An encounter with an old face from the past provided a reminder that Iran’s diplomats are masters of the art of drawing a veil around the messy reality of the country’s role in the world.
Kamal Kharazi is not a man to hog the spotlight. The former Iranian foreign minister was in London last week for a visit that - unlike recent trips by officials from the GCC - made no banner headlines.
Watching him in action, I recalled the first time I had come across this stalwart of Iran’s foreign policy establishment.
At the turn of the century, Iran was led by Mohammed Khatami, who was promoting his signature international policy, dubbed the "dialogue of civilisations". It was all about cultural exchanges and other soft-power interactions. There were many foreign governments that put great store in this overture. His approach was greeted as a vehicle for moderation after the trauma since the ayatollah's takeover two decades before.
Mr Khatami and Mr Kharazi were the frontmen for the dialogue policy. By drawing a contrast with Samuel Huntington's post-Cold War Clash of Civilisations, the two men made an impact with both the West and emerging powers. It was so successful that the UN named 2001 the Year of Dialogue.
On a state visit to Beijing in 2000, where I was then living, the Iranians were hailed for providing thinking that was an alternative to “a unipolar world” - code for America. At the time, the visit stood out as a small sign of a world that was transforming in ways we could not adequately foresee.
The reality behind the rhetoric, however, was that Iran was working to create a clandestine nuclear programme. The deals with the Chinese on the 2000 trip were mainly about missile imports, dual-use technology and arms sales to Iran.
In any case, the 9/11 events soon intervened to set history on a turbulent new path.
It was not too long before Iran would quietly give shelter to the Al Qaeda leadership fleeing Afghanistan and pounce on the overthrow of Saddam Hussein to vastly expand its influence in Iraq.
There was no talk of a dialogue of civilisations on Mr Kharazi’s London tour. Instead he defended Iran’s influence. He defined his country as a spiritual power and pillar of the Middle East "status quo".
When challenged on Iran’s involvement in conflict in Syria and Iraq, Mr Kharazi retorted the governments in Damascus and Baghdad had issued formal requests for assistance. What would be the implications for Europe’s security, he asked the London-based diplomats and others, if Iran had not defended these states?
Yet, Mr Kharazi was speaking as the US state department named his country as the foremost sponsor of terrorism across the globe. Days before the Americans had additionally imposed fresh sanctions on Iranians engaged in suspect trading activity, including a network assisting Tehran’s rapidly developing ballistic missile industry.
The 72-year old’s performance was reminder of the enormous benefit Iran gains from its soft-speaking frontmen. Press coverage of the negotiations that produced the 2015 plan of action on its nuclear programme was always dominated by sympathetic encounters with Harvard or Stanford-educated Iranian ministers.
The idea that the deal was a good thing was largely based on hopes that men like the diplomats can control the republic. This thinking is so powerful that even when a president of the United States questions the deal, as Donald Trump reportedly did at the last minute before last week's certification deadline, his objections count for nothing.
In fact, the nuclear deal has produced a pattern of Iranian behaviour that shows Tehran’s real agenda is far more aggressive than anything Mr Kharazi discussed.
An analysis of Iranian behaviour since 2015 was published by the Henry Jackson Society last week. It broke down the unfolding implications of the deal, making the key point that Iran’s nuclear programme has not been dismantled, but suspended.
Iran has taken a strategic decision to direct investments to build up its oil, shipping and aviation assets since sanctions were lifted. Other commercial sectors have been relegated to secondary importance and there is no prospect of a wider opening up of the country to the outside world.
With sanctions relief, Iran has become ever more assertive in the region. It has opened an air corridor that stretches all the way to the Mediterranean. It has expanded its conventional military capabilities. It has dramatically built up proxy militias. And it has sought rapid advances in the range and types of ballistic missiles in its arsenal.
There was just one glimpse behind the curtain afforded by Mr Kharazi. Quizzed about the infighting between the Revolutionary Guards and president Hassan Rouhani, another western-educated, friendly face in Iranian politics, Mr Kharazi sounded a note of weary exasperation.
Yes, there were differences, he conceded, but Mr Rouhani was fighting his corner.
Finessing that bitter power struggle is beyond even the most silken of advocates.
The%20specs
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Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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.”
The%20specs
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
CREW
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MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Dubai Creek Open in numbers
- The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
- It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
- This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
- 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
