WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the United States has not seen yet whether Iran will do what it must to come into compliance with its nuclear commitments in order to have sanctions removed.
Iran President Hassan Rouhani last week said the United States was ready to lift trade sanction, although a senior Iranian official contradicted him, and European diplomats said very difficult issues remained.
Indirect talks have been underway in Vienna as the Biden administration seeks a path forward with Iran, including how Tehran can resume compliance with the 2105 nuclear deal with world powers.
“Iran, I think, knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side, and what we haven’t yet seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do. That’s the test and we don’t yet have an answer,” Blinken told ABC News’ “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” program.
JEDDAH: Gathern, a Riyadh-based startup similar to Airbnb, announced on Sunday the completion of a SR22 million ($6 million) Series A funding round headed by Saudi venture capital firm STV and supported by existing investors Vision Ventures, 500 Startups, Saudi businessman Naef Sultan AlAthel, and ARG Limited. The company plans to use the new funding to invest in developing its product and expanding its geographic presence in Saudi Arabia, where it is now present in more than 100 towns and cities, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha, Al-Baha, Taif, Al-Ula, and Umluj. Founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Latifa Altamimi, Gathern allows users to rent a villa, apartment, farm, caravan, room, chalet, camp, or yacht directly from an individual owner through its platform on a daily basis, and it is the first company in Saudi Arabia that has obtained this license from the Ministry of Tourism.
DUBAI: Iraqi President Barham Salih said Sunday his country has lost a trillion US dollars due to “rampant financial and administrative corruption in state institutions.” In a speech he gave on corruption in the country, Salih discussed a draft law aiming to recover the proceeds of corruption, saying the law must allow pre-emptive and deterrent measures, as well as subsequent
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced 12 deaths from COVID-19 and 1,067 new infections on Sunday. Of the new cases, 322 were recorded in Makkah, 292 in Riyadh, 138 in the Eastern Province, 105 in Madinah, 54 in Jazan, 35 in Asir, 26 in Najran, 25 in Tabuk, 17 in Hail, 12 in Al-Baha, 5 in the Northern Borders region and three in Al-Jouf. The total number of recoveries in the Kingdom
DUBAI: The rocket launches, the interceptions by the Iron Dome and the artillery exchanges between the Israeli military and Hamas have abated, for now, following an agreement brokered by Egypt on Friday. But the Palestinian diaspora around the world has been energized just when the unresolved issues of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had slipped down the