TEHRAN: UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran Monday, where he is expected to speak at a conference and meet officials for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tensions and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticizing Iran for lack of cooperation on inspections and other outstanding issues.
News agencies reported Grossi’s arrival “at the head of a delegation to participate in the nuclear conference and negotiate with top nuclear and political officials of the country.”
He met with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and is scheduled to meet Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami.
Grossi later said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that at his meeting with the foreign minister he proposed “concrete practical measures” with the “aim of restoring process of confidence building and increasing transparency.”
Grossi is also expected to deliver a speech at Iran’s first International Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, which began on Monday.
At its opening ceremony, Eslami expressed hopes of cooperation with the IAEA, saying this was “at the forefront of the Islamic republic of Iran’s policies.”
“We hope that the agency can play its role as an independent international institution free from political pressures,” he added.
The three-day event is being held in Isfahan province, home to the Natanz uranium enrichment plant and where strikes attributed to Israel hit last month.
IAEA and Iranian officials reported “no damage” to nuclear facilities after the reported attack on Isfahan.
This was widely seen as Israel’s response to Iran’s first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe days earlier, which itself was retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s Damascus consulate.
On Wednesday Eslami said he was “sure that these negotiations will further help clear ambiguities, and we will be able to strengthen our relations with the agency.”
Iran has in recent years deactivated IAEA monitoring devices at its nuclear facilities and barred inspectors, according to the UN agency.
Grossi last visited in March 2023 and met top officials including President Ebrahim Raisi.
Iran has suspended its compliance with caps on nuclear activities set by a landmark 2015 deal with major powers after the United States in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and reimposed sweeping sanctions.
Tensions between Iran and the IAEA have repeatedly flared since the deal fell apart, and EU-mediated efforts have so far failed both to bring Washington back on board and to get Tehran to again comply with the terms of the accord.
Last year, Iran slowed the pace of its uranium enrichment, which was seen as a goodwill gesture while informal talks began with the United States.
But the Vienna-based UN nuclear agency said Iran accelerated the production of 60-percent enriched uranium in late 2023.
Enrichment levels of around 90 percent are required for military use.
Tehran has consistently denied wanting to develop nuclear weapons, insisting that its atomic activities were entirely peaceful.
In February, the IAEA said in a confidential report seen by AFP that Iran’s estimated stockpile of enriched uranium had reached 27 times the limit set out in the 2015 accord.
On Sunday, the official IRNA news agency said Grossi’s visit provided “an opportunity for the two sides to share their concerns,” especially regarding IAEA inspectors.
Iran in September withdrew the accreditation of several inspectors, a move the UN agency described at the time as “extreme and unjustified.”
Tehran said its decision was a consequence of “political abuses” by the United States, France, Germany and Britain.
Eslami has previously said the IAEA has “more than 130 inspectors” working in Iran.
On Monday, he insisted that the UN body carries out more inspections in Iran than in any other part of the world.
“Our nuclear capacity is 3 percent of the world and the (IAEA) inspection stands at 22 percent,” he said.
IAEA chief in Iran as concern grows over nuclear activity
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IAEA chief in Iran as concern grows over nuclear activity

- Grossi met with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and is scheduled to meet Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami
Rescuers save four more survivors from Houthi-struck ship in Red Sea

- Houthis are believed to be holding six of the Eternity C’s complement of 22 crew and three guards, maritime security sources said
ATHENS/LONDON: Rescuers pulled three more crew members and a security guard alive from the Red Sea on Thursday, maritime security sources said, a day after Houthi militants sank the Greek ship Eternity C and said they were holding some of the crew still missing.
It was the second Greek bulk carrier sunk this week by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, shattering months of relative calm off Yemen’s coast, the gateway to the Red Sea and a critical route for oil and commodities to the world.
Many shipping companies have suspended voyages due to the fear of attack. The Houthis are believed to be holding six of the Eternity C’s complement of 22 crew and three guards, maritime security sources said.
“These are blameless victims who were simply doing their job,” the UK-based Seafarers’ Charity association said.
“Seafarers should be able to work safely at sea. Instead, they are being unfairly forced into the firing line.”
Eternity C was first hit on Monday with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from speed boats. Four people are believed to have been killed in the attacks, maritime security sources say. If confirmed, the deaths would be the first fatalities in the area since June 2024.
Following a second attack on Tuesday morning, the crew were forced to jump into the water. Rescuers have been searching for survivors since Wednesday morning. The vessel’s operator, Cosmoship Management, has not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
A total of 10 survivors from the Eternity C have been rescued so far — eight Filipino crew members, one Indian and one Greek security guard. The four people rescued on Thursday morning had spent nearly 48 hours in the water.
“This fills us with more courage to continue to search for those missing, as the Greek vessel operator requested, and shows that our search plan was correct,” said Nikos Georgopoulos, an official at the Greece-based maritime risk firm Diaplous.
Another 11 people are still missing.
The United States’ Mission in Yemen has accused the Houthis of kidnapping crew members and has called for their immediate, unconditional release.
On Wednesday, the Houthis’ military spokesperson said in a televised address that the Yemeni navy had “responded to rescue a number of the ship’s crew, provide them with medical care, and transport them to a safe location.”
Fraught passage
The Eternity C sank on Wednesday, days after Houthis hit and sunk the Magic Seas, reviving a campaign launched in November 2023 that has seen more than 100 ships attacked in what the group said was solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
Both of the vessels hit this week flew Liberian flags and were operated by Greek companies. All crew from the Magic Seas were rescued before it went down.
Some of their sister vessels in the respective fleets had made calls to Israeli ports in the past year, an analysis of shipping data showed.
Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi fighters, reiterated in a televised address on Thursday the group’s ban on companies transporting goods related to Israel through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
He said this week’s attacks were part of that ban, which has been in place since 2023.
“It was never stopped or canceled, and it is a valid decision,” he said. “What was discovered (this week) was the violation by some companies of the decision.”
The insurance cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea has more than doubled since this week’s attacks, with some underwriters pausing cover for some voyages, industry sources said on Thursday.
The number of daily sailings through the narrow Bab Al-Mandab strait, at the southern tip of the Red Sea and a gateway to the Gulf of Aden, was 32 vessels on July 9, down from 43 on July 1, Lloyd’s List Intelligence data showed.
Several ships on Thursday broadcast messages referring to Chinese crew and management or armed guards on board, according to MarineTraffic data. One vessel broadcast that it had no relation with Israel.
Israeli forces arrest pro-Palestine activists near Jericho amid settlers’ attack

- The settlers entered Al-Auja Spring village on Wednesday and attempted to sabotage a Palestinian bedouin community’s source of livelihood
LONDON: Israeli forces detained several pro-Palestine activists with foreign nationalities north of Jericho in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening.
The Al-Baidar Organization for Defense of Bedouin Rights reported that activists were arrested while intervening on behalf of Palestinian residents of Al-Auja Spring village to protect the nomadic community’s cattle from an attack by Israeli settlers.
The settlers entered the village on Wednesday and released the cattle among the homes and cultivated land, sabotaging the community’s source of livelihood, the Al-Baidar human rights group said.
The Arab Al-Mlaihat clan living in the Jordan Valley relies on livestock for their income. Al-Baidar said that repeated settler attacks on this nomadic community aim to force them to leave the area.
The clan originally comes from the desert area of the Negev in Israel. However, due to political events and armed conflicts since 1948, the residents of Arab Al-Mlaihat were forced to live in different parts of the West Bank.
Dozens of Palestinian bedouin communities live in the Jordan Valley, an area that Israel has declared 45.7 percent of its northern part as military firing zones.
About 1 million Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law. Their violence against Palestinians has escalated since 2023, prompting Western governments to sanction some of their leaders; however, Israeli authorities rarely prosecute their actions.
King of Jordan meets leaders on sidelines of Sun Valley Conference in Idaho

- King Abdullah II emphasized the need to modernize the economy and administration to enhance Jordan’s competitiveness
LONDON: King Abdullah II met with various business and technology leaders during the Sun Valley Conference taking place this week in the US state of Idaho.
The one-day annual gathering on July 8 brought together leaders from various fields, including technology, business, media, and entertainment.
The conference, funded by the private investment firm Allen & Company, is known as the Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference and is often referred to as the “summer camp for billionaires.” Alongside politicians, several technology and media leaders attended this year’s event, including the CEOs of Apple, Disney, and OpenAI.
On the sidelines of the forum this week, King Abdullah II met with representatives from several major international and US companies operating in sectors such as industry, mining, technology, trade, transport, defence, and media, the Petra news agency reported.
He also had a meeting with Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary. King Abdullah emphasized the significance of modernizing the economy and administration to enhance Jordan’s competitiveness, attract investments, and build partnerships, Petra added.
Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Alaa Batayneh, the director of the king’s office, attended the meetings.
Children queuing for nutrition supplements among 52 killed by Israeli forces in Gaza

- 17 Palestinians, including eight children, killed in Israeli strike in front of a medical point in Deir Al-Balah in Gaza
- Dozens of others killed across the territory by airstrikes and shooting
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Thursday said at least 52 people, including eight children, were killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory battered by more than 21 months of war.
The latest deadly strikes and gunfire came just hours after Hamas, which runs Gaza, announced it was willing to release 10 hostages as part of indirect ceasefire talks with Israel.
Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million people.
Civil defense official Mohammad Al-Mughair told AFP that 17 people were killed in a strike in front of a medical point in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
The Israeli military told AFP that it had struck a Hamas militant in Deir Al-Balah who had infiltrated Israel during the group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
It said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” adding the incident was under review.
Mughair said eight children and two women were killed in the strike.
Yousef Al-Aydi, 30, said he was among dozens of people, mostly women and children, waiting for nutritional supplements in front of the medical point.
“Suddenly, we heard the sound of a drone approaching, and then the explosion happened,” he told AFP by phone.
“The ground shook beneath our feet, and everything around us turned into blood and deafening screams.”
“What was our fault? What was the fault of the children?” asked Mohammed Abu Ouda, 35, who had also been waiting for supplies.
“I saw a mother hugging her child on the ground, both motionless — they were killed instantly.”
AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details due to media restrictions in Gaza.

Four people were killed and several injured in a pre-dawn air strike on a family home in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, Mughair added.
AFP footage from Al-Bureij showed a family including three young children sitting among rubble outside their tattered tent after an air strike hit a house next door.
Mughair reported 27 more people killed in bombardments across the territory, including 15 people in five separate strikes in the area of Gaza City.
One person was killed southwest of the southern city of Khan Yunis by “Israeli military fire,” Mughair said.
Three more, including a woman, were killed by Israeli gunfire on civilians near an aid center in the northwest of nearby Rafah, he added.
More than 600 people have been killed around aid distributions and convoys in Gaza since late May, when Israel began allowing in a trickle of supplies, the United Nations said in early July.
The war began after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 57,680 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations deems the figures reliable.
Gaza doctors cram babies into incubators as fuel shortage threatens hospitals

- Overwhelmed medics say the dwindling fuel supplies threaten to plunge them into darkness and paralyze hospitals and clinics in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been pummelled during 21 months of war
GAZA: At Gaza’s largest hospital, doctors say crippling fuel shortages have led them to put several premature babies in a single incubator as they struggle to keep the newborns alive while Israel presses on with its military campaign.
Overwhelmed medics say the dwindling fuel supplies threaten to plunge them into darkness and paralyze hospitals and clinics in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been pummelled during 21 months of war.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the fate of Israeli hostages in Gaza with US President Donald Trump in Washington this week, patients at Al Shifa medical center in Gaza City faced imminent danger, doctors there said.
“We are forced to place four, five, or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator,” said Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, Al Shifa’s director.
“Premature babies are now in a very critical condition.”
The threat comes from “neither an airstrike nor a missile — but a siege choking the entry of fuel,” Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Gaza Ministry of Health, told Reuters.
The shortage is “depriving these vulnerable people of their basic right to medical care, turning the hospital into a silent graveyard,” he said.
Gaza, a tiny strip of land with a population of more than 2 million, was under a long, Israeli-led blockade before the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas erupted.
Palestinians and medical workers have accused the Israeli military of attacking hospitals, allegations it rejects.
Israel accuses Hamas of operating from medical facilities and running command centers underneath them, which Hamas denies.
Patients in need of medical care, food and water are paying the price.
There have been more than 600 attacks on health facilities since the conflict began, the WHO says, without attributing blame. It has described the health sector in Gaza as being “on its knees,” with shortages of fuel, medical supplies and frequent arrivals of mass casualties.
Just half of Gaza’s 36 general hospitals are partially functioning, according to the UN agency.
Abu Selmia warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and accused Israel of “trickle-feeding” fuel to Gaza’s hospitals.
COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about fuel shortages at Gaza’s medical facilities and the risk to patients.
OXYGEN RISK
Abu Selmia said Al Shifa’s dialysis department had been shut down to protect the intensive care unit and operating rooms, which can’t be without electricity for even a few minutes.
There are around 100 premature babies in Gaza City hospitals whose lives are at serious risk, he said. Before the war, there were 110 incubators in northern Gaza compared to about 40 now, said Abu Selmia.
“Oxygen stations will stop working. A hospital without oxygen is no longer a hospital. The lab and blood banks will shut down, and the blood units in the refrigerators will spoil,” Abu Selmia said, adding that the hospital could become “a graveyard for those inside.”
Officials at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis are also wondering how they will cope with the fuel crisis. The hospital needs 4,500 liters of fuel per day and it now has only 3,000 liters, said hospital spokesperson Mohammed Sakr.
Doctors are performing surgeries without electricity or air conditioning. The sweat from staff is dripping into patients’ wounds, he said.
Earlier this year, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza for nearly three months, before partly lifting it. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, something Hamas denies.
“You can have the best hospital staff on the planet, but if they are denied the medicines and the pain killers and now the very means for a hospital to have light ... it becomes an impossibility,” said James Elder, a spokesperson for UN children’s agency UNICEF, recently returned from Gaza.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s response has killed over 57,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced almost all Gaza’s population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.