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
Hamas official: Rumors of talks with Israel exaggerated A senior Hamas source claims that rumors about negotiations with Israel for a long-term truce are exaggerated, saying that the only issue seriously on the table is an exchange of Hamas prisoners and the bodies of two IDF soldiers. Palestine
Iran’s Additional Protocol concerns need not stop deal Iran has little to worry about in agreeing to enforce the NPT Additional Protocol, with resources like "managed access" and precedents for dispute resolution from other countries. Iran
Israel should support Syrian 'Druzistan' In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser argues that if and when the Assad regime falls in Syria, Israel should support self-rule by the local Druze population. Israel
US, Russia face off in Middle East US-Russian relations involving the Middle East could be affected by the new US National Military Strategy, which sees a low but growing risk of an "interstate war with a major power." Russia
Rafsanjani's Instagram diplomacy Hashemi Rafsanjani is engaging in Instagram diplomacy with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. Iran
A Turkish plan to bail out Greece? After decades of disputes, can Turkey and Greece once again look to each other as allies? Turkey
China, Turkey: friends or foes? Turkey's manipulative news reports of China's massacres of fasting Uighurs recently upended China-Turkey relations. Turkey
Erdogan talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk Turkey appears to have changed its mind on Syria, and Ankara is preparing to work closer with Washington against IS, which suggests it may be moving away from prioritizing the demise of the Assad regime. Syria
Iran talks kick into overdrive European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said the negotiators need a couple more days to try to conclude a final Iran nuclear accord. Iran
Mixed reviews for TV show on Egyptian Jews A period TV series set in a historic multicultural neighborhood in Cairo is a departure for Ramadan television programming in the country. Egypt
How viable is Lebanon’s presidential poll? A few Christian leaders in Lebanon have agreed on a mechanism to resolve the ongoing presidential conflict that has caused the resentment of many, but will it prove a viable option? Lebanon
Forget Uber, Iraqis strap into satoutas Struggling to make ends meet, Iraqis have innovated a new means to transport goods and people for little money, which has been competing with taxi drivers. Iraq
