Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, this August. Reuters
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, this August. Reuters
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, this August. Reuters
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, this August. Reuters

Iran tells IAEA it will accelerate underground uranium enrichment


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A United Nations nuclear watchdog group said Iran intends to move forward with more uranium-enriching centrifuges, breaking an agreement the country made with world powers yet again.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran will eventually install advanced cascades of centrifuges at an underground plant it operates in Natanz.

"In a letter dated December 2, 2020, Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz 'intends to start installation of three cascades of IR-2m centrifuge machines' at FEP," the confidential agency report said, according to Reuters.

The cascades are more advanced, an IR-2m centrifuge over an IR-1 centrifuge, than the ones that Tehran is allowed to use under the nuclear deal. The IAEA states IR-2m centrifuges have already been moved to the plant to start the process of enriching uranium.

However, it isn’t the first time Iran has breached limits agreed upon in the global nuclear deal.

The IAEA says Tehran now has a stockpile of 2.4 tonnes of enriched uranium, according to the organisation’s last report. The amount is 12 times more than what Iran is allowed to have in their nuclear programme. It’s still less than the 8 tonnes the country held before the agreement.

It poses a challenge for the new US administration under President-elect Joe Biden, starting in late January. Mr Biden has signalled he’d have the US enter the Iran nuclear deal President Donald Trump left.

Mr Biden’s pledge for the US to rejoin the pact does, however, depend on if Tehran remained true to the agreement made in 2015. Tehran claims the moves it has made regarding the country’s nuclear plan can be reversed.

Mr Trump’s current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to Mr Biden’s possible stance in a Bahrain security summit on Friday, “I think it’s fundamentally the wrong direction.”

While you're here
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin

Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

World Series

Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)

* if needed

Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday

Key developments

All times UTC 4

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
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Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
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Investment raised: $4 million 
Specs

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Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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England 12-man squad for second Test

v West Indies which starts Thursday: Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach

THE SPECS

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The five pillars of Islam

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2. Prayer 

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4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

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Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 4.4-litre V8

Transmission: Automatic

Power: 530bhp 

Torque: 750Nm 

Price: Dh535,000

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg

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Liverpool 2
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Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.

Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.

"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."

Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

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Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain

Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni

Rating: 2.5/5

Company%20Profile
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