Iran's Foreign Minister has confirmed he will travel to Geneva to meet his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany on Friday for talks on Israel's conflict with Tehran.
Boosting hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough, Abbas Araghchi is to leave Iran for Switzerland. EU foreign affairs minister Kaja Kallas will also take part in the meeting.
Iranian state media reported the trip and Mr Araghchi said the meeting had come at the request of the three European countries. "We will meet with the European delegation in Geneva on Friday," he added.
David Lammy, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, is ready to support talks to reach a diplomatic settlement to the war, a UK official has told The National.
“The UK has had long-standing concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme for many years and the Foreign Secretary is ready to support talks to press for a diplomatic solution,” the diplomatic source said. An agreement is needed “to address the nuclear issue for the long term”, they added.
An EU official also confirmed to The National that Ms Kallas would “join her E3 counterparts for talks with the Iranian Foreign Minister in Geneva on Friday", in the hope of encouraging Iran to focus on a diplomatic resolution to the war. Other officials told The National overnight that the talks were "in the balance".
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in Paris on Thursday that Iran was interested in holding talks. "During discussions we have had with the Iranian authorities, their message has been relatively clear: there is a willingness to resume discussions, including with the United States, provided that a ceasefire can be achieved," he said.
"On our side, there is a willingness to resume negotiations, provided that these negotiations can lead to a lasting, substantial reversal by Iran of its nuclear programme, its ballistic missile programme and its regional destabilisation activities."
The talks in Geneva will concentrate on whether Iran can provide assurances on significantly scaling back or ending its nuclear programme in light of the Israeli assault.
Mr Araghchi, who spoke by phone with the three foreign ministers earlier this week, insisted on social media that Tehran did not aim to develop a nuclear weapon. “Iran has proven in action what it has always publicly committed itself to: we have never sought and will never seek nuclear weapons,” he said.
But he is still said to be refusing to meet the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, after the US approved Israel's air strikes across Iran last Friday.
Before the meeting with Mr Araghchi, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is first due to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, to address the Middle East crisis.
Meanwhile, Mr Aragchi is also expected to attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Thursday.
The source added that a special session of the 51st OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is expected to focus on Israel's war on Iran. Turkey has sharply criticised Israel, called its actions illegal and said Iran was defending itself.
Opening the two-day summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to call on Muslim countries to unite in the face of “destabilising actions” across the region, the ministry source said.
White House meeting
On Wednesday, Iran denied sending a delegation to Oman for negotiations with US officials over a ceasefire with Israel. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei was quoted by state-run media as saying reports about the talks were “fabricated”.
Earlier media reports claimed Iran sent three planes to Muscat carrying officials for “secret” talks with US officials about a ceasefire with Israel.
US President Donald Trump has been ambiguous about whether American forces would strike Iranian nuclear sites. He has said Tehran made contact in a bid to negotiate.
His comments came a day after he appeared to be preparing for war and demanded the “unconditional surrender” of Tehran. He added that Iranian officials wanted to negotiate and had even proposed a meeting in the White House, but that it was “very late to be talking”.
Iran's mission to the UN denied that such a request had been made. “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” the mission said in a post on X.
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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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Our legal columnist
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
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I Care A Lot
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3/5 stars
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
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Richard Flanagan
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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EA Sports FC 25
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