- Iranians holding Ashura mourning for Imam Hussein
- Third step: Iran officially informs EU of plan to expand nuclear R&D
- Iran expands nuclear R&D program: Rouhani
- Iran goes ahead in space tech, despite US sanctions: ISA
- Resistance Front undermining Israeli regime power: Top commander
- Iran: 7 crew members of detained UK ship freed
- US addiction to sanction threaten its power: Iran’s Zarif
- Dutch role in 2007 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear site under scrutiny: Iraian FM Spox.
- Iran: ‘Sustainable Security 2019’ kicks off in Caspian Sea
- Iran’s Zarif leaves Tehran for Moscow
- Shiraz University ranked 1st in liver transplantation: Iranian health official
- Japan’s Abe to meet Iran’s president to discuss easing tension in region
- Downing of US spy drone shattered war threats against Iran: Top IRGC commander
- IAEO head reports development of first ion-therapy hospital in west of Asia
- Iranian Taekwondo team wins 2019 World Cup championship
- US sanctions failed to force Iran to buckle: Report
- Crew fixing Iran oil tanker broken down in Red Sea
- As Iranians hold nerves, US seeks to scare off trade
- Leader expresses concern about Kashmir, urges India to follow fair policy toward Muslim-majority region
- Iran saffron exports down due to smuggling, government restrictions: Exporter
- Iran FM warns US against ‘serious miscalculation’ in Persian Gulf
- Iran’s resistance policy led to release of oil tanker: MP
- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
- Iran official calls for compensation for tanker seizure
- Iran hails N Korea for standing against ‘unilateral’ US demands
- Shia Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Ghadir
- North Korea praises Iran’s anti-US struggle
- Zarif says to meet French president Friday
- Iranian court hearing case of UK oil tanker
- Over half of Japanese voters oppose joining US-led anti-Iran coalition in Persian Gulf: Poll
- IME trade ups by 21 percent in July
- Finland backs INSTEX in defiance of US
- US anti-Iran policy in high seas harms Europeans: LA Times
- Iran, China confer on Syria
- Iran, Finland share views on Persian Gulf dialogue forum: Zarif
- Iran warns US against seizure of oil tanker
- Iraq eager to benefit from Iranian Police’s experience
- Iran planning 3rd step to reduce nuclear commitments: Spokesman
- Leader grants clemency to over 1,000 Iranian inmates
- Registration for Arbaeen Pilgrimage to begin in Iran on Friday
- Iran, Iraq agree to reopen Khosravi border crossing
- Iran deplores suicide attack at Kabul wedding hall
- Iran to hold int'l hand-woven carpets expo
- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
- Adrian Darya oil tanker not under any sanctions, says Iran envoy
- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
- Iran’s annual export of white meat tops 2.5m tons: Minister
- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
- Iran, Ansarullah, European representatives Yemen developments
- ‘Iran to become self-sufficient in producing aircraft engines'
- US issues seizure warrant for Iranian supertanker 'Grace 1'
- Neanderthal tooth unearthed near Iran’s Zagros mountain
- Iran’s Zarif due in Kuwait on Saturday
- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
- US threatens visa ban as Iranian-operated tanker sets to sail from Gibraltar
- Enemies must factor Iran's global power in their calculations: IRGC's chief commander
- Trump’s administration conflicting messages to Iran baffle go-betweens: Report
- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
Wednesday, 12 May 2021_The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says samples taken from the Natanz nuclear facility show Iran has enriched uranium to up to 63 percent, and that the purity level is “consistent with the fluctuations” announced by the Islamic Republic.
“According to Iran, fluctuations of the enrichment levels... were experienced,” the IAEA said on Tuesday in a confidential report to its member states, seen by Reuters.
“The agency’s analysis of the ES (environmental samples) taken on 22 April 2021 shows an enrichment level of up to 63% U-235, which is consistent with the fluctuations of the enrichment levels (described by Iran),” it added.
On April 13, Iran said it had informed the IAEA of a plan to start the 60-percent enrichment, under which 1,000 advanced centrifuge machines will be installed at Natanz nuclear site.
The decision followed a suspected Israeli act of sabotage at the facility, which is among the sites being monitored by the UN atomic watchdog under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Additionally, the IAEA’s report said Iran was feeding the tails from the IR-4 cascade into a cascade of 27 IR-5 and 30 IR-6s centrifuges to refine uranium to up to 5 percent.
The report was published at the time when envoys from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding talks in Vienna on a potential revival of the JCPOA.
A US delegation is also in the Austrian capital, but it is not attending the discussions because the United States is not a party to the nuclear accord.
Former US president Donald Trump abandoned the deal and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the JCPOA had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign.
Following a year of strategic patience, Iran resorted to its legal rights stipulated in Article 26 of the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of non-compliance by other signatories.
Now, the new US administration says it wants to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it is showing an overriding propensity for maintaining some of the sanctions as a tool of pressure.
Tehran insists that all sanctions should first be removed in a verifiable manner before the Islamic Republic reverses its remedial measures.
Vienna talks making progress: Russia
On Wednesday, Russia’s representative to the international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said the Vienna talks “make progress.”
“Some analysts express doubts that an agreement on the restoration of #JCPOA can be achieved this month. Hasty conclusion. The Vienna talks make progress and the negotiators aim at completing the process as soon as possible. Hopefully by May 21. It’s very difficult but doable,” he tweeted.
In another tweet hours earlier, the Russian envoy reported a meeting between the representatives from the P4+1 group of countries and the US.
“In between official meetings of the Joint Commission of the #JCPOA the participants in the Vienna talks hold on a daily basis informal meetings in various formats. For instance this evening the JCPOA participants (without #Iran) met with the US delegation,” he wrote.
Also on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had met with Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General and Head of the IAEA Department of Safeguards.
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