Iran Building New Production Hall for Centrifuges in Mountains near Natanz

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi. (Reuters)
Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi. (Reuters)
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Iran Building New Production Hall for Centrifuges in Mountains near Natanz

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi. (Reuters)
Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi. (Reuters)

Iran has begun to build a hall in “the heart of the mountains” near its Natanz nuclear site for making advanced centrifuges, Iran’s nuclear chief said on Tuesday, aiming to replace a production hall at the facility hit by fire in July.

Iran said at the time that the fire was the result of sabotage and had caused significant damage that could slow the development of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges.

“Due to the sabotage, it was decided to build a more modern, larger and more comprehensive hall in all dimensions in the heart of the mountain near Natanz. Of course, the work has begun,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, according to state TV.

Natanz is the centerpiece of Iran’s enrichment program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes. Western intelligence agencies and the UN’s nuclear watchdog (IAEA) believe Iran had a coordinated, clandestine nuclear arms program that it halted in 2003. Tehran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons.

The Natanz uranium-enrichment site, much of which is underground, is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.

A confrontation between arch foes Tehran and Washington has worsened since 2018, when US President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions. In reaction to US sanctions, Tehran has gradually distanced itself from the nuclear pact.



Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said.

The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from office of a mayor from the country's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish armed group, is seen as a hardening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s policies toward the opposition.

It also raises questions about the prospects of a tentative new peace effort to end a 40-year conflict between the group and the state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths.

The mayors of the mainly Kurdish-populated provincial capitals of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district mayor for Halfeti, in Sanliurfa province, were ousted from office over their past convictions or ongoing trials and investigations for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

The mayors are members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, which is the third-largest party represented in Parliament. They were elected to office in local elections in March.

Last month, the leader of the far-right nationalist party that’s allied with Erdogan had raised the possibility that the PKK's imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization. His comments had sparked discussion and speculation about a potential peace effort.

Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Türkiye’s main opposition party, CHP, branded the mayors' removal from office as a “a coup” and accused Erdogan of seizing “municipalities” he could not win in the elections.

Politicians and members of Türkiye’s pro-Kurdish movement have frequently been targeted over alleged links to the PKK, which is considered a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union.

Legislators have been stripped of their parliamentary seats and mayors removed from office. Several lawmakers as well as thousands of party members have been jailed on terror-related charges since 2016.

“We will not step back from our struggle for democracy, peace and freedom,” Ahmet Turk, the ousted mayor of Mardin, wrote on the social platform X. “We will not allow the usurpation of the people’s will.”