Iran's nuclear programme remains priority for Israel



The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lost no time in warning the world about "wishful thinking" over Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability following the election of Hassan Rowhani as Iranian president.

In Israel, where Iran's nuclear programme is considered as the weightiest foreign policy challenge - eclipsing even that of Syria - government officials and analysts point out that the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has the ultimate authority over the issue.

Although they were uniformly surprised by Mr Rowhani's election, they are sceptical about a nuclear policy shift under the new president even as Iran redoubles its attempts to have crippling sanctions against it lifted. Mr Rowhani's own comments at a news conference on Monday will have reinforced that scepticism.

The Israelis have been poring over the cleric's record as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005. Mr Rowhani secured a deal in 2004 with the European Union, which subsequently collapsed amid acrimony, in which Iran agreed to freeze sensitive nuclear activities at its conversion plant in Isfahan.

But Israeli officials highlight comments he made in 2004 in which he boasted that his strategy had been to play for time with the Europeans. During the talks, he said: "We were installing equipment in parts of the facility in Isfahan. By creating a calm environment, we were able to complete the work there."

For the Israeli political establishment, such "game-playing" cannot continue. Iran now has an advanced and mature nuclear programme which is developing on a broad front - a far cry from 2004. And it has continued to make progress despite negotiations with the big powers. "The clock is ticking. A lot of time has been wasted," said a senior Israeli official.

For Emily Landau, a senior research associate with the Institute for National Security Studies, Mr Rowhani differs with the outgoing Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in one major respect: the president-elect is interested in "maximum speed" for the nuclear programme at "minimum cost".

"That's why he's mad at Ahmadinejad," said Ms Landau, referring to the economic sanctions imposed under Mr Ahmadinejad's presidency, which have cost Iran billions of dollars in lost income. The two officials clashed during televised debates before the election.

She points out that Mr Rowhani, although identified as the sole reformist among the six candidates allowed to take part in the election, is "hard-wired into the regime".

"The regime ideology has targeted Israel from the beginning, including in things Rowhani said. It's not just Ahmadinejad," she said of the outoging president who has repeatedly questioned Israel's right to exist and denied the Holocaust.

Mr Netanyahu's comments were clearly aimed at warning the international community of the dangers of lifting the sanctions just because Mr Ahmadinejad is being replaced by a president who will symbolise reform.

"We've been there before. Remember Khatami?" said an Israeli official, referring to the failure of the former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, who was outmanoeuvred by the supreme leader and the judiciary.

Israeli officials are clearly worried that in the light of Mr Rowhani's election, the P5+1 group - the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany - will agree to ease the sanctions without securing tough conditions in return, in particular a halt to Iran's uranium enrichment.

Although Iran continues to say that its nuclear programme is solely designed to produce electricity, it now has a stockpile of 182 kilograms of uranium enriched to 20 per cent - far higher than the 3.5 per cent grade required for reactor fuel.

Now that it has mastered the fuel cycle, and is continuing work on long-range missiles which could deliver a nuclear payload, analysts say that should Iran decide to break out of International Atomic Energy Agency supervision, it could quickly produce weapons-grade fuel.

Mr Netanyahu made it clear on Sunday that military action remains on the table, saying Israel would stop Iran building a bomb "by any means" - although officials say that there is room for a further round of sanctions targeting the oil industry.

Mr Netanyahu, in a speech to the United Nations last September, set a limit of 250kg on Iran's uranium enrichment at 20 per cent, a "red line" that could trigger military strikes if breached.

Yet Israeli officials and analysts concede that a credible military threat is lacking. The Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro last week that Iran did not fear an Israeli military attack.

"It's clear we've all failed to convince them that we're serious," said an Israeli official.

Israel is the only nuclear weapons power in the Middle East, although its nuclear arsenal is not officially acknowledged, and the Israeli military has struck reactors in Iraq and Syria in the past in order to conserve its monopoly

One key question for the Israelis is President Barack Obama's resolve. One academic was critical of his hesitancy in responding to the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons which he had established as a "red line".

"If he's afraid to stand up on that, can the Americans be trusted on Iran?" said Meir Litvak, director of the Alliance Centre for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. "Obama has shown weakness. If I were Khamenei, I wouldn't be afraid of Obama."

Ms Landau, an advocate of limited military strikes targeting Iran's nuclear facilities as part of a broader strategy, also noted the issue of trust in Mr Obama. "Can he be trusted? Will he do what needs to be done?"

Anne Penketh is an international security analyst based in Paris

On Twitter: @annepenketh

List of officials:

Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.

Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

 

 

Cricket World Cup League Two

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

 

Fixtures

Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia

Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE

Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Key Points
  • Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
  • Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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PAKISTAN SQUAD

Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.

The 12 breakaway clubs

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Landfill in numbers

• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane

• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming

• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi

• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year

• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away

• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition

Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
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  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000