Key dates in the MENA region in 2020

The following is a list of select key events and dates over the course of 2020, broken down by month.

January

3: Leader of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, is assassinated by a U.S. strike

6: Turkey deploys troops to Libya

8: The TurkStream Pipeline launches

10: Oman’s Sultan Qaboos passes away

11: Haitham bin Tariq Al Said ascends to the throne as the next sultan of Oman

12: In Libya the GNA and LNA agree to a Russian- and Turkish-brokered cease-fire

19: Multilateral Libyan peace talks take place in Berlin

21: A new Lebanese cabinet is formed

24: The Elazig earthquake kills 41 in Turkey

27: The Libyan cease-fire from Jan. 12 collapses

29: Trump announces the release of a U.S. Israeli-Palestinian peace plan titled “Peace to Prosperity”

29: The UAE reports its first COVID-19 case

31: U.S. House of Representatives votes to repeal Iraq war authorization

February

11: Sudanese military council agrees to hand over former President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity

12-13: The North Atlantic Council Defense Minister Meeting is held

14-16: The Munich Security Conference is held

14: 15th anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri

16: 1st anniversary of Algeria protests

19: Iran reports its first COVID-19 case

21: Iranian holds legislative elections 

March

2: Israel holds Knesset elections 

5: The 178th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference

5: Russia and Turkey agree to a cease-fire in the rebel-held region of Idlib in Syria

11: 30th anniversary of Iraqi-Kurdish autonomy agreement of 1970

16: Deadline passes for Israel and Palestine to respond to ICC war-crimes allegations

April

5-6: World Economic Forum Special Meeting is held in Riyadh on “The Arab World in the Fourth Industrial Era”

6: 20th anniversary of the Death of Habib Bourgiba, the first Tunisian president

11: 1st anniversary of the removal of Omar al-Bashir as the president of Sudan

13: 45th anniversary of the “start” of the Lebanese Civil War (PLO/Phalangist clashes)

24: 70th anniversary of Jordan’s annexation of the West Bank

26: Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen announces self-administration 

27: 15th anniversary of the end of the Cedar Revolution: Syria withdrew troops from Lebanon

May

7:  Mustafa al-Kadhimi becomes prime minister of Iraq

28: New Iranian parliament begins session

June

5: 3rd anniversary of the Qatar crisis 

9: The 179th (Ordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference

10: Meeting of the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue takes place

17: Caesar Act, authorizing sanctions against Syrian leaders, takes effect

21: 3rd anniversary of Mohammad bin Salman’s appointment as Saudi crown prince 

22: 30th anniversary of the unification of the Yemen Arabic Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen)

July

Filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam begins

1: 100th anniversary of Palestine becoming a British Mandate at San Remo Conference

10: UN mandate for two remaining Syrian border crossings designated for humanitarian aid expires

11: UN authorizes 1-year extension for a single Syrian border crossing, Bab al-Halwa, to bring cross-border aid

25: 20th anniversary of the Camp David Summit between Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak

27: 40th anniversary of the death of the Iranian Shah

August

4: A massive explosion of improperly stored ammonium nitrate rocks the city of Beirut

2: 30th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

7: 30th anniversary of the cease-fire ending the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and the PLO

11-12: Elections for the Egyptian Senate are held

18: UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts Salim Jamil Ayyash for the assassination of Rafik Hariri

20: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi travels to D.C. for round two of the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue

30: A new Syrian cabinet is formed led by Hussein Arnous as prime minister

September

2: Tunisia swears in new technocratic cabinet led by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi

6: 50th anniversary of Black September

8-9: Runoff elections for the Egyptian Senate are held

11: Runoff elections for Iranian parliament are held

12: 15th anniversary of Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

12: The intra-Afghan peace talks begin in Doha between the Afghan government and the Taliban

15: Israel and the UAE/Bahrain and Israel sign the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations

21: UN General Assembly takes place, marking the organization’s 75th anniversary

22: 40th anniversary of Iraq invading Iran, sparking the Iran-Iraq War

24: Fatah and Hamas agree to hold elections in 2021

27: Fighting breaks out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh

28: 50th anniversary of the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, former President of Egypt

29: Kuwait’s Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah passes away, with Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed taking his place as the next emir

October

1: 35th anniversary of Israeli operation Wooden Leg to kill Yasser Arafat in Tunis

1: Repressive Turkish social media law comes into effect

17: 1st anniversary of Lebanese October Uprising

20: 9th anniversary of death of Muammar Gaddafi 

20-22: 38th World Zionist Congress takes place

22: After major upheaval, Saad Hariri is once again named as prime minister of Lebanon

23: New Libya cease-fire signed in Geneva

23: Israel and Sudan sign a normalization agreement following the recent Abraham Accords

24-25: Egypt holds the first round of parliamentary elections

26: One-year anniversary of killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS

November

1: Algerian constitutional referendum is held after months of the Hirak protests

4 25th Anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination

7-8: Egypt holds the second round of parliamentary elections

10: Jordan holds parliamentary elections

10: Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement, ending fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh

10: Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the PLO, passes away due to COVID-19 complications

16: 50th anniversary of UNESCO

21: The G20 summit is held in Saudi Arabia

26: Turkey signs contract with China for 50 million doses of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine

December

4: Bahrain becomes the second country to authorize emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

5: Kuwait holds National Assembly elections

5: In Iran, one of the hardest hit MENA countries, the COVID-19 death toll surpasses 50,000

10: Following the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan, Morocco agrees to normalize relations with Israel

17: 10th anniversary of Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation (start of Arab Spring)

18: 10th anniversary of Arab Spring

19: 2nd anniversary of the Start of Sudanese Revolution

الصورة من تصوير محمد حمود/Getty Images

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