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Iran’s Atomic Chief Vows Regime Will Revive Nuclear Program
Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 14, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia press Agency) via REUTERS
Iran plans to restore its nuclear program despite a newly brokered ceasefire with Israel and US President Donald Trump’s vow that the regime will “never rebuild” its nuclear facilities, according to the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.
“We planned to avoid any interruption in the nuclear industry process,” Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said in an interview with the state-run Mehr news agency. “Preparations for the revival [of the country’s nuclear program] were foreseen in advance, and our plan is to not allow any interruption in the production and service process.”
Eslami’s comments were published on the same day that Trump wrote in a social media post on Truth Social that “IRAN WILL NEVER REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR FACILITIES!”
Experts and Western governments have long warned that Iran’s nuclear program is ultimately meant to build weapons; Tehran has claimed its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this month, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities and neutralizing what officials described as an imminent nuclear threat.
Israel’s campaign of airstrikes and covert sabotage from within Iran came on the 61st day of the 60-day deadline set by Trump for Tehran to secure a deal through diplomacy to curb Iran’s nuclear activities.
After five rounds of negotiations with Washington, a potential agreement fell through when Iran announced it would continue its uranium enrichment and expand its nuclear program. Since then, the regime has faced mounting pressure to return to the negotiating table.
On Monday, Trump announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Tehran and Jerusalem, bringing an end to the 12-day war between the two Middle Eastern adversaries.
Trump’s announcement came just a few hours after Iran launched missile strikes on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar, retaliating against American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
On Saturday night, the US joined Israel’s airstrike campaign against the Islamist regime by launching a large-scale military strike against Iran, destroying three key nuclear enrichment facilities, including the heavily fortified Fordow site.
In a public address, Trump said that the operation had “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and urged Tehran to “make peace,” warning that any future aggression would be met with even greater force.
However, Tehran broke the nascent ceasefire within minutes of it starting. Israeli officials said that three Iranian missiles were launched within the first three hours of the truce. The first came just six minutes in, with two more following later. All were either intercepted or landed in open areas. In response, Israeli warplanes struck a single radar installation north of Tehran, a strike that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described as a proportional reply to Iran’s violations of the agreement.
As Israeli jets responded, however, an incensed Trump told reporters on the White House lawn: “I’m not happy that Israel’s going out now.” He added that the two sides had “been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f—k they’re doing.”
Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, praised the ceasefire announcement and urged Iran to resume negotiations and cooperation with the agency.
“I welcome announcements on the Iran situation. Resuming cooperation with the IAEA is key to a successful agreement,” Grossi wrote in a post on X.
He also said he had reached out to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss a potential meeting aimed at resuming negotiations, “stressing this step can lead to a diplomatic solution to the long-standing controversy over Iran’s nuclear program.”
Grossi’s comments followed an announcement from Iran’s parliament on Tuesday that its national security committee had approved a bill outlining the full suspension of Tehran’s cooperation with the agency.
The post Iran’s Atomic Chief Vows Regime Will Revive Nuclear Program first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.