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Iran Offers to Cap Sensitive Uranium Stock to Avoid IAEA Resolution
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi meets with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 14, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has offered not to expand its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, near the roughly 90 percent of weapons grade, and made preparations to do that, the UN nuclear watchdog said in confidential reports to member states on Tuesday.
The offer is conditional, however, on Western powers abandoning their push for a resolution against Iran at this week’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors over its lack of cooperation with the IAEA, diplomats said, adding that the push was continuing.
During IAEA chief Rafael Grossi’s trip to Iran last week, “the possibility of Iran not further expanding its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent U-235 was discussed,” read one of the two confidential quarterly IAEA reports, both seen by Reuters.
It added that the IAEA had verified that Iran had “begun implementation of preparatory measures.”
Iran‘s offer was to cap the stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent at around 185 kg, or the amount it had two days ago, a senior diplomat said. That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for four nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
The report said Iran‘s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent had grown by 17.6 kg since the previous report to 182.3 kg as of Oct. 26, also enough for four weapons by that measure.
INSPECTORS
The second report said Iran had also agreed to consider allowing four more “experienced inspectors” to work in Iran after it barred most of the IAEA‘s inspectors who are experts in enrichment last year in what the IAEA called a “very serious blow” to its ability to do its job properly in Iran.
Although the senior diplomat said they could be enrichment experts, diplomats said they could not be the same experts that were barred.
The reports were delayed by Grossi’s trip to Iran, during which he hoped to convince Iran‘s new President Masoud Pezeshkian to end a standoff with the IAEA over long-standing issues like unexplained uranium traces at undeclared sites and extending IAEA oversight to more areas.
The draft resolution backed by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States condemning Iran for its poor cooperation with the IAEA would also task the IAEA with issuing a “comprehensive report” on Iran‘s nuclear activities, diplomats said.
The aim is to pressure Iran to return to the negotiating table to agree fresh restrictions on its nuclear activities since a 2015 deal with far-ranging curbs fell apart. Although most of its terms have been broken, the deal’s “termination day” formally lifting them is in October of next year.
It is the last quarterly Board meeting before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in 2018, which prompted its unraveling. It is far from clear if he would back talks with Iran, having pledged instead to again take a more confrontational approach and align Washington more closely with Iran‘s arch-foe Israel, which opposed the deal.
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Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Gov. Josh Shapiro to Tackle Antisemitism in Public Schools
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governor’s Residence, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US, April 13, 2025. Photo: Commonwealth Media Services/Handout via REUTERS
A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state lawmakers has called on Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) to intervene in what they described as a deepening crisis of antisemitism and political extremism within the School District of Philadelphia (SDP).
In a letter sent this week, members of the “Meet Me in the Middle” caucus, which was formed to bridge partisan divides and promote practical governance, criticized district leadership, cited federal findings of civil rights violations, and urged the governor to take action. The caucus — co-founded by state Rep. Jamie Flick, a Republican who spearheaded this week’s letter — warned that SDP has become a case study in “radicalism gaining too much influence in our public institutions.”
The letter pointed to a 2024 report by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which confirmed widespread antisemitic harassment and alleged systemic failures by SDP to address complaints from Jewish families.
“The OCR found that the district not only ignored these complaints, but failed to follow federal law, keep appropriate records, or enforce rules regarding staff conduct on social media,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter also highlighted specific district employees whom the caucus accused of promoting extreme ideologies and creating a hostile environment. Among those named was Ismael Jimenez, director of the social studies curriculum, who allegedly mocked a Jewish teacher’s lawsuit as “white tears” and displayed an image of Assata Shakur, a convicted cop killer, outside his office.
Another teacher, Keziah Ridgeway, was suspended and later reinstated after allegedly threatening gun violence against critics and denying sexual violence took place during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Ridgeway, a history and anthropology teacher in Philadelphia who promoted anti-Israel activism in the classroom, was placed on administrative last year for social media posts alluding to violence against certain Jewish parents whose names she allegedly posted on social media. Supporters of Ridgeway argue she was the victim of a smear campaign.
“This is illustrative, not exhaustive,” the letter said of the examples cited, referencing additional staff members accused of celebrating anti-police sentiment and glorifying militant imagery in the classroom.
The lawmakers also criticized the secrecy surrounding the district’s curriculum. While some Pennsylvania districts post their teaching materials online, Philadelphia’s curriculum was leaked by a concerned teacher, according to the letter, which added that the content was “highly politicized” and offensive to both Jewish and Hindu communities.
“Why do some Pennsylvania school districts post their curriculum online, while others are facing ‘leaks’ from concerned teachers?” the caucus asked.
Citing the OCR’s findings and ongoing concerns from both Jewish and Hindu families, the legislators urged Shapiro to launch a formal investigation, tighten oversight of social media policies for educators, and ensure curriculum transparency.
“Education policy is primarily a state concern,” the caucus noted. “There has been no real change in leadership in SDP, and these issues are not abating — they are getting worse.”
Invoking the governor’s own words from the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Shapiro asked whether the nation would choose “chaos or extremism” or a path of “decency and progress,” the caucus concluded by pledging to work with his administration on legislative solutions.
“We choose decency and progress over chaos and extremism,” the letter said.
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Hundreds Demand Bob Vylan Be Dropped From UK Festival After Leading ‘Death to IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
Hundreds of people are urging officials in the United Kingdom to ban the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan from performing at the upcoming Boardmasters music festival in Cornwall after they led an anti-Israel chant at the Glastonbury music festival last month.
Bob Vylan lead singer Pascal Robinson-Foster stirred controversy by leading thousands in the crowd to chant “death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” and “free, free Palestine” during the band’s Glastonbury performance on June 28, which was televised live by the BBC. He also complained on stage about working for a “f—king Zionist” during the set at the event in Somerset, England.
Because of their actions, the London-based band has been dropped by festivals and concerts worldwide as well as their talent agency. They had their US visas revoked ahead of their American tour and police in the UK launched an investigation into the band, to see if their comments amounted to a criminal offense, including ones related to a hate crime. Their anti-IDF comments were condemned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organizers, and the BBC issued a public apology for live streaming Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior.”
Bob Vylan have since explained that that they “are not for the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group.”
In light of the Glastonbury incident, councilors on the Cornwall Council, the licensing authority for the Boardmasters music festival in Cornwall, has received almost 300 formal complaints from members of the public, asking for Bob Vylan to be banned from the festival taking place from August 8-10, according to CornwallLive. Cornwall Councillor Dulcie Tudor publicly spoke about councilors receiving hundreds of complaints in a Facebook post on July 18. “Personally I would not spend any of my money to watch a band that called for the death of anyone,” Tudor wrote.
“It’s got to be the most concerted campaign I’ve seen since being on the council,” Tudor also told CornwallLive. “It’s more than the most controversial planning application.”
The council is due to hold a licensing hearing following a complaint received on July 16, which called on the authority to review the festival’s license in light of the band’s scheduled appearance. However, due to licensing hearing regulations, including a 20-day consultation period, the hearing will not take place until after the band’s performance at Boardmasters on Aug. 10, according to the BBC.
Organizers of Boardmasters said in a statement to the BBC that Bob Vylan will not be dropped from the festival despite their controversial comments. They said they are focused on having a “safe, respectful, and well-managed event.”
“Boardmasters is committed to being a space where people from all backgrounds feel welcome and safe,” the statement read. “We do not tolerate hate speech, incitement to violence, or behavior that puts anyone at risk, and we will continue to uphold these principles throughout the event and beyond. Our decision to proceed with the performance reflects a balance of factors, including the festival’s careful consideration of recent concerns, our ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, and the band’s agreement to the terms of their participation.”
“We have been clear with the band and their representatives about our expectations particularly the importance of maintaining a respectful and safe environment for everyone attending, working at, or involved in the festival,” organizers added.
Festival organizers are also partnering with Devon & Cornwall Police to ensure that the festival “continues to meet the highest standards of safety, compliance, and community accountability,” they said.
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Canadian Woman Sentenced for Joining ISIS, Becomes First Person Convicted for ‘Family Support’ Role as a Spouse
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
A court in Quebec, Canada has sentenced a woman who absconded to Syria in 2014 to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to one day in prison and three years of probation, making her the first Canadian to be convicted for “providing support to a terrorist entity through family support as a spouse,” the Public Prosecution Service of Canada announced this week.
According to the law enforcement agency, Oumaima Chouay, 29, joined ISIS “knowing that her expected role would include marrying an ISIS fighter and raising children under the ISIS doctrine.” It added that, however, Chouay served a strictly domestic function which precluded any direct involvement in acts of terror or “actual combat” against the coalition of states — including her home government — which waged a protracted military campaign to quell the ISIS threat.
Chouay voluntarily repatriated to Canada in 2022, flying into the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. Law enforcement intercepted her there and later transferred her to a detention facility where she was subject to “strict bail conditions” and “depolarization therapy” aimed at repairing her susceptibility to extremist messaging. The rehabilitation proved a success, psychological experts have claimed, telling the state that Chouay’s “risk of recidivism and dangerousness is very low,” a conclusion with which the country’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, a division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has reportedly concurred.
On Monday, Chouay pleaded guilty to one count of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Her one-day prison sentence will be in addition to the 110 days served before pre-trial.
Canadian director of public prosecution George Dolhai said that a number of mitigating factors influenced Chouay’s sentencing, which is the first of its kind.
“The recommended sentence here takes into consideration the early, ongoing, demonstrated, and independently evaluated steps Ms. Chouay has taken to demonstrate remorse, take responsibility, commit to fundamental change and a rejection of extremist ideology,” Dolhai said in a statement. “This addresses the ultimate goal of protecting the community.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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