English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 06/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
John the Baptis Baptizes Jesus at The Jordan River
Luke 03/15-22/The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 05-06/2022
President Aoun signs 16 laws approved by Parliament
Mikati visits Aoun, says 2022 general budget ready
Aoun Says Khalil's Words 'Impolite', Amal's Opposition 'Detrimental' to Country
Miqati, Aoun Agree on Legislative Session, PM to Call for Cabinet Session Naharnet
No Govt. Solution as Miqati-Hizbullah Tensions Deepen Crisis
UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Probe 'Attack' on Peacekeepers
UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon were attacked by unknown
Hizbullah Official Nabil Qaouq At Event Honoring Soleimani: In A Future War, We Will Have 100,000 Fighters With The Spirit, Will, Determination Of Soleimani
US lawsuit filed against Lebanon and its powerful intelligence agency
Geagea: Nasrallah's Speech Full of Lies, Taking Up Arms Not LF's Plan
Lebanese Journalist: Contrary To Hizbullah's Narrative Of 'Victory Over Israel', The Truth Is That Lebanon Is In The Pits Of Crisis Whereas Israel Is At The Pinnacle Of Success
En réponse à ce qui se passe./Jean-Marie Kassab/January 05/2022
Lebanon's president has leverage but his alliance with Hezbollah isn't over/Michael Young/The National/January 05/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 05-06/2022
U.S.-Led Coalition, Pro-Iran Militias Trade Fire in Syria
More than 200 detained in Kazakhstan unrest, president removes ex-leader from post
Iraqi former deputy electricity minister sentenced to six years for corruption/Raad Al Haris, an adviser to the PM, has been given a $10 million fine
Katyusha Rocket Hits Military Base at Baghdad Airport
Jordan’s king publicly hosts Israeli official for 1st time in 4 years
Israel Issues First Sentence in Mob Attack on Arab Driver
US-coalition against ISIS faces dual attacks in Syria and Iraq by Iran-backed groups
U.S. hopes to build on Iran nuclear talk progress this week
Khartoum, Washington discuss need to complete democratic transition in Sudan
Algeria Envoy to France to Resume Duties
Canada/Statement on resignation of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 05-06/2022
Is Iran messaging holding hard-line or setting stage for softening deal? - analysis/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/January 05/2022
Iran's "Nuclear Blackmail": Iran Has No Interest in Negotiating a New Nuclear Deal/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 05/2022
Biden’s foreign policy challenges mounting up/Maria Maalouf/Arab News/January 05, 2022
The Iraqi political satirist who weaponized laughter/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/January 05, 2022
How Iran’s Ahwazi Arabs, betrayed, fell victim to oppression that continues to this day/Joanathan Gornall/Arab News/January 05, 2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 05-06/2022
President Aoun signs 16 laws approved by Parliament
NNA/January 05, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, signed 16 laws that were approved by the Parliament, in its last session.
After signing, laws were referred to the Official Gazette for publication according to the rules.
Signed Laws:
-Law No. 253 of January 5, 2022, establishing the National Drug Agency.
-Law No. 254 of January 5, 2022, establishing a Syndicate of Psychiatrists in Lebanon.
-Law No. 255 of January 5, 2022, approving subjects from vocational education in the curricula of the basic and secondary stages of pre-university education, with the aim of vocational guidance (known as the Vocational Guidance Law for Public Education Students).
-Law No. 256 of January 5, 2022, amending Article 604 of the Penal Code.
-Law No. 257 of January 5, 2022, extending the provisions of Article 1.
-Law No. 237 of 16/7/2021 (suspension of legal, judicial and contractual deadlines and suspension of debt instalments).
-Law No. 258 of January 5, 2022, cancelling the lump sum annual fee stipulated in Article 29 of Law No. 173/2000 dated February 14, 2000.
-Law No. 259 of January 5, 2022 amending some provisions of Law No. 62/1988 relating to the Beirut and Tripoli lawyers' retirement funds.
-Law No. 260 dated January 5, 2022 amending the only article of Law No. 75 dated 10/27/2016 (cancellation of bearer shares and shares to order).
-Law No. 261 dated January 5, 2022, to determine the terms of equivalency for the “freshman” class - the American educational curriculum - at the Lebanese High School, and to regularize the status of students for previous years.
-Law No. 262 dated January 5, 2022 amending Article 66 of Law No. 144 dated July 31, 2019 (the General Budget and Annexed Budget Law for 2019).
-Law No. 263 of January 5, 2022, to subject Lebanese journalists and photographers who do not benefit from any benefits, to the provisions of the Social Security Law - with regard to medical care in cases of illness and maternity only.
-Law No. 264 of January 5, 2022, setting the conditions for licensing Health Clubs, and amending the law regulating the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
-Law No. 265 of January 5, 2022, authorizing distance teaching in higher education in cases of necessity for the academic years 2019-2022.
-Law No. 266 of January 5, 2022, to adopt an educational identity with a coded number for the student and the student in Lebanon (educational identity).
-Law No. 267 of January 5, 2022, amending Articles 554, 555, 556, 557 and 559 of the Penal Code in terms of strengthening legal protection for doctors and their assistants and hospital workers.
-Law No. 268 of January 5, 2022 amending Article 567 of the Penal Code. ----Presidency Press Office

Mikati visits Aoun, says 2022 general budget ready
NNA/January 05, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, today at the Presidential Palace.
After the meeting, PM Mikati revealed that it was agreed to sign a decree to immediately open an extraordinary Parliamentary session.
PM Mikati also indicated that the 2022 general budget is ready, and that once he receives it within the next two days, it becomes necessary for the Council of Ministers to convene to approve it and refer it to the Parliament.
In addition, the Prime Minister asserted that the financial benefits that were previously promised to public and private sector employees will be released today.
Statement:
After the meeting, Premier Mikati made the following statement:
“I consider that my meeting with His Excellency the President today was very fruitful. We first agreed to sign a decree to open an extraordinary Parliament session, which will start immediately until the date of the regular session.
As for the second issue, it is the 2022 general budget, where I informed the President that it is ready and I will receive it during the next two days, and as soon as this happens, it will become necessary for the Council of Ministers to convene to approve it, which is a prerequisite for the International Monetary Fund and for all the reform issues that we are working on. Therefore, we will call the Cabinet to convene upon receipt of the budget, to consider it as the most important issue at the present time, and then send it to the Parliament.
As for the third issue that I agreed on with His Excellency the President, it is the release of financial benefits, especially for public and private sector employees, which we promised to give, that is, half a month for November and half a month for December, and that will be done today, God willing.
I renew my call that it be a good year for all”.
Questions & Answers:
In response to a question about the existence of new data regarding the special Parliament session and the call for a cabinet session, Prime Minister Mikati replied: “The agenda and the existence of the budget have become more than necessary for the Cabinet meeting. I do not think that anyone will fail in this national duty”.
Question: Has the agenda been set?
Answer: “The priority is the budget”.—Presidency Press Office

Aoun Says Khalil's Words 'Impolite', Amal's Opposition 'Detrimental' to Country
Naharnet/January 05, 2022
President Michel Aoun described MP Ali Hassan Khalil’s words as “impolite and not true,” when the latter said there are two presidents in Lebanon. “Every word he uttered is a lie,” Aoun said in a press interview. He added that “they are mixing between the Republic’s president and the Free Patriotic Movement’s president.”“I am the President of the country, (Jebran) Bassil is president of the biggest parliamentary bloc. I manage the country’s affairs, he manages the party’s affairs,” Aoun stated. “They hate him because I have raised him and like me, he refuses to bargain,” the president said. On another note, Aoun claimed that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s opposition since he was voted President has been “detrimental” to the country and has disrupted many draft laws proposed by the FPM. “His ministers are refusing to attend Cabinet sessions,” Aoun added. “Disrupting the government is a grave mistake, and no party has the right to do so.”Aoun went on to say that he wanted to replace Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh but it was Khalil, back then minister of finance, who asked him to discuss Salameh’s term extension in Cabinet.He said that “if we fail to conduct a forensic audit, I will say what is obstructing it and I will name the ones who stole the people’s money.”

Miqati, Aoun Agree on Legislative Session, PM to Call for Cabinet Session Naharnet
Naharnet/January 05, 2022
Prime Minister Najib Miqati said Wednesday, after meeting with President Michel Aoun, that they have agreed on opening an extraordinary legislative session. Miqati described the meeting at the Baabda Palace as “fruitful” and affirmed that “Cabinet will be asked to convene within two days.”“I have informed the president that the state budget for the year 2022 is ready and will be received within two days,” Miqati said. He added that he will call for a Cabinet session right after receiving the state budget. Meanwhile media outlets said that, during the meeting, Aoun and Miqati held a call with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to see if the Shiite Duo will attend the Cabinet session or not.

No Govt. Solution as Miqati-Hizbullah Tensions Deepen Crisis
Naharnet/January 05, 2022
Amid the latest rapid developments in the country, the efforts to resolve the standoff over Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar seem to have ceased, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Wednesday. “There will be neither a solution nor a (Cabinet) session, and the focus is now on other issues,” a senior political source told the daily.“The latest tensions between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Hizbullah will be an addition reason to deepen the crisis, although Hizbullah has told the relevant parties that it is not inclined to complicate things,” the source added.

UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Probe 'Attack' on Peacekeepers
Associated Press/January 05, 2022
Unknown perpetrators attacked a group of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing official items from them, a U.N. official said Wednesday. Such scuffles with U.N. peacekeepers are not uncommon in southern Lebanon since the peacekeeping force was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah. The U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, called on Lebanese authorities to "investigate quickly and thoroughly, and prosecute all those responsible for these crimes," said Kandice Ardiel, a UNIFIL press official. She added that the attack occurred on Tuesday night. Local media reported that residents of the southern town of Bint Jbeil scuffled with Irish peacekeepers who they said were taking photographs of residential homes. The reports added that the U.N. force was not accompanied by Lebanese troops. Bint Jbeil is a Hizbullah stronghold and large parts of its were destroyed during the 2006 war. Ardiel said that contrary to the disinformation being spread, the peacekeepers were not taking photos and were not on private property. She added that the peacekeepers were on their way to meet members of the Lebanese Army for a routine patrol. "UNIFIL condemns attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace, which are violations of both Lebanese and international law," Ardiel said, adding that UNIFIL also condemns those who "manipulate" local residents to serve their purposes. UNIFIL was originally created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after a 1978 invasion. The mission was expanded in Lebanon under a U.N.-brokered truce after the monthlong war between Israel and Hizbyllah in 2006.A similar incident with peacekeepers in south Lebanon late last year was condemned by Lebanon's Foreign Ministry.

UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon were attacked by unknown
AP/January 05, 2022
The UNIFIL called on Lebanese authorities to “investigate quickly and thoroughly, and prosecute all those responsible for these crimes”
Local media reported that residents of Bint Jbeil scuffled with Irish peacekeepers
BEIRUT: Unknown perpetrators attacked a group of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing official items from them, a UN official said Wednesday.
Such scuffles with UN peacekeepers are not uncommon in southern Lebanon since the peacekeeping force was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
The UN force, known as UNIFIL, called on Lebanese authorities to “investigate quickly and thoroughly, and prosecute all those responsible for these crimes,” said Kandice Ardiel, a UNIFIL press official. She added that the attack occurred on Tuesday night. Local media reported that residents of the southern town of Bint Jbeil scuffled with Irish peacekeepers who they said were taking photographs of residential homes. The reports added that the UN force was not accompanied by Lebanese troops. Bint Jbeil is a Hezbollah stronghold and large parts of its were destroyed during the 2006 war. Ardiel said that contrary to the disinformation being spread, the peacekeepers were not taking photos and were not on private property. She added that the peacekeepers were on their way to meet members of the Lebanese army for a routine patrol. “UNIFIL condemns attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace, which are violations of both Lebanese and international law,” Ardiel said, adding that UNIFIL also condemns those who manipulate local residents to serve their purposes. UNIFIL was originally created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after a 1978 invasion. The mission was expanded in Lebanon under a UN-brokered truce after the monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah militants in 2006. A similar incident with peacekeepers in south Lebanon late last year was condemned by Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry.

Hizbullah Official Nabil Qaouq At Event Honoring Soleimani: In A Future War, We Will Have 100,000 Fighters With The Spirit, Will, Determination Of Soleimani
MEMRI/January 05/2022
Al-Manar TV (Lebanon)
Nabil Qaouq, a member of Hizbullah's Central Council, attended a ceremony launching a tree planting campaign marking two years since the U.S. assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani. At the event, in which olive trees were planted along Lebanon's border with Israel, Qaouq said that in a future war with Israel, Hizbullah will have 100,000 fighters "armed" with the spirit, will, and determination that Soleimani had. A report about the event was aired on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon) on January 2, 2022. According to the report, Hassan Ezzeddine, a member of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc Loyalty to the Resistance, was also present at the event. For more about Nabil Qaouq, see MEMRI TV Clips Nos. 1136 and 294.
Narrator: "At this location overlooking Palestine, where he stood smelling its scent and promising to liberate it, a firmly rooted olive tree was planted, named after the martyr General Qasem Soleimani. [The tree] affirms the right of the owners of the land to their land, and that the occupier is certain to leave.
"Under the auspices of Hizbullah's Central Council member, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, with the presence of a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, Hassan Ezzeddine, as well as a number of ulema activists, dignitaries, and a group of residents, Hizbullah launched a forestation campaign named 'Soleimani's Olive Tree' along the border with occupied Palestine.
"The ceremony began in the Iran Gardens in the village of Maroun Al-Ras, where Sheikj Qaouq declared that in any future war, the resistance will fight the enemy with 100,000 resistance fighters armed with the determination and faith of Qasem Soleimani.
Nabil Qaouq: "When we meet here, in Maroun Al-Ras, where Hajj Qasem stood, we recall the deeply-rooted Arab identity, that of Palestine, the Arab identity that Hajj Qasem served and sacrificed for its sake. It is the identity relinquished by all the 'normalizing' Arabs. Hajj Qasem sent rockets to Palestine. I dare all the 'normalizing' Arabs to send even a single rocket to Palestine. "In any future war, we will fight the enemy with 100,000 resistance fighters armed with the spirit, will, and determination of Hajj Qasem Soleimani."
Narrator: "The campaign is scheduled to continue in the coming days — olive trees will be planted in the footsteps of the martyr Soleimani, along the border with occupied Palestine."

US lawsuit filed against Lebanon and its powerful intelligence agency
دعوى قضائية أميركية ضد لبنان ومخابراته القوية
“We are dumbfounded that the Lebanese government would decide to intervene and make itself a party to this proceeding with all that this entails. Amazingly, it has now subjected itself and its intelligence agency to the American court’s jurisdiction,” the family’s lawyer said.
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/Updated: 05 January ,2022
The head of Lebanon’s General Security may have landed himself and his country in hot water after intervening in a US lawsuit that initially accused Iran of ordering the detainment and detention of a Lebanese-American citizen.
The family of Amer Fakhoury, who had worked with an Israeli-backed militia in southern Lebanon until 2000, is now suing Lebanon, the General Security and its chief, Abbas Ibrahim, who is known for negotiating prisoner swaps and freeing captives, including US citizens.
Fakhoury worked as a senior warden at the notorious Khiam Prison in south Lebanon, run by the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA), before Israel ended its 18-year occupation in 2000. His family says he worked at the prison but never had contact with inmates and did not torture prisoners.
Despite being accused by Lebanese officials of torturing prisoners during his time with the SLA, Fakhoury’s lawyer said he was given assurances that he could enter Lebanon after nearly 20 years.
He reportedly met with Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, during a visit to Boston before traveling to Lebanon. According to a lawsuit by the family, Fakhoury was also in contact with a member of Aoun’s presidential office.
He was detained in Beirut in September 2019 and released the following March. But a travel ban was placed on him after a military judge appealed the decision.
Nevertheless, he was flown out of the country following a movie-like operation from the US Embassy in Beirut. Fakhoury died just months after returning to the US. His family has accused Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah of being part of Tehran’s order to detain and torture Fakhoury. “The Iranians were hoping to pressure the Trump Administration to trade the captive American for a Hezbollah operative, Kassim Tajideen, a Lebanese national who was imprisoned in the US for his role in financing Hezbollah terrorist activities around the world,” a statement from Fakhoury’s family and lawyer said on Wednesday.
As a result, Fakhoury’s family sued the government of Iran in a US federal court last year.
Accused Hezbollah financier released by US
Tajideen was arrested in 2017, in Morocco, following an international arrest warrant and then extradited to the US. Although he was accused of financing Hezbollah, Tajideen only pleaded guilty to charges of evading sanctions imposed on him, not for financing the Iran-backed militia. He was released by the US in June 2020, a few months after Fakhoury, on compassionate grounds due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tajideen remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Treasury Department, and US citizens are prohibited from working with him.
Lebanon’s General Security head intervenes
While Lebanon enjoys sovereign immunity, making it illegal to be named as a defendant in US courts, a move by the General Security head Abbas Ibrahim may have upended the privilege.
On December 12, Ibrahim filed a motion to strike his name and his agency from the lawsuit against Iran. “The fact that he filed the motion on behalf of General Security, which is a state institution, has allowed us to pursue him and Lebanon, legally,” Fakhoury’s daughter, Guila, told Al Arabiya English.
“We will not back down, even if they withdraw [their motion], because they were officially part of this. Now, they allowed us to pursue them in court,” she added.
Only a handful of governments can be sued in US courts, which include state sponsors of terrorism. Iran, the country sued by the Fakhoury family, was designated by the US State Department in 1979.
“Remarkably, however, Lebanon and its [General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim] recently filed a motion to intervene in the family’s case against Iran. They are attempting to have their role in the torture of Fakhoury formally stricken from the family’s court papers, arguing that it is scandalous,” the family’s statement read. “By attempting to intervene and appear in the proceedings against Iran, the Lebanese government has become a full-fledged party and has subjected itself to the US Court’s jurisdiction. Thus, the plaintiffs have filed a supplemental complaint naming the Lebanese government as a defendant.”
Al Arabiya English was unable to contact Lebanon’s General Security, and the Lebanese presidency said it was unaware of the lawsuit being brought against the country, Ibrahim and General Security.
“We are dumbfounded that the Lebanese government would decide to intervene and make itself a party to this proceeding with all that this entails. Amazingly, it has now subjected itself and its intelligence agency to the American court’s jurisdiction,” the family’s lawyer said.

Geagea: Nasrallah's Speech Full of Lies, Taking Up Arms Not LF's Plan
Naharnet/January 05/2022
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday charged that the latest speech of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was “full of fallacies and lies” regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in Lebanon and the region.
Speaking to Sky News Arabia, Geagea added that “taking up arms is not at all the LF’s plan.”“What happened in Tayyouneh showed that we have no right at all to take up arms, seeing as the incident showed that the there is a Lebanese state institution, the Lebanese Army, which is ready to protect the Lebanese and separate between them,” the LF leader said. Asked whether he will run for president, Geagea said: “I’m not a candidate in the classic sense of the word, but I’m a natural candidate, seeing as the LF leader is currently the head of the biggest Christian party in Lebanon, but what’s more important at the moment is finding a real republic.”He also stressed that “repeating the scenario of the Maarab Agreement” to “secure Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil’s election as president” is not possible, noting that “what happened once due to the intersection of certain circumstances will not be repeated today.”

Lebanese Journalist: Contrary To Hizbullah's Narrative Of 'Victory Over Israel', The Truth Is That Lebanon Is In The Pits Of Crisis Whereas Israel Is At The Pinnacle Of Success
MEMRI/January 05/2022
In a recent article titled "Victorious Lebanon and Defeated Israel," Shi'ite Lebanese journalist Nadim Koteich, a known Hizbullah opponent, mocks the narrative of "victory over Israel" that this organization has been marketing, especially since the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon in 2000. In the article – which was posted on the Asas Media website, owned by Lebanese former interior minister Nohad Al-Machnouk, of the March 14 Forces – Koteich wonders what has happened to this victory. How, he asks, did Lebanon and Hizbullah deteriorate from this pinnacle of triumph to the pits of the present economic crisis, whereas the Israel rose from this "defeat" and conquered pinnacles of success in the arenas of global technology, innovation and high-tech? He illustrates his point by describing the vast difference between Israel's attractive booth at the Expo 2020 in Dubai and Lebanon's poor one, which, Koteich says, reveal to the world that it is Lebanon that is defeated and still mired in the past, whereas Israel is victorious and future-oriented.
Nadim Koteich (Source: asasmedia.com)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"'Lebanon the victorious and Israel the defeated' – In order to reflect the issue accurately, there is no point in considering defeat and victory in any logical sense [of these terms], because the claim about Israel's defeat is Hizbullah's central claim, so much so that it has become [central to] its party and sectarian identity... Hizbullah does not let anyone question its 'victory,' and insists on it more than ever when it comes to Israel.
"So… let's not argue with Hizbullah about whether it defeated Israel or Israel defeated Hizbullah, along with [the rest of] us. [Instead,] let's ask it why it has slipped, along with us, from the pinnacle of victory into the pits of defeat, while Israel has climbed from the pits of defeat to the throne of many victories. How is it that, 15 years after [the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel], Israel has overcome its 'defeat' while we have squandered our 'victory'[?]
"In September [2021], the World Health Organization assessed that Lebanon, once the hospital for the entire Middle East, has lost 40% of its doctors and 30% of its nurses since 2019. Most of them left [the country] this year, according to the Lebanese Order of Nurses. In addition, [it has been reported that] the American University in Beirut – which, along with the [Saint Joseph] Jesuit University, played an important part in the founding of Lebanon – intends to open a campus in the UAE. Naturally, it is not doing so as part of expanding or decentralizing its activity… This is simply a case of 'migration,' in the full sense of the term.[2] The report about the 'migration' of the American University [from Beirut] is accompanied by shameful reports about three Lebanese universities that sold tens of thousands of academic diplomas in the Iraqi 'market'!![3] Similar or even more alarming data can be found regarding other [Lebanese] sectors, such as [our] industry…
"To become convinced of the bitter end that awaits him, the Lebanese citizen surely does not need [to hear] the statements made by Olivier De Schutter, the UN's Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, who told Reuters after a two-week investigation into Lebanon's poverty: 'I'm very struck by the fact that this is a state that, if it is not failed yet, is failing and that the needs of the population are still not addressed.' More importantly , the UN rapporteur described Lebanon's officials as living 'in a fantasy land.'[4] I'm not sure if this fantasy land includes the glorious victories Hizbullah is always nattering about…
"All these things are among the signs of the 'victory' that has been lost and that nobody managed to exploit and to preserve…
"Conversely, it seems that Israel, which, according to Hizbullah's glorious narrative, suffered a bitter 'defeat' 15 years ago, managed to learn its lesson and carve out a Via Dolorosa leading from the pits of hell to the place where it is today. Today Israel controls 8% of the 'unicorns,' i.e., privately held startup companies valued at over $1 billion, while its citizens comprise [only] 0.1% of the world population. This means that its status in terms of innovation exceeds its demographic weight by a factor of almost 100.
"An examination of Israeli [financial] reports reveals that its technological industry accounted for over 50% of its exports in 2020. This helped it deal with the economic implications of the Covid pandemic, because the technological sector – unlike traditional economic sectors – experienced waves of success that strengthened the Israeli economy and all the economies involved in the fourth industrial revolution, and provided them with strategic economic solvency that allowed them to overcome the economic effects of the pandemic.
"Among these few examples – and we could have discovered hundreds of others in the fields of science, printing and publishing, philosophy, development, universities, medicine, etc. – [we can also mention] the [2020] Expo in Dubai, which showed the entire world the difference between 'the victorious Lebanon' and 'the defeated Israel.' The Lebanese booth, whose erection was voluntarily funded by the Emirati hosts, presented a selection of cliches about Lebanese tourism that seem to be taken from the archives of Lebanese television, and some random examples of Lebanese products, which included apparel, hand-made crafts, a few wines, and a few scattered works of graphic art, which were an insult to the rich record of modern and contemporary Lebanese art and its considerable contribution to the regional and global plastic art scene.
"The Israeli booth, on the other hand, is a continuation of the Israeli narrative launched 20 years ago…. which markets Israel as a startup nation. It exhibits state-of-the-art inventions in the fields of irrigation, water [management], renewable energy, financial technology, pharmaceuticals, cyber security, artificial intelligence, tourism and sustainable social economy. Not to mention the accompanying conferences, debates and presentations hosted by the Israeli booth.
"These two examples suffice to define the victory and the defeat. The 'victorious' Lebanon, with nothing to show except its Roman past, and the 'defeated' Israel, which strengthens its pioneering role in shaping the future, not only of its own state but [of the world], since it is a global partner in the making of tomorrow."
[1] Asasmedia.com, November 15, 2021.
[2] In January 2021, Al-Arabiya reported that, due to financial hardships and political persecution, the American University in Beirut was considering relocating to Dubai (see English.alarabiya.net, January 21, 2021), but university officials later denied this (see The961.com, January 27, 2021; businessnews.com.lb, September 23, 2021). In September of the same year it was reported that the university plans to open branches in Dubai and in Cyprus, but that its main campus will remain in Lebanon (businessnews.com.lb, September 23, 2021).
[3] In late 2021 a scandal erupted after it was discovered that Lebanese universities had sold 27,000 fake master's and doctorate degrees to Iraqis, including officials in the Iraqi leadership. See e.g., Aljazeera.net, November 20, 2021.
[4] Reuters.com, November 12, 2021.

En réponse à ce qui se passe.
Jean-Marie Kassab/January 05/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/105331/%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%83%d8%b3%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%83%d8%b3%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d9%8a%d8%b7%d9%84%d9%82-%d9%85%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a9/
Je déclare mon domicile comme étant libéré de l’occupation Iranienne. J’y possède des armes et je suis disposé à le défendre contre toute intrusion y inclus les représentants de cette occupation et de n’importe appartenance qu’ils soient. Je refuse ainsi l’occupation Iranienne ainsi que l’autorité Libanaise collaboratrice. Je suis en état de désobéissance civile. Si vous êtes de mon avis, suivez mon exemple et déclarez-le en public. Si vous le suivez nous serons ainsi des centaines de milliers pour (au moins) ébranler cette situation.
Vive la Résistance.
Vive le Liban
Task Force Lebanon

مايكل يونغ/ذا ناشيونال:  للرئيس اللبناني نفوذ لكن تحالفه مع حزب الله لم ينته بعد
Lebanon's president has leverage but his alliance with Hezbollah isn't over
Michael Young/The National/January 05/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/105336/105336/
Hezbollah’s critics should support Michel Aoun’s calls to talk about a national defence strategy.
In a speech two days after Christmas, Lebanese President Michel Aoun took a novel position on Hezbollah that contrasted sharply with his enduring appeasement of the party. While the speech received mixed reviews, Mr Aoun did create an opening that Hezbollah’s critics must exploit to try to find a solution for its weapons.
In his speech, the president called for an urgent national dialogue around a national defence strategy for Lebanon, along with other objectives. Agreement over a defence strategy has particular resonance for Hezbollah, as this is another term for finding a formula to integrate the party’s weapons arsenal into the state. Mr Aoun declared: “It’s true that defence of the country requires co-operation among the army, the people, and [Hezbollah], but the prime responsibility belongs to the state. Only the state can establish a defence strategy and supervise its implementation.”
In a broadside aimed at Hezbollah and the allied Amal movement, Mr Aoun continued: “Before reaching this stage, we need to begin by putting an end to the deliberate, systematic, and unjustified blockage leading to the dismantling of institutions and the dissolution of the state.” Both Hezbollah and Amal are boycotting cabinet sessions until a resolution is found for the investigation of the Beirut port explosion. Hezbollah wants the investigating magistrate, Tarek Bitar, removed from the case, because he is trying to interrogate former ministers affiliated with the party’s allies.
Mr Aoun’s rivals dismissed his comments as too little, too late. They noted that the president’s purpose in highlighting his differences with Hezbollah was to push the party to support the presidential ambitions of his son-in-law, Gebran Bassil. Unless it did so, Mr Aoun implied, his alliance with Hezbollah was open to reconsideration.
There is considerable truth to that conclusion. However, disregarding the president’s remarks and leaving things at that would be a mistake. After 2005, when Syria’s army was forced to withdraw from Lebanon, those seeking Hezbollah’s negotiated disarmament were frustrated because the party had allied itself with Mr Aoun’s and Mr Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement. This created a political stalemate in Lebanon that prevented progress in pushing the party to surrender its weapons.
It would be premature today to assume that the Aoun-Hezbollah alliance is over. If anything, Mr Aoun is opportunistically holding up the possibility of a divorce to avoid such an outcome by ensuring that Mr Bassil can succeed him.
However, for the first time the president has placed the formula for a defence strategy on the table – based on a Hezbollah that must be subordinate to the state, and therefore whose weapons, implicitly, must be integrated into a larger entity that retains paramount responsibility for defending the nation. The party, which is keen on preserving an independent military capability outside the confines of the state, mainly to benefit Iran, is unwilling to enter into a serious national discussion on the matter.
If Hezbollah were to commit to Mr Bassil’s presidency now, Aoun might move away from his call for a dialogue on a defence strategy
Yet Mr Aoun has some leverage, as Hezbollah regards his endorsement of its status as a resistance force as valuable official legitimisation. Were Mr Aoun to withdraw this, the party would be isolated against a majority of Lebanese who believe the main problem in their country is the presence of an armed group acting as a proxy for a foreign power and that will always impose a debilitating status quo to protect its interests.
If Hezbollah’s critics should do anything, it is to collectively support Mr Aoun’s calls for a dialogue over a national defence strategy, and insist it begin as soon as possible. Hezbollah made it clear after the president’s speech that now was not the time to discuss this. That is precisely why Hezbollah’s rivals should try to take advantage of the space between the president and the party to work toward that objective.
If Hezbollah were to commit to Mr Bassil’s presidency now, it is likely that the president would move away from his call for a dialogue on a defence strategy. However, it is highly improbable that it will do so. Hezbollah prefers to leave its options open and may be under pressure from Syria to back a more overtly pro-Syrian president.
In that case, Mr Aoun may be thinking of something else. He realises that a majority of his Christian co-religionists do not sympathise with Hezbollah’s state within a state. Amid Lebanon’s severe economic crisis, the party has alienated many Arab countries, leaving the Lebanese isolated and facing poverty, with little outside help. Nor does the prospect of a war with Israel on Iran’s behalf appeal to Christians, or anyone. Christians also are especially keen to see Mr Bitar pursue his investigation.
If Mr Aoun can make progress over a defence strategy, he feels he might bolster his Christian bona fides and help his party in elections in May – and perhaps even Mr Bassil’s chances. The party will not give up its weapons, but if its rivals, along with Mr Aoun, can limit its margin of manoeuvre somewhat, this could be something to build upon in the future. Mr Aoun may feel this is a fight worth embarking on, whether it succeeds or not, because his party and Mr Bassil desperately need to revive their political appeal.
***Michael Young is a Lebanon columnist for The National
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2022/01/05/lebanons-president-has-leverage-but-his-alliance-with-hezbollah-isnt-over/

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 05-06/2022
U.S.-Led Coalition, Pro-Iran Militias Trade Fire in Syria
Agence France Presse/January 05, 2022
The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said one of its bases in northeast Syria came under fire on Wednesday from Iran-backed groups, the latest in a string of attacks. The development came one day after coalition forces said they had foiled a rocket attack on the same base, located in a part of Syria under the control of Kurdish forces. "Coalition forces were targeted this morning by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village" base, a statement said Wednesday. "The attack did not cause any casualties, but several rounds impacted inside the coalition base and caused minor damage." The coalition said it responded by firing six rounds of artillery towards the source of the attack, outside the eastern town of Al-Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province. It blamed "Iran-supported malign actors" operating from "civilian infrastructure"."Our coalition continues to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran," coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. John W. Brennan, Jr. was quoted as saying. "The coalition reserves the right to defend itself and partner forces against any threat."The attacks targeting U.S. installations came as Tehran and its allies across the Middle East held emotional commemorations marking the second anniversary on Monday of the assassination of Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport. Earlier on Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-Iran militia fighters fired shells towards a US base in eastern Syria's Al-Omar oil field, causing damage but no casualties. At least three shells landed in Al-Omar, according to the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. One fell on a helicopter landing pad, while the two others hit an open area, the Observatory said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. When asked about the incident, the coalition said it hadn't received reports of new attacks. The developments in Syria have coincided with similar incidents in neighboring Iraq. On Tuesday, US-led coalition forces shot down two armed drones targeting an air base in western Iraq, according to a coalition official. On Monday, the coalition shot down two armed drones targeting its compound at Baghdad airport.

More than 200 detained in Kazakhstan unrest, president removes ex-leader from post
AFP/January 05, 2022
ALMATY: Kazakhstan’s president stripped his powerful predecessor of a role as head of the country’s security council on Wednesday after demonstrators stormed and torched public buildings in the republic’s worst unrest for more than a decade. The cabinet resigned, but that failed to quell the demonstrators’ anger after days of unrest triggered by a fuel price rise in the oil-producing Central Asian country. Some protesters chanted slogans against Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, who has retained wide authority since stepping down in 2019 as the longest-serving ruler of an ex-Soviet state.
Nazarbayev’s hand-chosen successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, said he had taken over as head of the powerful Security Council, a post that had been retained by Nazarbayev. The former president has still been widely seen as the main political force in Nur-Sultan, the puropose-built capital which bears his name. His family is believed to control much of the economy. In a televised address, Tokayev did not mention Nazarbayev by name. The former president has not been seen or heard from in public since the start of the protests.
With the Internet shut down across Kazakhstan after the unrest, it was not possible to determine whether removing Nazarbayev from the Security Council post would satisfy the protesters. Tokayev also removed Nazarbayev’s nephew from a post as number two at the State Security Committee, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB. An Instagram live stream by a Kazakh blogger showed a fire blazing in the office of the mayor of the main city, Almaty, with apparent gunshots audible nearby. Videos posted online also showed the nearby prosecutor’s office burning.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters journalists saw thousands of protesters pressing toward Almaty city center, some of them on a large truck. Security forces, ranked in helmets and riot shields, fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades.
The city’s police chief said Almaty was under attack by “extremists and radicals,” who had beaten up 500 civilians and ransacked hundreds of businesses. States of emergency were declared in Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and westerly Mangistau province where protests first broke out.
Meanwhile, Kuwait's budget carrier Jazeera Airways suspended flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan due to the situation in the city on Wednesday. “We will provide an update on our operations when we have further information,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Almaty is the airline's only destination in Kazakhstan, according to the company's website.
Reuters journalists reported the Internet had been shut down as the unrest spread. Netblocks, a site that monitors global Internet connectivity, said Kazakhstan was “in the midst of a nation-scale Internet blackout.”Though the unrest was triggered by a fuel price rise, there were signs of broader political demands.
Footage showed police and security officials in civilian clothes breaking up a small group of protesters in the city of Shymkent, hauling away men and pushing them into a police car and a white van as some chanted “Nazarbayev, go away!“In the city of Aqtobe, what appeared to be several hundred protesters gathered on a square shouting: “Old Man, go away!.” A video posted online showed police using water cannon and stun grenades against protesters near the mayor’s office there. After accepting the Cabinet’s resignation, Tokayev ordered acting ministers to reverse the fuel price rise, which doubled the cost of liquefied petroleum gas from the start of the year. The gas is widely used to power vehicles in Kazakhstan because official prices made it much cheaper than gasoline. Kazakhstan’s reputation for political stability under Nazarbayev has helped it attract hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment in its oil and metals industries. The unrest saw the price of Kazakhstan’s dollar bonds plunge by nearly 6 cents, the worst showing since the height of the market collapse of 2020 after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Political analysts said the veneer of stability has masked anger among a younger generation denied the liberalization seen in other former Soviet states. “I think there is an underlying undercurrent of frustrations in Kazakhstan over the lack of democracy,” said Tim Ash, emerging market strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. “Young, Internet savvy Kazakhs, especially in Almaty, likely want similar freedoms as Ukrainians, Georgians, Moldovans, Kyrgyz and Armenians, who have also vented their frustrations over the years with authoritarian regimes.” Kazakhstan is a close ally of Russia. The Kremlin said it expected the country to quickly resolve its internal problems, warning other countries against interfering. Kazakhstan has been grappling with rising price pressures. Inflation was closing in on 9 percent year-on-year late last year — its highest level in more than five years — forcing the central bank to raise interest rates to 9.75 percent.

Iraqi former deputy electricity minister sentenced to six years for corruption/Raad Al Haris, an adviser to the PM, has been given a $10 million fine
Mina Aldroubi/January 05, 2022
A former deputy minister of electricity in Iraq was sentenced to six years in jail on Wednesday for corruption and mismanagement. Raad Al Haris will also be fined $10 million after the Rusafa Criminal Court in Baghdad delivered the verdict, based on the findings of an investigation.
Al Haris received “financial bribes” and his conviction involved “the assignment of the electricity ministry’s project to affiliated sub-companies,” said a statement by the court. Transparency International's corruption perception index has placed Iraq 160th out of 180 countries. The public views the electricity ministry as one of the most corrupt state institutions. In November 2020, Al Haris was arrested by Iraq's security forces based on a complaint from the committee set up to investigate major cases of corruption in the country. The arrest warrant was issued despite the fact that Al Haris was an adviser to Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. Iraq's main power grid is plagued throughout the year by daily hours-long cuts, but the shortages worsen during the summer months when temperatures regularly reach 50 degrees and households rely on air conditioning. Nearly $60 billion has been spent on the country's electricity sector since the US-led invasion in 2003, Mr Al Kadhimi said last year. But the majority of the funds have been lost to corruption and mismanagement. Nearly $450bn in public funds has vanished into the pockets of politicians and business representatives since 2003, the government estimates.

Katyusha Rocket Hits Military Base at Baghdad Airport
Associated Press/January 05, 2022
A Katyusha rocket struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad's international airport on Wednesday, an Iraqi military statement said. No damage or casualties were reported from the attack, the third in as many days since Monday's anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad two years ago. The Iraqi military statement said a rocket launcher with one rocket was located in a residential district in western Baghdad. The area has been used in the past by Iran-backed militias to fire rockets at the airport. On Monday, two armed drones were shot down as they headed toward a facility housing U.S. advisors at Baghdad airport. Two explosives-laden drones targeting an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops in western Anbar province were destroyed on Tuesday. The 2020 U.S. drone strike at Baghdad's airport killed Gen. Qassim Soleimani, who was the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Pro-Iran Shiite factions in Iraq have vowed revenge for the killing and have conditioned the end of attacks against the U.S. presence in Iraq on the full exit of American troops from the country. The U.S.-led coalition formally ended its combat mission supporting Iraqi forces in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State group last month. Some 2,500 troops will remain as the coalition shifts to an advisory mission to continue supporting Iraqi forces. The top U.S. commander for the Middle East Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie warned in an interview with the Associated Press last month that he expects increasing attacks on U.S. and Iraqi personnel by Iranian-backed militias determined to get American forces out.

Jordan’s king publicly hosts Israeli official for 1st time in 4 years
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/January 05, 2022
AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah has publicly hosted a senior Israeli official for the first time in more than four years.
Pictures released by the official Jordanian news agency Petra showed the monarch, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi, and the director of his office Jafar Hassan, with Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The meeting took place less than 24 hours after Israel defused a tense situation in the occupied Palestinian territories leading to the end of a 141-day hunger strike by Hisham Abu Hawash who was protesting his administrative detention by the Israelis. Petra said that during talks, the king reiterated the need to maintain calm in the Palestinian territories, and to take the necessary measures toward achieving a just and comprehensive peace, based on the two-state solution. Tagreed Odeh, a Jordanian analyst focused on the Palestinian issue, told Arab News that the visit would help “improve diplomatic relations” with Israel after years of Amman being sidelined during the administrations of former US President Donald Trump and ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The key for Jordan, Odeh said, was to find a way to “bring back all parties to the negotiating table for a peace based on the two-state solution which is what the king has repeatedly called for.”Gantz pointed out the importance of relations with Jordan. “I thank His Majesty for keeping the stability in the region and the improvement of the relations between Israel and Jordan since the new government was formed in Israel,” he said. Hazem Kawasmi, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian civil society activist, told Arab News: “The people of Gaza under siege are not going to accept any more ceasefires without the lifting of the siege. “Palestinians in the West Bank are suffering from the increasing settler attacks, and everyone can see that there is no political horizon left for the two-state solution.”Ofer Zalzberg, director of the Middle East program at the Herbert C. Kelman Institute, told Arab News: “(Gantz) is trying to frame himself through international engagement with Washington, Amman, and Ramallah as a new Yitzhak Rabin (former Israeli PM) — a war hero who ensures Israeli interests are served through foreign policy successes.”On the policy issue, he said the meeting was “part of elevating a stabilization policy in the face of a weakened Palestinian Authority.”

Israel Issues First Sentence in Mob Attack on Arab Driver
Associated Press/January 05, 2022
An Israeli court on Wednesday sentenced a man to one year in prison for his involvement in a mob attack on an Arab motorist during a spasm of communal violence last year. Lahav Nagauker, who was 20 at the time, was convicted of incitement to violence and racism as part of a plea deal that resulted in lighter charges. His sentencing was the first in the incident that took place last May, when a mob yanked Said Moussa from his car and proceeded to beat him in an assault that left him motionless and bloodied on the ground. Moussa was seriously injured in the attack. The court said Nagauker was not involved in the actual attack, but threw a bottle at Moussa's car, damaging the rear windshield. The beating, which took place in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, occurred while Israel was at war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The 11-day war ignited an unprecedented wave of internecine Jewish-Arab violence in cities around the country. The unprovoked beating of the motorist was caught on live television, shocking the public. Nagauker was interviewed live moments after the beating, telling a reporter "we came tonight to fight with Arabs ... if we must we will kill them, and if we must we will murder them."
According to the plea deal, Nagauker confessed to the charges against him. His one-year prison term is retroactive to the day he was arrested in May. He was also ordered to pay 2,000 shekels ($645) to a restaurant damaged in the unrest. Nagauker is among at least 10 people who were charged in the incident. In all, hundreds of people, mostly Arabs, were arrested for the nationwide violence, which saw mobs of Jews or Arabs vandalize property and violently clash, in some cases resulting in deaths. Also Wednesday, an Israeli military court sentenced a Palestinian-American man to two life sentences for carrying out a deadly attack on Israelis in the occupied West Bank. Israel says Muntasser Shalaby, 44, carried out a drive-by shooting last May that killed Israeli student Yehuda Guetta and wounded two others. He was arrested days after the attack and Israeli forces demolished his house weeks later. Israel says its controversial policy of punitive demolitions are meant to deter future attacks. But critics view them as a form of collective punishment. The demolition of Shalaby's home was especially controversial because he was estranged from his family and stayed there only for short periods when visiting from the United States. The court also required Shalaby to pay 2.5 million shekels ($800,000) in damages.

US-coalition against ISIS faces dual attacks in Syria and Iraq by Iran-backed groups
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/05 January ,2022
The US-led coalition fighting the terrorist group ISIS faced dual attacks, with one base in Syria and the other in Iraq coming under fire by Iran-backed groups, the coalition said on Wednesday. “Coalition forces were targeted this morning by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small Coalition advisory presence, in northeast Syria,” the coalition said in a statement, it added that there were no casualties but there was minor damage inside the base. The Coalition responded by firing six rounds of artillery towards the point of origin of the attack just outside al-Mayadeen town in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. The second attack was in Iraq, where five rockets landed near Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq. The attack caused no casualties or damage. Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. John W. Brennan, Jr. said: “Our coalition continues to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran. These attacks are a dangerous distraction from our coalition's shared mission to advise, assist, and enable partner forces to maintain the enduring defeat of [ISIS].”This is the latest in a series of recent attacks on US bases or locations where there is American presence in both Syria and Iraq. On Tuesday, two armed drones approached Ain al-Asad airbase and coalition forces shot them down. On Monday, the coalition also shot down two armed drones targeting its compound at Baghdad airport. The developments coincide with the two-year anniversary of the death of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the IRGC, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020, along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

U.S. hopes to build on Iran nuclear talk progress this week
Reuters/January 05/2022
Nuclear deal talks with Iran in Vienna have shown modest progress and the United States hopes to build on that this week, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday amid efforts to revive a 2015 agreement. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its atomic activities but Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal in 2018, a year after he took office. Iran later breached many of the deal's nuclear restrictions and kept pushing well beyond them. Tehran says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons. In the latest round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Vienna, Tehran is focused on getting U.S. sanctions lifted again. "There was some modest progress in the talks last week. We hope to build on that this week," Price told reporters. “Sanctions relief and the steps that the United States would take… when it comes to sanctions together with the nuclear steps that Iran would need to take if we were to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA – that’s really at the heart of the negotiations that are ongoing in Vienna right now."

Khartoum, Washington discuss need to complete democratic transition in Sudan
Arab News/January 05, 2022
DUBAI: Sudan’s leaders have said they hope the US will continue in its efforts to assist the country in moving forward with the democratic transition process, Al-Arabiya TV reported. Sudanese Vice-President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) discussed in a phone call with the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Fay the need to complete the arrangements for the democratic transition in the country. Hemedti said the way out of the political crisis in the country required a comprehensive dialogue that lead to a national consensus.
From her side, Fay affirmed her country’s keenness to coordinate with Sudan’s government in order to make the transitional phase a success and achieve a democratic transformation. She said her country and the international community were ready to provide everything that would help the Sudanese people to achieve stability and democratic transition. The United States and European Union warned Sudan’s military on Tuesday against naming its own prime minister after civilian leader Abdalla Hamdok quit amid protests against the junta. Meanwhile, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of the sovereign council, held talks with Volker Perthes, UN envoy to Sudan and head of the UN Integrated Transition Support Mission in Sudan, to discuss the current political situation in the country after Hamdok’s resignation, state news agency SUNA reported. Al-Burhan briefed Perthes on developments in the transition process and the two sides stressed the need to complete the structures of the transitional period and expedite the appointment of a new prime minister to succeed Hamdok.

Algeria Envoy to France to Resume Duties
Agence France Presse/January 05/2022
Algeria's ambassador to Paris is to resume his post after he was recalled in October following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Algiers deemed offensive, the presidency said Wednesday. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday met with the envoy, Mohamed Antar-Daoud, announcing that he "will resume his duties in Paris from Thursday," the presidency said in a statement. It follows calls last month by France's top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian for an easing of tensions with Algeria, after repeated crises between the North African country and its former colonial power.

Canada/Statement on resignation of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok
January 5, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
“Canada regrets the resignation of Abdalla Hamdok, Prime Minister of Sudan, and recognizes his efforts during the early years of the country’s transition to democracy.
“Canada calls on all parties to work toward the common goal of getting this transition back on track. The gains made since the Sudanese revolution must not be lost. Canada stands with the Sudanese people and supports their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“The Sudanese authorities must not shirk their responsibilities to their citizens. Canada calls for a quick resumption of the transition to democracy and for an immediate end to all forms of violence being committed against protesters. Canada supports the Sudanese people in their quest for freedom, peace and justice.”

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 05-06/2022
Is Iran messaging holding hard-line or setting stage for softening deal? - analysis
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/January 05/2022
There have been contradictory messages expressed – sometimes on the same day and certainly in the same week.
One thing Iran’s spin doctors have not been during the current nuclear negotiations is coherent.
There have been contradictory messages expressed – sometimes on the same day and certainly in the same week.
The confusion has increased with aggressive Iranian actions, like its satellite launch last weekend (which could double for advancing toward longer-range, ballistic-missile capabilities) and its proxies targeting US bases in Iraq twice in 24 hours on Monday.
Another major message on Monday came from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who demanded that the US hand over former US president Donald Trump and former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo for their roles in ordering the assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.
So is all of this part of messaging for holding a hardline position in the nuclear talks in Vienna, or is it trying to notch achievements and proclaim last victories before setting the stage for cutting a deal with the West that it has said it would not cut? Since nuclear talks came back in late November, the Islamic Republic on an almost daily basis puts out statements assuring its people and the world that it is winning and that all of the negotiations are focusing on lifting sanctions.
There is nothing about nuclear limits, and it is dead set against an interim deal to slow or freeze its nuclear progress for some partial sanctions relief.
But if this was Tehran’s full game plan, why do its negotiators also constantly give upbeat reports on positive progress with the world powers at the same time that the US and the EU-3 (England, France and Germany) condemn the regime as putting forth unrealistic positions? If it just wanted to play hardball, then it could point to the West’s negative statements and walk away from the table.
Apparently, there is something more complex going on.
In fact, Iran in past negotiations has sworn it would never do an interim deal, only to do just that.
The 2015 JCPOA was preceded by the 2013 JPA, which was some version of the partial sanctions relief for a partial nuclear-limits formula, along with a framework for future negotiations.
So it seems that even if Raisi has mixed feelings about returning to the JCPOA and wants to try to maintain some of the nuclear advances he has achieved, he also wants some things from the negotiations.
What he wants might include reducing the economic pressure, mitigating pressure from the IAEA and attaining some diplomatic cover from the West to dissuade Israel from either covert or overt military operations.
For example, even in a “less for less” deal with partial nuclear limits on Iran for partial sanctions relief, it will become harder for Jerusalem to take independent action against the Islamic Republic than it has been for the last 18 months when the regime was an open nuclear violator. An eye needs to be kept on South Korean officials who are reportedly engaging with negotiators in Vienna during the coming week. This could be a sign of unfreezing around $7 billion in Iranian assets frozen by South Korea at the urging of the US.
Although there were multiple rumors of these assets being unfrozen in the past, including as a possible sweetener to get Iran back to the negotiating table this past April, the assets remain frozen and available as a bargaining chip of partial sanctions relief.
Another eye should be focused on Tehran’s obsession with Trump. Reviewing Iranian media, there are often more stories about him – as though he were still president – than the US’s actual current president and commander in chief, Joe Biden.
One story in Iranian media on Tuesday noted a poll showing Trump ahead of Biden should the two face off against each other in a 2024 rematch of 2020.
Incidentally, there are polls showing each of the two men leading, so it was not a coincidence that the regime highlighted only the poll of Trump leading.
Iran and Raisi are terrified of Trump or a Trump-like, vehemently anti-Iranian Republican returning to the presidency.
They do not want to give up too much of their nuclear future for economic relief, which may never fully play out (even before Trump, many Western businesses refused to invest in Iran, due to charges of bribery and corruption) or be cut off in a couple of years.
In fact, the most likely scenario is that the Islamic Republic itself has not decided its endgame.
This past month’s and even the current negotiations all seem to be testing whether the US and EU really will pull out of the talks and enter a more confrontational phase.
It will probably only be when Raisi is convinced that the US and EU are on the verge of confrontation that we will know whether all along he wanted a deal and was just holding out for as many concessions as possible, or whether the eight rounds of talks were all to play for time in order to get closer to the nuclear threshold.

Iran's "Nuclear Blackmail": Iran Has No Interest in Negotiating a New Nuclear Deal
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 05/2022
"If the Iranians think the world does not seriously intend to stop them, they will race towards the bomb. We must make it clear that the world will not allow this to happen. There needs to be a credible military threat on the table." — Yair Lapid, Israeli Foreign Minister, interview with the author, December, 2021.
Mr Lapid's calls have been echoed by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who, following talks with Mr Bennett in Jerusalem, called for world powers to adopt a "common strategy" for dealing with Iran.
Mr Lapid's concerns about Iran's approach to the Vienna talks are supported by Western security officials closely monitoring the negotiations, who state that, far from taking a constructive approach to the negotiations, the Iranians are simply playing for time.
In the meantime Iran has sought to string out the negotiations in Vienna by concentrating on relatively minor issues, such as whether UN inspectors can have surveillance cameras operating at key sites. Iran's obstructive conduct, moreover, is being backed by Russia and China, which were also signatories to the 2015 deal but now want to embarrass the Biden administration by ensuring the current round of talks end in failure.
The hardline approach being adopted by Tehran certainly makes the prospect of military action to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities more likely in 2022, with US military officials confidently asserting that, if military option is required, it would be possible to target Iran's entire nuclear programme.
The big question that remains, though, is whether, if the talks do fail, Mr Biden will have the resolve to initiate military action, or will instead seek to hit Iran with more -- ineffective -- sanctions.
In the meantime, Tehran continues to work on its controversial uranium enrichment activities so that, unless urgent action is taken soon, the world could soon find itself having to confront a nuclear-armed Iran.
Western intelligence agencies are warning that Iran could be just weeks away from producing the weapons grade uranium required to build nuclear warheads. Tehran continues to work on its uranium enrichment activities so that, unless urgent action is taken soon, the world could soon find itself having to confront a nuclear-armed Iran. Pictured: The Isfahan uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan, Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's observation that Iran is engaging in "nuclear blackmail" with Western negotiators provides a damning indictment of the current state of play regarding the negotiations being held in Vienna on Tehran's nuclear activities.
With Western intelligence agencies warning that Iran could be just weeks away from producing the weapons grade uranium required to build nuclear warheads, there is mounting concern over progress being made at the Vienna talks, which are trying to revive the flawed 2015 deal agreed by the Obama administration.
Instead of taking the negotiations seriously, however, Western negotiators -- including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken -- have expressed frustration that Iran is using the talks as a delaying tactic while it continues work on its uranium enrichment activities, which have now moved well beyond the level originally agreed upon in the 2015 deal.
This contingency has prompted Mr Lapid to call on the West to develop a "credible" military threat to deal with Tehran if the talks end without a satisfactory resolution.
Speaking exclusively in an interview this author conducted with the Israeli Foreign Minister for The Daily Telegraph in late December, Mr Lapid declared that such measures were necessary if Tehran was to be prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapons arsenal.
"If the Iranians think the world does not seriously intend to stop them, they will race towards the bomb," said Mr Lapid. "We must make it clear that the world will not allow this to happen. There needs to be a credible military threat on the table."
Mr Lapid, a former journalist who was also appointed Israel's alternate prime minister when he was appointed foreign minister by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett earlier this year, said it was vital the West developed "a plan for Iran's continued intransigence and advancing of its nuclear program."
Mr Lapid's calls have been echoed by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who, following talks with Mr Bennett in Jerusalem, called for world powers to adopt a "common strategy" for dealing with Iran.
Mr Lapid's concerns about Iran's approach to the Vienna talks are supported by Western security officials closely monitoring the negotiations, who state that, far from taking a constructive approach to the negotiations, the Iranians are simply playing for time.
Instead of focusing on key issues, such as Iran's enrichment activities, Iran's main demand has been for the lifting of the punitive economic sanctions implemented as part of the former Trump administration's policy of applying "maximum pressure" on the regime. Not even the supine Biden administration, which is desperate to agree a new nuclear deal, is prepared to capitulate on this issue, with US President Joe Biden insisting that Iran must first adhere to its commitments under the 2015 deal.
In the meantime Iran has sought to string out the negotiations in Vienna by concentrating on relatively minor issues, such as whether UN inspectors can have surveillance cameras operating at key sites. Iran's obstructive conduct, moreover, is being backed by Russia and China, which were also signatories to the 2015 deal but now want to embarrass the Biden administration by ensuring the current round of talks end in failure.
With the talks resuming in Vienna earlier this week, there is mounting pessimism among Western negotiators that they are unlikely to deliver any tangible breakthrough, not least because the hardline regime of Iran's recently-elected president, Ebrahim Raisi, is disinclined to engage in meaningful diplomatic negotiations with the West.
The hardline approach being adopted by Tehran certainly makes the prospect of military action to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities more likely in 2022, with US military officials confidently asserting that, if military option is required, it would be possible to target Iran's entire nuclear programme.
The big question that remains, though, is whether, if the talks do fail, Mr Biden will have the resolve to initiate military action, or will instead seek to hit Iran with more -- presumptively ineffective -- sanctions.
The Biden administration's appetite for confronting Iran could certainly prove to be pivotal to the outcome of the nuclear issue, especially in terms of Washington's military support for Israel.
Even though the Israel Air Force has the ability to conduct long-range bombing operations that rely on its current fleet of Re'em air refuelling tankers, Jerusalem is keen to develop its long-range bombing capacilities, and to this end placed a $2.4 billion order in March last year with the US for eight new Boeing KC-46 refuelling aircraft.
Israel subsequently made a request to the Biden administration to speed up the delivery of the aircraft, which could prove vital to any future military action against Iran. But the request has been denied by Washington, with the result that the first plane will not be delivered until 2024 at the earliest.
In the meantime, Tehran continues to work on its controversial uranium enrichment activities so that, unless urgent action is taken soon, the world could soon find itself having to confront a nuclear-armed Iran.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Biden’s foreign policy challenges mounting up
Maria Maalouf/Arab News/January 05, 2022
As US President Joe Biden approaches the end of his first year in the White House, foreign policy challenges are mounting up. How will he act regarding the situation in Ukraine? Then there is the debate over the possible signing of a new nuclear deal with Iran. These foreign policy stakes should not hide the fact that, despite Biden’s focus on China and Russia, his track record still sticks to US norms. He is very cautious when dealing with old and new foes alike. He is trying to restore the world’s confidence in America. He is not yet relying on military force to achieve his foreign policy goals. He is still adopting a wait-and-see approach to assess how other nations will shape their foreign policies in a post-COVID-19 world.
On the Middle East, it is obvious that Biden has given a big role to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Sullivan is seen as the point man for the administration in reference to Iran. He provides the institutional memory for the ongoing negotiations in Vienna. This suggests that any possible new nuclear deal between the US and Iran will be in the mold of the 2015 agreement, but with more stringent conditions on Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium. It is arguable that Biden has so far refused to accept Iran’s demands to remove all the US sanctions on Tehran. This will likely continue under the mandate of a new nuclear agreement.
Meanwhile, the United States Institute of Peace last year published a study on the relations between the Biden administration and both the Israelis and the Palestinians. It said: “The Biden administration has not prioritized the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on its foreign policy agenda.” However, there is no doubt that the conflict in Gaza in May 2021 changed that attitude. Right after a ceasefire was declared, there was talk of plans for the reconstruction of Gaza. And, while Biden is a supporter of the Abraham Accords, he has killed off the so-called deal of the century. Biden has also taken a different approach toward Jerusalem and the US now intends to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem. This could be an important friendly gesture to the Palestinians. It would be a recognition of the rights of Muslims and Christians in the Holy City.
Further, it seems that the Biden administration was the catalyst for the delay in the convening of the Libyan elections. Its rationale rested on the need to avoid a stalemate following the results, which could have preempted a political deadlock.
Improving relations with the Palestinians would also reflect positively in the attitudes of the Arabs and Muslims inside America
All these foreign policy gambits will lead to important questions. First, what kind of pressure will the Biden administration exert on Israel in case it opposes any political deal over Iran’s nuclear program? Second, what tools will it use to stop a future war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas?
On Egypt, the Biden administration seems to be almost silent. It has to endorse Cairo’s mediation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It has to engage more with the Egyptian leadership and must be more encouraging regarding a settlement of the dispute involving Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The longer it waits on this issue, the more unresolvable the conflict will be.
Quoting the Institute of Peace again, it said that the Biden administration finds that both the Israelis and the Palestinians are deserving of “equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.” In terms of US domestic politics, this means that improving relations with the Palestinians would also reflect positively in the attitudes of the Arabs and Muslims inside America, a majority of whom voted for Biden in the 2020 election. He has to invest in this political stock. Otherwise, he will lose a crucial support base not only for himself, but for the Democratic Party generally.
This also means it is critical for Biden to explain to the American public why he wants to renew the US’ rivalry with Russia. Moscow has, over the last two decades, enjoyed much success in the Middle East. If Biden is more hostile, Russia could be more of a handicap to a positive American role in Syria. It is time for Biden to consult more with the Kremlin over Syria. This can be done professionally and without any personal closeness with President Vladimir Putin.
My crystal ball sees that the Biden administration will encourage more summits similar to the one between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that took place last week. It has to back up such diplomatic steps with a greater effort to collaborate with Russia and end the region’s conflicts.
*Maria Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist, broadcaster, publisher, and writer. Twitter: @bilarakib

The Iraqi political satirist who weaponized laughter
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/January 05, 2022
Before 2003, Iraqi citizens were unable to choose the sources from which they received news, or the radio programs and television channels they listened to or watched. Instead, under Saddam Hussein, they were limited to what the regime chose for them, since the government was the sole owner of all media outlets. As is the case under any totalitarian regime, they were told what to read, watch and think. Saddam’s suppression of basic freedoms reached the point of punishing anyone who owned a satellite TV dish and dared to wonder how the free world thought, exchanged information or even enjoyed entertainment programs. Following the toppling of his regime, however, dozens of private media outlets were founded and Iraqis could finally watch anything they desired without facing harsh consequences. This opened the door for a new generation to explore journalism as a career.
Since then, many talk shows have discussed the political, security and economic situation in the country, based on the viewpoint of the station’s owner and the political party to which he belongs. However, criticizing certain political parties or exposing the extent of corruption in the country became so risky that journalists faced a difficult decision when it came to protecting not only their jobs, but also their lives.
Most of these shows failed to attract Iraqi teenagers and university students due to their failure to address common concerns and interests. Then, in 2014, a young Iraqi journalist, Ahmad Al-Basheer, came up with the idea of using dark comedy as a method of criticism, while speaking the language and sharing the interests of a younger generation. As Al-Basheer’s show moved from one television outlet to another amid numerous death threats, it gained a large viewership. This included millions of young Iraqis, both inside and outside the country, who were yearning for someone who could voice their concerns, instead of being used by political parties for electoral gain.
Al-Basheer became the voice of the protesters confronting the brutality of the security forces and pro-Iran militias
Gradually, the show gained momentum, until it reached its peak audience in October 2019, when thousands of young Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad and several southern provinces to express their anger at the high unemployment rate, lack of decent public services, widespread corruption and, most importantly, foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs.
Al-Basheer was known for crossing all the red lines — breaking political, cultural and religious taboos — and became the voice of the protesters confronting the brutality of the security forces and pro-Iran militias. More than 600 young activists were killed, while hundreds were kidnapped and tortured, and more than 30,000 innocent Iraqis injured. Al-Basheer’s job became more important for the voiceless and helpless, who wanted only a bright future for themselves and their children and a “homeland.”
The comedian has become the protesters’ virtual guide and inspiration, raising their morale and informing them about the latest crackdowns.
Meanwhile, the authorities and pro-Iran media outlets have intensified their attacks, accusing Al-Basheer and young demonstrators of being paid by the US, describing them as “sons of the US embassy.”
Fortunately, Al-Basheer is not broadcasting or living in Iraq, which makes it impossible for the militias and corrupt politicians to silence him. However, many other journalists in Iraq have been kidnapped or killed for doing their job.
According to the Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, 233 violations against journalists were recorded in 2021, despite promises by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to protect the media and the right to free speech. These included assassination attempts, kidnappings, death threats, lawsuits, arrests, detention and physical intimidation. Iraqi journalists have long asked why the international community and media advocates ignore their sacrifices and struggles, while celebrating Western journalists for doing their job.
Regardless of our views on Al-Basheer’s political satire, he is a hero who should be encouraged, celebrated and supported. He has chosen to fight oppression, tyranny and terrorism through jokes and laughter tinged with bitterness and sadness. Iraq needs more like Ahmad Al-Basheer and fewer corrupt, sectarian and criminal political players.
*Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

How Iran’s Ahwazi Arabs, betrayed, fell victim to oppression that continues to this day
Joanathan Gornall/Arab News/January 05, 2022
LONDON: In November 1914, Sheikh Khazaal, the last ruler of the autonomous Arab state of Arabistan, could have been forgiven for thinking the troubles of his people were over. Oil had been discovered on his lands, promising to transform the fortunes of the Ahwazi people, and Britain stood ready to guarantee their right to autonomy. In reality, the troubles of the Ahwazi were just beginning. Within a decade, Sheikh Khazaal was under arrest in Tehran, the name Arabistan had been wiped from the map, and the Ahwazi Arabs of Iran had fallen victim to a brutal oppression that continues to this day.
For centuries, Arab tribes had ruled a large tract of land in today’s western Iran. Al-Ahwaz, as their descendants know it today, extended north over 600 km along the east bank of the Shatt Al-Arab, and down the entire eastern littoral of the Gulf, as far south as the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the independent status of Arabistan was struck a blow in 1848 by the geopolitical maneuverings of its powerful neighbors. With the Treaty of Erzurum, the Ottoman empire agreed to recognize “the full sovereign rights of the Persian government” to Arabistan. The Arab tribes whose lands were so casually signed away were not consulted. Within 10 years, however, Sheikh Khazaal’s predecessor, Sheikh Jabir, had found a powerful friend — the British Empire.
Trade in the Gulf was vital for Britain’s interests in India and Sheikh Jabir was seen as a valuable ally, especially after his support for the British during the short Anglo-Persian war of 1856-1857 in which Britain repelled Tehran’s attempts to seize Herat in neighboring Afghanistan.
Keen to maintain Afghanistan as a buffer, the British had backed the emir of Herat’s independence. Now, it seemed, Queen Victoria’s government meant to do the same for the sheikh of Arabistan. Read our full interactive Deep Dive on the Ahwazi Arabs and their traumatic history in Iran here
The British opened a vice-consulate at Mohammerah in 1888. By 1897, by which time Sheikh Khazaal had become the ruler of what the British referred to as the Sheikhdom of Mohammerah, imperial Britain was heavily invested in Arabistan.
As a British Foreign Office summary of dealings with Sheikh Khazaal put it, “an essential part of British policy in the Gulf was the establishment of good relations and the conclusion of treaties with the various Arab rulers, and the sheikhs of Mohammerah, controlling territory at the head of the Gulf, thus came very prominently into the general scheme.” With the might of the British at his back, Sheikh Khazaal appeared to be steering Arabistan toward a bright, independent future. But, in 1903, the Shah of Iran, Muzaffar Al-Din, formally recognized the lands as his in perpetuity. Then, in 1908, vast reserves of oil were found on the sheikh’s land at Masjid-i-Sulaiman.
By 1897, by which time Sheikh Khazaal (pictured) had become the ruler of what the British referred to as the Sheikhdom of Mohammerah, imperial Britain was heavily invested in Arabistan. (Supplied)
In 1910, after a minor clash between Arabistan and Ottoman forces on the Shatt Al-Arab, Britain sent a warship to Mohammerah, “to counteract a certain amount of loss of prestige suffered by the sheikh and also to make a demonstration in face of the growth of Turkish ambitions in the Arabian Gulf area.”On board was Sir Percy Cox, the British political resident in the Gulf. In a ceremony at the Palace of Fallahiyah on Oct. 15, 1910, he presented the sheikh with reassurances of Britain’s steadfast support, and the insignia and title of a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.
In 1914, in a letter from Sir Percy, the sheikh had in his hand what amounted to a pledge by the greatest imperial power of the time to preserve his autonomy and protect Arabistan from the Persian government.
In the letter, dated Nov. 22, 1914, the British envoy wrote that he was now authorized “to assure your excellency personally that whatever change may take place in the form of the government of Persia, His Majesty’s government will be prepared to afford you the support necessary for obtaining a satisfactory solution, both to yourself and to us, in the event of any encroachment by the Persian government on your jurisdiction and recognized rights, or on your property in Persia.”
Read our full interactive Deep Dive on the Ahwazi Arabs and their traumatic history in Iran here https://www.arabnews.com/ahwaz
In fact, all of Britain’s assurances would prove worthless and, just 10 years later, Arabistan’s hopes of independence would be shattered.
The problem was oil. The Arabs had it, the Persians wanted it. And when it came to the crunch, the British, despite all their promises of support, chose to back the Persians. Britain’s change of heart was triggered by the Russian revolution of 1917, after which it became clear that the Bolsheviks had designs on Persia. In 1921, fearing that the failing Persian Qajar dynasty might side with Moscow, Britain conspired with Reza Khan, the leader of Persia’s Cossack Brigade, to stage a coup.
Reza Khan, as a British report of 1946 would later concede, “was ultimately personally responsible for the sheikh’s complete downfall.”
In 1922, Reza Khan threatened to invade Arabistan, which he now regarded as the Persian province of Khuzestan. His motive, as US historian Chelsi Mueller concluded in her 2020 book “The Origins of the Arab-Iranian Conflict,” was clear.
In a ceremony at the Palace of Fallahiyah on Oct. 15, 1910, he presented the sheikh with reassurances of Britain’s steadfast support, and the insignia and title of a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. (Supplied)
“He eyed Arabistan not only because it was the only remaining province that had not yet been penetrated by the authority of central government but also because he had come to appreciate the potential of Arabistan’s oil industry to provide much-needed revenues,” Mueller wrote.
Sheikh Khazaal asked for Britain’s protection, invoking the many assurances he had been given. Instead, he was brushed off, and reminded of his “obligations to the Persian government.”
Time was running out for the Arabs. In a despatch sent to London on Sept. 4, 1922, Sir Percy Loraine, British envoy to Iran, wrote “it would be preferable to deal with a strong central authority rather than with a number of local rulers” in Persia. This, he added, “would involve a loosening of our relations with such local rulers.”In August 1924, the Persian government informed Sheikh Khazaal that the pledge of autonomy he had won from Muzaffar Al-Din in 1903 was no longer valid. The sheikh appealed to the British for help, but was again rebuffed.
Reza Khan demanded the sheikh’s unconditional surrender. It was, the British concluded, “clear that the old regime had come to an end and that Reza Khan, having established a stranglehold over Khuzestan, would be unlikely ever voluntarily to relinquish it.”
The British government was “now in an embarrassing position” because of “the services which the sheikh had rendered them in the past.” Nevertheless, for fear of Russian incursion in Persia, Britain had now decided firmly to support the central government in Tehran.
The Ahwazi were on their own.
On April 18, 1925, Sheikh Khazaal and his son, Abdul Hamid, were arrested and taken to Tehran, where the last ruler of Arabistan would spend the remaining 11 years of his life under house arrest. The name “Arabistan” was expunged from history and the territories of the Ahwaz finally absorbed into Persian provinces. Khazaal’s last days were spent in futile negotiations with Tehran, marked, the British noted, by a series of “gross breaches of faith on the part of the central government, which had obviously no intention of carrying out the promises given to the sheikh.”
The Persians, concluded the British, “were obviously merely waiting for the sheikh to die.” That wait ended during the night of May 24, 1936.
In the almost 100 years since the Ahwazi people lost their autonomy, they have experienced persecution and cultural oppression in almost every walk of life. Dams divert water from the Karun and other rivers for the benefit of Persian provinces of Iran, Arabic is banned in schools, while the names of towns and villages have long been Persianized. On world maps, the historic Arab port of Mohammerah became Khorramshahr.
Protests are met with violent repression. Countless citizens working to keep the flame of Arab culture alive have been arrested, disappeared, tortured, executed or gunned down at checkpoints.
Many Ahwazi who sought sanctuary overseas are working to bring the plight of the Ahwazi to the attention of the world. Even in exile, however, they are not safe.
Ahmad Mola Nissi, one of the founders of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, fled Iran with his wife and children and sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2005. (Supplied)
In 2005, Ahmad Mola Nissi, one of the founders of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, fled Iran with his wife and children and sought asylum in the Netherlands. On Nov. 8, 2017, he was shot dead outside his home in the Hague by an unknown assassin.
In June 2005, Karim Abdian, director of a Virginia-based NGO, the Ahwaz Education and Human Rights Foundation, appealed to the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
The Ahwazi, he said, had been subjected to “political, cultural, social and economic subjugation, and are treated as second and third-class citizens,” both by the Iranian monarchy in the past and by the current clerical regime. Nevertheless, they still had “faith in the international community’s ability to present a just and a viable solution to resolve this conflict peacefully.”
Sixteen years later, Abdian despairs of seeing any improvement in the position of his people. “I don’t see any way out currently,” he told Arab News, though he dreams of self-determination for the Ahwazi in a federalist Iran.
In the meantime, “as an Ahwazi Arab, you cannot even give your child an Arabic name. So, this nation, which owns the land that currently produces 80 percent of the oil, 65 percent of the gas and 35 percent of the water of Iran, lives in abject poverty.”