Iran now has two cascades of advanced centrifuges with almost four times the enrichment capacity of earlier ones running at its Natanz nuclear site, its envoy to the UN's atomic watchdog said on Tuesday.
"Thanks to our diligent nuclear scientists, two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost four times the capacity of IR1 are now running ... successfully in Natanz," Kazem Gharibabadi said on Twitter. "Installation of two cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordow. There's more to come soon."
The announcement, likely intended to accelerate talks on a potential nuclear deal, could backfire on Tehran if Washington perceives the move as tantamount to blackmail, something the former administration of Donald Trump said was one of the goals of the Iranian regime.
The move to accelerate uranium enrichment has been some time in the making.
In 2019, the IAEA said Iran had begun enrichment with advanced centrifuges at an above-ground pilot plant at Natanz. A part of that site was destroyed in July, an act of sabotage that analysts and the Iranian government was conducted by Israel.
By the time of the sabotage, Iran had already started moving three cascades, or clusters, of advanced centrifuges to the underground plant. In November, the IAEA said Iran had fed uranium hexafluoride gas feedstock into the first of those underground cascades.
Iran’s Parliament also passed legislation in November mandating the accelerated enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent purity. A larger stockpile of this uranium would be required for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, by converting it into "weapons grade" purity. This development subsequently triggered warnings from Israel.
On January 27, Israeli General Aviv Kohavi warned that because of Iran's accelerated enrichment plans, Israel was prepared to take military action to stop further nuclear development.
"In light of this fundamental analysis, I have instructed the Israeli [military] to prepare a number of operational plans, in addition to those already in place," he said, in a speech at the Tel Aviv University Institute for National Security Studies.
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
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If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
