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07 June 2023; MEMO: Iran is to get access to $24 billion of its frozen assets, including more than $10bn in Iraq and $7bn in South Korea, ISNA reported yesterday. The agency said that the development came after the visit of the Sultan of Oman, Haitham Bin Tariq, to Iran, and the visit of US President Joe Biden's senior advisor for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, to Muscat.

07 June 2023; MEMO: The Russian Defence Ministry claimed, on Wednesday, that Ukraine's armed forces intentionally blasted the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Kharkiv region, which is mentioned in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, the Ministry's spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said several people were injured in the blast.

08 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's lira plunged 7 per cent to a record low on Wednesday in its biggest sell-off since a historic 2021 crash, a move traders said is a "strong signal" that Ankara is moving away from state controls toward a freely traded currency, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the currency has come under increasing pressure since President Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected on 28 May.

07 June 2023; MEMO: QatarEnergy has signed a 15-year supply deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) with Bangladesh's state-owned PetroBangla for 1.8 million tonnes a year starting in 2026, CEO Saad Al-Kaabi said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the latest contract with an Asian customer by the world's top LNG exporter comes when Western countries, including Germany, push to win a chunk of the Qatari gas, as competition ramped up following the Ukraine war.

07 June 2023; MEMO: US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had an "open, candid" conversation with Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a US official said.

The top US diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday for a much anticipated visit amid frayed ties due to deepening disagreements on everything, from Iran policy to regional security issues, oil prices and human rights, Reuters reports.

06 June 2023; MEMO: In an apparent approval of reports that Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman were forming a joint naval group with China, Beijing has said peace and stability of the Gulf region was of "vital importance to safeguarding world peace", Anadolu Agency reports.

06 June 2023; MEMO: The flag carriers of Turkiye and Italy have signed a code-share agreement to expand destinations in the networks of both Turkish Airlines and ITA Airways, the airlines said on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

06 June 2023; MEMO: The first bream fish farm was established in the Gaza Strip last year five miles from the beach. Implemented by the FAO and funded by the State of Italy, it was the first farm of its kind in the enclave.

Three farms have now been set up, each with approximately 100,000 fish, and according to the Ministry of Agriculture, the harvest will be approximately 60-80 tonnes.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Iran is set to reopen its embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh today and its consulate in the port city of Jeddah tomorrow, months after the two regional rivals restored diplomatic ties severed seven years ago, Anadolu reported.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has welcomed Venezuela's President to the Kingdom on an official visit, hosting yet another adversary of the West as it carves a more independent foreign policy path.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah late yesterday, greeted by Saudi officials.