251 died Saturday. “Iran has highest day death toll from virus, currency plunges,” AP, October 11, 2020.
Iran has difficulty finding willing and able partners during a time of sanctions. “Iran, Belarus keen on boosting economic ties,” Trend, October 11, 2020.
“Iran does not have enough enough enriched uranium to make one nuclear bomb under the UN atomic watchdog’s official definition, the agency’s head has said. “The Iranians continue to enrich uranium, and to a much higher degree than they have committed themselves to. And this amount is growing by the month,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi told Austrian paper Die Presse in an interview it published on Saturday. The IAEA is based in the Austrian capital, Vienna. Asked about how long Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon, Mr Grossi said: “In the IAEA we do not talk about breakout time. We look at the significant quantity, the minimum amount of enriched uranium or plutonium needed to make an atomic bomb. Iran does not have this significant quantity at the moment.” Iran denies ever having had a nuclear weapons programme, saying its nuclear programme is purely for energy purposes. The IAEA defines “significant quantity” as the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded. The most recent quarterly IAEA report on Iran last month said it had 2,105.4 kg of enriched uranium, far above the 202.8 kg limit in a 2015 deal with global powers but a fraction of the enriched uranium it had before the accord. The US pulled out of the agreement in 2018. It is also enriching to up to 4.5 pre cent purity, far below the 20 per cent it achieved before the deal and the 90 per cent that is considered weapons-grade. Earlier this month, Mr Grossi said that the IAEA carried out more than 400 inspections on Iran last year.” See “Iran short of ‘significant quantity’ of potential bomb material, IAEA says,” The National, October 11, 2020.
“Because Iran is working with North Korea, …” See “North Korea’s massive new missile could help Iran threaten Israel,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, October 11, 2020.
The threat of U.S. force against Iran proxies may be leading to this. “Iran-backed militias offer truce for US troop withdrawal,” Qassem Abdul-Zahra, AP, Military Times, October 11, 2020.
251 died Saturday. “Iran has highest day death toll from virus, currency plunges,” Houston Chronicle, October 11, 2020.
“Iranian Regime Intelligence Ministry’s Agent Arrested in Albania,” NCRI, October 11, 2020.