Iran n plan fans fears
Tehran says it is producing 60% enriched uranium at Natanz
There has been widespread concern and fear in the region and across the world as the Iran nuclear chief said his country has begun 60 per cent uranium enrichment.
Iran had in recent months already raised enrichment to 20 per cent purity, a level where uranium is considered to be highly enriched and a significant step towards weapons-grade. Some 90 per cent is needed for bombgrade material.
“We are producing about 9 grams of 60 per cent enriched uranium an hour,” Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, told state television.
Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s chief negotiator at the talks, said on Tuesday that Iran would activate 1,000 advanced centrifuge machines at Natanz.
Israel reacted strongly to the decision and its Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel will do “whatever it takes” to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. Speaking after a summit with Greek and Cypriot and the UAE leaders in Paphos, Cyprus, Ashkenazi said discussions centred around possibilities for building on prosperity and stability in the region.
Adviser to the UAE President Dr Anwar Gargash and Greek, Cyprus Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias,
Nikos Christodoulides took part in the meeting “We also took time to discuss challenges that Iran and Hezbollah and other extremists pose to the stability of the Middle East and to the regional peace,” the Israeli FM said. —
Iran
has finalised a deal with Russia to purchase 60 million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the state-run Irna news agency reported on Thursday. The report quotes Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying the contract has been “signed and finalised” for enough vaccinations to inoculate 30 million people. Jalali said Iran will receive the vaccines by the end of the year. On Saturday, Iran began a 10-day lockdown amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. —