Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has replaced veteran security chief Ali Shamkhani as secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council, the presidency said on Monday.
His position has been taken by Revolutionary Guards general Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
“While appreciating the 10-year efforts of Admiral Ali Shamkhani as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi appointed Dr Ali Akbar Ahmadian to this position,” the president's website said.
Dr Ahmadian headed the Revolutionary Guards' “strategic centre” before assuming his new position, it said.
Mr Shamkhani was a key figure in the deal that normalised ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March, ending seven years of rivalry.
He was photographed shaking hands with Saudi national security adviser Musaad Al Aiban during a closed meeting in Beijing.
Mr Shamkhani's role in politics began in the 1990s.
"Ali Shamkhani was really significant for a few reasons," said Arash Azizi, a historian at New York University, who published a book on the former head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani.
"He was the highest ranking security official of the regime in recent years to be coming from a non-hardliner, can even say a centrist, background because he was defence minister under the reformist government of president Mohammad Khatami and he was in many ways seen close to centrist president Hassan Rouhani."
Mr Azizi said the circumstances surrounding Mr Shamkhani's replacement were not straightforward. Mr Shamkhani had posted two lines from a poem on Twitter shortly before the Security Council's agency, Nour, announced that he was being replaced.
It is by Mohtasham Kashani, a Shiite Iranian poet from the 16th century.
"He was pushed aside in a strange and very unusual way. The lines Mr Shamkhani chose speak of 'words spoken in secret'. 'He spoke in code and gestured and left'," Mr Azizi said the poem read.
"It's thus clear what Shamkhani is saying: that he has to be pushed aside for reasons that can't be divulged."
However, Iran expert Mohamad Al Zghool believes Mr Shamkhani's replacement says more about the reasoning behind the move.
"Ebrahim Raisi considers Shamkhani to be a reformist, even though he is independent and does not have a political affiliation," he said. "As a person, Shamkhani's direct connection is with the supreme leader. And the IRGC's qualms with Shamkhani lie in his endorsement for stronger Iranian ties with China, whereas they prefer stronger economic, military and geopolitical relations with Russia in the east."
Mr Zghool the appointment of Dr Ahmadian could indicate a new direction in Russia-Iran ties.
"This does not mean that ties with China are going to become obsolete or frozen, but the priorities are likely to be in favour of a stronger relationship with Russia," he said.
Additionally, Mr Shamkhani's former aide, British-Iranian citizen Ali Reza Akbari, was sentenced to death this year on charges of spying.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
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