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While there is a broad range of Arabic language media outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable and reliable means for English speakers to gain access to this content. As a result, many English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.



Mideastwire.com aims to close this gap by offering a daily menu of translations covering some of the key political, cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries and the Arab Diaspora. Through this effort, we hope to address at least one aspect of a global disconnect that continues to threaten a wide spectrum of socio-political and economic relationships, both here in the region and beyond.



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TODAY’S DAILY BRIEFING
12-Jul-2021
Afghanistan
Opinion
“Has the Taliban become a card in Iran’s hand?”  (Website, Middle East)
On July 10, the Egyptian Arabi 21 news site carried the following opinion piece by Ali Hussein Bakeer: “In August 1998, the Taliban attacked Mazar-i-Sharif City near the border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Back then, the city was considered to be one of the strongholds of the Northern Alliance opposed to the Taliban Movement, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud. And that Alliance received support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Qasem Soleimani to fight the Taliban. The attack resulted in the death of 10 Iranian diplomats and a journalist, and calls emerged inside Iran demanding vengeance and a military attack on Afghanistan. And it is said that the majority of the Iranian political and military officials at the time supported a proposal to occupy Afghanistan and mobilize around 100,000 Iranian soldiers on the border with it, but that the Guide rejected that, believing that the attack could turn into a trap to implicate Iran… (Read More)
Egypt
Opinion
“The Security Council session”  (Al-Masry al-Yawm, Egypt)
United Nations
On July 11, Al-Masry al-Yawm newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Amr esh-Shobaki: “The Security Council session ended, and Egypt clearly and strongly presented its case to the world. But the speeches of the representatives of some major states, particularly the Russian and Chinese ones, did not please many in Egypt, seeing as how the Russian representative expressed concerns towards the “increasing threats that will not lead to a negotiated solution.” And while reality says that Egypt did not threaten Ethiopia, rather the other way around after the latter threatened to build a dam that jeopardizes Egypt’s life vein, the implied message of the Russian representative was that Egypt should accept the second filling without any strong or hard reaction. Still, heading to the Security Council did not harm Egypt’s interests, and will not obstruct its battle to preserve its water rights in the face of the existential Ethiopian threats… (Read More)
Politics
"Following the Security Council's session: the reason why Ethiopia has won and Egypt has lost"  (Newspaper, Middle East)
United Nations
On July 10, the London-based Al-Arab daily newspaper carried the following report: "The outcomes of the Security Council's session regarding the file of the En-Nahda Dam was not favorable to Egypt's and Sudan's interests especially as it sent this file back to the African Union without setting a timeline as per the request of Cairo and Khartoum. This constitutes an Ethiopian win… Still, some parties in Egypt and Sudan reacted to the outcomes of the International Security Council's session on Thursday regarding the En-Nahda Dam crisis as being a political scoring for the two countries in Ethiopia's nets and a cornering of Addis Ababa… (Read More)
Ethiopia
Opinion
Abdul Bari Atwan on the latest En-Nahda Dam developments  (Website, Middle East)
United Nations
On July 10, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following piece by Abdul Bari Atwan: "The Security Council's meeting around the crisis of the En-Nahda Dam was concluded on the evening of Thursday with a pointless statement that stressed the importance of a constructive dialogue between the three conflicting parties in addition to returning this entire file to the African Union. This constituted a major diplomatic win for Ethiopia and an encouragement to the latter to impose the politics of the fait accompli to proceed with the second phase of the reservoirs fill-up, which started around one week ago… (Read More)
Iraq
Politics
"Iran about to lose control over Popular Mobilization militias"  (Newspaper, Middle East)   
Military and Security
On July 10, the London-based Al-Arab daily carried the following report: "The orders of the Iranian officials are no longer heard by their allied militias in Iraq. This was revealed through the latest visits carried out by the Revolutionary Guards' commanders to Baghdad with the aim of exerting pressure to reach appeasement with the United States following the nuclear talks. However, the militias' responses headed in the other direction… (Read More)
Lebanon
Opinion
“What Lebanon is there after total anarchy?”  (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)
Democracy and Party Politics - Governmental Reform - USA Europe
On July 12, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following opinion piece by Lebanese writer Issam Nehman: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lebanon has hit rock bottom. Indeed, there is no electricity, no water, no food, no medicine, no security, and no submission by the pursued officials to the lifting of their immunity, to allow Judge Tarek Bitar to investigate them. In the absence of all these basic needs, the country and the people are almost swept by total anarchy. What Lebanon can remain after all these catastrophes and mayhem? From the depth of the tragedy and out of pain, some are mockingly saying: After every bottom, there is another deeper one. We have not yet reached the end of the universe. Others, who are more in control of their emotions, are putting forward, even imagining, three scenarios… (Read More)
Politics
"Saudi Arabia returns to Lebanon politically from the Bkirki gate"  (Ad-Diyyar, Lebanon)   
Arab Diplomacy - Democracy and Party Politics - USA Europe
On July 9, the Ad-Diyyar daily newspaper carried the following report: "The Lebanese-Saudi relations had gone through some political lows that reached the extent of deterioration and a quasi-boycotting of Lebanon because of its politics and the fact that these politics are not approved by the Kingdom… However, Christian sources indicated that some changes have started to take place that might turn the situation from bad to acceptable at this time specifically all the way to inducing a reconciliation and a Lebanese openness as it has always been… (Read More)
"Bassil: Cabinet formation elements are now available…"  (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)
Democracy and Party Politics
On July 10, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: "The Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil, announced that "the elements of the cabinet formation are now available and we have removed all the internal obstacles standing in the way of the formation at our expense." He further told Al-Tayar.org that "if we were to wait for the mood of the appointed prime minister, we will be watching the daily murdering of Lebanon be it at the level of the drugs or the fuel or others. We have been asking him, since he was first appointed, to form the cabinet… (Read More)
Libya
Politics
“Early divide over extension of Libyan authority’s term”  (Asharq al-Awsat, United Kingdom)   
Democracy and Party Politics
On July 12, the Saudi-owned London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper carried the following report from Cairo: “As the countdown begins to meet the deadline set by the United Nations to hold general elections on December 24, Libya’s politicians disagreed on the extension of the term of the current executive estate (the Presidential Council led by Mohamed al-Menfi and the National Unity Government led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh) if it were to fail to hold the elections on time, seeing as how this is the mission for which it was elected by the Political Dialogue Forum. What pushed that issue to the forefront was the failure of the Dialogue Forum during its last meeting in Geneva to agree on the constitutional basis of the elections, though member of the High Council of State Mohamed Amazzeb rejected the attempts of some to blame the latter for that failure… (Read More)
Middle East
Opinion
"Seven reasons indicating that the "Abraham Peace" balloon will burst…"  (Website, Middle East)
Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process
On July 10, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following editorial: "It seems that the wave of the "Abraham Peace" imposed by the former US President, Donald Trump, and promoted by his son-in-law Jared Kushner late last year amidst a major media fuss has actually begun to crackle up and to lose its momentum less than a year following its signing. This is confirmed by seven main developments… (Read More)
Oman
Politics
"Omani Sultan in Neom on Sunday hosted by King Salman: What are the indications of this visit…?"  (Newspaper, Middle East)
Arab Diplomacy
On July 10, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following report: "It seems that the Omani Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik who accessed power at the Sultanate only last year will be breaking away from the tradition imposed by the late Sultan Qaboos who abstained from carrying out any external visits… The new Sultan, Haitham, has chosen his first external destination: Saudi Arabia… (Read More)
Palestine
Politics
"Egypt is no alternative: Gaza is part of Palestine"  (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)
Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process
On July 10, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: "For over fifteen years, the Occupation State had tried to push the Gaza territory into the Egyptian lap on the political, economic and humanitarian levels… However, the Palestinians always dealt with this option with extreme caution. Although they did use the Egyptian borders since the beginning of the siege as a leeway to deal with the general Israeli lockdown…, they made sure to always treat the Egyptian role as a supportive rather than the main factor… (Read More)
"The cornered Abbas is betting on Erdogan to break his crisis"  (Newspaper, Middle East)
Arab Diplomacy
On July 10, the London-based Al-Arab daily newspaper carried the following report: "The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, started a visit to Turkey on Friday that shall go on for three days where the man will be meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seemingly seeking to find himself a leeway into the Palestinian file via the Palestinian Authority following his disappointment with his ally, Hamas… (Read More)
Syria
Politics
“American-Russian agreement on aid to Syria, what about Constitutional [Committee]?”  (Website, Middle East)
United Nations - USA Europe
On July 11, the Egyptian Arabi 21 news website carried the following report by its correspondent Yaman Nehme: “Member of the Constitutional Committee representing the Syrian opposition Ibrahim al-Jibawi denied any agreement over the resumption of the Constitutional Committee sessions in Geneva, at a time when Russian media outlets had speculated that the sixth session might be held before the end of August… Al-Jibawi added to Arabi 21 that the opposition delegation had not been given any information about the timing of the sixth session, neither by UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen nor by any other. In the meantime, the Constitutional Committee member excluded the possibility that the decision to extend the delivery of aid through Bab al-Hawa crossing was linked to the work of the Constitutional Committee, saying: “The decision does not affect the Committee’s work, whether positively or negatively… (Read More)
Tunisia
Politics
“Controversy in Tunisia surrounding compensation of thousands of Ennahda supporters”  (Asharq al-Awsat, United Kingdom)   
Democracy and Party Politics - Human Rights
On July 12, the Saudi-owned London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper carried the following report from Tunis by its correspondent Mongi Saidani: “The call made by the leaders and deputies of Ennahda Movement in Parliament to activate the “Dignity Fund and restore consideration to the victims of tyranny” generated condemning reactions and was referred to by the opposition as the “compensations scandal” in light of the multidimensional crises sweeping the country. At this level, Leader of the opposition People’s Movement Zouhair Maghzaoui told Asharq al-Awsat that “Ennahda is using the weakness of the state and the prime minister’s need for political support to pressure him into activating the Dignity Fund to pay compensations to its base and followers, under the headline of their right to compensations for the torture, oppression, and arrests to which they were subjected at the hands of the former regime… (Read More)
 
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