The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday he was "extremely concerned" about what he described as Iran's lack of co-operation about unexplained traces of uranium in the country.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran "has not been forthcoming" with information his organisation is trying to extract.
The two sides had struck an agreement in March with the aim of concluding the IAEA's inquiries about uranium traces at old but undeclared sites in Iran.
But Mr Grossi told the European Parliament on Tuesday that IAEA operatives "in the last few months were able to identify traces of enriched uranium, in places that had never been declared by Iran as places where any activity was taking place".
"The situation does not look very good," he said. "Iran, for the time being, has not been forthcoming in the kind of information we need from them ... we are extremely concerned about this."
The IAEA's talks with Iran are separate from negotiations between world powers aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US abandoned four years ago. But both sides have indicated that ironing out the first issue could smooth progress towards the second.
The talks on the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, broke off in March after diplomats had described an agreement as being close. Russia's involvement in the talks added further complexity after its invasion of Ukraine poisoned the atmosphere between Moscow and the West.
A potential revival of the 2015 deal would see sanctions lifted on Iran if it agrees not to breach limits set on its atomic activity, which are designed to keep nuclear weapons out of its hands but which it has openly flouted since the US quit the pact.
Diplomats have said the window for agreement is closing because Iran's nuclear progress will eventually render a deal to curb its activities obsolete. Tehran announced on Monday that European Union diplomat Enrique Mora, who chairs the negotiations that had been taking place in Vienna, would visit Tehran this week.
Mr Grossi said those talks were "at a sort of pause" but said his agency was "of course still hopeful that some agreement is going to be reached within a reasonable timeframe".
However, the IAEA was "trying to clarify a number of still-open matters with Iran", said Mr Grossi, who has said his watchdog will not drop its investigations to help seal a JCPOA deal. Documents are to be exchanged between the two sides by May 22.
Iran "should be at the top of our preoccupations in spite of the drama that is unfolding in Ukraine", Mr Grossi said, after fighting near nuclear sites, including the Chernobyl exclusion zone, led to fears of radioactive fallout.
WORLD'S%2010%20HIGHEST%20MOUNTAINS
%3Cp%3E1.%09Everest%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%09K2%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%09Kangchenjunga%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%09Lhotse%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%09Makalu%0D%3Cbr%3E6.%09Cho%20Oyu%0D%3Cbr%3E7.%09Dhaulagiri%0D%3Cbr%3E8.%09Manaslu%0D%3Cbr%3E9.%09Nanga%20Parbat%0D%3Cbr%3E10.%09Annapurna%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
