Just in:
Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Employer Obligations Tighten: 30-Day Deadline for Emirati Employee Registration with GPSSA // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Study: Stainless steel circular economy significantly reduces the risk of climate change in Thailand // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Hong Kong Seen Granting Mainland Investors Access to Crypto via ETFs // The World’s First & Wettest Party: “S2O Hong Kong Songkran Music Festival” proudly returns Get an immersive water and music experience on 8-9 June during Dragon Boat Festival long weekend at Central Harbourfront Event Space! //
HomePoliticsIran takes tougher stand on reactor

Iran takes tougher stand on reactor

IAEA Director General Amano addresses the media after a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in ViennaIran appeared to take a harder line in its nuclear dispute with world powers on Sunday by dismissing as “ridiculous” one idea that could allay Western concerns about a planned atomic research reactor.

The fate of the heavy-water reactor at Arak, which has not yet been completed, is one of several thorny issues in talks between Iran and six powers aimed at reaching a long-term deal on Tehran’s nuclear program by an agreed July 20 deadline.

“It is ridiculous that the power of the (Arak) reactor would be cut from 40 megawatts to 10 megawatts”, nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi said, the official IRNA news agency reported.

ADVERTISEMENT
 Western powers fear the Arak plant – 250 km (150 miles) southwest of Tehran – could provide a supply of plutonium – one of two materials, along with highly enriched uranium, that can trigger a nuclear explosion – once operational.

Iran says it would produce isotopes for medical treatments, and denies any of its nuclear work is aimed at making a bomb.

If operating optimally, Arak could produce about nine kg (20 pounds) of plutonium annually, enough for about two atom bombs, the U.S. Institute for Science and International Security says.

Araghchi made no other reference to the idea in the remarks carried by IRNA, and it was not clear whether such a reduction in electrical power at the planned facility had been formally proposed at the latest round of talks last week.

But possible options that could allow Iran to keep the reactor at Arak while satisfying the West that it would not be used for military purposes include reducing its megawatt capacity and altering the way it will be fuelled, experts say.

Iran’s atomic energy organization chief said in February Tehran was prepared to modify Arak, while insisting that Western concerns over Arak were a ploy to apply pressure on Tehran.

The fate of Arak was a big hurdle in talks last year that led to a landmark agreement to curb sensitive aspects of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions.

Araghchi said Iran’s negotiating team would do its utmost to get an accord by July 20 based on the country’s “red lines,” but it would not be a “tragedy” if no deal was reached by then.

Iran’s red lines include preserving the Arak reactor and maintaining the enrichment capabilities.

He said the talks would resume in Vienna on June 16-20.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account that a deal was “possible”.

“Back from Vienna after tough discussions. Agreement is possible. But illusions need to go. Opportunity shouldn’t be missed again like in 2005,” Zarif tweeted.

Zarif was referring to a 2005 proposal for Iran to convert all of its enriched uranium to fuel rods, making it impossible to use it for nuclear weapons. The proposal was rejected as the United States was not prepared to accept any level of Iranian nuclear enrichment.

Today, Western diplomats privately acknowledge that forcing Iran to halt all uranium enrichment, as stipulated in U.N. Security Council resolutions, is unrealistic given the scale of the work and resistance from Tehran.

In a related development, the International Atomic Energy Agency said a team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog would hold one-day talks with officials in Tehran on Tuesday.

The IAEA-Iran talks are separate from those between Tehran and six world powers – the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia – but are complementary, as both focus on fears that Iran may covertly be seeking weapons capability.

The six powers want Iran to scale back uranium enrichment and other sensitive nuclear activity and accept more rigorous U.N. inspections to deny it any capability of quickly producing atomic bombs, in exchange for an end to sanctions.-Reuters

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Hong Kong Seen Granting Mainland Investors Access to Crypto via ETFs // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Study: Stainless steel circular economy significantly reduces the risk of climate change in Thailand // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Experts come together to support updating the city’s nature conservation masterplan // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Employer Obligations Tighten: 30-Day Deadline for Emirati Employee Registration with GPSSA //