Week in Review: MENA – May 2, 2014 Share This /

The United States approved the delivery of arms to select Syrian rebel groups as the Syrian regime neared completion of its chemical weapons shipment agreement. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa convened to discuss the 2015 State Department budget.  Below is a roundup of some of the top articles and news highlights from around the Middle East and North Africa over the last week:

United States Policy:

• Frank Rose, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy, reaffirmed the United States’ security commitment to allies in the Gulf while speaking at the fourth edition of the Middle East Missile and Air Defense Symposium (MEMAD 2014). Rose also mentioned that while negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear capabilities will be subject to verifiable accountability, Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities remain an area of concern.

• The Obama Administration tighten sanctions enforcement against Iran by blacklisting a total of nine foreign companies – eight Chinese and one Dubai-based – as well as two Dubai-based executives, which were accused of evading American prohibitions on transactions in the arms, oil and banking sectors.

• Sigrid Kaag, the coordinator of the joint mission by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Syria, said that even though the Syrian government missed a revised deadline for its latest shipment of chemical weapons, the government has nearly completed its elimination of chemical weapons by giving up 92.5 percent of its deadly arsenal. U.S. officials, though, are concerned that Bashar al-Assad will keep the remains of his chemical arsenal as a future bargaining chip, while British government officials claim that the Assad regime is keeping some chemical weapons materials in secret locations.

• Harakat Hazm — or Movement of Steadfastness – became the first Syrian rebel group to receive U.S.-made TOW antitank missiles in the first instance of advanced, lethal and U.S.-approved weaponry being sent to Syria since the conflict began. The U.S, however, did not directly supply the weapons. Instead, “Friends of Syria,” a U.S.-backed alliance supporting the opposition, was responsible for delivering the missiles. According to another report, the Obama Administration is considering supplying rebel groups with man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, equipped with fingerprint scanners and GPS systems designed to keep track of the weapons. The arms, however, may not be compatible with the missiles currently available to the rebels.

• A team of senior U.S. policy officials, collectively called the “Deputies Committee,” met to discuss the possibility of helping Iraqi forces counter the spread of militancy in the country, where members belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been steadily gaining control in Anbar Province and areas surrounding Baghdad. According to the Reuters report, the United States has expanded the number of its own intelligence officers in Iraq to try and assess further opportunities for U.S. assistance.

• The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa convened a hearing titled “The Administration's FY 2015 MENA Budget Request: Priorities, Objectives and Challenges.” The hearing focused on the dithering peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians, the ongoing civil war in Syria and U.S. assistance to Egypt.

• Several U.S. Senators, including Sen. Patrick Leahy (D – VT), Sen. John McCain (R – AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC), and Sen. Rand Paul (R – KY) issued statements and remarks concerning the Obama Administration’s decision to resume partial U.S. assistance to Egypt. Sen. Leahy declared that he will oppose any resumption of U.S. assistance to Egypt without a certification of Egypt’s transition to democratic governance.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R – KY) introduced a bill, the Stand with Israel Act, S. 2265, conditioning any aid to the Palestinian Authority on the basis of a future unity Palestinian government committing to peace with Israel and recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State.

• According to U.S. Treasury officials, Kuwait remains a financial backer of al Qaeda-linked terrorist activities.

Other top security stories:

• Iranian Brigadier General Shahrokh Shahram, deputy commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Air Defense Base, said that Iran’s S-200 air defense system has been equipped with Sayyad-3 missiles, domestically manufactured rockets able to hit targets at medium altitudes.

• Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, attended the final ceremony of the “Sword of Abdullah” military exercise in Saudi Arabia. 

• The Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) incorporated the first Turkish Aerospace Industries/AgustaWestland) T129 ATAK combat helicopters.

• Militants in Libya, reportedly linked to one defeated candidate for the prime ministership, stormed the Libyan Parliament and opened fire, disrupting a scheduled vote to determine the next Libyan Prime Minister.
• Tunisian security forces, in cooperation with Algeria, began a counterterrorism operation aimed at retaking territory from and dispelling militants hiding in the Chaambi mountain range on the border between Tunisia and Algeria.
• Saudi Arabia paraded a pair of Dongfeng-3 medium-range ballistic missiles for the first time.