TEHRAN // Iran will grant United Nations inspectors access to a military complex where the UN nuclear agency suspects secret atomic work is been carried out, the country's semi-official ISNA news agency reported yesterday.
Tehran had banned UN inspectors from visiting the Parchin facility, south-east of the capital, but Iran's permanent envoy to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said a visit would now be allowed as a gesture of good will.
But it could only go ahead after both sides agreed on guidelines, ISNA said.
Inspecting Parchin had been a key request by IAEA teams that visited Tehran in January and last month, along with access to key Iranian officials and information on the nuclear programme.
Iran rejected those requests.
The West has accused Iran of a running programme to build nuclear weapons but Tehran has said its nuclear operations are purely for peaceful purposes.
The latest development comes a day after the IAEA chief, Yukiya Amano, said he was increasingly concerned that there may be new activity at Parchin.
Mr Amano did not specify if he thought the activity was linked to suspected new weapons experiments or attempts to clean up suspected previous work.
Parchin has been often mentioned in the West as a suspected base for secret nuclear experiments - a claim Iran denies.
IAEA inspectors visited the site in 2005 - but only one of four areas on the grounds - and reported no unusual activities.
Last year's IAEA's report said there were indications that Iran had conducted high-explosives testing to set off a nuclear charge at Parchin.
Iran denied that and insisted that any decision to open the site rests with the armed forces since it is a military, not a nuclear, facility.
On Monday at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Mr Amano said the suspicions of "activities ... at the Parchin site" in Iran meant "going there sooner is better than later" for IAEA inspectors seeking to probe suspicions Iran has been working secretly to develop nuclear arms.
"We have our credible information that indicates that Iran engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices." The IAEA has said it has intelligence-based suspicions based on thousands of pages of documents.
Iran has dismissed the information as being fabricated by a "few arrogant countries" - a phrase authorities often use to refer to the United States and its allies.
"Given that Parchin is a military site, access to this facility is a time-consuming process and it can't be visited repeatedly," ISNA quoted the Iranian envoy's statement saying.
It added that following repeated IAEA demands, "permission will be granted for access once more".
There was no immediate comment from the IAEA on Tehran's decision. It comes as fears grow that Israel's air force may soon strike Iran in an attempt to destroy its nuclear facilities.
During the IAEA visit last month, Iran invited the UN inspectors to visit the Marivan site - an offer they declined.
Mr Amano's report in November also mentioned Marivan, saying intelligence from an IAEA member state indicated large scale high-explosive experiments were conducted in the western region of Marivan, near the Iraqi border.
Mr Amano said Monday Iran had made a last-minute offer to the IAEA to visit Marivan.
The US president, Barack Obama, met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington on Monday and told him the US "will always have Israel's back", but that diplomacy was the best way to resolve the crisis.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
AIR
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
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