Iran says fluctuations at its Natanz nuclear plant pushed the purity to which it enriched uranium to 63 per cent, higher than the 60 per cent it announced last month, a report by the UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday.
Iran in April made the shift to 60 per cent, a big step towards nuclear-weapons grade from the 20 per cent previously achieved.
That came after an explosion and power cut at Natanz, which appears to have damaged its enrichment output at a larger, underground complex there. Iran blames Israel for the two incidents.
Iran's move threatened indirect talks with the US to agree on conditions for both sides to return fully to the 2015 nuclear deal, which was undermined when Washington abandoned it in 2018.
The deal says Iran cannot enrich beyond 3.67 per cent fissile purity, far from the 90 per cent of weapons grade.
Iran has long denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
"According to Iran, fluctuations of the enrichment levels were experienced," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report to its member states, Reuters reported.
"The agency's analysis of the environmental samples taken on April 22, 2021, shows an enrichment level of up to 63 per cent U-235, which is consistent with the fluctuations of the enrichment levels."
The agency did not say why the fluctuations had occurred.
An IAEA report last month said Iran was using one cascade of advanced IR-6 centrifuges to enrich uranium to 60 per cent.
It said it was feeding the depleted uranium from that process into a cascade of IR-4 machines to enrich it to 20 per cent.
Tuesday's report said Tehran was now feeding the tails from the IR-4 cascade into a cascade of 27 IR-5 and 30 IR-6s centrifuges and refining uranium to 5 per cent.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
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Playing September 30
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
