Head Of UN Nuclear Watchdog Says Strikes Near Bushehr Plant 'Must Stop'
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has warned that military strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant pose a "very real danger to nuclear safety."
Quoted in an IAEA X post on April 6, Grossi was quoted as saying such actions “could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond,” adding that they “must stop.”
Earlier, Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami accused the UN nuclear watchdog of inaction that “emboldens aggression” against nuclear facilities, warning that repeated strikes near the Bushehr power plant risk serious consequences.
In a letter to Grossi, Eslami said Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant had been targeted four times, with the latest attack killing a security guard and injuring others.
Tehran has called on the IAEA to explicitly condemn the attacks, while criticizing what it describes as an insufficient response from the agency.
In the same IAEA X post on April 6, the UN nuclear watchdog said that its analysis of satellite imagery confirmed “recent impacts of military strikes” close to the Bushehr plant, including one just 75 meters from the site perimeter, while noting the facility itself had not been damaged.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency, Rosatom, has evacuated staff from Bushehr in recent days, continuing a withdrawal that began after the conflict escalated in the region in late February, according to Russian news agencies.
The Bushehr plant was built with Russian assistance and is jointly run by Iranian and Russian personnel.
With reporting by Reuters
Iran Rejects Cease-Fire, Demands Permanent End To War As Trump Deadline Looms
Iran has conveyed a 10-point response to US proposals for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a temporary cease-fire and demanding a permanent end to hostilities, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on April 6, as US President Donald Trump's deadline for massive strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure draws closer.
The response, described by IRNA as the product of two weeks of reviews at the highest levels of the Iranian establishment, rules out a cease-fire while laying out a set of conditions including a permanent end to hostilities across the region, a safe passage protocol for the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction commitments, and the lifting of sanctions.
The report carried by IRNA did not offer further details.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei had signaled Tehran's position earlier in the day.
"A cease-fire means creating a pause to regroup and commit crimes again," he said at his weekly press conference. "No rational person would do that." Iranian officials have made clear they do not want to be caught in a situation similar to Gaza or Lebanon, where a cease-fire on paper left them vulnerable to renewed attack.
The response lands as Trump's self-imposed deadline -- Tuesday, April 7, at 8pm US Eastern Time -- closes in.
Trump has threatened to unleash a sweeping bombing campaign against Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "Tuesday [April 7] will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!" he wrote on Truth Social.
Read more here.
Strikes Hit Iranian Petrochemical Facilities In South Pars
Israeli strikes hit petrochemical facilities in southern Iran on April 6, Iranian media reported, with damage reported but no casualties.
Iranian media said the strikes included the South Pars petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh, a key energy hub in the country’s south.
Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on the same day that Israel had "just carried out a powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran, located in Asaluyeh, a central target responsible for about 50 per cent of the country's petrochemical production."
Iranian outlets said utility providers supplying power, water, and oxygen to the complexes were targeted, disrupting operations, though one major plant was not damaged.
Local authorities in Marvdasht, north of Shiraz in southern Iran, said a separate strike caused only minor damage and did not halt activity.
The attacks come amid escalating strikes on energy infrastructure.
The South Pars gas field, a key supplier of Iran’s domestic energy, has been targeted before, as have petrochemical sites in Mahshahr.
Costa Warns Against Targeting Civilian Infrastructure
European Council President Antonio Costa has said “only a diplomatic solution will settle” the conflict after five weeks of war in the Middle East.
In a post on X on April 6, he stressed that “any targeting of civilian infrastructure, namely energy facilities, is illegal and unacceptable,” warning that civilians would bear the brunt of any escalation.
He added that “only negotiations will” bring peace, urging Iran to halt regional attacks and restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Costa's remarks come after US President Donald Trump threatened strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure if Tehran does not meet his ultimatum to reopen the strait.
Head Of UN Nuclear Watchdog Says Strikes Near Bushehr Plant 'Must Stop'
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has warned that military strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant pose a "very real danger to nuclear safety."
Quoted in an IAEA X post on April 6, Grossi was quoted as saying such actions “could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond,” adding that they “must stop.”
Earlier, Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami accused the UN nuclear watchdog of inaction that “emboldens aggression” against nuclear facilities, warning that repeated strikes near the Bushehr power plant risk serious consequences.
In a letter to Grossi, Eslami said Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant had been targeted four times, with the latest attack killing a security guard and injuring others.
Tehran has called on the IAEA to explicitly condemn the attacks, while criticizing what it describes as an insufficient response from the agency.
In the same IAEA X post on April 6, the UN nuclear watchdog said that its analysis of satellite imagery confirmed “recent impacts of military strikes” close to the Bushehr plant, including one just 75 meters from the site perimeter, while noting the facility itself had not been damaged.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency, Rosatom, has evacuated staff from Bushehr in recent days, continuing a withdrawal that began after the conflict escalated in the region in late February, according to Russian news agencies.
The Bushehr plant was built with Russian assistance and is jointly run by Iranian and Russian personnel.
With reporting by Reuters
Iran Executes Another Protester Detained In January Unrest
Iran has executed a protester detained during anti-government demonstrations in January, according to the judiciary’s media outlet Mizan, the HRANA human rights group reports.
Ali Fahim was put to death on April 6 after his sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, authorities said.
He had been convicted by a Tehran Revolutionary Court of security-related charges, including involvement in an arson attack on a Basij militia base -- allegations rights groups dispute.
His execution brings to four the number of defendants in the same case put to death in recent days, raising concerns about others still at risk.
Among them is Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, another defendant in the case, who has reportedly been transferred to solitary confinement, sparking fears he could face imminent execution.
Rights organizations have criticized Iran’s use of capital punishment, citing reports of forced confessions and unfair trials.
Iran, Israel Trade Attacks As Civilian Casualties Reported
At least 19 people were killed and 20 injured in US and Israeli air strikes near Tehran, Iranian state media reported on April 6.
The districts of Shahriar and Baharestan were hit, with two residential buildings destroyed, the official IRNA news agency said, citing local officials.
Several bodies were recovered from the rubble.
The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported that six children under the age of 10 were among the dead.
The figures could not be independently verified.
Elsewhere, Israeli media reported on April 6 that Iran had used cluster munitions in a missile attack on the Tel Aviv area earlier that day, with around 20 impact sites recorded, according to the Ynet news agency.
Several people were injured, including one seriously, and a school was hit.
In Haifa, earlier strikes killed four people and set vehicles on fire.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda and dpa
Trump Threatens Massive Strikes As Iran Cease-Fire Push Goes To The Wire
- By RFE/RL
US President Donald Trump has threatened to "blow up everything" in Iran even as last-ditch cease-fire efforts entered their final hours on April 6, with a Pakistan-brokered peace framework on the table and Trump's April 7 deadline for massive strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure fast approaching.
"Tuesday [April 7] will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump's time frame for his latest ultimatum has occasionally shifted in his social media posts and media interviews.
In an interview on April 5 with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said Iran must reopen the strait in two days or "they're going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country." Later, he posted a new deadline of Tuesday, April 7, at 8pm, US Eastern Time.
Meanwhile, at least 19 people were killed and 20 injured in US and Israeli airstrikes near Tehran, Iranian state media reported on April 6.
Read more here.
Air Strike Hits Sharif University Of Technology In Tehran
Sharif University of Technology in Tehran was targeted in an air strike early on April 6, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
Hours later, without providing details, the university’s president said that “a scientific institution” within the university had been hit and that parts of a building were damaged.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref claimed that bunker-busting bombs were deployed in the attack, which he said was a “symbol of [US President Donald] Trump's madness and ignorance.”
Iranian media had earlier reported that a gas facility on the university campus was struck by a projectile, cutting off gas to the area, but later said the supply had been restored.
Images published online indicate significant damage to parts of the university, its surrounding grounds, and its mosque.
Late on April 5 -- the 37th day of US-Israeli attacks on Iran -- reports emerged of explosions and air defense activity in several cities.
Reports said multiple explosions were heard in Tehran on the evening of April 5, along with the sound of fighter jets over the capital.
Head Of Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization Killed
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says that the head of its Intelligence Organization, Brigadier General Seyed Majid Khademi, has been killed.
In its April 6 announcement, the IRGC did not provide details about the location or circumstances of his death, but said Khademi had “nearly half a century of sincere and courageous service in defending the revolution, the system, and the Islamic homeland in intelligence and security fields.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had been informed by his military chief that Israeli forces had “eliminated” Khademi, describing him as responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians and “one of the direct perpetrators” of war crimes.
Khademi was appointed to his post last summer following the killing of Mohammad Kazemi in Israeli strikes during the 12-day war. Prior to that, he headed the Intelligence Protection Organization of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
The US Treasury sanctioned him on January 30, saying the IRGC Intelligence Organization “has underpinned the Iranian security forces’ national campaign of mass violence, arbitrary detentions, and intimidation aimed at crushing Iran’s protest movement.”
The IRGC Intelligence Organization is responsible for counterespionage within the Revolutionary Guards, preventing infiltration, protecting classified information, and overseeing the political-security monitoring of personnel.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Report: Pakistan Mediates Urgent Cease-Fire Plan
Iran and the United States have received a Pakistan-mediated proposal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters, outlining a two-stage plan centered on an immediate cease-fire followed by a broader agreement.
“All elements need to be agreed today,” the source said on April 6, adding that the initial understanding would take the form of a memorandum of understanding finalized electronically through Pakistan, which is described as the sole communication channel.
The proposal, tentatively dubbed the “Islamabad Accord,” would see a cease-fire take effect quickly, with 15–20 days to negotiate a comprehensive settlement, the source said. It follows earlier reporting by Axios that US, Iranian and regional officials were discussing a possible 45-day truce.
Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, has been in contact “all night long” with senior US and Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, according to Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from US or Iranian officials.