The United States, France, Germany and Britain have condemned Iran’s test of a satellite-launching rocket this week, saying it was “inconsistent” with the UN Security Council resolution that enshrined into law the nuclear accord with Tehran.
The countries, in a joint statement issued on Saturday, stopped short of calling the launch a violation of the deal.
“With its latest launch of a Simorgh space launch vehicle on 27 July, Iran has again demonstrated activity inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231,” the three permanent Security Council members and Germany said. “We condemn this action.”
“This resolution calls upon Iran to not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such technology like this launch,” the nations said. “Space launch vehicles use technologies that are closely related to those of ballistic missiles development, in particular to those of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.”
The statement also noted Iran's firing of cruise missiles into western Syria last month and the testing of a medium-range ballistic missile on July 4. The European countries said they were discussing their concerns with Iran bilaterally. The continuing development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme has a “destabilising” regional impact, according to the statement.
Since resolution 2231 was passed in 2015, the three European countries and the US have on several occasions said Iran's missile tests were inconsistent with the spirit, if not the letter, of the agreement they negotiated with Iran alongside Russia and China.
The resolution does not place any restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, and only “calls upon” Iran to not develop missiles expressly designed to deliver a nuclear warhead. This loophole essentially allows Iran to test technology that it says is for conventional weapons, but that could also be used for a nuclear weapon.
The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, defended the space rocket launch on Twitter, saying that Iran “is not and will not be developing nuclear weapons; so by definition cannot develop anything designed to be capable of delivering them”.
The European countries, along with Russia and China, however, have not backed US president Donald Trump’s stance on the deal or Iran, as they pursue deeper economic ties with Tehran. They have consistently expressed anger over Iran’s missile tests but have never called them violations of the deal.
The joint statement shows increased rhetorical support for Mr Trump — whose state department issued additional sanctions on Iran’s missile programme on Friday — but does not appear to mark a substantive shift in their position on the tests.
On Thursday, the US state department said that the Simorgh launch was a violation of other Security Council resolutions, as well as the spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the name of the Iran nuclear accord — and added six Iranian entities to US sanctions over their ties to Tehran’s ballistic missile programme. All of the businesses are subsidiaries of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which the US treasury says is “central” to the programme.
The Simorgh launch came a day after Mr Trump warned Tehran that there would be “big, big problems” if it violated the nuclear agreement.
The US president vowed to “tear up” the deal during his election campaign, but has been convinced by his national security advisers to keep certifying it every 90 days, as required by US law. The world powers that negotiated the multilateral deal would not agree to reinstate international sanctions on Iran if the US was seen as scuttling the deal.
But Mr Trump is reported to be looking for ways to increase pressure on the deal by finding stricter ways of enforcing it, including by pushing for inspections of Iran’s military sites where nuclear work might be taking place.
But for that to happen the US administration would need the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring Iranian compliance, as well as a majority of the signatories to the JCPOA to back a move for additional measures such as military site inspections.
So far the European countries and IAEA have resisted, citing a lack of any evidence of serious infractions, according to an AP report on Washington’s attempts to push for the inspections.
The six designations by the state department came after the US treasury designated 18 separate entities over their role in Iran’s ballistic missile programme, which the state department said was in “direct defiance” of the nuclear deal, although not a violation of it.
Iran has increased the pace of its ballistic missile tests as the Trump administration continues its review of policy toward its chief Middle East adversary.
Mr Trump is also set to sign a new law that places more sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran. Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned the new sanctions, saying “we will continue with full power our missile programme”. Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said it was “ultimately an effort to weaken the nuclear deal”.
The spiking tensions between Washington and Tehran have also been in increasing naval confrontations in the Arabian Gulf in recent months. On Saturday Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the US navy had approached a patrol boat and fired flares in what it called a “provocative” incident.
It comes days after another US vessel fired warning shots at an IRGC boat that approached the ship.
South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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 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 specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
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
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETuhoon%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYear%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFares%20Ghandour%2C%20Dr%20Naif%20Almutawa%2C%20Aymane%20Sennoussi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ehealth%20care%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%20employees%2C%20%24250%2C000%20in%20revenue%0D%3Cbr%3EI%3Cstrong%3Envestment%20stage%3A%20s%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
