Britain’s political class has a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to Iran and its activities, a senior British MP has warned, despite the Middle Eastern state having backed insurgents who killed British soldiers in Iraq and having hacked the emails of lawmakers at Westminster.
Robert Jenrick, a Tory politician who is a close aide to the home secretary Amber Rudd, wrote in The Daily Telegraph that while fellow members were up in arms about the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, they had paid little attention to other more egregious actions the state had carried out.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been in jail in Iran since April 2016, after she was arrested while visiting relatives in the country.
A British-Iranian dual citizen, she has become a political pawn as the regime in Tehran has looked to wring financial and other concessions from the British government in exchange for her release.
It was reported last week that the Foreign Office was ready to pay off a decade’s old debt of £400 million too smooth the path to freedom for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
“Westminster is waking up to the reality that elements in Iran have meant us harm for some time and that the nuclear deal we supported is silent upon much of it,” Mr Jenrick wrote.
He noted that the House of Commons had never debated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which saw the Iranians agree to halt their nuclear programme in return for having sanctions lifted against them and their assets in the West unfrozen.
Mr Jenrick continued: “In the preceding years the House of Commons had scarcely discussed Iran’s support for armed insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan who killed British troops with the deadly IED’s and the training Iran supplied.”
Nor had there been discussion about how Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had been seeking to undermine British allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, or that the likeliest culprit behind a cyberattack that stole 9,000 of MPs emails was the country.
“However the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British lady held in Iran for no good reason, has finally captured Parliament and the nation’s attention and forced us to examine how we hold Iran to account for its actions,” Mr Jenrick notes.
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He concludes that perhaps MPs “see in the young millennials of Iran a clear generational shift in need of our support, even if it requires a blind eye to be turned here and there to the human rights abuses and criminal justice failings of the present regime.”
After the JCPOA was struck, the hope was that Iran would enter the international community and liberalise; it doesn’t appear to have done so, according to Mr Jenrick.
“Whether it be the treatment of a British citizen abroad or the backing of Shia groups from the Gulf to the Red Sea, Iran continues to challenge and to destabilise. Saudi Arabia and others build their response and a storm gathers in the region,” he writes.
The parliamentary ‘blind spot’ over Iran must stop, because even though MPs may think that ignoring Iran’s excesses is a price worth paying, Mr Jenrick says, not holding the country properly to account is far likelier to lead to the JCPOA falling to pieces.
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
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Fast%20X
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The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
The%20National%20selections
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HWJN
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
RESULT
Uruguay 3 Russia 0
Uruguay: Suárez (10'), Cheryshev (23' og), Cavani (90')
Russia: Smolnikov (Red card: 36')
Man of the match: Diego Godin (Uruguay)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
