Iran UN Envoy Makes Clear That Nuclear Enrichment ‘Will Never Stop’

In a “Face the Nation” interview on Sunday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, vowed that Tehran will “never stop” enriching uranium as this is an inalienable right and matter of national sovereignty under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran has constantly highlighted that its archnemesis Israel has a secret nuclear arsenal and is not a member of the NPT, while Tehran has long been a party to the treaty. “You know that we are a member, [a] responsible member of the NPT. And according to this treaty, we have the mutual rights. It means that the right of one side will be the obligation of the other sides,” he said.

He outlined rights guaranteed under the treaty as “research and development, production of uranium, and use of peaceful energy,” as well as “legal protection by the IAEA for our activity and technical cooperation for our development programs.”

When asked directly whether even after the 12-day war with Israel, and being on the receiving end of America’s B-2 bomber campaign targeting nuclear facilities, Iravani replied, “I think that enrichment will not — never stop.”

He then asserted enrichment as “our right. An inalienable right. And we want to implement this right,” adding that such activity “will remain always in a peaceful manner.”

Responding to allegations in Iranian media that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi is “an Israeli spy” and that he should be arrested, the ambassador said, “No, there is not any threat. It is a very clear law of our parliament that they have suspended our cooperation with [the] IAEA because the agency has not implemented their rights, their responsibility … but there is not any threat against the general director of the IAEA.”

As for whether the situation inside the Islamic Republic is safe enough for inspections to resume, he responded, “They are in Iran. They are in safe conditions. But activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site.”

Meanwhile, The Washington Post has presented new evidence which strongly suggests the US strikes against Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan were not as effective as the White House is saying:

The United States obtained intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials discussing this month’s U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected, said four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government.

The communication, intended to be private, included Iranian government officials speculating as to why the strikes directed by President Donald Trump were not as destructive and extensive as they had anticipated, these people said. Like some others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

Powerful Democratic Senator Chris Murphy will use this info and other data to support his position that “You cannot bomb knowledge out of existence — no matter how many scientists you kill.”

NEW: Iran has likely begun to assess damage and conduct repair operations at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Commercially available satellite imagery captured on June 28 and 29 shows Iranian heavy equipment near two clusters of three impact points on ventilation shafts at… pic.twitter.com/w2IyR2HpfM

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) June 29, 2025

Murphy recently explained, “There are still people in Iran who know how to work centrifuges. And if they still have enriched uranium and they still have the ability to use centrifuges, then you’re not setting back the program by years. You’re setting back the program by months.”

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Below are more geopolitical headlines and developments via Newsquawk:

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel’s army said it identified the launch of a missile from Yemen on Saturday.
• Egyptian Foreign Minister said work is underway on an upcoming agreement in Gaza that includes a 60-day truce, according to Alhadath via X.
• US President Trump said Israeli PM Netanyahu is in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas to get hostages back.
• US President Trump said he knew exactly where Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei was sheltered and would not let Israel or US armed forces terminate his life, while Trump said he demanded that Israel bring back a very large group of planes that were headed directly to Tehran in the final act of the war. Furthermore, Trump said he was working on the possible removal of sanctions in the last few days and other things which would have given Iran a much better chance at a recovery but warned that Iran has to get back into the world order flow or things will only get worse for them.
• US justified its strikes on Iran as collective self-defence under the UN Charter in a letter to the UN Security Council and said the objective was to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and stop the threat that Tehran obtains and uses a nuclear weapon, while it added that the US remains committed to pursuing a deal with the Iranian government.
• IAEA chief Grossi said Iran has the capacity to start enriching uranium again for a possible bomb in a matter of months, according to BBC.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister said if US President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader.
• Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mousavi told Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister that they highly doubt Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire, according to Tasnim.
• Iran permitted the transiting of international flights over the centre and west of the country. In relevant news, Emirates cancelled all flights to and from Tehran until July 5th due to the regional situation, while it is to recommence operations to Baghdad on July 1st and Basra on July 2nd.
• US President Trump says he is not offering Iran anything, and is not talking to Iran since destroying their nuclear sites.
• “A source involved in the negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza told the pro-Qatari news website Arabi 21 this morning that it is believed that an Israeli delegation will arrive in Cairo in the next two days”, according to Israeli Radio’s Kai.
• Iran’s MFA spokesperson Baghaei says Iran and the EU have not agreed on a date for the next round of discussions. Talks are ongoing with the E3.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Russia said its troops captured Novoukrainka in eastern Ukraine, according to RIA.
• US President Trump said on Friday that he may send patriot missiles to Ukraine and commented that he will get the conflict solved with North Korea’s leader Kim.

OTHER

• India’s Ministry of External Affairs said they have seen and rejected the official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack in Waziristan on June 28th.