'Any amount we want': Iran poised to increase uranium enrichment at higher levels - USA TODAY

Kim Hjelmgaard USA TODAY

Published 6:29 AM EDT Jul 3, 2019

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani issued a fresh ultimatum Wednesday over its civilian-use nuclear program, saying the country would on Sunday "take the next step" toward increasing its enrichment of uranium unless European powers are able to find a way to offset the impact of the Trump administration's sanctions on its economy. 

Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, confirmed Iran passed the limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by exceeding the 300kg (661 pounds) that was set in a landmark 2015 nuclear deal made with world powers. President Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. out of that agreement.

The higher-level enrichment Rouhani said will commence July 7 is still far off the levels Iran would need to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials, but it narrows the time it would take to make a nuclear bomb – something Iran says it does not want to do. 

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Rouhani warned that because of the faltering nuclear deal Iran was entitled to increase its enrichment of uranium to "any amount that we want, any amount that is required." 

Under the current terms of the nuclear deal negotiated by President Barack Obama, Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium above 3.67%, a level that is sufficient to operate its nuclear power plants, but falls below weapons-grade levels of about 90%.

"What does it mean that Iran has technically breached one of the limits of the historic anti-nuclear deal? It is not a sprint to a bomb. They are a long way away," Joseph Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, a San Francisco-headquartered global security foundation, wrote on Twitter on Monday as part of a lengthy thread that explains how much enriched uranium is required to produce a nuclear bomb. 

Cirincione forecast Iran, if it wanted to, would be about a year away. Other analysts and former officials have said it could take two years or as little as six months. 

Iran wants European signatories to the deal – Britain, France and Germany – to come up with a plan to stave off the impact of U.S. sanctions targeting its oil industry and top officials, including Iran's supreme leader, and caused large currency fluctuations.

"They have now breached their stockpile limit. Not good!," Trump tweeted late Tuesday. He did not say if further punitive measures are being planned.  

Trump has previously warned that Iran will be met with "great and overwhelming force" if it attacks U.S. interests. His comments followed the apparent sabotage of oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the shooting down, by Iran, of a U.S. drone off its coast.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that his country remains committed to the nuclear deal as long as European nations keep honoring it.

But he warned that European parties needed to fully operationalize a U.S.-sanctions-circumventing financial mechanism to allow Iran to its trade good and services internationally or Iran would further modify its relationship with the accord. 

"Iran's violation of one its consequential commitments under the deal should be seen for what it is: a calibrated response to compel the remaining signatories (Europe, Russia, and China) to counter the U.S. 'maximum pressure through sanctions' campaign, just as was its downing of an unmanned drone," write Gérard Araud, a former Ambassador of France to the United States, and Ali Vaez, a leading Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, in an opinion piece in Foreign Policy magazine this week.   

"But it also should be seen as a warning shot, a signal that should economic pressure remain, Tehran is likely to up the ante and accelerate its nuclear program," they write. 

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2019-07-03 08:54:00Z
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Iranian president warns Tehran will take ‘next step’ and increase uranium enrichment on Sunday - The Washington Post

DUBAI — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday warned that Iran would this weekend increase its enrichment of uranium to whatever level was needed beyond the cap set by the nuclear agreement. 

Iran has repeatedly threatened to increase enrichment beyond the 3.67 percent level allowed under the nuclear deal by July 7 unless it receives some relief from U.S. sanctions. European countries are struggling to meet Tehran’s demands to keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive. 

Rouhani’s comments, carried by the state broadcaster, came after Iran breached the 300 kilogram (660 pound) limit for low-enriched uranium allowed under the deal on Monday. That move did not put Iran significantly closer to holding enough high-enriched uranium to produce a nuclear weapon, whereas increasing uranium enrichment levels could. 

Read more

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Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2019-07-03 08:48:01Z
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At least 40 killed after airstrike targets migrant center in Libya - CNN

Images from the ground showed piles of rubble left where the buildings had been, while emergency crews worked to remove both the wounded and the dead.

The UN Refugee Agency posted to its official Twitter page that it was "extremely concerned" about the news of the airstrikes targeting the Tajoura detention center.

In a statement, the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli condemned the "horrific crime," blaming the leader of the opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) who are currently assaulting Tripoli.

There is currently no independent confirmation on who was responsible for the attack.

In their statement following the attack, the GNA said the airstrike on the center had been intentional and constituted a "war crime."

"We ask the international community through the African Union, European Union and (other) organizations to take a firm and clear stance against these continued violations," the statement said.

There has been no response from the opposition LNA yet. CNN has reached out to the LNA for comment.

Armed conflict in and around Tripoli escalated on April 4, when General Khalifa Hafter and his LNA launched an offensive to capture the Libyan capital from the UN-recognized government.

Defending the capital are disparate Islamist militia that prop up the UN-recognized transitional government.

Human rights organizations said that they have seen both sides potentially committing war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on residential areas and migrant detention centers.

"The drastic impact of the battle for Tripoli is even visible from space, with satellite imagery showing large swathes of the city now cloaked in darkness," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International, in a statement Wednesday.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to impose an arms embargo against Libya until June 2020, saying that there is "no military solution" to the ongoing conflict.

But Amnesty International said that the embargo is not being properly enforced and has accused Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey of flouting the ban.

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2019-07-03 07:15:00Z
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Here's what Chinese state media are saying about the Hong Kong protests - CNBC

A protester defaces the Hong Kong emblem after protesters broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong on July 1, 2019.

Philip Fong | AFP | Getty Images

Protests in Hong Kong started gaining momentum since early June and have drawn tens of thousands, but there was no mention of it in any Chinese state media until Tuesday — a day after a group of protesters turned violent and broke into the territory's legislative council building.

China's state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday evening that "some extremists" stormed the Hong Kong legislative building and vandalized it.

CCTV, a mouthpiece for the Chinese government, said the "rare scene" was "condemned by people from all walks of life in Hong Kong," according to a CNBC translation.

For nearly three weeks now, political tensions in Hong Kong have risen amid on-and-off protests over an extradition bill that would have allowed anyone arrested in the city to be sent for trial in mainland China. The bill has since been suspended but citizens want it to be withdrawn completely.

"If such atrocities are encouraged and condoned, it will violate the rule of law in Hong Kong and challenge all law-abiding citizens," CCTV reported. The broadcaster cited business and religious communities as speaking against the violence, but there was no mention of the extradition bill and why the protesters were demonstrating.

Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when it became a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China under a "one country, two systems" framework with the territory's legal system independent from the rest of China. Citizens of the Asian financial hub are concerned that their civil rights are slowly being eroded under Beijing.

The protests have been largely peaceful. Half a million people were estimated to have marched the streets for democracy on Monday, but Chinese state media reported that 5,000 people gathered at Victoria Park in downtown Hong Kong that morning to celebrate the "return to motherland."

After protests turned violent, the People's Daily, the official newspaper for China's Communist Party, called the violence an "undisguised challenge" to the country's authority.

China Daily, the official English state-owned newspaper, deflected its coverage of the incidents from politics to economics, reminding readers that Hong Kong's prosperity and China's fast pace growth over the last two decades go hand-in-hand.

In a Tuesday editorial, it said the best way to deal with Hong Kong was to push for further economic integration with the mainland.

"The only way for (Hong Kong) to sustain economic growth and maintain stability is for it to further integrate its own development into the nation's overall development," it said.

– Reuters contributed to this report.

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2019-07-03 04:58:32Z
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German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen picked as first female European Commission President - The Washington Post

Jens Buttner AFP/Getty Images The pick of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen came after weeks of divisive negotiations.

BRUSSELS — European leaders on Tuesday proposed awarding the powerful presidency of the European Commission to German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The European Parliament needs to give final approval, but, if confirmed, von der Leyen would be the first woman to fill the European Union’s top job.

Among other picks announced Tuesday: Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel as the next president of the European Council, International Monetary Fund director Christine Lagarde to head the European Central Bank, and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as the E.U.’s foreign policy chief. 

Those decisions came after weeks of negotiations, including one marathon session that began Sunday evening and continued until Monday afternoon.

Wrangling for the E.U.’s senior posts is always complex, but this year’s negotiations reflected an increasingly divided Europe. The talks broke the record for length of an E.U. summit and continued even after the European Parliament began its new five-year session on Tuesday.

The continent’s center-right bloc has held the presidencies of the European Commission, Council and Parliament in recent years. This time around, though, the pan-European party’s first pick for Commission president, Manfred Weber, failed to command support among the leaders of the E.U.’s 28 countries. He had never held office outside the European Parliament, and some leaders felt his resume was too slim for the top job. 

A compromise emerged in the form of Dutch Social Democrat Frans Timmermans. But Timmermans had gained enemies in Central Europe after confronting the leaders of Hungary, Poland and Romania with concerns about the health of their democracies.

“Frans Timmermans is not the candidate of compromise. Frans Timmermans is the candidate who is strongly dividing Europe,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “He certainly doesn’t understand Central Europe, doesn’t get the Europe which is emerging now from the post-Communist collapse.”

Some leaders also said they wanted more women represented in the highest ranks of the E.U. 

Von der Leyen, 60, has emerged as a tough advocate for Germany and NATO in her years as defense minister. At home, she has pushed for more defense spending, a major focus of dispute with the United States. Abroad, she has cheered the value of diplomacy and multilateralism, in implicit rebuke to President Trump. 

But she has also come under fire for the woeful state of the German military, which suffers from years of underinvestment and neglect. Many helicopters can’t fly. Many tanks don’t drive.

[Merkel and Trump agree the ailing German military needs a boost. Why isn’t it happening?]

Von der Leyen was born in Belgium to a former E.U. civil servant and is the mother of seven children. She is seen as a francophile.

Germany has at times held back from seizing the reins of the most powerful E.U. job, fearing blowback since it is already the biggest economy in Europe and the deciding force within the E.U.

But with the pick of von der Leyen, Merkel showed she was ready to cement her legacy in Europe by installing a close ally to the top job. Merkel herself is on her way out, a weakened force at home and abroad.

The European Commission is the bureaucratic arm of the European Union, a 32,000-employee-strong juggernaut charged with writing E.U. regulations and enforcing them. Its reach is global: the digital privacy laws that it wrote have forced changes by U.S. tech companies. Its antitrust enforcement is often more aggressive than in the United States. And, in concert with European leaders, it has tried to push an ambitious plan to fight climate change.

The European Commission’s president is empowered to strike trade deals on behalf of the 500 million E.U. citizens, negotiate Brexit and enforce Europe’s powerful regulations. The influence of the job reaches far beyond European borders, since its standards often force changes across the globe.

If confirmed, Von der Leyen would replace Jean-Claude Juncker, 64, a former Luxembourg prime minister, who served as European Commission president since 2014.

Birnbaum reported from Athens.

Read more

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European Parliament elections: Voters deny traditional centrists a majority, boost euroskeptics and Greens

European Greens surge as voters abandon old parties over climate

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2019-07-02 17:08:04Z
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What to Know About Hong Kong’s Evolving Protest Movement - The New York Times

HONG KONG — The protests in Hong Kong, leaderless but well coordinated, took a destructive turn on Monday, complicating what had been a mostly cohesive movement.

Scenes of protesters shattering glass to break into the Legislative Council building, followed by demonstrators scrawling graffiti on the walls inside and damaging furniture, caused some residents to question some of the tactics used. But many protesters defended the escalation by saying nothing else has worked, and that they were left with no choice if their demands — including the full withdrawal of a despised extradition bill — were to be met.

The resolution to the growing conflict could affect Hong Kong’s standing as an international business hub and its status as a foothold of democracy in China. Hong Kong is a semiautonomous Chinese territory with its own system of government separate from the mainland, which has mostly watched the unrest at arm’s length.

Here are the main takeaways from the recent protests, and a look at why they took a destructive turn on Monday.

[Need a primer? Read up on the basics of Hong Kong’s extradition bill, which sparked the protests.]

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Protesters inside the Legislative Council chamber on Monday night.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

A leaderless, digital movement is called into question

There is no single leader or group deciding on or steering the strategy, tactics and goals of the movement. Instead, protesters have used forums and messaging apps to decide next steps.

Anyone can suggest a course of action, and others then vote on whether they support it. The most popular ideas rise to the top, and then people rally to make them happen.

At its best, this structure has empowered many people to participate and have their voices heard. Protesters say it keeps them all safe by not allowing the government to target specific leaders. Their success in halting the extradition bill, which was shelved by the territory’s chief executive, speaks to the movement’s power.

But that same leaderless structure’s weaknesses were on display on Monday. Such a system makes little distinction between the thousands of people who marched peacefully, the scores who vandalized the Legislative Council building, and the dozens who physically forced a path in. It also does not allow for a forceful leader who can discourage such violence. Though many aided those attacking the legislature by moving supplies through the crowd, other protesters disapproved of the destruction, driving a wedge between residents who broadly share a common ideology.

“Not too many Hong Kong citizens are able to differentiate between the radical protesters who barged into the Legislative Council and the general protesters whose agenda is peaceful and rational,” said Willy Lam, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Despite the lack of a clear leader, protesters have shown extensive coordination at the demonstrations, having planned the specifics online beforehand. Supply stations are set up to distribute water, snacks, gloves, umbrellas and shields made of cardboard. Volunteer first aid workers wear brightly colored vests. People form assembly lines to pass supplies across long distances, with protesters communicating what they need through a series of predetermined hand signals. Anyone walking in dangerous areas without a helmet or a mask is quickly offered one.

Still, no individual can speak on behalf of the protesters, which makes negotiations difficult, if not impossible. Mr. Lam called the lack of a leader a potential “fatal weakness” of the movement, allowing a small group of destructive protesters to set the tone for the entire group.

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Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, during an early morning news conference on Tuesday.CreditAnthony Kwan/Getty Images

One major victory, but additional demands

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, had plenty of political support in the territory’s pro-Beijing legislature to pass a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. The legislators were set to begin discussing the bill in early June, and intended to vote on it just weeks later.

Instead, hundreds of thousands of people marched through the city’s streets in protest on June 9, and three days later, protesters blocked the entrance to the council building. As a group of protesters tried to beak into the building, the police responded with batons, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of people.

After a June 16 protest saw the largest turnout yet, Ms. Lam made a major concession: She postponed the bill, at least temporarily.

It was an undeniable victory for the protesters — but it did little to quell the unrest. Since the bill could later be reintroduced, protesters felt they remained in danger.

The police tactics to break up the demonstrations on June 12, including the use of more than 150 tear gas canisters to push protesters far away from the government office, created a new set of demands from the protesters. Now, instead of just calling for the withdrawal of the bill and Ms. Lam’s resignation, they said they wouldn’t be content unless there was an independent investigation of officers’ conduct. They also wanted the release of protesters arrested on June 12, and for the government to rescind its description of the demonstrations as a “riot,” a designation that carries legal significance.

None of that has happened. Many analysts say Ms. Lam is unlikely to step down, nor would Beijing accept her resignation if she offered it. She has more wiggle room on the other demands, but has not indicated any willingness to budge.

It sets the stage for a protracted conflict.

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The police used tear gas against protesters outside the Legislative Council building early Tuesday morning.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

China is reluctant to get too involved

Just a few minutes’ walk away from the Legislative Council building, the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, has an outpost with thousands of combat-ready soldiers ready to do Beijing’s bidding. But they have remained on the sidelines, even as the extended protests have turned violent and pose a political threat to President Xi Jinping.

Ivan Choy, a political scientist at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said deploying the army would be a last resort and a worst-case scenario for Mr. Xi. It would be widely seen as China reneging on the autonomy Beijing promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

“If the P.L.A. came out last night, it would seriously undermine confidence in ‘one country, two systems’ of the Hong Kong people and also the international community,” Mr. Choy said on Tuesday.

Mr. Xi still prefers to let Hong Kong officials handle the situation, he said. Hong Kong’s successful self-governance is important for China’s international image, and its failure would be a major black eye for the president.

But some in the Chinese government could use Monday’s escalation to justify tightening Hong Kong policies. They could also argue against making the concessions protesters seek, painting them as radicals who won’t be satisfied.

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Protesters lowered the Hong Kong flag and raised their own outside the Legislative Council building on Monday.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Businesses are watching, but haven’t flinched

The international business community that has made Hong Kong such a crucial economic center did not bat an eye at Monday’s protests. Hong Kong’s stock market was up on Tuesday, indicating little concern that the protests have crossed a worrisome red line.

A collapse of Hong Kong’s autonomy — or a lack of confidence that law and order could be upheld — would cause businesses to scramble for a new home in Asia. Several business groups spoke out against the extradition bill, while more expressed concern privately.

Most have had little to say about the protests. But the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong condemned the protesters’ behavior in a statement on Tuesday.

“We believe the violent protests of recent days do not reflect how the majority of people in this dynamic and advanced economy would choose to be heard,” it said. “We sincerely hope that Hong Kong will find ways for communication and collaboration between the government and the public in order to bring out the best of what Hong Kong has to offer as a premier business and financial hub.”

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2019-07-02 13:53:47Z
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Iran says alleged US spies might face death penalty - Fox News

Prosecutors in Iran are seeking the death penalty for several people who were arrested last year after allegedly spying on behalf of the U.S.

The suspects, accused of spying for the military and nuclear bodies, were arrested last August, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing state media.

IRAN SURPASSES URANIUM STOCKPILE LIMIT SET BY NUCLEAR DEAL

The Middle Eastern nation claims "tens of spies" in state bodies were taken into custody. A spokesperson reportedly said that an unclear number of suspects have been arrested in the last year, and face potential death sentences in military tribunals.

“Two of the defendants, who were not military, have received long prison terms,” the spokesperson, Gholamhossein Esmaili, added.

IRAN FIRES BACK AT WHITE HOUSE OVER CLAIMS IT HAS BEEN VIOLATING NUCLEAR DEAL FOR YEARS: 'SERIOUSLY?'

Iran occasionally announces the detention of spies from foreign countries, including the U.S. and Israel.

In June, Iran state TV reported that Jalal Hajizavar, a former staff member of the Defense Military, was executed in a prison near Tehran for spying for the CIA.

The report claimed Hajizavar admitted in court that he was paid to spy for the CIA, and said the court sentenced Haizavar’s wife to 15 years in prison for her role in the espionage.

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In 2016, Iran executed a nuclear scientist convicted of spying for the U.S.

The announcement from state media comes after Iran said it surpassed its limit of low-enriched uranium stockpile that was agreed upon in the 2015 nuclear deal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-07-02 13:27:40Z
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