Middle East & North Africa

AMMAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday underlined the key role of the United Nations (UN) in addressing regional issues, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The remarks were made by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a meeting with visiting President of the United Nations General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces on Sunday, where discussions focused on the UN role in ending regional crises.

Safadi said that empowering the UN and its institutions will enhance the international community's ability to overcome political, security and developmental challenges.

Tehran, July 21, IRNA – Iran Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday the Iranian oil tanker which had been seized by Saudi Arabia after it sought help from the Saudi border guards, was released and is now being towed toward the Persian Gulf.

Speaking to reporters, Eslami said that Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization took legal action with the Saudi government seeking its release, so that the Iranian oil tanker was released from Jeddah port.

21 July 2019; MEMO: Turkish army will never hesitate to take the same step as 45 years ago “if needed for the lives and security of Turkish Cypriots,” the Turkish President said on Saturday.

“Turkey launched the peace operation in Cyprus to protect rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots who are one of the equal owners of the island,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a statement released by Turkey’s Presidential Communications Directorate.

21 July 2019; AFP: Longtime adversaries Cyprus and Turkey are locked in a tense "game of chicken" over the prospect of a multi-billion-dollar Mediterranean gas bonanza with neither side willing to capitulate, analysts say.

Turkey vowed to escalate its activities in waters around the island after the European Union on Monday agreed measures to punish Ankara for pursuing "illegal" drilling in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.

21 July 2019; DW: The US is sending troops to Saudi Arabia amid concerns that it is preparing for a war with Iran. It will be the first deployment of American forces in the kingdom since the US toppling of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime.

Statements from Riyadh and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) have confirmed the deployment of US forces in Saudi Arabia amid a looming threat of war with Iran.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s seizure of a British oil tanker was a response to Britain’s role in impounding an Iranian supertanker first, senior officials said Saturday, as newly released video of the incident showed Iranian commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure prompted condemnation from the U.K. and its European allies as they continue to call for a de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway.

20 July 2019; MEMO: Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time on Friday when a freak second-minute goal by Baghdad Bounedjah gave them a 1-0 win over gallant Senegal in the final, Reuters reports.

Bounedjah stunned the Lions of Teranga with a shot which took a wicked deflection off Salif Sane and looped over the bewildered goalkeeper Alfred Gomis and into the net.

GAZA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 74 Palestinian demonstrators were injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the eastern Gaza Strip on Friday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.

Among the injured were two journalists and four field paramedics, a ministry report said, adding 36 were injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire.

According to local media, around 6,000 demonstrators gathered on Friday afternoon in eastern Gaza close to the border with Israel.

BAGHDAD (AP) — An unmanned drone dropped explosives on a base belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary forces in northern Iraq early Friday, wounding two people, Iraqi security officials and a military statement said, amid regional tensions between the United States and Iran.

The statement said the drone dropped two grenades half an hour apart on the base in Amirli, in Iraq’s northern Salaheddin province. No further details were provided.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Latest on developments related to tensions between the U.S and Iran (all times local):

4 a.m.

Energy experts say recent seizures and attacks aimed at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz will raise insurance rates for shipping companies and, if unchecked, could reduce tanker traffic in the vital waterway.

Britain’s foreign secretary said Friday that Iranian authorities seized two ships, one flying under the British flag, the other registered in Liberia. The events occurred in a passageway that carries one-fifth of the world’s crude exports.