An armoured police vehicle and a police response car parked outside Iran International's newsroom in west London. The National
An armoured police vehicle and a police response car parked outside Iran International's newsroom in west London. The National
An armoured police vehicle and a police response car parked outside Iran International's newsroom in west London. The National
An armoured police vehicle and a police response car parked outside Iran International's newsroom in west London. The National

World

US and UK sanction Iran-linked network over international assassination plots

Tehran accused of relying on criminal network to murder journalists and other dissidents

Kyle Fitzgerald
Kyle Fitzgerald
Washington

January 29, 2024

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The US and UK on Monday imposed sanctions on a network of people linked to Iran's government for their alleged involvement in assassination attempts against dissidents and opposition activists.

The assassination network is led by Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, a drug trafficker who works for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the US Treasury Department said.

The network is believed to have carried out several assassinations, kidnappings and other operations – including in the US – “in an attempt to silence the Iranian regime's perceived critics”.

Among those kidnapped was Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German activist who was abducted while travelling abroad in 2020. Mr Sharmahd, who has US residency, was sentenced to death by an Iranian court last year in a trial that the US condemned as a sham.

Iran also relied on criminal networks in the assassination of Dutch-Ahwazi activist Ahmad Molla Nissi in The Hague in 2017 as well as the kidnapping of journalist Ruhollaz Zam in Iraq in 2019. Zam was executed in Iran in 2020.

The network also reportedly recruited a Canadian citizen in 2021 to assassinate people in the US who had fled Iran.

“The Iranian regime’s continued efforts to target dissidents and activists demonstrate the regime’s deep insecurity and attempt to expand Iran’s domestic repression internationally,” said Brian E Nelson, undersecretary of the US Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

In addition to Mr Sharifi-Zindashti and his network, the UK announced sanctions against six other people and an organisation linked to the Iranian government.

The UK's Foreign Office said those sanctioned included members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Unit 840. An investigation by television network ITV found that the unit was involved in assassination plots against two Iran International presenters on British soil.

“The UK and US have sent a clear message – we will not tolerate this threat,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.

“Today’s package exposes the roles of the Iranian officials and gangs involved in activity aimed to undermine, silence and disrupt the democratic freedoms we value in the UK.”

Monday's sanctions prohibit any person or business from dealing with the sanctioned individuals in the US and UK.

KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

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Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

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While you're here
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

Kanye%20West
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RESULT

Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1 
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’

ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

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Price: From Dh590,000

Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)

Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.

Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.

Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.

Get your priorities right.

And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.

Updated: January 30, 2024, 9:47 AM
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