MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia condemns attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus

  “The Ministry expresses the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification, and under any pretext, which is a violation of international diplomatic laws and the rules of diplomatic immunity,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. Iran on Monday accused Israel of targeting its consulate in Damascus with airstrikes and killing seven Iranian military personnel, including two senior commanders.

• White House’s Sullivan traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks with MBS
  White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a U.S. push for progress toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
  Talks on normalization had been put on ice in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas fighters on southern Israel and Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, but conversations have resumed in recent months.

• Israeli airstrike on Gaza kills seven working for food aid NGO
  Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, the NGO said.
  The workers, who also included Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, were travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the WCK logo and another vehicle, WCK said in a statement.

• Iran says Israel bombs its embassy in Syria, kills commanders
  Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Syria on Monday in a strike that Iran said killed seven of its military advisers, including three senior commanders, marking a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries.
  Reuters reporters at the site in the Mezzeh district of Damascus saw emergency workers clambering atop rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic compound, adjacent to the main Iranian embassy building. Emergency vehicles were parked outside. An Iranian flag hung from a pole by the debris.

• Egypt’s Sisi starts third term pledging more investment, social spending
  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in for his third term on Tuesday in the country's new capital, the largest of the mega-projects that have come to symbolise his rule while stretching the country's finances.
  Speaking at the new parliament building, Sisi highlighted the challenges Egypt withstood in recent years while promising continued development, which many Egyptians say they feel excluded from.

• Opinion: America Has Pressured Israel Before—and Can Do It Again

  The curious imbalance in the U.S.-Israel relationship has come into focus in recent weeks as the Biden administration slowly sharpens its criticism of Israel—and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains defiant. Israel continues to restrict aid trucks carrying water, food, and medicine to the 70 percent of Gazans facing a catastrophic, man-made famine.

• Canoo taps into the $30B Saudi Arabian EV market 

  Canoo is tapping into Saudi Arabia’s electric vehicle (EV) market, estimated to have a total addressable market of over $30 billion. According to a press release emailed to Teslarati, the mobility company’s entry point into the Saudi Arabian EV market is Jazeera Paints. Canoo recently signed a vehicle sales agreement with Jazeera Paints, a paint manufacturer in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which encompasses Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The paint manufacturer also operates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

• US national security adviser to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with crown prince

  White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a US push for progress toward normalizing relations between Israel and the Gulf kingdom. Talks on normalization were put on ice in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas terrorists on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza, but conversations have resumed in recent months.

• Neom Job Posting Points to E-Visa Program For Saudi Project

  A job ad posted by Neom suggests the Saudi development could be working on its own e-visa program for travelers and residents. Neom is a flagship project from the Saudi Arabian crown prince – a $500 billion development. The posting is for a senior manager of visas and immigration. It lists several core responsibilities, including: “Overseeing the issuance and publishing of visa and residency and work permit information, policies, and processes on the Neom e-visa system.”

• Two go on trial in Switzerland over ‘kleptocracy’ scandal involving Saudi oil firm, Malaysian bank

  Two managers of a Saudi oil exploration company went on trial in Switzerland on Tuesday for alleged fraud and money laundering over a scandal years ago linked to a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund that the U.S. Justice Department once described as the “biggest kleptocracy case” ever. The defendants from PetroSaudi — a Swiss Saudi citizen and a Swiss British national who were not identified by name for privacy reasons — are accused of having created a scheme in 2009 under which 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, would set up a joint venture based on false premises.

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