Middle East & North Africa

26 June 2019; MEMO: A parliamentary bloc in Jordan has adopted a memorandum of distrust against the government of Prime Minister Omar Razzaz due to its participation in the Bahrain workshop, which will lay out the economic aspect of the deal of the century.

The parliamentary reform bloc, which is affiliated to the Islamic Movement in Jordan, conveyed a message in a statement to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, condemning Jordan’s participation in the Bahrain conference.

26 June 2019; MEMO: Oman announced today that it will open an embassy in the occupied West Bank.

In a tweet, Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote: “In continuation of the Sultanate’s support for the Palestinian people, the Sultanate has decided to open a new diplomatic mission to the State of Palestine at the level of an embassy.”

The ministry also said that a delegation “will travel to Ramallah to initiate the opening of the embassy,” without providing further details or a timescale.

26 June 2019; AFP: Iran said Tuesday it will further free itself from the 2015 nuclear deal in defiance of new American sanctions as US President Donald Trump warned the Islamic republic of "overwhelming" retaliation for any attacks.

Tensions between Iran and the US have spiralled since last year when Trump withdrew the United States from the deal under which Tehran was to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Iran prepares to surpass limits set by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, each step it takes narrows the time the country’s leaders would need to have enough highly enriched uranium for an atomic bomb — if they chose to build one.

The United Nations says Iran has so far respected the deal’s terms. But by Thursday, Iran says it will have over 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium in its possession, which would mean it had broken out of the atomic accord.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on tensions between the U.S. and Iran and in the Persian Gulf (all times local):

6:30 a.m.

Saudi Arabia says it has shot down a drone launched into the kingdom by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels.

Military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki announced the shootdown of the drone Tuesday night near the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, appealed Tuesday for the Palestinians to consider a $50 billion economic support plan, even though they already rejected the proposal because it does not include a political resolution to the long-running conflict with the Israelis.

Kushner, speaking at a conference in Bahrain, defended the proposal as the foundation of any eventual peace plan. Meanwhile, Palestinians protested the plan in the streets of the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran warned Tuesday that new U.S. sanctions targeting its supreme leader and other top officials meant “closing the doors of diplomacy” between Tehran and Washington amid heightened tensions, even as President Hassan Rouhani derided the White House as being “afflicted by mental retardation.”

25 June 2019; MEMO: The Kuwaiti parliament announced yesterday that it will boycott the Manama conference and has stressed its support for Palestinian rights.

In a statement read during an open meeting, Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said: “Kuwait is a supporter of occupied Palestine and rejects normalising ties with Israel.”

25 June 2019; MEMO: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the White House was “afflicted by a mental retardation” in a live televised address today.

In the latest trade of blows between Washington and Tehran, Rouhani slammed US President Donald Trump’s latest sanctions on senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as “outrageous and idiotic.”

Rouhani said: “You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks?”

25 June 2019; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may seek to avoid fresh elections currently scheduled for September, in light of poor performances in recent polling, reported Ynet.

According to the article, “Likud sources” say Netanyahu has polling data showing that the new elections would “leave him in worse political shape than today”.

The September elections were called after Netanyahu was unable to form a coalition majority after April’s vote.