Iran deputy minister says nuclear program 'intact' after June strikes - CNN

In an interview with the Iranian parliament-affiliated Khaneh Mellat news agency, Ahmad Nejatian, the head of Iran's Nursing Organization, said the requirement to restrict marriage or childbearing was “illegal and unethical” and added that “it must be addressed.”

“Around 70 percent of the country’s nurses are women, and most of them are of childbearing age, and these individuals have the right to marry, become mothers, and benefit from their legal entitlements,” he said.

Nejatian said staffing shortages during maternity leave were the main driver behind the clinics’ demands. “In some hospitals, up to 30 percent of staff are on maternity leave at the same time, and this shortage makes the situation more difficult,” he said.

He said pregnant nurses are typically moved away from high-risk units such as intensive care, operating rooms, and departments with radiation or infectious exposure. Nejatian said the reassignment is “a natural and necessary action,” but without replacement staff, “additional pressure is placed on the healthcare system.”

Nejatian urged the government to allow temporary hiring during maternity leave, saying: “The absence of even one nurse in medical settings can place significant pressure on other staff.”

In October, Ghasem Aboutalebi, head of the Nursing Organization’s Supreme Council, said Iran faces a shortage of 165,000 nurses, with a nurse-to-bed ratio of 0.9, compared with a target of 1.8 under the country’s six-year development plan.

The shortage is worsened by excessive workloads, delayed or insufficient pay, insecure employment, short-term contracts, and the growing exodus of skilled nurses seeking better opportunities abroad.

Nurses across Iran have repeatedly protested over pay, heavy workloads, insecure contracts and chronic understaffing.

“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in response to a question from an Associated Press journalist at a conference in Tehran.

“There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked,” he said.

Asked what conditions would allow talks with the United States and others to resume, Araghchi said Iran’s position remains unchanged. “Iran’s right for enrichment, for peaceful use of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is undeniable,” he said. “We would never give up our rights.”

His comments come ahead of a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors this week, where a new resolution targeting Iran over its lack of cooperation could come to a vote.

European nations pushed through a measure to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran in September.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade — after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. Tehran maintains its program is peaceful.

US talks with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program began earlier this year with a 60-day ultimatum. On the 61st day, June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign which was capped with US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear sites in Esfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

Araghchi told journalists that prospects for renewed talks remain limited under current US policy.

"The current approach of the US government does not in any way indicate a readiness for equal and fair negotiations to achieve mutual benefits," he said.

"What we have witnessed from the Americans so far has in fact been an attempt to dictate their own demands; completely maximal and excessive demands," Araghchi added.

"In the face of such demands, we do not see an opportunity for dialogue. Otherwise, we were ready for dialogue, and we always are, and we will continue to be, but we will never participate in negotiations that are intended to dictate."

The M/V Talara was taken on Friday, after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel arrived by helicopter and boarded the vessel before steering it into Iranian territorial waters, where it remains, CENTCOM said in a statement.

“Iran’s use of military forces to conduct an armed boarding and seizure of a commercial vessel in international waters constitutes a blatant violation of international law, undermining freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” the statement said.

It called on Tehran to “articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions.”

CENTCOM added that US forces “will continue to remain vigilant and work alongside our partners and allies to promote regional peace and stability.”

CENTCOM’s statement come a day after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said it had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged tanker off the coast of Makran, confirming earlier reports from maritime security firms and ship-tracking agencies.

“Our rapid-reaction units tracked and seized the vessel following a judicial order to confiscate its cargo,” IRGC-affiliated Fars news quoted the IRGC Navy as saying on Saturday.

The report said that the ship was carrying about 30,000 tons of petrochemical products owned by Iran that were being transferred illegally to Singapore.

Fars added that, according to its account, the tanker was sailing under a Marshall Islands flag and that the offenders were Iranian individuals or companies accused of trying to export the cargo unlawfully.

Iran has stepped up maritime enforcement in recent months, especially in waters near the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, where fuel smuggling remains a persistent issue due to price differences with neighboring countries.

The IRGC regularly announces such seizures as part of what it calls efforts to curb fuel trafficking in the region, a key route for global oil shipments. Iran has also seized tankers over maritime disputes or in response to international sanctions enforcement.

“The US president must accept that peace is not achieved by force,” Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said during a speech at a conference in Tehran.

“As your predecessors tested Iran and saw that Iran cannot be destroyed through force and stands firm in defending its rights, you should study their experience. Come and hold real negotiations with Iran based on mutual respect,” Kharrazi said in comments directed at Trump.

"Of course, you should know that we will not abandon enrichment, nor will we give up our military power," he added.

Kharrazi said Iran began producing weapons and missiles during the Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s and has since become a major missile power.

US talks with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program began earlier this year with a 60-day ultimatum. On the 61st day, June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign which was capped with US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear sites in Esfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has called the attacks illegal.

The United States has demanded Iran renounce domestic uranium enrichment while Tehran maintains its nuclear program is an international right.

Kharrazi argued that United Nations failed to protect Iran’s rights during the June war. “You saw that the United Nations did not help Iran, and the secretary general only called for restraint,” he said.

He said the United States and Israel bear responsibility for the June strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling them illegal.

“Attacking nuclear facilities is essentially illegal, especially facilities that are under the supervision of the Agency (the International Atomic Energy Agency),” he said, adding that Washington must accept accountability.

Kharrazi’s comments came as Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also addressed the conference in Tehran.

Araghchi said Iran is prepared for another round of conflict, warning that foreign powers must choose the path forward between diplomacy and war after the twelve-day conflict in June.

“Those who want to engage with Iran must decide which experience they want to base their approach on. We are ready for both,” Araghchi said.

The Energy Ministry’s atmospheric water technologies organization said the first flight of the 2024–25 water year was conducted on Saturday over northwestern Iran, where Lake Urmia – once the Middle East’s largest saltwater lake – has largely dried into a salt plain after years of drought, over-extraction and extreme heat. 

Mohammad-Mehdi Javadianzadeh, who heads the state body, said a specialized aircraft equipped for cloud seeding was deployed as a suitable weather system passed over the region.

He said teams plan to conduct operations “on all incoming systems that are technically viable” and are assessing conditions over Tehran and other provinces to determine whether additional flights can be launched in the coming days.

He said the aim is to maintain continuous operational capacity in the northwest, with authorities planning to base a dedicated aircraft in Tabriz to service both East and West Azarbaijan provinces. 

The program is expected to run until mid-May using both aircraft and drones. Cloud seeding, Javadianzadeh added, is internationally recognized as a cost-effective tool for atmospheric water harvesting.

“Cloud seeding has been shown to increase precipitation and is used around the world not only to enhance rainfall but also to suppress hail, disperse fog and increase hydropower reserves,” he said.

But he warned that the technology has limits and requires clear public messaging: “If the issue is not explained properly, expectations beyond the capacity of the technology or disappointment with it may emerge among society and decision-makers.”

Cloud seeding widely used, but not a cure-all

Cloud seeding is used in more than 50 countries, including the United States, China, Australia and several Middle Eastern states. Scientific reviews suggest that under favorable atmospheric conditions the process can boost precipitation by 5 to 15 percent, though results vary widely and remain difficult to measure precisely.

Iran’s neighbors – especially the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – have expanded large-scale seeding programs, with the UAE carrying out more than 200 missions a year and investing in drone-based techniques similar to those Iran has begun deploying. 

Experts say that while cloud seeding can marginally increase rainfall, it cannot compensate for decades of overuse, aquifer depletion and climate-driven aridity across the region. 

Prayers for rain held nationwide

The new operations come as Iran faces what water specialists describe as a nationwide emergency. Reservoirs supplying Tehran are at or near historic lows, and authorities warn the capital could face extensive rationing if winter rains fail. Some neighborhoods have already reported intermittent cuts.

This week, cities across Iran held rain-seeking prayers as clerics urged the faithful to perform the traditional salat al-istisqa amid the worsening drought. 

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  Senior Iranian cleric calls for rain prayers as water crisis deepens

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  Salt storms drive migration as Iran’s Lake Urmia turns to dust

In Tehran, worshippers gathered at the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in the north of the capital on Friday. Similar ceremonies were held in Mashhad, Qom and Qazvin.

Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli said the prayer is “asking for water in all forms, not just rain,” calling it a moment for repentance and unity as water shortages deepen nationwide.

Experts say Iran is experiencing “water bankruptcy,” a condition in which consumption has exceeded renewable supply after decades of over-pumping, large-scale basin transfers and agricultural expansion. 

Northwestern Iran has been among the hardest-hit regions. Lake Urmia’s collapse has triggered expanding salt storms that have damaged farmland and forced some residents to leave nearby villages, according to local media and environmental researchers. 

Officials say unauthorized wells and heavy irrigation remain major drivers of groundwater decline.

Meteorological officials say rainfall so far this autumn is nearly 90% below long-term averages, making it the driest season in half a century.