Middle East & North Africa

31 May 2021; MEMO: United Nations human rights experts have condemned Egypt's execution of Wael Mikhil (Father Isaiah), a Coptic Christian monk, on 9 May, 2021. Mikhil was convicted of murder based on an alleged forced confession.

31 May 2021; MEMO: Iran's oil output can easily reach 6.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when U.S. sanctions are lifted, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday, according to the Ministry's SHANA website, Reuters reports.

Zanganeh also said an increase in Iranian oil output would boost the country's political power, as Tehran and world powers pursue talks to lift the U.S. sanctions that have stopped it from pumping anywhere near capacity since 2018.

30 May 2021; MEMO: Israeli forces rounded up nine Palestinians in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, according to a local NGO on Sunday, reports Anadolu Agency.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the arrests took place in the cities of Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, and East Jerusalem.

"At least 45 Palestinians have been detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since Friday," the NGO added in a statement.

30 May 2021; MEMO: The US-led coalition against Daesh terror group said Sunday its mission in Iraq has shifted from direct combat to providing support to the Iraqi army, reports Anadolu Agency.

31 May 2021; MEMO: The Israeli Foreign Ministry has summoned the Philippines envoy, Macairog Alberto, to protest against his country's vote in favour of forming an inquiry commission into Israel's violations in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported.

30 May 2021; MEMO: The Arab League on Sunday welcomed the UN Human Rights Council's resolution to create an international commission to investigate Israel's violations against the Palestinians, reports Anadolu Agency.

In a statement, the Cairo-based Arab League said the resolution comes "in the light of the [Israeli] ethnic cleansing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Silwan neighborhood, and the aggression on Gaza".

31 May 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi army on Sunday withdrew tanks and military vehicles deployed in the capital, Baghdad, amid security tension over the arrest of a prominent Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) leader, Anadolu Agency reported.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi security forces arrested the head of the PMF militia, Qassim Mahmoud Musleh, in Anbar province, based on a judicial investigation and arrest warrant on terrorism charges.

30 May 2021; MEMO: Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Sunday for talks on the Gaza cease-fire with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, according to Egyptian media, reports Anadolu Agency.

The state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper said the two diplomats will discuss ways of consolidating the cease-fire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

31 May 2021; MEMO: Yaakov Litzman, Israel's housing minister and former health minister, led a settler raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, entering through Al-Magharbeh Gate, Quds Press reported.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. has sold some 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil after seizing an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, court documents and government statistics show.

The Iranian crude oil showed up in new figures released over the weekend by the U.S. Energy Information Agency, raising the eyebrows of commodities traders as Tehran remains targeted by a series of American sanctions. The EIA figures included just over 1 million barrels of Iranian “crude oil imports” in March.