“If you enter the Persian Gulf, first of all, we will give a tough, painful and unprecedented response and break the naval blockade,” he warned Washington.
“But more importantly, we may withdraw from the NPT. Do you know what will happen to you if we withdraw? So… don‘t commit suicide.”
Themen waren unter anderem die Atomprogramme des Irans und Nordkoreas.
The drones that targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant all came from Iraq, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, an indication that Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran were likely behind the assault.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Tehran and its militia proxies have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states since Israel and the United States began their war against Iran on Feb.
(May 17, 2026)
The UAE said on Sunday that it had launched an investigation to determine the source of the drone attack.
Authorities responded after an electrical generator was set on fire outside the inner perimeter of the plant in the Al Dhafra Region. No injuries were reported and there was no impact on radiological safety levels, Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
The media office statement did not name Iran as being responsible for firing the drone, when previous statements following air strikes have done so.
(June 11, 2025)
Many radiopharmaceuticals, especially those used in PET scans, have very short half-lives. This means they decay significantly within a short period, reducing their effectiveness.
Consequently, the „last mile“ of radiopharmaceutical delivery, including transport, is crucial for maintaining the drug‘s potency and safety.
Speaking to IRIB TV3 on Monday night, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami explained that importing radiopharmaceuticals were impossible until recently.
This was because Western countries refused to provide radiopharmaceuticals to Iran due to sanctions, while regional airlines such as Qatar Airways did not undertake such shipments, he said.
(May 10, 2026)
Sixty percent enriched uranium, when fabricated into targets and irradiated in a research reactor, produces molybdenum‑99, a radioisotope that decays into technetium‑99m.
This single isotope is used in tens of millions of medical procedures worldwide each year, including cardiac scans and cancer diagnostics that are essential to modern medicine.
Iran has officially declared this medical application, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified the conversion of a portion of Iran’s 60 percent enriched uranium into targets for molybdenum‑99 production in March 2022.
(April 9, 2026)
While nuclear fusion is often discussed as a future source of clean energy, companies like SHINE Technologies, based in Janesville, WI, are currently using its power to solve a critical shortage in medical imaging.
(…)
Tc-99m supports about 56,000 patient studies daily in the U.S., helping physicians detect heart disease, cancer, and other serious conditions.
(…)
SHINE announced it has received a conditional commitment for a loan of $263 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF). If approved, the financing will support the completion of Chrysalis, a first-of-a-kind medical isotope production facility that will establish the first domestic commercial supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
The report said Tehran would hand over nuclear material to a third country, provided it receives guarantees that the stockpile would be returned if talks collapse or if Washington withdraws from any agreement.
Iran also signalled it could gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic in parallel with a lifting of the US maritime blockade, with nuclear issues to be negotiated over a 30-day period.
According to the report, Tehran is prepared to suspend uranium enrichment for a limited time, though for a shorter duration than the 20 years sought by Washington.
(April 27, 2026)
Sources close to these diplomatic efforts told Al Jazeera that senior intelligence officials from several countries were present at the Muscat talks.
n Iranian business newspaper reported in April that reconstruction would take at least 12 years.
“The nuclear issue is honestly Betamax now,” Alan Eyre, a former member of the US team that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, told MEE, referring to the now obsolete 1975 video cassette player.
“Everyone is talking about what the Iranians are willing to give up. But that is largely a function of what they are willing to get,” he added. „What the Iranians want is money.“
Eyre said there are four ways Iran can be compensated for a deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz and ends with an agreement on its nuclear programme: reparations, tolling, unblocking frozen assets, and sanctions relief. Of the four, he believes a toll in the Strait of Hormuz is the likeliest path for a deal.
One recent proposal from the Iranian side would involve a 10-year pause on enrichment, followed by another decade where Iran would agree to only enrich to levels well below weapons grade, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Meanwhile, Trump has told reporters that he wants no enrichment indefinitely and is against even the 20-year pause.
The Trump administration is also considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets as part of ongoing negotiations with Tehran, CNN previously reported. The step would come in exchange for Iran turning over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
How flexible each side is on their terms will ultimately dictate whether a deal can be reached.
He reiterated Iran’s firm commitment to diplomacy even under the ongoing sensitive situation and urged the US to abandon its “maximalist approach” and respect international regulations in order to ensure „result-oriented diplomacy.“
Iran adheres to its commitments as per the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but will never accept agreements which are not within the framework of international law, the diplomat emphasized.
“I have to be very crystal clear that Iran would not accept to be an exception from the international law. Anything that we are going to be committed will be within the international regulations and international law. We have responsibilities and rights,” Khatibzadeh stressed.
Iranian sources indicated that Pezeshkian called potential agreement with the United States as “not out of reach,” suggesting that Tehran still sees diplomatic space despite ongoing disputes.
The core of Iran’s position remains unchanged, while it is open to negotiations, it insists that talks must be conducted without pressure, coercion, or what it views as unilateral demands from Washington. Iranian officials have repeatedly framed US policy toward Tehran as coercive, particularly in relation to long-standing disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence.
“No one expected a big deal in Pakistan after 40 days of war,” he said. “Nevertheless, it was high-level direct negotiations, and they can continue to resolve the two remaining issues.”
Mousavian said what remained to be settled was freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear enrichment.
“I believe there is a solution for both,” he said.
(May 29, 2024)
“Molybdenum is used to detect some diseases. Every week, hospitals and nuclear medicine diagnostic centers across the country need radiopharmaceuticals based on the use of technetium-m99, and more than one million patients benefit from technetium-m99 every year,” Ali Bahrami Samani, the project manager of the Molybdenum macro plan said.
(…)
“Furthermore, the hot cell facilities during the implementation of the molybdenum production plan using the method of neutron activation of molybdenum oxide were not suitable under the foreign sanctions for the rapid implementation of the industrial stage under special conditions. Also, given the restrictions imposed by the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA (Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action), it was decided that molybdenum production plan to be carried out in several stages,” the manager of the project further explained.
(December 18, 2024)
The U.S. government has worked for several years to help establish a domestically produced supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99)to stabilize access to this critical radio-isotope used for more than 75% of medical nuclear imaging exams. The U.S. currently relies on 100% of its Mo-99 supplies from foreign reactors overseas, making the country‘s medical imaging supply chain vulnerable. This was the case in October and early November, when one of the key aging European reactors was taken off line for emergency repairs.
(…)
Historically, Mo-99 has been sourced from a handful of older research reactors outside the U.S., much of which came from the Chalk River reactor in Canada. But that 60-year-old reactor closed in 2018, and the reliance on reactors outside the states, including one Russian reactor for some medical isotopes, has left the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
“The world depends on six reactors, many of which are decades old,” Cutler explained. “These facilities coordinate their operations to minimize disruptions, but when maintenance issues arise, shortages can quickly follow.”
The President said he gave the order because Iran refused to agree not to develop nuclear weapons during talks with US officials in Pakistan on Saturday. “The meeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the night — Close to 20 hours,” the President wrote in a second post on Sunday. “I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters — IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!”
– U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight,” but said Iran still has time to capitulate ahead of a deadline set for 8 p.m. EDT. The American leader issued the stark threat Tuesday, about 12 hours ahead of his deadline for Iran to agree to a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
– The U.S. also struck military targets on the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The attack marked the second time the island was targeted. Israeli warplanes, meanwhile, struck bridges and railways in Iran.
– Trump on Monday threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran, an action that would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime. Trump said that he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes.
The BNPP itself has not been damaged, the IAEA’s analysis of the 5 April imagery shows.
Once again, IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi warns that continued military activity near the BNPP – an operating plant with large amounts of nuclear fuel – could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond.
Regardless of the nature of the intended targets, DG Grossi says such attacks pose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop. DG Grossi reiterates call for all parties to fully respect the 7 indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict. A nuclear facility and surrounding areas should never be struck, DG Grossi says.
The UN atomic watchdog said that the confirmation was based on its independent analysis of new satellite imagery and detailed knowledge of the site, adding that one strike had hit only 75 metres from the site perimeter.
In his post in Arabic, he implored regional leaders to take immediate diplomatic action. „Please, once again, do everything in your power before this madman turns the region into a ball of fire,“ the former IAEA chief wrote, directing his remarks at the neighbouring Gulf states.
The warning follows a sharp pivot in Washington‘s rhetoric, where Trump threatened the destruction of essential Iranian infrastructure and the forced reopening of the Strait of Hormuz if a peace agreement is not reached within the specified deadline.
ElBaradei also questioned the role of international institutions in preventing an all-out war. In a separate post written in English and addressed to the United Nations, he asked if „nothing can be done to stop this madness?“
(April 4, 2026)
Reports of yet another projectile strike near the Bushehr nuclear power plant prompted Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to register his deep concern on Saturday.
The IAEA was informed of the strike – the fourth such incident in recent weeks – by Iranian officials. Iran also informed the agency that a member of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.
Mr. Grossi emphasised that nuclear power plant sites or nearby areas must never be attacked, noting that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment. No increase in radiation levels was reported, following the latest incident.
Reiterating call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident, Mr. Grossi again stressed the paramount importance of adhering to the IAEA’s seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict (see below).
Russian news agencies cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying that developments near the plant were unfolding in line with the worst-case scenario.
Likhachev said that the killed staff member was an Iranian national.
Rosatom said it had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation surrounding the plant, the TASS news agency cited Likhachev as saying.
The foreign minister criticized the silence and inaction of Western governments in condemning the highly dangerous attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities as he drew a parallel between a similar alleged attack by Russia on a major Ukrainian nuclear power plant in early 2022.
”Remember the Western outrage about hostilities near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine? … Israel-U.S. have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran,” he said, making a reference to member states of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed “deep concern about the reported incident and says [nuclear] sites or nearby areas must never be attacked, noting that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment”, the statement read.
Grossi also reiterated a “call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident,” the IAEA added.
(July 8, 2025)
Masoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran.
(March 25, 2026)
Though the full 15-point plan is not yet available, it mainly focuses on Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, including a demand to end uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, reported the NYT, citing sources.