The deal was negotiated by Grossi after the Iranian parliament withdrew from a long-term arrangement that gave inspectors near-untrammelled access to Iran’s nuclear sites.Ĭommenting on the state of the Vienna talks Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said Washington has not seen yet whether Iran will do what it needs to do to come into compliance with its nuclear commitments in order to have sanctions lifted. The original three-month monitoring deal between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, gave the inspectorate limited access to images of Iran’s nuclear sites. The extension would be highly controversial inside Iran with hardliners battling to win the Iranian presidency in next month’s election and determined to display resistance to any compromise with the US. The head of the UN nuclear inspectorate, Gen Rafael Grossi, delayed a press conference on Sunday where he was due to unveil the extension, suggesting that problems remain with conditions being attached by Iran.Ī previous three-month deal expired at the weekend and without an extension the wider talks designed to bring the US back into the nuclear deal would either be suspended indefinitely or ended. There were reports that the inspector’s technical agreement would be extended for a month, but this was contradicted by Iranian hardliners. The extension is critical to give negotiators in Vienna time to complete talks on reviving the wider nuclear deal between the US and Iran. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday showed the remains of what he described as an Iranian drone that was downed on Tuesday after crossing from Iraqi or Syrian airspace.Ĭonflicting reports emerged on whether Iranian officials extended an agreement that gives UN nuclear inspectors access to Iran’s nuclear sites for a further month. Iran has not provided information on the cause of the incident, but Israel has shown no compunction in the past about taking what it regards as reprisals inside Iran. If indeed this attack came via the air, and especially not by a hard-to-intercept ballistic missile, it serves as another stunning rebuke of Russia's much-vaunted air defense capabilities.There was no independent confirmation of the cause of the explosion or the precise factory hit. The Russians have placed a tremendous amount of air defense resources in Crimea, in no small measure to defend against attacks on critical infrastructure, such as the Kerch Bridge, as well as military installations. With Ukrainian operatives working in Crimea, even small artillery rockets from makeshift launchers could put ammunition dumps like these at risk behind enemy lines. As we stated at the time, this was likely a sign of what's to come on the annexed peninsula and today certainly validated that notion. On August 1st, the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters was targeted in a localized suicide drone attack. While the attack on arguably Russia's most critical airbase in Crimea is new, striking at the heart of Russia's war machine on the annexed peninsula is not. But this could have come from a far less advanced capability, as well. Ukrainian Air Force, with anti-radiation missile capability, means that it can potentially expand its tactical operations, although attacking this airfield in highly defended Crimea would be a reach. This late in the conflict, Ukraine could have also created or adapted a new weapon capable of long-range strikes, especially with some external help.
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