Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, Sept. 30

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MANAMA — Visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani on Thursday jointly inaugurated the Israeli embassy in the Bahraini capital of Manama.

Lapid’s trip marks the highest Israeli official to visit Bahrain, said a statement released earlier by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. (Israel-Bahrain-Embassy)

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JERUSALEM — A Gulf Air Airbus A320 arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday in the first direct commercial flight between Bahrain and Israel.

The flight by Bahrain’s national carrier departed from Manama about an hour after Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid landed in the capital of the Gulf country for the first-ever visit by a senior Israeli official. (Israel-Bahrain-Flight)

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TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday congratulated China on its National Day.

“We partake in the joy of China, which celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China,” Abdollahian tweeted in both Persian and Chinese languages. (Iran-China-Congratulation)

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BAGHDAD — Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail said Thursday that his ministry is planning to launch a huge project for natural gas exploration in the country’s western desert.

Ismail’s remarks came during his visit to the ministry’s OIL Exploration Company to discuss preparing an assessment for all exploration blocks in Iraq’s vast desert, as the ministry pins great hope on the promising gas reserves based on previous studies and surveys, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. (Iraq-Gas-Exploration)