Iran's seizure of a South Korean tanker and increased uranium enrichment, and a larger US military presence in the Gulf have heightened fears of confrontation between Tehran and Washington.
On Monday, Iran announced that it had resumed enriching uranium to 20 per cent purity in a clear breach of the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015.
The move that will exacerbate tension with the US and Europe.
"Iran enriching uranium to 20 percent at Fordow is a clear attempt to increase its campaign of nuclear extortion, an attempt that will continue to fail," a US State Department spokesperson said after the news.
Tehran also seized a South Korean chemical tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboats led the Hankuk Chemi towards Bandar Abbas port.
The two acts of defiance from Iran came only hours after US acting Secretary of Defence Chris Miller reversed a decision and ordered a US aircraft carrier to stay in the Gulf.
The US has also sent B-52 bombers to the region in the past two months.
"Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President [Donald] Trump and other US government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment," Mr Miller said on Sunday night.
“No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America.”
With 16 days left in office for Mr Trump and the IRGC pledging revenge attacks for the US killing its leader Qassem Suleimani a year ago, the risk of confrontation is high, although neither Iran nor the US want it for now.
Experts say Iran is trying to box in US president-elect Joe Biden during the coming nuclear negations.
Richard Goldberg, a former US official and an adviser to the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Iran’s actions were an attempt to pressure Mr Biden and Europe into sanctions relief.
"The mullahs [in Iran] are one-trick ponies: escalate tensions wherever possible to build political pressure in Washington and Europe for sanctions relief," Mr Goldberg, a former White House adviser to the Trump administration on Iran, told The National.
He said the regime’s actions in the Gulf and on enrichment were “setting the table for a Biden administration to use these crises as a political pretext to offer sanctions relief to Iran under the banner of de-escalation".
Seizing the tanker was deliberately aimed at South Korea and the US, Mr Goldberg said.
“Tehran wants South Korea to release funds that are currently inaccessible because they sit in accounts subject to US terrorism sanctions," he said.
Mr Goldberg called it "a great irony of Iran engaging in terrorism to win release of funds frozen due to financing terrorism".
The increase in enrichment exposed a major weakness in the 2015 nuclear, which the US abandoned in 2018, he said.
“Paying Iran to pause enrichment today allows the regime to again threaten expanded enrichment at any time in the future,” Mr Goldberg said.
While he considered direct confrontation between the US and Iran to be unlikely before Mr Trump left the White House, Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said the situation was a “perilous gambit”, with the unpredictable president in his last two weeks in office.
"The Iranians clearly want to strengthen their hand and accumulate more leverage before [Joe] Biden's inauguration, while deterring the Trump administration from bloodying their nose on its way out," Mr Vaez, the group's Iran Project director, told The National.
While on one hand it creates “more leverage to pressure Mr Biden to quickly restore the nuclear deal and lift the sanctions, it is happening in the waning days of a trigger-happy president who seeks any distraction that could prolong his grip on power", he said.
"We have confidence that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] will monitor and report on any new Iranian nuclear activities," the spokesperson at the US State Department said later Monday.
At the Pentagon, US military leaders have been insisting that Washington is not seeking escalation, but will be ready to protect its interests in the region.
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
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Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
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Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
