Iran: 2 Killed, 10 Injured in Gas Explosion in Ardabil

On Saturday, two people were killed and ten others were injured in a gas explosion in  Ardabil city, northwestern Iran.

Yesterday, the French newspaper "Le Figaro" revealed that Iran is moving towards atomic-weapons production in a clear challenge to the international community and Europe's efforts to save the nuclear deal.

The newspaper added that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently discovered that Iran has begun to produce uranium metal, a material that could be used in the manufacture of a nuclear weapon.

Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Iran to return to the nuclear deal with world powers before Washington, which withdrew from the pact under former President Donald Trump, would do so.

In his first press statements on Iran as secretary of state, Blinken emphasized President Joe Biden’s policy that “if Iran returns to full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA – the nuclear agreement – the US will do the same thing.”

In 2015, Iran concluded an agreement with six major powers, in which it committed to restricting its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief from the US and others.

Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions, prompting Iran to abandon some provisions.

Blinken said that if Iran returned to abide by the agreement, Washington would seek to build a “longer and stronger agreement” that would address other “deeply problematic” issues.

Blinken did not specify these issues, but Biden had previously said that they include Iran’s development of ballistic missiles and its support for proxy forces in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.