A fourth round of indirect "difficult but useful" talks between Iran and the US on Tehran's nuclear programme ended in Oman on Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, with a date for new round to be announced later.
"The fourth round of indirect Iran-US negotiations is concluded; difficult but useful talks to better understand each other's positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.
The next round will be co-ordinated and announced by Oman, he added.
A senior US official described Sunday's talks positively, confirming another round would take place soon.
The discussions in Oman led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff "were again both direct and indirect, and lasted over three hours", a senior administration official said in a statement.
"Agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements. We are encouraged by today's outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future."
Earlier in the day, Mr Baqaei said Iran was "firmly determined to pursue its inalienable lawful rights for peaceful uses of nuclear energy ... while fully prepared to continue its diplomatic engagement to ensure the already demonstrated 'peaceful nature' of its nuclear programme".
"We are equally resolved to work for termination of unlawful and inhuman sanctions that have long been imposed on our people."
The talks in Muscat, the first round of which took place a month ago, follow a week-long pause after a meeting in Rome was postponed due to "logistical reasons", according to Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who has been mediating.
The discussions are the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a previous deal that sought to regulate Iran's nuclear activities.
Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East who is leading the US delegation, on Thursday said Iran’s uranium enrichment sites in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan must be dismantled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on Saturday night by saying Tehran will not back down on its “nuclear rights”. He told an Arab-Iranian conference in Doha that “if the goal of these talks is to ensure the non-acquisition of nuclear weapons, an agreement is possible. However, if the aim is to limit Iran’s nuclear rights, Iran will never retreat”, state media outlet Irna reported.
The latest round of talks come days ahead of a visit to the Gulf by US President Donald Trump, who will stop in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Iran has repeatedly said its right to enrich uranium is "non-negotiable" and has ruled out a “zero enrichment” demand by some US officials. Before leaving for Muscat on Sunday, Mr Araghchi reaffirmed that message, saying "enrichment capability is one of the honours and achievements of the Iranian nation".
Western powers suspect Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons. There have previously been mixed signals from Washington over whether it would settle for regulating enrichment or will insist on nuclear activities being dismantled.
Mr Trump, who withdrew Washington from the 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers that was meant to curb Tehran's nuclear activities, has threatened to bomb Iran if no new deal is reached to resolve the long-running dispute.
Tehran has accelerated its enrichment programme since the 2015 deal collapsed. It says it is purely for civilian purposes.
“In its indirect talks with the United States, Iran emphasises its right to peaceful use of nuclear energy and clearly declares that it is not seeking nuclear weapons,” Mr Araghchi said on Saturday.
“We continue our dialogues with the US government, and of course, simultaneously with Europe, Russia, and China, in good faith.”
He said “weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's security doctrine. That is why we were among the initiators of creating a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the West Asian region”.
“It is necessary for western countries and all those who claim to oppose nuclear weapons to refrain from double standards.”
Although the US and Iran have reported progress in the latest talks, few details have been released. Mr Trump is using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade Iran to sign a new deal.
The US President has suggested Iran would be a “great, happy country” if it signs an agreement, but he has also pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign built around tough sanctions aimed at shutting off Iranian oil exports.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
