UAE

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran dismissed as “immature” a statement by a U.N. investigator that inconsistencies in its explanation of the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane last year raised questions over whether the act was intentional, Iranian media said on Thursday.

All 176 people aboard the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, most of them Canadian, were killed when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff en route from Tehran to Kiev on Jan. 8, 2020.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation’s undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran expressed hope on Tuesday that South Korea and Japan would agree to release about $1 billion of Iranian funds frozen in the two countries because of U.S. sanctions, but South Korea said it still needed to discuss the matter with the United States.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati had reached preliminary agreements with the ambassadors of Japan and South Korea on the fund releases.

22 Feb 2021; MEMO: Russia and the UAE have completed a deal that will see the Emirates' Tawazun company buy a 50 per cent stake in Russian helicopter manufacturer VR-Technologies, RT reported yesterday.

VR-Technologies is a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters and was set up in 2014 to develop helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is studying a European Union proposal for an informal meeting between current members of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and the United States, but has yet to respond to it, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday.

Iran and the United States have been at odds over who should take the first step to revive the 2015 accord. Iran insists the United States must first lift former President Donald Trump’s sanctions while Washington says Tehran must first return to compliance with the deal.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s decision to end snap inspections by U.N. inspectors on Feb. 23 would not mean abandoning its 2015 nuclear deal, but the United States must still lift sanctions on Tehran to rescue the pact, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday.

“All our steps (to breach the deal) are reversible...The move on Feb. 23 is not abandoning the deal,” Zarif said in a televised interview with Iran’s English Language Press TV.

ABU DHABI, February 20. /TASS/: Russia’s exporter of military hardware Rosoboronexport (an affiliate of Rostec) is prepared to offer its foreign clients projects for upgrading the air defense systems Pantsir-S1, the corporation’s CEO Alexander Mikheyev told TASS ahead of the international weapons show IDEX 2021.

"Russia is ready to offer Pantsir upgrade projects to its foreign partners. The corresponding research and development have been carried out," Mikheyev said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will invest more than $20 billion in its domestic military industry over the next decade as part of aggressive plans to boost local military spending, the head of the kingdom’s military industry regulator said on Saturday.

The Gulf state wants to develop and manufacture more weapons and military systems domestically, aiming to spend 50% of the military budget locally by 2030.

ABU DHABI, February 19. /TASS/: The newest Russian-made Kord assault rifle with balanced mechanism, produced by the Degtyaryov Plant will be presented at the IDEX 2021 expo in Abu Dhabi, Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport press service announced Friday.

"During the presentation, the company’s specialists will disclose specifications, unique design solutions and specifics of use of the Kord assault rifles with balanced mechanism, displayed abroad for the first time," the announcement says.

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state media said on Friday, days after the White House said it would deal with the king, not his heir, and U.S. officials would engage their counterparties in the kingdom.

Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also Saudi Defence Minister, reviewed bilateral relations with Austin, especially in defence cooperation, state news agency SPA said.