Trump Son-in-Law Jared Kushner Gets $2 Billion Investment From Saudi Arabia After Panel Says He's 'Inexperienced'
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If Jared Kushner had more experience, he might have received more than $2 billion from Saudi Arabia for his new private equity firm. The son-in-law of former president Donald Trump was turned down by a panel from Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund, citing inexperience and unsatisfactory operations, but then the full board, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, overturned its own panel of leading business executives and invested the $2 billion in Kushner's company. Steven Mnuchin, Trump's former Treasury secretary and an experienced fund manager, received only a $1 billion investment.
Iran says the nuclear negotiations in Vienna are in the emergency room, awaiting the United States to resuscitate. Iran also says it expects $7 billion in funds frozen by U.S. sanctions to be released soon and indicates dual-citizenship prisoners might be released in a deal. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reported traveling to Saudi Arabia this month, seeking financial help, and three Gulf states, the Saudis, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are investing $22 billion to help Egypt get through a financial crisis.
And news from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and More.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is investing $2 billion into the new firm of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, although advisers warned his operations were "unsatisfactory in all aspects." A board led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ignored its panel that screens investments, rejected its warnings, and instead put the money into Kushner's private equity firm, the Affinity Fund. The money is twice as much as the $1 billion the Saudis invested in a fund run by former Trump Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, an experienced fund manager. Ethics experts said the deal creates the impression of a payback by the Saudi crown prince for Kushner's support during the Trump administration, when Kushner was a White House senior adviser, or an investment in any second Trump administration should the former president run again and win in 2024.
New York Times, Before giving billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi investment fund had big doubts.
The four-man Saudi screening committee voted unanimously against Jared Kushner's bid for a $2 billion investment and cited his "inexperience." The committee's members are current or former heads of Saudi Aramco, Dow Chemical, the Saudi Central Bank, and the Saudi Industrial Development firm. But the full board, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, overruled the screening panel. The Public Investment Firm putting money into Kushner's effort is worth $620 billion.
The Week, Jared Kushner's firm got $2 billion from Saudi wealth fund run by crown prince, despite board's objections.
The Saudi crown prince became close friends with Kushner when the Trump son-in-law served in the White House, and Mohammed bin Salman gave Kushner expensive swords and a dagger. The two men were friends on a first-name basis and stayed in close contact when Kushner was in the White House. In 2017, the Saud prince gave Kushner two swords and a dagger worth $48,000, and in 2018 Kushner defended Mohammed bin Salman when he was accused of directing the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Insider, Jared Kushner's PE firm secured $2 billion from Saudi Arabia despite objections he was too inexperienced to manage the money, report says.
Iran's foreign ministry said Oman will help unfreeze $7 billion in a deal that would see release of prisoners held in Iran. Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said a high-ranking delegation will travel to Tehran to arrange an agreement, and others identified the group as coming from Oman. Oman's foreign minister, Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi, was reported on his way to Tehran to help finalize the deal.
Forbes, Iran says $7 billion in frozen funds about to be returned to Tehran.
Al-Monitor, Iran says deal on prisoner release, foreign funds imminent.
Iran says the 2015 nuclear deal is in the "emergency room" with its fate resting in the hands of the United States. Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed Iran has completed all details needed to revive the agreement, but the U.S. has not yet decided on Tehran's latest series of requests. One is reported asking President Joe Biden to delist Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Reports this week were that Biden has decided not to remove the terrorist designation.
Middle East Eye, Iran nuclear deal is in the 'emergency room' awaiting US decision, says official.
Republican senators wrote U.S. President Joe Biden a letter urging him not to remove a terrorist designation on Iran's elite military force, saying removal would be "wildly misguided." More than a dozen senators signed the letter, saying Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "continues to carry out acts of terror." Last week, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified that he considered the IRGC to be a terrorist organization, and there have been reports that President Biden won't remove the designation, regardless of the effect on Iran nuclear negotiations.
Washington Examiner, GOP senators urge Biden to keep Iran revolutionary guard's terrorist designation.
Iran questions whether the United States has the "necessary will to reach an agreement" in the nuclear talks in Vienna. "We really don’t know if we'll get a deal or not," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said. "What remains are the decisions of Washington." The year-long negotiations in Vienna stopped last month, and no date has been set to start again.
AFP, Iran questions US will to reach nuclear talks deal.
Iran has appointed a new ambassador to Iraq. Hossein Al-e Sadeq is the ambassador-designate, Iran's foreign ministry reported, without giving any details. Sadeq would replace Iraj Masjedi, a former member of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A spokesman said Sadeq will be inaugurated "soon" but gave no further information about the new envoy.
Kurdistan 24, Iran appoints new ambassador to Iraq
Qatar and Iran signed an agreement to connect their aviation flight information regions. The agreement followed a decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization to let Qatar declare its own sovereign airspace, separate from Bahrain's. Contiguous air information regions enhance the safety and efficiency of air flights by exchanging data. The agreement also will allow an increase in the number of flights between Qatar and Iran.
Qatar Tribune, Qatar, Iran sign agreement to connect Doha flight information region with Tehran FIR.
OPEC's top diplomat told European Union officials that the current crisis in world oil markets caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is beyond the group's control. OPEC secretary general Mohammad Barkindo said Russian oil supply losses of 7 million barrels a day would be beyond OPEC's ability to replace. EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson had asserted that OPEC had a responsibility to balance the market and that member countries could tap existing spare production capacity to help during the crisis.
Bloomberg, OPEC tells EU that Russia oil crisis is beyond its control.
The United Arab Emirates' cabinet approved a plan to bring together the payments systems of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, presided over the session that adopted the agreement, but no details were made available.
Khaleej Times, UAE: Sheikh Mohammed announces plan to link payment systems across GCC.
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia this month. Turkey has been on a diplomacy drive to reset relations with Gulf countries, notably the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Erdogan visited the UAE in February and said he would also travel to Saudi Arabia then, but that part of his trip didn't happen. Turkey's handling of the Khashoggi case, the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has long been a problem for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The case was recently closed in Turkey and removed to Saudi Arabia, and "conditions have ripened" for an Erdogan visit, one academic said.
Al-Monitor, Erdogan's Saudi visit to make vital step in Turkey's regional realignment.
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen flew to Sanaa for his first talks with the rebel Houthis. Hans Grundberg has been in his post for eight months and worked to get a two-month truce between the warring sides in Yemen that started April 2. Until now, the Houthis had refused to receive Grundberg. He has met instead in Oman with the Houthi chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul Saslam.
Associated Press, UN envoy arrives in Yemen's capital for talks with rebels.
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen still owes the United States $17 million for unpaid air support. Between March 2015 and November 2018, the Pentagon spent about $300 million to fly aerial refueling missions in support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others in the coalition. About $261 million was for flying the tanker planes, with another $38 million for jet fuel. Most of the debt has been repaid, but a balance of $17.2 million remains, and the US. Defense Department has received no payments since last year.
Defense News, US awaits $17 million repayment from Saudis for air refueling in Yemen war.
Representatives of Iraq and its Kurdistan region were reported off to a good start in negotiating management of Kurdistan's oil. A high-ranking delegation from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, went to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi officials and discuss "executive procedures" and agree on a new mechanism for managing the region's oil. A recent Iraqi court ruling would take away any Kurdish role in handling financial receipts of its oil industry. Kurdistan protested, and the meeting followed.
Rudaw, First round of Kurdish oil talks 'a good beginning for cooperation': KRG minister.
Lebanon's prime minister said he will visit Saudi Arabia this month in a sign of improving relations between the countries. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he will visit during the holy month of Ramadan. His trip would follow the return to Beirut of Saudi Arabia's ambassador, who was withdrawn during a diplomatic dispute.
Reuters, Lebanon PM Mikati to visit Saudi Arabia during holy month of Ramadan - Al Jadeed TV.
The European Union will start deploying a team of 30 observers to Lebanon this week to prepare for May 15 elections. An EU delegation has been visiting Lebanon for almost a week to discuss the project. The number of observers will increase to more than 150 from 27 EU member states and from Switzerland and Norway on the day of the vote. The elections will be the first in Lebanon since the country's economic meltdown started in 2019.
Asharq Al-Awsat, EU election mission to begin deploying observers in Lebanon.
An Egyptian rights group said a prosecutor's investigation into the death of a jailed economist must cover "all concerns." The Egyptian National Council for Human Rights said it is awaiting the results of an autopsy on the body of Ayman Hadhoud and cited the "alleged forced disappearance of the deceased." Egypt's interior ministry issued a statement denying Hadhoud had been forcibly disappeared. It said he was arrested in February for allegedly breaking into a Cairo apartment, then taken to a psychiatric hospital. He reportedly died in the hospital, and a preliminary autopsy report is expected early next week, according to news reports.
Ahram, Investigation into Ayman Hadhoud's death 'must cover all concerns': Egypt's top human rights body.
A leading Egyptian activist who has been jailed for 3 1/2 years has obtained a British passport. Issuance of a passport for Alaa Abdel Fattah, an outspoken dissident, is expected to increase pressure on Egyptian authorities to release him.
Associated Press, Jailed Egypt activist becomes UK citizen in push for freedom.
Egypt will receive $22 billion from three Gulf states to cover its current account deficit, hit by the fallout from the Ukraine war. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar will invest in Egyptian banks, port services, and other sectors as they announced a series of investments and deposits in Egypt's central bank. Egypt is experiencing a deep financial crisis accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Al-Monitor, Gulf states give Egypt $22 billion to mitigate fallout from Ukraine war.
MORE: Hajj 2022's largest percentage to be for pilgrims coming from abroad, Saudi Gazette... Qatar: Amnesty International report sheds lights on 'further labor abuses,' Doha News... Malaysia sent home two top diplomats in UAE due to issues during PM Ismail's visit, Straits Times... Saudi Arabia's banks to benefit from expected rise in interest rates, says S&P, The Nation... Haftar denies shutting down Libya's oil fields, Bashagha vows to assume office in Tripoli, Asharq Al-Awsat.
News You Missed
Turkey's transfer of its trial for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia was a matter of political expediency, not accountability of those involved in the Saudi journalist's death.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces an election, his finances are bad, and he is seeking investments from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and now Saudi Arabia. The removal of the Khashoggi case was necessary before a planned trip to Saudi Arabia.
Homeland Security Today, Why Turkey has handed over the Jamal Khashoggi case to Saudi Arabi
After the Gulf states refused to increase oil production to help ease Europe's energy shortages from Russia, attention is turning to the eastern Mediterranean for help. Israel has been meeting with Greece and Cyprus to discuss energy supplies, and Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid believes Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed the structure of the energy markets and offers opportunities "which we must examine together."
Business Standard, Europe turns to Middle East, Mediterranean to reduce dependence on Russia.