AFP Asia Business

President Donald Trump said the United States was starting direct, high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear program on Saturday, in a shock announcement during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.Tehran confirmed discussions were set for Saturday in Oman, but stressed they were “indirect” talks.According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will attend the talks, as will the top US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.”It is as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Araghchi wrote on X. “The ball is in America’s court.”Netanyahu meanwhile said the United States and Israel were working on another deal to free hostages from war-torn Gaza, where a ceasefire between Israel and Iran’s ally Hamas has collapsed.”We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters after a meeting that was meant to focus on Israel’s bid to avoid US tariffs.Trump did not say where the talks would take place, but insisted they would not involve surrogates and would be at “almost the highest level.”Trump’s stunning announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear program, calling the idea pointless.The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however.”I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran’s going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.Meanwhile officials said that Russia, China and Iran were due to hold consultations on the Iranian nuclear issue on Tuesday in Moscow.Trump’s revelation came as Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally plead for a reprieve from stinging US tariffs that have shaken the world.The Israeli premier pledged to eliminate the trade deficit between the two countries and also knock down trade “barriers.”His country moved to lift its last remaining tariffs on US imports ahead of the meeting.- Gaza talks -Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Gaza, where a short-lived, US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas has collapsed.Netanyahu said new negotiations were in the works aimed at freeing more hostages taken by Hamas during its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which ignited the war.”We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out,” he said.Trump also doubled down on his plan for the United States to “control” the Gaza Strip, which he described as a “great piece of real estate.” He initially announced that plan when Netanyahu last visited him in February.Earlier, Trump greeted Netanyahu outside the West Wing and pumped his fist, before the two leaders went inside for a meeting in the Oval Office.Their planned press conference was canceled at short notice without explanation — an unusual move. But they spoke to a smaller group of pool reporters at length in the Oval Office.The Israeli premier’s visit is his second to Washington since Trump’s return to power, and comes at short notice — just days after the president slapped a 17 percent tariff on Israel in his “Liberation Day” announcement last week.Trump refused to exempt the top beneficiary of US military aid from his global tariff salvo as he said Washington had a significant trade deficit with Israel.Netanyahu met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday soon after his arrival, according to his office.The Israeli premier also met Trump’s envoy Witkoff on Monday.

The Hong Kong firm in charge of two key Panama Canal ports has flouted the terms of its contract, according to a Panamanian audit released Monday, as US and Chinese firms fight for business on the waterway after President Donald Trump threatened to seize it.The audit found “many breaches” of the concession awarded to a …

Hong Kong firm did not uphold Panama Canal ports contract: Panama audit Read More »

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday posted highest ever figures for its first quarter sales forecast and said it predicted a better-than-expected performance for profits, beating market expectations.The firm is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The tech giant said …

Samsung forecast beats market expectations for first quarter Read More »

All of the women in Iranian model Azadeh’s family have had nose surgeries, each feeling the pressure to conform with Western beauty standards in a country where female bodies are heavily policed.To Azadeh, smoothing out the bump in what Iranians would call the “Persian nose” she was born with proved a lucrative investment.Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian women have been required to dress modestly and cover their hair, and the beauty industry has become almost entirely centred on the face.Having rhinoplasty — a nose job — can make a major difference, Azadeh told AFP.”After the operation, not only have I earned myself a modelling job with better social standing but I’m also earning three times more and I’m more respected by clients,” she said.Azadeh, 29, asked that her surname be withheld because women models can face social pressure in Iran.According to the US-based International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), more than 264,000 cosmetic operations were performed in Iran in 2023, with rhinoplasty being the most common.- A cultural trend -Across Tehran and other Iranian cities, brightly coloured billboards advertise beauty clinics and cosmetic procedures, offering promises of sculpted noses, flawless skin and perfect teeth.Many people with bandaged noses can be seen on the streets, a testament to the popularity of rhinoplasty.”It has become more of a cultural trend,” said rhinoplasty surgeon Hamidreza Hosnani who performs up to 20 operations a week at his well-equipped clinic in the capital.And that trend has evolved, becoming more and more tied to social identity and status, especially as more women have defied the strict dress code.Such defiance became more marked following the mass protests sparked by the 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini.In Iran, where the minimum wage is around $100, basic rhinoplasty costs up to $1,000 — significantly cheaper than in other countries, Hosnani said.Millions of Iranians have long struggled with soaring prices and a plunging currency, driven in part by years of international sanctions.”I even had to borrow the money required for the operation from my friends and family, but the money was well spent, and it was completely worth it,” Azadeh said.Reyhaneh Khoshhali, a 28-year-old surgical assistant, had the operation four years ago, and regrets not having it sooner.”My nose really did not look good aesthetically and I wanted to be more beautiful,” she said.”If I could go back, I would have had the operation earlier.”- Unauthorised clinics -For years, Iran has hosted highly advanced medical centres, even becoming a destination for foreigners seeking high-quality and affordable cosmetic surgery.However, the procedures can also come with risks.The Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned about the growing number of unauthorised clinics performing cosmetic procedures.In February, a dozen unlicenced practitioners were arrested and several operating theatres in Tehran’s Apadana Hospital were closed because of unauthorised cosmetic procedures, the health ministry said.In 2023, three women died in a single day — November 7 — during cosmetic surgery in three separate incidents in Tehran, media reported at the time.Ava Goli has yet to undergo her rhinoplasty operation, and said that finding a reliable doctor involved some research.”I saw some people whose nose job did not look good… and yeah, it really made me scared at times,” the 23-year-old told AFP.Yet the demand for cosmetic surgery in Iran remains high — and the pressure to keep up is not limited to women. Bahador Sayyadi, a 33-year-old accountant, said he had to borrow money so he could have a hair transplant.”My financial situation isn’t great, but thanks to a loan I got recently, I will be doing the procedure just in time before my wedding,” he said. “Men should also take care of themselves these days, just like women.”