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Please find below today’s daily news brief.
Iran: Gunshots fired at protesters as the authorities’ crackdown intensifies
As the regime’s crackdown on protesters intensifies, reports of gunshots being fired at civilians surfaced in several cities across the country, including Isfahan and Karaj. Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was quoted by the state news agency ISNA as stating that he “instructed judges to avoid showing unnecessary sympathy to main elements of these riots and issue tough sentences for them while separating the less guilty people.” On Thursday, President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated his accusations according to which the United States is behind the unrest, conducting a “failed policy of destabilization” targeting Iran. Previously, on Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the protests “scattered riots” designed by the enemy “against the great and innovative developments and movements of the Iranian nation.”
Iran: Tehran’s nuclear chief announces the launch of new centrifuges at nuclear site
The director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami confirmed International Atomic Energy Agency’s report, saying that Tehran has now launched the third cascade of centrifuges at Natanz nuclear site. The move will increase Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium as the nuclear talks have been stalling for weeks.
Iran | EU: The European Union agrees to impose new sanctions on Iran
The EU member states agreed on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Iran following the brutal crackdown on the protests that swept the country. No further details were provided regarding the impending sanctions that will be officially adopted next Monday.
Iran | Israel: Iran claims it arrested an individual working for the Israeli intelligence services
Iran’s head of the Justice Department in the southern city of Kerman Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Hamidi stated on Tuesday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Division arrested an individual “involved in espionage activities” for Israel, operating in Iran under the guise of a businessman. He added that the detainee was arrested before leaving the country to meet with an Israeli agent.
Iran | Qatar: Iran’s president meets with Qatar’s emir in Kazakhstan
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Kazakhstan on Thursday on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. No further details have been provided with regard to their discussion.
Iraq: Rocket attack targets Baghdad ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a new president
Nine rockets landed in Baghdad’s Green Zone on Thursday shortly before the parliament began a session to elect a new president, more than one year after the legislative elections. According to a statement by the Iraqi army, several members of the security forces were injured in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The incident comes after the parliament security personnel found an explosive device in the park of the legislature’s building.
Israel | Palestine: After a night of violence, Israel says it is in control of East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank
Palestinians clashed with the Israeli forces on Wednesday night and early on Thursday as the army continues the search for the perpetrator of a deadly shooting days earlier. Since Saturday night, the Israeli military imposed a lockdown on the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem where the gunman is thought to have fled after the attack. On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) imposed a closure on the city of Nablus, limiting the entry and exit, after the Shin Bet Internal Security Service arrested four individuals in the occupied West Bank for alleged ties with Hamas. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz stated on Thursday that the army did not lose control in West Bank and East Jerusalem, but it is a complex security challenge. Meanwhile, Palestinians across the West Bank and in Jerusalem responded to a call for a general strike issued by a newly-formed armed group calling itself the “Lions’ Den” whose members have carried out a series of shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers.
Lebanon: Parliamentary session to elect a new president fails to secure a quorum
Lebanon’s Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri adjourned the Thursday session and called for a new meeting next week to elect the country’s next president after the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah boycotted the session. Current President Michel Aoun’s term ends on October 31 and the members of the parliament still have divergent views over the candidates, risking to push Lebanon into an even greater institutional deadlock.
Lebanon: Health ministry announces the first death due to cholera
Lebanon’s health ministry announced on Wednesday the first death case from cholera since detecting the disease earlier in October, marking the first case of the disease since 1993. It added that the total number of recorded infections so far has reached 26.
Lebanon | Syria: Lebanon to resume sending Syrian refugees back to their country
President Michel Aoun stated on Wednesday that Lebanon will start sending Syrian refugees back home at the end of the next week, emphasizing that the process is applicable only to those who had voluntarily signed up with the General Security to return to Syria. Michel Aoun’s announcement comes as human rights groups warn that Syria is not currently safe for the returnees and that they may face abuses and persecution.
Palestine | Russia: Palestinian president meets with his Russian counterpart in Kazakhstan
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, hosted in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana. The two leaders discussed the recent developments in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as regional and international issues. Mahmoud Abbas also held a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Qatar | Russia: Qatar’s emir is expected to meet with the Russian president in Kazakhstan
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia hosted by Kazakhstan. It is the emir’s first meeting with Putin since 2019 and comes just a day after Qatar voted on a resolution of the UN General Assembly rejecting Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh responds to criticism over OPEC+ decision to cut oil production
Saudi Arabia rejected the criticism of an OPEC+ decision to cut oil production as “not based on facts,” adding that Washington’s request to delay the cut by a month would have had negative economic consequences. US President Joe Biden stated that following the decision “there will be consequences” for US-Saudi relations. On Wednesday, Biden said that Washington is “going to react to Saudi Arabia,” and that it “will take action.”
Saudi Arabia | Yemen: Saudi-led coalition exchanges prisoners of war with the Houthi rebels
Two delegations of the Saudi-led coalition landed in Yemen on Wednesday as part of a prisoners-of-war exchange with the Houthi rebels, an action described by the coalition’s spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki as a “goodwill initiative” that aims to “build confidence.” The head of the Houthi-aligned National Committee for Prisoners Affairs said that the list of prisoners was agreed on during meetings in Jordan’s capital of Amman. Efforts to renew a truce that expired on October 2 continue between the Houthis, Saudi Arabia, and the UN.
Syria: At least 18 regime soldiers died in a bus explosion
According to the Syrian state media, at least 18 soldiers were killed and 27 others injured after an explosive device attached to a military bus in the Damascus countryside went off. The incident is the deadliest attack in months against government troops not on an active frontline. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Tunisia: Protesters clash with police over missing migrants
Clashes between protesters and police occurred Wednesday in Tunisia’s coastal town of Zarzis as the demonstrators demanded a rescue mission for their missing relatives lost at sea during a failed migration attempt. The protesters blocked the town's main street and chanted slogans such as “the people want our lost children,” urging the authorities to step up search efforts. The demonstrations come more than two weeks after a boat carrying Tunisian migrants went missing while trying to reach Italy.
Turkey | Russia: Turkish and Russian presidents meet in Kazakhstan
Turkish and Russian leaders held a meeting on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, hosted by Kazakhstan, during which Vladimir Putin proposed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the building of a natural gas hub in Turkey that would allow regulating prices, selling gas at marker prices and ruling out “politicization of the issue.” Putin said that Russia continues to deliver gas via the TurkStream pipeline, while Erdogan stated that “our goal is to continue the momentum gained despite the difficulties in the field and to stop the bloodshed [in Ukraine] as soon as possible.”
Turkey | US: US Senate removes two conditions on F-16 sales to Turkey
Two provisions of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act bill’s Senate version that were set to restrict the sale of F-16 jets to Turkey have been dropped. Turkey made a request last year to purchase 40 F-16s and modernization kits for 80 others. The removal of the two conditions comes after Ankara put in months of diplomatic efforts to convince US officials in this regard.
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