Page 6 - IRANRptNov19

advanced centrifuges, one of which is undergoing testing, according to Salehi. He explained that Iran was now operating 60 IR-6 advanced centrifuges, which amounts to a violation of the nuclear deal. He added that Iranian engineers were working on a prototype called IR-9. This, he said, would be 50 times faster than the first-generation IR-1s that are permitted under the accord.
Experts have calculated that the new centrifuges mean it would take Iran a year to develop a nuclear bomb—but Iran says it has never had any intention of producing such a weapon.
The 2015 nuclear agreement saw Iran assent to limiting its nuclear activities to clearly specified civilian purposes in return for the lifting of heavy international economic sanctions, in particular on oil exports. But US President Donald Trump says the deal needs toughening up and should include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic weapons programme and measures to prevent Tehran supporting various militias across Middle East conflict zones, including Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon opposed to Israel.
If the EU responds to Iran’s accord breaches by placing the whole nuclear agreement into review, it could eventually bring about the deal’s suspension and possible collapse. However, there are certain provisos allowing Iran to pull out of parts of the deal if it can provide sufficient explanations.
Sanam Vakil, a Chatham House senior research fellow, was quoted by the Guardian​ as saying: “There is now a serious risk of a dangerous miscalculation with dangerous consequences if Iran’s [latest] step goes too far.”
The EU said on November 4 that its backing for the nuclear deal depended on Tehran fulfilling its commitments. German foreign minister Heiko Maas said the announcement as regards the centrifuges was unacceptable and was putting the whole deal at risk.
In previous steps away from the deal, Iran in early July expanded its stockpile of enriched uranium to beyond a 300kg maximum set by the deal. Soon after, it announced it had exceeded a 3.67% cap on the purity of its uranium stocks.
2.2 ​40th Anniversary of Iran Hostage Crisis: Present-day US “wilder, ruder” says Ayatollah Khamenei
Iran has unveiled new murals of anti-American graffiti on the outside walls of the former US embassy compound in Tehran to mark the​ 40th anniversary of its capture​ ​by Islamic revolutionary students.
The works include an ominous Mickey Mouse standing with a smoking gun in his hands and McDonald's food packaging with barbed wire sticking out instead of French fries. Another shows bats surrounding a US Global Hawk drone, shot down in June by Iran which claimed it was on a spying mission over its territory. One piece features a doctored US presidential seal with an added Star of David—seemingly a reference to Washington’s close ties with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel—and an eagle holding drug syringes and bombs.
State media reported that the murals were conceived in line with themes such as “The Decline of America and the West” and “America’s crime around the
6​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com