Iran revealed on Wednesday that it plans two tests of its new solid-fuelled rocket after satellite photos showed preparations at a desert launching pad previously used in the programme.
Tehran said it would launch its satellite-carrying Zuljanah rocket twice more after an earlier launch, Defence Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state news agency Irna.
He did not elaborate on times for the tests or when the previous launch occurred.
Each of the Zuljanah’s three stages will be evaluated during the tests, Mr Hosseini said.
At Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s rural Semnan province, the site of frequent recent failed attempts to put a satellite into orbit, images from Maxar Technologies showed a launching pad on Tuesday.
A rocket on a transporter, preparing to be lifted and put on a launch tower, was shown in one image. A later picture on Tuesday afternoon showed the rocket apparently on the tower.
Irna reported in May that Iran would probably have seven homemade satellites ready for launch by the end of its calendar year in March 2023.
Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But the programme has recently had troubles.
There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh, a type of satellite-carrying rocket.
A fire at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in February 2019 also killed three researchers, authorities said at the time.
The launch pad used in Tuesday’s preparations remains scarred from an explosion in August 2019 that drew the attention of then-US president Donald Trump.
Mr Trump later tweeted what appeared to be a classified surveillance image of the launch failure.
Satellite images from February suggested a failed Zuljanah launch this year, although Iran did not acknowledge it.
The failures raised suspicion of outside interference in Iran’s programme, something Mr Trump hinted at by tweeting then that the US “was not involved in the catastrophic accident.”
But there has been no evidence offered to show foul play in any of the failures, and space launches remain challenging even for the world’s most successful programmes.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in April 2020 revealed its own secret space programme by successfully launching a satellite into orbit.
The Guard launched another satellite in March from another site in Semnan province, just east of the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Iranian state TV aired footage of a successful Zuljanah launch in February 2021.
The US has claimed that Iran’s satellite launches defy a UN Security Council resolution and has called on Tehran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
The US intelligence community’s 2022 threat assessment, published in March, claims such rockets “shortens the timeline” to an intercontinental ballistic missile for Iran because it uses “similar technologies".
Iran, which has long said it does not seek nuclear weapons, previously maintained that its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component.
US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Iran abandoned an organised military nuclear programme in 2003.
But Iran’s likely preparations for a launch come as tension has been heightened in recent days over its nuclear programme.
Iran now says it will remove 27 IAEA surveillance cameras from its nuclear sites as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran and the US insist they are willing to re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Tehran drastically curbed its enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
Mr Trump withdrew the US from the accord in 2018, setting in motion attacks and confrontations starting in 2019 that continue today into the administration of President Joe Biden.
Talks in Vienna about reviving the deal have been on a “pause” since March.
Building any nuclear bomb would still take Iran more time, analysts say, although they warn its advances make the programme more dangerous.
Israel has threatened in the past that it would carry out a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran, and it is already suspected in recent killings of Iranian officials.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
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