Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said at a press conference in Vienna on June 8 that the agency has never claimed that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

According to Russia’s TASS news agency, Grossi said: “We have never said that they are doing that. We did not say it when we had access to their facilities. And we cannot say it now.” 

Grossi noted that Tehran had not always provided complete answers to the agency’s questions in the past. He added that, because of military hostilities, the IAEA has been unable to access Iran’s nuclear facilities for nearly a year, with the exception of a recent inspection at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

Grossi also said he expects the agency to have significant influence on negotiations between the United States and Iran.

“I think it is clear that the IAEA has a very important role to play,” he said.

He added that the United Nations is not currently involved in resolving ongoing global conflicts and argued that the situation should change.

“We live in a world where conflicts are multiplying, and it is very sad to see that the United Nations is not participating in the resolution of those conflicts. In my view, that should not be the case,” Grossi said.

Armenia national football team midfielder Narek Grigoryan has described Moldova as an evenly matched opponent ahead of the sides’ upcoming friendly match.

Grigoryan made the remarks during a pre-match press conference ahead of the Armenia-Moldova encounter.

“I can say that I am in good form. I am ready for the upcoming match against Moldova. The team has also prepared well. We know what we need to do on the pitch. We will do everything to make our fans happy,” the midfielder said.

According to Grigoryan, Moldova is a strong opponent, and the Armenian national team has already identified how to take advantage of the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

 Armenia’s national football team will face Moldova on June 9. The match will be played at the Republican Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 19:00 local time.

Armenia national football team head coach Yeghishe Melikyan has compared upcoming friendly opponents Moldova to the Cyprus national team.

“We needed this kind of match schedule because the fixture calendar during the autumn qualifying campaign will be similar. These friendly matches are a test for us to understand how prepared we will be for the UEFA Nations League qualifying stage,” Melikyan told reporters.

According to the head coach, his players are approaching the upcoming friendly against Moldova with a positive mindset.

“You will see newcomers on the pitch against Moldova. I understand that we need a victory, but we also have long-term objectives, and for that we need to conduct experiments now. I need these matches to better understand my players. Moldova have a similar playing style to Cyprus and Latvia,” Melikyan said.

Armenia’s national football team will host Moldova on June 9. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. Yerevan time.

As part of a working visit to the Evros regional unit, Armenia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Greece, Tigran Mkrtchyan, held a meeting with Konstantinos Chatzikonstantinou, Chief Executive Officer of Alexandroupoli Port.

According to the Armenian Embassy in Greece, the port’s chief executive presented the strategic importance of Alexandroupoli Port as a key transport and logistics hub linking Greece, Bulgaria and Türkiye.

The discussions also touched upon the port’s railway infrastructure, its role in facilitating regional cargo transportation, and opportunities for cooperation along Black Sea and Mediterranean routes.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented the Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative and the TRIPP project, which forms part of the initiative, highlighting prospects for the development of regional connectivity and the expansion of economic interdependence.

The two sides also discussed opportunities to deepen economic cooperation between Armenia and the European Union, as well as issues related to the export of Armenian products to European markets. In this context, they examined the potential role of Alexandroupoli Port as a transit and distribution hub for cargo exported from Armenia to Europe.

Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Thessaloniki, Akis Dangazyan, also participated in the meeting.

The Armenia alliance will challenge the results of the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7.

The announcement was made on the Facebook page of Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s second president and the leader of the alliance. Kocharyan believes that the elections were held “amid widespread pressure, arrests of opposition figures, the unprecedented use of administrative resources, and electoral violations.”

“At this stage, we are discussing our next steps with our partners in the opposition field. We will present our approaches regarding future actions after the completion of those discussions. One thing is clear: we will not back down, and we will not abandon our trench of struggle,” Robert Kocharyan said in a statement, thanking voters for every vote of confidence cast in support of the Armenia alliance.

According to the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7, three political forces surpassed the threshold required to enter parliament: the Civil Contract party, with 727,820 votes, or 49.825%; the Strong Armenia alliance, with 340,088 votes, or 23.281%; and the Armenia alliance, with 145,113 votes, or 9.934%.

Based on the preliminary results of the vote, the Civil Contract party will be able to secure a parliamentary majority and form a government.

The Wings of Unity party has announced that it does not accept the official results of the June 7 National Assembly elections.

The party said it is initiating a vote recount process and is considering the possibility of challenging the election results.

“With these elections, the vote of the citizen of Armenia and their right to determine the future of their state have been stolen. We are not going to come to terms with what has happened. We are not going to remain silent. We are not going to abandon our responsibility. Our struggle continues through all available legal, political and public platforms,” the statement said.

The party also thanked all citizens who placed their trust in it.

According to the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7, three political forces surpassed the threshold required to enter parliament: the Civil Contract party, with 727,820 votes, or 49.825%; the Strong Armenia alliance, with 340,088 votes, or 23.281%; and the Armenia alliance, with 145,113 votes, or 9.934%.

Based on the preliminary results of the vote, the Civil Contract party will be able to secure a parliamentary majority and form a government.

The Wings of Unity party received 33,618 votes, or 2.30% of the total vote.