Middle East & North Africa

Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA – Iranian Ambassador to London in a message said the recently-released Iranian supertanker Grace 1 was not renamed due to circumventing sanctions because it is simply under no sanctions.

Renaming Grace 1 has brought about a misunderstanding of circumventing sanctions, Hamid Baeidinejad wrote in his Twitter account.

This is while, Panama was against the continuation of Grace 1 tanker under its flag, he added.

Based on maritime regulations, the flag of the ship is subject to its registration place, he noted.

18 Aug 2019; MEMO: Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Saturday claimed to have carried out drone attacks on oil facilities in southeastern Saudi Arabia, reports Anadolu Agency.

Speaking on the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television, rebel spokesman Yehia Sarie said the Shia group had launched ten drone strikes on Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield and refinery, close to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) border.

18 Aug 2019; MEMO: The presence of America and Britain in the Gulf region brings insecurity, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy, Alireza Tangsiri, was reported as saying by the ILNA news agency, reports Reuters.

Tensions have spiked between Iran and the US and Britain in the Gulf after the Islamic Republic shot down an American drone in June and seized a British tanker last month for violating maritime regulations.

18 Aug 2019; MEMO: Israeli forces opened fire at a group of Palestinians as they tried to cross the Gaza fence, the military said on Sunday and Palestinian health officials said three of the men were killed, reports Reuters.

“A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops spotted a number of armed suspects adjacent to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip. An IDF attack helicopter and a tank fired towards them,” the military said in a statement.

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Troops belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) demanding the secession of southern Yemeni regions withdrew on Saturday from a number of government institutions in the port city of Aden after a week of seizure.

According to Aden-based officials, the withdrawal of the STC forces from Yemeni government institutions, including the Central Bank of Yemen and the cabinet headquarters, as well as from the judicial compound in the strategic port city, came after successful mediation efforts conducted by the Saudi-led coalition.

GAZA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military opened fire at a group of Palestinians as they tried to cross the Gaza border, killing three men and injuring another, local media reported on Sunday.

The Israeli military said an attack helicopter and a tank fired at the "armed suspects adjacent to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip."

Palestinian officials confirmed the casualties, according to the reports.

17 August 2019; AFP: A last-minute US warrant to seize an Iranian oil tanker preparing to leave Gibraltar after weeks of detention cast doubt over its departure on Saturday, prolonging a diplomatic spat between Tehran, London and Washington.

17 August 2019; DW: Eight months after mass protests erupted, the main opposition coalition and the ruling military council have signed a final deal for a transitional government. If it works, Sudan could return to civilian rule in 3 years.

Sudan's ruling military council and the main opposition coalition on Saturday inked a final agreement for a transitional government.

17 Aug 2019; MEMO: Scores of Israelis took part in a protest organised in Tel Aviv yesterday calling for the return of Israeli soldiers captured in the besieged Gaza Strip.

17 Aug 2019; MEMO: Airstrikes have killed more than two dozen civilians including 11 children in rebel-held northwestern Syria in the last two days in an escalation of a Russian-backed offensive, a war monitor and local activists said on Saturday, reports Reuters.