Monday June 30, 2025 {HMC} Iran may be able to restart uranium enrichment in a matter of months despite a wave of attacks by the United States and Israel that targeted its nuclear infrastructure, according to the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi.

The remarks came on Saturday, days after US President Donald Trump insisted this month’s attacks had set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back “by decades”.

Speaking to CBS News on Saturday, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said while key facilities had been hit, some are “still standing”.

“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium,” Grossi said, adding that it could even be sooner.

He raised concerns over Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium, just below weapons grade, which could theoretically produce more than nine nuclear bombs if refined further.

He acknowledged the IAEA does not know whether this stockpile was moved before the bombings or partially destroyed. “There has to be, at some point, a clarification,” he said.

Israeli attacks
The Israeli assault began on June 13 with strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military sites.

Israel claimed the attacks were designed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, an accusation Tehran has consistently denied. The US joined the offensive days later, hitting three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

In the wake of the attacks, Iranian lawmakers moved to suspend cooperation with the IAEA and denied Grossi’s request to inspect facilities, including the underground enrichment plant at Fordow.

“We need to be in a position to confirm what is there, where it is, and what happened,” Grossi said.

The Iranian Ministry of Health reported at least 627 civilian deaths across the country during the 12-day assault that also saw 28 people killed in Israel in retaliatory strikes launched by Iran, according to Israeli authorities.

On Saturday, Iran’s judiciary said an Israeli missile strike on Tehran’s Evin Prison on June 23 killed 71 people, including military recruits, detainees and visitors.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said on Sunday that Iranians believe Israel struck the facility to free the prisoners.

“Definitely the worst way to do that is to bomb the facility itself and kill civilians,” he added. “This prison is not dedicated to specific crimes. We see political prisoners, journalists, financial offenders, and foreign detainees.

“In 2018, the United States put Evin Prison on its sanctions list, and the European Union did the same in 2021 because of human rights violations.”

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Monday June 30, 2025 {HMC} Somali Ministry of Ports and Maritime Transport announced Sunday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkey to strengthen cooperation in economic and transport infrastructure across African coastal nations.

The agreement was signed by Somalia’s Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, on behalf of the Federal Government, and by officials from the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. It marks a broader partnership between Turkey and the ministries responsible for transport in African coastal countries.

According to a statement from the ministry, the deal aims to enhance cooperation in the transport sector, improve regional trade links, boost production, and support long-term economic growth across the continent.
“Today, we successfully concluded the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Turkey, alongside other African coastal nations,” said Minister Nur. “This is a major step forward in uniting African countries and Turkey to jointly develop connectivity infrastructure and build a sustainable economic future.”

The Somali government emphasized that the agreement aligns with its national development priorities, particularly its goal to strengthen port infrastructure and position Somalia as a regional trade hub. Officials say the initiative will contribute to economic self-sufficiency and job creation.

The memorandum comes as Somalia continues to expand its international partnerships to support recovery, growth, and regional integration after years of conflict.

Source Hiiraan online

Monday June 30, 2025 {HMC}  Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.

The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and aims to attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

At a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries’ foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said.

“They were going at it for many years, and with machetes – it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled,” Trump said on Friday, ahead of the signing of the deal in Washington.

“We’re getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They’re so honored to be here. They never thought they’d be coming.”

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the agreement a turning point. Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said it must be followed by disengagement.

Trump later met both officials in the Oval Office, where he presented them with letters inviting Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of agreements that Massad Boulos, Trump’s senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the “Washington Accord”.

Nduhungirehe told Trump that past deals had not been implemented and urged Trump to stay engaged.

Trump warned of “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise”, if the agreement is violated.

Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year.

The gains by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears that a wider war could draw in Congo’s neighbours.

ECONOMIC DEALS

Boulos told Reuters in May that Washington wanted the peace agreement and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this summer.

Rubio said on Friday that heads of state would be “here in Washington in a few weeks to finalize the complete protocol and agreement.”

However, the agreement signed on Friday gives Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework “to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains”.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time.

There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Doha – a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23 – is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said.

The agreement signed on Friday voiced “full support” for the Qatar-hosted talks.

It also says Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.

Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda’s former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Congolese negotiators had dropped an earlier demand that Rwandan troops immediately leave eastern Congo, paving the way for the signing ceremony on Friday.

Congo, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms.

Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo’s army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the FDLR.

“This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,” said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa’s Great Lakes region.

Similar formulas have been attempted before, Stearns added, and “it will be up to the U.S., as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms.”

The agreement signed on Friday says Rwanda and Congo will de-risk mineral supply chains and establish value chains “that link both countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the U.S. and U.S. investors.”

The terms carry “a strategic message: securing the east also means securing investments,” said Tresor Kibangula, a political analyst at Congo’s Ebuteli research institute.

“It remains to be seen whether this economic logic will suffice” to end the fighting, he added.

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, Ange Adihe Kasongo in Kinshasa, Sonia Rolley in Paris, Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar and Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Alison Williams, Paul Simao and Alistair Bell

Source

Monday June 30, 2025 {HMC} President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new Mogadishu International Airport, a major infrastructure project planned for the Warsheekh district in the Middle Shabelle region.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, President Mohamud said the airport is a critical step toward improving Somalia’s connectivity, strengthening its aviation capabilities, and supporting national development.

“This airport will be modern and fully equipped to serve both the Somali public and international travelers,” he said. “It reflects our country’s progress, resilience, and determination to rebuild areas once controlled by terrorists.”
The project will be implemented by a Somali-owned company, highlighting the role of local firms in the country’s post-conflict reconstruction and economic revival. Officials say the new airport is expected to spur regional growth, enhance transportation links, and improve service delivery in central Somalia.

President Mohamud was joined at the ceremony by Hirshabelle State President Ali Gudlawe Hussein and other senior federal and regional officials.

Although full technical specifications have yet to be released, aviation experts say the new airport will likely feature at least two parallel runways, each approximately 4,000 meters long, to accommodate large commercial aircraft. Plans are expected to include separate domestic and international terminals with expandable passenger facilities, a modern cargo terminal, maintenance hangars, fuel farms, an advanced air traffic control tower, and comprehensive security installations.

Industry analysts estimate the total cost of the airport project could exceed $1 billion, factoring in construction, equipment, and operational infrastructure.

The existing Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu features a single asphalt runway (05/23), measuring 3,150 meters long and 45 meters wide. It currently handles both civilian and military flights but is operating at near-capacity amid growing demand.

Source Hiiraan online