Iran has enriched uranium to 60 per cent, its nuclear energy agency chief said on Friday.
"The enrichment of uranium to 60 per cent is under way at the Martyr Ahmadi Roshan nuclear facility" in Natanz, Ali Akbar Salehi of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said, quoted by Tasnim news agency.
"We are now getting nine grams per hour," Mr Salehi said later on state television.
“Now, any enrichment [level] is possible if we decide it,” he said.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was the first to announce Iran's enhanced enrichment capability. At 12.40am last night, "young and pious Iranian scientists were able to obtain a 60 per cent enriched uranium product", he said in a tweet on Friday.
European Union spokesman Peter Stano called Iran’s step “a very worrisome development”.
“There is no credible explanation or civilian justification for such an action on the side of Iran,” Mr Stano said.
On Tuesday, Iran said it would start enriching uranium to a purity level of 60 per cent in response to an alleged attack on a key nuclear facility.
The country's chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, confirmed the escalation ahead of negotiations in Vienna over the 2015 nuclear deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Iran committed to limit enrichment to 3.67 per cent, although it stepped this up to 20 per cent in January.
On Thursday, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran was capable of enriching uranium to 90 per cent, the level required to build nuclear weapons.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a tweet on Friday.
After the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, Iran ramped up its nuclear programme and has since been cited for several breaches by the UN's atomic watchdog agency.
Iran's plans to enrich uranium to 60 per cent is a clear step towards developing nuclear weapons and an extension of Tehran's destabilising actions in the Middle East, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Thursday.
Iran blamed Israel for an attack on the Natanz nuclear plant, which took out an electrical grid and caused a blackout, resulting in damage to the centrifuges used to enrich uranium.
Iran vowed to replace the damaged first-generation centrifuges with more advanced sixth-generation models, a breach of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Europe has called signatories to the nuclear deal to Vienna to mediate between Tehran and Washington on how to return to the terms of the agreement that curtails Iran’s enrichment with strict oversight in exchange for sanctions relief.
Iran demands that the US lift all sanctions before it will return to the agreement. Washington, on the other hand, demands that Iran return to the deal before it lifts sanctions.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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