The US, France, Britain and Germany have condemned Iran's "inadequate" response to a report by a UN watchdog, which raised new concerns about the country's nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday said it found substantial changes had been made without prior notification at Iran's Fordow plant, to equipment that can enrich uranium to up to 60 per cent.
Iran claimed that an IAEA inspector had accidentally flagged the changes as being undeclared, and that the matter was later resolved.
But the western powers said Tehran's "claims that this action was carried out in error are inadequate".
"We judge Iran's actions based on the impartial and objective reports of the IAEA, not Iran's purported intent," their joint statement said.
According to the IAEA report, an unannounced inspection of the Fordow plant on January 21 found that "two IR-6 centrifuge cascades were interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency".
The watchdog did not specify the kind of changes made to the interconnection between the cascades.
The four countries said that the change was "inconsistent with Iran's obligations" under treaties and that "such lack of required notifications undermines the Agency's ability to maintain timely detection at Iran's nuclear facilities".
"We recall that the production of high-enriched uranium by Iran at the Fordow Enrichment Plant carries significant proliferation-related risks and is without any credible civilian justification," they said.
The Fordow site has been under increased scrutiny since Iran began producing uranium enriched to 60 per cent there since November 2022, as well as at its Natanz site.
That far exceeds the 3.67 per cent enrichment threshold set by the 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers, and is close to the 90 per cent needed to produce an atomic bomb.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
