Menas Associates Blog
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Iran – Forecast 2020
The IRGC and political protests 2019 was a very challenging year for Iran: Economic hardship and stagflation, massive domestic protests and violent repression of them, external sanctions, and political pressure have left a heavy footprint as the country moves into...
Saïd Chengriha appointed as interim Army Chief of Staff
Following General Ahmed Gaïd Salah’s death, President Abdelmajid Tebboune appointed the 74-year-old Major-General Saïd Chengriha as interim Army Chief of Staff. The two generals were very close for a long time having often served together in the same command in the...
Morocco – 2020 Forecast
Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani is going to have a difficult year in 2020 and the government will come under increasing strain. His position has been significantly weakened by the recent government reshuffle which resulted in a reduction in the number of Parti de la...
February’s Majles election
The first important political event in 2020 will occur on 21 February with the Majles election. So far, the most notable declared candidate for the Iranian parliament is former Tehran mayor and presidential candidate Mohammad Baquer Qalibaf. In the absence of...
Two 2020 gubernatorial elections could make or break the PDP
Two key gubernatorialelections are scheduled this year in Edo and Ondo states. Both are controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but their governors have fallen out of favour with the party’s leadership. Edo State’s Governor Godwin Obaseki is...
Turkey begins its military support for the GNA
Dozens of pro-Turkish Syrian mercenaries reportedly landed at the recently re-opened Mitiga Airport on about five flights from Turkey to support Khalifa Haftar’s opponents in Tripoli. Allegedly in reaction — and video evidence purportedly showing Syrian fighters in...
Major new fees face IOCs in Nigeria
Oil companies have become the target of the government’s efforts to boost the country’s badly needed revenues. A new review of drilling and production regulations is set to place additional financial burden on those operating in the country. New Total-operated...
Haftar’s refusal to compromise prompts GNA to strengthen ties with Turkey
Senior US officials met Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in late November at an undisclosed location to urge him to end his nearly eight-month Tripoli offensive. But Haftar and other leaders within his self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) remain defiant —...
The logic behind Iran’s fuel prices rises
Major protests and social unrest erupted in Iran on 16 November on the day after the government announced a sudden hike in fuel prices, which are heavily subsidised. The price of petrol used to be IRR10,000 (US$0.09) per litre. On 15 November, the government announced...
Rapper sentenced to jail for offending Morocco’s King
The Moroccan rapper, Mohamed Mounir (a.k.a. Gnawi) was sentenced to one year in prison for offending public officials and public bodies. The charges relate to a live social media post from October in which Gnawi ranted against the police after they had stopped him and...
