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
'Putin's Rasputin' pushes Russian alliance in parliament visit to AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party formally met with the Russian president’s special adviser Alexander Dugin, who was busy nurturing the seeds of Turkish suspicion of the United States long before the attempted coup and is now massaging the party's relations with Russia. Turkey
Turkey's domestic policy losing its foreign friends Turkey’s foreign relations continue to deteriorate, especially with Europe. Turkey
Iranian judiciary chief calls out Rouhani over press freedom The ongoing Press Exhibition in Iran has provided a platform for debate on freedom of the press in the country, highlighting the divisions among political factions. Iran
A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective A YPG commander told Al-Monitor in an interview that Kurdish militias will help the Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Raqqa but won’t remain in the city after the Islamic State is expelled. Syria
The Russian-Iranian alliance that wasn't Collaboration between Iran and Russia on regional matters is growing, but there are still major obstacles to a true Russian-Iranian alliance. Russia
Will gold exports help boost Iran's economy? Iran has lifted restrictions on the export of raw gold to support its fledgling gold industry, but the sector will need more upgrades to compete in the global market. Iran
What Iranian clerics really think of Cyrus the Great The backlash by one prominent Iranian cleric against the recent major gathering at the tomb of Cyrus the Great belies the Shiite clergy’s more nuanced approach to Iran’s pre-Islamic past. Iran
New study explores Tunisia’s jihadi movement in numbers Gleaning information from court cases, researchers have made significant discoveries about Tunisia’s jihadi movement. Syria
Iraqi National Alliance seeks Maliki-Sadr reconciliation The predominately Shiite National Alliance with Iranian support is trying to reconcile between Vice President Nouri al-Maliki and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Iraq
Why Iranian-Saudi game in Lebanon is far from over Iranian officials were quick to congratulate Michel Aoun on becoming president of Lebanon, while their Saudi rivals, not so pleased with his new position, took a little longer. Saudi Arabia
How a joke about Sisi’s fridge has strained Cairo-Riyadh ties The careless slip of a Saudi tongue was enough to anger Egyptians and end the term of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's secretary-general as Riyadh-Cairo relations deteriorate over regional alliances and halted oil shipments. Saudi Arabia
Russia emerges as a center of gravity for Israel Given that Russia’s influence in the Middle East excluding Syria remains limited, Moscow is looking for other entry points — but can Israel offer such an opportunity? Palestine
