By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

(CNN) — Iran has said it will not comply with any demands from the UN’s nuclear watchdog to inspect its bombed nuclear sites, citing the absence of established regulations for inspecting facilities damaged by military strikes.

In June, Israel and the United States carried out significant military strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program, damaging key sites including Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan. The exact condition of Iran’s facilities after the strikes remains unclear.

Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should formally clarify whether such attacks are authorized. If they are not, he added, the agency should condemn the strikes and provide clear procedures for post-war inspections.

“If there are established procedures for the post-war situation, the Agency should announce them so that we can act accordingly,” Eslami said, according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“But if there are none, our request—which we have formally communicated to them—is that it must be clearly defined and codified what steps should be taken if a nuclear facility that is registered with and under the Safeguards of the Agency comes under military attack,” he added.

“Until this issue is clarified, political and psychological pressure, as well as irrelevant demands to re-inspect the bombed facilities and complete the enemy’s operations, will not be accepted and will receive no response,” Eslami said, according to IRNA.

In late November, the IAEA called on Iran to provide full and prompt cooperation, allow verification of nuclear material, and comply with international safeguards and UN Security Council requirements, while continuing diplomatic engagement.

During a United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation on Tuesday, the deputy head of the European Union delegation, Hedda Samson, called on Iran to provide IAEA with updated and verifiable declarations detailing the quantity, location, and status of its nuclear material and related activities.

France’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Jay Dharmadhikari, said Iran’s failure to implement its “international obligations related to its nuclear programme constitute a grave threat to international peace and security.”

In October, CNN reported on signs that Iran is stepping up the rebuilding of its ballistic missile program, despite the recent reintroduction of United Nations sanctions that ban arms sales to the country and ballistic missile activity.

Eslami reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful and is focused on advancing the country’s technological and scientific capabilities.

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Por Anabella González, CNN en Español

Con una trayectoria que alterna roles en el sector público y privado de Honduras, Nasry Asfura, un empresario de la construcción de 67 años y exalcalde de Tegucigalpa, fue declarado ganador de la elección presidencial, en representación del Partido Nacional de Honduras (PNH).

Es la segunda vez que emprendía la carrera presidencial: ya lo hizo en 2021, cuando quedó en segundo lugar al obtener cerca del 37 % de los votos frente a la actual presidenta de Honduras, Xiomara Castro.

En unos comicios que no tenía segunda vuelta electoral, el candidato conservador tuvo dos principales oponentes: como representante de la izquierda está Rixi Moncada, del Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre, el partido del gobierno actual) y el también conservador Salvador Nasralla, del Partido Liberal.

Conocido popularmente como “Tito” o “Papi a la orden”, Asfura insiste en proyectar, desde el inicio de su carrera política, la imagen de un candidato cercano a la gente, con vocación de servicio y con capacidad de resolver los problemas de los hondureños.

“Estoy recorriendo Honduras en mi propio carro, manejando, no volando en helicóptero. Conozco el estado de las carreteras. Nadie me va a venir a contar cuentos: lo que digo lo he vivido y lo que prometo lo voy a cumplir”, dijo en octubre en una publicación en X.

Al llegar a la Presidencia de Honduras también deberá dar respuestas a otros temas: el temor de los hondureños al fraude de la clase política, la economía, el trabajo y la corrupción, que están entre las principales preocupaciones ciudadanas.

Si bien el empresario promete “un gobierno claro” donde el pueblo “pueda sentirse seguro de que sus fondos y sus impuestos están siendo bien manejados”, debe buscar esa legitimidad desde un Partido Nacional de Honduras ensombrecido por la corrupción y la condena por narcotráfico del expresidente del país y dirigente del partido, Juan Orlando Hernández, al igual que las acusaciones propias, que en su mayoría no prosperaron en la justicia.

Nasry Asfura es nieto de inmigrantes palestinos que llegaron a Honduras, donde luego nacieron sus padres. Nacido en Tegucigalpa en 1958, está casado hace 40 años con Lissette del Cid, con quien tiene tres hijas y tres nietas.

Se dedicó al rubro de la construcción como empresario, y su involucramiento en la administración pública de Honduras inició en los años noventa, cuando fue asistente y miembro administrativo en la alcaldía de Tegucigalpa y luego regidor municipal también de la capital.

En 2009 fue electo diputado nacional por el departamento de Francisco Morazán y hasta 2011 dirigió el Fondo Hondureño de Inversión Social, creado en 1990 para dar mejoras en infraestructura.

En 2014 llegaría quizás el rol (hasta ahora) más destacado de su carrera política: la Alcaldía de Tegucigalpa, un cargo en el que fue reelecto para un segundo periodo hasta 2022. Con conocimiento en ingeniería y construcción, su gestión se destacó por el foco en

By Michael Rios, Mauricio Torres, Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN

(CNN) — Nasry “Tito” Asfura, a conservative politician backed by US President Donald Trump, has been declared the winner of the Honduran presidential election, narrowly edging out right-leaning centrist Salvador Nasralla in a contest marked by allegations of foreign intervention and voting irregularities.

With most ballots counted, Asfura, a member of the National Party, was declared the winner of the race with over 40% of the vote, while Nasralla won over 39%, the electoral authority said Wednesday. The ruling party’s leftist candidate Rixi Moncada trailed in a distant third place with 19%.

Asfura is a right-wing businessman and former mayor of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The construction magnate ran on a free-market platform with a focus on foreign investment for economic development. He has promised to strengthen national security, the health sector and education.

He has also shown himself to be accommodating to the US president, according to experts. Like his main opponent, he has promised to break ties with Venezuela’s strongman President Nicolás Maduro, who faces a heavy pressure campaign from the US and maintains a cordial relationship with the outgoing Honduran government.

“Honduras: I am prepared to govern,” Asfura said on X after the results were announced. “I will not fail you.”

A seesaw race

The results were announced on Christmas Eve, almost a month after the election took place.

In a video message, electoral council members Ana Paola Hall and Cossette López said that Asfura won by a margin of 0.74% over his closest rival, Nasralla.

Hall, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said in early December that the narrow margin between the two frontrunners was “historic.”

Both candidates repeatedly switched places throughout the dayslong vote count, which was marked by starts and stops.

Both Nasralla’s party and the ruling Libre party have warned that they will challenge the results.

The release of the preliminary count was halted on December 1 when the candidates were in a statistical tie. Counting resumed the following day, by which point Nasralla had moved into first place, although by a thin margin.

The online vote count was halted again on December 3 due to “maintenance” by the company in charge of the website, according to Hall and López, who criticized the lack of prior notice to the full board.

By December 4, Asfura had taken the lead, which Nasralla rejected, claiming that the electoral council’s online tally suddenly changed overnight.

“(On) Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 03:24 a.m., the screen went blank and an algorithm (similar to the one used in 2013) changed the data. The 1,081,000 votes for @SalvaPresidente were given to Asfura, and the 1,073,000 votes that Asfura had were given to @SalvaPresidente,” he said on X.

Trump influence

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on Wednesday, saying on X that the US “looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”

Trump endorsed Asfura days before the election was held on November 30. He said on Truth Social that week that they could work together to combat “narco-communists.”

“If (Asfura) doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is,” Trump warned.

The US president also pardoned a key memb

By John Towfighi, CNN

New York (CNN) — Gold is having its best year since 1979.

Gold futures traded in New York have soared almost 71% this year, on pace for their best annual gain in 46 years. The last time gold had such a strong year, Jimmy Carter was president, a crisis was unfolding in the Middle East, inflation was soaring and the United States was in the midst of an energy crisis.

Today, tariffs are distorting international trade, conflict is raging with Russia’s war on Ukraine, there have been flare-ups between Israel and Iran and the US is seizing oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. In times of uncertainty, investors turn to safe havens like gold.

Gold is considered a resilient investment, with investors expecting the yellow metal will retain its value in crisis, if inflation surges, or if currencies drop in value.

“Uncertainty remains a defining feature of the global economy,” said Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council. “In this environment, gold has become increasingly appealing as a strategic diversifier and a source of stability.”

For some investors, gold’s flaw is that it does not pay income like bonds. But when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates as it’s been doing over the past few months, bond yields tend to fall, making gold more appealing.

Gold futures traded around $2,640 a troy ounce at the start of this year. The yellow metal climbed above a record high $4,500 a troy ounce on Monday. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase expect prices to rise above $5,000 a troy ounce in 2026.

Gold’s increase of 71% this year has far outpaced the S&P 500, which has risen by just 18%. In 2024, gold futures gained 27% while the S&P rose by 24%.

Expectations for some Fed rate cuts in 2026 are supporting gold’s rise. A weaker US dollar is helping boost the price, too, as it makes buying gold relatively more affordable for international investors.

Gold jewelers and people who own gold jewelry are benefiting from higher prices. And the gold rush isn’t just fueled by Americans snapping up gold bars from Costco — it’s countries buying gold by the ton.

Central banks and geopolitics

Gold’s rise has been underpinned by central banks buying up more gold themselves, led by China.

One of the main reasons China’s central bank is increasing its gold holdings is to decrease reliance on American assets like US Treasury bonds and the dollar, according to Ulf Lindahl, CEO at Currency Research Associates.

The shift became noticeable after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Western governments moved to freeze Russian assets denominated in US dollars, prompting governments in Russia — as well as China — to look for ways to decrease exposure to American policy decisions, Lindahl said.

“The current wave of central-bank buying is different precisely because it is rooted in geopolitics,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a note. “The freezing of sovereign reserves and the broader fragmentation of the global financial system have introduced a structural element to gold demand that is likely to persist for years.”

Central banks around the globe have

Por CNN en Español

El Consejo Nacional Electoral de Honduras (CNE) declaró este miércoles a Nasy “Tito” Asfura, candidato del conservador Partido Nacional, ganador de la elección presidencial del 30 de noviembre.

Días antes de las elecciones, Asfura fue respaldado por el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump.

En un mensaje en video, las consejeras Ana Paola Hall y Cossette López dijeron que Asfura superó por un 0,74 % de la votación a su más cercano rival, Salvador Nasralla, del Partido Liberal.

De acuerdo con las consejeras, Asfura tuvo el 40,27 % de los votos por el 30,53 % de Nasralla. En tercer lugar quedó la candidata oficalista Rixi Moncada, con el 19,19% de los sufragios.

Tanto el partido de Nasralla como el oficialista Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) han advertido que impugnarán.

Noticia en desarrollo.

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