FinPol Digest

 UN peacekeepers in Lebanon made a quiet request late on Friday after Hezbollah supporters and Israeli border guards got into a fight as Iran and other Arab nations observed Jerusalem Day. The annual commemoration, which supports the Palestinian cause, was held earlier in the day in the refugee camp of Burj al-Barajneh in Lebanon, a bastion of Hezbollah. Later, Hezbollah supporters walked up to the Israeli border fence in south Lebanon and hoisted a flag of the Shiite movement there. Kandice Ardiel, the deputy spokesman for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, reported that "UNIFIL peacekeepers observed a crowd of 50 to 60 individuals throwing stones and placing a Hezbollah flag in the technical fence." Lebanese troops quickly arrived and collaborated with UNIFIL to defuse the situation, she added, adding that Israeli forces "responded with stun and smoke grenades". We highly ask everyone to refrain from any actions that can be interpreted as provocative and potentiall...

 Iraq will produce the fourth-most oil in the world in 2022, according to Yahoo Finance. Iraq averaged 4.48 million barrels of oil production per day in 2022, while the country made record oil sales revenues of $115.657 billion, up from 75.6 billion in 2021. The effects of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict were one of the key reasons why Iraq's oil production increased in 2022. The Basra governorate in southern Iraq and the Kirkuk governorate in northern Iraq account for the majority of the nation's oil production. America was the world's top oil producer, producing 11.9 million barrels of crude oil every day. Saudi Arabia came in third with 10.59 million barrels per day, followed by Russia in second place with 10.75 million barrels per day.

 Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, is important for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The legal status of Al-Aqsa is an important flashpoint in the Israel-Palestine conflict.  The status quo of the site was formulated by Moshe Dayan, a former Israeli defense minister, in 1967. According to Israel’s 1967 status quo, Muslims are only allowed to pray at the Mosque. Non-muslims can visit the site as tourists. Reportedly, the status quo is not supported by any Israeli law. Israeli law does not prohibit Jews from praying at Al-Aqsa.  In 2015, a four-way agreement between Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and the United States (US) was established to reaffirm the 1967 status quo of the site. However, since 2017, Jews have been allowed to pray in the compound of the Mosque. According to experts, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security of Israel, is pressuring the Israeli government to change the status quo of the site. Israeli police have started allo...

 Forbes issued a list of the top 30 fintech companies in the Middle East for 2023, and Iraq Wallet For Payment (ZainCash Iraq) was included at number fourteen. Due to a partnership with the Zain Group, March Holding's Iraq Wallet For Payments now operates as ZainCash Iraq. Iraq Wallet, run by Yazen Altimimi, CEO of ZainCash, provides current accounts, domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, cash-in/out, mobile recharge, and QR payments to private citizens, SMEs, major businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governmental organizations. There are 252,000 active users on ZainCash, which has 10,000 agents operating throughout Iraq. It handled transactions of $1.4 billion in 2022.  During the Covid-19 lockdowns, a million households received $100 million in financial assistance from the Iraqi government with the help of the country's fintech. Egypt is the nation with the most entries on the list, followed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, re...

On Saturday, the US Navy announced it was dispatching a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine to the Persian Gulf, passing Egypt's Suez Canal on its way to Bahrain. Including the exact path and exact location of the vessel was a calculated move: The United States has been assessing Iran's Shiite militia network throughout the region for the past week. A submarine containing 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles' immediate goal is to strengthen US naval presence in the Gulf by adding significant firepower on Iran's doorstep — a clear signal to Tehran that the US is willing to take action to protect its interests. In response, Iran announced that its naval fleet would conduct a large exercise in the Gulf and Red Sea - a declaration that Tehran views itself as free to operate anywhere. There is also a strategic dimension to Washington's move. The US is highly concerned about a growing axis in the region between Iran, Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia. The meeting between Iran...

 Turkey and Russia called for multilateral negotiations to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Recently, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, held talks with Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. During the meeting, the Russian minister reiterated that Israel and Palestine must resolve the internal dispute. After the meeting, the Russian minister attended the press conference. He reportedly said, "We have long been advocating to resume the multilateral process for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, as there is a universally recognised collective mediator, which is the Quartet comprising Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations." He further said that the leaders should search for a mutual agreement to provide a solution to Israel and Palestine. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for peaceful dialogue between Israel and Palestine. He expressed concern about recent clashes betw...

The Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have held high-level official talks for the first time in seven years. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, and Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia shook hands and started the meeting in Beijing, the capital of China. The two ministers agreed to reopen diplomatic missions within two months and resume flights between the two countries. They also discussed a planned visit to Saudi Arabia by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. They also agreed to issue travel visas for each other’s citizens. The two leaders emphasized the importance of implementing the landmark deal to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.  Last month, China brokered the deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia . The two Middle Eastern rivals agreed to resume their diplomatic relations after years of hostility.  In re...

  The growing number of executions in Iran, including those of those who got the death penalty in connection with the country's violent protests, was criticized on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Council. A resolution expressing "great concern at the reported spike in the number of executions, including of people sentenced to death in relation to their alleged involvement in the recent protests" was passed by the top United Nations rights committee. 23 of the council's 47 members voted in favor of the resolution, which also extended the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate on the human rights situation in Iran for an additional year. Eight voted against the text, including China, Cuba, Pakistan, and Vietnam, and 16 others abstained. Ali Bahreini, the ambassador of Iran, spoke out against the resolution, calling it a "weaponization of human rights as a foreign policy tool." Strong worldwide condemnation of the nation's repression of the protest movement th...

Ron Malka, former Israeli Ambassador to India, has been appointed as Executive Chairman of Haifa Port Company, which is owned by a consortium of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd and Israel’s Gadot Group. The Israeli diplomat wrote on Twitter, “I’m honored and privileged to take office today as Executive Chairman of the Haifa Port Company, on behalf of AdaniOnline. The experience and expertise of Adani and Gadot, combined with the dedication of the port workers, will take Haifa Port to new heights of prosperity.” The Israeli diplomat has studied MBA with a PhD in economics. He has provided financial advice and guidance to various companies in Israel. He has also served as an economic advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Commission.  Earlier this year, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd and the Israeli company Gadot Chemical Terminals bought Haifa Port in northern Israel for $1.15 billion.  India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) and Israel’...

 The Justice Department announced on Friday that the US is attempting to retain possession of more than 1 million rounds of ammunition that the US Navy captured in December as it was being transported from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to extremists in Yemen. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that "the United States foiled a major operation by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to transport weapons of war into the hands of a militant group in Yemen." Thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades as well as more than a million rounds of ammunition are among the weapons that the Justice Department is now requesting be forfeited. On December 1, US navy forces in the Gulf of Oman stopped a fishing trawler carrying more than 50 tons of rocket propellant, fuses, and artillery rounds that were being smuggled from Iran to Yemen, according to the Navy. According to the report, they discovered over 1,100 kg of propellan...