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Iran and the United States will hold talks Saturday in Oman, their third round of negotiations over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program. The talks follow a first round held in Muscat, Oman, where the two sides spoke face to face. They then met again in Rome last weekend before this scheduled meeting again in Muscat. Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran as part of his maximum pressure campaign targeting the country. He has repeatedly suggested military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached by writing a letter to Irans 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to jump start these talks. Khamenei has warned Iran would respond to any attack with an attack of its own. Heres what to know about the letter, Irans nuclear program and the tensions that have stalked relations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Why did Trump write the letter? Trump dispatched the letter to Khamenei on March 5, then gave a television interview the next day in which he acknowledged sending it. He said: Ive written them a letter saying, I hope youre going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, its going to be a terrible thing. Since returning to the White House, the president has been pushing for talks while ratcheting up sanctions and suggesting a military strike by Israel or the U.S. could target Iranian nuclear sites. A previous letter from Trump during his first term drew an angry retort from the supreme leader. But Trumps letters to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term led to face-to-face meetings, though no deals to limit Pyongyangs atomic bombs and a missile program capable of reaching the continental U.S. How did the first round go? Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, hosted the first round of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. The two men met face to face after indirect talks and immediately agreed to this second round in Rome. Witkoff later made a television appearance in which he suggested 3.67% enrichment for Iran could be something the countries could agree on. But thats exactly the terms set by the 2015 nuclear deal struck under U.S. President Barack Obama, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew America. Witkoff hours later issued a statement underlining something: A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal. Araghchi and Iranian officials have latched onto Witkoffs comments in recent days as a sign that America was sending it mixed signals about the negotiations. Yet the Rome talks ended up with the two sides agreeing to starting expert-level talks this Saturday. Analysts described that as a positive sign, though much likely remains to be agreed before reaching a tentative deal. Why does Irans nuclear program worry the West? Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so. Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Irans program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity. U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so. Ali Larijani, an adviser to Irans supreme leader, has warned in a televised interview that his country has the capability to build nuclear weapons, but it is not pursuing it and has no problem with the International Atomic Energy Agencys inspections. However, he said if the U.S. or Israel were to attack Iran over the issue, the country would have no choice but to move toward nuclear weapon development. If you make a mistake regarding Irans nuclear issue, you will force Iran to take that path, because it must defend itself, he said. Why are relations so bad between Iran and the U.S.? Iran was once one of the U.S.s top allies in the Mideast under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased American military weapons and allowed CIA technicians to run secret listening posts monitoring the neighboring Soviet Union. The CIA had fomented a 1953 coup that cemented the shahs rule. But in January 1979, the shah, fatally ill with cancer, fled Iran as mass demonstrations swelled against his rule. The Islamic Revolution followed, led by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and created Irans theocratic government. Later that year, university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seeking the shahs extradition and sparking the 444-day hostage crisis that saw diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. severed. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s saw the U.S. back Saddam Hussein. The Tanker War during that conflict saw the U.S. launch a one-day assault that crippled Iran at sea, while the U.S. later shot down an Iranian commercial airliner that the American military said it mistook for a warplane. Iran and the U.S. have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking tensions in the Mideast that persist today. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
Weve all been there: the windowless conference room, the stale coffee, the flip charts, the obligatory icebreaker, followed by hours of sticky notes and talk of disruption that feels, ironically, deeply uninspired. This is the traditional corporate offsite: a manufactured attempt at connection and creativity staged inside four beige walls. But heres the truth that most leaders wont say out loud: If your strategy session couldve been an email, your offsite isnt working. In a world demanding fresh thinking, deep alignment, and courageous reinvention, we dont need more sticky notes; we need more perspective, pause, and place. Its time to rethink the offsite. It is not a retreat from work, but a return to what makes work matter. The traditional offsite is designed for control: a fixed agenda, predictable outputs, and highly curated team-building exercises. But innovation is inherently unpredictable. Creativity doesnt follow a schedule, and a breakthrough doesnt happen when people feel boxed inliterally or figuratively. A recent Steelcase study found that only 13% of employees strongly agree that their workplace helps them be creative. Imagine taking that same creative tension and relocating it to a stuffy hotel ballroom with bad lighting and bad air quality. Its not just uninspiring, its counterproductive. The Power of Perspective, Pause, and Place If you want to unlock real innovation, you need to get out of the roomliterally. I have taken executive teams hiking in the mountains, walking through sculpture parks, sketching beside rivers, and sharing stories under open skies. What happens in those moments isnt just memorable; its transformative. Creativity doesnt thrive in confinement; it thrives in movement, reflection, and meaningful environments. Heres what shifts when you leave the room: Perspective expands: On a recent mountain trail, one of my clients looked out over the valley and said, I finally see my business differently. Nature helps leaders zoom out, see patterns, and reconnect to what really matters. Dialogue deepens: Walking side-by-side fosters vulnerability in a way boardroom chairs never will. One CFO told me after a trail walk, Thats the first time I have really talked to my team, not just with them. Energy resets: Changing physical environments resets our mental state. The body moves, the mind loosens, and new insights begin to emerge, often without even trying. Ask yourself: What would happen if your team had space to think, not just speak? To feel instead of just perform? Nature, Narrative, and Nonlinear Thinking Before you overhaul your next offsite, pause and consider what actually fuels creativity and connection in teams. Its not tighter agendas or better breakout sessions. Its the deeper human elements that corporate playbooks often overlook. It’s the environments that stir the senses, stories that build shared meaning, and a space that honors the messy, magical process of emergence. At the heart of powerful offsites are three essential elements most corporate agendas ignore: Nature. Nature doesnt just reduce stressit rewires our thinking. A Stanford study found that even a 90-minute walk in nature can reduce rumination and improve problem-solving. But beyond the science, nature reminds us: Not everything must be engineered. Some things must be experienced. What might your team discover if they swapped Wi-Fi for tree lines? Narrative. The best breakthroughs dont start with strategy decks; they start with stories. When leaders share pivotal life moments or team origin stories, new insights emerge. The strategy becomes personal, and the mission gets real. Instead of starting with goals, ask each person to share a moment that shaped how they lead. Watch what opens up. Nonlinear Thinking. Great ideas dont arrive on demand. They bubble up in white space (or maybe it should be called green space). Thats why I build in unstructured time during offsites, not as filler, but as fertile ground. One leader told me their breakthrough idea came during a quiet solo hour by the water. Innovation needs space to breathe. A New Offsite Design Philosophy Forget the PowerPoint marathons. The new offsite design should be immersive instead of performative, meaningful instead of efficient, and designed for discovery, not just alignment. Whether you are hiking a coastal trail or sitting around a campfire, the goal isnt to force productivity. Its to create the conditions where insight naturally emerges. I call this strategic restoration, a practice of slowing down, stepping back, and reconnecting with what matters most. You dont need to summit a mountain. Just start here: Change the Environment. Ditch the hotel ballroom and book a retreat center near water, a creative space, or even a local museum. One client who held their offsite in a botanical garden said, We got more creative in two hours than we usually do in two days. Design for Emotion, Not Just Execution. Begin with personal storytelling. Build in moments of awesunrise meditations, guided journaling, even shared silence. Whats the emotional tone we want this offsite to create, and why does it matter? Include Movement and Mindfulness. Use walking meetings, breathing practices, or a simple quiet space. Movement regulates the nervous system, and stillness amplifies clarity. If you are feeling bold, schedule unplugged windows with no devices, just presence. Trust Emergence. Dont overfill the schedule. Leave space for what you cant plan. Thats where breakthroughs hide. In a world addicted to speed, the leaders who pause are the ones who leap forward. In a culture obsessed with performance, the companies that reconnect with purpose are the ones that endure. So no, your next innovation breakthrough probably wont come from a hotel ballroom with cold sandwiches and tired team-building games. It might come from a hike or a story told around a fire. Because when you design for renewal, reflection, and reconnection, strategy becomes more than a plan. It becomes a shared vision that feels alive.
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E-Commerce
Kelly Slater is the undisputed GOAT of surfing. The 53-year-old has won 11 world titlesincluding being both the youngest and oldest champ ever at 20 and 39, respectivelyand has competed regularly on the pro tour until just last year. Hes not even officially retired yet. Slater has also built multiple businesses, beyond his endorsement deals. One of those is apparel brand Outerknown, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It’s been a labor of love for Slater, who along with cofounder John Moore, had a commitment from the beginning to make it as sustainable and responsible as possible. Last month, the company dropped the Apex Trunk by Kelly Slater, the first-ever performance four-way stretch board short made from 90% recycled fishing nets from Bureo. Slater says the trunks, aimed at performance surfers, represent both the future of the brand, and a culmination of its long-standing goals. Were definitely making a move towards some very specific, little more hardcore surf stuff, says Slater, on the phone from his home on Hawaiis North Shore. Outerknown has largely produced apparel for the lifestyle around surfingshirts, denim, sweaters. But now the brand is creating a line of surf-specific gear under Slaters name, set for 2026. Slater compares the Apex trunk design to playing the guitar. Ive played music for 30 years, and you can add all kinds of things to a song, but when you make a nice, good melody, you can strip it back to the basics and you have what you need, says Slater. And for me, that’s kind of what this trunk is. It also represents a broader opportunity. Over the past couple of years, surfings traditional brand giants have been in an unprecedented state of flux and upheaval that has seen majors like Billabong, Volcom, Quiksilver, and more get stripped down and change ownership, with some getting acquired by Authentic Brands Group in 2023. That has given surfer-owned and operated companies like Outerknown, John John Florences Florence brand, Dane Reynoldss Chapter 11, and Julian Wilsons Rivvia Projects the chance to simplify and redefine what the core surf industry looks like. For Outerknown right now, its all about the new trunks. Wave of the future The new Apex trunk underwent more than three years of R&D, as Moore, Slater, and the brands designers worked closely with Bureo on the cut and materials. Slater and other brand ambassadors tested it in waves across Sri Lanka, Australia, Hawaii, and beyond. Slater says designing a surf trunk is more complicated than it seems. Sometimes people want a multitasking amphibian short, that performs the same on the beach as in the streets. But when it comes to just going for a long surf session, I just need something that performs really simply, says Slater. And I don’t even mean to say it performs, it just doesn’t get in the way. We think of the type of string we’re going to use so it doesn’t untie, and make sure that the length is just right, so it doesn’t look too short. But if it’s too long, it’s caught on the knee, so there’s a little scallop on the side to give you a little bit more of a stretch to the side. Very simple things to get a streamlined product. But to do that, there’s years of thought and technology and ideas that go into this one product. Moore says that the connection between the new Apex trunk and Outerknowns lifestyle apparel is about looking at design from a surfing perspective. Wherever our travels take us, surfing is one part of that, so it’s about, how do we make clothes that are built better, feel better, fit better, and do it through our surfers lens? says Moore. It just feels like we’re finally at a place where we can really focus on what matters and what works, and we know who our customers are, we know what they want, and we’re getting better at making it. Under one roof A decade ago, Outerknown was launched with fanfare, some surfer skepticism, and a lot of challenges. Founded by Slater and Moore, the brand was also backed by luxury brand owner the Kering Group as a minority stakeholder. Slaters goal, inspired in part by Patagonia, was to make the most responsible clothing possibleorganic cotton, fair labor practices. The challenge was making that happen when the supply chain wasnt really there, especially for the small numbers Outerknown was starting out with. That led to much higher prices, which made many surfers scoff at $300 shirts and $170 trunks. The early days were super tough, says Slater. But gradually, the company was able to grow its community and scale, opening eight retail locations in Malibu, California, as well as cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. There will still be scoffs at the new Apex trunks $168 price tag, but Slater says there are people who do care about a products provenance. A lot of people don’t realize that to do things right and responsibly, to take care of your workers, and to use the good recycled textiles or organic products, all those things are infinitely more expensive, he says. For its first decade, Outerknown could be described as a surf-adjacent brand. Mostly street clothes and apparel, designed from a surfing perspective. But starting with the new Apex trunks, the brand will now be stocking in surf shops and creating more products to make that connection more explicit. The catalyst for that was Slaters move last year to move his three primary companiesOuterknown, Firewire Surfboards, and Slater Designsunder one parent company roof. Surf industry vet and Firewire CEO Dylan Slater (no relation) was named chief executive of the new company. He says that the brands complement each other in some obvious ways, but also plenty behind the scenes. Outerknown is primarily a U.S.-based business, while Firewire is global. There’s some really unique ways they can support one another, he says. We have aspirations to make Outerknown globally accessible, and we expect that to happen in the next 6 to 12 months. The brands can also collaborate around products, and have some more exposure to their respective audiences, with surfboards in Outerknown stores and things like that. Moore is excited to see Outerknown go directly to a more hardcore surf audience, especially amid the recent consolidation of the traditional surf brand powerhouses. Over the years, everything became very corporate and, I would argue, kind of a sea of sameness, he says. I think surfing has always been at its core about individuality and finding your own flow through life or on a wave. We’re doing it our way, and with all the evolution in the marketplace, it feels like an opportunity for usto take it to the next level.
Category:
E-Commerce
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