Potential Dangers of Major Nuclear Accident at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Remain Real - IAEA

©AFP 2023/OLGA MALTSEVA

Even though the six reactors at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are in a cold shutdown, the threat of a major disaster at the facility remains real, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Monday.

“Even though the plant’s six reactors are now in cold shutdown, with the final unit shifting into that status two days ago following the IAEA’s recommendation, the potential dangers of a major nuclear accident are very real,” Grossi told the UN Security Council.

The situation is "dangerously close to a nuclear accident," Grossi warned. Attacks around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) have to stop immediately as nuclear safety is already compromised, the IAEA director stressed.

“These reckless attacks must cease immediately. Though, fortunately, they have not led to a radiological incident this time, they significantly increase the risk at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, where nuclear safety is already compromised,” Grossi said.

The recent attacks on the nuclear power plant earlier this month repeatedly violated one of the five principles he outlined last year to avert a nuclear disaster amid the Ukraine conflict.

"Nevertheless, Madame President, over the past ten days, the first of these principles has been violated repeatedly in what marks a step-change increase in risk to nuclear safety and security at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant," Grossi emphasized.

"We must do everything in our power today to minimize the risk of an accident," he stated.

On April 7, Ukraine's kamikaze drones attacked the territory of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant right after an inspection carried out by IAEA experts, the plant's press service said. The IAEA confirmed minor damage to the sixth power unit of the nuclear power plant, adding that nuclear safety had not been compromised. The attack also left three workers injured, with one of them sustaining serious injuries, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

No Russian heavy weapons at Zaporozhye nuclear plant – IAEA boss

Russia does not station heavy weapons at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told reporters on Monday.

Moscow and Kiev have been accusing each other of shelling Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which sits close to the front line. Kiev and its Western backers have also accused Moscow of using the facility as a cover for its troops.

Grossi made his comments after a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the renewed strikes on the plant. “There is no heavy weaponry there,” Grossi said while answering a reporter’s question during a media stakeout.

Russia does not station heavy weapons at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told reporters on Monday.

He explained that, although there are Russian “armored vehicles and some security presence at the plant,” IAEA monitors did not see any prohibited weapons, such as multiple rocket launchers, tanks and artillery.

Grossi said that the IAEA does not have the mandate to determine which side has been attacking the facility and argued that “indisputable evidence” is needed to establish who is responsible.

Addressing the Security Council, Grossi confirmed that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was struck on April 7, which was the first direct attack on the site since November 2022. Insectors have determined that the apex of the containment dome of the Unit 6 reactor building had been hit, he added. “Whilst the damage to the structure is superficial, the attack sets a very dangerous precedent of the successful targeting of the reactor containment,” Grossi stressed, warning that “these reckless attacks must cease immediately.”

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council that Ukrainian forces have been “systematically” targeting the plant and surrounding areas. He stated that the Russian army has been “spotting and intercepting up to 100 drones per week.” Moscow has never placed heavy weapons at the facility or used the plant to stage attacks on Ukraine, he said.

Officials in Kiev have denied striking the plant. “The position of Ukraine is clear and unequivocal: we are not conducting any military activities or provocations against nuclear sites,” Andrey Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told Ukrainian TV this month. Andrey Kovalenko, the head of the state-run Center for Countering Disinformation, accused Moscow of spreading false information and “manipulating the IAEA.”

The agency said in its report this week that all of the plant’s six reactors are currently in cold shutdown. According to the plant’s management, only one reactor had been working since 2022 in order to keep the site operational. IAEA inspectors were deployed to monitor the facility in September 2022.

Sources deny Saudi Arabia’s participation in intercepting Iranian attacks on Israel

A man walks past a banner depicting missiles launching from a representation of the map of Iran colored with the Iranian flag in central Tehran on April 15, 2024. (AFP)

Informed sources denied to Al Arabiya on Monday Saudi Arabia’s participation in intercepting Iranian drones during its attack on Israel on Saturday.

Israeli news websites had published statements attributed to an official Saudi website stating that the Kingdom participated in the recent defense coalition that confronted the Iranian attacks.

“There is no official website that published a statement about Saudi participation in intercepting attacks against Israel,” the sources told Al Arabiya.

Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel on Saturday evening into Sunday morning and described the attack as a response to several crimes, including the strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Tehran indicated that the attack targeted military targets, while the Israeli army announced that it intercepted 99 percent of the Iranian missiles, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE shared intelligence, including radar tracking information, with the US and Israel before Iran’s drone strike on Israel.

According to the WSJ, Israel was able to intercept almost all of the drones due to the involvement of Arab countries, who passed along intelligence about the attack before it took place, opened their airspace to warplanes, shared radar tracking information and in some cases, supplied their own forces to help.

After a wary initial response, the UAE and Saudi Arabia privately shared intelligence, while Jordan said it would allow the US and other countries' warplanes to use its airspace, as well as use its aircraft to assist in intercepting Iranian missiles and drones

Iran's assault was designed to saturate Israeli and U.S. air defenses with drones and cruise missiles and clear the way for Iran's ballistic missiles, two U.S. officials told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. It took several hours for the drones and missiles to travel toward Israel, and alerts began to sound across the country at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday (7p.m. Eastern on Saturday).

Four missiles hit Israel's Nevatim Air Base, where Israeli F-35s are based, the U.S. officials said, adding this base was likely Iran's primary target, as it was believed to have been an Israeli F-35 that carried out a deadly strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria's capital on April 1. 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday that Tehran had informed the US and neighboring countries about its retaliatory strike on Israel, giving a 72-hour warning.

“We announced ... to the White House in a message that our operations will be limited, minimal and will be aimed at punishing the Israeli regime,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a briefing to foreign diplomats regarding Tehran’s drone and missile assault on Israel.

Iran, on the other hand, hailed the operation as successful, saying it had inflicted “heavy blows” to Israel.

“The size of the attack, and the manner in which drones and missiles were fired in tandem, suggests Iran did intend to pressure Israel’s air defense system,” Eurasia group analyst Gregory Brew told Al Arabiya English.

But Iran’s signaling of the attack beforehand allowed Israel and its allies sufficient time to prepare defenses, rendering the assault largely ineffective, Brew added.

“This would suggest Iran intended this attack to be largely symbolic and designed to restore deterrence, rather than actually inflicting damage on Israel. The telegraphing also emphasizes how Iran hopes to avoid escalation with both Israel and the US in the short-term,” he said.

'Nothing You Can Do to Stop Us' - Iran's Strikes on Israeli Bases Establish Deterrence

©AP Photo/VAHID SALEMI

Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter urged observers to look beyond Israel and the United States’ framing of Iran’s retaliatory strike, noting Tehran was able to successfully deal damage to Israeli military assets.

Former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter stressed that Iran is playing the long game in its dealings with Israel, carefully calibrating its actions to restore deterrence against the country rather than concerning itself with world opinion.

The former US Marine Corps intelligence officer offered the analysis on Sputnik's Fault Lines program Monday, challenging the perception that Israel is in a stronger position after intercepting most of Iran’s retaliatory strikes over the weekend.

“The point is prior to this Israel had established a dominance – I'll call it deterrence dominance,” claimed Ritter. “Meaning that, from an Israeli perspective, nobody should ever dare attack Israel, that Israel has let it be known that if you attack Israel, there will be a ten-fold response, that your life would end, it would be horrible, you can't do it. And, for the most part, people didn't attack Israel.”

“And so Israel had become very arrogant, had become sort of the neighborhood bully writ large,” he explained. “And this is why Israel was bombing Syria with impunity, striking targets in Lebanon with impunity, striking targets in Iraq with impunity.”

Israel frequently bombs Syrian airports and other infrastructure and has been illegally occupying the country’s Golan Heights territory since 1967. In 1982 the Israeli military bombed the Lebanese capital of Beirut so aggressively the US President Ronald Reagan referred to the event as a “holocaust,” hurting the feelings of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Observers also suggest Zionist opposition to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein played a role in the United States’ decision to invade the country and remove him from power in 2003. “It's very clear: Israel had the most influence in this and more so since we know how the Israelis were running into the Pentagon consulting with Rumsfeld and all those guys without even having to show any badge or anything,” former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern claimed on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program recently.

“And then they struck the wrong target,” said Ritter, referring to Israel’s recent strike on Iran’s diplomatic compound in Syria earlier this month. “You see, Iran said, ‘we have a great latitude for pain because we'll absorb that pain, because we recognize that in a broader sense of the word Iran is prevailing strategically against Israel, especially when it comes to Gaza and the Israeli defeat that is ongoing in Gaza.’”

“And so Iran delivered a blow, but remember, the purpose of the blow was not to destroy Israel or even bring harm to Israel,” he clarified. “The purpose of the blow was to establish Iranian deterrence precedent so that in the future Israel would know what the consequences of its actions would be. And this Iran did with extreme alacrity and extreme effectiveness.”

“The job wasn't to say, ‘we're going to hurt you.’ The job was to say, ‘hey, Israel, look around you. Right now you have America's most sophisticated X-band radar to give you intelligence when we launch our missiles… you have the whole world coming to your assistance to protect you and you can't stop our missiles from hitting your most important bases. That's the future, if you dare attack us again.’”

Israel has claimed in public statements that it was allegedly able to intercept most of Iran’s strikes and prevent major damage. But the country has conspicuously forbidden journalists from observing the aftermath of the attack on Israel’s bases, notes former CIA analyst Larry Johnson. Video posted to social media appeared to show several hypersonic missiles striking Israel’s Ramon military airbase in the Negev desert.

Host Jamarl Thomas pushed back on Ritter’s analysis, asking, “At the point where their generals keep getting murdered, are you really projecting that level of strength if ultimately you are just choreographing in this way?...

Is it really a projection of strength if you're choreographing what you're doing?”

“You're referring to the Iranian attack on al-Assad airbase after the [US] assassination of Qasem Soleimani and the fact Iran telegraphed that so that they struck empty buildings and they didn't kill Americans,” Ritter responded. “Let's look at it this way. When Iran shot down a Global Hawk [US drone] and Donald Trump wanted to bomb Iranian air defense sites, did he? The answer's no. Why? Because the Pentagon said they'll kill everybody. They just set their deterrence. They showed us what they got, and we got nothing to defend against it.”

“When Iran said we're going to strike Israel, what did the United States do?” he asked. “Say bring it on? We stand side by side with the Israelis? We will attack you? We will bomb your territory? The United States went ‘wow, we'll defend Israel, but we're not attacking you.’ Yeah, that's called deterrence.”

“Iran doesn't want a shooting match with the United States,” Ritter argued. “They wanted to avoid it, and they have done so. The United States is scared to death of bombing Iran, of creating a conflict because they know what Iran will do. Iran will flatten every single American military base with the range of their missiles. And if the United States takes its next step, Iran will shut down international oil supplies and the economy will crash, and Joe Biden will never get reelected.”

Ritter insisted that Iran attacked Israel in such a way that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could save face and back down while also revealing Tehran’s capabilities if Israel strikes it again.

“All those things that were shot down – understand those were designed to be shot down,” he claimed. “Iran put a program together with the United States that said, ‘we're going to let you shoot all this stuff down so you feel good. But in the end our good stuff hit the bases, just so you know that we can do that anytime we want, and there's nothing you can do to stop us.’”

Ritter also claimed Iran is focused on economic development rather than seeking military conflict with Tel Aviv.

“They've been focused on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, they've been focused on BRICS, they've been focused on their strategic pivot to the East,” he noted. “So for them to come in and do this feel good thing to make you, me and everybody else feel good – because apparently that's what this is about, making the larger audience that has nothing to do with Iran feel good about the Iranian response – they don't care.

“The Iranians are focused strategically on maintaining that pivot to the East, building strong economic relations, normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, and, more importantly since October 7th, facilitating the victory of Hamas over Israel which by Israel's own admission Hamas is winning,” he claimed.

“Haaretz [newspaper] – I think a day before the Iranian retaliation – came out with a headline story that said ‘Israel's lost this thing, it's over.’ I mean, there's nothing Israel could do to turn this around in Gaza. They've lost the world. They can't defeat Hamas. Hamas is emerging still intact militarily, they're stronger politically. And Iran's like, ‘we want to sustain that, too. We don't want to distract the world with this larger Israeli-Iranian conflict, we want to keep the focus on Palestinian statehood.’”

Kremlin, Beijing comments on Iran’s strike on Israel

China's deputy permanent representative to the U.N. Dai Bing.
©AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Russia Comments

No one would benefit from a conflict between Iran and Israel spiraling out of control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, voicing hope that the two regional powers will be able to resolve their differences peacefully.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov weighed in on a massive Iranian strike on Israel over the weekend. The attack came in response to an alleged Israeli strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month. The strike killed several senior Iranian military personnel.

The Kremlin spokesman said that Russia is “extremely worried about escalating tensions in the region,” urging everyone to exercise restraint.

“Further escalation serves no one’s interests. We advocate that all differences be resolved only by political and diplomatic means,” Peskov added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has also said that regional tensions are being fueled by “the unresolved nature of numerous crises in the Middle East, primarily in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone.”

It also deplored that the UN Security Council had been unable to “adequately react” to the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria – which Iran insists was the reason for its strike in the first place – due to the stance of Western powers on the issue.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected Israel’s call to condemn Iran’s attack, saying that West Jerusalem had not denounced Ukrainian strikes on Russian regions, and that it regularly provides vocal diplomatic support for Kiev.

In the aftermath of the barrage, Iran declared the end of its military operation against Israel, warning the Jewish state of harsh pushback if it were to retaliate.

Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador to the global body, Vassily Nebenzia, told members of the UN Security Council that the retaliatory strike “did not happen in a vacuum.” He claimed that the West had helped give rise to Iran’s attack by failing to take action over the illegal bombing of Tehran’s consulate in Damascus that provoked the latest violence in the region

China Comments

Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel constitute an “adverse spillover” of the Gaza conflict, China’s ambassador to the United Nations has said, warning that it could spread further and make the entire Middle East even more unstable.

Dai Bing made the remarks after Tehran launched a series of airstrikes on Israel over the weekend in retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian consular compound in Syria, which killed seven military personnel, including two generals.

Israel has not commented on the incident since Iran accused it of conducting an extraterritorial assassination.

Speaking at a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Sunday, Dai condemned Israel’s “vicious attack,” which he described as a “grave violation of the UN Charter and international law, and a breach of the sovereignty of both Syria and Iran.”

The war in Gaza “bears on the peace, stability and long-term security in the [Middle East] region,” he added, and called for an immediate end to the hostilities.

Dai warned that if “the flames of the Gaza conflict are allowed to continue raging, the adverse spillover is set to spread still further” across the entire region.

The Chinese envoy also called for “maximum calm and restraint” from Israel and Iran to prevent further escalations.

“Ultimately, there is no alternative to the full implementation of the two-state solution, the only way to end the vicious circle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once and for all,” Dai said.

China has called on the international community, particularly countries with influence, to play a “constructive role for the peace and stability of the region,” the ambassador added.

Lawmakers brawl as Georgian parliament considers 'foreign agent' bill - Video

Georgian lawmakers’ discussion of a bill to establish a “foreign agents” registry broke into a physical fight on Monday when the leader of an opposition party punched the parliamentary majority leader on the parliament floor.

The country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, first introduced a “foreign agents” bill in March 2023 but dropped the initiative after it sparked widespread protests and criticism from human rights groups and Western countries, who likened it to repressive legislation in Russia. The party announced a renewed attempt to create a “foreign agents” registry over a year later, on April 3, 2024. Monday was the first day of the bill’s consideration.

Video from the legislation session shows deputy Aleko Elisashvili, the leader of the Citizens party, hitting majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze in the face, sparking chaos in the chamber. Elisashvili was reportedly met with “cheers and hugs” by protesters outside of the parliament.

The incident prompted a wider brawl between several lawmakers, an occasional occurrence in Georgia's often raucous parliament. Footage showed Elisashvili being greeted with cheers by protesters outside the parliament building. Georgian Dream said earlier this month it would reintroduce legislation requiring organisations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines, 13 months after protests forced it to shelve the plan.

The bill has strained relations with European countries and the United States, who have said they oppose its passage. The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the move is incompatible with the bloc's values.

Georgian Dream says it wants the country to join the EU and NATO, even as it has deepened ties with Russia and faced accusations of authoritarianism at home. It says the bill is necessary to combat what it calls "pseudo-liberal values" imposed by foreigners, and to promote transparency.

Georgia's government said Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting on Monday with the EU, British and U.S. ambassadors at which they had discussed the bill. In a statement, Kobakhidze defended the draft law as promoting accountability, and said it was "not clear" why Western countries opposed it.

Georgian critics have labelled the bill "the Russian law", comparing it to similar legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent in Russia. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Russia is widely unpopular in Georgia, due to Moscow's support for the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008.

Several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building ahead of a mass protest that civil society organisations have called for Monday evening.

Once approved by members of the legislature's legal affairs committee, which is controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, the foreign agent bill can proceed to a first reading in parliament.

Georgia is due to hold elections by October. Opinion polls show that Georgian Dream remains the most popular party, but has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority.

At Least 9 Iranian Missiles Hit 2 Targeted Israeli Airbases

©AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki

At least nine of Iran's dozens of missiles have hit two the Israeli Terrorist State air bases in recent attacks, damaging infrastructure, ABC News reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed senior US official.

Five ballistic missiles struck the Israeli Terrorist State's Nevatim airbase, damaging a C-130 military transport aircraft, a runway and storage facilities, while four more missiles hit an the Israeli Terrorist State airbase in the Negev desert but without any significant damage reported.

On Saturday night, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched over 300 drones and missiles at Israel in its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory, the Israeli Terrorist Defense Forces (IDF) said. The attack came in response to Israel's airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.

In fact, the Israeli Terrorist State launched 300 anti-missiles to repel 40 Iranian missiles, 30% of which hit the Israeli Terrorist State's infrastructure.

Iranian state media reported that Iran had fired at least seven hypersonic missiles at the Israeli Terrorist State, with none of them intercepted.

Meanwhile, CNN reported, citing US officials, that the US military had intercepted more than 79 drones and at least three hyperosnic missiles during Iran's attack. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Terrorist State had intercepted 99% of the aerial targets fired by Iran, including all drones.

That is not true, in the sense of false information that is always built by the US and the Israeli Terrorist State.

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, announced on Sunday that two important Israeli military sites were targeted in Iran's response.

Bagheri pointed out that the attack, which was carried out with ballistic and cruise missiles, "was planned to target the airbase from which the Israeli aircraft that attacked our consulate departed."

“A considerable number of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles have been used in this operation with well-thought-out tactics and proper planning, as neither the Iron Dome nor the Zionist regime’s missile defense shield could take any significant action against this operation."

"The operation’s purposes have been fulfilled,” the Bagheri declared.