Two of US president-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees said on Tuesday that the US and Iran were "a long way" from reviving the nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
Mr Biden's nominees for secretary of state and intelligence chief repeated during their respective Senate confirmation hearings that the incoming administration's pledge to re-enter the deal would be contingent on Iran returning to compliance with the accord.
It may take some time before that happens, they said.
“The president-elect believes that if Iran goes back into compliance, we would, too,” Antony Blinken, Mr Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, told the Senate.
“But we would use that as a platform with our allies and partners, who would once again be on the same side with us, to seek a longer and stronger agreement, particularly with regard to missiles and Iran’s destabilising activities.
“Having said that, I think we’re a long way from there. We would have to see once the president is in office what steps Iran actually takes – is prepared to take.
"We would have to evaluate whether they’re actually making good if they say they’re coming back into compliance with their obligations.”
Mr Blinken's comments on the deal mirrored remarks from Avril Haines, Mr Biden's nominee for director of national intelligence, during her confirmation hearing.
"The president-elect has indicated that if Iran were to come back into compliance, then he would direct that we do so as well," she said.
"I think, frankly, we're a long way from that and I think that there's going to be an opportunity to consult with Congress and members like yourself on these issues as we look at that."
The Senate must vote to confirm Mr Blinken and Ms Haines, as well as Mr Biden’s other Cabinet nominees, before they can take their posts.
As part of that process, detractors and proponents of the nuclear deal alike are keenly pressing the nominees on the Biden administration’s Iran policies.
Mr Blinken was instrumental in crafting the nuclear deal as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. The deal offered Iran relief from US sanctions in exchange for limits on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Mr Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018 and added more penalties to the Obama-era sanctions. Iran, in turn, went on to breach major parts of the deal.
These breaches include resuming uranium enrichment at 20 per cent purity, increasing Tehran's low-enriched uranium stockpile by 12 times the amount allowed under the accord and testing advanced centrifuges.
"The breakout time – the time it would take Iran to produce enough fissile material for one weapon – has gone from beyond a year as it was under the [nuclear deal] to about three or four months," Mr Blinken said.
“That potentially brings us right back to the crisis point that we were reaching before the deal was negotiated.”
Mr Blinken also committed to building upon the Abraham Accord, which normalised relations between the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
But he said the Biden administration would "take a hard look" at some of the commitments the Trump administration made to some of those states before they signed the accord.
Senators from both parties also grilled Mr Blinken and Mr Biden's other Cabinet nominees extensively on China.
"China had a policy for decades, as we describe it, as hiding their hand and biding their time in terms of asserting their interests beyond China's borders, leaving aside what they were doing within their borders," Mr Blinken said.
“The hiding and biding has gone away and they are much more assertive in making clear that they seek to become, in effect, the leading country in the world.
“If we’re pulling back from the world, if we’re pulling back from playing the lead role in shaping the rules and the norms, that gives them a free field to define this century more on their terms than ours.”
Mr Blinken also said that he considered China's policies towards its predominantly Muslim Uighur minority to be genocide, indicating that he would not undo the determination made by outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Price: From Dh117,059
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RACECARD
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Specs
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
more from Janine di Giovanni
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30:
- UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
- Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
- Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
