With a trip to Asia last week, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly made a commitment to the country’s strategic tilt to the Indo-Pacific.
On his travels, he may have had time to look out the window and reflect on the current state of western policy towards Iran. It is an area where he now has some experience, something that will be increasingly useful in these days of crisis on Iran’s streets, as well as the corridors of power.
The sorry state of western thinking and diplomacy on Iran has rarely been more dangerously exposed. This is all the more true as the current impasse has crept up on policymakers with few having a clue what to do next.
Mr Cleverly knows in his bones that Iran is an important challenge.
Earlier this year, the former Conservative party chairman was promoted within the foreign office to deputy foreign secretary and Europe minister. In a role previous to that, he had handled the Middle East and North Africa brief. He took the Iran portfolio with him in a move that triggered a major internal reshuffle, something that insiders say has harmed Britain's long-standing Mena policy and the country’s diplomatic impact on the wider region.
Be that as it may, the decision showed the priority that Mr Cleverly placed on managing the Iran portfolio.
At the time, Mr Cleverly, a junior minister under then foreign secretary Liz Truss, was more regularly travelling to Vienna than the Middle East. Flitting across the lobby of the Palais Coburg hotel through epic rounds of grand diplomacy on the resurrection of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action required commitment and raw negotiating skill.
By all accounts, the deal was done in Vienna at least once. At the time of the first of Mr Cleverly’s promotions this year (in the second, he became Foreign Secretary when Ms Truss became Prime Minister last month), it seemed that keeping the portfolio was all about an experienced hand overseeing the sealing of the deal.
It was not to be, and unfortunately, the cloud over the JCPOA has turned dark. From a western point of view, this diplomatic instrument was the only game in town on Iran. Quite how to recalibrate is now the elephant in the room for US and European officials, in particular.
The word is that hardliners in Iran are using the demonstrations that are racking the country, and causing new instability in Iraq, to urge the final repudiation of the 2015 deal by Iran. Again, this is rumoured manoeuvring but it is ominous nonetheless.
The death in northern Iran of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was arrested by police for allegedly not complying with strict dress codes, has seen protests well up on a scale not seen for 12 years. The generational aspect of the confrontations between the authorities and demonstrators gives an extra dimension to the events.
There have been some moves, particularly by the US administration, to acknowledge the people who are out on the streets. European governments have offered statements that show sympathy or support to those who are making demands on the government. The German, British and Norwegian ambassadors protested against various aspects of policies or providing a base for what Tehran terms hostile media.
It is something of an indictment of the UK that, just days later, the BBC announced it was shutting radio services of BBC Arabic and Persian. As the German MP Nils Schmid noted at an event in London last week, the strength of broadcasting services is something that matters in diplomacy. Mr Schmid noted that Russia’s RT news channel, which is Iran-aligned, is very strong in central Iraq, something that 20 years ago could have been said about the BBC radio feed.
As Ian Bond, foreign policy director of the UK think tank Centre for European Reform, noted in tweeted reaction to the BBC job cuts of 380 people, an important element of London’s soft power was being surgically removed. The writer Helene von Bismarck agreed, though both bemoaned the impact from a Eurocentric perspective. Mr Bond separately published a short note on Ms Truss's foreign policy challenges that did not even mention Iran.
Mr Cleverly appears to know better than this and, while new to the job, must know it is pressing that he get a grip on events. He is not alone. The other European foreign ministers and the US State Department are similarly challenged.
It is clear from the travels of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi over the summer and the readouts of the meetings he has held, that Tehran has turned to the East in its international strategy. Perhaps the events surrounding the war in Ukraine accelerated a trend that would not have otherwise surfaced to derail the JCPOA.
It is debatable what tools western countries can employ at this juncture to turn around the decline in influence that has occurred. But there is all the more reason to reshape a strategy that can be resilient and useful to the politicians and diplomats in charge of policy.
History shows there is no alternative to engagement on this vital issue. A good start would be to look again at the BBC decision to give time for a diplomatic recalibration to be thought through.
Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
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Torque: 300Nm
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
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- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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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
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
GOLF’S RAHMBO
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- Three wins in past 10 starts
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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- Price: Not announced yet
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
More on Quran memorisation:
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
