Live updates: Follow latest on Israel-Gaza
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by a missile, a Hamas spokesman and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Saturday, rejecting reports that an explosive had been planted in the room he was staying in.
The Hamas leader was killed in an attack on a guesthouse in Tehran on Wednesday, which also killed his bodyguard Wasim Abu Shaban. They were in the Iranian capital for the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iran, Jordan, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and others have blamed Israel for the killings. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Hamas's spokesman in Iran, Khalid Al Qadoumi, said he was in the building on the night of the attack.
“It was clear to me that the attack was carried out with a missile. However, an Iranian technical team is conducting an investigation,” he told Al Arabi Al Jadid newspaper and was quoted by the Iranian news agency, Mehr.
“The building shook at 1.37 in the morning, and I immediately left the room and saw thick smoke. After that, I found out that Abul Abd [Mr Haniyeh] was killed.”
Mr Al Qadoumi thought an earthquake or a thunderstorm had taken place.
“We went to the fourth floor which was Mr Haniyeh's room. I saw that the wall and ceiling of the room collapsed,” he said.
Following the inauguration of Mr Pezeshkian, Mr Haniyeh went to his residence in northern Tehran, said Mr Al Qadoumi.
“It was not a secret and was known to many people where he was and was the guesthouse was reserved for important people coming to the country,” he said.
The IRGC said on Saturday that Mr Haniyeh was killed by a short-range missile.
“A short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7kg [was] followed by a severe explosion from outside his room,” the IRGC said in a statement quoted by Iran's news agency, Irna.
The assassination had been “planned and carried out by the Zionist regime” and supported by the “criminal government of the US”, it added.
Iran's response will be “severe and at the appropriate time, place and manner”.
Security lapse
The statements from the IRGC and Hamas official come after The New York Times reported that Mr Haniyeh had been killed by an explosive device that had been smuggled into the guesthouse.
The newspaper quoted seven anonymous Middle Eastern officials, and claimed that the bomb had been hidden in the guesthouse about two months before Mr Haniyeh was killed.
The guesthouse, which is in the area of Neshat, was protected by the IRGC. The assassination of a high-profile figure in a supposedly secure compound is likely to be seen as an embarrassing lapse of security.
Mr Al Qadoumi rejected The New York Times report.
“The facts on the ground are in conflict with the narratives of the New York Times and the spokesperson of the Israeli army. This was done so that Israel does not face the consequences of this crime,” Mr Al Qadoumi said.
“Israel was the mastermind and executive director of the operation which carried it out with the consent of the Americans.”
Hours after the killing of Mr Haniyah, Khalil Al Hayya, deputy head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, held a press conference on Wednesday and said that a “missile directly hit the room where the Hamas chief was staying”.
Mr Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Doha, where hundreds of mourners performed funeral prayers over the caskets, which were covered in the Palestinian flag.
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim and his father Sheikh Hamad, former emir of Qatar, were among the attendees. Top Hamas official Khaled Meshaal, Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also attended.
Strikes on Hamas and Hezbollah
The killing of Mr Haniyeh is the latest suspected assassination carried out by Israel, which has vowed to eliminate Hamas.
On Thursday, Israel claimed it had killed another Hamas leader, Mohammed Deif, in a strike on a civilian camp in Gaza earlier in July.
About 90 people, the majority civilians, were killed in the strike on Al Mawasi, which is a designated safe zone for civilians near Khan Younis.
On Saturday, Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in the occupied West Bank.
Haitham Balidi, who was reportedly the head of the Qassam Brigades in Tulkarem, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in the area, Palestinian media reported.
Four other men were killed in the strike, news agency Wafa said.
Israel has also recently carried out attacks on members of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militia allied to Hamas. Hours before Mr Haniyeh was assassinated, an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed another prominent Hezbollah member.
The army's announcement came amid reports of an Israeli drone strike on a car near Tyre, in southern Lebanon.
In a statement on the Telegram messenger app, Hezbollah announced the death of one of its commanders, Ali Nazih Abd Ali, but did not give details as to how and where he was killed.
Regional tension
The killings have again raised fears of a regional war breaking out.
Hezbollah is expected to extend its reach “deeper inside Israel” and will no longer be confined to military targets after the killing of Mr Shukr, Iran's mission to the UN said on Saturday.
“We expect … Hezbollah to choose more targets and [strike] deeper in its response,” said the mission, quoted by the official Iranian news agency, Irna.
The US embassy in Israel issued a security alert on Friday urging Americans to exercise caution and “increased personal security awareness” amid rising regional tension.
“Security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system intrusions, often take place without any warning,” it said.
Washington also announced it is sending a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and has ordered additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers to the region, as tension threatens to boil over.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “has ordered adjustments to US military posture designed to improve US force protection, to increase support for the defence of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies”, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The US Navy will maintain an aircraft carrier in the region, the Pentagon said, and is sending the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which is currently stationed in the region.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
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Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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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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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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