Name: Iran enriching uranium with third cascade of advanced IR-2M centrifuges: IAEA
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Iran enriching uranium with third cascade of advanced IR-2M centrifuges: IAEA

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On 7 March 2021, IAEA verified that Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges. (Reuters/File Photo)https://arab.news/msa3uVIENNA:&nbsp;&nbsp;Iran has started enriching uranium with a third set of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz, the U.N. nuclear watchdog told its member states on Monday, a further breach of Tehran's 2015 deal with major powers.The move is part of a recent acceleration by Iran of its violations of restrictions under that deal, which granted Iran relief from financial sanctions in return for curbs to its nuclear activities.It began breaching limits after then-U.S. President Donald Trump quit the deal and re-imposed sanctions in 2018.The acceleration of breaches appears aimed at raising pressure on Trump's successor Joe Biden. The new U.S. president wants to revive the accord, but Washington and Tehran are locked in a standoff over which side should move first.The deal allows Iran to enrich uranium only with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges at the underground, commercial scale Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz. In November Iran started enriching there with a first set of IR-2m machines, which are far more efficient, and has since been adding to it.“On 7 March 2021, the Agency verified at FEP that: Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges,”&nbsp;the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report obtained by Reuters, referring to uranium hexafluoride, the form in which uranium is fed into centrifuges to purify it.“The fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges was installed but had yet to be fed with natural UF6; installation of a fifth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges was ongoing; and installation of a sixth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges had yet to begin,”&nbsp;it added.In addition to its IR-1 machines, Iran is now using 522 IR-2m centrifuges to enrich uranium to up to 5% fissile purity at the FEP, the IAEA added.That is more than the 3.67% purity allowed under the deal but less than the 20% it is enriching to at another facility, Fordow. Uranium enriched to 90% purity can be used to make an atomic weapon.ANKARA:&nbsp;The administration of US President Joe Biden will ask Turkey to host a senior-level meeting between Taliban and Afghan officials in coming weeks to finalize a peace agreement, according to ToloNews, an Afghan news outlet.It was quoting from an official letter it published on Sunday that it said was sent by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.Blinken suggested convoking a UN-facilitated conference with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the United States “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.”“Turkey has been suggested as a venue for the senior-level meeting that involves key Afghan sides. Awaiting final agreement, this would be an historic occasion for Turkey to host and be a facilitator of the Afghan peace process,” Omar Samad, former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada and currently a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Arab News.“Although consultations are ongoing at this stage, the participants and the agenda would need to be worked out ahead of time,” he said. “As an historic friend of Afghanistan, Turkey is a trusted partner and it will be important to maintain an even-handed approach to get the best results.”Last month, Blinken discussed the review of US strategy in Afghanistan with Ghani and repeated his support for the peace process that includes “a just and durable political settlement and permanent and comprehensive cease-fire.”Biden’s administration is reviewing its strategy to decide about the troop withdrawal to be completed by May 1.Washington is also keeping track of the Taliban’s fulfilment of their commitments under a February 2020 accord to reduce violence and stop Al-Qaeda raising funds or recruiting in Afghanistan.Samad thinks that as an Islamic nation with historic ties to Afghanistan, Turkey is seen by all Afghan factions and international partners as an honest broker and a country that can play a constructive role in the peace process.He said donor nations might decide not only to endorse the conference outcome, but also to provide security assurances and contribute to Afghan stability and development programs during a transitional period leading to a peace agreement and a ceasefire.For Magdalena Kirchner, director of Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Kabul office, as a Muslim country and NATO member Turkey was always referred to by many as a “natural candidate” for mediation, and the US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad visited Ankara several times in November and December.“Turkey is a significant donor and has troops stationed in Afghanistan, but it also has stable relations with significant power brokers inside and outside the government, such as ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rasheed Dostum or Gulbuddin Hekmatyar,” she told Arab News.“Turkey maintains stable relations with Iran, Pakistan, China and Russia and could hence facilitate an intra-regional effort. It also has good relations with Qatar and softened its stance on the Taliban over the past years,” Kirchner said.However, Kirchner said that it was not clear yet how much agency the US is going to delegate to the Turkish government.“In general, the international community should support the meeting and consultations, but also make clear that ongoing assistance and aid to Afghanistan will be tied to a certain political settlement and verifiable commitments to human rights standards, e.g. by allowing civil society representatives to attend meetings,” she said.The recent increase of bomb attacks in Kabul against Afghan officials and high-profile targets has triggered fear, with many experts claiming that Taliban has been working to obstruct the progress of intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha, Qatar, which has been paused for a while.Haldun Yalcinkaya, a professor at Ankara’s TOBB ETU University who has field expertise in Afghanistan in 2005, said the Interim National Security Strategy Guidance document that was released on March 3 by the White House showed the change in the US Afghan policy.In the document, the US pledged to “work to responsibly end America’s longest war in Afghanistan while ensuring that Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks against the United States.”“This letter should be read as an US offer made to Ankara to turn the bilateral relations into a transactional one and to use Turkey as an interface between Afghan society and the international community in the global fight against radical extremism,” Yalcinkaya said.“Now the ball is on Turkish side to deliver on this high expectation because so far Qatar was hosting this round of talks and Turkey should use this opportunity.”In late December 2020, Turkey extended troop deployment in Afghanistan for another 18 months as part of NATO’s support mission.ISTANBUL: After over three years in jail without a conviction, one of Turkey’s highest-profile detainees, Osman Kavala, is “not optimistic” that President Tayyip Erdogan’s planned reforms can change a judiciary he says is being used to silence dissidents.A philanthropist, 63-year-old Kavala told Reuters that after decades of watching Turkey’s judiciary seeking to restrict human rights, it was now engaged in “eliminating” perceived political opponents of Erdogan’s government.Kavala was providing written responses via his lawyers to Reuters’ questions days after Erdogan outlined a “Human Rights Action Plan” that was said will strengthen rights to a free trial and freedom of expression.Kavala’s case illustrates, for critics at home and abroad, what they call a crackdown on dissent and the politicization of the judiciary under Erdogan, especially since 2016’s failed coup. The government says its measures are aimed only at protecting national security.“As someone who has been subjected to worsening injustice for more than three years, and at the same time observed other political cases, I can’t be optimistic about the future of the relationship between politics and the judiciary,” Kavala said of the reforms.First detained in late 2017 on charges related to 2013 nationwide protests that began in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, Kavala was acquitted of those last year. But he was immediately re-arrested over charges related to the 2016 coup attempt.A court agreed in January to combine the two cases against him, after an appeals court overturned the acquittal verdicts against nine people, including Kavala, in the Gezi trial.“Ever since I can remember, I have witnessed rights being restricted in Turkey through the judiciary,” Kavala said. “But giving the judiciary a key duty in eliminating political dissidents, and the judiciary taking this on, is new.”Responding to Kavala’s claims, the Ministry of Justice said Turkey’s judiciary was independent.Erdogan on March 2 spelled out few specific reform measures and instead listed principles to improve the justice system which he said were a step toward a new constitution.Erdogan has faced accusations of increasingly autocratic rule and his critics said the “action plan” failed to address concerns about an erosion of human rights.Turkey ignored a 2019 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights demanding Kavala’s immediate release. The court said his detention was groundless and served to silence him.The Committee of Ministers, the 47-nation Council of Europe body that oversees adherence to ECHR judgments, meets this week to discuss Kavala’s case for a fourth time.US President Joe Biden’s administration has also called for Kavala’s release, prompting a rebuttal from Ankara.Detained in Istanbul’s Silivri jail, Kavala said while the international interest was heartening, “it is extremely sad that foreigners care more” than Turkish civil servants and leaders.Following Kavala’s acquittal last year, Erdogan described the Gezi unrest as part of a series of attacks culminating in the coup bid. He has called Kavala a sponsor of the protests.Kavala said “baseless accusations” against him began to surface before his arrest, coinciding with government claims that the protests were organized by foreign powers to topple it.The subsequent charges over the 2016 coup attempt, he said, were “much more absurd and surreal” and impossible to counter because they lacked “evidence, concrete fact, or reality.”Kavala said he now spends most of his time reading, watching concerts and film re-runs. He has not been able to see his elderly mother and has missed friends’ funerals.“It makes the injustice feel like persecution,” he said.DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president's office said Monday, with both having only mild symptoms of the illness.In a statement, Assad’s office said the first couple did PCR tests after they felt minor symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 illness.It said that Assad, 55, and his wife Asma, will return to work after spending between two to three weeks in isolation in their home.Both were in “good health and in stable condition,” it added.ROME: The visit that Pope Francis paid to Iraq “will leave a great impact on … our country,” said Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Sako accompanied the pope throughout the March 5-8 visit, which went off without a hitch despite security worries and a second wave of coronavirus cases in the country.The 84-year-old pontiff covered more than 1,400 km inside Iraq, bringing encouragement to its diminished Christian community and extending a hand to Shiite Muslims by meeting top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani.Sako told Vatican Radio: “The mentality here is changing in terms of respect for others, the elimination of violence and fundamentalism.”He added: “Iraqis are moderate by nature. They have been influenced by a fundamentalism coming from outside our country. I am sure that they will return to their good nature.”The pope’s visit “will have an impact on political life in terms of peace and stability, also in view of the next elections. It will be a real change,” said Sako, adding that Iraqi politicians listened to Francis “with great interest.”The pope “spoke with his heart, showing real interest in the Iraqi people. He freely chose to stay three days here and share their suffering and hope with them,” Sako said.“He has delivered a message of comfort and peace that was so powerful … Many Muslims, including some high-ranking local politicians, approached me during the visit and said, ‘You have a treasure, a father so humble, who listens to and loves people’.”Right before boarding the flight back to Rome, the pope had a private meeting at Baghdad International Airport with Iraqi President Barham Salih and his wife.In an official telegram after leaving Iraqi soil, the pope expressed “once more deep gratitude” to Salih and “the beloved people of Iraq for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to me during my stay. With fervent good wishes and prayers for the peace, unity and prosperity of the nation, I invoke upon all the copious blessings of the most High God.”DUBAI: Turkey is ready to normalize ties with Egypt and Gulf countries, following disputes over Ankara’s support for extremist-rooted governments, business daily Bloomberg reported on Monday.Turkey had shown support to Qatar during regional disputes, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood after Egyptian former President Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in 2013.Saudi Arabia blacklisted the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in May 2014, in a royal decree that outlawed membership of the groups, along with any form of support or sympathy for them expressed “through speech or writing.”“A new chapter can be opened, a new page can be turned in our relationship with Egypt as well as other Gulf countries to help regional peace and stability,” Spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ibrahim KalinAnkara’s relations with Egypt deteriorated following the election of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as president of the republic in 2013.“Egypt is an important country in the Arab world, I mean it still remains the brain of the Arab world, the heart of the Arab world. Egypt is struggling with economic issues, with security issues we fully understand,” he said.He added that talks between both countries can help their bilateral relationship and regional issues. He further said that Ankara is interested in talking to Egypt about maritime issues, Palestinian issue, Libyan crisis as well as other problems.Arab NewsPrint Edition© 2021 SAUDI RESEARCH &amp; PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.

On 7 March 2021, IAEA verified that Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges. (Reuters/File Photo)https://arab.news/msa3uVIENNA:&nbsp;&nbsp;Iran has started enriching uranium with a third set of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz, the U.N. nuclear watchdog told its member states on Monday, a further breach of Tehran's 2015 deal with major powers.The move is part of a recent acceleration by Iran of its violations of restrictions under that deal, which granted Iran relief from financial sanctions in return for curbs to its...

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Iran enriching uranium with third cascade of advanced IR-2M centrifuges: IAEA

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