Latest news with #HEU
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen issues statement about 'power of love'
Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif are on the run in Sky thriller Atomic (Image: Sky TV) He's conquered Westeros as Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones - now Alfie Allen is embarking on an even more perilous mission. In Atomic, Sky's new high-octane thriller, he plays Max, a free-spirited drug trafficker making runs through the Middle East. 'He's a big believer in the power of love and connection between people,' Alfie says. 'But this is interrupted by a crazy stunt that happens in the first 30 seconds of the show.' Thrown into danger from the get-go, Max is ambushed by militants while crossing the Libyan desert - until one spares him. "The first stunt in the series is a massive car crash, which was actually the first day of shooting for me,' he says. 'The car flips over, and that's where I meet the man I call JJ as he won't tell me his name.' Alfie Allen's Max is ambushed by militants in Atomic JJ, played by Shazad Latif, is a mysterious figure hiding out in the desert with a warlord. 'We meet him just as he's being chased by a guy called Rab,' Shazad says. 'He decides to kick it into gear and make a move. That's where he meets Max, who's just had a car crash.' JJ takes Max hostage, sparking a tense, unpredictable road trip across Libya, Algeria and Beirut. Their trail soon reaches deep-cover CIA agent Cassie Elliott, played by The Handmaid's Tale star Samira Wiley. 'She is a Non-Official Cover (NOC) officer with the CIA,' Samira says. 'Her deep cover job is a professor at the American University of Beirut. She's been there for about four years. When she is pulled back into the game, she is in pursuit of Max and JJ because they happen to be in possession of the HEU, (Highly Enriched Uranium).' Samira Wiley plays deep-cover CIA agent Cassie Elliott Yet JJ's motives may not be entirely criminal. 'JJ is on a journey to reconcile with his complex past, his relationship with faith and his own fate,' Shazad says. 'He thinks Max might be a sign of a way out and a way to find a path to redemption.' The unlikely pairing fuels the series' tension. 'Max is constantly trying to get answers from JJ about who he is, and where he is in his life,' Alfie says. 'With Max, you see what you get – JJ is much more secretive and Max is determined to work him out.' Off-screen, however, there was no hostility between Alfie and Shazad. In fact, the pair managed to bond during filming of Atomic with Alfie showering his co-star with praises. 'Working with Shazad has been amazing,' Alfie says. 'We've been very, very fortunate to be able to have a buddy journey project where you get along with your co-star.' Five part series Atomic begins on Sky Showcase and NOW at 9pm on Thursday 28 August. Join The Mirror's WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
This 17th-century portrait of a couple bears a heartbreaking secret of a family tragedy
Mourners cherish pictures of the deceased as gentle reminders of their memory, but sometimes, the grief of losing someone, especially a child, becomes so unbearable and devastating that it drives them to erase such reminders altogether, to prevent anything from triggering the pain. 'A Lady and Gentleman in Black' is painted by the Dutch artist Rembrandt in the year 1633.(PC: Pinterest) One such family painting from the 17th century tells the story of a similar sorrow, where a child was intentionally removed from a finished portrait, indicating the great depth of pain that was too much to face. ALSO READ: 19th-century American artist shared watercolour self-portrait with lover; internet calls it 'the classiest nude…' What was the painting? In 1633, a Dutch artist who goes by the name Rembrandt painted a Baroque oil on canvas painting, which was titled 'A Lady and a Gentleman in Black'. The painting shows a man standing beside a woman, dressed in a wide-brimmed hat, ruffled collar and black overalls. The woman also wore a lavish outfit with the signature voluminous, ruffled collar around her neck, similar to the man's. This painting was stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was one of the thirteen works stolen. Sadly, they have not been recovered, and only empty frames remain where the paintings used to hang on the museum walls. The interiors of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston still display empty frames where the stolen paintings once hung.(PC: However, long before the theft in 1976, an X-ray taken in 1976 revealed hidden traces beneath the visible paint. During a restoration process, an X-ray was done, and the alteration was accidentally discovered. It showed a small boy, previously invisible to the naked eye, was painted over and concealed within the portrait. While it is not known exactly when or why the boy was removed from the visible painting, it was done to help the patrons of the artwork cope with their grief. Family reunited The X-ray image was used to refine the hidden, painted-over child.(PC: The HEU team utilised AI super resolution to enhance the X-ray image with the help of the painter Mariano Sangalli. He used period clothing references to get it accurate. The final work was completed on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2022, as per the website. The child is tucked between the standing man and the seated woman. It is one of those rare moments where technology and artistry come together to recover long-lost stories, giving closure. Internet reactions Mae Sharifi, who regularly shares intriguing art and history facts on Instagram, posted about this painting on August 7th, highlighting that it's more than just a portrait of a regular couple. The comment section buzzed with emotion as one user wrote, 'This broke my heart,' while another added, 'I'm not crying, you're crying.' But of course, not everyone was on the same page. They shared their theories. One user speculated, 'Or maybe the kid grew up to be a pain, and the family just wanted him erased.' Another wrote, 'What if they erased him because they hated him?'
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
US should negotiate a successor to JCPOA with Iran. Now is the time
The American strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have brought to the fore three major issues: The success of the strikes, the future of Iran's highly enriched uranium (HEU), and the nature of US-Israel-Iran dealings going forward. It is too early to know the extent of the damage inflicted on the Iranian facilities. Of greatest interest is Fordow. Twelve GBU-57 bombs were used against the main ventilation shafts in an attempt to destroy the centrifuges and control centre, which are 80 metres underground. The GBU-57s are effective to a depth of 60 metres. It is unlikely, therefore, that the bombs penetrated through to the centrifuge hall and control room. The question, though, is: Did the hits severely damage the main underground facilities through the concussive effects of the bombs? If the main ventilation shafts collapsed, what happened to the personnel within the facility? If power supplies were interrupted, were the centrifuges damaged and is anything operating? Is the Iranian admission of severe damage a ruse? If Fordow has effectively been sealed and control over the centrifuges is lost, a direct hit on the centrifuge hall may not matter. The centrifuges will, over time, simply become inoperable. In this sense, the US President may be at least partly right: Fordow may have been obliterated functionally. The second question is: What has become of the HEU, which by all accounts is enriched to 60 per cent (and can be quickly enriched further to make a bomb)? Reports suggest there were about 160 kg of it at Fordow and perhaps 400 kg in total. The stockpiles were apparently moved before the strikes (though the Trump administration now contests this). If the stockpiles were removed, they would be dispersed to several sites to increase survivability. Nonetheless, given Israeli and US intelligence capabilities, the location of the HEU may soon be known. If Israel can find and kill top Iranian nuclear scientists and generals, it should eventually be able to find the HEU. Once the HEU is located, what can the US and Israel do? They could choose to do nothing, on the calculation that Iran will have difficulty in enriching the HEU for the bomb. Most analysts, however, conclude that Iran can sufficiently enrich the HEU, at a secret facility (assuming one exists), within months. So, doing nothing is probably not an option. Once the locations of the HEU are known, the US and Iran could resume their attack. The problem is that any direct strikes on the HEU would be tantamount to unleashing 'dirty bombs', in which radioactive materials are vented without a nuclear chain reaction. The global outcry would be significant were this to occur, and both the US and Israel may be wary of the blowback. Plus, Israel must worry that its own nuclear reactors could be targeted someday to produce a similar result. It may not, therefore, want to legitimate such an action. If a direct attack on the HEU is dangerous, Washington and Tel Aviv must instead gain control of the stockpile. Tehran would have to be persuaded to reveal the locations of the HEU, and full-scope safeguarding would follow. This, in turn, means that the IAEA inspectors must have access to Iranian nuclear facilities, as was envisaged by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement between the US and Iran during President Barack Obama's time. In addition, the various 24/7 surveillance mechanisms under the accord would have to be installed and operated. For a new deal to be struck on Iran's nuclear activities, the United States will need to negotiate a successor to the JCPOA. In his comments on the strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump drew a parallel to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks during World War II, seeming to suggest that Iran is similarly prostrate. In fact, the parallel is far from accurate. Iran is not an occupied country. Both sides face limits. The US wants to avoid another 'forever war', not least due to domestic opposition. In addition, its supplies of defensive missiles and other war materials are under stress from provisioning Ukraine and Israel. Israel's famous air defences are strained, perhaps to breaking point, and it will be increasingly vulnerable to retaliatory missile attacks. Iran's options, too, are limited. Tehran must worry that both Israel and the US will resume attacks, and not just on nuclear facilities, and that internal dissent will boil over. The conditions are ripe, therefore, for a new nuclear deal. That said, the ceasefire must hold, and Iran must have an authority figure that can deliver a deal. Neither is certain. In addition, the US may have to sweeten the deal economically by lifting sanctions. This will depend on Trump overcoming domestic and Israeli opposition. In short, there is a road ahead, but it is a rocky one. The writer is Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies and vice dean, Research and Development, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Were Iran strikes for nothing? Fears Tehran is hiding thousands of centrifuges in secret nuke-making facilities - and may even have bomb components in North Korean mountain lairs
Donald Trump declared this weekend that his bunker-busting bombs 'obliterated' Iran 's nuclear facilities and erased the Islamic Republic's chances of building a bomb. But no amount of triumphant bluster can hide the fact that Iran still boasts significant stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU) - and could well have other facilities lying in wait to reach purity levels required to fashion nuclear warheads. In May, the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported that Iran had accumulated more than 400 kilograms (900 lbs) of uranium enriched to 60% purity. This is already enough to create an atomic weapon like those that laid waste to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Such bombs are too heavy and cumbersome for Iran to deploy effectively. But achieving the 90% enrichment required to produce modern nuclear devices small and light enough to mount to any one of Tehran's vast array of missiles could take mere weeks. As far as anyone knows, that HEU is still safely squirrelled away, safe from American and Israeli bombs - not to mention tonnes more uranium enriched to levels below 60%, but still far in advance of the 3-5% required for civilian energy use. At present, there is no telling whether Trump's 'Operation Midnight Hammer' was as effective as the President claims - particularly at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, where enrichment centrifuges are hidden beneath 90 metres of rock and concrete. There are fears that Tehran may well have several other secret facilities that remain unknown to Israel 's Mossad and the CIA. And a former national security adviser to Trump and one of America's staunchest anti-Iran hawks has even claimed that North Korea could help Iran to obtain a nuclear deterrent. Where is Iran's uranium? Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, claims he moved the country's uranium stockpile to a secret location - a belief echoed by Israeli intelligence officials. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the New York Times his team of UN inspectors had seen the uranium about a week before Israel attacked Iran. HEU is stable and dense, meaning it can be easily dispersed and stored to avoid detection. Grossi said the stockpile seen by IAEA inspectors was stored in special casks small enough to fit in the trunks of about 10 cars. He also said he believed the material had been moved. Satellite images published by US defence contractor Maxar Technologies showed 16 trucks leaving Iran's Fordow nuclear facility on June 19, three days before Operation Midnight Hammer. Further images reveal a flurry of activity prior to the trucks' departure involving bulldozers and security convoys that were likely reinforcing and sealing Fordow's entrances and evacuating sensitive documents. Now, no one outside of Iran knows exactly where its HEU stockpile is located, and Tehran's options are endless. The canisters could be stored in Iran's network of tunnels and caves, brought to Iranian Revolutionary Guard bases, or concealed at civilian facilities such as universities and research centres or even telecoms. They could even be kept on the move in trucks. Analysts largely agree that no amount of bombing could totally eradicate Iran's nuclear programme, and have pointed out that the American and Israeli campaign could have the opposite effect. Dr Andreas Krieg, an expert in Middle East security and senior lecturer at King's College London's School of Security Studies, told MailOnline: 'Going after Iran's nuclear programme could reinforce Tehran's belief that a nuclear deterrent is not only justified but essential for regime survival'. 'Rather than halting Iran's nuclear trajectory, the strikes may serve as a vindication of the logic that drives Iran's long-term nuclear ambition - deterrence through capability,' he said. Dr Andreas Boehm, international law expert at the University of St. Gallen, was even more forthright. 'After the experiences of Ukraine, Libya and now Iran on the one hand, and North Korea on the other, there can be no other conclusion than that only the possession of nuclear weapons offers protection against attack,' he said. 'For this or any subsequent Iranian regime, the path of negotiation is no longer an option. It will now work even more resolutely towards acquiring a nuclear bomb.' Could Iran still enrich its uranium? If the US and Israeli military action in Iran has provided Khamenei and his inner circle the political will to double down on their pursuit of nuclear weapons, they will eventually need to restart the enrichment process. And, although HEU is easy to store and transport, the centrifuges required to enrich it are highly sensitive and extremely difficult to reposition. Satellite images taken after Operation Midnight Hammer appear to reveal significant damage at the Natanz fuel enrichment site and Isfahan nuclear technology centre, with craters also seen at the Fordow facility. Though we don't know the true extent of the damage done by the US and Israeli bombing campaigns, IAEA chief Grossi believes the centrifuges at the Natanz facility - a larger plant far less protected than Fordow - were likely destroyed. If centrifuges at Fordow remain intact, it is reasonable to assume that parts of the facility have at least been damaged and that accessing the site has been rendered more difficult. But even if Fordow's operations are offline, Iran may have other facilities that are concealed and remain a secret. The prospect is not far-fetched - both Pakistan and North Korea covertly developed a nuclear bomb while apparently under tight US surveillance. Since 2022, Tehran has also been building another site close to Natanz under the so-called 'Pickaxe Mountain' that is said to be buried even deeper than Fordow. The Islamic Republic claims the facility is for building centrifuges, but Iranian authorities have refused to admit IAEA inspectors to the site, claiming it is not yet in operation. Nuclear proliferation experts have warned that this site could be used as another enrichment facility. Sima Shine, an expert on Iran's nuclear programme and former Mossad researcher, told The Telegraph there was 'no doubt' Israeli and US aircraft had inflicted 'huge damage' to Iran's known nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. But she added that other 'secret' facilities almost certainly existed. Meanwhile, analysts say the strikes could push Iran to withdraw entirely from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which currently obliges it to cooperate with IAEA inspectors. 'The Non-Proliferation Treaty allows member states to withdraw 'if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this treaty, have jeopardised the supreme interests of its country',' said Darya Dolzikova, Senior Research Fellow for Proliferation and Nuclear Policy at the RUSI think tank. 'The events of the last week could arguably give Tehran the justification it needs to that end. A withdrawal from the NPT would likely see the international community lose all visibility of the Iranian nuclear programme and could - long-term - become a catalyst for broader proliferation in the region.' Pyongyang to Tehran's rescue? Despite issuing stern condemnations of US and Israeli military action, Iran's key allies - Russia, China and North Korea - have so far urged restraint and diplomacy. Crucially, none have offered Tehran military support, not even defensive systems such as surface-to-air missile batteries. But former US ambassador to the UN and Trump-era national security adviser John Bolton has claimed that North Korea is already playing a covert role in Iran's nuclear ambitions. 'My biggest concern is that parts of Iran's nuclear programme are located under a mountain in North Korea,' he told German outlet Der Spiegel in a shocking interview this week. Bolton offered little in the way of evidence, but Iran and North Korea, both long isolated by Western sanctions, have maintained cordial ties for decades and are widely suspected of sharing military technology, particularly in the realm of missile development. A now-defunct UN panel of experts reported in 2021 that the two countries had resumed collaboration on long-range missile projects, including the transfer of sensitive components. Tehran would have to enrich its own uranium, but 'Pyongyang could provide important assistance in helping Iran reconstitute destroyed missile production facilities, potentially at new sites, shielded from scrutiny,' said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'There are certain matters pertaining to weapons design that the North Koreans would not want to proliferate,' he added. 'Once in Iran, those designs could potentially be discovered by the United States and used to undermine North Korea's own deterrent.' But Panda also noted that Pyongyang's deep expertise in nuclear weaponisation - particularly in the non-fissile components of a bomb, such as the precision-engineered conventional explosives used to trigger a detonation - could prove valuable to Iran.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Has Israel's attack on Iran failed? Fordow nuclear fuel enrichment plant untouched
Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities but misses Fordow site Live Events Fordow's fortified structure makes it Iran's most secure nuclear site Fordow's role in Iran's nuclear deterrence strategy Israel's strategy falls short without neutralizing Fordow (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Israel launched a large-scale military operation on June 13, 2025, against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, military leaders, and scientists in an attempt to degrade Tehran's nuclear program. Dubbed Operation Rising Lion , the strikes hit the Natanz enrichment plant and killed high-profile figures, including former Atomic Energy Organization head Fereydoun Abbasi and physicist Mohammad Mehdi Salami, Commander in Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was a target in the Stuxnet virus attack in 2007 by Israel and US was killed in the June 13 attack, with confirmation from Iranian TV read: Stocks sell off, oil surges as Israel strikes Iran However, Israel's most critical objective, the destruction of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), was missed, leaving Iran's nuclear capabilities largely Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the operation aimed to 'roll back the Iranian threat' by targeting enrichment facilities, scientists, and missile programs. Yet, Fordow's survival means Iran retains a hardened, underground site capable of producing highly enriched uranium (HEU), a key hurdle in dismantling its nuclear deep inside a mountain near Qom, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant has long been a focal point of Western concerns over Iran's nuclear program. Designed to hold 3,000 centrifuges, Fordow's small scale, just 6 per cent of Natanz's capacity, makes it ill-suited for civilian fuel production but ideal for covert HEU the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran repurposed Fordow as a research center. However, in 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discovered undeclared modifications for HEU production. By March 2023, inspectors found uranium enriched to 83.7 per cent purity, close to weapons-grade read: Trump had warned of 'something big' in the Middle East hours before Israel's strikes on Iran Despite Israel's recent strikes, Fordow's untouched status means Iran can quickly resume high-level enrichment if Israel successfully struck Natanz, the damage may be temporary. Natanz, Iran's largest enrichment site, has faced multiple attacks in the past, including sabotage and cyber operations, yet Tehran has consistently rebuilt its capabilities. The IAEA confirmed the June 13 strike but reported no radiation leaks, suggesting swift argue that without disabling Fordow, Iran's nuclear program faces no existential threat. 'Fordow's mountain-shielded infrastructure makes it nearly invulnerable to airstrikes,' said a former US nonproliferation official. 'As long as it operates, Iran maintains a breakout option.'Tehran has long framed Fordow as a "deterrent" against attacks on its nuclear program. The facility's location on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base and its fortified design underscore its strategic role. Analysts suggest Fordow's existence complicates military calculations, as destroying Natanz alone would not cripple enrichment read: Israel strikes Iran's nuclear sites as hinted by Trump, declares state of 'emergency' Iran's foreign ministry condemned Israel's strikes as "adventurism" and warned of retaliation. However, with Fordow still operational, Tehran retains leverage in any future negotiations or operation highlights a recurring flaw in efforts to halt Iran's nuclear progress: Fordow's immunity. Past attacks on Natanz and assassinations of scientists have delayed but not stopped enrichment. Until Fordow is neutralized, Iran's path to a bomb remains read: Trump to attend security meeting on Friday after Israeli strikes on Iran Netanyahu's claim that Iran was 'months away' from a weapon underscores the urgency, but without targeting Fordow, Israel's strike may only buy time rather than deliver a decisive blow. As the IAEA monitors Fordow's ongoing activity, the world watches whether Israel or its allies will risk a more direct confrontation with Iran's most secure facility.1. Why is Iran's Fordow nuclear facility considered so important?The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is Iran's most fortified nuclear site, located deep within a mountain near Qom. It is capable of enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels and is heavily shielded against airstrikes, making it central to Iran's nuclear breakout potential.2. Did Israel's June 13, 2025, airstrike on Iran damage the Fordow nuclear plant?No, Israel's June 13, 2025, attack did not hit the Fordow nuclear facility. While the strike targeted other sites such as Natanz and resulted in the deaths of top Iranian nuclear scientists, Fordow remained operational, limiting the strike's long-term effectiveness.3. What nuclear sites in Iran were targeted by Israel in 2025?In the 2025 attack, Israel reportedly targeted the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and struck military and scientific personnel involved in Iran's nuclear program. However, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, Iran's most secure site, was not hit.4. Can Iran still build a nuclear weapon with Fordow intact?Yes, experts believe that as long as the Fordow plant remains active, Iran retains a critical path to developing highly enriched uranium. Its underground design and resistance to military strikes make it a persistent challenge for nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
