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Iran to speed up underground uranium enrichment plant

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Iran plans to install hundreds more advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground plant in breach of its deal with major powers, a UN nuclear watchdog report showed on Friday, a move that will raise pressure on US President-elect Joe Biden, Reuters reported.

The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the underground plant at Natanz, which was apparently built to withstand aerial bombardment.

Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers says Tehran can only use first-generation IR-1 centrifuges, which are less efficient, at the underground plant and that those are the only machines with which Iran may accumulate enriched uranium, Reuters reported.

Iran recently moved one cascade of 174 IR-2m machines underground at Natanz and is enriching with it. It already planned to install two more cascades of other advanced models there, in addition to the 5,060 IR-1 machines that have been enriching for years in the plant built for more than 50,000.

“In a letter dated 2 December 2020, Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz ‘intends to start installation of three cascades of IR-2m centrifuge machines’ at FEP,” the IAEA’s report to its member states said.

Iran has breached many of the deal’s core restrictions on its nuclear activities in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement and his reimposition of crippling economic sanctions. Tehran says its breaches can quickly be reversed if Washington’s moves are undone, Reuters reported.

Biden, who takes office on January 20, has said he will bring the United States back into the deal if Iran resumes full compliance with its nuclear restrictions. That raises the prospect of a standoff over who should move first.

The IAEA’s last quarterly report on Iran last month showed Tehran had stockpiled 12 times the 202.8 kg of enriched uranium it is allowed to have under the deal, more than 2.4 tonnes.

Reuters reported that US intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had a coordinated, clandestine nuclear weapons programme that it halted in 2003, the year its secret construction of Natanz was revealed by an opposition group in exile.

The deal is aimed at keeping Iran at arm’s length from being able to produce a nuclear bomb but Iran says it has never tried to.

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Afghanistan received more than $11 billion in humanitarian aid over the past five years

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Afghanistan has received more than $11 billion in humanitarian assistance since the Islamic Emirate returned to power in August 2021, according to United Nations figures cited by the BBC.

Despite the substantial aid, the gap between humanitarian needs and available funding remains wide, with the United Nations warning that millions of Afghans continue to require assistance.

The decline in international funding, a growing number of people in need and the return of millions of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries have added pressure to the country’s humanitarian situation.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis deepened following the collapse of the previous government in August 2021. The depreciation of the national currency, the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and reductions in some international support programs further strained the economy and living conditions.

UN data shows that Afghanistan received about $5.2 billion in humanitarian assistance in 2021, followed by around $3.8 billion in 2022 and nearly $2 billion in 2023.

For 2024 and 2025, the United Nations appealed for more than $3 billion to address humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. However, funding fell short of the amounts requested.

The assistance has largely been directed toward food, healthcare, support for returnees and other urgent humanitarian needs.

The United Nations continues to classify Afghanistan as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, stressing that sustained international support remains essential for millions of Afghans who continue to need assistance.

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Afghanistan expresses condolences over deadly Indonesia earthquake

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The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has expressed deep sorrow over a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia, killing at least 53 people and forcing around 5,000 others to evacuate.

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Flores Island and surrounding areas on Saturday, blocking roads and triggering landslides, Indonesian authorities said.

In a statement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Indonesia over the casualties caused by the earthquake.

It also wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the incident.

 

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Afghan commerce minister meets Uzbek deputy prime minister in Termez

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Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshed Khojaev in the city of Termez to discuss expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.

The meeting, held on Saturday at the Termez Trade Center, focused on cooperation in the electricity, mining and agriculture sectors, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.

Uzbek officials expressed interest in investing in various sectors in Afghanistan. The Afghan delegation welcomed the interest and emphasized its readiness to create the necessary conditions for expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.

Mohammad Yousuf Wafa, governor of Balkh, and Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tashkent, also attended the meeting.

 

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