With US President Joe Biden no longer seeking a second term in office, could this be the time for a bold foreign policy move? It may be far-fetched, but there is no harm in releasing a flight of fancy into the universe. There may be kernels of wisdom within.
If you are a leader not seeking re-election and looking to leave a legacy, it may never be too late to go for broke. Mr Biden still has the will to make significant things happen.
Iran is about to inaugurate a new, relatively moderate president. Masoud Pezeshkian is a heart surgeon, who occasionally smiles and has promised not to crack down on women for their dress. He may be just an extension of Iran’s oppressive system, but with Iran the jury is always out, and for some hope dies last.
Mr Biden was elected four years ago with the task of restoring a sense of civility and order to America, a country that sadly remains riven by disunity and violence. Still, say what you will about Mr Biden – and opinions abound – he embodies decency and the values most Americans at least profess to embrace. Many believe he brought the US back from an abyss.
Against all this, I segue to posit that tragedy is a great equaliser. Mr Biden lost his first wife Neilia and his first-born daughter Naomi in a car accident in 1972. His son Beau succumbed to brain cancer in 2015.
Dr Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his children in a car accident more than 30 years ago. He never got himself the equivalent of a Jill Biden, a second wife. He reportedly decided to remain completely dedicated to his surviving children without the distractions (and support) of a new love.
Both men pushed through their grief and went on to climb to the highest elected posts in the land. Both are facing a world of strife with few easy answers and no end to conflict. They are presidents of each other’s adversaries.
There is room for reinvention in foreign policy as it is widely acknowledged that America is no longer the world’s unchallenged superpower
Would a quiet meeting between them right now, in Oman, for example, or Switzerland, without cameras or delegations, just a few neutral interpreters, not be a wild idea worth considering?
Let the heart surgeon and the man who is said to have plenty of heart speak frankly, with no mandate to come back with deliverables other than fresh ideas to explore. Could they embrace privately and share their personal stories of loss and acknowledge that the world is hungry for peace and life is too short to wait for it any longer?
It is said that there is room for reinvention in foreign policy as it is widely acknowledged that America is no longer the world’s unchallenged superpower. And despite Mr Biden’s poor public appearances of recent weeks, his grasp of foreign policy remains solid.
Dr Pezeshkian has, perhaps rightly, been dismissed by many, both in Iran and abroad, as little more than steam release for a pot that intermittently appears ready to blow. He may be a “reformer”, but he is a man of the system and supports the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ultimately leads the country.
Yet he has in some ways the “right stuff” to make a difference. His mother was a Kurd and his father Azeri, and Iran’s ethnic minority problems are never far from the turbulent surface of the country’s political landscape.
The exiled former Iranian diplomat Mehrdad Khonsari is producing white papers on a programme for national reconciliation, and he thinks solving the issue of ethnic discrimination is a key component.
“We need to convey the notion that all Iranians, irrespective of their ethnic or religious backgrounds, are equal shareholders in Iran PLC,” he said.
Dr Pezeshkian has acknowledged the importance of this issue, too. And the leader of Iranian Balochistan has effectively told him to put his tomans where his mouth is and get it done.
There is so much more Dr Pezeshkian could do for his country.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden needs the Palestinian issue resolved, and fast. While the Iranian government is not trusted by everyone, what would be the harm in getting its off-camera, off-the-record input on this problem?
Let’s not forget there was a lost-in-translation “grand bargain” two decades ago, put forth by the very reformists Dr Pezeshkian represents, in which the issue of Iran recognising Israel was on the table. That, if a real possibility, could have been the key to unlocking something huge. Perhaps quietly, Dr Pezeshkian has something to offer on this issue today, as Houthi bombs continue to fall and Hezbollah flexes muscle.
If someone who has taken the Hippocratic Oath is not moved to act after the deaths of tens of thousands of mostly Palestinians but Israelis, too, then who is?
I have been to Iran eight times and was always with an official minder, but I found the anti-Israel rhetoric there to be similar to the anti-America rhetoric. It has a rent-a-crowd feel. Small demonstrations. Deceiving camera angles. I found, off-camera, enormous respect for Jews as people. And for Americans, too. I estimate the haters and flag-burners on the streets of Tehran in my presence never numbered more than a couple hundred, many of whom were said to have been bussed in, in a city of close to 10 million.
The Abraham Accords were a bold and impressive first step to economic integration for the Middle East. Iran should be part of the regional integration that these accords envisage. Technology, water, natural resources – what the region has to offer needs to be shared among all to be maximally effective.
Of course, Mr Khamenei calls the shots and presumably loathes America and Israel. But if there is a national reconciliation programme on the table somewhere out there, couldn’t he be convinced to at least give it a read-through? He has to understand that his government has faced a number of stresses and strains in recent years.
Donald Trump shouldn’t be the only outside-of-box thinker brave or crazy enough to extend invitations to adversaries. Some day, it just might work.
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MATCH INFO
Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Zayed Sustainability Prize
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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.”
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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
The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)