Iran Vows to Increase Uranium Enrichment After Attack on Nuclear Site
The New York Times
Iran also attacked an Israeli cargo ship at sea, raising tensions but causing little or no damage.
Iran said Tuesday that it would begin enriching uranium to a level of 60 percent purity, three times the current level and much closer to that needed to make a bomb, though American officials doubt the country has the ability to produce a weapon in the near future. Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, did not give a reason for the shift, but it appeared to be retaliation for an Israeli attack on Iran’s primary nuclear fuel production plant as well as a move to strengthen Iran’s hand in nuclear talks in Vienna. The Israeli attack on Sunday diminishes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium to 60 percent but it is unclear for how long.
Donald J. Trump has promised a more aggressive approach, after the Biden administration worked to avoid open conflict with Beijing.
The two leaders will meet in Peru, where China has steadily expanded its influence in a challenge to the United States in its own region.
The president said stronger ties with South Korea and Japan are working, but did not address whether President-elect Donald J. Trump would continue his approach when he takes office in January.
Tensions among multiple sects in the country have long lurked just below the surface. As hundreds of thousands flee Israeli airstrikes in the south, those strains are worsening.
The attack occurred on the same day that Israel bombed sites in the Syrian capital that the Israeli military said were affiliated with a militant group. At least 15 people were killed, Syrian state media reported.
Aides to Benjamin Netanyahu are under investigation over accusations of leaks, record-doctoring and intimidation. The Israeli prime minister’s office denies the claims.
Justin Welby, the leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, announced his resignation days after a report found he had taken insufficient action over claims of abuse.
Israel said its forces had returned to northern Gaza to fight a Hamas resurgence. That has brought a new round of suffering for residents.
The move comes just before a Biden administration deadline for Israel to deliver more aid to the enclave or risk a cutoff of military supplies.
Antisemitic assaults on visiting Israeli soccer fans, and incendiary chants and attacks by some Israelis: Here’s what we know so far about the violence in Amsterdam last week.
The president-elect’s call for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and his complaints about its semiconductor dominance may herald a tenser relationship.