The highly anticipated talks between the US and Iran are set to begin this weekend in Oman, after a battle of words that involved threats and promises.
Here are the most striking quotes compiled by The National from each side:
In Iran, where feelings are mixed over negotiating with the US over Tehran's nuclear programme, this is what officials said:
President Masoud Pezeshkian:
“Let [the US] come and invest – but we oppose plotting, regime change efforts, and destructive policies. Iran is not a place for conspiracies or espionage followed by assassinations. Investors are welcome to invest in our country."
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
"What negotiations [should] we have, when we know that he will not abide? Therefore, the invitation for negotiations and stating it are to deceive the public opinion."
Mr Khamenei’s senior adviser Ali Larijani warned that Iran would acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked, saying that it is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to 60 per cent purity – a short step from the 90 per cent needed to create nuclear weapons.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:
"We face a significant wall of mistrust and harbour serious doubts about the sincerity of intentions, made worse by US insistence on resuming the 'maximum pressure' policy prior to any diplomatic interaction.
"Iran is ready to engage in earnest and with a view to seal a deal. We will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect negotiations."
In the United States, President Trump has made it clear he wants to have direct negotiations with Iran, and threatened them when they expressed resistance.
US President Donald Trump:
"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing. And it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before."
However, after Iran agreed to talk in Oman, he said he anticipated a deal.
“We're having direct talks with Iran, and they've started. It'll go on Saturday, very big meeting, and we'll see what can happen. And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable.”
Washington's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff:
As America's main contact person in the Oman talks, Mr Witkoff, says Mr Trump has the upper hand in military decisions and Iran should be pushing for a diplomatic solution. “Instead, it's him doing that.”
Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus:
“I think that we're in a hurry, so to speak, this time. Let's have some initial meetings and see if there's a way to find common ground to do what the President wants to do, which is to find a peaceful resolution and negotiation to these tough and difficult problems.”
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Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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.”
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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