Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told journalists in New York last week that the kingdom is looking at extending its oil production-cut deal with Russia for 10 to 20 years.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, Paul Salem, Alex Vatanka, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Syria strikes, Turkey’s Assad paradox, the Arab League summit, EU’s view of the Iran nuclear deal, and clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
conference in Tehran, Bahram Qassemi said “the aggression on Syrian soil was illegal” and emphasized that the Israeli attack will not go unanswered this time. “Israel will receive the required responses sooner or later,” he told at the briefing. “They cannot take (such) an action and be exempt from punishment,” he added. “The time for hit and run has passed for Israel, and the resistance forces in the region are capable of retaliating fittingly.” The spokesman also said Tehran is considering legal action against Israel, but did not elaborate.
The leader of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia group has warned that his forces are ready to fight American troops in Syria, Arab media reported. Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary-general of Harakat al-Nujaba, made the comments in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement about imminent missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for the latest chemical attack in Homs Governorate. Kaabi lashed out at Trump’s remarks on Syria and accused the US president of trying to undo the recent gains of the Assad regime and its allies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Windhoek yesterday to meet with senior Namibian officials and ways to promote bilateral ties between the two countries, Iranian media reported. Soon after arrival, Zarif spoke at a joint economic meeting of Iran and Namibia, which was attended by Namibian Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development Tjekero Tweya. According to Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian top diplomat is also scheduled to hold meetings with the African country’s top political leaders and parliamentary members.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on foreign affairs, said today that American forces lack the resolve to stay in Syria for the long haul, the Iranian media reported. He described Syria as a critical pillar of the “axis of resistance” which he said begins in Tehran and stretches to Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Palestine. “This axis of resistance is against invaders affiliated with Israel and America,” he added.
A representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned today that Iran will respond to the latest Israeli air raids in Syria and stressed that the country will further empower its proxies to confront the United States and its allies across the world.
Read the full article on Daily Beast
The Middle East has withstood a series of major economic shocks over the past decade, and growth is slowly coming back. But sustained high unemployment, especially among women and youth, will continue to put strain on the region’s economic prospects. Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), joins host Paul Salem to survey the economic challenges facing the MENA region.
Read the full article on The American Interest.
Riyadh, 05:40 a.m: It’s the first day of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. It is a time of intense prayer and introspection for Saudis and more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.
Just last week, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Ankara for talks to end the Syrian civil war. The summit of the three leaders was a strong display of unity against a backdrop of rising tensions between them and the United States. The underlying message was that the three countries were calling the shots in Syria, and that President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would be pulling out soon was right on the spot.
A senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has threatened retaliation against Israel and its allies for the latest air strikes on a Syrian air base that killed several Iranian nationals, the Iranian media reported.
