Iran Nuclear

Iran’s nuclear chief on Monday said the UN atomic watchdog has no right to demand inspections of sites attacked by the United States and Israel in June, deepening the stalemate over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

The UN nuclear watchdog has resumed inspection activities in Iran but remains unable to access several of the country’s most sensitive nuclear sites following June strikes, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Iran's nuclear program is "gonzo" after air attacks he ordered in June and that it faced "obliteration" if restarted, telling Tehran they could avoid more destruction with a nuclear deal.

US Senator John Fetterman advocated attacking Iran again if it resumes uranium enrichment, aligning himself with President Donald Trump and cementing his status as a leading foreign policy hawk among Democrats.

The mood in Tehran appears to be shifting from a sense of imminent danger that followed the June war to a more resigned belief that diplomacy with Washington is stuck in a strategic stalemate rather than a temporary lull.

Iran’s existing nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not account for wartime conditions and must be revised to protect national security, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Tuesday.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says there is a risk of radiation release at nuclear facilities bombed during the 12-day war in June, contradicting earlier assurances from Tehran.

Iranian lawmaker Fada-Hossein Maleki said on Friday that the United States has sent messages indicating interest in negotiations, but Tehran has no plans to engage.

Israel's quarrel with Iran will end either with a full scale war including a ground invasion or through talks, ex-air force chief Major General Eitan Ben Eliyahu said in an interview with the 103fm radio station on Thursday.

A senior member of the Iranian parliament said on Monday that US President Donald Trump had sent a message to Tehran via Saudi Crown Prince listing three conditions for any resumption of talks.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara would do “whatever we can” to help resolve Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue and international law, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, following talks in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s latest rebuke shows that Iran’s turn to nuclear ambiguity is deepening concerns and may accelerate an escalation that all sides insist they want to avoid.

The Trump administration has responded to a message from Iran’s president, conveyed through the Saudi crown prince, by saying its three conditions for any negotiations with Tehran remain unchanged, sources told Iran International.

Iran has repeatedly turned down talks with the Trump administration while Washington keeps the door open for serious dialogue, a State Department spokesperson told Iran International on Thursday.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Tehran remained open to resuming talks with Washington but US preconditions rendered negotiations impossible for now.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that approaching nuclear sites hit in recent strikes is unsafe and said inspections there can only resume under new security arrangements.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said no direct nuclear negotiations are taking place with the United States, but channels remain open if Washington decided to change stance.

Iranian scientists linked to the country’s defense establishment are marketing radiation-detection instruments that they say contain UK-made components from a supplier based in south London borough of Croydon, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.