Middle East Experience

Iran is seeking to sell weapons and military equipment to Iraq through military cooperation agreements between the two countries, but Iraq is holding back.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraq cool to Iranian offers of military cooperation

Egypt seeks to consolidate military relations with Sudan in various military fields, with Cairo and Khartoum signing most recently a military cooperation agreement and conducting joint military exercises.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt's military ties with Sudan linked to stance on Nile River Dam

Lebanon confirms 1,511 new coronavirus cases, 15 deaths..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon confirms 1,511 new coronavirus cases, 15 deaths

Iranian authorities are preparing to execute Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish scientist under arrest in the country since 2016 on espionage charges, a rights group reported Tuesday.Djalali was taken from Tehran’s Evin prison at 5 pm local time on Tuesday to Rajaei-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj west of the capital where he is expected to be executed, Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said, citing the academic’s family.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Radio Farda, the Persian-language broadcaster at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, also reported on Tuesday, citing Djalali’s mother, that authorities had informed her son’s lawyer that he was being transferred to Rajaei-Shahr prison for execution.Prisoners with a death sentence at the notorious Evin are usually taken to Rajaei-Shahr for execution, according to IHR.Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was arrested on espionage charges in April 2016 while visiting Iran to attend a scientific conference. He was sentenced to death the following year after being found guilty of cooperating with the Israeli Mossad.Djalali and his family deny the charges and have said the 49-year-old scientist was pressured into making false confessions.“Djalali is in serious danger of being executed, and only a strong and immediate response from the international community can save his life,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.Last week, Swedish media quoted Djalali’s wife Vida Mehrannia as saying Djalali had told her in a short phone call that authorities planned to transfer him to Rajaei-Shahr prison for execution.Following the reports last week, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted that she had spoken to her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif about Djalali, who was granted Swedish citizenship in February 2018 while in prison.“Sweden condemns the death penalty and works to ensure that the verdict against Djalali is not enforced,” Linde wrote on Twitter.In response, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: “Unfortunately, the Swedish authorities’ information on the situation of Mr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who is in prison due to security crimes, is incomplete and incorrect.”Several dual and foreign nationals are currently under arrest in Iran.Critics of the Iranian regime accuse Tehran of arresting foreign nationals on trumped-up charges and using them as hostages in an effort to win concessions from other countries.Read more:Iran state TV airs opposition figure’s purported confession to ‘terrorism’Iran security forces raid homes of dozens of Baha’is in several cities: Report
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran planning to carry out death sentence of Iranian-Swedish scientist: Reports

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Monday the country’s most widespread lockdown so far amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, extending curfews to weeknights and putting a full lockdown in place over the weekends..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Turkey imposes stricter pandemic lockdown, vaccine promised

As Netanyahu is reportedly set to embark on official visit to Egypt, but sources said Egyptian President Sisi and Israeli premier Netanyahu have failed to agree on the visit's circumstances..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Sisi weary of backlash over planned Netanyahu visit: source

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune is to return home “within days” after a month of hospitalisation in Germany due to the coronavirus, his office said Monday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Algerian president said to have finished treatment abroad

A senior Saudi Arabian official hit out at Iran’s foreign minister Tuesday for trying to blame Riyadh for all of Tehran’s problems, including the recent killing of one of its top nuclear scientists.“It appears that despair has pushed Iran’s foreign minister, Mr. [Mohammad] Javad Zarif, to blame the kingdom and accuse it of being the cause for what is taking place in Iran,” Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir tweeted.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Al-Jubeir’s comments come after Zarif accused Saudi Arabia of being involved in the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist last week.“Pompeo’s trips to the region, the trilateral meeting in Saudi Arabia and Netanyahu’s statements all point to this conspiracy that unfortunately took form in Friday’s cowardly terrorist move and martyrdom of one of the country’s top executives,” Zarif claimed in an Instagram post.Zarif gave no proof or evidence to validate his claims. He was referring to last week’s trip by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Middle East and an alleged meeting between Saudi and Israeli officials.Saudi Arabia has denied any such meeting took place.On Tuesday, al-Jubeir said that if an earthquake or a flood hit Iran, “the kingdom will be accused of causing it too!”As for the slaying of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last week, al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia disapproves of assassination in any manner, “unlike the Iranian regime built on assassinations around the world since the revolution that was hijacked by Khomeini in 1979.”Read more: Iran’s Quds Force chief tells Lebanon’s Hezbollah to stand down on Israel: ReportIran planning to carry out death sentence of Iranian-Swedish scientist: Reports
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Al-Jubeir hits out at Iran’s Zarif: Saudi Arabia does not approve of assassinations

The United Arab Emirates came out of OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia's shadow this week by demanding better adherence with oil supply cuts, effectively delaying the latest strategy decision by OPEC and its allies by a few days, sources told Reuters..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE finds its voice within OPEC, complicating oil diplomacy

It is a dilemma with bad options for Gantz. Supporting Knesset dispersal means following Lapid's lead, going against dispersal means caving in to Netanyahu.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Gantz’s dilemma: Fight now or hope luck will shine once again - analysis