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Grossi: No Signs Iran Tried to Repair Nuclear Facilities Damaged in US Strikes

Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
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Grossi: No Signs Iran Tried to Repair Nuclear Facilities Damaged in US Strikes

Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The head of the UN nuclear agency said Tuesday there has been no indication Iran has tried to repair or reconstruct its nuclear facilities damaged in US and Israeli military strikes this year or last year.

President Donald Trump has said one of the major reasons the US went to war with Iran on February 28 was to deny Tehran the ability to develop nuclear weapons, even as he has insisted that strikes the US carried out on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025 “obliterated” the country’s atomic program.

During a UN Security Council meeting, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi urged Iran to give inspectors access to all nuclear sites, including those damaged in the military attacks.

The IAEA has not been able to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the US bombed its sites last year.

However, Grossi said that “since June 2025, we have not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct any of the facilities damaged in the military attacks of 2025 and 2026.”

Trump has consistently downplayed the economic impact of the Iran war, which has emerged as a liability for Republicans heading into next week’s midterm elections, and has argued that higher fuel prices are worth paying to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

The White House didn’t immediately respond Tuesday evening to a request for comment on Grossi’s remarks.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, the IAEA says the country has a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

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World

Cyclone Arnab Hits India’s Andhra Pradesh State as Tens of Thousands Are Evacuated

A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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Cyclone Arnab Hits India’s Andhra Pradesh State as Tens of Thousands Are Evacuated

A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Cyclone Arnab dumped heavy rain across India ’s eastern Andhra Pradesh state and caused extensive damage in some areas Wednesday after tens of thousands of people were evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas.

Prakhar Jain, head of the state’s disaster management authority, said the cyclone had weakened slightly before landfall earlier in the day but brought heavy to very heavy rainfall to several coastal districts, triggering widespread disruption in affected areas. No casualties were reported and damage was being assessed.

State disaster management officials said late Wednesday morning that wind speeds were up to 135 kph (84 mph).

Officials said the cyclone was expected to weaken further as it moved inland, with wind speeds likely to ease later in the day.

The cyclone left a trail of destruction across the state’s fertile Konaseema district, which officials said was the worst hit so far.

Banana and coconut plantations suffered extensively and a large number of trees and electricity poles were uprooted, disrupting electricity across the district, officials said.

Fallen trees blocked several roads, and disaster management workers rushed to clear roads and restore connectivity. About 6,000 electric poles were uprooted in Konaseema alone, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department said the landfall process was complete and heavy rainfall as well as strong winds would continue under the cyclone's influence in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and parts of southern Odisha state. The rainfall flooded several low-lying areas of the port city of Visakhapatnam.

Cyclone Arnab weakened to a "severe" cyclonic storm Wednesday, the department said in an update.

Arnab’s outer bands began lashing parts of the Andhra Pradesh coast first late Tuesday as the storm intensified over the Bay of Bengal and moved toward an earlier-than-expected landfall.

Authorities began evacuating people from low-lying and flood-prone areas ahead of the cyclone's landfall. They also canceled some train services as heavy rain and gusty winds started lashing parts of the coast. At least 89,000 people were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, according to an official statement.

The state’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s expected path.

Authorities set up over 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts, while emergency alerts were being sent to the mobile phones of millions of residents, Jain said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. More than 30,000 fishing boats were secured along the coast, while nearly 1,100 medical teams were deployed across affected areas to provide emergency assistance, he added.

In neighboring Odisha, officials planned to evacuate about 48,000 people from areas likely to be affected by the storm.

World

Hegseth Proposes ‘Ambitious’ US-ASEAN Defense Framework at Philippine Summit

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
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Hegseth Proposes ‘Ambitious’ US-ASEAN Defense Framework at Philippine Summit

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proposed the creation of an "ambitious" new US-ASEAN defense framework on Wednesday, telling the bloc's leaders it could help them navigate "critically important" years ahead.

The United States has been seeking to boost its regional defense partnerships in recent years, citing the need to uphold what it terms a "free and open Indo-Pacific" as China has increasingly flexed its muscles in the region.

Hegseth, speaking before a meeting with defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu, praised what he called the region's "pragmatism" and "proud nationalism".

"We're not going to agree on everything, nor do we need to," he said, calling for cooperation where shared interests overlap.

"As we look to the future in this region, I'd like us to be even more ambitious... we propose that we work together to develop a US-ASEAN Framework for Defense Cooperation," Hegseth said, without offering details.

"A practical framework that guides our cooperation over the next several years. I will note a critically important next several years."

He added that the United States was ready to begin the project as Singapore assumes the chairmanship of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in the coming year.

The grouping includes not only the bloc's 11 member states but representatives from the United States, Japan, China, Australia and others.

Hegseth also called for the strengthening of "maritime domain awareness" and advanced cooperation among naval forces.

"These are not symbolic things; they are concrete demonstrations of what serious partners do, serious partners train together, learn together, plan together, and build the confidence and competence necessary to prevent conflict," he said.

US ally the Philippines has been engaged in years of confrontations with China over disputed areas of the South China Sea.

China's military and coast guard presence in contested areas of the critical waterway nearly doubled in September, Manila said this month.

Japanese defense chief Shinjiro Koizumi met Hegseth earlier on the sidelines of the Cebu event, where they discussed the need to implement "an effective denial defense in the First Island Chain", a reference to islands that lie between China and the open Pacific.

The two allies also committed to continued "close coordination" on munitions production.

World

ISIS Militants Kill at Least 20 Somali Soldiers in Ambush

FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
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ISIS Militants Kill at Least 20 Somali Soldiers in Ambush

FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

Militants killed at least 20 Somali soldiers in an ambush, a military officer who survived the attack said, as the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but disclosed no troop casualties.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group, which has fought Somalia’s government for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack near Jameeca village in southern Somalia.

The Defense Ministry said its troops killed about 75 militants and wounded 56 during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab claimed it killed 321 soldiers and captured prisoners and military equipment.

The casualty figures and claims of captured soldiers and equipment could not be independently verified.

Abshir Abdikarim, a military officer traveling with the convoy, told The Associated Press by phone late Tuesday that he saw at least 20 of his fellow soldiers dead after the attack. He said troops had advanced from Leego into Jameeca, in Burhakaba district in the Bay region, where they exchanged heavy gunfire with militants.

Some soldiers previously reported missing reached Baledogle on Tuesday, he said, while others remained unaccounted for.

The ministry described the confrontation as an assault on militant positions.

Al-Shabab said its fighters ambushed a convoy advancing into territory under its control.

The ministry said militants used explosives-laden vehicles to attack army vehicles, damaging some of them. It did not specify how many were damaged or address the claims that soldiers had been captured.

Al-Shabab said it seized Turkish-supplied armored vehicles, armed pickup trucks, supply trucks, weapons and ammunition.

African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011, but the group adapted through guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings and targeted assassinations.

Somali authorities have reported territorial gains during a US-backed military campaign, although access restrictions have made those claims difficult to verify independently. The militants have retained the ability to operate across large areas of central and southern Somalia.

The fighting comes amid a separate struggle for control of South West state.

Government troops last month clashed near Baidoa with militias loyal to former regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, who resigned after federal forces seized the city in March.

The Defense Ministry said government forces would continue to target al-Shabab positions and disrupt efforts by its fighters to regroup.