For days, the US maintained that the sixth round of its nuclear negotiations with Iran would take place on Thursday, June 12. Officials in Tehran, meanwhile, insisted the correct date was June 15, as Iran’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, would be attending an event in Oslo on June 12.
Were it happening in any other context and between any other two countries, this minor scheduling conflict would be a temporary inconvenience. But in these already-fraught talks, too much is on the line and the situation is too combustible.
In an interview on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of delay tactics, and said he was “much less confident of a deal being made”. That evening, based on unspecified threats, Mr Trump’s administration raised alarm with a sudden decision to evacuate non-essential personnel from American embassies and military installations in Iraq, with preparations under way to evacuate more in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Rumours have circulated in US media that the proximate cause is intelligence about Israeli readiness to launch an operation into Iran. Mr Trump raised eyebrows further when he responded to a reporter’s question about the evacuation by saying: “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place … [Iran] can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Iran’s Defence Minister, Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh, warned in response that “if a conflict is imposed on [Iran] … all US bases are within reach and we will boldly target them in host countries”.
The impasse over the recommencement of the nuclear talks appeared to have been resolved, when the Foreign Minister of Oman – where the talks are set to take place – announced on Thursday that the sixth round would begin on June 15. However, later on Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution formally declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
Tehran, which insists it has always adhered to its safeguard obligations, called the decision “completely political and biased”. It added that it was left with “no other choice but to respond” to the resolution, and that it will set up a new enrichment facility.
Regardless of the resolution’s impact on the talks, it is almost certain that the acute climate of fear created by the possibility of strikes – be they Israeli or Iranian – and the ensuing volley of threats will adversely affect the region.
The reward in a deal is that it could be the first step towards a broader arrangement that sees Iran curb its excesses
The Middle East has seen some significant progress away from conflict in recent months, particularly in Syria and Lebanon, but the ongoing wars in Gaza and Yemen leave its people in perpetual fear of how quickly things can escalate. It was only eight months ago that Israel and Iran exchanged direct strikes on each other’s territory – an unprecedented escalation between them.
Amid the fog of continued warfare in the region, talks on Iran’s nuclear programme have taken place largely out of sight, in hotel conference rooms in quiet European and Gulf capitals. The disagreements and delays that have made them so frustrating for their participants often concern the smallest details. But it would be a mistake to think that the stakes are not extraordinarily high.
The cost of diplomatic failure is a continuation – or even worsening – of the instability and insecurity that have rocked large swathes of the region for decades already. But the reward in this deal, if it eventually comes together, is that it could be the first step towards a broader arrangement that sees Iran curb its excesses and take its place as a promoter of stability rather than violence – to the relief, no doubt, of its 90 million citizens, the rest of the region and, indeed, the world.
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
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
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
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
