The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said that Iran’s government had begun to operate several advanced centrifuges at its underground facility in Natanz.
The centrifuge, known as IR-4, is being used to enrich uranium, following Tehran’s decision to breach several limits on its nuclear activity, set out in the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran officials also said they would be cold testing its redesigned Arak nuclear reactor.
The decision to breach the terms of the deal comes after the United States pulled out of the agreement in 2019 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. would come back to the deal if Iran resumed full compliance with the agreement, while Tehran said it would only resume negotiations with the U.S. once sanctions were lifted.
The Houthis, a Lebanese militia group backed by Iran, killed at least 44 migrants during a protest which broke out at a detention centre in Yemen.
The group fired smoke grenades into the centre to try to stem the protest, starting a fire which then engulfed the area. An initial report found that at least 193 migrants were injured in the fire.
According to Human Rights Watch, the protest had been mounted in response to limited access to water. Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen called for an independent inquiry into the fire and the conditions at the centre.
And Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, said he had spoken to his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case while in Tehran, during an official state visit.
Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who completed her five year prison sentence in Tehran last week for ‘plotting to topple the Iranian government,’ was charged again hours after her release. The verdict for the second trial will be handed down on March 21.
