Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said a US offer to hold talks on Tehran's nuclear programme is aimed at "deceiving public opinion" and increasing pressure on Iran, after a letter was delivered from US President Donald Trump calling for negotiations.
Mr Trump last week said he wanted to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran. He said he hoped the letter would avoid the need for any military action. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the letter was received and delivered by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed.
“What negotiations [should] we have when we know that he will not abide by? Therefore, the invitation for negotiations and stating it are to deceive the public opinion,” Mr Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media, adding that he believed talks with the Trump administration would only increase US pressure on Iran without lifting sanctions.
“If the aim of talks is to lift the sanctions, negotiation with this US government will not lead to the lifting of the sanctions,” he added. Mr Khamenei made the remarks while speaking to a group of university students.
Mr Khamenei reiterated that the reason for his refusal to engage with the US administration was because Mr Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. “We sat down and negotiated for several years” but “this person” tore up the agreement, he said.
In an interview with Fox Business, Mr Trump stated last week: "There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist elected in July, has advocated reviving a 2015 nuclear accord agreed with world powers, which collapsed after Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the pact in 2018. However, Mr Khamenei, who holds ultimate decision-making authority in the country, has repeatedly opposed negotiations with the US.
Mr Pezeshkian restated on Tuesday that Iran sought global engagement but would not accept humiliation. "We need to have a relationship with the world ... but we're not supposed to bow in humiliation to anyone."
Iranian officials have repeatedly said they would not negotiate under “intimidation” as Mr Trump intensifies a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.
Mr Khamenei said negotiations with “this US government will increase pressure” on his nation, raise expectations and create new demands. “Negotiations will not resolve any problem," he said.
“If we had intended to build nuclear weapons, America would not have been able to stop us,” Mr Khamenei added. Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Mr Trump's outreach to Iran comes in the wake of heavy losses suffered by Iran’s proxies in their conflict with Israel, as well as increased co-ordination between the US and Russia, Iran’s ally, to ease tensions from Ukraine to Syria and beyond.
On Friday, Iran, despite sending mixed signals about its willingness to negotiate, will participate in nuclear talks with Russia and China. The meeting will focus on Tehran’s nuclear programme and the potential for lifting sanctions.
China on Thursday called for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host the talks.
"In the current situation, we believe that all parties should maintain calm and restraint to avoid escalating the Iran nuclear situation, or even walking towards confrontation and conflict," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
The talks between the three sides aims to "strengthen communication and co-ordination, to resume dialogue and negotiation at an early time".
"China sincerely hopes that all parties can work together, continuously increase mutual trust and dispel misgivings, and turn the momentum of restarting dialogue and negotiation into reality at an early date," Ms Mao said.
Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 per cent purity, close to the roughly 90 per cent weapons-grade level, the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned.
Washington urged the UN Security Council to unite in denouncing Iran's nuclear programme in a private meeting on Wednesday. Mr Trump “has made clear that Iran's nuclear programme poses a threat to international peace and security, which the Security Council is charged with protecting”, the US mission said after the closed-door meeting.
Mr Araghchi said Iran is co-operating with the IAEA and that there is a new idea for resolving the issues.
"We also have a plan regarding possible nuclear negotiations," he told an Iranian newspaper.
The Iranian diplomat said if Tehran enters talks with the "other side imposing maximum pressure then the talks will not achieve anything".
Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, said on Thursday that Tehran will not "negotiate under pressure, and any attempt to force us to accept an unfair agreement is doomed to fail".
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
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From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
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Flyweight (women)
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Lightweight
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Catchweight 100kg
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Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
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Bantamweight:
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Welterweight
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Bantamweight
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Lightweight
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
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Barbie
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PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
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
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