Iran is ready to revive talks with world powers but harsh new western sanctions will not force Tehran to give into demands over its nuclear programme, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday.
The Iranian president said sanctions would backfire and leave Iran unscathed, and reiterated his government's position that the country does not need to sell oil to Europe.
"Why should we shun talks? Why and how should a party that has logic and is right shun talks?" he said. Instead, he accused the West of trying to scuttle negotiations as a way of further squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Analysts said hopes of any progress with talks would depend on whether Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, backs the president's position. The two men oversee rival hardline camps in the regime.
The ayatollah is particularly mistrustful of the West and some of his supporters believe Mr Ahmadinejad, despite his often strident rhetoric, wants to improve relations with the US.
The last round of talks between Iran and the major powers, consisting of the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, was held in Turkey in January 2011, but the negotiations collapsed.
The six powers say they are waiting for Iran's reply to a letter the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, sent in October, stressing that negotiations should focus on the "key question" of the Iranian nuclear issue. In the last two rounds of talks, Iranian officials wanted to talk about regional and global issues instead.
Meanwhile on Sunday the Iranian parliament will consider a ban on oil exports to the European Union in retaliation for the bloc's imposition on Monday of a phased oil embargo. The measure would add to the difficulties of struggling economies in southern Europe.
The EU sanctions give Iranian oil importers such as Greece, Spain and Italy time to find new suppliers, but Iran could rob them of an adjustment period by closing the tap immediately.
"At this point it could be bluster because Iran still needs the money, but Iranian politics have surprised us before, so we can't rule out there's a small chance they might do it," Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born analyst in Israel, said yesterday.
The EU currently buys about 20 per cent of Iran's oil exports. Iran's intentions on the nuclear issue, meanwhile, may become clearer on Sunday when a senior team from the UN's nuclear watchdog makes a rare three-day trip to Tehran, at Iran's invitation.
The inspectors' main objective is to receive explanations for intelligence indicating that Iran has pursued research and development relevant to nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.
Iran has indicated before that it was ready for a new round of nuclear talks, but Mr Ahmadinejad is the highest-ranking official to make the offer publicly.
"This is simply the continuation of a long-held line. What is significant is that Ahmadinejad was saying this readiness for talks is in no way prompted by the sanctions," Scott Lucas, an Iranian expert at Birmingham University in England, said.
Mr Ahmadinejad said sanctions would backfire because Iran has minimum trade with the EU. The European measures follows US action also aimed at limiting Tehran's ability to sell oil, which accounts for 80 per cent of Iran's foreign revenue.
"It is the West that needs Iran and the Iranian nation will not lose from the sanctions," Mr Ahmadinejad said on a visit to the southern province of Kerman.
Even so, Iranian hardliners renewed a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz after the EU sanctions were announced. The US has vowed to keep the vital oil trade route open.
Iranian state media picked up on a warning from the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday that, without offsets from other suppliers, global crude prices could rise by as much as 30 per cent if Iran halts oil exports as a result of US and EU sanctions.
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.”
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
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