The following is a list of select key events and dates over the course of 2020, broken down by month.
January
3: Leader of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, is assassinated by a U.S. strike
6: Turkey deploys troops to Libya
8: The TurkStream Pipeline launches
10: Oman’s Sultan Qaboos passes away
11: Haitham bin Tariq Al Said ascends to the throne as the next sultan of Oman
12: In Libya the GNA and LNA agree to a Russian- and Turkish-brokered cease-fire
19: Multilateral Libyan peace talks take place in Berlin
21: A new Lebanese cabinet is formed
24: The Elazig earthquake kills 41 in Turkey
27: The Libyan cease-fire from Jan. 12 collapses
29: Trump announces the release of a U.S. Israeli-Palestinian peace plan titled “Peace to Prosperity”
29: The UAE reports its first COVID-19 case
31: U.S. House of Representatives votes to repeal Iraq war authorization
February
11: Sudanese military council agrees to hand over former President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity
12-13: The North Atlantic Council Defense Minister Meeting is held
14-16: The Munich Security Conference is held
14: 15th anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri
16: 1st anniversary of Algeria protests
19: Iran reports its first COVID-19 case
21: Iranian holds legislative elections
March
2: Israel holds Knesset elections
5: The 178th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference
5: Russia and Turkey agree to a cease-fire in the rebel-held region of Idlib in Syria
11: 30th anniversary of Iraqi-Kurdish autonomy agreement of 1970
16: Deadline passes for Israel and Palestine to respond to ICC war-crimes allegations
April
5-6: World Economic Forum Special Meeting is held in Riyadh on “The Arab World in the Fourth Industrial Era”
6: 20th anniversary of the Death of Habib Bourgiba, the first Tunisian president
11: 1st anniversary of the removal of Omar al-Bashir as the president of Sudan
13: 45th anniversary of the “start” of the Lebanese Civil War (PLO/Phalangist clashes)
24: 70th anniversary of Jordan’s annexation of the West Bank
26: Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen announces self-administration
27: 15th anniversary of the end of the Cedar Revolution: Syria withdrew troops from Lebanon
May
7: Mustafa al-Kadhimi becomes prime minister of Iraq
28: New Iranian parliament begins session
June
5: 3rd anniversary of the Qatar crisis
9: The 179th (Ordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference
10: Meeting of the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue takes place
17: Caesar Act, authorizing sanctions against Syrian leaders, takes effect
21: 3rd anniversary of Mohammad bin Salman’s appointment as Saudi crown prince
22: 30th anniversary of the unification of the Yemen Arabic Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen)
July
Filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam begins
1: 100th anniversary of Palestine becoming a British Mandate at San Remo Conference
10: UN mandate for two remaining Syrian border crossings designated for humanitarian aid expires
11: UN authorizes 1-year extension for a single Syrian border crossing, Bab al-Halwa, to bring cross-border aid
25: 20th anniversary of the Camp David Summit between Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak
27: 40th anniversary of the death of the Iranian Shah
August
4: A massive explosion of improperly stored ammonium nitrate rocks the city of Beirut
2: 30th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
7: 30th anniversary of the cease-fire ending the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and the PLO
11-12: Elections for the Egyptian Senate are held
18: UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts Salim Jamil Ayyash for the assassination of Rafik Hariri
20: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi travels to D.C. for round two of the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue
30: A new Syrian cabinet is formed led by Hussein Arnous as prime minister
September
2: Tunisia swears in new technocratic cabinet led by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi
6: 50th anniversary of Black September
8-9: Runoff elections for the Egyptian Senate are held
11: Runoff elections for Iranian parliament are held
12: 15th anniversary of Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
12: The intra-Afghan peace talks begin in Doha between the Afghan government and the Taliban
15: Israel and the UAE/Bahrain and Israel sign the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations
21: UN General Assembly takes place, marking the organization's 75th anniversary
22: 40th anniversary of Iraq invading Iran, sparking the Iran-Iraq War
24: Fatah and Hamas agree to hold elections in 2021
27: Fighting breaks out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
28: 50th anniversary of the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, former President of Egypt
29: Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah passes away, with Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed taking his place as the next emir
October
1: 35th anniversary of Israeli operation Wooden Leg to kill Yasser Arafat in Tunis
1: Repressive Turkish social media law comes into effect
17: 1st anniversary of Lebanese October Uprising
20: 9th anniversary of death of Muammar Gaddafi
20-22: 38th World Zionist Congress takes place
22: After major upheaval, Saad Hariri is once again named as prime minister of Lebanon
23: New Libya cease-fire signed in Geneva
23: Israel and Sudan sign a normalization agreement following the recent Abraham Accords
24-25: Egypt holds the first round of parliamentary elections
26: One-year anniversary of killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS
November
1: Algerian constitutional referendum is held after months of the Hirak protests
4 25th Anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination
7-8: Egypt holds the second round of parliamentary elections
10: Jordan holds parliamentary elections
10: Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement, ending fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh
10: Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the PLO, passes away due to COVID-19 complications
16: 50th anniversary of UNESCO
21: The G20 summit is held in Saudi Arabia
26: Turkey signs contract with China for 50 million doses of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine
December
4: Bahrain becomes the second country to authorize emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
5: Kuwait holds National Assembly elections
5: In Iran, one of the hardest hit MENA countries, the COVID-19 death toll surpasses 50,000
10: Following the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan, Morocco agrees to normalize relations with Israel
17: 10th anniversary of Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation (start of Arab Spring)
18: 10th anniversary of Arab Spring
19: 2nd anniversary of the Start of Sudanese Revolution
Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
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