Tehran // Iran may consider Israeli threats of a strike against its new nuclear power plant in Bushehr as bluffs, but Tehran is still seeking to guard the facility, and enrichment sites at Natanz and Qom, with the best possible defence systems.
To this end, Iran is demanding that Russia make good on a long-delayed delivery of S300 missile systems purchased five years ago.
"Russia ? has given the guarantee to the [Iranian] nation that it respects its obligation [by beginning to fuel up the Bushehr plant], so the Iranian public opinion now seriously expects Russia's next step to be carrying out its obligations regarding the S300s," Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's foreign policy and national security committee, said on Saturday.
The sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles are capable of striking aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at a range of about 150 kilometres and at high altitudes.
Domestic and foreign media have reported that the United States and Israel have been putting pressure on Russia to cancel the deal; Russian officials have been making contradictory statements about the delivery of the missiles since June, when the United Nations imposed its latest round of sanctions on Iran.
In reaction to Russia's equivocation, some Iranian officials have hinted that if the missiles are not delivered, Iran will try to make similar ones on its own.
"We are working on a long-range missile defence system, which, God willing, will reach production levels soon," Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's defence minister, said last week.
"Regulations of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and international laws prohibit countries from striking nuclear stations during the period of construction to operation," Ali Akbar Salehi, the vice president and head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency, told state television on Saturday after a ceremony to mark the transfer of nuclear fuel to the reactor's core site. "We don't expect [a strike], but our ill-wishers should take that [international law] into consideration."
Although many hard-line Iranian politicians and lawmakers have repeatedly said the threats of an Israeli air strike against the Bushehr plant are merely a "bluff", they continue to remind Israel and the United States to avoid "making the mistake" of attacking the new nuclear facility.
Israel's foreign ministry issued a statement yesterday that said: "It is absolutely unacceptable for a state that violates international agreements to take advantage of the benefits of nuclear energy." Israeli officials have never issued a direct threat, but because the threat of an Israeli strike is so very extensively discussed in the foreign media everybody assumes that they have. Only last week, John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN, said Israel had only eight days to strike the power plant before it was loaded with fuel.
"Some individuals in the country speak of a military strike by [US or Israel], but all this is only psychological war and even the most stupid of politicians [of those countries] know aggression against Iran is nothing other than suicide," the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday, stressing that the entire world can be turned into "a battleground" if there is any aggression.
According to a 1977 amendment to the Geneva Convention, attacks on nuclear-generating stations violate international law.
The news that the nuclear power plant in Bushehr is about to go online does not seem to have as much concern in the international community as the enrichment facilities in Natanz and Qom. Russia says it is prepared to guarantee that waste material at Bushehr will not contribute towards the making of an Iranian atomic bomb.
"Of course there is a 100 per-cent guarantee, because this guarantee is not one formulated by Moscow but by objective fact," the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told Interfax on Friday.
All the waste fuel will be returned to Russia, according to an agreement between Iran and Russia. The IAEA, the UN's nuclear monitor, will supervise the plant.
The United States has taken its own measures to monitor the plant to ensure nuclear material from the plant is not used towards making a bomb. A senior intelligence official told the Associated Press last week that US intelligence analysts will examine data such as radar and satellite images of the site and watch for signs such as vapour leaving the cooling towers. The images will let them know if the plant is "hot" or whether the Iranians are "trying to siphon anything off" the reactor to any of their other facilities.
Despite acceptance of the Bushehr plant in principle, both US and British officials say the start-up of the nuclear power plant with Russian-supplied fuel is proof that Iran does not need to enrich uranium itself if it does not mean to build a bomb.
"The problem is Iran's continued refusal to satisfy the IAEA and international community that its work on uranium enrichment and heavy water projects are exclusively peaceful, Britain's foreign office said in a statement Saturday.
msinaiee@thenational.ae
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.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
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Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
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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.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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