Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Riyadh remained interested in talks with Iran. EPA
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Riyadh remained interested in talks with Iran. EPA
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Riyadh remained interested in talks with Iran. EPA
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Riyadh remained interested in talks with Iran. EPA

Saudi Arabia plans for fifth round of talks with Iran


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Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said on Saturday that Riyadh was looking to schedule a fifth round of direct talks with Iran despite a “lack of substantive progress” in previous rounds.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, also voiced hope there was a serious desire by Iran to find a “new modus operandi” in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Iran launched talks last year amid a push by global powers to salvage a nuclear pact with Tehran.

Prince Faisal said if the 2015 nuclear deal was revived that should be “a starting point, not an end point” in order to address regional concerns, and that Riyadh remained interested in talks with Iran.

“That will indeed require from our neighbours in Iran a serious desire to address the underlying issues that exist … We hope that there is a serious desire to find a new modus operandi,” he said.

“If we see substantive progress on those files, then yes rapprochement is possible. So far we have not seen that.”

Earlier this month, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran was ready for more talks if Riyadh was willing to hold them in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect.

Prince Faisal said Iran continued to provide the Houthi rebel group in Yemen with ballistic missile and drone parts as well as conventional weapons.

“This does not contribute to finding a path to settle that conflict, but we are committed and we are supportive of the United Nations representative,” he said.

Prince Faisal also said in Munich that Lebanon must offer stronger signals that it is serious about reform to secure support from the international community as it struggles with a financial crisis.

“Lebanon first needs to be actively saving itself … We need a stronger signal from the Lebanese body politic that they are going to step up.”

He said this included stabilising the economy and addressing issues of corruption and mismanagement as well as “regional interference and loss of state sovereignty".

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

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Power 625hp at 6,000rpm

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Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto

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Top speed 305kph

Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km

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On sale Jan/Feb 2020
 

Rooney's club record

At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17

At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253

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Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Updated: February 20, 2022, 6:19 AM`