The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Animators with passion bring humor to digital content in Gaza Three young Palestinians are determined to create socially relevant and sometimes-humorous digital content in Gaza despite some obstacles. Palestine
Sisi pitches Sinai development to business world Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called on the country’s business leaders to help develop Sinai, but interest has been underwhelming so far. Egypt
Gazan family discovers Roman site in backyard A Gaza family’s discovery of the remains of a Roman cemetery in their backyard spurred a major conflict between the family and the authorities. Palestine
Iran deal advocates prepare to battle Pompeo nomination President Trump’s pick to replace Rex Tillerson at the State Department has called the Iran agreement “disastrous” and threatened military action against Iran. Congress
With Tillerson firing, Trump throws transatlantic Iran talks into disarray In a tweet, US President Donald Trump threw transatlantic consultations on Iran into disarray March 13 with his surprise decision to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. United States
Pentagon braces for emboldened Iran after Syria gains The Pentagon’s top commander in the Middle East told lawmakers today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s gains in the yearslong civil war will bolster Iran’s ability to frustrate US aims in the region. Syria
Turkish-Arab ties marked by fear and loathing A senior Turkish diplomat says Ankara misread the Middle East and ended up relying on Iran and its backer Russia, the two countries that Arab regimes fear the most. United Arab Emirates
Life sentence hangs over US pastor as Washington sizes up Ankara Though Congress was reportedly deterred by the State Department from imposing sanctions on Turkey, the indictment of pastor Andrew Brunson may alter the mood as Mike Pompeo replaces Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Turkey
Outspoken Iranian pro-reform professor sentenced to jail A prominent pro-reform professor is sentenced to jail in Iran as two ministers survive impeachment votes in parliament. Iran
Russia warns against attacking Damascus, says West is lying Moscow accuses the United States of wanting to interfere in Russia's presidential election and of concocting fake news about a pending Syrian chemical strike against civilians, and it says it's being falsely blamed for the spy poisoning in the UK. Syria
Iran says IS resurgence could hamper oil deal with Iraq An Iranian official warns that numerous attacks in Iraq have created security concerns that are preventing the countries from completing their oil deal, but some Iraqis think the Kurdistan Regional Government has engineered the situation because it no longer controls the oil. Iraq
European pressure over missiles unites Iranian hardliners, moderates Iran appears impervious to the increasing pressure from the United States and Europe to negotiate over its regional policies and missile program. Iran
