A Kuwaiti minister issued a decision on Saturday banning the entry of commercial ships loaded with goods to and from Israel into Kuwaiti territorial waters, according to local media reports.

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"The ban includes all ships coming from other ports to unload part of their cargo in Kuwaiti ports whenever they are carrying any of the goods stipulated in the ban, with the intention of shipping them to and from... Israel," said Kuwaiti paper Al-Anba on Sunday.

The directive came from Minister of Works and of State for Communications and Information Technology Dr. Rana al-Fares.

The Hamas terrorist organization, which controls the Gaza Strip, issued a statement welcoming the decision, urging other countries to "follow the same approach."

Kuwait passed a law in May prohibiting any form of contact with Israel, and banned Kuwaiti nationals and expats from visiting the Jewish state. The bill also outlawed "expressions of sympathy" with Israel.

Kuwait boycotted a renewable energy conference in Abu Dhabi January 2014 because it was attended by Israel.

After former US President Donald Trump said he believed Kuwait would be the next to normalize ties with Israel following the signing of the Abraham Accords, Kuwait said it would be the "last to normalize" ties.

"Our stance on Israel has not changed, following the UAE normalization agreement, and we will be the last to normalize relations," the Al Qabas newspaper reported in August 2020, citing an unnamed senior official.

Dr. Michael Barak, a Middle East researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, told Israel Hayom that "the Muslim Brotherhood movement is very strong in Kuwait, and the state has very strong ties with the Palestinians."

"The Kuwaitis don't want to go back on their traditional support of the Palestinians, especially from the royal family, and the Arab national view that is still prominent in Kuwait. Those ties saw a major crisis because of the Palestinians' support for Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War, but by 2015 relations were gradually restored."

As for the Kuwaiti parliament, Barak noted that "the Muslim Brotherhood is a strong force there, and they are very close to the royal family, which tries to present itself as the defender of the Palestinians.

"In Kuwait, there are Salafi associations that transfer donations to Hamas, which shows us that their ties [to the Palestinians] aren't only with the PA leadership in Ramallah.

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"These issues influence the royal family, which does not want a direct conflict with the many members of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafi parties, or the parties that hold a pan-Arab worldview," Barak explained.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations a year ago, are looking to Dubai's Expo world fair in October to boost bilateral trade, which now stands at around $712 million.

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While the figure, contained in Israeli data, is tiny compared to UAE exports of $24 billion in 2019 to its top destination Saudi Arabia, the Israeli government sees trade with the UAE rising to $1 billion by the end of 2021.

Israel is aiming for $3 billion in three years, it said this week on its Arabic-language Twitter account.

The UAE, which in a seismic move last August became the first Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel, promoted the accord's economic benefits.

In September, the UAE and Bahrain both inked US-brokered deals to establish ties with Israel, followed by Sudan and Morocco.

The bulk of trade between the UAE and Israel, which have similar GDPs of around $400 billion, has involved imports from the Gulf's dominant logistics and re-export hub, including plastics, electronics, auto parts and gems.

Israel recorded $457 million of imports from the UAE between January 2020 and June this year, and $255 million in exports to the UAE, its Central Bureau of Statistics said.

Dubai, which contains the region's largest transhipment port at Jebel Ali, said in January that bilateral trade since September 2020 stood at $272 million.

Zeev Lavie of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) said normalization had expanded Israeli trade within the wider Middle East via the UAE. "We're becoming much more regional," he said.

Israel has traditionally exported to Arab countries via other states, or through complex structures outside the region.

Lavie said the UAE pact was encouraging trade with Egypt and Jordan, with which Israel has had peace deals for decades.

"A lot of the business community in those countries have seen that, no, it's okay to do business in Israel ... We've seen much more interest from business people," he said.

The outgoing head of mission at the Israeli embassy in the UAE, Eitan Na'eh, said quite a few agreements were to be signed in coming months, with a series of ministers visiting Dubai Expo 2020, the world fair opening in October after a one-year pandemic delay.

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"We need to really get down to work on institutional relationships between our financial institutions, the banks, the funds, the big business," Na'eh told Reuters.

Abdulla Baqer of the UAE-Israel Business Council expects major deals on logistics, medicine and start-up incubation this year.

Israel has said it plans to open an economic attaché office in Abu Dhabi this summer, and the UAE and Israel have been discussing a Free Trade Agreement.

To date, 10 government-to-government agreements have been signed between the two countries including double taxation, visas, financial services and money laundering agreements.

Publicly announced deals include around 40 memorandums of understanding and around 30 other types of strategic, cooperation or distribution agreements related to the financial, energy, sports, agriculture, aviation, aerospace and media sectors as well as investment promotion and COVID-19 technology.

But a $3 billion fund announced by the US, Israel and the UAE to encourage private-sector investment and regional cooperation has gone quiet, as has a $10 billion fund of UAE private and state money announced in March to invest in Israeli strategic sectors.

"It takes some time for trade links to be established and the pandemic almost certainly complicated this," Jan Friederich, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings said.

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The circumstances of what the British navy reported as a "potential hijack" of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday remain unclear as of Wednesday morning.

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The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations initially warned ships Tuesday that "an incident is currently underway" off the coast of Fujairah. Hours later, the authorities said the incident was a "potential hijack," but provided no further details.

Shipping authority Lloyd's List and maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global both identified the vessel involved in the incident as Panama-flagged asphalt tanker Asphalt Princess. The vessel's owner, listed as Emirati free zone-based Glory International, could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The Times of London also reported that the Asphalt Princess had been hijacked, citing British sources as saying they were "working on the assumption Iranian military or proxies boarded the vessel."

Satellite-tracking data for the vessel showed it slowly heading toward Iranian waters off the port of Jask early Wednesday, according to MarineTraffic.com.

The US military's 5th Fleet and the British Defense Ministry also did not immediately return calls for comment. The Emirati government did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

Earlier, at least four oil tankers announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were "not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.

"At the same time, if they are in the same vicinity and in the same place, then very rarely that happens," said Ranjith Raja, an oil and shipping expert with data firm Refintiv. "Not all the vessels would lose their engines or their capability to steer at the same time."

Sources in Abu Dhabi reported Tuesday that Israel's defense establishment had updated them on the incident and said that Israel was not involved. Sources in the United Arab Emirates reported that one of the ships affected was the Singapore-flagged Golden Brilliant, which had run into a mine or some kind of underwater weapon and sustained serious damage.

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One of the vessels later began moving.

Nour News, affiliated with Iran's top national security body, quoted a senior navy official as saying "the movement of commercial vessels is quite normal and no official naval sources or countries in the Persian Gulf have reported any incidents."

Iran's foreign ministry said the reports of maritime incidents were "suspicious" and warned against any effort to create a "false atmosphere" against Tehran.

The Al-Arabiyye network reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps had denied any involvement in the incident.

An Oman Royal Air Force Airbus C-295MPA, a maritime patrol aircraft, flew in circles for hours over the waters, according to data from FlightRadar24.com.

Apparently responding to the incident, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called the recent maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf "completely suspicious." He denied that Iran was involved.

"Iran's naval forces are ready for help and rescue in the region," Khatibzadeh said.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the NATO military alliance and the European Union joined a growing chorus of international condemnation of Iran's alleged attack on the Mercer Street merchant ship in the Arabian Sea last week and urged Tehran to respect its international obligations.

Last Thursday's drone strike killed a British national and a Romanian. It was the first known fatal strike on commercial shipping in the region after years of tensions over the tattered nuclear deal between western nations and Iran.

NATO spokesman Dylan White said the 30-nation alliance joins members the US, UK and Romania "in strongly condemning the recent fatal attack on the MV Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, and express our condolences to Romania and the United Kingdom for the losses they have suffered."

"Freedom of navigation is vital for all NATO allies, and must be upheld in accordance with international law," White said. "Allies remain concerned by Iran's destabilizing actions in the region, and call on Tehran to respect its international obligations."

The EU, meanwhile, deplored the attack, expressed its condolences for the victims and called for a thorough independent investigation.

"Such acts contrary to the security and freedom of navigation in the region are unacceptable," European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said. "All parties concerned must avoid all actions that could undermine peace and regional stability."

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One after another, eight containers filled with electronics, cleaning supplies, iron and firefighting equipment were unloaded off the MSC Paris, one of the first cargo ships to make the journey between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

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Just a few months ago, such a journey from Dubai's Jebel Ali port to Haifa would have been unthinkable.

The countries announced a normalization deal in August which laid the ground for a potentially profitable new trade route.

The diplomatic breakthrough stemmed from a strategic realignment of Middle East nations, in particular Israel and Gulf Arab nations led by Sunni rulers, who face what they perceive as a shared threat from Iran.

But it is also grounded in economics and potential collaborations in the fields of business, investment and technology.

Israeli officials have estimated bilateral trade could reach as much as $4 billion a year – and nearly all goods will have to travel by sea.

"This is very exciting, "said Eshel Armony, chairman of the board at Haifa Port. "This is a new era in the Middle East, and I'm sure this will bring more and more trade," he said.

"We're going to see this line once a week by MSC and, who knows, later on maybe we'll have even more ... I hope that will happen quickly," Armony said.

An MSC spokesman said the MSC Paris was part of its Indus Express service, which originates in the United Arab Emirates and calls at Indian ports, the Mediterranean and the United States.

In mid-September, an MSC vessel on the Indus Express service made a low-profile stop in Haifa before the UAE-Israel normalization deal was signed at the White House.

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Zim, which reported $3.3 billion in revenue in 2019, has hired three foreign banks to help with the IPO, which will value the shipping company at $750 million, Globes said.

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Zim's shareholders include Kenon Holdings, which owns 32% of the company. A number of financial institutions and ship owners hold the remaining 68%.

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The new sanctions come just days after a weekend prisoner swap between the historic foes, a rare act of cooperation since tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

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The US State Department targeted Shanghai-based ESAIL Shipping Company, which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "knowingly transports illicit materials from Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, which oversees all of Iran's missile industry" and has worked with Iranian organizations subject to UN sanctions.

The sanctions on ESAIL and additional sanctions on Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines will take effect in June 2020.

Also blacklisted was an Iranian shipping network involved in smuggling lethal aid from Iran to Yemen on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its elite foreign paramilitary and espionage arm, the Quds Force.

New sanctions were also imposed on Mahan Air and three of its general sales agents by the State Department and the US Treasury Department over its alleged role in weapons of mass destruction proliferation, expanding on counterterrorism sanctions imposed in 2011 over support it provided to the IRGC forces, Pompeo said.

"These programs involved the siphoning of funds away from the oppressed Iranian people, and they augment the regime's campaign of terror and intimidation at home and throughout the world," Pompeo said.

Iranian UN mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi denounced the new sanctions, saying in a Twitter post that Iranians "are never fooled by the US's crocodile tears."

"These sanctions are directly targeting ordinary Iranians' livelihood, but they will not be cowed by pressures by any foreign power," Miryousefi said.

In addition to the sanctions on the companies, Pompeo threatened additional sanctions on those who conduct illicit transactions with them.

Despite the latest round of sanctions, Pompeo said he hoped that the prisoner exchange on Saturday might lead to the release of other Americans held in Iran, though he cautioned against false optimism.

"I do hope that the exchange that took place will lead to a broader discussion on consular affairs. We still have Americans held in Iran, too many for sure. We are working to try and develop that, to expand that, to use this as an opportunity to continue that effort," he said.

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Tanker traffic through the Strait has become a focus for an increasingly tense standoff between Washington and Tehran, into which Britain has also been dragged, and the United States has beefed up its military presence in the Gulf since May.

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On Sunday, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the Iraqi tanker north of the Strait and detained its seven-member crew, state media reported. Guards commander Ramezan Zirahi was quoted as saying the tanker was carrying 700,000 liters of fuel.

"Iran used to forgo some maritime offenses in ... [the] Gulf but will never close [its] eyes anymore," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a televised news conference in Tehran.

"Iran is responsible for the security and safety of the Strait of Hormuz and the region," he said.

Iran has threatened to block all exports via the Strait, through which a fifth of global oil traffic passes, if other countries comply with US pressure to stop buying Iranian oil.

Zarif criticized US sanctions that were imposed on him on Wednesday, saying that Washington had closed the door to diplomacy over Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, which US President Donald Trump exited last year.

The deal with a handful of global powers had curbed Tehran's nuclear work in return for an easing of sanctions, striking a delicate political balance that the US pullout has destabilized.

Strains between Washington and Tehran have heightened further since the spring. In June, Iran's downing of a US drone prompted a US retaliatory airstrike that Trump called off at the last minute.

Angered by intensified US sanctions that were designed to strangle its vital oil trade and the failure of European parties to agree on a way of salvaging the nuclear agreement, Tehran has scaled back its commitments under the pact.

"Iran will leave its 2015 nuclear deal with powers if necessary," Zarif said on Monday, adding that all measures taken by Iran were "reversible if its interests under the deal are secured."

Iran has so far rejected calls by the Trump administration to negotiate a new deal.

Zarif called for improved ties with Iran's rivals in the Middle East, where it has been involved in proxy wars for decades with Sunni Saudi Arabia.

He also labeled as "piracy" the seizure by Britain in July of an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar that London accused of violating existing sanctions on Syria.

Two weeks later, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a British tanker, Stena Impero, near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations.

"Britain has been complicit in the US economic terrorism against Iran," Zarif said.

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On Saturday British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said the Stena Impero was seized in Omani waters in clear contravention of international law and then forced to sail into Iran. Iran says the tanker was captured after it collided with a fishing boat.

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"The chart released by Her Majesty's government today clearly demonstrates that the Swedish-owned and British-flagged tanker, Stena Impero, was in Oman territorial waters when she was boarded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday 19th July," said Bob Sanguinetti, CEO of the UK Chamber of Shipping.

"The evidence provided is proof that the seizing of the Stena Impero was in clear violation of international law."

Sanguinetti added that there is no comparison to be made with the seizure of Grace I, which was done under international law for the breach of EU sanctions.

"The Stena Impero was outside Iranian waters and legitimately carrying out its business at the time of its seizure," he said.

Meanwhile, Stena Bulk has made a formal request to visit the 23 crew members of the Stena Impero and is awaiting a formal response, it said on Sunday.

"I can confirm a formal request for permission to visit the 23 crew members of the Stena Impero has been made to the authorities at the Port of Bandar Abbas," Stena Bulk President and CEO Erik Hanell said in a statement.

"The request has been acknowledged, but we await a formal response. In the meantime, we will continue to cooperate and liaise with all appropriate authorities."

In an audio recording released Sunday, a British naval officer insists that the Stena Impero must be allowed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian paramilitary forces demand that the vessel change course before commandeering it.

The audio, released by maritime security risk firm Dryad Global, shows how the British navy was unable to prevent the ship's seizure Friday by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces. The seizure has prompted condemnation from the UK and its European allies as they continue to call for a de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway.

The free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is of international importance because one-fifth of all global crude exports pass through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.

In the recording, an Iranian officer can be heard telling the Stena Impero to change course, saying: "You obey, you will be safe."

"Alter your course to 360 degrees immediately, over," the officer says, before saying the ship is wanted for security reasons.

A British naval officer from the HMS Montrose frigate that was patrolling the area around the Strait of Hormuz is heard telling the Stena Impero that its passage must be allowed. British officials say the HMS Montrose was roughly 60 minutes from the scene when the Iranians took control of the tanker, too far away to intervene effectively.

"Sir, I reiterate that as you are conducting transit passage in a recognized international strait, under international law your passage must not be impaired, intruded, obstructed or hampered," the British officer says.

The British officer then tells an Iranian patrol boat: "Please confirm that you are not intending to violate international law by unlawfully attempting to board the MV Stena."

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