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The US and allies announced a new flurry of sanctions on Iran on Thursday, going after the drone industry at the heart of its military footprint in the Middle East.
A shell company known as Sahara Thunder is accused by the US of working for Iran's military to supply combat drones abroad.
An Iranian drone maker, senior business figures and shipping services used to transport military cargo have also been hit with US sanctions.
Britain is meanwhile sanctioning two people and four companies it says are involved in the Iranian drone industry behind its recent attack on Israel. New sanctions are also expected from Canada.
"We will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons," said UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
Iran fired more than 300 drones at Israel on April 13 in a retaliation of unprecedented scope for an attack on a consulate in Damascus.
Tehran has also angered western powers by supplying drones to Russia and helping Middle East paramilitaries such as Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis.
Brian Nelson, a US Treasury under secretary in charge of terrorism and financial intelligence, said Iran "continues to destabilise the region and the world".
"The United States, in close co-ordination with our British and Canadian partners, will continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran’s destabilising activities," he said.
Sahara Thunder is accused of playing an "instrumental role" in the sale of drones, for instance, negotiating with Russian officials.
Three senior figures from the company have been listed along with members of a "vast shipping network" used to transport goods.
Top officials from Iranian drone maker Bonyan Danesh Shargh have also been sanctioned after it allegedly acted as an intermediary for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Debate in Europe
Germany has meanwhile again stopped short of classifying the IRGC as terrorists, amid fears of torpedoing nuclear diplomacy.
MPs rejected two opposition motions on Thursday calling for a tougher Iran policy to include an IRGC terror listing.
Senior figures in the government say a court decision linking the IRGC to terrorism is needed for such a designation.
This requirement has so far not been met in the eyes of EU diplomats despite a German proposal to study a 2022 attack on a synagogue, found by judges to have been organised by the Iranian state.
Despite anger in Berlin at Iran's attack on Israel and its crackdown on dissent at home, there is also concern about shutting down channels of communication with Tehran.
"To prevent the atomic programme, diplomacy is the means of choice," said Nils Schmid, an MP from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party.
"What would be the alternative to actually prevent the bomb falling into the hands of this terror regime? The truth is it would be a large-scale military action ... I have heard nobody who demands this."
Members of the European Parliament in Strasburg meanwhile voted by an overwhelming majority to condemn Iran’s attack against Israel on April 13
They called on “all parties to avoid any further escalation" as they welcomed tougher EU sanctions as a result of the attack.
EU states recently agreed to expand a sanctions regime on Iran for providing drones to Russia to cover its support for Middle East paramilitaries such as Hezbollah.
The European Parliament also asked EU diplomats to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, a request that has been recently pushed by the Israeli government.
The IRGC is already listed under various sanctions frameworks, including for human rights violations.
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Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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.”
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