The governors of the UN nuclear watchdog were to hold an emergency meeting yesterday after Iran resumed work at a uranium conversion plant, fanning Western fears it may be seeking nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Iran had restarted some nuclear activities mothballed under a deal with the EU's three biggest powers.
Tehran also defied EU warnings that it could be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions for having kept its work secret for years, breaching the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that aims to thwart the spread of nuclear arms.
Iran's outgoing Defense Minister yesterday said that Tehran would drop all its international nuclear pledges if its atomic facilities were attacked.
"The day our facilities are attacked, we will put aside all our nuclear commitments," Ali Shamkhani told reporters.
He did not specify which commitments Iran would drop.
Meanwhile, an exiled Iranian dissident who helped uncover nearly two decades of covert nuclear activity in 2002 yesterday said that Iran has manufactured about 4,000 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to weapons grade.
Alireza Jafarzadeh said the centrifuges -- which he said were unknown to the IAEA -- are ready to be installed at Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz, 500km south of Tehran.
Jafarzadeh, who runs Strategic Policy Consulting, a Washington-based think tank focusing on Iran and Iraq, said the information -- which he described as "very recent" -- came from reliable sources within the Tehran regime.
The IAEA did not immediately comment on the centrifuge allegations. The agency had previously said it was aware of the existence of 164 centrifuges at Natanz.
"These 4,000 centrifuge machines have not been declared to the IAEA, and the regime has kept the production of these machines hidden from the inspectors while the negotiations with the European Union have been going on over the past 21 months,'' Jafarzadeh said in Washington.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source