BUSHEHR, Iran: Iran began pouring concrete Sunday for a second nuclear reactor at its Bushehr power plant, a facility Tehran points to as its reason to break the enrichment limit set by its unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
While celebrating the start of construction, the politics of the moment weren’t lost on Iranian officials as a US pressure campaign of sanctions blocks Tehran from selling its crude oil abroad. Those sanctions took effect after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in May 2018, lighting the fuse for the current tensions now gripping the wider Mideast.
“It was not us who started breaking commitments, it was them who did not keep to their commitments and cannot accept the nuclear deal as a one-way roadmap,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency. However, Iran began 4.5 percent enrichment in part to supply Bushehr despite the deal limiting it to 3.67 percent.
While that’s still nowhere near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent, nonproliferation experts warn Iran’s growing stockpile and increasing enrichment will begin to shave off time from the estimated year Tehran would need to gather enough material for an atomic bomb.
Iran long has maintained its program is for peaceful purposes, though the deal was designed to limit its enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Those limits blocked its path to being able to have enough material for a bomb.
On Sunday, trucks with spinning concrete mixers poured their slurry into the prepared base of the second reactor as journalists watched in Bushehr, some 700 kilometers south from Iran’s capital, Tehran. Bushehr’s working reactor stood behind it.
Officials say the new reactor, and a third planned to be built, will each add over 1,000 megawatts to Iran’s power grid. It is being built with the help of Russia, which helped finally put Bushehr’s first reactor online in 2011 after decades of delays.
Salehi, speaking to reporters, praised the plant’s operations.
Gulf Arab states opposed to Tehran have raised concerns to the IAEA that Bushehr was a risk to the wider region over earthquakes that routinely hit Iran.
Meanwhile Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected claims by the US and Israel over allegations of nuclear material being discovered at an undeclared site outside of Tehran. An IAEA meeting last week appeared to include discussions over what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described in a United Nations speech in 2018 as a “secret atomic warehouse.”
The IAEA has said Iran “carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device” in a “structured program” through the end of 2003. Israeli officials allege material recovered from the warehouse came from that program.
Iran begins pouring concrete for second nuclear power reactor
Iran begins pouring concrete for second nuclear power reactor
- Iran began 4.5 percent enrichment in part to supply Bushehr despite the deal limiting it to 3.67 percent
- Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency
British minister discusses Gaza with Arab League chief, Egyptian foreign minister in Cairo
- League’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, thanks Lord Tariq Ahmad for UK’s support in vote on UN Security Council ceasefire resolution this week
- Ahmad and Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, discuss ways in which their countries can work together to ensure greater amounts of aid reach the people of Gaza
LONDON: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit held talks in Cairo on Thursday with the British minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa, Lord Tariq Ahmad, about the conflict in Gaza.
Aboul Gheit thanked the UK for its “supportive vote” this week in favor of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, his spokesperson Gamal Roshdy said.
The secretary-general also called for the urgent implementation of the resolution on the ground to halt the Israeli military campaign, and underscored the “critical necessity of immediate humanitarian aid access to Gaza” to alleviate the dire crisis and famine affecting the people there.
“Aboul Gheit highlighted the significance of unified diplomatic endeavors, post military cessation, to capitalize on the UN Security Council’s resolution, aiming at achieving stability and outlining a political pathway toward the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Roshdy added.
Ahmad was in agreement about the important need to enact the UN resolution and deliver aid to Gaza using land routes, Roshdy said.
The British minister, who was making his third official visit to Egypt since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel, also met the Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, to discuss ways in which their countries can work together to ensure greater amounts of lifesaving aid reach Palestinians in Gaza.
In a message posted on social media platform X, Ahmad wrote: “Pleased to meet my good friend, Foreign Minister Shoukry, during Ramadan in Cairo. We discussed the need for full implementation of (the UN Security Council resolution) to get more lifesaving aid into Gaza, get hostages out, and provide an irreversible pathway to” a two-state solution.”
He added: “Egypt is a vital partner, and boosting UK-Egypt ties will enable our nations to work towards a shared goal — bringing greater stability to the region. As my visit coincides with the holy month of Ramadan, I am also looking forward to celebrating Egypt’s unique culture.”
Arab League chief highlights need for Palestinian reconciliation in talks with Fatah delegation
- Spotlight on importance of prioritizing ceasefire, facilitating aid to Gaza
- Aboul Gheit emphasized the urgency of swiftly moving toward a political settlement that would pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state
CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has emphasized the importance of pursuing all possible avenues to achieve Palestinian reconciliation.
He spoke as he welcomed a high-level delegation from the Palestinian Fatah movement in Cairo.
The talks followed the delegation’s separate meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Aboul Gheit also stressed the importance of prioritizing a ceasefire and facilitating the delivery of aid to Gaza.
He emphasized the urgency of swiftly moving toward a political settlement that would pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Aboul Gheit said that the Palestinian National Movement served as an overarching platform for all factions, adding that Fatah had played an undeniable role in the Palestinian struggle over the decades.
He reiterated that unity among Palestinian ranks was indispensable for realizing the vision of a Palestinian state.
The Fatah delegation included Mahmoud Al-Aloul, the movement’s vice president; Rawhi Fattouh, the president of the Palestinian National Council; and Azzam Al-Ahmad and Samir Al-Rifai, members of Fatah’s Central Committee.
Jamal Rushdi, a spokesperson for Aboul Gheit, said that the secretary-general had listened to a presentation by Fatah leaders on the latest developments in the region.
Discussions centered on the war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the violence faced by Palestinians by occupation forces and armed extremist settlers in the West Bank.
The Arab League’s chief stressed the role of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah in the struggle and spoke of the need to end the geographical and political division that had plagued Palestinians since 2007.
Aboul Gheit listened to the leaders and their strategies to bolster Palestinian resilience on their land, whether in the West Bank or Gaza.
He conveyed the Arab League’s unwavering support for the Palestinian Authority’s endeavors to harness global momentum in advocating for Palestinian rights.
He added that the Gaza catastrophe had revealed unimaginable brutality and a stark absence of humanity, which had elicited shock from conscientious people worldwide.
Aboul Gheit insisted that the world was now convinced of the inevitability of Palestinians achieving their right to self-determination and establishing an independent state.
This conviction contrasted sharply with previous notions that the Palestinian issue could be managed through “economic peace.”
Aboul Gheit spoke of the Arab League’s vision with the delegation, based on recent engagements with influential international actors close to recognizing the Palestinian state.
He stressed that the correct approach to negotiating a final settlement was to recognize statehood and attain permanent membership in the UN.
World court orders Israel to take action to address Gaza famine
- The ICJ said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life, and famine and starvation are spreading
- “The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (...) but that famine is setting in,” the judges said
THE HAGUE: Judges at the International Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The ICJ said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life, and famine and starvation are spreading.
“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (...) but that famine is setting in,” the judges said in their order.
The new measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case that accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
In January the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.
In Thursday’s order the court reaffirmed the January measures but added Israel must take action to ensure unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance including food, water and electricity as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza.
The judges added that this could be done “by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.” The court ordered Israel to submit a report in a month after the order to detail how it had given effect to the ruling.
‘Utmost importance’ for Israel, Lebanon to restore calm: US
- “Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said
WASHINGTON: The White House called Thursday on Israel and Lebanon to put a high priority on restoring calm after new deadly border crossfire and Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah.
“Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden and for the administration and it has to be of utmost importance, we believe, as well for both Lebanon and Israel,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
UN ‘deeply disturbed’ by strikes on Lebanon rescue workers
- “Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon
- “Attacks on health care violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable”
BEIRUT: The United Nations on Thursday said it was “deeply disturbed” by attacks on health care facilities, a day after several strikes blamed on Israel killed 10 emergency rescue workers in southern Lebanon.
“The tragic events of the past 36 hours have resulted in a significant loss of life and injuries in south Lebanon. Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.
There has been near-daily cross-border fire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, and Israel since Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza.
Lebanese groups say three separate Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including on a health center in the border village of Habariyeh, killed the 11 civilians.
“I am deeply disturbed by the repeated attacks on health facilities and health workers who risk their lives to provide urgent assistance to their local communities,” Riza added.
“Attacks on health care violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable,” the UN official said in a statement.
Several militant groups in Lebanon operate health centers and emergency response operations.
Hezbollah said four of its fighters and two rescuers were killed in Wednesday’s strikes, while its ally the Amal movement said it had lost two members, including a rescuer.
An official from the Jamaa Islamiya militant group had earlier told AFP that “seven rescuers” were killed in Israeli strikes on the emergency center in Habariyeh.
The Israeli military said the target of one of the strikes was “a military compound” and those killed were Jamaa Islamiya militants.
It said a “significant terrorist operative” and other members of the group were planning attacks against Israel at the time of the strike.
Hezbollah responded to the deadly strikes by sending a barrage of rockets into northern Israel, killing one civilian in Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday.
The group on Thursday said they targeted the northern Israeli town of Shlomi and agricultural village of Goren in retaliation for the previous day’s attacks.
The uptick in violence has raised fears of a broader escalation in the conflict.
At least 346 people have been killed in Lebanon — mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also including at least 68 civilians — in clashes with Israel over the last six months, according to an AFP tally.
The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.