French forces intercepted weapons sent by Tehran to the Houthis
The International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations criticized Iran for making an unannounced change in the connection between the two series of centrifuges (IR6) to enrich uranium by up to 60 percent.
Reuters quoted a confidential report sent by the Director General of the International Agency, Rafael Grossi, to the member states, that he was “concerned that Iran made a significant change in the design information of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant related to the production of highly enriched uranium without notifying the agency in advance.”
And last November, Iran raised uranium enrichment to 60 percent at its underground Fordow facility, a purity close to the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade uranium.
In addition, US media sources reported yesterday that the French naval special forces intercepted about two weeks ago a shipment of smuggled weapons believed to be Iranian in the Gulf of Oman destined for the Houthi militia in Yemen.
The Wall Street Journal quoted informed officials as saying that on January 15, a French warship stopped a suspected smuggling ship off the Yemeni coast, and discovered more than 3,000 assault rifles, half a million rounds of ammunition and 20 anti-tank guided missiles.
And while the US and British navies, along with the Yemeni forces, used to announce the interception of smuggled arms shipments, this French operation came to indicate a noticeable change in the quieter Paris policy in dealing with the behavior of the Iranian regime.
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