Category Archives: Iran’s nuclear programme

Shadow warrior: Benjamin Netanyahu takes a dangerous gamble with Iran

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Israel’s prime minister is creating a climate of fear and crisis as his best hope for holding on to power

In a region famous for warmongers and tyrants, who is the most dangerous man in the Middle East right now? Not Bashar al-Assad, the isolated gauleiter of Damascus. Not disgraced Mohammed bin Salman, the princely Saudi executioner. Not even Turkey’s misogynist-in-chief, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the local neighbourhood bully.

Step forward Benjamin Netanyahu, easily the most convincing contender for the “danger man” title. Israel’s prime minister has outdone himself of late, threatening war with Iran, ordering one-off attacks, assassinating a top scientist, sabotaging international fence-mending, and defying the US, his country’s indispensable ally.

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Iran names suspect in Natanz nuclear plant attack

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State television identifies suspect in 11 April sabotage as 43-year-old Reza Karimi vowing to repatriate him

Iran has named a suspect in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country “hours before” the sabotage happened.

While the extent of the damage from the 11 April sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the US to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal and lift the economic sanctions it faces.

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France, Germany and UK raise concern over Iran’s nuclear plans

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Three European countries say there is no ‘credible civilian need’ for enriching uranium to 60%

France, Germany and the UK have warned that Iran took a dangerous step towards the production of a nuclear weapon by enriching uranium to levels for which there is no “credible civilian need”.

Tehran, which claims its nuclear ambitions are limited to creating energy, announced this week it was boosting its levels of uranium enrichment to 60%, just short of weapons-grade purity. The 2015 nuclear deal only allows enrichment to a purity level of 3.67%.

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Iran to boost uranium enrichment levels in wake of Israeli attack

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Tehran responds as foreign minister accuses Israel of ‘bad gamble’ in targeting Natanz nuclear plant

Iran is to boost its levels of uranium enrichment to 60%, just short of weapons grade purity, in response to Israel’s attack on the Natanz nuclear facility, the country’s deputy foreign minister has announced.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi broke the news as he arrived in Vienna for the start of talks this week on how to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and bring back both the US and Iran into compliance.

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Natanz ‘sabotage’ highlights Iran’s vulnerability to cyber-attacks

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Analysis: Apparent attack by Israel is a reminder of the weaknesses of industrial control systems

The apparent attack by Israel on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility appears to be the latest episode in an increasing tit-for-tat cyberwar. Both sides have already targeted so-called industrial control systems [ICS], which have emerged as a key weakness for countries across the globe.

While Iran described the latest attack as “sabotage”, Israeli media called it a cyber-attack.

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Natanz nuclear plant attack ‘will set back Iran’s programme by nine months’

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US intelligence sources believe Israel was behind Saturday’s cyber-attack on heavily guarded facility

The cyber-attack on the heavily guarded Natanz plant in Iran will set back Tehran’s nuclear programme by nine months, US intelligence sources have claimed.

Iran’s foreign ministry has blamed Israel for sabotaging Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility, and although Israel has not formally confirmed responsibility its officials have done little to dispel the notion.

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‘Accident’ at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility – video

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Iran announced on Saturday that it had started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges at Natanz, in breach of its undertakings under a 2015 nuclear deal and days after the start of talks on rescuing the accord. The following day a spokesperson for Iran’s civilian nuclear programme said an 'accident' had happened at the facility's electrical distribution grid. Behrouz Kamalvandi says the reason for the loss in power is unknown and will be investigated but there were no injuries and no contamination

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Iran nuclear deal talks: the key issues on the Vienna negotiating table

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As talks resume, Iran and the signatories to the 2015 agreement face a web of sanctions to untangle

A joint commission responsible for overseeing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is looking for a way for the US to rejoin the agreement – abandoned under Donald Trump – and lift its sanctions on Tehran, and for Iran to end its retaliatory breaching of the limits placed on its nuclear programme.

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The biggest impediment to a new nuclear deal with Iran? Domestic politics | Holly Dagres

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Though a return to the JCPOA seems likely, both Washington and Tehran have complex internal obstacles to overcome

The United States and Iran are in a staring contest, and neither wants to blink first – at least that’s how the BBC Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, described the current political impasse.

Since president Joe Biden took office on 20 January, the countries have been locked in a stalemate over the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA), which the Donald Trump administration withdrew from in May 2018, reimposing sanctions on Iran – despite the country not having violating the multilateral accord. These actions prompted Iran to speed up its nuclear programme after May 2019 by incrementally breaching aspects of the JCPOA.

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Roadmap to rescue Iran nuclear deal agreed in Vienna talks

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Hopes rise of lifting Trump sanctions and bringing Iran and US to compliance in two months

A broad roadmap designed to rescue the Iran nuclear deal undermined by Donald Trump has been agreed in talks in Vienna, with the aim of bringing Iran and the US back into compliance in as little as two months.

Two working groups have been set up to examine the economic sanctions on Iran that the US will need to lift to come back into compliance with UN security council resolutions, and the steps Iran will need to take to bring its nuclear programme in line with the terms set out in the 2015 deal.

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Iran and US on track to return to nuclear deal, says Russia

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Virtual talks between parties to JCPOA produce agreement to meet in person next week

Tehran and Washington are on the right track to come back into compliance with the Iran nuclear deal but progress will not be easy, Russia has said following virtual talks.

In a positive sign, the parties have agreed to meet formally in person in Vienna on Tuesday.

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Hopes rise of breakthrough on US return to Iran nuclear deal

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Statement following talks sparks optimism that unexpected progress has been made

A potential breakthrough in the apparently deadlocked efforts to bring the US back into the nuclear deal with Iran is on the horizon after secret diplomatic talks in Frankfurt this week.

The joint commission, the body that brings together the existing signatories to the deal, will meet virtually on Friday to discuss the outcome of Monday’s meeting amid growing optimism that unexpected progress has been made.

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Iran threatens to quit IAEA pact over censure from west

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US seeking resolution to express ‘deepening concern’ over Tehran’s cooperation with UN nuclear agency

Iran has threatened to pull out of a deal struck with UN weapons inspectors last weekend if western countries go ahead with plans to censure it over its failure to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Western leaders are planning to table a motion at the IAEA next week condemning Iran for pulling out of the overarching agreement with the UN body giving inspectors access to its nuclear sites.

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IAEA and Iran strike three-month deal over nuclear inspections

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Agreement paves way for diplomatic talks between Tehran and the US over sanctions

The UN’s nuclear inspectorate has struck a three-month deal with Iran giving it sufficient continued access to verify nuclear activity in the country, opening the space for wider political and diplomatic talks between Tehran and the US.

Iran will go ahead with its threat to withdraw this week from the additional protocol, the agreement that gives inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intrusive powers.

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Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance as Tehran turns screw on US

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Western foreign ministers to discuss response to Iranian plan to ban snap intrusive inspections

The future of the Iran nuclear deal is hanging in the balance as the west prepares its response to Iranian plans to increase pressure on Washington by banning snap intrusive inspections of its nuclear sites.

The German, French and British foreign ministers are to confer urgently with the US secretary of state, Tony Blinken, on how to respond to Iran’s plans, which it is expected to implement on Tuesday.

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Biden presidency ‘may herald new start for Saudi-Iranian relations’

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Existing quiet cooperation has been under way for months, say authors of Guardian comment article

An opportunity for a new beginning between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been presented by Joe Biden’s presidency, two leading Saudi and Iranians close to their diplomatic leaderships are proposing in an article in the Guardian today.

The article is co-written by Abdulaziz Sager, the Saudi Arabian chairman and founder of the Gulf Research Center, and Hossein Mousavian, a former senior Iranian diplomat and now a nuclear specialist based at Princeton University.

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Biden expected to appoint nuclear deal architect as US Iran envoy

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Obama-era diplomat Robert Malley will face task of repairing ties that worsened under Trump after withdrawal from nuclear pact

The Biden administration is expected name Robert Malley, a former top adviser in the Obama administration, as special envoy for Iran, according to multiple sources.

Malley was a key member of former Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the nuclear accord with Iran and world powers, an agreement that Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 in the face of strong opposition from Washington’s European allies.

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‘Grave military implications’: Iran making uranium metal alarms Europe

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Britain, France and Germany say Tehran has ‘no credible civilian use’ for fuel that it previously pledged not to produce

European powers have voiced deep concern over Iran’s plans to produce uranium metal, warning that Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for the element.

“The production of uranium metal has potentially grave military implications,” the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Saturday.

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Iran seizes South Korean tanker as tensions with US mount

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Move comes as Iran resumes enriching uranium to up to 20% purity in significant breach of 2015 nuclear accord

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a South Korean vessel “for polluting the Persian Gulf with chemicals” amid rising tensions between Iran and the US during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Iranian news agencies published photos showing Revolutionary Guards speedboats escorting the tanker MT Hankuk Chemi and said the vessel’s crewmembers, including nationals of South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar, had been detained. The tanker is being held at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city.

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Iran steps up nuclear plans as tensions rise on anniversary of Suleimani’s killing

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As Tehran moves on uranium enrichment, Washington braces for retaliation a year after the Quds Force commander’s assassination

Iran has announced plans to enrich uranium up to 20% purity, just a step away from weapons-grade levels, as tensions with the US ratchet up during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed it had been notified of Iran’s decision to increase enrichment at the Fordow facility, buried in a mountainside to protect it from military strikes, although Tehran did not say when the process would begin.

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