Official: Iran to Enrich Uranium to 60%, Highest Level Ever
Jon Gambrell | Associated Press
Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, a negotiator said Tuesday, pushing its program to higher levels than ever before though still remaining short of weapons-grade. The announcement marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, suspected of having been carried out by Israel — and could inspire a further response from Israel amid a long-running shadow war between the nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon and his country has twice preemptively bombed Mideast nations to stop their atomic programs.
Natanz Attack Hit 50 Meters Underground, Destroyed Most of the Facility
Tzvi Joffre and Yonah Jeremy Bob | Jerusalem Post
The alleged Israeli attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility targeted an electrical substation located 40 to 50 meters underground and damaged “thousands of centrifuges,” Iranian officials revealed in recent days. Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, told Iranian media on Monday that the attack hit an electrical substation located deep underground and managed to damage both the power distribution system and the cable leading to the centrifuges in order to cut power to them.
Kim Jong Un’s Record of April Missile Tests Raises Prospect of Launches, Reveals
Colin Zwirko | NK News
Amid growing indicators about the possibility of new submarine-launched ballistic capabilities being completed and a record of using its April 15 Day of the Sun anniversary to test missile technology, analysts were uncertain Tuesday whether conditions are currently right for North Korea to use its forthcoming anniversary for military-related events. Since Kim Jong Un came to power, North Korea has tested missile-related technology in the days immediately before and after the April 15 anniversary on five separate occasions. Thursday will mark the 10th Day of the Sun holiday since Kim came to power and the 109th birthday of the late founding president Kim Il Sung.
Japan To Dump Wastewater From Wrecked Fukushima Nuclear Plant Into Pacific Ocean
Anthony Kuhn | NPR
Japan’s government announced a decision to begin dumping more than a million tons of treated but still radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. The plant was severely damaged in a 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that left about 20,000 people in northeast Japan dead or missing. Despite Tokyo’s assurances that discharging wastewater will not pose a threat to people or the environment, the decision was roundly criticized by the local fishing community, environmental groups and Japan’s neighbors. Within hours of the announcement, protesters rallied outside government offices in Tokyo and Fukushima.
North Korea Transfers Control of Important Military Shipbuilding Factory to Munitions Industry Department
Seulkee Jang | Daily NK
North Korean authorities have reportedly transferred a shipyard that used to be controlled by the navy to the Munitions Industry Department (MID), raising its status to a joint enterprise. The move appeared to be part of North Korea’s efforts to accelerate the development and production of submarines and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).