May 20, 2023

TURKIYE

1. President Erdoğan Discusses Türkiye’s Runoff Vote With Oğan (Daily Sabah). President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is meeting with ATA Alliance leader Sinan Oğan in Istanbul ahead of the upcoming runoff elections on May 28, presidential sources said Friday.
2. Record Inflows Lift Türkiye’s FX-protected Lira Scheme to $120B (Daily Sabah). T​​ürkiye’s government-backed scheme that seeks to encourage foreign currency conversion by safeguarding Turkish lira deposits from depreciation saw a record inflow in the week before last Sunday’s elections, according to data from the country’s banking watchdog.

IRAN

3. IRGC Chief Commander Says US Has Yet To Receive ‘Final Blow’ (Iran Intl). The United States will be forced to leave the Middle East, and Iran’s “last blow” is yet to come, the chief commander of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said Thursday.
4. Iran Brushes Off US’ Concerns over Cooperation with Russia ( Tasnim News). The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson dismissed the concern the US has expressed about the cooperation between Iran and its foreign partners, including Russia after Tehran and Moscow signed an agreement to complete a railroad section of the North-South Corridor.
5. Is Iran’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Running Out of Money? (Amwaj). The chairman of Iran’s National Development Fund (NDF) has sparked controversy after saying that frequent withdrawals have diminished accessible fund assets. In response, a former top government official has insisted that Iran’s supreme leader always sanctioned leaves.
6. Iran Executes Three Men Linked to Anti-government Protests (Aljazeera). Iran has executed three men accused of deadly violence against security officers during last year’s anti-government protests despite objections from human rights groups.
7. Leaked Document Reveals Iran’s Multiple Telecom Deals With China ( Iran International). A whistleblower active in the IT industry has leaked documents revealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of telecommunications contracts between Iran and China.

ISRAEL & PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

8. Democrats Introduce Bill for Report on Shireen Abu Akleh’s Killing (The National News). Democratic US politicians on Thursday reintroduced a bill for a congressional report into the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist who was killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank a year ago.
9. US and UN Condemn Anti-Arab Chants at Nationalist Israeli March (The National News). ON FRIDAY, the US and the UN condemned anti-Arab slogans, such as “death to Arabs” and “may your villages burn,” chanted by far-right Israelis at a nationalist rally.

SUDAN

10. Al-Burhan Relieves Hamidati And Assigns Malik Aqar to The Position Of Vice President of The Sovereignty Council (Aawsat). The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, issued a decree today (Friday), relieving the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hamidti, from the position of Vice President of the Council, as of today… Al-Burhan also appointed a member of the council and leader of the “Sudan People’s Liberation Movement,” Malik Agar, to the position of deputy head of the Sovereignty Council.
11. More Than 1 Million People Displaced By Sudan Crisis, UN Says (Aljazeera). More than 1 million people have been displaced by five weeks of fighting in Sudan, including a quarter of a million refugees, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
12. Draft Statement Of The Arab Summit: An Emphasis On Preventing The Collapse Of The Sudanese State (Aawsat). Under the title “Supporting Peace and Development in the Republic of Sudan,” the draft closing statement of the Arab summit, which Asharq Al-Awsat obtained, stressed the importance of considering the crisis in Sudan an “internal Sudanese matter” and its emphasis on “preventing the collapse of the state and its institutions” and also supporting the communication mechanisms that have been reached. to it with Saudi-American efforts.

SYRIA

13. Assad Gets Warm Welcome Ws Syria Welcomed Back Into Arab League (Aljazeera). After more than a decade of isolation, Bashar al-Assad, the president of war-torn Syria, has been welcomed back into the Arab League.
14. Syrians Fear Kilicdaroglu’s Victory in The Turkish Elections (Aawsat).With the escalating tone of threats against refugees, including millions of Syrians in Turkey, launched by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the candidate of the opposition “nation” coalition in Turkey, which coincided with his attempts to win over the “nationalist trend” in his favor, during his presidential election campaign, in the run-off, against the candidate of the opposition coalition. The “people” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on May 28, the fears of about 3.5 million Syrian refugees inside Turkey, and millions of Syrians in northwestern Syria, began to escalate.
15. He Attacked Türkiye And The West And Criticized The “Arab League.” What Did Al-Assad Say in Jeddah? (Enab Baladi).  Al-Assad said, “We are facing an opportunity to change the international situation, which appears in a multipolar world, as a result of the domination of the West devoid of principles, morals, friends and partners.”
16. Assad Full Speech With English Subtitles (ACLS). Assad stuck to his five minute allowance, made no concessions, showed no remorse, and gave no promises. He insisted that help to solve internal conflicts should only be given when asked. 

LEBANON

17. Lebanon Receives The Interpol Warrant For The Arrest Of Riad Salameh (Aawsat). The Lebanese judiciary is “verifying” the validity of the French accusations against the “central” ruler.

THE GULF REGION & YEMEN

18. Ukraine’s Zelensky in Saudi Arabia for Arab League Summit (AL-monitor). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The leader criticized some in the region for “turning a blind eye” to Russia’s war but also thanked Saudi Arabia and others for their support.
19. The Emir of Qatar Leaves the Arab Summit in Jeddah Before al-Assad’s Speech – photos and videos (Al Qudos Al Arabi). An Arab official told Reuters today, Friday, that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, did not hold any bilateral meetings or deliver a speech at the Arab League summit hosted by the Saudi city of Jeddah, indicating that his presence was a “visit of affection.” The official added that the prince left the summit before the start of the speech of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad.
20. The Houthis Seek To Confiscate $11 Billion From The Central Bank Of Yemen (Aawsat). The Central Bank of Yemen warned all institutions and entities against submitting to the Houthis’ destructive dictates to the financial sector when the group prepares to confiscate the equivalent of $11 billion, the interest of the public debt, and bank depositors’ money.

NORTH AFRICA

21. Egypt, Russia Hold High-level Consultations On Issues Of Mutual Concern (Egypt Independent). Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security Ehab Badawi has received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin along with his accompanying delegation, currently on a visit to Cairo, to consult on the most critical issues of mutual concern in connection with global multilateral action.
22. Egypt, Eurasian Economic Commission Discuss Free Trade Agreement ( Daily News Egypt). Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir met with Andrey Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. The meeting dealt with developing the free trade agreement negotiations between Egypt and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.

IRAQ

23. Hemorrhagic Fever Cases Rise to 119, Including 18 Deaths (Iraqi News). The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that the confirmed cases of hemorrhagic fever have risen to 119, including 18 deaths, the state news agency (INA) reported.
24. UNAMI Head Urges Stable, Institutionalized Ties Between Erbil and Baghdad (Bas News). The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called for stable and predictable relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government of Iraq to avoid constant crisis management.

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