for 2 years, only hence, as the usual $3000.00 swimmers were allowed to compete and they all had to be fully vaccinated. it was hewn south to the city, reported 0 local cove at 19 infections. for months, the harbor race is one of the few major sporting events allowed to resume this here in the financial hub. it kings? yeah, that's the, it's the 1st time we can participate in the sporting events is the pandemic started, which means we are ready to recover. ah, this is al jazeera and these are the headlines. tornado storms and 6 us states have killed at least $84.00 people left a trail of destruction present. joe biden is calling from national unity and as promising the full supports of the federal government. i want folks in all the states, you know, we're going to get through this, we're going to get through this together and the federal government is not going to

walk away. this is one of those times when we aren't democrats or republicans. sounds like i probably, but as real, where all americans, we stand together as united states america. and so i said all the victims, you're in our prayers and all those 1st responders, emergency personnel on every one, helping your fellow americans. this is the right thing to do with the right time and we're going to get through this. and b, c correspondent, j grey has more from a nets in arkansas. this isn't the time of year. yeah, we usually see tornadoes in an area that is familiar with tornadoes, but usually in a spring time, what i'm hearing from survivors is 1st start disbelief. i, i think most are still in shock as you could imagine. and then in small towns like this 11500 or so, everybody either knows someone who was affected or, or a friend or a relative of some one effect and, and so it really strikes hard polls are closing after

a 3rd and final independence referendum in the french territory of new caledonia islands is narrowly rejected breaking away from france in 2018. and last year, sunday protests had been held in australia's 2 largest cities against covey. 19 vaccine mandates, the demonstrations in sydney and melbourne. follow the government announcing an acceleration in booster shots rescue teams in sicily or digging through the rubble of collapse buildings following a gas pipe explosion. at least one person is reported dead. the several others are missing in the tone of revenue. sir, in southern italy, the bloss damaged at least 2 other buildings. thousands of people in argentina had protested against the possible deal to restructure the country's debts. the governments is negotiating with the international monetary funds to pay back a $45000000000.00 tax. and with the headlines stay, stay with us,

talk to al jazeera rafael grossi is up next, on counting the cost, all rich countries ready to put the bill for a global, a court, pandemic preparedness hypersonic missiles driving a new arms. right. so what's the big deal behind? and solar powered vehicles, we explore the cars, but harnessing the stop. counting the car on i just hear them with i'm doors so jeffery, in vienna. iran the u. k. france, germany, russia and china have resume talks in the australia capital amy to revive their 2015 joint comprehensive plan of action or the iran nuclear deal. the united states is participating indirectly, after withdrawing from the agreement 3 years ago. but there is another important party involved in the diplomatic efforts,

and that's the international atomic energy agency, or i. e. as part of the u. n, the nuclear watchdog has kept dialogue and negotiations ongoing with all parties involved. but as tensions and disagreements on key issues remain unresolved, what would it take for the negotiations? the j. c. p. a way to succeed? and if they fail, what's next? stay with us. as the director general of the international atomic energy agency, rafael marianna grossi talks to al jazeera, ah, director general of the international atomic energy agency, rafael marianna grossi, thank you for talking to l. just my pleasure. good to see you. what do you think is the role of the a within the united nations and also now within the international community? well, the a year has multiple functions. that is sometimes identified as nuclear watchdog because we inspect nuclear facilities all over the world to ensure that nuclear

material is not diverted for military uses for hostile uses. and that nuclear weapons are not, you know, developed where they shouldn't be developed. so it has a clear nonproliferation as it is called in the jargon nonproliferation activities . but that is not all. we also make sure that all the nuclear facilities in the world and what i mean nuclear facilities have a good nuclear power. plants operate safely, operate securely by setting standards, having missions to make sure that these nuclear power plants are ok air. but also on top of that, we have a very important a promotional mission when it comes to, for example, nuclear medicine. her report been or in our family's touch by cancer and we, we know what radiotherapy means. this is nuclear medicine in action, radio therapy for medical oncology and we all sort work in water management

resources in the protection of for food, food security or sure. her helping countries are now in the pandemic, for example, by using nuclear techniques to identifies or ne, so there is a, there is a whole range of activities above and beyond nonproliferation or nuclear energy that have to do with development. so it's a vast portfolio. you can see after nuclear power seen as a threat globally and to and now nuclear power for civilian use is not always believed to be at the case by some countries. and how do you ensure that all sides abide by the rules and conditions set out by your agency? well, by a large or nuclear power, inter energy is a very safe her source of energy and, and has a very good record in terms of security and safety. are very, there are a, just a few countries that have decided to discontinue the use of nuclear energy is

more specifically after the acts in japan. she medation of her power plant and some that simply don't use it. the reality is that there are 440 reactors, nuclear reactors at the moment, operating all over the world more than 50 are being built. so this image that nuclear is something that is either rejected or feared is, is not, does not correspond to, to reality. and we, the, i, e is essential in providing these assurances because we are setting the standards in, in, say, steve and the security. we all saw are the, the posse trees off a number of conventions and arrangements and treaties that have to do with the safety and the security of all this plan. and that's what i want to talk about was non proliferation treaty of 9068, which came into effect and yes, 70. how does your organization enforce that treaty specifically in the signatories

that are part of that? well indeed indeed, like you say, there's going to be shown a review conference of this very important treaty, the n p t, as it is, as it is called. and it is interesting to note that the treaty itself mentions da. and he'd mentioned the fact that for, for a country, once a country he saw is a party to the treaty, it must enter into an agreement, or what we call technically speaking, a safeguards agreement. and, but when we say safeguards, what we mean is that they will subject their facilities, their installations to our inspections. so we can all have from pity. the non proliferation treaty or m p t, as it's now and it was conceived in 1968 and came into effect in 1970. it is an agreement that safeguards countries, nuclear programs, the radians have been signatories of the deal even before the revolution. 1979, and they say that they have voluntarily been part of the nonproliferation treaty,

and this is something that has come up over and over again. they say there are many countries that have nuclear programs that are not part of the m p t. not only that, the renews are part of additional protocols of the non proliferation treaty, as a sign of good will in 2015 once the j. c. p o, a was agreed upon and signed. iranians agree, 2 additional protocols under the nonproliferation treaty, and that is something that has not been the case since the u. s. withdrew from the deal in 2018. now iran is a signatory to n p t. yeah. and they have been for a long time and day well, we're part of the additional protocols which came into effect after the 2015 nuclear deal. as part of that agreement, would you say iran nuclear program is one of the most monitors, hurts nuclear programs in the world by your agency. you teeth, that's a fact. because by virtue of a number of security council resolutions, in particular, one that was adopted a few years ago,

2251. and it mandated the agency to conduct a number of inspections above the normal type of inspections that any other country would have. the reason is that of course, in the past there were issues in iran where all the rules were not being followed, so to speak. so the agency was asked to perform these activities and he talks remain so, so it's a program that is monitored by the agency in many ways. the talks of his resent here in vienna and the 2 main parties that are at odds with one another. the united states and iran and have new administrations and office, how have the new teams affected the talks because you've been in contact with all sides. and how are they different when you opinions then approval? it is no secret that the new government in the stomach republic of iran,

i came to power with very firm ideas and their own ideas about these j. c. p. o a that the return to this agreement to of that 2015, which had been around a but more or less left left set aside, are still there in form, but not in substance. but they said that they, you, of course, wanted to review what had been acted by the previous government and to join the discussions with the other partners in the z shapiro. which, as you know, include all the 5 permanent members of the security council, germany, and the coordination of the, in a, of the, of the opinion as a coordinator. and we are the very finding institution, the guarantor if you want of the whole thing. so are there have been discussions the are? yay. as they said, he's not a part the to the agreement,

but is the institution that guarantees it that it's the inspector of the agreement . and so we follow this, this discussions really closely. and we know that there are some complexities about it which are being dealt with at the moment as we speak. negotiations are ongoing and all parties are trying to find our converges, which is not easy. give, give it, given the sensitivity of the issues at stake. you've been interacting with her amiens' a lot since you took office in 2019. and now iran says a new page has been to this was in the media very recently. and a new page has been turned with your agency. and officials say that there was a delegation as come to vienna from iran's atomic energy organization. and, and they are going to announce something very soon in coordination with your agency at what have you met them or we are working, varies are there have been a number of meetings of at different levels i was intern of as you remember,

a few days ago than a returned then i, i, i had a meeting with the of the main, a nuclear negotiator of mr. peggotty county here in my office. and then we have, or also continued a technical levels, these interactions, this work continues and it hasn't finished yet. but this team arrived in vienna cameron's energy organization with the goal of speaking with your agency and announcing something new in their cooperation with your agency. i would say that before we agree on anything, the idea of an announcement is perhaps a bit premature. we know that time is running out. we have to finish this very soon and finish these very soon. the reason behind my, my, my information here is that the agency and iran are trying to come to an agreement on or, or basic on 2 things. one is the capability or the ability of the agency

to return to one facility, one specific facility in iran, where we need to reinstall cameras or that need to be there. and it has been difficult to do this. so we have been talking about these and the other thing is how to address a number of issues which need to be clarified. the agency found traces of nuclear material in places that had not been to we had before. so white logically as inspectors. we have been asking around, what is these, why it happened? and we haven't been able to address them satisfactory. so the idea is now the to cut to have an agreement on that. so we can move forward, do trust there any? well, you know, i think that it's not a matter of trusting or not trusting my agencies about verifying we trust everybody,

but we very fight everybody at the same time. this is very simple. for me. you've been quoted saying you've been denied indispensable access and iran at what access that is. it that you've been denied. i know it's what i was just just referring to exactly the the, the, the capacity to reinstall our cameras. so, so that the monitoring her or active duty will be more comprehensive. that carriage is a workshop, it's technically not a nuclear facility. it's not even part of the 19 different places that you monitor regularly to was this part of the extra thing the iranians agree to? yes it is. but that the say something, the fact that it's not a nuclear facility is perhaps inaccurate description, but it is essential and relevant to the, to the program because it's the place where parts of for the centrifuges centrifuges, are these machines were you enriched uranium inside?

so they are fabricated, if you want there. so without having a, an idea of what is going there. where is going on there. we would not be in a position to tell the negotiators of the g p, o a what the situation is. so they can have an idea where they are standing and then put in these agreement, the accurate figures in terms of what they want to limit or not. otherwise it's impossible. how long have euro have had access to catch? well the, the axis, or all the camera monitoring was interrupted in the month of june. no, but before that, when did you install the cameras, whether the cameras had been agreed they had been there before as part of the j. c, p, o. e. but it was agreed that we would continue with these monitoring activities when i visited around in february. at that point was very important because we could agree that some additional things were important. 40 run and for the agency to

continue so that we would be able together to continue providing a level of assurance if you wanted terms of information naturally show that people would be reassured that everything was okay. then this element started missing. and when they, when say there was an attack sabotage days, they say so. and of course, any attack or any usual violence is of course acceptable but, but my job is a different job. and of course we, we lament these, we, we regret this happened, but the important thing, and this is what we have been telling our, our indian counterparts. we need to restore these capability, which is in the interest of everybody. the issue of compliance is that the core of the problem theory is have with the international community when it comes to being transparent about their nuclear program, they're in, instead they've, they've done everything in their power to open up their nuclear facilities to inspectors. there were

a number of workshops in facilities outside the nuclear program. specifically, there is the workshop in carriage outside of terrace which produce a central future. that is something that has not been made available. the cameras at that facility since there was an act of sabotage as the radians called it in june of this year. they then decided to turn off all of the 4 cameras that they had in that facility because they believe that the international community was not strong enough in condemning the attack. did you and condemn the acts of sabotage. they, i, the un, i has been dealing with this in a, in a general manner, but not through every solution of the security council or anywhere else. in any case, it's another institution. natalie, how does your level of access or in around compared to other nuclear power of countries? well, i, j, the level of access is irregular. we have places where we are and we should

be there and continue to be there at, at the same time. like in the case of class, there are places where we firmly believe we should be and we're not. so it, it, it has good point and areas where we need to improve. do you still have access to parking? when we, this is not a place we inspect regularly. you, did you ever inspect parking it? it was part of a, of a past activity in terms of our, our presence for these pictures. yes. nuclear contamination or nuclear traces. it, does it actually mean that nuclear work to place there? do you inspect every report of nuclear contamination globally? well, yes, her countries declare their activities. they declare their activities. and normally you only find traces of nuclear material in the places where they the care . the problem in this case was that we found traces of nuclear material in places that had not been previously declared. so the logical thing before jumping into

a conclusion. this is what we do. we have a sequential, very professional work. we put the questions, we say we found this. what explanation can you give us about about this? and we've been, you know, going back and forth on this type of it is possible to have contamination, some or that came from another location. now it's not impossible, but again, this is part of a and an, an interaction. you get an explanation. so our experts will look at that explanation and see whether he's credible or not a do you have all the cameras and detectors at not hands and forego that air, detect diversion in a timely manner that you need yours on these places we, we are able to work so there is no issues in the, the main enrichment facilities in are not, not at the moment. they hope the won't be you as the saying they want to call an emergency session at the board of governors of the a year before the years and to discuss iran's noncompliance or at the difficulty is

that you faced you and your job with iran. would you support such a month? well, i, i neither support nor condemned. i mean these are decisions, but the countries need to need to make they, according to their own judgment of the situation. they will decide whether they feel that the board of governors should should meet again. and what's the process that will come after that level? it has these williams and he will depend on the kind of deliberations that the, that the board i will have. it could be a simply a deli, better to session. they may wish to consider a solution or not is really as a director general i, i'm supposed to be at a young, completely neutral on this one. then you as president, donald trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in may of 2018, saying it was no longer a good deal for the americans. then the series of sanctions are followed has been something they're in use, haven't seen for a very long time. the oil fails of iran,

where sanction, as was the major major banking systems in the country, which means that the international community could long no longer purchase oil from what was then opec's, 4th largest producer of oil in the international community. here in, in said this is tantamount to economic terrorism, and they started to reduce their commitment to the j. c. p. o, which was an agreement that took 8 years of diplomacy and 2 years of negotiations according to then foreign minister and how much of odds are if this was the point the iranians have now, this is the sticking point. they say they need your sanctions lifted before they will return to for compliance. and under that deal, under the j. c. p o, a iran is allowed to win rich up to levels of 3.67 percent. they are not allowed to have more than 300 kilograms of that enrich uranium inside the country, as well as a certain amount of heavy water. what the deal struck was that the other communities and friends of iran like russia, they were purchasing excess amounts of enrich uranium and heavy water to ensure

iran was in compliance with it took 10 years about 10 years to get the gc p. o, a signed, and it took the u. s. over a year to get out of it. the site that's not good for them. what is the timeline now for all the parties involved in your opinion? and to decide if disagreement can be revived or not? i don't think you have a pre established her dateline or the or, or, or timeline or what i know is what i hear from the protagonists. and for everybody i think her time is running out. no, you cannot have years of for a consideration whether you go back to an agreement, which was they go shaded for many years. it's either you go back to it or not. now that is a good technical work and diplomatic work which is which is ongoing. and let's, let's see what, what the final outcome of is. what happens if they cannot resolve their issues and

their jessie pill? is that what's next for your agency and your work with her on? well, at that point we will have to evaluate, of course, we will have, we have a permanent relationship with iran, based on the comprehensive safeguards agreement, which is, which is there. but it is obvious that the program has grown a lot and that activities are taking place in many places that they are and reaching uranium at 60 percent. they are doing it very fast. so we have to sit down with iran and reassess the situation. but let's not speculate, let's wait and see and see if there is an agreement. is there a civilian use for that high level of enriched uranium? theoretically, there is a, but of course where you look at, and it's not for me to say you have the right or not. this is also important. or the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons says the countries can have her activities in the peaceful realm provided they subject these activities to

inspections in the right way. so it is obvious that when you are in reach at 60 percent, this is a very, very high level, it's very close to weapon grade level. so ah, my idea is that when you have these level of ambition in terms of your local activities, you must accept also a high degree of inspection. do you think an iran could make an nuclear weapon? when less than a month? we don't have any information in this direction, so i would like to get into language that may be construed or something like that. what we say is that the amount of material are growing that this is material at very high level. and of course, this is something that has to be looked at with a lot of care. and finally, everyone's concerned about iran and the threats they post. and can you understand

their position and the threat they feel from other countries in the region, we're nearly ins. israel, they've israel has said recently, they're going to rehearse drills to attack the nuclear, the 6 nuclear facilities. and what is your understanding at if there was a strike on a nuclear facility? does that completely get rid of it or does it it? what other with the technical parts of it, can israel strike iran's nuclear sites and that nuclear program will just be stopped? i'm the director general fia ye, i'm a diplomat. i'm a man of peace, speculating about the possibility of attacks on a nuclear facilities is something that i would prefer not to do. i really hope. and it's not a matter of wishing her wishes. i think we have a very hard work to do myself. he run the j c p o, a partners to provide the necessary stability and calm and,

and her reflection her before anything happens that we will all regret you are speaking to israeli officials as well as the may speak to everybody. i speak to all involved countries and i'm talking to everybody. yes, it's part of my job and you're hopeful then for the future i must be and i'm doing everything possible to make sure that as i just said, that things will continue in a stable way. and that we will not go back to the path of violence and war, which doesn't help anybody, the director general of the international atomic energy agency, rafael marianna, grossey. thank you so much for talking to us yet. thank you. o jim, in the city in vietnam, once i gone home, the old capital of south vietnam at its heart, islam sonia square were journalists,

diplomats, military staff and spies, rub shoulders in its famous hotels. during the vietnam war, i was assigned to vietnam by the associated press and i arrived queued at 962. the caravel hotel burst under the headlines in november, 1963 when those of number to recruit a task which led to the assassination of president in this problem. and over 24 hour period, the center of sy gone was a war zone. the press retreated in effect of the car val hotel and many of the story is mentioned what we were saying was from the caravel. on this week's thrice, a new method of cremation is helping hinder, tradition become more and mine mentally friendly. and we visit

a danish community into a taken sustainability to new heights just over there on the horizon is some so island where they are officially 100 percent renewable. we get that. and so this is it that the energy generated we use of change on al jazeera. there's a lot more to al jazeera than t v with our website mobile app, social media, and podcast. al jazeera digital is a world award winning online content. and each week on portal will bring you the very best that they're trying to brighten the people to be the to go somewhere else . the truth is that it got nowhere else to go. so if you missed it online, catch up here with me, sandra. gotten on out is there ah

ah. ready ready doesn't fear dead after more than 30 tornadoes tear across the central us rescue workers come the wreckage for survivors. ah, madame, how the marquis dean. this is out to sierra life and doha also coming up a 3rd and final.