Sep. 12 – Britain, France and Germany, collectively known as the E3, warned Iran to reinstate inspections of its nuclear sites by the United Nations atomic watchdog or face more sanctions in a statement issued by the states on Wednesday.
The states accused the Islamic Republic of suspending the inspections, which are part of an agreement which aims to prevent the regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon in return for sanctions relief, “based on irrelevant, political considerations” and that the regime had “refused for more than six years to resolve questions regarding nuclear material detected at multiple undeclared locations in Iran.”
The Islamic Republic stopped inspections in July following disagreements between Tehran and other states’ governments about the remit of its nuclear program.
Detained British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman are being held in ‘dire’ conditions in prisons across Iran, according to their son Joe Bennett in a report published by the BBC.
Bennett said Ms. Foreman was living in a small area of the prison with 70 other women and that she was receiving limited food and had been exposed to extreme heat. Bennett added that Mr. Foreman was being held in a single room housing 57 men with limited access to fresh air, proper food and did not have a mattress to sleep on.
The Islamic Republic has been repeatedly condemned by several countries for arbitrarily detaining dual and foreign nationals to use as leverage in diplomatic negotiations with states.
And women in Iran have taken up an unusual hobby, which many have described as an act of defiance against a repressive government which forbids women to dance and express themselves freely in public spaces.
Iranian women have taken up pole dancing, which they are learning to do in underground venues across the Islamic Republic, according to a report by French broadcaster France 24.
The Islamic Republic currently forbids women to dance, or sing in public and has implemented legislation which forces women to wear scarves over their hair when they are not indoors. The laws also allow for draconian punishments if women flout these regulations.
