Jun 5, 2018

Iran prepares to increase uranium enrichment capacity

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivering a speech. Photo: Iranian Presidency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Iran says it's taking steps to increase its capacity to enrich uranium within the parameters of the 2015 nuclear deal, reports the BBC. An official says Iran will be notifying the U.N. of its plans, and will assemble a "new generation of centrifuges" if the deal collapses.

Why it matters, from Axios' Dave Lawler: Iran is still negotiating with Germany, France and the U.K. to save the nuclear deal, but the sanctions enforcement plan laid out by the Trump administration would make it almost impossible to guarantee Iran the economic benefits it was promised. That leaves the Europeans and more moderate Iranian leaders essentially buying time. Meanwhile, Iran is warning that if the deal falls apart it will step up enrichment.

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Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

The CDC is warning of potentially "aggressive rodent behavior" amid a rise in reports of rat activity in several areas, as the animals search further for food while Americans stay home more during the coronavirus pandemic.

By the numbers: More than 97,700 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 366,700 Americans have recovered and more than 14.1 million tests have been conducted.

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World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Japan's economy minister outlined plans on Monday to end the nationwide state of emergency as the number of new novel coronavirus cases continues to decline to fewer than 50 a day, per Bloomberg. Japan has reported 16,550 cases and 820 deaths.

By the numbers: Over 5.4 million people have tested positive for the virus as of Monday, and more than 2.1 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 13.7 million tests). The U.K. is reporting over 36,800 deaths from the coronavirus — the most fatalities outside the U.S.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 5 hours ago - Health