Iran's enrichment of uranium is "non-negotiable", Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday after US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the country must halt its nuclear activities.
"Iran's enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable," Mr Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Mr Araghchi and Mr Witkoff are leading their countries' delegations in the dialogue, which is expected to continue on Saturday, a week after Oman hosted the first high-level talks between the two sides since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a milestone nuclear deal in 2018. The venue for the second round will be Rome, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
Mr Witkoff had said on Tuesday that Iran must “stop and eliminate" its nuclear programme to reach a deal with Washington, contradicting his remarks a day earlier.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi was in Tehran on Wednesday for talks with top officials. The UN's nuclear watchdog reports that Iran has ramped up its production of 60 per cent enriched uranium, a level that the US and European powers say has no credible civilian use.
Mr Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde that Iran was "not far" from being able to develop a nuclear weapon. Likening the process to a jigsaw puzzle, he said Iran "has the pieces and they could eventually put them together one day".
Working with the IAEA "is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed".
A US deal with Iran "would only be completed if it is a Trump deal", Mr Witkoff wrote on X. "Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East – meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponisation programme.
“It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do."
Mr Witkoff had previously said the nuclear programme would only be subject to verification and that Washington would accept a deal if Iran’s uranium is enriched to low levels.
The special envoy to the Middle East told Fox News on Monday that Iran “does not need to enrich past 3.67 per cent" – the limit prescribed under the 2015 nuclear deal.
“In some circumstances, they’re at 60 per cent. In other circumstances, 20 per cent. That cannot be. And you do not need to run – as they claim – a civil nuclear programme where you’re enriching past 3.67 per cent, so this is going to be much about verification on the enrichment programme.”
Next round of talks
The US official led a delegation that held talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team in Oman last Saturday.
The White House said Mr Trump spoke on Tuesday with the sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, about the next round of talks. They also discussed continuing US operations against Yemen's Houthis rebels.
It is difficult to predict the outcome of the second round of talks, said Dina Esfandiary, an Iran expert and Middle East geo-economics lead at Bloomberg Economics.
"This is because the US administration doesn’t seem to know what they want. If they come in and request zero enrichment like Mr Witkoff alluded to, then talks will be over before they’ve begun," she told The National.
"But if they talk about limiting enrichment then there’s definitely scope for an agreement," she added.
Also on Tuesday, Mr Trump met his top national security aides to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Mr Trump has threatened military action against Tehran if it does not give up the programme, while also stressing the need for diplomacy and negotiations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Mr Trump's bottom line in the talks is Iran not obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Aniseh Tabrizi, an Iran-Iraq expert at Control Risks, a consultancy firm, said the success of the current round of talks would depend on how much patience the US showed and "whether something will actually need to be achieved sooner rather than later".
However, this "might be tricky to do", Ms Tabrizi told The National, as the talks are likely to continue only "if each side feels that it has an upper hand to gain something out of the discussion and concessions".
The Iranians are "portraying the talks [as] useful and constructive and is likely to go into them willing to make concessions". But Tehran is also looking "to gain something significant in return", she said.
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The view from The National
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
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
Results
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Nadhra, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Dars, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Taghzel, Malin Holmberg, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: M’Y Yaromoon, Khalifa Al Neyadi, Jesus Rosales
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeem, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Zayed Sustainability Prize
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
