Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has welcomed initial steps taken in Oman towards re-establishing a nuclear deal with the United States.
In a statement, Mr Khamenei said the talks must be "pursued carefully", adding that the red lines for both sides are clear, without elaborating. Although Mr Khamenei called the indirect negotiations "good", he also said he is "neither optimistic or pessimistic".
A first round of indirect talks took place in Muscat last weekend, with a second round planned soon. Before departing for Oman, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal that Washington is open to "compromise".
Shortly after the two-and-a-half hour initial talks concluded in Muscat, the White House released a statement calling them "positive and constructive", but acknowledged the presence of "complicated" sticking points. It said the issues that need to be resolved “are very complicated”.
The two sides agreed to meet again on Saturday. There were mixed reports about the location of the next meeting, with Rome being mentioned as a possibility, but in a statement on Tuesday Iran clarified that they will again be held in Muscat.
Ahead of the possible return of sanctions on Iran when "termination day" of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is reached in October, Mr Khamenei called for the improvement of domestic trade. "If we effectively use our domestic capacities, we can make the country invulnerable to sanctions. Then if sanctions are imposed, the country can completely get itself out of any difficulty," he added.
US President Donald Trump, who unilaterally took the US out of the 2015 deal, gave Iran two months to reach an agreement or risk military action. The US said it wants to dismantle Iran's nuclear programme entirely.
A day after the first round of talks in Oman, Mr Trump said he expected a decision about the deal to be made "very quickly". The US has not confirmed whether the talks are set to take place in Muscat as stated by Iran, nor if they will be direct or via Oman as a mediator.
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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.
