on April 28 during his visit to Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Charles and his wife Queen Camilla will visit the US in a long-planned trip to mark the 250th anniversary of that country's independence from British rule, before the couple pay a visit to Bermuda, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.

The high-profile trip comes as the British government hopes to repair relations with Donald Trump, which have been damaged by the Iran war, according to Reuters.

It will be the first state visit by a British monarch since 2007, when Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth made what was the fourth such US trip of her reign.

Trump said the king and queen's visit would begin on April 27 with a banquet dinner at the White House the next day.