MUST-READS

• Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon injured by pager explosion
  Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was slightly injured on Tuesday by the explosion of an electronic pager, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, as numerous such devices exploded across Lebanon. "Amani has a superficial injury and is currently under observation in a hospital," Fars quoted a source as saying. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart, strongly condemned the "terrorist attack" and thanked Lebanon for providing immediate medical treatment to Amani, Iranian state media reported.

• Senators in both parties open to treaty vote on US-Saudi defense pact

  Republicans and Democrats are demanding any such agreement arrive on Capitol Hill as a treaty, requiring a two-thirds majority. Getting that level of Senate approval would be a huge challenge, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen senators on the Foreign Relations Committee.

• Italy’s Saipem wins offshore contract worth $2 bln in Saudi Arabia
  Italian energy engineering group Saipem (SPMI.MI), opens new tab said on Wednesday it had won an offshore contract worth around $2 billion for the development of the Marjan oil field in Saudi Arabia. The contract was signed under the existing long-term agreement with oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab, the company said in a statement. Saipem said earlier this month it had won two other offshore contracts with Saudi Aramco worth about $1 billion in total, and an offshore contract worth $4 billion with QatarEnergy, one of the world's top LNG suppliers.

• Changes to Saudi Investment Law will help facilitate foreign investment

  “The new investment law introduces a number of positive changes that will help in fostering the continued development of the investment landscape in Saudi Arabia. The Investment Law represents a substantial amendment of the existing investment regime for both foreign and domestic investors and will further support the Kingdom’s transition away from oil and gas. The updates to the Investment Law create a sophisticated framework that reduces entry barriers, enhances legal certainty, and strengthens investor rights. The reforms unlock significant opportunities for long-term strategic partnerships and market expansion in the Kingdom”

• Saudi Arabia is betting big on Egypt

  Gulf countries — mainly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar — are most interested in building up stakes in Egypt’s state-owned assets. On the block are port terminals, historic hotel chains, and petrochemical companies. The Gulf has grown weary of handing cash to Egypt with little by way of financial payback: Saudi Arabia’s $5 billion deposit in Egypt’s central bank in 2022 may be the last of Riyadh’s handouts. Its Public Investment Fund demands market returns on its investments, particularly those outside the country.

• Perspective: The Lebanon pager attacks are an escalation toward a war that few want

  Iran and Hezbollah definitely don’t want a major conflict. Hezbollah’s role is to deter an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. It’s pointless to squander Hezbollah’s potent arsenal on a place (Gaza) with no real significance to Iran, or an unreliable ally like Hamas, which broke with them over the Syrian war. Israelis commonly insist that war with Hezbollah is inevitable. But war is hardly inevitable when the other side doesn’t want one.

• Second wave of exploding devices raises fears of wider Israel-Lebanon conflict
  Hand-held radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon's south in the country's deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel nearly a year ago, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group's pagers the day before. Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured on Wednesday in Beirut's suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday's explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured.

• US says Iran emailed stolen Trump campaign material to Biden camp
  Iranian hackers sent emails containing stolen material from Republican former President Donald Trump's campaign to people involved in Democratic President Joe Biden's then re-election campaign, part of an alleged broader effort by Tehran to influence the U.S. election, U.S. agencies said on Wednesday. "Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations," the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement.

• Heinz goes brandless to celebrate Saudi National Day

  In place of the famous Heinz logo, the brand’s ketchup bottles will sport an empty green keystone for a limited time, offering space for shoppers to personalise their own messages of celebration. Additionally, consumers will be able to scan a QR code displayed on billboards across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to submit their National Day messages. These messages, along with the names of the participants, will be displayed on screens across the kingdom for an entire week following the launch, giving the people of Saudi a space to express their pride and love for their country.

• Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in July hit almost one-year low
  Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in July fell to their lowest level in nearly a year, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday. The country's oil exports stood at 5.741 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, their lowest level since August 2023. Saudi Arabia is world's largest exporter of crude. OPEC+ oil producers earlier this month agreed to delay a planned production increase for October and November and said they could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed.

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