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Iran Threatens to Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Boosts Uranium Enrichment After IAEA Censure

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 18, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an international accord meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, if European powers move to reinstate economic sanctions — a step Tehran condemned as “legally baseless and politically reckless,” warning it would endanger global security.
In a formal letter to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Saeed Iravani, reiterated Tehran’s warning that the country would take “proportionate responses” to what it described as escalating foreign pressure.
Iran’s threats come as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — collectively known as the E3 — along with the United States, put forward a resolution condemning Tehran’s nuclear non-compliance at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna this week.
Based on a recent IAEA report, the motion accuses Iran of failing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog over alleged “undeclared nuclear activities.” Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the vote was delayed until Thursday due to time constraints.
If adopted, the resolution could lead to the reimposition of UN sanctions by October. These sanctions were originally lifted under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which temporarily limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The IAEA’s latest report also reveals that, alongside numerous other violations, Iran has previously conducted multiple implosion tests — a crucial military capability for developing an atomic bomb.
Iranian officials have rejected the IAEA’s findings as “politically motivated,” blaming Israel for providing the intelligence behind the claims, and accusing the agency of serving US interests in an effort to pressure Tehran during its negotiations with Washington to reach a nuclear deal.
“The Board of Governors’ resolution was mischievous,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a press conference on Thursday. “We will continue our path. Enrichment will go on, and we will not back down from the current trend.”
“Even if they bomb our facilities, our capabilities lie in our minds. Whatever they destroy, we will rebuild,” Pezeshkian continued.
After five rounds of talks between the US and Iran, diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results, as the Islamic regime and Washington clash over Tehran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition that US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected.
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced that Iran will soon present its own nuclear proposal after rejecting a previous offer from Washington.
Although nuclear negotiations appear on the brink of collapse, a sixth round of talks is tentatively scheduled for Sunday in Oman. At the same time, Trump’s 60-day deadline for reaching a nuclear deal expired on Wednesday.
In response to the IAEA resolution, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), announced the establishment of a third uranium enrichment facility at a secure location, along with a major upgrade to Iran’s centrifuge systems — steps he said would significantly expand the country’s nuclear activities.
“They wrongly believe political pressure can force Iran to retreat from its rightful positions,” Kamalvandi said. “We had already warned that we would adjust our actions accordingly.”
Meanwhile, Major General Hossein Salami, chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a US-designated terrorist organization — declared that Tehran is fully prepared to confront any act of aggression amid growing threats of military action against the country.
“The enemy sometimes threatens us with military action. We have always said, and we say today, that we stand fully ready for any scenarios, situations, and circumstances,” Salami said.
Iran’s latest threats come as media reports reveal that the US has heightened security at its embassies and military bases across West Asia amid fears of a possible Israeli strike on Tehran.
Trump said on Thursday that an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites “could very well happen,” but he would not call it imminent and said he prefers to avoid conflict with Iran and reach a peaceful solution over its nuclear program.
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at a White House event, stressing that Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
“I’d love to avoid the conflict,” he said. “Iran’s going to have to negotiate a little bit tougher, meaning they’re going to have to give us something they’re not willing to give us right now.”
Israel views Iran’s nuclear program, which many Western governments believe is ultimately meant to build nuclear weapons, as an existential threat.
Iranian leaders regularly declare their intention to destroy Israel. However, Tehran has claimed its nuclear activities are for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The post Iran Threatens to Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Boosts Uranium Enrichment After IAEA Censure first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
The post Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest

Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.