Hosting the conversation

Middle East Experience

Latest News
22 Feb 2021
News Permalink

US will not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue, EU waiting on response

February 22, 2021

The White House said Monday that the United States would not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue on a new nuclear treaty.US President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that the US had clarified before and it was unyielding in its stance the sanctions would not be lifted before dialogue with Tehran.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We will discuss with Congress future steps on Iran,” Psaki told reporters.But Psaki was quick to play down Monday’s comments by Iran’s supreme leader that it was capable of enriching uranium to 60 percent.As for the European Union’s offer to host US-Iran talks, Psaki said the EU was still waiting for a response.“What we're willing to do is sit at a table and have a diplomatic conversation, because we are looking to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and we believe diplomacy is the best way to do that,” Psaki said.Since becoming US president, Joe Biden has said that Iran must first come back into full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The US would then do the same, Biden has said.However, on Monday, Iran announced that it would no longer comply with additional protocol with the UN nuclear watchdog.Iran’s supreme leader also claimed that Iran could reach 60 percent uranium enrichment if it wanted.In response, State Department Spokesman Ned Price played down Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments and urged Iran to return to compliance with the JCPOA.While Price expressed Washington’s concern over Iran’s decision to stop the additional protocol, he reiterated calls for Iran to talk to the US.“There is now a proposition on the table,” Price said. “We certainly hope the Iranians will be willing to be there.”Read more:Iran to stop implementing Additional Protocol that allows UN to do snap-inspectionsBiden eases pressure on Iran as US announces readiness for nuclear talks
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US will not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue, EU waiting on response

22 Feb 2021
News Permalink

Superficial company nameplate HQs in Saudi Arabia will not fly: Saudi minister

February 22, 2021

“A superficial nameplate saying ‘this is the regional headquarters’ will not fly,” Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih told Arab News when asked about details of new regulations for foreign companies starting from 2024.“We would want to see the companies having a major headquarters office with executive staff; their C-suite being here; operations in other countries reporting to it; and support functions, whether it's training, product development, consolidation of regional operations, all taking place within their regional headquarters. So, a superficial nameplate saying 'this is the regional headquarters’ will not fly,” Al-Falih told Arab News’s Frank Kane during an appearance with the newspaper’s Frankly Speaking show.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Earlier last week, Saudi Arabia confirmed it will no longer sign contracts with foreign companies without a regional headquarters inside the Kingdom starting from 2024. The Kingdom’s Finance Minister clarified at the time that the decision would only apply to contracts offered by the government and that companies without regional headquarters in Riyadh would still be able to bid for private sector contracts.The policy, which comes into effect on Jan 1. 2024, is designed to encourage foreign firms to open a permanent, in-country regional presence that would help create local jobs, the Saudi Press Agency reported at the time.Al-Falih also confirmed to Arab News during a recorded show of Frankly Speaking that companies that do eventually choose to set up a permanent shop in Riyadh would not be forced to follow Saudization policies.“So Saudization within the regional headquarters will be a choice, we believe it will take a place and we believe many Saudis will prosper and gain career opportunities, but it is not going to forced upon the companies who choose to move here,” al-Falih told Arab News.Economists and business leaders who spoke to Al Arabiya English said the latest Saudi move regarding foreign companies setting up regional headquarters signals the Kingdom’s desire for corporations to commit to playing a part in the future of its society in a way that has not been seen before.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Superficial company nameplate HQs in Saudi Arabia will not fly: Saudi minister

22 Feb 2021
News Permalink

Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani dies at 90

February 22, 2021

Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister, Ahmed Zaki Yamani, has died at the age of 90 on Tuesday in London, UK, according to Okaz Newspaper.The former minister will be buried in his hometown, the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Okaz added.Okaz is a Saudi Arabian daily newspaper.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Yamani helped Saudi Arabia command a dominating presence in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from its birth. The Kingdom remains a heavyweight in the group even today and its decisions ripple through the oil industry, affecting prices from the barrel down to the gasoline pump.“To the global oil industry, to politicians and senior civil servants, to journalists and to the world at large, Yamani became the representative, and indeed the symbol, of the new age of oil,” author Daniel Yergin wrote in his seminal book on the oil industry “The Prize.”Yamani became oil minister in 1962 and would lead the ministry until 1986. He served a crucial role in the nascent oil cartel OPEC as producers around the world began to try to dictate prices to the world market previously dominated by the economic policies of Western nations.Yamani was the first Saudi representative on OPEC’s board of governors in 1961.When the US, under President Richard Nixon, moved to support Israel in the 1973 Mideast War, Arab producers in OPEC agreed to cut their supply by 5 percent a month.When Nixon continued his support, the decision gave birth to what would become known as the “oil weapon” — a total embargo on the US and other countries.Prices in the US would rise by 40 percent, leading to gasoline shortages and long lines at the pump. Oil prices globally would quadruple, leading to the wealth now seen across the Gulf Arab states today.In December 1975, Yamani found himself among those taken hostage at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, an attack that killed three people and saw 11 seized. The attack ended up seeing all the pro-Palestinian militants and those held hostage released.Afterward, Yamani described Carlos, a Venezuelan whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, as a “ruthless terrorist who operates with cold-blooded, surgical precision.” From that moment on, Yamani traveled with an entourage of bodyguards everywhere he went.Yamani also oversaw what would become the full nationalization of the Arabian American Oil Co. after the 1973 oil crisis. Today, it’s better known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, a major employer for the kingdom and its main source of revenue.In 1986, Saudi King Fahd relieved Yamani of his duties.Yamani was born in Mecca in 1930. His father and grandfather were religious teachers and Islamic lawyers. He ultimately studied at New York University and Harvard. Twice married, he is survived by multiple children and grandchildren.With The Associated PressRead more:Saudi Arabia makes four new oil, gas discoveries: Energy minister‘Father of Humaneness’: Kuwait’s Emir dies at 91 leaving legacy of mediation, charityKuwait's Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Sabah, son of late emir, dies at 72
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani dies at 90