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Iran Deepens Breach of Nuclear Deal at Underground Enrichment Site

A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. (Reuters)
A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. (Reuters)
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Iran Deepens Breach of Nuclear Deal at Underground Enrichment Site

A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. (Reuters)
A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. (Reuters)

Iran has deepened a key breach of its 2015 nuclear deal, enriching uranium with a larger number of advanced centrifuge machines in an underground plant as it faces off with the new US administration on salvaging the accord.

Tehran has recently accelerated its breaches of the deal, raising pressure on US President Joe Biden as both sides say they are willing to come back into compliance with the badly eroded agreement if the other side moves first.

Iran began its breaches in 2019 in response to Washington’s withdrawal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump and the reimposition of US economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the deal.

The accord says Iran can refine uranium only at its main enrichment site - an underground plant at Natanz - with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. Last year Iran began enriching there with a cascade, or cluster, of much more efficient IR-2m machines and in December said it would install three more.

“Iran has completed the installation of one of these three cascades, containing 174 IR-2m centrifuges, and, on 30 January 2021, Iran began feeding the cascade with UF6,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, referring to uranium hexafluoride feedstock.

The IAEA later confirmed that Tehran had started enriching with the second cascade.

Tehran is also pressing ahead with the installation of more advanced centrifuges, the report indicated. Of the remaining two cascades of IR-2m machines, installation of one had begun while the other’s installation was “nearing completion”, it said.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Twitter Tehran had also started installing IR-6 centrifuges at Fordow, a site dug into a mountain where Iran has begun enriching uranium to the 20% purity it last achieved before the 2015 deal. The IAEA report made no mention of that.

Earlier on Tuesday Israel’s energy minister said it would now take Iran about six months to produce enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon, a timeline almost twice as long as that anticipated by a senior Biden administration official.

Iran denies any intent to weaponize enrichment. The nuclear deal sets a limit of 3.67% enrichment purity, suitable for producing civilian nuclear energy and far below the 90% that is weapons-grade.

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World

Europeans Discuss Ukraine with Trump at ‘Critical Moment’ for Peace

This photograph taken on December 10, 2025 shows the building of a power plant of Ukrainian energy provider DTEK, which was heavily damaged during air attacks, at an undisclosed location, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on December 10, 2025 shows the building of a power plant of Ukrainian energy provider DTEK, which was heavily damaged during air attacks, at an undisclosed location, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Europeans Discuss Ukraine with Trump at ‘Critical Moment’ for Peace

This photograph taken on December 10, 2025 shows the building of a power plant of Ukrainian energy provider DTEK, which was heavily damaged during air attacks, at an undisclosed location, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on December 10, 2025 shows the building of a power plant of Ukrainian energy provider DTEK, which was heavily damaged during air attacks, at an undisclosed location, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany held a call on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump to discuss Washington's latest peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine, in what they said was "a critical moment" in the process.

Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a US-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favorable to Moscow.

French President Emmanuel Macron, arriving late for a public debate in western France, said he had just held a 40-minute discussion with Trump and his European colleagues to see how to move forward on "a subject that concerns all of us".

Separate statements from the so-called E3 powers said the leaders had commended the Trump administration's mediation efforts to achieve a robust and lasting peace in Ukraine, nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

"(The leaders) agreed that this is a critical moment for Ukraine, for its people and for the common security of the Euro-Atlantic region," the British readout said.

UKRAINE UNDER INCREASED US PRESSURE TO AGREE PEACE DEAL

The three countries, along with other European partners and Ukraine, have been working frantically in the last few weeks to refine the original US proposals that envisaged Kyiv giving up swathes of its territory to Moscow, abandoning its ambition to join NATO and accepting limits on the size of its armed forces.

Among the key elements the E3 powers are trying to hammer out are potential security guarantees for Ukraine once there is a peace accord.

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days," the E3 statements said.

Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in London on Monday and pledged their continued support for Kyiv, amid concerns that it may be forced into accepting many of Russia's demands.

Leaders from the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" group of nations backing Ukraine will hold a follow-up meeting via videocall on Thursday, the French presidency said. Zelenskiy said he would also attend that call.

Separately, Macron and Starmer will join Merz for further talks next Monday in Berlin, two European Union diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

World

US Plans to Order Visa-Exempt Foreign Tourists to Disclose Social Media Histories

A passenger looks up at a flight information board on the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A passenger looks up at a flight information board on the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Plans to Order Visa-Exempt Foreign Tourists to Disclose Social Media Histories

A passenger looks up at a flight information board on the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A passenger looks up at a flight information board on the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 25, 2025. (Reuters)

The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice.

The proposal laid out in a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register would apply to visitors from 42 countries, including Britain, France, Australia and Japan, who do not need a visa to enter the United States.

Currently, those travelers only need to apply for a waiver known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which still requires them to provide certain personal details.

Under the proposed new rules, the collection of social media data would become a “mandatory” part of ESTA applications.

Applicants would need to provide their social media histories from the last five years, according to the notice.

They would also have to submit other “high-value data fields” including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.

The Trump administration has tightened curbs on entering the United States, part of a sweeping crackdown on migration.

Along with Mexico and Canada, the country will host the 2026 World Cup, which is certain to attract large numbers of football fans from across the world.

World

Trump Calls Media Reports on His Health 'Seditious'

US President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on the economy at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on the economy at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Calls Media Reports on His Health 'Seditious'

US President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on the economy at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on the economy at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump has blasted media reports questioning his state of health as "seditious, perhaps even treasonous," sparking pushback Wednesday by one of the major outlets behind the stories.

In a long, late-night social media post, the oldest elected president in US history raged about stories in The New York Times and elsewhere suggesting that at the age of 79 he is slowing down.

"There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best," Trump said in the nearly 500-word screed on his Truth Social network.

"I actually believe it´s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean 'THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.'"

The Republican added that he had been through "long, thorough, and very boring" medical examinations and had been able to "ace" cognitive tests that he claimed other presidents had not taken.

Trump added that the "best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful 'source' of information."

The outburst comes despite the fact that Trump regularly accuses the media of having failed to cover the health of his predecessor Joe Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 election after a shambolic debate performance raised concerns about the Democrat's age.

He has also long contrasted his vigor with that of Biden -- whom he dubs "Sleepy Joe".

- 'False and inflammatory' -

Trump and the White House were incensed by a New York Times article in November that reported he had sharply reduced public events, domestic travel and working hours compared to his first term.

The scrutiny on Trump's health intensified after he appeared to be fighting to stay awake at a series of events, along with the revelation that he had an MRI test during an extra medical check-up in October.

"Americans deserve in-depth reporting and regular updates about the health of the leaders they elect," New York Times spokesperson Nicole Taylor said in a statement to AFP.

"Mr. Trump welcomed our reporting on the age and fitness of his predecessors; we're applying the same journalistic scrutiny to his vitality."

The newspaper said its reporting was "heavily sourced" and based on interviews with people close to the president and with medical experts.

"We won´t be deterred by false and inflammatory language that distorts the role of a free press," Taylor added.

Trump's post on Tuesday night came after a vigorous performance at a more than hour-long campaign-style rally on affordability in which he joked, sang, danced -- and lashed out at migrants and the "fake news."

In his Truth Social post, he rejected claims that he was slowing down or "maybe not as sharp as I once was."

"I will know when I am 'slowing up,' but it´s not now!" he said.