Middle East & North Africa

14 August 2022; MEMO: Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said Sunday it does not have the authority to dissolve the country's parliament, Anadolu Agency reports.

On Wednesday, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the council, Iraq's highest judicial authority, to dissolve the assembly amid a deep political crisis in the country.

The council said in a statement that it had discussed al-Sadr's request to dissolve the Parliament and found that it has no authority to disband it.

14 August 2022; MEMO: A Turkish military delegation will visit the US on Monday for talks on the sale of F-16 jets to Turkiye, Anadolu Agency reports.

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar previously announced that a team will hold the third round of bilateral technical talks following up on US President Joe Biden's pledge to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye.

15 August 2022; MEMO: NGOs and Civil Society Networks from Europe, Asia, North America and Africa have signed an open letter to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation criticising their silence over the recent attacks on Palestinians and their increasing silence over the issue of Palestine.

The letter, organised by the Decolonial International Network and the Universal Justice Network, is co-signed by dozens of organisations and networks from as far afield as Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Iran, UK, Lebanon and Pakistan.

RIYADH, Aug 14 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that, it has allowed all types of visitors, including those holding tourist visas, to perform the Umrah (minor Hajj) in the kingdom, it was reported.

The decision, which is valid for the new Umrah season, that began on Jul 30, aims to enrich Umrah performers’ cultural and religious experience, said the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Visitors eligible for on-arrival visas or e-visas and holders of U.S., British or Schengen visa are also included.

KUWAIT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Kuwait has appointed an ambassador to Iran, both countries said on Sunday, more than six years after recalling its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after it severed ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016.

Ambassador Bader Abdullah Al-Munaikh handed his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran on Saturday, Iran's foreign ministry said on its website. Kuwait's foreign ministry confirmed Munaikh was appointed envoy to Iran.

Iran already has an ambassador in Kuwait.

BEIRUT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The father of a man charged with attempting to murder novelist Salman Rushdie has locked himself in at his home in southern Lebanon and is refusing to speak to anyone, town mayor Ali Tehfe said on Sunday.

The suspect in Friday's attack in New York state has been identified by police as 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey. He has pleaded not guilty. Matar is originally Lebanese and his family comes from the south Lebanon town of Yaroun.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot announced on Sunday that he has joined the alliance of two government ministers to run for the November parliamentary elections.

Eisenkot said in a statement that he has teamed up with an alliance led by Benny Gantz, Israel's defense minister and leader of the centrist alliance Blue and White, and Gideon Sa'ar, the justice minister and leader of the right-wing New Hope party.

The new three-way alliance will be headed by Gantz, with Sa'ar as his second and Eisenkot in the third place.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized a vessel carrying more than 22,000 liters of smuggled fuel in the southern waters of the country, official news agency IRNA reported Sunday.

Upon detecting the vessel, the IRGC's naval forces seized it and impounded the smuggled fuel, Chief Justice of Iran's Hormuzgan Province Mojtaba Qahremani was quoted by IRNA as saying.

Punishments for fuel smugglers include financial penalties, imprisonment, and confiscation of illegal properties, according to Qahremani.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi energy company Aramco said Sunday its profits jumped 90% in the second quarter compared to the same time last year, helping its half-year earnings reach nearly $88 billion. The increase is a boon for the kingdom and the crown prince’s spending power as people around the world pay higher gas prices at the pump while energy companies rake in top earnings.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s top judicial body said Sunday it doesn’t have the authority to dissolve the country’s parliament, days after an influential Shiite cleric gave it one week to dismiss the legislature so that new elections can be held.

The decision by the Supreme Judicial Council is likely to increase tensions between followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and members of Iran-backed groups as Iraq sinks deeper into its political impasse, now in its 10th month. The impasse is the longest in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion reset the political order.