Why United States has bases in Middle East?

United States has been operating bases around the Middle East for decades. Often questions are asked: what are US troops doing in the Middle East and where are these bases located? These questions have got louder after three US soldiers were killed and dozens wounded as a drone hit a military outpost in Jordan, known as Tower 22, on Sunday. The location is just one of many bases the US has in the Middle East.

Tower 22 holds a strategically important location in Jordan, at the most northeastern point where the country's borders meet Syria and Iraq.

Specifically, Tower 22 is near Al Tanf garrison, which is located across the border in Syria, and which houses a small number of US troops. Tanf had been the key in the fight against Islamic State and has assumed a role as part of a US strategy to contain Iran's military build-up in eastern Syria.

US bases are highly guarded facilities, including with air defense systems to protect against missiles or drones.

Facilities in countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are not usually attacked, but US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under frequent attacks in recent years.

Reportedly, since October 07, 2023 US troops have been attacked more than 160 times, injuring about 80 troops, even prior to Sunday's attack on Tower 22, which has injured around 40 more

The US has been operating bases around the Middle East for decades. At its peak, there were more than 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan in 2011 and over 160,000 personnel in Iraq in 2007.

The number has declined substantially after withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, but still about 30,000 US troops scattered across the region.

Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, the US has temporarily sent thousands of additional troops in the region, including on warships.

The largest US base in the Middle East is located in Qatar, known as Al Udeid Air Base and built in 1996. Other countries where the US has a presence include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US has roughly 900 troops in Syria, in small bases like al Omar Oil field and al-Shaddadi mostly in the northeast of the country. There is a small outpost near the county's border with Iraq and Jordan, known as the Al Tanf garrison.

There are 2,500 personnel in Iraq, spread around facilities like Union III and Ain al-Asad air base, though talks are ongoing about the future of those troops.

 US troops are stationed in the Middle East for different reasons and with the exception of Syria, they are there with the permission of each country's government.

In some countries like Iraq and Syria, US troops are there to fight against Islamic State militants and are helping local forces. But they have come under attack over the past several years and have taken action against the attackers.

Jordan, a key US ally in the region, has hundreds of US trainers and they hold extensive exercises throughout the year.

In Qatar and the UAE, US troops have a presence to reassure allies, carry out training and are used as needed in operations in the region.

While Washington's allies sometimes send their troops to train or work with US troops, there are no foreign military bases inside the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

Unyielding negotiations amid fighting in Gaza

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday that the US is involved with intense negotiations on securing the release of some hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas but there was no deal on the table yet.

Kirby told CNN, the US has a team on the ground that is working by the hour on a potential deal but pumped the brakes on sharing any other details.

“We are in some intense negotiations; hopefully they’ll come out the right way and we’ll have good news to talk about with multiple hostages getting free,” he said. “But we don’t have a deal right now, and until we do, the less said the better.”

A deal could involve the swapping of dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for a truce of a few days in the war, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, according to media reports.

Qatar, which maintains communications with Israel, Hamas and the US, is also reportedly in the midst of the negotiations. Qatari officials have already helped secure the release of a few Israeli prisoners.

President Biden has also hinted at a deal, telling reporters at a press conference Wednesday night that he was deeply involved in moving on the hostage negotiation.

“We’ve gotten great cooperation from the Qataris. I’ve spoken with them as well a number of times,” Biden said. “I’m mildly hopeful.”

Hamas took about 239 hostages in a deadly October 07 surprise attack on Israel, which also left more than 1,200 Israelis dead.

Israel is now waging an intense war on Hamas, invading Gaza and now fighting in the streets of Gaza City, the Hamas stronghold, to rescue hostages and eradicate the Palestinian militant group.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed there would be no cease-fire without the release of hostages and also said his forces would free the prisoners.

But this week, Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office that Israel has been employing increased pressure to secure the release of hostages since launching the Gaza ground invasion in late October.

“If and when there will be something concrete to report,” he said, “we will do so.”

Qatar playing complex role between United States, Israel and Hamas

Intense US diplomacy to secure the release of hundreds of hostages held by Hamas is shining a spotlight on the complicated role held by the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar.

At times a pariah among its immediate neighbors, the gas and oil-rich monarchy has managed for years to straddle the line between being a close US partner while enraging Gulf countries over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement of political Islam that helped inspire Hamas’s founding. 

US officials are putting increasing pressure on Qatar to distance itself from Hamas following its abhorrent terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. 

But Qatar’s track record as a reliable mediator between authoritarian states, terrorist groups and democracies make it one of the only countries that can help retrieve hundreds of innocent people from the Gaza Strip. 

“We’re using every connection we can to try to get the release of the hostages. Qatar has avenues that we think are helpful,” Sen. Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill. 

“We have been very clear about Qatar’s role in allowing Hamas reign in their country — it’s wrong. And we have pointed that out and we’ll continue to point that out,” he said.

The relationship is complicated, Cardin added, pointing to the Al Udeid Air base in Doha, owned by Qatar but home to US Central Command and US Air Force Central Command. The base is the epicenter of American military power overseeing the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and countries of the former Soviet Union.  

Hamas is estimated to have kidnapped more than 200 people from Israel during the October 07 massacre that also killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel. Americans are among those being held and their families have advocated for their release in Israel and in Washington D.C.

Qatar has allowed Hamas to operate a political office in Doha since 2012 and it has mediated between Israel and Hamas in previous rounds of conflict, also helping with the transfer of money and goods to the Gaza Strip that came out of such deals.

The scale of the current hostage crisis is unlike anything in recent memory. Among those kidnapped are toddlers, a nursing baby, the elderly, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, all being held in locations and conditions unknown. 

Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said this week that dozens of the hostages have been killed in Israeli air strikes, but they offered no proof. The US-designated terror group has otherwise provided little to no information on the captives and no visitation from international aid groups. 

“Something very basic, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders are not allowed to get in, we don’t even know if our loved one is alive or dead,” said Ruby Chen, a US-Israeli citizen whose 19-year-old son Itay, a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is believed to be held by Hamas. 

“Want to think about that for a second? Make it happen.”

Qatar has so far helped facilitate the release of four of Hamas’s hostages, an American-Israeli mother and daughter, and two elderly women.

Gerald Feierstein, a former ambassador to Yemen and four-decade veteran of the foreign service in the Middle East and Gulf, said that Qatar likes to view itself as a Switzerland-like mediator in the Middle East and that provides them clout and protection in a hostile environment.

“They see that they can play a role by keeping channels of communication open to people that the world despises. Whether it’s the Taliban or Hamas, or the Iranians for that matter, they see that they can be useful by being able to communicate or pass messages,” Feierstein said.

“They really see themselves as playing a role much larger than their size and impact would suggest.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has thanked Qatar for playing a very important role in securing the release of the American-Israelis. But the secretary has also said in Doha that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.  

He reportedly called on the Qatari government to tone down rhetoric in news coverage about Israel on Al Jazeera, the nominally private but Qatari-funded English and Arabic news group. 

“I don’t think that — forced to choose — there’s any question that the Qataris value the relationship with the US more highly than with Hamas”, said Feierstein, now a distinguished senior fellow on US diplomacy at the Middle East Institute.

Feierstein also spoke to the Qatari’s track record in diplomacy, pointing to their role in the early 2000s of trying to mediate between warring factions in Yemen; mediation efforts between Ethiopia and Eritrea; and offering Doha as a venue for the US to hold talks with the Taliban. 

“I can’t think of any time where the Qataris said that they would do something and didn’t do it. I think that they are reliable,” he said. 

“Generally speaking, their word is good. And obviously if you want to play the role that they want to play, that’s an absolutely essential component. If people didn’t trust you then they wouldn’t turn to you to undertake these things.” 

It’s unclear what it might take for Hamas to release the hostages, who are among a wide range of factors that is seemingly delaying an Israel ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. 

Among possible Hamas demands are a ceasefire amid heavy Israeli airstrikes, asking Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, money or some type of immunity.

Rep. Haley Stevens, co-chair of the ​​Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad, called the task of rescuing the hostages unprecedented, speaking to The Hill after a press conference with the families whose loved ones are being held by Hamas.

The task force was an initiative started in 2021 to help congressional offices navigate the support available for constituents and their families in circumstances of their loved one being unjustly arrested or detained abroad, or even taken captive by a terrorist group.

But she called this situation very different.

“This was an act of lawlessness. It wasn’t even an act of war because it’s outside of the rules of war to do what has been done here. And this has been part of the head spinning terror that was descended upon the Israelis on October 7th,” she said

Asked about Qatar’s role as a mediator, Stevens called for the administration to be open about how the US is carrying out its diplomacy.  

“Our diplomacy is going to be essential, the work of our ambassadors, the work of our State Department, and that’s a place that we as members of Congress can lend oversight and, if need be, appropriating authority to our federal agencies to assist in those negotiations,” she said.

Haley raised concern that the administration’s pending transfer of US$6 billion in frozen Iranian funds — facilitated in exchange for the release of Americans wrongfully detained — has raised the cost for hostages.

“While we don’t want to slow things down by any stretch of the means, engaging members as the administration can in classified settings is very helpful,” she said.  

Israel preparing for ground invasion of Gaza, says Netanyahu

Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Wednesday, but he declined to provide any details on the timing or other information about the operation.

He said the decision on when forces would go into the Palestinian enclave, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, would be taken by the government's special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties.

"We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning," Netanyahu said.

"Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be."

Israel has carried out days of intense bombardment of the densely populated Gaza Strip following the October 07 Hamas attack on Israeli communities that killed some 1,400 people. More than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in the bombardments, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Netanyahu, who has so far not taken responsibility for the security failures that led to the Hamas attack, said all involved would be called to account.

"The scandal will be fully investigated," he said. "Everyone will have to give answers, me too. But all this will happen only after the war."

Earlier, citing US and Israeli officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza for now, so the United States could rush missile defences to the region.

Reuters reported on Monday that Washington advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault and is keeping Qatar - a broker with the Palestinian militants - apprised of those talks as its tries to free more hostages and prepare for a possible wider regional war.

What if Iran closes Strait of Hormuz?

The Israel-Hamas war has raised the concerns of a wider regional conflict which could embroil Iran and other regional factions. Analysts and market observers say the conflict could prompt the United States to tighten sanctions on Iran, which may spur Tehran to take retaliatory action against ships in the Strait in Hormuz.

The Marshall Islands registry, one of the world's top shipping flags, last week flagged that vessels with links to Israel or the United States may face a heightened threat of attack within Israeli territorial waters, the Mideast Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Red Sea areas.

The strait lies between Oman and Iran. It links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just two miles (three km) wide in either direction.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the Strait, including building more oil pipelines.

About a fifth of the volume of the world's total oil consumption passes through the Strait on a daily basis. An average of 20.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, condensate and oil products passed through Hormuz in January-September 2023, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait.

Qatar, the world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, sends almost all of its LNG through the Strait.

 

 

 

Bank of China opens branch in Saudi Arabia

China’s most internationalized state bank on Tuesday opened its first branch in Saudi Arabia in a move to expand the use of yuan amid a growing number of economic deals between the two countries.

Bank of China (BOC), one of China’s four biggest state-owned banks, opened its branch in Riyadh, the capital city of the oil-rich Middle Eastern country, more than two years after being given approval by the Saudi Arabian government.

The branch has more than 20 staff, with a majority hired locally – a condition requested by local authorities.

It is the second Chinese bank to open a branch in Saudi Arabia after the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened its first branch in Riyadh in 2015. ICBC also opened a branch in Jeddah in May.

China’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Chen Weiqing, said the opening of the branch was a result of positive developments in the bilateral relations between the two countries, and new stage of financial cooperation.

“It also shows that China highly recognizes the financial regulations, investment environment, and geographical advantages of Saudi Arabia,” Chen said, as he attended the opening ceremony with Bank of China president Liu Jin.

Saudi Central Bank governor Ayman al-Sayari and Saudi Arabia’s deputy investment minister, Saleh Ali Khabti, also attended the opening ceremony along with 250 guests.

The Saudi-listed ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, Ajlan & Bros Holding Group and Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group signed memorandums of understanding involving internationalizing the yuan and green financing with BOC during the opening ceremony, the statement added.

The move came as part of a growing series of economic activities between China and Saudi Arabia, with their bilateral relations described as being at the best stage ever following President Xi Jinping’s state visit in December 2022, with both countries facing souring relations with the West.

During the trip at the end of last year, Xi pledged to work towards widening the use of yuan in oil and gas trade in the region, amid a push to establish the currency internationally and weaken the US dollar’s grip on world trade.

Saudi Arabia is China’s largest source of crude oil imports, with 87.5 million metric tons (641 million barrels) shipped in 2022.

Amid efforts by state banks to tap potential in the Middle East, BOC’s new branch has been licensed to provide basic commercial banking services to individual consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses, ranging from deposit accounts and loans to mortgages and yuan transactions.

At the weekend, BOC president Liu also met Khaled Mohamed Salem Balama Al Tameemi, the governor of the central bank of the United Arab Emirates, to court more support for its yuan clearing in the region and potential cooperation with the nation’s sovereign wealth funds.

In an interview with local media in June, BOC said the new branch aimed to offer the yuan to the wider Middle East region to assist commercial and financial trade between China, Saudi Arabia and beyond.

As there are many Chinese companies entering the market in the region, being able to trade and make financial transactions using the yuan would encourage Chinese companies to invest in the area.

The Saudi Arabian government first agreed to allow BOC to open its branch in January 2020. At the time, Saudi Arabia had only 14 foreign banks, including ICBC.

BOC also has existing branches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE, as well as Bahrain, Turkey and Qatar.

Li Tong, president of the bank’s investment banking unit, Bank of China International, said in June during the Arab-China Business Conference in Riyadh that the new branch in Riyadh would push for financial cooperation, and further boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

The bank has also been in discussion with local counterparts to offer panda bonds – yuan-denominated bonds sold by overseas entities in China’s onshore bond market to raise investments in China.

A number of other banking sector collaborations have also been announced this year.

In March, the Export-Import Bank of China announced a first loan cooperation with Saudi National Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest bank, in yuan.

Hong Kong has also been named as a major hub for financial cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.

In July, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Central Bank, pledging initiatives in financial infrastructure development, open market operations, market connectivity and sustainable development.

 

 

Iranian naval chief visits Pakistan

Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, Commander Iranian Navy, reached Islamabad on Monday for a three-day visit to discuss methods to strengthen bilateral collaboration in a number of military domains with top military commanders of Pakistan.

Irani visited Islamabad at the request of his Pakistani counterpart Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi’s request.

Irani, who is accompanied by a senior military team, visited naval headquarters in Islamabad, where he was greeted by his Pakistani counterpart and witnessed a guard of honor, according to a Pakistan Navy press release.

The Iranian and Pakistani navy commanders met to discuss common interests such as bilateral marine, defense, and educational cooperation, as well as the exchange of naval delegations.

Additionally, Irani and Niazi discussed regional partnerships and marine security in the region.

Niazi briefed Irani and his accompanying team on the professional activities of Pakistani naval forces to maintain maritime security and bolster bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Irani’s current trip to Islamabad, in the opinion of Pakistan’s Navy, will be a significant step in fostering closer naval cooperation between the two nations.

In the meanwhile, Irani and Pakistani Air Force Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu met. They emphasized the value of strengthening military, educational, and aviation cooperation.

In a statement, Pakistan’s Air Force said, “The meeting between Irani and Baber Sidhu is a testament to the deep-rooted friendship and unwavering commitment of the two nations to work towards a peaceful and stable region.”

The Pakistani marshal also underscored on the advancement in space, electronic warfare, cyber and niche technologies coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) which have profoundly affected the traditional environment of national security.

He gave the dignitary a briefing on the numerous initiatives the Pakistan Air Force is working on, paying particular attention to modernization and the growth of indigenous capabilities.

“Tehran and Islamabad enjoy longstanding religious, cultural, and historical bonds which are manifested through strong ties between both sides,” the Pakistani air chief noted.

The commander of the Iranian Navy praised the professionalism of the Pakistan Air Force troops and the extraordinary advancements made by the PAF on its path to modernization.

Irani further commended Pakistan for its ongoing efforts to maintain security in the region and emphasized the significance of strengthening military-to-military cooperation, particularly in the areas of operations, training, and the aviation sector.

Irani stated earlier this month that the Islamic Republic intends to create new intra- and extra-regional partnerships to improve security.

Along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Iraq, he also mentioned Pakistan as a nation that is in earnest for international naval cooperation.

He said that almost all of the nations in the northern parts of the Indian Ocean have decided to support Iran and work together more effectively to build security.

A number of Persian Gulf Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, realigned their coalition and resumed their relations with Iran, shattering the Israeli regime’s and its old partner, the United States, dreams of a “NATO-like” anti-Iran alliance in the region.

 

Return of Syria to Arab League

According to Reuters, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a pariah for more than a decade, is expected to steal the spotlight at Friday's Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, where he will rub shoulders with regional leaders who once backed his war foes.

Ostracized by most Arab states following his crackdown on protests against his rule in 2011 and the ensuing civil war, his government's return to the bloc is a signal that his war-battered country's isolation is ending. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others for years supported anti-Assad rebels. But Syria's army, backed by Iran, Russia and paramilitary groups, has regained control of most of the country.

While Arab countries appear to have brought Assad in from the cold, they are still demanding that he curbs Syria's flourishing drugs trade and that war refugees can return. But it remains a striking recovery in the Syrian leader's fortunes.

"This is, indeed, a triumphant moment for Bashar al-Assad, being accepted back into the Arab League, the Arab world, after being shunned and isolated by it for over a decade," said David Lesch, a Middle East History professor at Trinity University in Texas.

Several states, including Qatar and Kuwait, had voiced their opposition to welcoming back Assad. But the summit will underscore how Qatar has scaled back its ambitions to be a major diplomatic player in the region and accept Saudi's preeminent role.

Assad is not the only divisive issue among Arabs. The League is also split over questions ranging from normalization with Israel and how to support the Palestinian cause, the regional roles of Turkey and Iran, and which side to pick in polarized global politics.

Also present in the Red Sea city of Jeddah are envoys for Sudan's warring military factions. That ongoing conflict is expected to dominate discussions. Saudi Arabia has been hosting talks on a ceasefire and humanitarian issues in Sudan for weeks.

The kingdom wants to send a message to the global community that Arabs will work together, said Abdullah Baaboud, the State of Qatar Chair for Islamic Area Studies at Waseda University in Tokyo.

"That also helps it (Riyadh) not only in term of its status within the Middle East but also beyond that when it comes to dealing with international powers, whether it is the United States, Europe or China," Baaboud said.

Washington has been skeptical about Assad's return to the Arab fold. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill last week intended to bar US recognition of Assad as Syria's president and enhance Washington's ability to impose sanctions.

The Syrian crisis and other regional conflicts including Yemen and Libya, pose further challenges for the Arab League, which is often undermined by internal divisions. Arab leaders argue that security is more important than democracy.

"There has been indeed in the past few years a willingness by Saudi Arabia and other regional actors to consolidate a form of authoritarian stability in the region," said Joseph Daher, a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

"Despite continuous rivalries among various states...they hold a common position in wanting to return to a situation similar to that in place before the uprisings in 2011."

This year's summit also comes as Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon struggle with runaway inflation, unemployment and popular anger.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, however, have set a new tone for times of crisis, saying the era of no-strings attached to help that the Gulf states offer others is over.

 

Saudi Navy carries out evacuation operation from Sudan

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) carried out the operation that evacuated citizens, other nationals, diplomats and international officials from Sudan on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry announced. The RSNF conducted the operation with the support of various branches of the armed forces.

The Ministry said, “66 persons from Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso were among the evacuated.” The number of evacuated Saudi citizens was 91 persons.

All the Saudi citizens and nationals of other countries have arrived safely in Jeddah. This has come in the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom’s leadership, the Ministry said.

The batches arrived in Jeddah at King Faisal Naval Base and were received by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Al-Khereiji.

Al-Khereiji said that the journey of the evacuation was long, starting from Khartoum, passing through a number of regions in Sudan until reaching Port Sudan, and with the cooperation of government agencies in the Kingdom. He affirmed that an important role of the operation was done by Ministry of Defense that implemented this plan.

“We all celebrate the return of our sons and the sons of brotherly and friendly countries to the land of Saudi Arabia, which coincided with the celebration of Eid Al-Fitr.”

Saudi Arabia has worked to provide all the main needs for the foreign nationals, in preparation for facilitating their departure to their countries.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan received a phone call from his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Salem voiced sincere congratulations on successful evacuations by Saudi ships of citizens from 11 countries from Sudan to Jeddah.

Sheikh Salem expressed Kuwait's appreciation and gratitude to the Saudi foreign minister for the Kingdom's efforts to ensure the evacuation of Kuwaiti citizens from Sudan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced earlier on Saturday the start of arranging the evacuation of Saudi citizens and a number of nationals from other countries from Sudan to Jeddah by sea on 5 Saudi ships. The second Saudi ship was carrying Saudia airline crew who was targeted in Khartoum airport.

It is noteworthy that after a week of fighting between two factions of the country’s military leadership, at least 400 people have been killed in Sudan.

Saudi Arabia welcomes resumption of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar

Saudi Arabia has welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Qatar, which was announced following the second Qatari-Bahrain follow-up committee meeting in Riyadh.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauded this constructive step, which affirms the robustness of relations among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and advances joint Gulf action that achieves the aspirations of the region's states and peoples.

The United States congratulated Bahrain and Qatar on their decision to resume diplomatic ties, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.

"This breakthrough represents a crucial step in our collective efforts to forge a more integrated, stable, peaceful, and prosperous region," Patel noted in a press release one day after the two GCC states reached a deal in this regard.

"The United States has sought to promote regional integration and de-escalation, including among these two important partners and Gulf Cooperation Council member states.

"The United States will continue to actively work with regional partners to advance this shared aim of a more integrated, stable and prosperous Middle East region," he added.

GCC Secretary-General Jassem Albudaiwi applauded the step, which stems from the directives of the leaders of the GCC countries that were issued at the "Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah Summit", which was held in AlUla in 2021.

He added that those instructions embody the GCC leaders' keenness to secure the future and protect the cohesion of the Council in line with key attributes of the links connecting the Council member states, including the bonds of kinship, friendship, brotherhood, history and common destiny, and unity which are the pillars of the GCC blessed march.

In a statement, the Cairo-based Arab Parliament hailed the Bahraini-Qatari agreement as a positive step toward enhancing joint Arab action and regional security and stability.

 

Arab reluctance to react to Iranian protests

Wilson Center has tried to find an explanation for the lack of Arab support in highlighting the actions of Iranian ruling regime. Its efforts could be termed ‘Killing two birds with one stone’. Not only has it maligned Iran, but also Arab States for not opposing Iran because they also don’t like opposition.   

When protests in Iran broke out in September 2022 following the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the morality police, the world showed immediate support for the outraged Iranian women who took to the streets. Unlike before, these protests gained momentum as popular demands shifted from greater freedoms and economic reforms to the overthrow of the oppressive regime. The Iranian government’s harsh repression sparked international condemnation and sanctions against officials and entities, including the morality police itself.

As compared to strong responses from Western nations, Arab governments have stayed noticeably silent. This pattern of silence from Arab governments on internal Iranian issues, in contrast to Iranian involvement in Arab protests and revolutions, has been evident since the 2009 ‘green scarf movement’ in Iran and raises questions about the relationship between Arab states and Iran during times of popular upheaval.

While certain Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, harbor a desire for the downfall of the Iranian regime, their reluctance to engage with Iran’s protests and internal politics is due to a multitude of challenges and constraints.

Many Arab governments, particularly those in the Gulf region, have a complex relationship with Iran. They may disapprove of the suppression of protests, but they also see Iran as a regional rival and may not want to give the impression of supporting domestic dissent, in effect allowing Iran to justify its interventionist policies elsewhere in the region.

The GCC nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, are grappling with the uncertainty surrounding the potential consequences of taking a unilateral adversarial approach towards Iran amid concerns about US security commitments and a decline in bilateral relations. Nevertheless, since the early days of the protests, Iranian authorities have repeatedly blamed foreign nations, including Saudi Arabia, for instigating the demonstrations.

IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami warned the Saudi leadership, saying, “You are involved in this matter and know that you are vulnerable; it is better to be careful.” This warning was in reference to media supported by Saudi Arabia, such as funding for Iran International TV, which broadcasts in both Persian and English from London. It also refers to other Saudi-funded media outlets like Al-Arabiya and newspapers like Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Okaz, Al-Riyadh, and Al-Madina, as well as Qatari and Jordanian newspapers. Arab News, a Saudi English-language newspaper, even dedicated special coverage to the protests.

To such accusations, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Foreign Minister stated, “A country that strengthens itself with good governance and a clear vision does not need to turn to the outside, and the Kingdom firmly adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran was planning to attack Saudi Arabia, either directly or through its allies, such as the Houthis in Yemen, allegedly to distract from the protests.

Indeed, there is a state of uncertainty regarding the trajectory of events within Iran that raises four concerns:

First, it is unclear whether the current wave of protests will be more impactful than previous ones in affecting the regime. Given the past failures of protest movements to achieve their demands, it is understandable for Arabs to expect the current protests to fail or remain focused solely on reforms without aiming for regime change.

Second is the possibility of a desperate retaliation from the regime on neighboring states and interests should the protests escalate to the point of overthrowing the government—the ‘Samson option.’

Third is whether the support for the demonstrations will pressure the regime to respond positively to the JCPOA negotiations or vice versa.

Fourth is what the new regime will look like if the mullahs’ regime falls (to avoid repeating the deception of the 1979 revolution) and the role of opposition groups already plagued by sharp internal division.

Comparably, the silence and reticence of Arab capitals towards the Iranian protests are rooted in their varying relationships with Iran and their perceptions of the threat posed by the Islamic Republic.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain hold a hostile attitude toward Iran, while Iraq, Syria, and Algeria maintain close ties and similar ideologies. Oman tries to maintain a balancing act between Iran and Saudi Arabia, while Qatar has strong economic connections with Iran that have only grown stronger in recent years after the GCC blockade in 2017.

 In some ways, this explains Al Jazeera’s limited media coverage of the protests in Iran compared to that of the Arab Spring uprisings. But at least the Qatari Foreign Minister, in his interview with Bloomberg, indicated that “We are opposing using violence by security forces against civilians whether a woman or a man. This is a domestic issue, and we don’t normally interfere in domestic issues with countries.”

Arab governments may be hesitant to speak out against the Iranian government’s repression of protests due to their fear of a domino effect. This fear stems from the potential for revolutionary contagion, as seen in the Iran Islamic Revolution and Arab Spring Uprisings, and the potential undermining of ideological ties with Iran.

It is clear that since the Arab Spring uprisings, the change in the power dynamic in the region has worked in Iran’s favor, allowing it to expand the axis of resistance it leads, particularly to the detriment of Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, these Arab governments may avoid taking a stance on the issue to avoid drawing attention to their own history of suppressing protests and to prove their goodwill and non-interference in Iran’s internal politics on the principle of good neighborliness—moral grandstanding. They believe this would strengthen their negotiating positions with Iran on outstanding and complex issues and strengthen their legitimacy in the international community.

Arabs and Iranians share the same region and religion. However, they have proud and distinct heritage, speak different languages and follow different branches of Islam, with Arabs predominantly Sunni while Iranians are Shiite. These cultural and linguistic differences create communication barriers and binary stereotypes, making it difficult to understand each other’s current common interests and demands.

Arab and Gulf media focus primarily on Iran’s regional influence and power struggles but pay little attention to local issues such as popular protests and human rights violations against minorities.

The lack of meaningful Arab media dedicated to in-depth coverage of Iranian society has heightened the divide between the Arab and Iranian peoples. The deliberate media stereotyping that portrays Iran merely through its regime and regional behavior, viewed from a narrow religious perspective, obscures the overall picture of Iranian society and erodes the trust and sympathy of the Arab public.

As against this, Iran has a vast media apparatus aimed at both the Arab and Iranian publics that reflects the views of the Iranian regime and presents political events through ideological and sectarian lenses.

Arab elites, especially after the Arab Spring, continue to face restrictions on freedom of demonstration and expression. Indeed, this impedes their ability to back advocacy campaigns for the protests in Iran organized by civil society.

Authorities are balancing a political equation that prevents them from officially supporting the protests in Iran. Nevertheless, some interaction with the protests, such as solidarity statements, condemnations, and vigils, can be observed in a few Arab capitals and elsewhere in the diaspora.

In Arab countries such as Lebanon and Iraq, which have close ties to Iran, any upheaval in Iranian politics could be viewed as a window of hope for those who grapple with their own internal struggles to challenge Iranian political influence.

In Lebanon, for example, Fe-male, a feminist organization, held a vigil to show support for the Iranian women protesting against mandatory veiling under the title “From us to you, [sending] all our love and support.” The vigil featured slogans in Arabic and Persian, including mantra of the protesters, “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Other activist groups also sought to organize a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, calling it “From Tehran to Beirut, the killer regime is one,” but failed amid threats from Hezbollah’s militias.

In Iraq, some women on social media launched the “No to Compulsory Hijab” campaign to support Iranian women facing regime repression and the mandatory dress code.

Also, in Tunisia, human rights and feminist organizations held a rally outside the Iranian Cultural Center to express their support for women in Iran. The demonstrators denounced the discrimination and mistreatment of women in Iran and chanted slogans such as “Tunisian women support Iranian women,” “Here to voice our solidarity with Iranian women,” and “Revolution and freedom.”

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), including a coalition of Arab feminist and human rights groups, issued a statement on October 7, 2022, to express solidarity. The statement, ‘We stand in solidarity with women and demonstrators in Iran,’ condemned the suppression of peaceful protests.

We likely won’t see decisive Arab reactions to the protests in Iran any time soon. Despite Arab grievances to Iran’s regional behavior, states will maintain political neutrality given the uncertain trajectory of the protests.

Furthermore, they may fear exposing themselves ideologically if they endorse foreign protests. Lastly, in a cultural dimension, there is already a wide gulf between how Arabs and Iranians perceive each other. Despite what limited civic action we have seen, these factors inhibit any broad social expression of solidarity as seen in the west.

With the challenging and fading prospects of altering Iran’s behavior or the entire regime from within, Arabs still have other choices. These include waiting for a full-fledged revolution in Iran, capitalizing on international stances and sanctions, and luring its allies to abandon it, as were tried recently with China, Russia, and Iraq.

 

Iran 3rd train of South Pars refinery goes operational

The third train of the South Pars phase 14 refinery has gone operational, according to the operator of the phase 14 development project, Mohammad-Mehdi Tavasoli-Pour.

Tavasoli-Pour told Shana that the fourth and last train of the refinery is also scheduled to be put into operation by the end of the current Iranian calendar year.

The first train of the phase 14 refinery went operational in mid-March 2022 and the second train was inaugurated in late November last year.

Phase 14 development is aimed at producing 56.6 million cubic meters per day of rich gas, 75,000 barrels/day of gas condensate and 400 tons/day of sulfur, and 1 million tons/year of liquefied petroleum gas and one million tons/year of ethane to be fed to petrochemical plants.

South Pars Phase 14 Refinery can be considered the final refinery to be completed in the South Pars complex. Before the construction of this refinery, 12 refineries received gas from the offshore platforms of the field and processed it.

However, after the inauguration of four offshore platforms of phase 14, the need to create more refining capacity in this complex was felt more day by day. Accordingly, the 13th government has put it on the agenda to complete the South Pars Phase 14 refinery by the end of the current Iranian calendar year and make it fully operational.

South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf water, is divided into 24 standard phases of development in the first stage. Most of the phases are fully operational at the moment.

The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, called North Dome, are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

The field is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about 8% of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

 

QatarEnergy-Chevron Phillips US$6 billion deal

According to Reuters, QatarEnergy announced on Sunday the final investment decision on the US$6 billion Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Complex with partner Chevron Pillips Chemical which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the Middle East.

The complex, expected to begin production in 2026, includes an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1 million tons of ethylene per year.

The integrated complex will also include two high density polyethylene derivative units with a total production capacity of 1.7 million tons per year, QatarEnergy, Chief Saad al-Kaabi Kaabi said.

Originally announced in 2019, the project highlights how Middle East oil producers are expanding further into petrochemicals, used in the production of plastics and packaging materials, to move into new markets and find new sources of income beyond exporting crude oil and natural gas.

State-run QatarEnergy will hold a 70% stake in the venture with Chevron Phillips Chemicals holding 30% under the agreement signed on Sunday.

“This marks QatarEnergy's largest investment ever in Qatar's petrochemical sector," Kaabi said.

The complex, located in Ras Laffan industrial city, is an important milestone in Qatar's downstream expansion strategy, he said.

Qatar, one of the world's top producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), will see its ethylene production capacity double on the back of the new complex. Local polymer production will also increase from 2.6 million to 4 million tons per annum.

The Gulf state, one of the most influential global players in the world's LNG markets, is expanding its North Field gas field that will see its liquefaction capacity increase from 77 million tons per annum to 126 million tons by 2027.

Football World Cup a slap in the face of Israel

With the world cup in Qatar well underway, Israel occupying Palestine got an opportunity to try and further extend its occupying hand toward the Arab and Islamic world. But events at the world's most popular sporting event have painted a completely different picture, reports Tehran Times.

The few Arab countries officially normalizing relations with Israel over the past several years stands in contrast with a growing lack of public support for the Abraham Accords in the Persian Gulf. The reality is even some monarchies in some Kingdoms have embarrassed themselves by normalizing ties with Israel, despite strong opposition from their citizens. There would have been no normalization if the people of these monarchies have the right to voice their opinion on such controversial matters.

 Such is the disgust toward Israeli policies at the prestigious occasion that even reporters dispatched by the apartheid regime have been investigating and reporting on the 'Cup of Hatred' (as one Hebrew newspaper headline put it) towards Israelis on the streets of Doha. 

Instead, soccer fans in particular Arabs, at the first World Cup in West Asia are steering well clear of Israeli journalists in Qatar who have been trying to interview them in an attempt to send home attractive headlines to the war criminals in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

Before the event even kicked off, Israeli officials had expressed hope that the US-brokered Abraham Accords reached with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, and later Sudan and Morocco, would inspire further normalization, with a lot of that hope pinned on one of the region's influential player Saudi Arabia.

Attempts to try and even interview some Arab fans have fallen flat with Israeli reporters from the regime's biggest news broadcasters saying they are being snubbed reflecting the strong boycott and opposition by the people of the rulers of Arab and Islamic countries that normalized ties over the past two years.

One Israeli reporter said Palestinian fans held a protest next to him, waving their flags and chanting "go home", in reference to the European and American countries from which Israeli settlers migrated to Palestine over the past decades, prompting the brutal Israeli ethnic cleansing campaigns against the native Palestinians.

The widespread support for the oppressed Palestinian people has been displayed with Palestinian flags being waved inside and outside stadiums despite the fact that Palestine did not qualify for the tournament. Fans from many Arab and Islamic countries have carried Palestinian flags prominently at matches and worn them as capes around their necks. 

Saudi national Khaled al-Omri, who works in the oil industry and was in Qatar to support his home team, told Reuters, “Some "countries in the Arab world are heading towards normalization – but that's because most of them don't have rulers who listen to their people," 

Aseel Sharayah, a 27-year-old Jordanian at the tournament, said he would have also refused to talk to Israeli journalists, though Amman signed a peace deal with the regime in 1994.

"If I did see any of them, there'd be absolutely no time of interaction," said Sharayah, who works for the European-Jordanian Committee in Amman. "Israeli policies are closing the door on any opportunity for more ties between the countries."

An Israeli journalist also claims that security guards were sent to remove him and his filming crew from a Qatari beach. The report says security guards were sent to remove him and his filming crew from a Qatari beach after he asked a local restaurant to film on its premises. "The owner asked to know where we're from...he called for security guards to escort us away after finding out we were Israeli," the journalist said.

The restaurant beach owner also took the journalist's phone, demanding he deletes every photo taken in his restaurant; the reporter claimed "I felt threatened."

One video circulating online shows an Egyptian football fan smiling serenely as an Israeli broadcaster introduces him live on air. Then he leans into the microphone with a message: “Viva Palestine.”

Another clip that has gone viral from the streets of Doha this week shows a group of Lebanese men walking away from a live interview with a reporter after they learned he is Israeli. One shouts over his shoulder: “There is no Israel. It’s Palestine.”

During the opening ceremony before the first match, a phalanx of Qatari men came to the Al Bayt Stadium chanting, “Everyone is welcome,” carrying with them a large Palestinian flag. “We are taking care of people in Palestine, and all Muslim people and Arab countries are holding up Palestinian flags because we’re for them,” the flag bearer told the media.

One Israeli man, who gave only his first name, told the Guardian newspaper “the majority of the masses here do not accept the presence of Israelis.”

"The Iranian team will be in the World Cup and we estimate that tens of thousands of fans will follow it, and there will be other fans from [Persian] Gulf countries that we don’t have diplomatic relations with,” said Lior Haiat, a senior Israeli official.

“Downplay your Israeli presence and Israeli identity for the sake of your personal security,” Haiat added, addressing the Israeli fans.

With the extent of so many other incidents involving Israeli settlers going viral at the tournament, it appears that things are not going as "smoothly" as the Israeli regime had anticipated. 

It also shows the immense show of solidarity with Palestinians and the resentment toward Israeli war crimes and massacres against children. Qataris themselves have a history of support for the Palestinian cause.

More importantly, what has been highlighted in Doha is that despite a few Arab rulers and monarchies normalizing ties with Israel, the people of those countries are against any form of normalization with the regime.

Palestinian flags have been waved in matches involving even Western teams who play Israel, perhaps most notably in the stands at Celtic Park in Scotland. This is despite rules introduced by the UK authorities to ban Palestinian flags inside the stadium in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

At times, entire sections of fans at Glasgow Celtic's stadium displayed Palestinian flags to protest Israeli occupation. During games against Israeli teams, Scottish fans turned whole sections of the stadium into a sea of Palestinian flags, ignoring the official ban.

Demonstrations for Palestine in Scottish football matches have been organized by several groups including one that usually posts on social media platforms the words “Fly the flag for Palestine, for Celtic, for Justice.”

Research conducted by the Qatar-run Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies shows how large majorities across the Arab world have disapproved of and are strongly opposed to any form of the normalization process. 

It found that an overwhelming majority of Arabs disapprove of recognition of Israel by their home countries, with only 6% accepting formal diplomatic recognition.

The study also finds powerful support for the Palestinian cause among ordinary Arabs, who identify the conflict as an Arab issue. “Over three-quarters of the Arab public agree that the Palestinian cause concerns all Arabs, and not the Palestinians alone,” the report says. 

“When asked to elaborate on the reasons for their positions, respondents who were opposed to diplomatic ties between their countries and Israel focused on several factors, such as Israeli racism towards the Palestinians and its colonialist, expansionist policies,” 

The study confirms how much the colonialist past and the Western hegemony over the Arab world following World War I have driven the political sentiments of the Arab and Islamic worlds toward the aggression and expansionist policies Israel is committing today.

Many other polls over the past two years show a similar pattern after the signing of the controversial "Abraham Accords" between Israel and some Arab states.

A poll by The Washington Institute shows the already shaky support for normalization among Arab public opinion has dropped further.

Israelis being shunned at Qatar World Cup

According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, multiple Israelis have claimed to have been met by an atmosphere of hostility and hatred at the World Cup in Qatar, with fans refusing to speak to Israeli journalists, waving Palestinian flags in the background of their videos and yelling at them.

Moav Vardy, KAN’s foreign affairs reporter was yelled at by a Saudi fan who told him, “You are not welcome here. This is Qatar. This is our country. There is only Palestine; no Israel.”

Other videos from Qatar show people immediately walking away when they find out the person interviewing them is Israeli.

In one particular video, N12’s Ohad Hemo begins to interview a group of Lebanese men who then walk away when Hemo tells them he’s Israeli. One of them then turns back and asks Hemo what he’s doing there and then tells him that Israel doesn’t exist.

In other videos, people stand behind various Israeli reporters and raise Palestinian flags.

Israeli soccer legend and KAN World Cup panel member Eli Ohana also faced anti-Israel sentiments when he was on a golf cart being driven by a Qatari policeman. When Ohana said he is Israeli, the officer asked him if he was joking, and Ohana then said he was really Portuguese in order to avoid trouble.

The officer told him that if he had been Israeli, he would have turned the car around and refused to drive him.

Raz Shechnick, Yediot Ahronoth’s reporter for the World Cup, wrote on Twitter about his experiences in Qatar, describing an atmosphere of rejection and hostility from both locals and foreigners attending the games.

“We didn’t want to write these words, we are not the story here. But after 10 days in Doha, we cannot hide what we are going through. We are feeling hated, surrounded by hostility, not welcomed,” the journalist wrote.

He also described an incident in which he and his colleague had lied about their country of origin, saying they were Ecuadorian in order to prevent them from being harassed by fans.

Israeli journalist Dor Hoffman reported that a Qatari taxi driver kicked him out of his cab when he discovered he was Israeli, refusing to take his money.

He later continued to a restaurant on a beach, where he was escorted out of the restaurant by security, with the owner demanding that he delete every photo taken in his restaurant. Hoffman said the owner took his phone and that he felt threatened.

On Saturday, Tunisian fans waved a banner saying “Free Palestine,” despite Qatar and FIFA’s policy of not allowing political protests at matches, a policy that led to the confiscation of rainbow-colored items in support of the LGBTQ community and Iranian anti-regime signs.

Jerusalem resident Michael Janekowitz, a former spokesman for the Jewish Agency who is attending the World Cup, refuted the claims that Israelis were being targeted, and said his experience has been without incident.

“Qatar is very welcoming to the Israeli visitors,” he said.

These Israeli journalists are going with magnifying glasses to find haters of Israel. Most of these Israel-bashers have come to the World Cup from outside of Qatar. They are being provoked by headline-seeking Israeli journalists.

“Qatar has a population of about 3.3 million of whom only 300,000 are Qataris. The other 3 million are mostly workers from mainly India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Philippines and Sudan,” he added, saying that was where the antagonism against Israelis was emanating from.

 

Iranian non-oil trade with neighbors up 18% during March-June 2022 quarter

The value of Iran’s non-oil trade with its neighboring countries increased 18% during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March-June), as compared to the same period last year, the spokesman of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Ruhollah Latifi put Iran’s non-oil trade with its neighbors at 20.973 million tons worth US$12.363 billion in the three-month period.

He said trade with the neighbors accounted for 49% of the value and 59% of the weight of Iran’s non-oil trade during the period under review.

The country exported 16.05 million tons of non-oil goods worth US$6.736 billion to the neighboring countries in the three-month period of this year, indicating 20% rise in value, while 10% drop in weight, as compared to the same period last year, the official stated.

He named Iraq, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, and Oman as the five top export destinations.

Latifi further announced that Iran imported 4.433 million tons of goods worth US$5.627 billion from its neighbors during this period, with 15% growth in value and one percent rise in weight YoY.

He named UAE, Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, and Oman as the five top sources of imports.

As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade with its neighbors during the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 was reported at US$51.875 billion, an increase of 43% YoY.

Alireza Moghadasi put the weight of non-oil trade with the neighboring countries at 100.131 million tons in the said year, stating that trade with the neighbors also increased by 23% in terms of weight.

The official put the annual non-oil exports to the mentioned countries at 75.445 million tons valued at US$26.29 billion, with a 29% rise in value and a 12% growth in weight.

Major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were Iraq with US$8.9 billion, followed by Turkey (US$6.1 billion), United Arab Emirates (US$4.9 billion), Afghanistan US$1.8 billion) and Pakistan with (US$1.3 billion) in imports from the Islamic Republic, others countries included Oman, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, according to the official.

Moghadasi further stated that Iran imported 24.686 million tons of non-oil commodities worth over US$25.846 billion in the previous year, with a 60% growth in value and a 68%YoY increase in weight.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran during the period exporting US$16.5 billion worth of goods to the country, followed by Turkey, Russia, Iraq, and Oman, he stated.

Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain were other top neighboring countries that supplied goods to Iran in 1400, respectively.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

Qatar to host Iran United States talks on reviving 2015 nuclear deal

According to a Reuters report, Qatar will host indirect talks between Iran and the United States in coming days. Iranian media also reported on Monday that amid a push by the European Union to break a months-long impasse in negotiations to reinstate a 2015 nuclear pact.

"Iran has chosen Qatar to host the talks because of Doha's friendly ties with Tehran," Mohammad Marandi, a media adviser to Iran's top nuclear negotiator, told the ISNA news agency.

A source briefed on the visit said that US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, was expected to arrive in Doha on Monday and meet with the Qatari foreign minister. An Iranian official told Reuters that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, would be in Doha for the talks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Iran's foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment and the Qatari government didn’t comment. Later, however, Iran's Tasnim news agency cited a source at Iran's foreign ministry as saying that "Bagheri will travel to Doha on Tuesday".

The pact appeared close to being secured in March when the European Union invited foreign ministers representing the accord's parties to Vienna to finalize an agreement after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and President Joe Biden's administration.

But the talks have since been suspended, chiefly over Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its elite security force, from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.

Last week, one Iranian and one European official told Reuters that Iran had dropped its demand for the removal of the IRGC's FTO sanctions, but still two issues, including one on sanctions, remained to be resolved.

"Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Monday.

The 2015 nuclear pact imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, reimposing tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

Iran's clerical establishment responded by breaching the pact's nuclear restrictions, including a 3.67% cap on the level to which it could purify uranium and a 202.8-kg limit on its enriched uranium stock.

Pakistan should forget buying Russian oil for the time being

I am an ardent supporter of buying Russian oil being sold at huge discount. However, on the second thought, without mincing my words, I would say Pakistan should forget buying Russian oil for the time being. The country must solicit better terms and conditions from countries currently meeting Pakistan’s requirements.

First and the foremost, Pakistani refineries are not tuned to refine Russian oil. Even if Pakistan decides to buy Russian oil, the prerequisite is making these refineries capable of refining Russian oil. At this juncture, Pakistan neither has the foreign exchange nor the time to re-tune the refineries.

Second making payment to Russian suppliers is a stumbling block. Even those European countries, heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas, are being pressurized by United States to gradually curtail their purchases of energy products from Russia. The payment process is also being made difficult. On top of all, Pakistan also does not have ample rubles.

Third, Pakistan already enjoys deferred payment facility from Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is also willing to give more foreign exchange, but it would certainly not approve taking money from it and buying oil from Russia.

Pakistan can also increase purchase of motor gasoline and diesel purchase from these two brotherly countries to avoid any retuning of the refineries in Pakistan.

UAE is already a joint venture partner in Pakistan’s largest refinery, Pak-Arab Refinery (PARCO) located at Mahmood Kot near Multan and black and white oil pipelines in Pakistan.

Forth, the sailing time from Saudi Arabia/United Arab Emirates to Pakistan is certainly shorter as compared to any of the Russian ports. Therefore, the benefit of discounted price would be eroded to a significant extent by higher freight cost.

Along with buying crude oil and POL products from Saudi Arabia and UAE, Pakistan should also negotiate with Qatar to sell LNG at concessional price that too at a deferred payment.

On the diplomatic front Pakistan should also convince United States to let the country buy LNG from Iran. The argument is simple, “If India being a member of QUAD can buy oil from Russia despite sanctions; Pakistan should also be allowed to buy gas from Iran”.     

As such the negotiations regarding ‘Iran Nuclear Deal’ has been dragged for too long. If United States is willing to allow Venezuela to export oil, sanctions on Iran should also be withdrawn immediately to save the world from crude oil and energy products becoming too expensive.

This is also to remind the policy makers that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has already assured Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari the willingness of his country to meet Pakistan’s demand of oil, gas and electricity.

Growing cooperation between Iran and Qatar

Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday to hold talks with senior Qatari officials and attend the two country’s eighth Joint Economic Committee meeting.

A high-ranking delegation of Iranian government officials, including Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi and head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak accompanied Mehrabian during his visit.

As part of the scheduled meetings with Qatari officials, Mehrabian met with Qatari Minister of Energy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi on Monday to discuss areas of interest for cooperation.

In this meeting, the energy minister expressed Iran’s interest in further expansion of economic relations between the two countries. He noted that the cooperation capacities of the two countries are very appropriate and emphasized removing the existing obstacles.

Referring to the good relations between the two countries in various fields, Mehrabian said, “The Iranian government has emphasized the development of relations with neighboring countries, and accordingly, these relations are increasing every day.”

The Qatari side also emphasized the need for increased efforts to develop relations between the two countries and to pave the way for trade exchanges.

On the same day, the Iranian delegation also met with the country’s businessmen and traders residing in Qatar and discussed various issues.

Speaking in this meeting, Mehrabian announced the signing of a document for supporting the private sectors of Iran and Qatar with the aim of developing trade cooperation between the two countries.

“The level of relations with neighboring countries has grown significantly since the current government has taken office in Iran,” he said, stressing that the Qatari market is a green market ready for the presence of Iranian businessmen and traders.

“Iran’s trade relations with the neighboring countries have increased by over 450% in the past nine months, and the figure is 900% for the past three months,” the minister said.

Iranian business center launched in Qatar

Peyman-Pak for his part, announced the establishment of an Iranian business center in Qatar to support the country’s traders.

Peyman-Pak said that transportation and banking relations are of special importance for the development of trade between the two countries.

Also, the head of the Iran-Qatar Joint Chamber of Commerce referred to the role of the private sectors of the two countries in trade development and said, "In Iran-Qatar Joint Chamber of Commerce, we seek to provide a special model of public-private partnership in Qatar."

Later on Monday, Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie met with Chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and explored avenues of mutual cooperation.

In this meeting, Al Thani expressed satisfaction with the presence of the Iranian trade delegation in Qatar and noted that Qatar’s private sector is eager to cooperate with its Iranian counterparts.

“In the field of trade, we will act on the basis of the political relations between the two countries which are very good,” he said, stressing his country's readiness to solve the problems that Iranian businessmen may face in trade with Qatar.

Shafeie also described the political relations between the two countries as very positive and added, “We should try to develop trade relations between the two countries in line with the political relations. The development of economic relations will also lead to the stability of political ties, and Iran is very enthusiastic in this regard.”

The eighth meeting of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Committee is scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Doha.

Mehrabian and Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Qassim Al-Thani will co-chair the intergovernmental committee meeting.

Meetings between officials of the two countries have increased in recent months as Qatar prepares to host the World Cup 2022 in November and December. Iran has offered its full logistical support to help Qatar successfully organize the tournament.