UAE

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will “immediately reverse” actions in its nuclear programme when U.S. sanctions are lifted, its foreign minister said on Friday, reiterating Tehran’s position on Washington’s offer to revive talks.

The Joe Biden administration said on Thursday it was ready to revive a 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers that former president Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 before reimposing sanctions on Iran.

When sanctions are lifted, “we will then immediately reverse all remedial measures. Simple,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran wants to see “action not words” from parties to the country’s 2015 nuclear deal, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hopes to revive the accord.

“We have heard many nice words and promises which in practice have been broken and opposite actions have been taken. Words and promises are no good. This time (we want) only action from the other side and we will also act,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.

16 Feb 2021; MEMO: The Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, yesterday warned of another tough year for Dubai International Airport after the number of passengers passing through its terminals decreased by 70 per cent in 2020, Reuters reported.

"We are planning for it to be a tough year. That's undoubtedly the case … anyone that doesn't think it's going to be a tough year has clearly not been observing what's been going on," Griffiths told the news wire.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai Airports’ chief executive warned on Monday it would be another tough year for the Middle East’s busiest hub, Dubai International, after passenger numbers slid 70% in 2020.

The airport, the base for airline Emirates and a major source of income for Dubai, handled 25.9 million passengers last year, mostly in the first quarter before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it will block snap inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog this month if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal fail to fulfil their obligations, a challenge to U.S. President Joe Biden’s hope of reviving the accord.

“If others do not fulfil their obligations by Feb. 21, the government is obliged to suspend the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates on Sunday published the first image for its Mars probe now circling the red planet.

The picture, taken Wednesday, shows sunlight just coming across the surface of Mars. It shows Mars’ north pole, as well as Mars’ largest volcano, Olympus Mons.

The image comes from its “Amal,” or “Hope,” space probe.

The probe swung into orbit around Mars on Tuesday in a triumph for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards conducted an overnight ground forces drill near the Iraqi border in the southwest of the country, state television reported on Friday.

It said tank divisions, drone units and paratroopers participated in the annual drill - dubbed the “Great Prophet” - that followed week-long celebrations marking the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Islamic Republic has recently conducted several military exercises as it seeks to push the United States to return to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 could die of starvation this year without urgent intervention amid soaring rates of severe malnutrition driven by war and the coronavirus pandemic, four U.N. agencies said on Friday.

The warnings come nearly six years after the outbreak of war that rendered 80% of the population reliant on humanitarian aid.

In a report published on Friday, the agencies projected a 22% increase in severe acute malnutrition among children under 5 in Yemen, compared to 2020.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar is working to de-escalate tension in the region by advocating for a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, state media quoted its foreign minister as saying.

“The State of Qatar is working on de-escalation through a political and diplomatic process to return to the nuclear agreement,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Wednesday, according to state news agency QNA.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent political activists was released from prison Wednesday, her family said, after serving nearly three years on charges that sparked an international uproar over the kingdom’s human rights record.