On May 8, 2018, Donald Trump announced the American withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal the US had brokered just three years before. On the same day, one year later, Iran said it too was withdrawing from some elements of the deal.
The past 12 months have been a dizzying display of the power of US economic measures. Acting more or less unilaterally, Washington has forced most of the world to drop lucrative trade deals, cut crucial supplies of crude and turn its back on a nuclear agreement toasted just a few years ago as a triumph of diplomacy.
Iran has been largely powerless to stop it.
The Islamic Republic is in an impossible position. In 2015, President Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister, Mohammad Zarif took a gamble to trust the West. If right, they would bring an economic transformation and open up Iranian society in a way largely not seen since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago. If they failed? Well, it was a gamble because it came with high stakes.
Before the deal was done, conservatives in Iran were grumbling about the "untrustworthiness" of America and the risks of making the situation worse. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his concerns clear too but he stood back to let the reforming Mr Rouhani give it a go — in the end, the president was either cementing his success or digging his own grave.
Mr Trump’s move in 2018 blew a hole through the 2015 deal, making it unlikely Mr Rouhani would be able to convince those back home to let him try a second agreement, and especially not the one that Mr Trump wants, covering nuclear development, regional interference, armed proxies and ballistic missiles.
So, Mr Rouhani looked to the EU. Brussels has made it clear it doesn't agree with Mr Trump and still thinks the JCPOA was a good deal. Europe sought to build a mechanism to allow firms outside the US to trade with Iran while being isolated from the American financial system and therefore avoid sanctions.
But dodging Washington’s wrath isn’t that easy. For global corporations it was a stark choice — do business with America or do business with Iran, but not both. No one decided to close up their US operations.
Tired of waiting for Brussels, Iran on Wednesday said enough.
Mr Zarif's announcement is key.
Firstly, Iranian policy is often communicated in symbolism and metaphor. But on Wednesday, the message was clear.
Iran is not, like the US, pulling out all at once. Instead, it is firing a warning shot at Europe: make this work for us or we walk. Mr Zarif says the EU and other JCPOA signatories are on notice to find a way through this situation or further withdrawal will take place.
Mr Zarif’s decision to speak from Moscow is also a clear signal. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been playing his limited hand with finesse on the diplomatic stage in recent years. He is the man with the most power to dictate any peace process in war-torn Syria — where he’s also an active participant in the country’s suffering — and increasingly he is building friendships, from Turkey to Libya to Tehran.
The Russian relationship with Iran was forged in the fire of the Syrian war and while the countries have vied for influence and control on the ground, the two are still close.
Choosing Moscow, Mr Zarif is telling Washington that it can go elsewhere to find a broker. It’s also a warning to Europe that if Brussels doesn’t act fast, it could be cut out of the conversation.
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
More on Yemen's civil war
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%20turbo%20and%203.6-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20235hp%20and%20310hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E258Nm%20and%20271Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh185%2C100%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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