#nuclear-proliferation-prevention

#nuclear-proliferation-prevention

The Treasury Department posted the license on its website late Friday, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels from Friday through May 16.

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter has been described as a "cornerstone of modern international law" and its bright red line. It prohibits countries from threatening or using force against another state's territory or political independence. Drafted in the aftermath of World War II, its objective was to maintain peace and make negotiation not armed conflict the default mode to settle disputes.

Asked by the Guardian in November in Tehran what cost benefit analysis could possibly conclude that the nuclear programme was a worthwhile project, the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, referred to Iran's sovereign right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the medical benefits, and the blood of past assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. He suggested a compromise whereby a consortium including possibly the US could enrich uranium in Iran, but insisted the principle that uranium would be enriched inside Iran remained sacrosanct.

In a short statement on Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said damage was confirmed at entrance buildings to the underground fuel enrichment plant (FEP). No radiological consequence expected and no additional impact detected at FEP itself, the agency said, adding the facility was severely damaged during the 12-day war Israel and the US waged on Iran last year.

As nuclear tensions rise worldwide and the war in Ukraine reshapes global security, Rafael Grossi stands at the centre of the world's most dangerous calculations.

"These reports have not yet been confirmed by Iranian sources and may differ in certain details from the actual proposals,"