Talks in Vienna, Austria, to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are moving ahead slowly as negotiators discuss sanctions relief and controls on Tehran's nuclear programme.
While the US has been cautious in its comments, saying it is too soon to tell how the talks are progressing, Iran and Russia have expressed optimism about the possibility of an agreement.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Moscow's ambassador at the talks, said he had two "useful" meetings with Washington's Iran envoy, Rob Malley, on Wednesday evening to discuss ways of restoring the pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Negotiators indicated before the start of the eighth round of discussions this week that the process would end in January. Mr Ulyanov, responding to a question on Twitter, suggested that talks could be finished by early February.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the negotiations in phone calls with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain.
The three countries are signatories to the JCPOA, along with the US, Russia and China.
"The secretary and his counterparts also discussed their shared concerns about the pace of developments in Iran’s nuclear programme as time runs short for Tehran to return to the JCPOA," Mr Price said.
The original deal fell apart in 2018 after then US president Donald Trump abandoned it and reimposed sanctions on Iran's economy.
Mr Trump's decision put the US in breach of the accord and has since been described by foreign policy analysts and Mr Blinken as a big mistake.
Iran continued its compliance with the agreement for a time after the US' exit, but then began exceeding limits on its enrichment of uranium and other provisions of the accord.
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Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
