In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani meets with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 7, 2021.Iranian Presidency Office via AP
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani meets with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 7, 2021.Iranian Presidency Office via AP
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani meets with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 7, 2021.Iranian Presidency Office via AP
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani meets with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 7, 2021

Iran's Rouhani urges Europe to avoid 'threats or pressure'


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday urged Europe to avoid "threats or pressure" in any talks with Tehran, as he received Ireland's foreign minister amid diplomatic efforts to revive the nuclear deal.

Ireland is co-ordinator for the UN Security Council resolution that enshrined the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers, the Irish Foreign Ministry said.

The deal has been hanging by a thread since former US president Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

After Joe Biden's US presidential election victory in November, the US, France, Germany, Britain and Iran have been trying to salvage the accord.

"The best way to solve problems with European partners at various bilateral, regional and international levels is negotiations based on mutual respect and avoiding any threats or pressure," Mr Rouhani told Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney at Sunday's meeting, the Iranian presidency said.

Ireland is not party to the nuclear deal, but is sitting on the Security Council.

As co-ordinator for the resolution enshrining the nuclear deal, Dublin is responsible for keeping other council members briefed with implementation of the deal.

Mr Rouhani criticised Europe's inactivity on its commitments to the deal, and said Iran was committed to preserving it and is the only party that has paid a price for it.

"But this situation cannot continue as it is," he said.

Preserving and reviving the deal requires all sides to act on their commitments, Mr Rouhani  said.

The three European parties to the nuclear deal on Thursday scrapped a draft resolution at the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, which would have criticised Iran's suspension of some nuclear inspections.

Scrapping the draft was welcomed by Tehran.

Mr Biden has signalled his readiness to revive the deal, but insists Iran must first return to all of its nuclear commitments, most of which it suspended in response to the US sanctions.

But Tehran demands Washington take the first step by scrapping the sanctions.

Iran on February 23 started to restrict some IAEA inspections.

But a visit to Tehran by the UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi just before the restriction came into force led to an interim technical deal for up to three months.

The arrangement would allow the body to continue monitoring "all the key activities", Mr Rossi said.

Mr Rouhani said "Iran still remains committed to co-operation with the IAEA".

He said Iran was ready to reverse the restrictions "after the lifting of America's illegal sanctions and it stopping the policy of threats and pressure".

Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, is set to meet Mr Coveney later in the day.

Mr Zarif said on Twitter on Friday that he would soon present Tehran's "constructive concrete plan of action through proper diplomatic channels".

ALL THE RESULTS

Bantamweight

Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.

Catch 74kg

Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.

Strawweight (Female)

Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.

Lightweight

Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.

Welterweight

Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.

Bantamweight

Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.

Lightweight

Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.

Lightweight

Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.

Welterweight

Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.

Featherweight title bout

Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.

6 UNDERGROUND

Director: Michael Bay

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco

2.5 / 5 stars

The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

FORSPOKEN
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Company%20profile
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What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
UAE squad

Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

MATCH INFO

Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')

Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')

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

England v South Africa schedule:

  • First Test: At Lord's, England won by 219 runs
  • Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
  • Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
  • Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Fixtures (all times UAE)

Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)

Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)

Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)

Champions League Last 16

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER) 

Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG) 

Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED) 

Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA) 

Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG) 

Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA) 

Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG) 

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)  

RESULT

Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City:
Jesus (9')

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets