Three Iranian officials, including the country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, were on board a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi that crashed in heavy fog on Sunday afternoon, killing all four.
Several bodyguards and flight crew members were also killed in the accident.
Here is what you need to know about the three officials:
Hossein Amirabdollahian
Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60, was Iran’s Foreign Minister since 2021.
He earlier served as deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, and the ambassador to Bahrain, among other roles in a long career in diplomacy.
Described as an “anti-western conservative”, Mr Amirabdollahian, from the central city of Damghan, was known for close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a staunch backer of Iranian proxy groups across the region.
He was particularly close to the IRGC's Quds Force commander, Gen Qassem Suleimani, who was killed in a US air strike at Baghdad airport in January 2020.
Mr Amirabdollahian once described Suleimani as “the most worthy icon of global peace”.
As Foreign Minister, he led Iran's opposition to curbing its growing nuclear activity, promoted Iranian proxy activity across the region against Israel and the US, and hit out at international sanctions against Tehran.
In April, he warned that Iran was ready to respond at “maximum level” in the event of a further attack from Israel after a strike on Isfahan.
Earlier in June, he met officials from the UN's International Atomic Energy in Iran as the organisation faced increasing difficulty in monitoring nuclear activity in the country.
He also brought Iran closer to other regional powers, most notably rekindling diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia in March 2023.
Ayatollah Mohammed Ale-Hashem
Born into a clerical family, Ayatollah Mohammed Ale-Hashem was a representative of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in East Azerbaijan province and delivered Friday sermons in the city of Tabriz.
According to a biography on his website, Mr Ale-Hashem, who studied at a seminary in Qom, was also the head of the army's “political ideological organisation”.
Malik Rahmati
Mr Rahmati, 42, was the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and took office last year, having served as deputy economy minister and head of the Privatisation Organisation of Iran.
He was formerly the deputy director of Astan Quds Razavi, which oversees the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, and worked in the Interior Ministry.
He was born in Maragheh, East Azerbaijan province, and was Iran's youngest governor, according to Iranian media.
Mr Rahmati travelled with Mr Raisi for the inauguration of a jointly developed dam on the border with Azerbaijan, and was reportedly hoping to secure government support to revive the Aras Corridor project, connecting Azerbaijan with the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan through Iranian territory.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
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- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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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.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
