EARTHQUAKE NEAR IRAN'S BUSHEHR NUCLEAR POWER STATION!
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck in south-west Iran, not far from the country's only nuclear power station, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says.
Initial reports on state media say three people have died.Posts on social media in the region said people felt the quake across the Gulf in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
Iran's nuclear programme has roused concern among major powers that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies.
The USGS said the quake struck at 11:52 GMT at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), some 90km from Bushehr city, near to the power plant.
Iran's seismological centre in Bushehr province, linked to Tehran University, registered a 6.1 magnitude quake close to the town of Kaki, some 60 miles south of Bushehr.
More than five aftershocks have been felt so far, the strongest measuring a magnitude of 5.4.
The Russian contractor which built the Bushehr plant says it has not been affected by the earthquake, says Russian news agency Interfax.
Staff at the complex felt the jolts but continue to work as usual, while radiation levels have not changed, an unnamed Atomstroyexport official told Interfax.
ALSO:
Iran unveils uranium activities at Saghand and Ardakan!!
Low-grade uranium ore will be extracted at the Saghand mines and turned into purer uranium, known as yellowcake, at nearby Ardakan.It can then be enriched - a process which the West wants Iran to curtail.
The announcement comes days after talks between Iran and major powers over the nuclear crisis failed to make progress.
Tehran insists its enrichment activities are solely for civilian purposes, while the international community suspects Iran wants to be able to use it for nuclear weapons.
The Saghand uranium mine and Ardakan facility are the largest in the country and will be able to produce 60 tonnes of yellowcake a year, state television said.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, says the exploitation of these mines underscores Tehran's determination to master and operate the full scope of the nuclear fuel cycle from uranium extraction, processing, enrichment and ultimately the manufacture of nuclear fuel.
The announcement, coming in the wake of the failure of the latest diplomatic effort to engage with Iran on its nuclear programme, is evidence yet again that Tehran intends to stick to the path that it has already chosen, he adds.
On-off talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group (the US, Russia, China, the UK and France - plus Germany) resumed this month but broke up without agreement.
Iran says it needs enriched uranium for its Bushehr nuclear power plant to generate electricity, and to produce medical isotopes. International powers want it to stop enriching uranium to a level of 20%, which can then be more easily enriched to weapons-grade level.
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