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Iran’s nuclear programme is back in the spotlight as the world awaits Israel’s response to a missile and drone attack on its soil, the first direct attack by Iran on Israel.
On Tuesday, Rafael Grossi – the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency tasked with inspecting Iran’s nuclear programme and verifying if it is intended for civilian use – said Iran informed him that “all the nuclear complexes that we are inspecting every day would remain closed on security considerations”.
On the risk of an Israeli attack, he said the agency was “always concerned about this possibility.” Inspections resumed soon after they were suspended, but the brief halt has raised new fears of war.
If Israel decides to launch retaliation inside Iran, it could be tempted to combine its long-held objective of slowing Iranian nuclear research – suspected by some experts of inching Iran towards nuclear weapon capability – with striking back for the latest attack.
This concerns supporters of diplomacy, who say if the attacks fail to halt Iran’s nuclear programme, it could have the opposite effect and accelerate it while weakening Iran’s co-operation on the issue.
Mr Grossi has previously said Iran has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear bombs, if it chose this path.
But where are Iran's main nuclear sites that the UN has inspected, or obstructed from visiting in past disputes, and what is the current controversy?
Where are Iran's nuclear research sites?
Iran has declared 21 sites to the agency and the organisation has also inspected suspected sites where uranium particles have been found – including particles of uranium enriched over 80 per cent – close to the level generally required for a nuclear weapon.
On Wednesday, Iran denied this was a problem, despite the IAEA long insisting Tehran had not explained the highly enriched uranium traces.
Instead, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation, said they were co-operating with the IAEA, having reinstalled cameras installed by inspectors at sensitive sites, that were previously taken offline.
“Engagement with, and supervision by, the IAEA are ongoing and IAEA director general Rafael Grossi is to travel to Iran in the future,” he said.
Iran's nuclear research sites are scattered across the country but the biggest, Natanz and Fordow, are embedded in mountains 225km south of Tehran and 32km north-east of Qom.
Inspections over the years have been intermittent, despite the US, the EU and the UN insisting on access, mirroring contentious talks on returning to a 2015 deal that former US president Donald Trump scrapped.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action under Barack Obama, Mr Trump's predecessor, briefly allowed UN inspectors access to sites, highly regulating uranium enrichment for civilian purposes, in exchange for a significant easing of sanctions.
However, since its collapse and the restoration of tight sanctions on Iran, relations between the agency and Tehran have frayed, with Iran even accusing the organisation of working with Israel to sabotage its nuclear complexes.
In March, the organisation accused Iran of making worrying statements on its “technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons,” which “only increase the director general’s concerns about the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations”.
The nuclear watchdog is still asking Iran to explain undeclared nuclear material at four sites – Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, Marivan and Turquzabad.
For years, Israel has invested heavily in slowing the programme, launching a cyber attack on enrichment plants in 2010, through the Stuxnet virus, which damaged highly sensitive equipment used in uranium enrichment by breaking computer software. It also stands accused of sabotaging crucial research and uranium enrichment sites.
Scientists too, have been assassinated, most prominently Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a nuclear physicist and member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, widely seen as the leading figure behind Iran’s nuclear weapons research. He was killed near Tehran in 2020.
If Israel decides to strike Iran’s nuclear programme directly, it has a range of options that could range from hitting Iran’s space programme, which some analysts say is cover for producing a nuclear missile, to striking uranium enrichment complexes deep underground.
Iran denies it seeks nuclear weapons, although some Iranian officials including Kamal Kharazi, the head of the Strategic Council for Foreign Relations, said Iran could build a bomb if it desired.
“People may not be looking at Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but the problem exists,” Mr Grossi said in November last year.
Fordow and Natanz – the hard targets
Natanz, Fordow, Arak and Esfahan are the most well-known nuclear sites while another, Parchin, is a large military research complex said to be critical for Iran’s work on missile technology.
All sites have suffered alleged sabotage attacks or unexplained fires or explosions, although there has been no known attack at Arak, despite Iran’s claims to have foiled one.
Fordow, an enrichment plant in the mountains near Qom, and formerly an IRGC base is thought to be the site where nuclear research began in the early 2000s, according to the International Institute for Science and Security.
The existence of the site was not confirmed until 2009, when the US, Britain and France jointly accused Iran of hiding construction from the UN, warning that the site was not intended for “peaceful” nuclear research.
Already a hardened structure in 2009, the site had at least one concrete tunnel leading into a mountain, and work there hastened in the early 2010s, sparking concern from the nuclear watchdog.
Under the JCPOA, enrichment there was briefly halted but resumed in 2019 once the action plan collapsed.
Another well-known site is Natanz, which consists of an overground and underground site. The overground part of the enrichment site was hit by a large explosion in 2021. Since the explosion, Iran has allegedly accelerated construction work underground.
About 225km south of Tehran, Natanz has four tunnel entrances into the Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” according to the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies.
Both Natanz and Fordow are thought to be heavily defended by anti-aircraft systems, and experts say only the largest bombs designed to penetrate the earth and crush underground bunkers, could damage the complexes.
Israel does not possess such bombs – GBU-57s, or even jets that could carry them, although it does have smaller GBU-72s, which could seriously damage hardened structures closer to the surface and, possibly, bury or destroy tunnel entrances.
Aside from this infrastructure, Iran has dozens of research complexes above ground – with a large site at the Esfahan Nuclear Technology Centre.
Work at many of these sites is not focused specifically on uranium enrichment but looks into missile development, research on missile fuel, conventional explosives used to generate nuclear explosions and test reactors, which could be used for military research.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m; Winner: Mcmanaman, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Bawaasil, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Bochart, Fabrice Veron, Satish Seemar
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8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alfareeq, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
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The five pillars of Islam
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
