Iran on Wednesday denied the existence of a secret nuclear complex at Kolang Kouh, also known as Pickaxe Mountain, after U.S. President Donald Trump's threat on Tuesday that U.S. forces would "pretty soon" strike the site in Isfahan province.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on social media that "Iran's nuclear activities have been fully declared to the IAEA in accordance with its safeguards obligations," and condemned Washington's "obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh" as "a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage."
"The repeated U.S. attacks and threats against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities not only constitute a flagrant violation of the core principles of the UN Charter, international law, and the relevant resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors, General Conference, and UN Security Council, but also reveal the United States' deep-rooted enmity toward Iran's scientific progress and technological development," said Baqaei in the post.
Baqaei on Thursday slammed the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for keeping silent over the threat made by U.S. President Donald Trump, stressing that Iran stands ready to "confront with full strength any act of U.S. hostility or violation of their country's sovereignty and national security."
During a meeting with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the United States will "pretty soon, and very heavily" strike on Pickaxe Mountain's nuclear facility.
Iran denies secret nuclear site at Kolang mountain
China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration has outlined ambitious targets for 2030, while a senior official detailed six key measures to realize these goals during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
China aims to increase forest coverage to 25.8 percent by 2030, raise forest stock volume to 22.4 billion cubic meters, and expand the sector's total output value to 14 trillion yuan (about 2 trillion U.S. dollars), according to the plan issued by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and three other government departments.
The plan also targets decisive progress in landmark projects for the national shelterbelt program in northwest, north and northeast China by 2030.
It outlines efforts to carry out large-scale afforestation campaigns, develop the system of protected areas, and foster and expand the forestry and grassland industry.
"Comprehensively advance the construction of the nature reserve system. Build national parks to high standards, implement the integration and optimization of nature reserves, carry out rescue protection for 165 species of critically endangered national key protected wild animals and plants, and comprehensively protect wetlands," said Zou Qinghao, deputy director of the Planning and Finance Department at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
The forestry and grassland industry will be cultivated and strengthened. This includes improving wood self-sufficiency rates, increasing forage supply, revitalizing the forestry and grassland seed industry, unlocking the spatial potential of forestry and grassland resources, vigorously developing under-forest economy, expanding the forest grain bank, and fostering new consumption application scenarios.
Collaborative efforts will be made to strengthen ecological security capacity building. Forest and grassland fire prevention and control capabilities will be enhanced, and harmful biological organisms in forests and grasslands will be controlled. The average annual disaster rates for forest fires and grassland fires will be kept within 0.7 per thousand and 1.8 per thousand respectively.
Reforms in key areas will be continuously deepened. This includes advancing the collective forest rights system reform, accelerating the construction of modern state-owned forest farms, promoting green transformation and development of state-owned forest areas, deepening the grassland protection system reform, and improving the sustainable forest management system.
Innovation-driven development and open cooperation will be vigorously promoted.
"Enhance scientific and technological innovation capabilities, strengthen the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, implement high-level opening up to the outside world, and strengthen the construction of forestry and grassland talent teams," said Zhou.
China unveils six measures for forestry, grassland protection
