Iran says it will not be drawn on nuclear talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that when his government says it will return to talks on resuming compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, it means when Tehran has completed its review of the nuclear file.

Tehran will return to talks “very soon,” he said, without giving a specific date.

“People keep asking how soon is soon," Mr Amirabdollahian said in remarks broadcast on state TV channel IRINN on Saturday. "Does it mean days, weeks or months?”

“The difference between Iranian and Western ‘soon’ is a lot," he said.

"To us, ‘soon’ means really in the first opportune time – when our reviews [of the nuclear file] have been completed. What is important is our determination to return to the talks, but those that are serious and guarantee the Iranian nation’s rights and interests.”

“I remind you of the West’s promises," he said. "Such as repeatedly promising they would ‘soon’, ‘in a few months,’ implement the Instex" - a mechanism set up to trade humanitarian goods and food after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.

Iran says the channel with Europe has been ineffective.

Russian contractors work at the Bushehr nuclear reactor site in 2007. The plant opened four years later. Bloomberg

An Iranian technician at the International Atomic Energy Agency inspects the country's Isfahan plant in 2007. Tehran is no longer co-operating with the agency at nuclear sites across the country. EPA

Workers wait to begin constructing a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2019. AFP

A metal-encased rod with 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel is inserted into a reactor in Tehran in 2012. AFP

Fomer Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country's Atomic Energy Organisation chief Ali Akbar Salehi speak at the Bushehr nuclear site in 2015. AFP

Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant has been restarted. EPA

Mehdi Abrichamtchi, chairman of the Peace and Security Committee at the National Council of Resistance of Iran, shows journalists the location of a secret nuclear site in Iran in 2013. AFP

Workers prepare to begin the construction of a second reactor at the Bushehr site. AFP

Under the 2015 deal that Iran signed with world powers, it agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. Washington abandoned that deal three years later and unilaterally reimposed financial sanctions.

Talks that began in April between Iran and five other nations – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – to revive the deal have been stalled since hardline conservative Ebrahim Raisi was elected president in June.

European diplomats have served as the chief intermediaries between Washington and Tehran, which has refused to negotiate directly with US officials.

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

UAE SQUAD

Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Ahmed Raza, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Chirag Suri , Zahoor Khan

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

More from Armen Sarkissian

AI and humans will co-exist, not compete

Abaya trends

The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.

New UK refugee system

A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds