Middle East

Only 2% of Saudis back normalization with Israel: Survey

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Only two percent of young Saudi Arabians back the normalization of ties with the Israeli regime, a recent survey has said, amid the US attempts to push for an agreement between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

In an article late last month, the Economist highlighted the results of the 2023 Arab Youth Survey, stressing that “domestic obstacles remain significant” for a normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime.

“Even a near-absolute monarchy must take some account of public opinion. Only 2% of young Saudi Arabians support normalization of relations with Israel according to the 2023 Arab Youth Survey,” the Economist wrote.

According to the article, Riyadh’s motivation for normalization is “a new strategic alliance with America”, as the kingdom also pushes for developing a nuclear energy program as part of the deal with Israel.

Meanwhile, the article noted that the deal is “a golden opportunity” for Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges and widespread protests, as it will “polish his tarnished legacy.”

The deal, according to the article, will also give a political boost to US President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“For President Joe Biden, a new American-backed diplomatic and defense framework in the Middle East, built around the two regional powers, would be a major foreign-policy achievement with which to enter an election year.”

That’s while Biden had promised to treat Saudi Arabia as “the pariah that they are” following the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his previous election campaign.

“But today realpolitik rules. His administration sees a deal as a way for America to adapt to a new geopolitical era, in which it remains the ultimate guarantor of the [Persian] Gulf states’ security for decades to come even as their economies tilt towards Asia,” the article said, referring to Biden’s administration.

Washington’s efforts for adding Saudi Arabia to the list of Arab countries that have signed the Abraham Accords come at a critical time when Biden is seeking re-election and the US government has been left embarrassed by the kingdom’s bolstering of ties with Iran and Syria, and its further gravitation toward China.

“The potential for an American-Saudi-Israeli agreement may be vast, but the political window for achieving it is small,” the article said.  

The UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel in 2020, drawing condemnations from Palestinians who slammed the deals as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people.”

Middle East

Iranian, Saudi FMs stress boosting mutual cooperation

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During a telephone conversation on Thursday night, Amir-Abdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud exchanged viewpoints on multiple areas of common interest, highlighting that relations between the two countries are improving in all areas.

They emphasized the need to speed up joint cooperation in various fields, including economy, commerce, investment, and tourism.

The two top diplomats went on to point to the meeting between Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iran’s foreign minister on August 18 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, stressing that necessary steps should be taken on the path towards enhancement of political ties between Tehran and Riyadh.

Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart also noted the significance of bilateral cultural and sports cooperation in order to improve the atmosphere of friendship between the two nations.

The two foreign ministers also agreed to advise their respective sports institutions to resolve the dispute over the recent cancellation of the AFC Champions League 2023/24 Group C match between Saudi professional football club Al-Ittihad and Iran’s Sepahan through mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding.

They underscored the importance of continued football matches between the two countries in order to strengthen all-out cooperation.

Slated to be held on Monday in Isfahan’s Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium, the match was called off after the Saudi squad refused to take the field over unspecified reasons. The team left Iran hours later.

Elsewhere in the conversation, the Saudi foreign minister invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the first football match between Iranian and Saudi football clubs in Saudi Arabia.

In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed under a Chinese-brokered deal to revive diplomatic relations severed after seven years of tension.

Iran officially reopened its embassy in Riyadh in June, followed by its consulate in Jeddah and its representative office with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad have also resumed operations.

MP/PR

Middle East

Syrian Army heavily targets terrorists' positions

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A high-ranking military source said that at least 50 bases of the terrorists were destroyed and 80 terrorists were injured during the operation.

The Syrian Army operation comes after dozens of people were killed and injured following a drone attack on a military academy in the country’s Homs province on Thursday evening.

According to the 2017 agreement among Iran, Russia, and Turkey as the guarantor countries of the Astana Peace Talks, four safe zones were established in Syria.

Three regions came under the control of the Syrian army in 2018, but the fourth region, which includes Idlib province in northwestern Syria and small parts of Latakia, Hama, and Aleppo provinces, is still under the control of terrorist groups and adversary groups.

At the end of the summer of 2018, the leaders of Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Sochi, Russia, during which Turkey promised to remove or disarm the terrorists based in that region without bloodshed.

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Middle East

Iran, UAE can turn into 'world's economic hub'

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“Given Iran’s and the Emirates’ geographical situation, we can turn into the world’s great economic hub,” Ghalibaf told Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The Iranian top parliamentarian has traveled to the Emirati capital on a two-day trip aimed at bolstering bilateral relations.

“The opportunity is there, given the countries’ [favorable] bilateral relations and [their pending] membership of the BRICS,” he added.

Iran and the UAE were invited to join the BRICS grouping, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, in August as part of a decision by the bloc to accept six new members. Full membership is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2024.

 Ghalibaf said his trip signaled the Islamic Republic’s seriousness towards expansion of the bilateral ties.

“We intend to take a strong step [forward] for the future in all areas, and expand the countries’ economies in all aspects,” he said, adding, “There exists innumerable great opportunities in this regard.”

The Iranian official reminded that the country had assigned priority in its foreign policy approach to the promotion of relations with its neighbors.

He extended an invitation on the part of the country to the Emirati president to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“I hope that the countries’ relations would expand every day and not a single day would go by without us having ambassadors in our [respective] countries,” Ghalibaf noted.

Abu Dhabi downgraded its relations with Tehran in 2016 after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, however, agreed to restore the relations based on a China-mediated agreement in March. The UAE too reinstated its ambassador to Tehran last September, and Iran appointed a new envoy to Abu Dhabi in April.

For his part, the Emirati leader expressed delight over Iran’s appointment of the envoy, saying the countries’ contiguity “resolves us to perpetually look for ways for all-out development of [our] relations.”

Ghalibaf’s trip, he said, “provides further motivation for this.”

MP/PressTV

Middle East

Israeli troops, settlers kill two more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

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Israeli settlers, backed by the regime’s forces, have killed another Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, bringing to four the number of Palestinians killed at the hands of Israelis in just 24 hours.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the 19-year-old Labib Dumaidi succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Friday as he was shot in the heart by an Israeli settler in Huwara Town, south of Nablus.

That came as settlers, backed by Israeli forces, launched a provocative raid on Huwara on Thursday evening, and performed Talmudic rituals near the scene of an alleged shooting attack on a settlers’ vehicle in the area.

The raid sparked clashes with Palestinians in which the Israeli troops used live ammunition, tear gas, and sound bombs against the protesters.

Dumaidi lost his life just hours after the Israeli military said that its forces shot dead another Palestinian during clashes that followed an alleged shooting attack that purportedly left one settler injured.

Earlier on Thursday, Hudhayfah Fares and Abd al-Rahman Atta were also killed during clashes with Israeli troops following an attack on a number of settlers’ vehicles in Tulkaram.

The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, identified the two as its members.

The group noted that the operation came as part of attacks conducted in retaliation for Israeli crimes against Palestinians and their sanctities.   

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories, killing dozens of Palestinians and arresting many others.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza. The majority of these fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank.

The United Nations said 2023 is the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since it began keeping track of fatalities almost two decades ago.

Previously, 2022 had been the deadliest year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, according to the UN.

The rising number of fatalities last year prompted UN experts to condemn the treatment of Palestinians, including attacks on their homes and destruction of their properties.

Middle East

Iran, Saudi FMs stress need to speed up mutual cooperation in various fields

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart have underlined the need to accelerate the development of bilateral cooperation in various fields, including economy and tourism.

During a telephone conversation on Thursday night, Amir-Abdollahian and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud exchanged viewpoints on multiple areas of common interest, highlighting that relations between the two countries are improving in all areas. 

They emphasized the need to speed up joint cooperation in various fields, including economy, commerce, investment and tourism.

The two top diplomats went on to point to the meeting between Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iran’s foreign minister on August 18 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, stressing that necessary steps should be taken on the path towards enhancement of political ties between Tehran and Riyadh.

Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart also noted the significance of bilateral cultural and sports cooperation in order to improve the atmosphere of friendship between the two nations.

Resolving Sepahan, Al Ittihad dispute through ‘mutual respect’

The two foreign ministers agreed to advise their respective sports institutions to resolve the dispute over the recent cancellation of the AFC Champions League 2023/24 Group C match between Saudi professional football club Al Ittihad and Iran’s Sepahan through mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding.

They underscored the importance of continued football matches between the two countries in order to strengthen all-out cooperation.

Slated to be held on Monday in Isfahan’s Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium, the match was called off after the Saudi squad refused to take the field over unspecified reasons. The team left Iran hours later.

Sepahan Sport Club then issued a statement, saying they have prepared an official complaint, which will be filed with the AFC. They added that the pitch had been inspected time and again by the AFC, the Iranian Football Federation and other relevant authorities, and had received their approval.

In a statement, the AFC said the match was canceled due to “unanticipated and unforeseen circumstances.”

“The AFC reiterates its commitment towards ensuring the safety and security of the players, match officials, spectators, and all stakeholders involved. This matter will now be referred to the relevant committees,” it added.

Invitation to Saudi Arabia

Elsewhere in the conversation, the Saudi foreign minister invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the first football match between Iranian and Saudi football clubs in Saudi Arabia.

In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed under a Chinese-brokered deal to revive diplomatic relations severed after seven years of tension.

Iran officially reopened its embassy in Riyadh in June, followed by its consulate in Jeddah and its representative office with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad have also resumed operations.

Middle East

Iran strongly condemns Syria terrorist attack

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Offering condolences to the Syrian Army, government, and nation, the senior Iranian diplomat wished speedy recovery for the injured.

Kan’ani blamed the foreign supporters of terrorist groups for the tragic incident and called on the related international bodies, especially the United Nations Security Council, to fulfill their obligations in this regard.

At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria.  

Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria’s defense ministry said, adding that “terrorist” groups had used drones.

Syria’s defense and foreign ministries vowed to respond “with full force”. 

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Middle East

Iraq to end all dollar cash withdrawals by Jan. 1, 2024: Central bank

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Iraq will ban cash withdrawals and transactions in US dollars as of Jan. 1 2024 in the latest push to curb the misuse of its hard currency reserves in financial crimes, a top Iraqi central bank official said.

The move aims to stamp out the illicit use of some 50% of the $10 billion that Iraq imports in cash from the New York Federal Reserve each year, Mazen Ahmed, director-general of investment and remittances at the Iraqi central bank (CBI), told Reuters.

It’s also part of a broader push to de-dollarize an economy that has seen the greenback preferred over local notes by a population weary of recurring wars and crises following the 2003 US invasion.

People who deposit dollars into banks before the end of 2023 will continue to be able to withdraw funds in dollars in 2024, Ahmed said. But dollars deposited in 2024 could only be withdrawn in local currency at the official rate of 1,320.

The parallel market rate of the Iraqi dinar sat at 1,560 on Thursday, roughly 15% percent below the official rate.

“You want to transfer? Transfer. You want a card in dollars? Here you go, you can use the card inside Iraq at the official rate, or if you want to withdraw cash, you can at the official rate in dinars,” Ahmed said.

“But don’t talk to me about cash dollars anymore.”

A central bank statement later said the ban on cash dollar withdrawals would only apply to accounts receiving transfers from abroad.

Iraq has already set up a platform to regulate wire transfers that make up the bulk of its dollar demand and that used to be a hotbed of fake receipts and fraudulent transactions.

Set up in concert with authorities in the US, where Iraq’s$120 billion in reserves from oil sales are held, that system was now nearly airtight, Ahmed said, providing dollars at the official rate to those engaged in legitimate trade such as imports of food and consumer goods.

But the cash withdrawals have continued to be misused, he said, including by would-be travelers provided with a state quota of $3000 who have found ways to game the system.

Iraq is heavily reliant on Washington’s goodwill to ensure oil revenues and finances do not face US censure.

Dollar shortage

Many local banks have already been limiting dollar cash withdrawals in the past months, compounding a shortage that has seen the parallel market exchange rate continue to rise.

Ahmed said some banks were low on dollars because many people were trying to withdraw dollars at once amid a feeling of unease over the financial system, while some banks also had shortages because they provided dollar-denominated loans that were then paid back in dinars.

The CBI had also limited the amount of dollars it was providing as part of an agreement with the Fed to limit cash and shift towards e-payment, he said. He denied reports of a stoppage in cash shipments to Iraq from the Fed, noting the latest regular shipment had arrived on Wednesday.

Ahmed said the CBI expected the dinar could lose more value as the new measures went into force but said it was an acceptable side-effect of formalizing the financial system and the CBI was providing dollars at the official rate for all legitimate purposes.

“The cost we are carrying today is nothing compared to this goal,” he said, describing the parallel market rate as a rate used mostly for illegitimate transactions.

“We don’t have a problem with the (parallel) exchange rate hitting 1,700.”

He added: “As long as all transparent and legal financing operations happen via us (at the official rate), the rest does not matter.”

The central bank statement later quoted Ahmed as saying that the central bank was taking steps that would reduce the parallel market exchange rate and there was no indication that the market rate would hit 1,700.

Some signs of frustration with dollar shortages have already begun to emerge.

On Thursday, a video circulated on social media showing a depositor at a Baghdad bank threatening to burn it down if he did not receive his deposit in cash dollars, a scene reminiscent of steps depositors have taken amid Lebanon’s banking crisis.

“I swear I will burn it down. I swear I will enter the safe and take my money” the man says.

 (Source: Reuters)

Middle East

Iran, UAE can turn into 'world's economic hub': Parliament speaker

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Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has said the country and the United Arab Emirates enjoy the opportunity to join forces towards considerably enhancing the countries’ economic standing in the world.

“Given Iran’s and the Emirates’ geographical situation, we can turn into the world’s great economic hub,” Qalibaf told Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The Iranian top parliamentarian has travelled to the Emirati capital on a two-day trip aimed at bolstering the bilateral relations.

“The opportunity is there, given the countries’ [favorable] bilateral relations and [their pending] membership of the BRICS,” he added.

Iran and the UAE were invited to join the BRICS grouping, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, in August as part of a decision by the bloc to accept six new members. Full membership is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2024.

Qalibaf said his trip signaled the Islamic Republic’s seriousness towards expansion of the bilateral ties.

“We intend to take a strong step [forward] for the future in all areas, and expand the countries’ economies in all aspects,” he said, adding, “There exists innumerable great opportunities in this regard.”

The Iranian official reminded that the country had assigned priority in its foreign policy approach to promotion of relations with its neighbors.

He extended an invitation on the part of the country to the Emirati head of state to visit the Islamic Republic.

“I hope that the countries’ relations would expand every day and not a single day would go by without us having ambassadors in our [respective] countries,” Qalibaf noted.

Abu Dhabi downgraded its relations with Tehran in 2016 after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, however, agreed to restore the relations based on a China-mediated agreement in March. The UAE too reinstated its ambassador to Tehran last September, and Iran appointed a new envoy to Abu Dhabi in April.

For his part, the Emirati leader expressed delight over the Islamic Republic’s appointment of the envoy, saying the countries’ contiguity “resolves us to perpetually look for ways for all-out development of [our] relations.”

Qalibaf’s trip, he said, “provides further motivation for this.”

Middle East

Syrian power plant back into operation with help of Iranian experts

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The photo shows a view of the thermal power plant in Aleppo, Syria (By SANA news agency)

Syria has inaugurated a thermal power plant that is back into operation with the help of Iranian experts.

In a ceremony on Thursday, two units of the plant, situated in the northwestern city of Aleppo, were launched after being reconstructed by Iranian specialists from the MAPNA Group.

Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous, who was present at the ceremony, said his country’s strategic relations with Iran serve the interest of both nations.

The power plant, which has a total of five units, produced more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity in 2015 before being destroyed by Daesh terrorists.

The newly-launched units of the plant add some 400 megawatts back to Syria’s power grid.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremnoy, Iran’s Consul General to Aleppo Navab Nouri expressed Tehran’s firm determination to complete the rehabilitation of three remaining units of Aleppo power plant. “Given the high importance of electrical energy, investment in this field is one of the main economic priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Iran is taking serious measures to complete the remaining phases of Aleppo thermal power plant.”

Iran has maintained an advisory mission in Syria at the request of Damascus.

Iran’s advisory assistance helped Syria defeat Daesh and win back control of virtually all regions from terrorists.

Tehran has repeatedly voiced its readiness to help Syria with its post-war reconstruction process.