It is always a sure sign that all is not well at the heart of Iran’s body politic when tensions between loyalists of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and those elected to run the country are aired in public.
In recent weeks rival factions within the Islamic Republic have been doing their level best to portray a united front as they attempt to deal with the increasingly confrontational approach the administration of US President Donald Trump is adopting towards the regime.
The first suggestion that the hardliners were toning down their traditional wariness towards the reformist agenda being pursued by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani emerged early last month when general Qassem Soleimani, the all-powerful head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ foreign operations, published an open letter pledging his support. Writing in response to some uncompromising remarks Mr Rouhani had made about Israel during a visit to Europe, Mr Soleimani praised the president’s “wise and appropriate remarks”, saying they were a “source of pride”.
Further signs that the hardliners, who are dedicated to upholding the supreme leader's uncompromising anti-Western agenda, came with the announcement that the country's Supreme National Security Council had agreed to the release of a number of prominent reformers who have been under house arrest since the ill-fated Green Revolution in 2009, including former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the former speaker of the Iranian majlis.
Both men were leading lights in the reformist movement, which staged the biggest challenge to the hardliners’ iron grip over the Iranian constitution, but was ultimately crushed by the supreme leader’s allies.
Whether the reformers will actually get to enjoy their new-found freedom depends on whether Mr Khamenei gives his assent to the Security Council’s ruling. But the very fact that their release was even being considered was seen as a signal that the moderates and hardliners were pulling together in their attempts to deal with the threat posed by the Trump administration’s more aggressive anti-Iranian stance.
But while Mr Soleimani and Mr Rouhani appear to have been competing with each other in their public denouncements of the US president, significant tensions remain between the two camps – not least over the ruinous impact the threat of renewed US sanctions is having on the Iranian economy.
This week saw the rial fall to an historic low of 116,000 against the dollar on the Iranian black market, a disastrous state of affairs for Mr Rouhani, who was elected on a promise to reform the Iranian economy.
Indeed, it was to achieve this aim that Mr Rouhani initiated negotiations with the US and other major powers over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. Mr Rouhani hoped that, by agreeing to a reduction in the regime’s nuclear activities, he would be able to get punitive economic sanctions lifted, thereby allowing him to begin work on rebuilding the Iranian economy.
From the outset Mr Rouhani’s approach was resisted by the hardliners, who believed Iran was capitulating to the Americans. They were ultimately persuaded to support the deal because of the economic benefits Iran would enjoy as a result of signing the agreement.
But the prospects of Iran enjoying an economic revival have now been undermined by the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal.
Instead of having the sanctions lifted, Tehran now faces the very real prospect of having another set of sanctions imposed against it, thereby inflicting further economic hardship on the country’s long-suffering population.
And the collapse of the rial, which is, in part, in anticipation of Washington imposing a new round of sanctions, has prompted the hardliners to end their uneasy truce with the reformist Mr Rouhani, and send him an unusually pointed message demanding that he do more to prop up the national currency.
In an open letter to Mr Rouhani published this week, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the overall head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned: “The unique and extensive backing you benefited from in past weeks shouldn’t preclude you from taking revolutionary actions to control prices and prevent the enormous increase in the price of foreign currency and gold. Decision-making in today’s difficult circumstances necessitates revolutionary determination and decisiveness.”
Mr Jafari’s intervention is the first sign that, far from supporting Mr Rouhani in his stand-off with Washington, the hardliners’ are now looking for a scapegoat on whom to blame the country’s predicament.
But while Mr Rouhani, who has completely rejected any suggestion of renegotiating the flawed nuclear deal, must share some of the blame, the main culprits are the hardliners’ themselves.
For it is the hardliners who, rather than taking advantage of the new opportunities the nuclear deal afforded, have instead reverted to type, and used the easing of diplomatic pressure to intensify their attempts to pursue their disruptive agenda throughout the Middle East.
Instead of spending the billions of dollars Iran received after signing the nuclear deal on rebuilding the country's ruined infrastructure, the likes of Mr Soleimani have instead preferred to spend their new-found riches on supporting rogue dictators like Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, or supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Their actions, moveover, have caused dismay among those world leaders like former US President Barack Obama, who naively believed that the nuclear deal would herald a new era of cooperation between the ayatollahs and the outside world.
Instead, the opposite has been the case. And rather than blaming Mr Rouhani for the collapse in Iran’s economic fortunes, the hardliners should take a long, hard look at their own role in creating the crisis.
Con Coughlin is the Daily Telegraph’s defence and foreign affairs editor
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
more from Janine di Giovanni
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
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Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Company%20Profile
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Five expert hiking tips
- Always check the weather forecast before setting off
- Make sure you have plenty of water
- Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
- Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
- Take your litter home with you
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5