Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the status of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, an expanding separatist threat in Mali, and former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s ongoing legal saga.<\/p>\n
440 Pounds<\/p>\n
Iran is believed to have around 972 pounds of highly enriched uranium stored across the country. On Tuesday, the head of the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog suggested<\/a> that roughly half of this stash still resides in Iran\u2019s Isfahan nuclear facility\u2014despite U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly claiming<\/a> that U.S. strikes on that and other sites nearly a year ago \u201cobliterated\u201d the country\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the status of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, an expanding separatist threat in Mali, and former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s ongoing legal saga.<\/p>\n 440 Pounds<\/p>\n Iran is believed to have around 972 pounds of highly enriched uranium stored across the country. On Tuesday, the head of the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog suggested<\/a> that roughly half of this stash still resides in Iran\u2019s Isfahan nuclear facility\u2014despite U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly claiming<\/a> that U.S. strikes on that and other sites nearly a year ago \u201cobliterated\u201d the country\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n According to Rafael Grossi<\/a>, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 18 blue containers believed to be carrying roughly 440 pounds of enriched uranium entered a tunnel at the Isfahan complex on June 9, just four days before Israel\u2019s 12-day war against Iran began. Less than two weeks later, U.S. forces targeted<\/a> three Iranian nuclear facilities, including Isfahan.<\/p>\n Grossi said that, based on satellite imagery, this uranium\u2014believed to be enriched up to 60 percent purity, just shy of 90 percent weapons-grade levels\u2014is likely still at Isfahan. \u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to inspect or to reject that the material is there and that the seals\u2014the IAEA seals\u2014remain there,\u201d Grossi told The Associated Press. \u201cI hope we\u2019ll be able to do that, so what I tell you is our best estimate.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, whose five-year review is currently underway at the United Nations, Iran as a signatory is required to grant IAEA inspectors access to its facilities. However, IAEA inspections of Isfahan ended after the June attack.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s nuclear program was a primary reason<\/a> why the United States launched strikes on Iran in late February, and it continues to be a major roadblock in peace negotiations. Tehran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian use only, and it has demanded the right to continue enriching uranium domestically. However, Washington maintains that any peace deal must include heavy restrictions on Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>, including a promise that Iran never develops a nuclear bomb.<\/p>\n This week, Tehran proposed<\/a> reopening the Strait of Hormuz if the White House agrees to postpone nuclear talks and lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. However, Trump told Axios<\/a> on Wednesday that he plans to reject this offer, arguing that the Iranian regime must first address U.S. nuclear concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cIran can\u2019t get their act together,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on Truth Social early Wednesday. \u201cThey don\u2019t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!\u201d Trump\u2019s post included an artificial intelligence-generated photo<\/a> of him holding an assault-style weapon with the words \u201cNO MORE MR. NICE GUY!\u201d displayed above his head.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s handling of the Iran war came under intense scrutiny on Wednesday, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified<\/a> publicly before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee for the first time since the conflict began.<\/p>\n Democrats on the committee accused Hegseth of mismanaging the war<\/a> and misleading U.S. citizens about the reasons for fighting. \u201cSecretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president,\u201d Rep. John Garamendi said. Lawmakers specifically pointed to rising energy costs as a major threat to Americans\u2019 livelihoods; the price of Brent crude briefly hit<\/a> $120 per barrel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Committee members also questioned the war\u2019s massive budget, which acting Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst III testified has already cost $25 billion<\/a>. Hurst told lawmakers that most of this money has gone toward munitions.<\/p>\n Hegseth defended the war and scoffed at such concerns, arguing that \u201cthe biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.\u201d He and Caine also stressed the need for more drones, warships, and missile defense systems\u2014in line with Trump\u2019s call to increase military spending<\/a>. Hegseth, Caine, and Hurst are due to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Most Read<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Following<\/p>\n Rebel threats. France urged<\/a> its citizens to leave Mali \u201cas soon as possible\u201d on Wednesday after a Tuareg separatist coalition vowed to expand its campaign against the ruling junta. \u201cThe regime will fall, sooner or later,\u201d Azawad Liberation Front\u00a0spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane<\/a> told the AFP on Wednesday, adding that the group seeks to capture the Malian cities of Gao, Timbuktu, and Menaka.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, Tuareg separatists and al Qaeda-linked militants launched<\/a> a series of coordinated attacks across several cities in Mali, during which the Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group killed Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara. Bamako is facing a \u201cmoment of extreme gravity,\u201d Malian President Assimi Go\u00efta<\/a> said on Tuesday in his first public address since the offensive began. Still, he stressed that the \u201csituation is under control,\u201d and he vowed to \u201cneutralize\u201d those responsible.<\/p>\n The widespread nature of these attacks has forced Malian troops and Russian mercenaries in the area to withdraw from the key northern stronghold of Kidal. Such a defeat marks the most serious threat to Go\u00efta\u2019s regime since he seized power<\/a> in May 2021, and it exposes weaknesses within Russia\u2019s security forces<\/a> in West Africa.<\/p>\n More prison time. A South Korean appeals court sentenced<\/a> former President Yoon Suk-yeol to seven years in prison on Wednesday for mobilizing the country\u2019s security service \u201clike a private army\u201d to help him resist arrest. \u201cIn trying to stop authorities from executing an arrest warrant by use of force, Yoon committed acts that are unacceptable in a society of law and order,\u201d the Seoul High Court judge said. Wednesday\u2019s decision extends a previous lower court\u2019s ruling, which called for five years in prison, over actions linked to Yoon\u2019s short-lived martial law order<\/a> in December 2024.<\/p>\n Yoon has been convicted of several crimes since being removed from office<\/a> last April, including bypassing a legitimate cabinet meeting to impose martial law and fabricating official documents. In February, he was sentenced to life in prison<\/a> for orchestrating an attempted insurrection. Yoon denies any wrongdoing, and his legal team vowed<\/a> on Wednesday to appeal the most recent ruling in front of the country\u2019s Supreme Court.<\/p>\n The Seoul High Court\u2019s decision comes just one day after the same court increased<\/a> a prison sentence for Yoon\u2019s wife, Kim Keon-hee, to four years. In January, Kim was sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting luxury gifts, including designer purses and a diamond necklace, from the Unification Church in exchange for political favors.<\/p>\n Unlocking frozen funds. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted<\/a> Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar<\/a> in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss ways for Budapest to regain access to frozen European Union funds. Currently, Hungary has just over four months to unlock around 10 billion euros (nearly $11.7 billion) in suspended EU pandemic recovery funds before they expire on Aug. 31.<\/p>\n The funds are part of a larger trove of assets<\/a> that the EU froze due to rule-of-law concerns in Hungary under the outgoing Orban administration. Prime Minister Viktor Orban<\/a> is an anti-EU populist leader with close ties to Russia<\/a> and a history of cracking down on LGBTQ+ communities<\/a>, press freedom<\/a>, and political dissidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n