IAEA sounds alarm over buried uranium stockpile as US-Iran standoff grinds on
Summary
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said Iran’s 60%-enriched uranium stockpile could theoretically yield “maybe a dozen” nuclear devices and inspectors still lack access to key bombed sites.
President Trump said he insisted on pursuing diplomacy with Iran in his meeting with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday.
The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for possible deployment to the Middle East as the US military prepares for a potential attack on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Islamic Republic marked the anniversary of its establishment with state-organized nationwide rallies and fireworks, while anti-government chants were reported overnight from residential neighborhoods.
Iran’s foreign minister, a Khamenei adviser and IRGC officials said missiles are non-negotiable, warning any war would spread across the region and dismissing US military threats.
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EU Parliament warns Iran protest deaths could constitute crimes against humanity
Lawmakers said that the death toll from the latest wave of protests may have reached around 35,000 and called for alleged atrocities to be independently documented by United Nations bodies, with evidence preserved for potential future prosecutions.
In a resolution adopted by 524 votes in favor, three against and 41 abstentions, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) demanded an immediate end to violence against civilians, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and torture.
They also urged Iranian authorities to stop prosecuting doctors and healthcare workers over treating injured protesters.
Protesters must pay for unrest damages, Iran prosecutor general says
Compensation for damages during the recent uprising in Iran should be recovered from protesters, the country’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
“Compensation for damages must be taken from the rioters,” Mohammad Movahedi said.
He also addressed the families of those detained during protests, saying they “should rest assured that treatment of those detained is carried out fully within the framework of the law.”
Iran monitoring enemy moves around the clock, navy commander says
Iran is keeping its adversaries’ movement under full-time surveillance, the navy commander said on Wednesday.
“We monitor the movements of the enemies day and night,” Shahram Irani said. “What they fear more than anything is the people of Iran.”
Iran to close Hormuz Strait if war breaks out, official warns
Any US-Iran war would threaten energy security and could lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, warns the secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.
“If a war happens in the region, energy security will be endangered, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed,” Jalal Dehghani Firouzabadi said.
He added that if the strait is closed, “the first country to be harmed is China,” arguing that this makes China oppose war.
Iran uranium stockpile could yield 'maybe a dozen' bombs - IAEA
Up to a dozen nuclear devices could theoretically be made from Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that remains buried under bombed underground sites, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said, warning inspectors still lack access months after the attacks.
Grossi said Iran has blocked International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from entering key enrichment facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan that were struck during last June’s 12-day war between Israel, the United States and Iran.
Tehran says 400 kg of uranium enriched to just above 60% purity – close to weapons grade – remains under the rubble. Western powers have voiced concern about the material’s fate.
“The material is there and this material is enough to manufacture a few, maybe a dozen devices,” Grossi said, adding the IAEA has a “firm impression” the uranium remains at the underground sites, though it cannot be fully certain without physical inspection.
He said Iran had cited the need for “specific measures or protocols” before allowing access, describing that as “fundamentally a political stance.”
“Compliance for us means giving us full access to inspect,” Grossi said, noting that under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Iran is permitted to enrich uranium but must allow verification to ensure material is not diverted.
Inspectors have also been unable to visit a newly declared underground facility in Isfahan that was due to be inspected on June 13 – the day Israel began its bombing campaign.
US must destroy Khamenei and Iran regime, analyst Mark Levin says
The United States is organizing for a major attack on Iran, Mark Levin, a conservative American media figure, said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, voicing hope it would lead to regime change.
“My guess is that we’re organizing now for a major attack, hoping for regime change, because that’s the only thing that will work,” he said. “This regime must be destroyed, starting with Khamenei and down.”
Levin added, “I don’t think we’re putting about a third of our fleet in and around the Middle East just for leverage. That’s my guess.”
He said Trump was “very good at hiding the ball” and sending mixed messages that confuse “enemies and allies alike,” and said he believed Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were “in the same boat.”
Levin also issued a direct threat toward Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying: “We’re coming to get you.”
Iran must cease killings and violent suppression, Australia says
Australia urged Iran to end killings, the use of force, and arbitrary detention of protesters, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Thursday.
“We have called on the Iranian government to cease killings, the use of force, and arbitrary detention in response to its violent suppression of recent protests,” a spokesperson said.
Australia could not confirm media reports that an Iranian individual who previously lived in Australia had been executed in Iran, the spokesperson added.
According to The Guardian, “there are grave fears for a former Canberra high school student after claims he was killed in Iran.”
Iran understands ‘brute force,' says US treasury secretary
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday Iran understands the language of force as he raised the possibility that President Donald Trump could order another attack against the country.
“What the Iranians understand is brute force, whether it's in the financial markets, whether it's on the military field and at Treasury, we have exercised maximum pressure,” he said in an interview on Fox News.
His remarks came after Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House earlier Wednesday.
Bessent described their discussions as “very detailed talks,” without elaborating further.
Adding Iran missiles to US talks risks another war, Turkey warns
The United States and Iran appear willing to compromise to reach a nuclear deal, the Turkish foreign minister told the Financial Times and warned that expanding the talks to include Tehran’s ballistic missile program would risk “nothing but another war.”
“It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,” Hakan Fidan said, adding that Tehran now recognizes it needs an agreement and Washington understands Iran has “certain limits.”
“It’s pointless to try to force them,” he added.
Fidan also dismissed the prospect of regime change in Iran even in a conflict, saying government institutions and other targets could be badly damaged, but “the regime as a political entity would be a functioning entity.”
High-resolution satellite imagery shows Iran is reinforcing tunnel entrances at a major underground facility at Kolang-Gaz La Mountain, also known as “Pickaxe Mountain,” the Institute for Science and International Security reported.
The imagery, dated February 10, indicates ongoing efforts to harden two main tunnel portals, with heavy equipment — including dump trucks, cement mixers, backhoes and cranes — operating across the site.
Concrete was seen being poured atop an extension of the western entrance, while rock and soil were pushed back and leveled above an eastern portal, the report said.
A concrete-reinforced headworks structure has also been added in recent weeks to allow additional layers of rock, soil or concrete for protection.
The group said the fortification work appears aimed at strengthening the tunnel complex against potential airstrikes.
