US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has hailed the confirmation of Iran Special Envoy Robert Malley, who stepped into the role on January 28. In a tweet Sunday, Mr Blinken said Mr Malley was "off to a great start," despite a looming escalation in the nuclear crisis.
Mr Malley, who is known as one of the architects of the original nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, was appointed as part of a new strategy by US President Joe Biden to return to diplomacy. But Washington has also made it clear that the US will not be rushed into re-entering the nuclear deal, which was later abandoned by Donald Trump.
Nonetheless, a series of dates is approaching that will force the new US administration to show its hand.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it will return to full compliance with the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Agreement Plan of Action, when Iran does.
The steps that are coming, I think, do pose a more significant risk and are more difficult to reverse
In other words, Mr Biden will lift sanctions imposed by Mr Trump only after the clerical regime reverses nuclear steps it took to protest those sanctions.
Iran, probably mindful of the widespread hostility it faces in Washington, wants to ensure an end to sanctions before it backs down on steps away from the nuclear commitments, which included enriching uranium beyond agreed limits.
A key date comes on February 21 when Iran, under a law passed in December by the conservative-led parliament, is set to stop allowing intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency unless US sanctions are eased.
Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association in Washington, said Iran could quickly undo most steps, such as uranium enrichment.
"But the steps that are coming, I think, do pose a more significant risk and are more difficult to reverse," she said.
While Iran has stopped short of threatening to expel IAEA inspectors, Ms Davenport said she worried that any loss of access would fuel speculation that Tehran is engaged in illegal activities.
The risk "underscores the importance of restoring full compliance with the JCPOA before Iran takes these steps and develops this new knowledge," she said.
Another key date is in June, when Iran will hold elections that could bring to power a hardline successor to President Hassan Rouhani.
Mr Rouhani bet on engagement with the West when Barack Obama was president, only for tension to soar under Mr Trump.
With February 21 fast approaching, "it is imperative that diplomacy happens", a former EU diplomat said.
"The next 10 days will be important to give us an idea of what is occurring and how successful it will be" in persuading Iran to step back, the diplomat said.
"The entire issue is to make sure that the threshold is not crossed on that date," another European diplomat said.
The diplomat said that position was shared by Russia and China, which are also signatories to the JCPOA but enjoy far closer relations with Iran than western powers.
Jon Wolfsthal, who advised Mr Biden when he was Obama's vice president, said the United States and Iran, along with other JCPOA nations, could issue a statement before February 21 "that would show their mutual intent to return to full compliance."
But while action would be best as soon as possible, he doubted that decision-making would fundamentally change after the elections in Iran, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has final say.
"I don't think the United States is going to say, Oh, we have to give away everything we have to do everything, because after June it's impossible," said Mr Wolfsthal, who is now at Global Zero, a pressure group against nuclear weapons.
On Friday, State Department spokesman Ned Price stressed the US was "not looking at any particular deadline" when asked about February 21.
The Biden administration has named a special envoy on Iran, Rob Malley, who is one of the architects of the JCPOA.
Officially his first task has been co-ordination with Europe and he will only afterwards revive the US dialogue with Iran that ended under Mr Trump.
But one former adviser to Mr Obama, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "I suspect that US officials have already engaged with Iranian officials in some number of ways."
Thomas Countryman, who was a top arms control official in the Obama administration, said Mr Biden could immediately lift some sanctions to show good faith.
With help from Europe, the US and Iran could also lay out the steps they will take, he said.
"Because of the domestic political situation in both countries, I think they've got to find a way to say 'We did not give in to pressure'," Mr Countryman said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has himself called for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to "choreograph" action between Washington and Tehran.
Observers say other steps the US could take include offering Iran Covid-19 vaccines or dropping Trump-era objections to the International Monetary Fund lending Tehran money to fight the pandemic.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sav%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Purvi%20Munot%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%20as%20of%20March%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
Men's finals
45kg:Duc Le Hoang (VIE) beat Zolfi Amirhossein (IRI) points 29-28. 48kg: Naruephon Chittra (THA) beat Joseph Vanlalhruaia (IND) TKO round 2.
51kg: Sakchai Chamchit (THA) beat Salam Al Suwaid (IRQ) TKO round 1. 54kg: Veerasak Senanue (THA) beat Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) 30-25.
57kg: Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) RSC round 3. 60kg: Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 30-27.
63.5kg: Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE) 29-28. 67kg: Narin Wonglakhon (THA) beat Mohammed Mardi (UAE) 29-28.
71kg: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) w/o Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ). 75kg: Youssef Abboud (LBN) w/o Ayoob Saki (IRI).
81kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Khaled Tarraf (LBN) 29-28. 86kg: Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Emil Umayev (KAZ) 30-27.
91kg: Hamid Reza Kordabadi (IRI) beat Mohamad Osaily (LBN) RSC round 1. 91-plus kg: Mohammadrezapoor Shirmohammad (IRI) beat Abdulla Hasan (IRQ) 30-27.
Women's finals
45kg: Somruethai Siripathum (THA) beat Ha Huu Huynh (VIE) 30-27. 48kg: Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Colleen Saddi (PHI) 30-27.
51kg: Wansawang Srila Or (THA) beat Thuy Phuong Trieu (VIE) 29-28. 54kg: Ruchira Wongsriwo (THA) beat Zeinab Khatoun (LBN) 30-26.
57kg: Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Zahra Nasiri Bargh (IRI) 30-27. 60kg: Kaewrudee Kamtakrapoom (THA) beat Sedigheh Hajivand (IRI) TKO round 2.
63.5kg: Nadiya Moghaddam (IRI) w/o Reem Al Issa (JOR).
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
