Trump thought to attack Iran before leaving the White House
Welcome to the first issue of Inshallah, the weekly newsletter about news from the Middle East and near Africa delivered every Friday.
Hello from Dario Sabaghi, and welcome to the first issue of Inshallah, the weekly newsletter about news from the Middle East and near Africa delivered every Friday.
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem died at 79 on Monday, November 16, 2020. Al-Moallem started his career in 1990 as ambassador to Washington for nine years. He was appointed foreign minister in 2006, and he was known as a close confidant of Assad due to his loyalty and hard-line position against the opposition. Read more about him here.
Trump asked for options on strike on Iran's nuclear site, but his advisers warned him that military action could spark a broader conflict, the New York Times reported this week. “He asked for options. They gave him the scenarios and he ultimately decided not to go forward,” an official said to the Reuters news agency.
The Economist explains how the crisis in Tigray, a region in the north of Ethiopia is spreading outside its border, and it could drag Eritrea into a conflict, two years after the two countries made peace. Read more here.
Israel strikes Iranian military sites in Syria after bombs found in Golan. The Syrian state news agency reported three Syrian soldiers were killed and another was injured, but other sources reported more casualties.
Russia makes landfall in Sudan to create the country’s first naval facility. The new facility will be capable of accommodating up to 300 military and civilian personnel. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree this facility after the U.S. removed Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, following a normalization deal with Israel. Russia is seeking a stronger foothold in the African continent, Middle East Eye explained.
Egyptian officials have announced the discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins, with some with mummies inside, and some 40 gilded statues in a vast pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo, Al-Jazeera reported this week. This discovery is the latest in a series of archaeological finds in Egypt.
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