Blinken says reports of US nuclear deal with Iran 'not accurate'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday rejected reports that Washington and Tehran were close to deals on limiting Iran's nuclear programme and releasing American citizens detained in the country.

Iran on Monday confirmed that it had held indirect talks with US officials in Oman to discuss a potential prisoner swap.

“With regard to Iran, some of the reports that we've seen about an agreement on nuclear matters or, for that matter, on detainees, are simply not accurate and not true,” Mr Blinken said when asked about indirect talks via Oman.

The New York Times on Thursday cited Israeli, Iranian and US officials in outlining a prospective informal pact that would lead to Tehran agreeing not to enrich uranium beyond 60 per cent purity – less than the 90 per cent required to make a bomb.

In return for sanctions relief, Iran would also release prisoners, stop attacks on US contractors in Syria and Iraq, and reduce support to the Russian military, the newspaper reported.

Currently, three Iranian-American dual citizens are being held in Iran's prisons: Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz.

Virtual banks explained

What is a virtual bank?

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.

What’s the draw in Asia?

Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.

Is Hong Kong short of banks?

No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.