Middle East & North Africa

20 Nov 2019; MEMO: China and Saudi Arabia have begun a three-week joint naval exercise, Chinese state media said on Tuesday evening, reports Reuters.

The joint exercise at a Saudi Arabian naval base comes as tensions in the Gulf have risen over recent attacks on oil tankers and a major assault on Saudi energy facilities.

20 Nov 2019; MEMO: The Trump administration yesterday informed Congress that it has deployed an additional 3,000 troops to the Middle East in a bid to counter the perceived growing threat posed by Iran, some of whom have already arrived in Saudi Arabia.

“United States Armed Forces have been deployed to the Middle East to protect United States interests and enhance force protection in the region against hostile action by Iran and its proxy forces,” President Donald Trump informed Congress in a letter.

ANKARA, November 20. /TASS/: Turkey is not considering any plans of striking a new deal with Russia on the supplies of S-400 missile systems, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Wednesday.

TASS, November 20: The Israeli Air Force has attacked dozens of positions occupied by the Syrian army and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Syria in response to a missile barrage on Israeli territory that was carried out yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service said on Wednesday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Rouhani on Wednesday claimed government victory over unrest he blamed on Iran’s foreign enemies, according to state media, after protests since a hike in gasoline prices last week that have shaken the country.

“The Iranian people have again succeeded at an historic test and shown that they will not let enemies benefit from the situation, even though they might have complaints about the country’s management,” Rouhani said in remarks carried by the state broadcaster IRIB on its website.

ISTANBUL, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- A total of 40 illegal migrants were rescued off Turkey's Aegean coast on Wednesday, the Turkish National Defence Ministry announced.

TCG Tuzla, a patrol boat, detected an inflatable boat carrying illegal migrants near the Edremit gulf in the northwestern province of Balikesir, the ministry tweeted.

"Forty irregular migrants have been saved by coast guard teams," the post read, without revealing further details.

DAMASCUS, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses on Wednesday responded to foreign missile strikes on Damascus, state media reported.

The air defenses intercepted a number of missiles in southern Damascus, said the state TV.

Sound of explosions was reverberating across the capital city early Wednesday morning, it reported.

The Syrian army said in a statement that Israeli warplanes from the occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese Marj Oyoun area targeted the vicinity of Damascus with a number of missiles.

ANKARA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- If the U.S. stance on delivery of F-35 fighter jets does not change, Turkey would be forced to "look elsewhere" to meet its defense necessities, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

"If the current disagreement on F-35 fighter jets continues, Turkey must look elsewhere to meet its medium-term needs," Erdogan said while addressing his party members at the parliament.

The Turkish president was referring to his meeting last week with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East’s biggest carrier, the Dubai-based Emirates, announced on Wednesday a firm order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in a deal valued at $8.8 billion.

Emirates CEO and Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said this order replaces an agreement for 150 777x Boeing to 126 of that aircraft, and adds 30 of the 787-9 Dreamliners. He spoke to reporters at the Dubai Airshow.

ALON SHVUT, West Bank (AP) — Israel’s prime minister traveled to the West Bank on Tuesday to celebrate the U.S.’s announcement that it does not consider Israeli settlements to violate international law.

Benjamin Netanyahu called the Trump administration’s declaration, which stepped back from four decades of U.S. policy and reversed the policies of President Barack Obama, a “huge achievement” that “fixed a historic wrong.”

“I think it is a great day for the state of Israel and an achievement that will remain for decades,” he said.