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17 June 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Iran on Saturday amid a rapprochement between the two Middle East arch-foes, Iranian state TV said, Reuters reports.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and reestablish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

17 June 2023; MEMO: The Turkish national defense minister said Saturday that if Sweden fulfills its commitments it can become a NATO member like Finland, Anadolu reports.

Meeting reporters in Brussels after the NATO defense ministers meeting, Yasar Guler expressed support for the military alliance's "open door" policy.

17 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye is looking to increase its exports to $265 billion by the end of 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

"Despite the negative global economic outlook, we want to increase our exports to $265 billion at the end of this year and $285 billion next year," Erdogan said addressing the 30th Ordinary General Assembly of Turkish Exporters Assembly and Export Champions Award Ceremony in Ankara.

18 June 2023; MEMO: Iran and Saudi Arabia expressed satisfaction Saturday with the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, reports Anadolu Agency.

President Ibrahim Raisi received Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, who is in Tehran on an official visit, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

14 June 2023; MEMO: China is willing to play a positive role to help the Palestinians achieve internal reconciliation and promote peace talks with Israel, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Palestinian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

"The fundamental solution to the Palestinian issue lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Xi said, according to Chinese state media.

13 June 2023; MEMO: Iran and Venezuela want to increase bilateral trade to $20 billion, up from $3 billion, Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, said on Monday during a visit to Caracas.

During the visit, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand cooperation in petrochemicals with a view to carrying out joint projects, building on their already-close cooperation in oil, Reuters reports.

13 June 2023; MEMO: Israel exported a record $12.556 billion in defence products last year, with new Arab partners under the US-sponsored 2020 Abraham Accords accounting for almost a quarter of the business, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

13 June 2023; MEMO: The United States and Iran are not discussing an interim nuclear deal, a US official said on Monday, but Washington has told Tehran of steps that might trigger a crisis and also those that may create a better climate between the long-time antagonists, Reuters reports.

"There are no talks about an interim deal," said the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

13 June 2023; MEMO: President Vladimir Putin said, on Tuesday, that Russia was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal, saying that Moscow had been "cheated" over implementation of the parts of the accord that concerned its own exports.

14 June 2023; MEMO: Kuwait has concluded a contract worth $367 million with Turkish defence firm, Baykar, to buy its TB2 drones through direct negotiations between the two governments, the Kuwaiti army said in a statement on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The statement did not reveal how many drones would be delivered to Kuwait or when.