Iran has stopped high-end uranium enrichment: UN
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
The UN nuclear agency is confirming that Iran has halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment work as part of a landmark deal struck with world powers.
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Category Archives: Gulf in the News
Gulf in the News – January 17, 2014
Zarif trip to Lebanon includes signal to Saudi Arabia
Source: Al-Monitor (Read full story)
The most noticeable aspect of the visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Beirut on Jan. 12 were the positions he took toward Saudi Arabia and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, as they clearly contradicted those of Hezbollah, especially some of the Party of God’s recent stances. Hezbollah has recently waged an anti-Saudi Arabia campaign, which included Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah accusing Saudi intelligence of being behind the November 2013 bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. In addition, Hezbollah has launched harsh attacks against Suleiman, be it via repudiation of the Baabda Declaration or raising suspicions about the Saudi-French initiative to support the Lebanese army, the latter of which is considered to be an achievement for Suleiman.
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Gulf in the News – January 16, 2014
Iran invites Gulf states to tour nuclear power plant
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Iran’s nuclear chief said Wednesday experts from Arab neighbors across the Gulf, concerned about the safety of Iran’s sole nuclear power plant, are welcome to visit the facility, IRNA reported. “We are ready for the visit of nuclear experts of … Gulf countries to Bushehr nuclear power plant,” Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying when asked how Tehran would tackle their worries. Gulf countries have often raised concern over Bushehr’s reliability and the risk of radioactive leaks in case of a major earthquake, as well as a possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear drive. “We… again express our readiness, for consultation between our country’s experts and the experts from Persian Gulf countries, so that they can hold scientific and technical talks on the Bushehr power plant’s safety issues,” Salehi said. The nuclear chief also suggested establishing a regional nuclear cooperation body so that “all these doubts will be addressed scientifically.”
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Gulf in the News – January 15, 2014
Russia-GCC forum to boost trade ties
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
The Russian Business Council (RBC) in the UAE will organize a Russia-GCC Business Forum from Feb. 11-12 in Dubai. The two-day event will focus on promoting trade relations between Russia and the GCC countries.
“This forum is a remarkable step toward the development of the already thriving business ties, which has led to signing a memorandum of investment worth $5 billion to establish partnerships in Russian infrastructure projects in 2013,” said RBC Chairman Igor Egorov[.]…
Gulf in the News – January 14, 2014
Shaikh Mohammed asks to end sanctions on Iran
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
Sanctions on Iran should be lifted and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad should be ousted. These were some of the observations made by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC. … He recounted a conversation with former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the subject: “I talked to Ahmadinejad and he said, ‘If I send a rocket to Israel, how many Palestinians will I kill! And then the US and Europe will destroy my cities. I’m not crazy to go for that. It’s a weapon of the past.’” Shaikh Mohammed said sanctions on Iran should be lifted now as there was an agreement to inspect the country’s nuclear sites. Regarding the civil war in Syria, he said the UAE was not following countries like Qatar that were intervening because it was unclear whether some of the rebels were extremists.
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Gulf in the News – January 13, 2014
GCC to adopt unified policy on power, water consumption
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Water and electricity officials from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will meet in Kuwait on Tuesday to discuss linkage project, said an official source. The meeting is being organized by GCC’s electricity cooperation committee. He said the committee will explore the possibility of implementing the joint legal and legislative rules to strengthen rationalyzing (sic) the consumption of water and electricity, in addition to discussing subscribers’ services in the Gulf. The average daily consumption of water per individual in the Gulf states varies between 300 and 750 liters daily, which is the highest in the world.
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Gulf in the News – January 10, 2014
Bahrain suspends “national dialogue” with opposition
Source: Al-Akhbar English (Read full story)
The Bahraini government has suspended a national dialogue with opposition groups aimed at ending nearly three years of political deadlock in the US-allied country, raising the prospect of further instability. The opposition has boycotted the talks for months over the arrest of some of their leaders including their top chief Ali Salman last month, with prospects for a solution on the horizon looking bleak.
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Gulf in the News – January 8, 2014
Gulf states focus on green energy
Source: Al-Monitor (Read full story)
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) announced that the success of the Gulf countries in achieving their current renewable energy goals could lead to creating 116,000 jobs yearly in the Middle East in this sector until 2030. IRENA pointed out that the Gulf countries have started executing renewable energy projects and setting long-term goals to encourage the spread and adoption of these projects. They have also taken tangible steps to diversify energy sources for economic and environmental reasons. IRENA issued a report titled “Renewable Energy and Jobs” … [that] points out, “Renewable energy currently provides jobs for around 6 million people worldwide. It is also expected that doubling the share of renewable energy among the global energy sources could contribute to increasing this figure to more than 16 million in the next two decades.”
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