{"id":465592,"date":"2018-08-01T10:42:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T10:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mecouncil.org\/?p=465592"},"modified":"2022-09-21T06:23:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T06:23:57","slug":"465592","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/465592\/","title":{"rendered":"GCC News Roundup: UAE extends military draft, Yemen demands closure of Emirati prisons, Saudi Arabia to build warships (July 1 \u2013 July 31)"},"content":{"rendered":"

OIL PRICES RISE AFTER ATTACK ON SAUDI OIL TANKERS\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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On July 26, there was a spike in oil prices after a Saudi Arabian oil company announced <\/a>that it was temporarily suspending crude oil shipments from a Red Sea shipping lane. The decision came after Yemeni Shiite rebels attacked two tankers on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s oil shipment route extends from fields in the east of the country up through the Bab al-Mandeb strait and through the Red Sea and Suez Canal onto Europe. An alternate route for shipments is located at the Yanbu port, the use of which may result in lower outputs. UAE\u2019s minister foreign state affairs, Anwar Gargash reportedly tweeted the following statement in response to the attack: \u201cThe targeted attack on the Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea confirms the necessity to liberate Hodeida from Houthi militias.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. SENATOR CALLS FOR THE DECLASSIFICATION OF 9\/11 DOCUMENTS\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Senator Richard Blumenthal planned to push for the unveiling of classified documents related to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Blumenthal implied that the documents may contain information connecting the attacks with foreign countries.<\/p>\n

According to AP<\/a>, families of those impacted by the attacks recently announced their plans of increasing pressure for the declassification of the documents, which may potentially link Saudi Arabia to the attacks.<\/p>\n

SAUDI ARABIA ANNOUNCES BUILDING 5 WARSHIPS IN A JOINT VENTURE WITH SPAIN\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On July 19, Saudi Arabian Military Industries announced that it signed a deal with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia for the supply of five warships.<\/p>\n

The announcement cemented a plan established earlier in April when Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman met former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Defense Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal.\u00a0AP<\/a> reported that Navantia is set to build five Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Navy and intends to complete the project by 2022.<\/p>\n

QATARI EMIR: NO DEAL EXISTS WITH RUSSIA OVER DEFENSE MISSILES<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Friday July 6th<\/sup>, Qatar\u2019s emir said<\/a> that the country had not reached a deal over Russia\u2019s air defense missile system. He reportedly stated that, \u201cIt\u2019s true we discussed it \u2026until now, there\u2019s nothing,\u201d after which he declined to comment further.<\/p>\n

In June, French newspaper Le Monde<\/em> reported on a letter addressed to the French President Macron by Saudi King Salman, which cited his concerns over a potential Qatari-Russian military alliance for the construction of defensive missiles. Macron reportedly declined French intervention in Qatar\u2019s discussions with Russia.<\/p>\n

KUWAITI OPPOSITION LEADER AND TWO LAWMAKERS SENTENCED TO PRISON OVER ARAB SPRING PROTESTS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Sunday, July 8, Kuwait\u2019s highest court ordered<\/a> the imprisonment of an opposition leader and two lawmakers for a three-and-a-half-year sentence over the 2011 storming of parliament during the Arab Spring protests.<\/p>\n

The ruling comes in lieu with Kuwait\u2019s increasing crackdown on dissent. Kuwait\u2019s emir famously made the following statement with respect to potentially subversive elements threatening the nation, \u201cprotect our national unity and ward off the risks of sedition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those sentenced included, opposition leader Musallam al-Barrack and serving lawmakers Waleed Tabtabai and Jamaan Herbish, who received the sentence, along with six former legislators and five activists. Three others received two years in prison, AP reported.<\/p>\n

YEMEN CALLS ON UAE TO SHUT DOWN PRISONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Monday, July 9th<\/sup>, Yemen\u2019s interior minister demanded that the UAE shut down or hand over secret prisons reported on by The Associated Press. Around 80 prisoners have been released since the AP<\/a> investigation detailed instances of sexual abuse and torture. The interior minister\u2019s demands contradict the UAE\u2019s denials of having any authority over the secret prisons.<\/p>\n

The AP\u2019s investigative report<\/a>, which was released last year, detailed the existence of secretly run detention centers around southern Yemen that are beyond the control of the Yemeni government. In June, AP released another report<\/a> detailing instances of widespread sexual abuse and torture.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, July 8, the UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash said, \u201cIn Yemen, the Emiratis have been subjected to an unjust smear campaign because it bears its responsibility toward regional security with courage and boldness.\u201d<\/p>\n

UAE EXTENDS MILITARY CONSCRIPTION TERM PERIOD\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UAE increased its mandatory military service term for graduated high school males from a period of 12 months to 16 months.\u00a0According<\/a> to the UAE\u2019s armed forces, the mandatory service is considered the state\u2019s \u201cmost important and strategic move\u201d with respect to its, \u201canticipated strategic outcomes in political, military, security, national, social, and economic terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UAE began its mandatory conscription program in 2014 for men between the ages of 18 to 34. Military service for men who have not graduated high school is for a time period of two years. It is voluntary for women.<\/p>\n

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AIMS TO RENEW \u2018ARAB NATO\u2019 EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH IRAN<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According<\/a> to U.S. and Arab officials, the Trump administration is actively seeking the creation of a GCC political and military alliance that includes Jordan and Egypt. The U.S. aims to foster cooperation in military and counter-terrorism endeavors in addition to creating strong interstate diplomatic and socioeconomic ties.<\/p>\n

Plans for the creation of this \u201cArab NATO\u201d are scheduled to be discussed in a summit in Washington to be held on October 12-13.<\/p>\n

\u201cMESA will serve as a bulwark against Iranian aggression, terrorism, extremism, and will bring stability to the Middle East,\u201d said a representative of the White House\u2019s National Security Council.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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OIL PRICES RISE AFTER ATTACK ON SAUDI OIL TANKERS\u00a0 On July 26, there was a spike in oil prices after a Saudi Arabian oil company announced that it was temporarily suspending crude oil shipments from a Red Sea shipping lane. The decision came after Yemeni Shiite rebels attacked two tankers on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.… Continue reading GCC News Roundup: UAE extends military draft, Yemen demands closure of Emirati prisons, Saudi Arabia to build warships (July 1 \u2013 July 31)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":465593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"publication_archive_type":[297],"class_list":["post-465592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","publication_archive_type-issue-brief","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465592"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465596,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465592\/revisions\/465596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465592"},{"taxonomy":"publication_archive_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_archive_type?post=465592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}