President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday that he would appoint Jake Sullivan, who helped to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal under the administration of Barack Obama, to serve as his national security adviser when he takes office in January.
The appointment indicates Mr Biden is still hoping to fulfil his campaign pledge of re-entering the nuclear accord and lifting sanctions on Iran, should Tehran return to compliance with its end of the deal.
This is not Mr Sullivan’s first time working for the president-elect. While he was vice president, Mr Biden chose him to serve as his national security adviser from 2013 to 2014.
In that time, Mr Sullivan and several other Obama administration officials held secret talks with Iranians in Oman to begin the negotiations that led to the nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
He also served as one of Mr Biden’s key foreign policy advisers in the 2020 presidential campaign.
In that capacity, he told an online event with the Democratic Majority for Israel advocacy group that Mr Biden would like to “negotiate a follow-on agreement” with Iran to advance US and Israeli security.
Any sort of re-entry to the nuclear accord would be hard to sell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lobbied US legislators to sink the deal under the Obama administration and repeated his opposition to US re-entry on Sunday.
But Mr Sullivan’s national security record extends well beyond Iran.
He entered the Obama administration as the deputy chief of staff and director of policy planning for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
The Biden transition team said Mr Sullivan “played a key role in the US-brokered negotiations that led to a ceasefire in Gaza in 2012”, while helping to shape the Obama administration’s Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy.
He also emerged as an early champion of arming Syrian rebel groups in the war against President Bashar Al Assad.
And he pushed for the US-led Nato intervention on behalf of the Libyan opposition, which helped to oust Muammar Qaddafi.
As the Libyan security situation devolved, Mr Sullivan was among the State Department officials who congressional Republicans grilled as part of their lengthy probe into the 2012 attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans.
While Mr Sullivan’s close ties to Ms Clinton embroiled him in many of her political controversies, such as her use of a private email server, it also helped to propel him to power in Washington’s foreign policy establishment.
He served as the deputy policy director in Ms Clinton’s 2008 presidential primary campaign before going on to do debate preparation for Mr Obama.
He became Ms Clinton's chief foreign policy adviser during her 2016 presidential campaign.
During the Trump administration, Mr Sullivan became a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and co-founded National Security Action, a non-profit advocacy group that became a haven for former Obama administration officials.
He grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he obtained his master's in philosophy in international relations.
Mr Sullivan also obtained a juris doctor's degree from Yale Law School.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
THE SPECS – Honda CR-V Touring AWD
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 184hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 244Nm at 3,900rpm
Transmission: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
0-100kmh in 9.4 seconds
Top speed: 202kmh
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
Price: From Dh122,900
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
