Friday, May 16

United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States could be getting close to achieving a nuclear deal with Iran as negotiations continue.

Iran has clearly expressed their desire to develop nuclear weapons in the past, and they have the resources to do it. The creation of a nuclear weapon can be done in two ways: enriched uranium or plutonium production. Enriched uranium, or U-235, readily undergoes a process called nuclear fission, which is used to generate energy. Meanwhile, uranium can produce a highly radioactive byproduct known as plutonium, which also be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Iran has the facilities and the ability to enrich uranium in order to create a nuclear weapon, but they have not done it yet. They currently face a roadblock in the process, and much of the Western world, especially the United States, is urging them to shut down their nuclear weapon development operations. Over the last few decades, the United States has maintained numerous sanctions on Iran, which has seriously hurt their economy.

Due to this, Trump engaged in negotiations with Iran this week during his trip to the Middle East. Mediated by Oman, the talks saw direct, face-to-face discussions and the passing of notes in between rooms, with both sides agreeing on certain terms. Both Iran and the United States have indicated that they are willing to make peace with the other, as the conflict between the two countries over nuclear weapons dates back decades.

While Trump has established that they are getting close to a deal, it is unknown how exactly they will achieve that. The US wants Iran to completely shut down their nuclear operations and stop enriching uranium, which Iran has refused to do. Iran has proposed that they could export their enriched uranium and decrease the enrichment levels to a more widely-used amount, preventing them from building a weapon.

Iran has clearly stated that they are ready to sign a deal that will never let them build a nuclear weapon-- they just need the sanctions to be lifted by the United States, which could boost their economy and grow Iran as a country. However, as of right now, it is not clear how they will agree on that deal and what methods the US will use to prevent Iran from building a weapon.

Fact of the Day (BBC): A horse normally has more than one horsepower. A study in 1993 showed that the maximum power a horse can produce is around 18,000 watts, around 24 horsepower.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Make good decisions even with incomplete information. You will never have all the information you need. What matters is what you do with the information you have. (Michael Steinhardt)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Impervious (adj, im-PER-vee-us) - Impervious describes that which does not allow something (such as water or light) to enter or pass through. It is also used formally to mean “not bothered or affected by something.” Both senses of impervious are usually used with to.

In a Sentence: The material is impervious to water.