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US, allies criticize Iran’s response to UN nuclear watchdog report

Apadana Central — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 06:46:11 +0000

WASHINGTON: The United States issued a joint statement with France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Friday criticizing Iran’s “inadequate” response to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on its nuclear program.
The UN nuclear watchdog issued a warning to Tehran on Wednesday after it found that changes had been made without prior notification at the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant to equipment that can enrich uranium to up to 60 percent.
Iran claimed that an IAEA inspector had accidentally flagged the changes as being undeclared, and that the matter was later resolved.
“Iranian claims that this action was carried out in error are inadequate,” the joint statement said.
“We judge Iran’s actions based on the impartial and objective reports of the IAEA, not Iran’s purported intent.”
According to the IAEA report, seen by AFP, during an unannounced Fordo inspection on January 21, inspectors found that “two IR-6 centrifuge cascades… were interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency.”
The IAEA did not specify the kind of changes made to the interconnection between the cascades.
The four countries said that the change was “inconsistent with Iran’s obligations” under treaties and that “such lack of required notifications undermines the Agency’s ability to maintain timely detection at Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
“We recall that the production of high-enriched uranium by Iran at the Fordow Enrichment Plant carries significant proliferation-related risks and is without any credible civilian justification,” their statement said.
The Fordo site has been under increased scrutiny since Iran began producing uranium enriched to 60 percent there since November 2022, as well as at its Natanz site.
That far exceeds the 3.67 percent enrichment threshold set by the 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers, and is close to the 90 percent needed to produce an atomic bomb.

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Britain’s spies defending COVID-19 vaccine work, MI5 chief says

Marjaneh Rouhani — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:02:08 +0000

FILE PHOTO: Thames House, the headquarters of the British Security Service (MI5) is seen in London, Britain October 22, 2015. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

October 14, 2020

By Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON (Reuters) – British spies are trying to defend COVID-19 vaccine work against hostile powers that seek to either steal or sabotage research data in the race for the global prize of a jab that could provide immunity, the head of MI5 said on Wednesday.

Oxford University’s vaccine candidate, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca, is in late stage trials, while a vaccine candidate being developed by Imperial College London is in early stage clinical trials.

“Clearly, the global prize of having a first usable vaccine against this deadly virus is a large one, so we would expect that a range of other parties around the globe would be quite interested in that research,” Security Service (MI5) Director General Ken McCallum told reporters.

McCallum, in his first major remarks since being named as the new boss of MI5 in March when the United Kingdom was under national lockdown, said there were a range of threats against the vaccine development work.

“I guess there are two bits we are on the lookout for: attempts either to steal unique intellectual property that’s been generated in that research, or potentially to fiddle with the data,” he said.

“And then the second risk we’ve got to be alive to is the possibility that the research is still high integrity and sound, but that somebody tries to sow doubt about its integrity.”

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said in July that hackers backed by the Russian state were trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world.

More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, with 42 in human trials, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

A CAULDRON OF THREATS

McCallum, a career spy who studied mathematics in Glasgow before spending more than two decades in MI5, said the United Kingdom was facing a cauldron of threats ranging from growing far-right terrorism to Chinese economic espionage.

“The right-wing terrorist threat is not on the same scale as the Islamist extremist threat – but it is rising,” he said.

Of 27 late-stage plots disrupted in Britain, eight were hatched by right-wing extremists, he said, adding that MI5 was also grappling with increasingly severe state-sponsored espionage.

“The varying threats from Russian, Chinese, Iranian and other actors are growing in severity and complexity.”

China has sought to hack commercially sensitive data and intellectual property as well as to interfere in politics, he said. Britain had disrupted Chinese espionage plot aimed against the European Union. He gave no further details.

McCallum defended MI5 over its role investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, saying little of any great significance was found.

He did, though, give a rare insight into what it is to be a spy chief: “Terrorist attacks are always, without exception, sickening. Whenever my phone rings late in the evening, my stomach lurches in case it is one of those awful moments.”

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate Holton/Mark Heinrich) Apadana Media

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Offering A ‘New Pact,’ Exiled Prince Reza Calls For Civil Disobedience

Apadana Central — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 12:09:20 +0000

In a video message titled the “New Pact,” the exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi defended the widespread protests and strikes inside Iran, saying that the protesters sought to “save” their country.

Released on Monday, September 28, Pahlavi advocated for the establishment of democracy in Iran, saying in his message that “isolation, social collapse, frustration, and despair are the only achievements of the 41-year-old Islamic rule. This system is not reformable.”

Calling the “New Pact” as an “all peoples’ pact,” Pahlavi said that protesters’ motivations “were not to take political power” but rather to create “a system in which political power is “not monopolized by any individual or group” and “everyone is equally responsible for making key decisions.”

Pahlavi said he sought to redirect Iran on the “right path” and the first step to achieve that would be “leaving the Islamic Republic behind.” He called for increased participation and responsibility of citizens inside and outside the country, asserting, “Let us link strikes, protests and civil disobedience in different parts of the country,” and also advocated for civil disobedience in the workplace.

Addressing Iran’s Army forces, Pahlavi claimed that Iran’s Islamic regime is selling the country’s resources and shooting at innocent citizens, running counter to the Army’s duty to defend the people. Pahlavi referred to the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Baseej (the so-called mobilization forces) as “thieving warlords” who only care about “lining their pockets,” saying that by turning the IRGC into an anti-people body, Iranian officials have paralyzed the country.

Pahlavi stressed that “no individual or group alone can save us,” describing the present era as a “most critical moment” and calling on citizens to ask themselves whether they stood on the side of the Islamic Republic or that of Iran. Highlighting the plight of minorities and workers across Iran, Pahlavi reminded listeners, “We are stronger than the oppressors.”

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U.S. Might Close Embassy Unless Iraq Prevents Iran Militia Attacks

Apadana Central — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:31:07 +0000

The Trump administration may close its embassy in Iraq if the government does not take steps to protect it from attacks by Iranian-backed militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi of the plans to withdraw during a call on September 26, news agencies reported.

An official announcement has not been made.

The United States has accused Iranian-backed militias of launching rockets at the embassy and demanded Kadhimi crack down on them.

The embassy in Baghdad, which is located in a heavily fortified zone, has grown to become one of the largest U.S. diplomatic outposts.

It was unclear whether Washington would reverse its decision should Kadhimi’s government step up its efforts to protect Western diplomatic and military personnel.

The U.S. military leads a coalition that has been battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from a Baghdad headquarters since 2014.

Iranian-backed protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve following coalition air strikes against militia targets inside Iraq days earlier.

The United States accused Iraqi security forces of allowing the protesters to pass security checkpoints.

Based on reporting by AP and The Washington Post | Apadana Media

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