TEHRAN // Iranian legislators presented a bill to the parliament’s presiding board on Wednesday which could oblige the government to enrich uranium to 60 per cent if new sanctions are imposed.
“If the other negotiating parties ratchet up the sanctions, impose new sanctions or violate our country’s nuclear right, this bill will immediately oblige the government to ... launch the Arak heavy water reactor and produce 60 per cent enriched uranium,” the Iranian ISNA news agency quoted lawmaker Mehdi Mousavi-nejad as saying.
Under the landmark deal struck on November 24, Iran agreed to roll back or freeze parts of its nuclear drive for six months in exchange for modest sanctions relief and a promise by Western powers not to impose new sanctions.
Under the accord, Iran pledged to limit uranium enrichment to 5 per cent. It will also neutralise its stockpile of medium-enriched material, which is relatively easy to convert to the weapons-grade level of 90 per cent or above.
Iran is also committed not to make further advances at its Fordo, Natanz and Arak facilities.
The US administration hopes the interim agreement can buy time for the negotiation of a comprehensive accord and build trust on both sides, but several US lawmakers have called for tougher sanctions, arguing that they can wring more concessions from Tehran.
The Iranian bill, signed by 100 parliamentarians, was presented to the presiding boards but has yet to be approved by the 290-member parliament.
A small heavy water research reactor at the Arak site is of concern because Tehran could theoretically extract weapons-grade plutonium from its spent fuel if it also builds a reprocessing facility. Iran agreed not to build such a facility.
Western powers suspect Iran’s nuclear activities mask military objectives, despite repeated denials from Tehran, which insists its programme is entirely peaceful.
Experts from Iran and the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany — have been holding difficult negotiations on the implementation of the nuclear accord.
The negotiations have been temporarily suspended because of Christmas holidays.
*Agence France-Presse
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
The years Ramadan fell in May
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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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
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
