English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 15/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.july15.20.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
Luke 10/17-20: “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you.Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 14-15/2020
32 New COVID-19 Cases in Lebanon and 1 More Death
Rahi: Lebanon Wants Back its Identity
Aoun Urges Virus Measures, Diab Slams Parties Seeking to 'Block' Arab Aid
Bifani summoned for questioning as Lebanon's problems pile on
‘Repression’ threatens free speech in Lebanon, warns rights groups
Lebanese man accused of financing Hezbollah freed from US: Sources
Lebanon seeks to import fuel from Kuwait amid shortages: Local media
Justice Minister Hits Back after Fadlallah Lashes Out at Her
Mustaqbal 'Awaiting' STL Ruling, Lauds Religious Leaders' Stances
Ghajar: Power Supply to Further Improve as of Thursday Evening
Jumblat Says 'Ruling Gang' is Destroying Lebanon's Foundations
Man Jumps Off Bourj Hammoud Bridge
MECHRIC Opposes the Turkish Hagia Sofia Ruling
The farewell letter from UK ambassador Fletcher to Lebanese: terribly moving, and such a British humor.
Lebanon: PM Diab's government still beholden to Hezbollah, Christian ally/Mona Alami/Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Orphanages in Lebanon are on the brink: Children at risk of hunger, lack of education/Nicholas Frakes, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 14 July 2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 14-15/2020
Canadian far-right politician calls for removal of Jews from Canada
Turkey to open Hagia Sophia to visitors, Christian icons to remain
Iran executes Iranian agent linked to CIA: Mizan news agency
Iran executes two over 2010 bomb attack at military parade
Iran’s judiciary upholds death sentences of three Iranian protesters
Several Wounded in Syria Attack on Russian-Turkish Patrol
Syrian militants detonate bomb near Russian-Turkish patrol in northern Syria
Libya Parliament Authorises Egypt Intervention in Principle
Ukraine unsure about Iranian claim ‘human error’ led to downing of airliner
12 Dead in Fighting on Armenia-Azerbaijan Border
White House Hails British Ban on China's Huawei

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 14-15/2020
Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Supremacism/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/July 14, 2020
Palestinians: Abbas Signs His Own Death Warrant/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 14, 2020
Iran Could Face a Summer of Nuclear Sabotage/Andrea Stricker//FDD/July 14/2020
Turkey will see a green light for attacking American dissidents if DC court grants appeal/Michael Rubin/FDD/July 14/2020
Even if solution is found in Libya between warring factions, instability will remain/Alain Oudot de Dainville/Al Arabiya/Tuesday 14 July 2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 14-15/2020
32 New COVID-19 Cases in Lebanon and 1 More Death
Naharnet/July 14/2020
Lebanon on Tuesday recorded 32 new coronavirus cases, a significant drop in the country's daily tally after a several-day spike. In its daily statement, the Health Ministry said 26 of the cases were recorded among residents and six among expats who arrived in Lebanon in recent days. One more death was meanwhile recorded, raising the death toll to 37. Nine of the local cases were recorded in Beirut's southern suburbs and Hadath, five in the Tyre district, four in Northern Metn, three in Aley district, two are still being investigated while one was recorded in each of Beirut, Akkar's Burqayel and Baalbek's Maqneh. The infected expats have meanwhile arrived from Egypt and Ivory Coast.The new cases raise the country's tally to 2,451 among them 1,455 recoveries.

Rahi: Lebanon Wants Back its Identity
Naharnet/July 14/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi again on Tuesday renewed calls for Lebanon’s neutrality towards regional conflicts, stressing that Lebanon has become isolated and is losing its original identity. “We said nothing new when we demanded Lebanon’s neutrality from regional conflicts. We want back our basic identity, a neutral Lebanon, a civil state, pluralism and coexitence,” said Rahi in a statement from the patriarch's summer residence in the northern town of Dimane. “Lebanon was open to all countries, east and west, except Israel which occupied our land. Lebanon was Switzerland of the east ... Today, Lebanon has become isolated from the whole world. This is not our identity. Our identity is positive and constructive neutrality, not a warrior Lebanon,” added the Patriarch. He emphasized that “neutrality is a basic international, European and Arab demand. When we demand neutrality we demand commitment to justice, safety, human rights and that bridge between the East and West. We must not antagonize the whole nations.”In his Sunday sermon, Rahi also stressed the importance of Lebanon's neutrality and indirectly criticized Hizbullah over its role in regional conflicts.Rahi's latest two sermons have seen criticism against Hizbullah and his ally President Michel Aoun.

Aoun Urges Virus Measures, Diab Slams Parties Seeking to 'Block' Arab Aid
Naharnet/July 14/2020
President Michel Aoun on Tuesday cautioned that “the resurgence and spread of the coronavirus pandemic requires the review of some measures and stricter implementation of the precautionary instructions.”
Speaking at a Cabinet session, Aoun also stressed the need to “put into action the measures stipulated in the financial and economic rescue plan, especially those related to reforms and slashing expenditure in order to curb the deficit.”
Prime Minister Hassan Diab for his part lamented that “obstacles are increasing and political exploitation is turning into a profession of falsifying realities and concealing facts.”“We are bearing all of this and more, but unfortunately some have gone too far with this behavior. When these people try to obstruct any assistance to Lebanon, what would they be doing?” Diab decried. He added: “You know that the contacts with our brothers in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, and our friends in the world, are witnessing positive and encouraging improvement towards helping Lebanon. We are fighting tooth and nail to alleviate the country’s crisis, whereas some people are still insisting on increasing the suffering of the Lebanese.”“Is it reasonable for any political official who has a patriotic conscience to try and block assistance to Lebanon in these circumstances? Is it reasonable that there is a party official whose entire concern is to obstruct any help? This is shameful and close to national treason,” the premier added. “What we’ve heard from our brothers in the Arab countries about contacts that were held with them by some Lebanese politicians is truly shameful,” Diab went on to say.
He also said that he has reports about “a plan to obstruct the government from inside state administrations.”

Bifani summoned for questioning as Lebanon's problems pile on
Georgi Azar/Annahar/July 14/2020
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Financial Prosecutor summoned Tuesday former finance chief Alain Bifani to clarify accusations he made in the Financial Times while the government held off on accepting his resignation. Bifani, who served as director-general at the finance ministry for two decades, told the Financial Times that Lebanese bankers "smuggled" some to $6 billion outside Lebanon since protests broke out in October 2019. He resigned two weeks as a protest in response to the way Lebanese officials were dealing with the dual monetary and financial crisis gripping the small Mediterranean country. Bifani’s resignation was the second a member of Lebanon’s negotiating team with the IMF, following in the footsteps of Henri Chaoul who resigned days earlier.  On Tuesday, Bifani met with Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun at the Baaba Presidential Palace, taking the opportunity to explain the reasons behind his resignation. Cabinet now has a two month period to make a decision on Bifani's resignation, after which it is considered in effect by law. Speaking on Monday, Athanasios Arvanitis, deputy director of the IMF in the Middle East urged Lebanese officials to unite behind the government's recovery plan which has been opposed by both the banking sector and parliament's budget committee.  “For productive discussions to continue it is very important that the authorities unite around the government plan,” Arvanitis said, adding that the IMF is ready to work “together with the authorities to improve the plan where this is necessary.”Lebanon is currently reeling under the worst economic crisis in its 100-year-old history with negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a multi-billion dollar bailout hitting rock bottom.
Despite momentarily rallying against the dollar over the weekend, the Lebanese pound slipped up again Tuesday, trading at around LBP 8,800 on the black market.
The official rate remains at LBP 1507.5 to subsidize fuel, wheat and medicine.  To add insult to injury, Lebanon is also staring at another trash crisis, with foreign workers employed by trash collection company RMACO demanding to be paid in dollars. Over 280 migrant workers went on strike for the third day, screeching the company's operation to a halt.  To make matters worse, another 130 employees tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday, which marked the highest number of infections in a day for Lebanon since the outbreak began. Heaps of uncollected trash bags could be seen scattered in certain areas, including the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh in southern Beirut.

‘Repression’ threatens free speech in Lebanon, warns rights groups
AFPTuesday 14 July 2020
A coalition of rights groups said Monday that “repression” and “intimidation” are threatening free speech in Lebanon, hit by an economic meltdown and months of angry protests. Since mass demonstrations erupted in October demanding the wholesale removal of a ruling class deemed inept and corrupt, authorities have cracked down on protesters, the alliance said in a statement. “Instead of heeding protesters’ calls for accountability, the authorities are waging a campaign of repression against people who expose corruption and rightfully criticize the government’s significant failings,” it said. The alliance includes international watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch along with local groups such as the Samir Kassir Foundation. It warned that “powerful political and religious figures have increasingly used the country’s criminal insult and defamation laws as a tool for retaliation and repression against critics.”The statement urged public prosecutors and security agencies “to refrain from summoning people to investigations for exercising their right to free speech.”Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at HRW, said the group had documented “more than 60 people called in for interrogation based on things they wrote on social media” since protests started on October 17. She cited a prosecutor’s decision to investigate social media posts deemed to be insulting to the president, as well as army intelligence officers stopping reporters filming on the streets of Beirut last week. “All of this is creating a climate of intimidation in Lebanon where people don’t feel they are safe to speak their mind any more,” she said. Debt-laden Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with almost half its population now living in poverty. Banks have severely restricted dollar withdrawals and the Lebanese pound has plummeted to record lows on the black market, sparking price hikes and fanning public anger. The novel coronavirus, which has infected over 2,300 people and killed 36, has forced lockdown measures that further exacerbated the economic crisis. Protests in recent months have been smaller and largely peaceful, but some have spiralled into clashes between demonstrators and security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Ayman Mhanna, the director of the Samir Kassir Foundation, said 21 journalists were “directly physically assaulted” while covering the demonstrations. “Working on the ground has become a nightmare,” said Doja Daoud, a member of the Alternative Media Syndicate that joined the coalition. “Security forces interrogate correspondents and ask them about the reasons behind their coverage,” he added.

Lebanese man accused of financing Hezbollah freed from US: Sources
Reuters, Beirut/Tuesday 14 July 2020
A Lebanese man accused of financing Hezbollah was freed from jail in the United States last month as a result of indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington that are expected to yield more releases, three senior Middle East officials said. Kassim Tajideen was released on June 11, according to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, and arrived in Lebanon last week. Two of the sources said his release was part of the same track that last year yielded the release of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese businessman with US permanent residency, from Iran, and Sam Goodwin, a US citizen, from Syria. Tajideen was released due to health concerns and reports that the release was part of a backroom deal were false, a Department of State spokesperson said. Tajideen’s lawyer, Chibli Mallat, also denied that the release had anything to do with the release of other prisoners. “It was a purely judicial operation,” he said.
Tajideen, 65, pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges associated with violating US sanctions imposed on him and was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $50 million. In 2009, the United States designated Tajideen as an important financial supporter of Hezbollah, a heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese Shi’ite group that is classified as a terrorist group by Washington. He was extradited to the United States after being arrested in Morocco in 2017. Tajideen has always denied supporting Hezbollah and disputed his designation as a terrorist financier, said Mallat. A judge ordered Tajideen’s release on May 27 pending a 14-day quarantine on the basis of a motion submitted by his lawyers arguing that he should be freed due to the risks of COVID-19 in jail, Mallat said. He was being held in Maryland.
The US government had opposed the release but would abide by the court’s decision, said the State Department spokesperson. The sources – a senior official in the Middle East, a senior Lebanese official and a regional diplomat – said the release was the result of “indirect understandings” between Tehran and Washington. “The release of Tajideen comes within a long path of exchange operations that will happen later on a wide level. There are still those who will be released by the two sides. This operation will continue,” the Middle Eastern official said. The regional diplomat also described Tajideen’s release as a prelude to further possible deals involving around 20 people. “All parties involved are testing each other as there is zero trust,” he said. Major General Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security agency, is acting as the main mediator in the process, two of the sources said. General Security declined to comment. The senior Lebanese official said the process had been going on in complete secrecy and had started with the handing over of Goodwin and other foreigners held by Syria, whose government is allied to Iran and Hezbollah.

Lebanon seeks to import fuel from Kuwait amid shortages: Local media
Reuters, Kuwait/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Lebanon wants to negotiate fuel imports with Kuwait to help Beirut cope with an economic and financial crisis, Lebanon’s internal security chief said in remarks published on Tuesday. Abbas Ibrahim told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai he had discussed the matter with Kuwaiti officials during a visit to the oil-exporting Gulf Arab state this week along with other “shared ideas” that could help alleviate Lebanon’s crisis. “We want to purchase 100 percent of our requirements from Kuwait without going through agents or companies looking to make a profit ... this is a purely commercial matter and I hope there will be no obstacles to it,” Al Rai quoted Ibrahim as saying. Lebanon is suffering a dire financial crisis and hard currency liquidity crunch. The Lebanese pound has lost some 80 percent of its value since October. There was no immediate comment from Kuwaiti officials on the request. Abbas, in the newspaper interview, declined to elaborate on what other assistance Lebanon may have sought. Gulf states have long channeled funds into Lebanon’s fragile economy but are alarmed by the rising influence of Hezbollah, a powerful group backed by their arch-rival Iran. They appear loath now to help ease Beirut’s worst financial crisis in decades, with a senior official in the United Arab Emirates last month saying Lebanon was paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab neighbors. Kuwait is seeking to bolster its own finances amid low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, and has been rapidly depleting its General Reserves Fund to plug a budget deficit. Another leading Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Qabas, quoted sources as saying it would be difficult for Kuwait at this time to consider supporting Lebanon through a central bank deposit.

Justice Minister Hits Back after Fadlallah Lashes Out at Her
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 14/2020
MP Hasan Fadlallah of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc lashed out Tuesday at Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem, accusing her of doing nothing after receiving 10 files documenting suspected corruption. “Two months ago, the Justice Minister received 10 corruption files along with their documents and papers, which we had previously lodged with the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee,” said Fadlallah in a statement. Noting that the files include details about around $31 billion in embezzled public funds, the lawmaker lamented that the minister “has not answered or taken any measure.” “It seems that the minister’s priority is to sign urgent decisions with unjustified selectivity,” Fadlallah charged. Najem hit back in a statement, saying the MP did not send files and documents but rather “a paper containing a list of some reports that are filed with the public prosecution.”“It was followed by two additional lists yesterday and today, and the minister immediately sent a memo to the public prosecution to inquire about the fate of these reports,” the statement added. “The MP’s suggestion that the minister bears the responsibility for not taking measures over these files is a legal mistake, seeing as the jurisdiction for investigations and announcing results belongs exclusively to the competent judicial authorities according to the applicable laws,” the statement said, noting that “the minister does not interfere in the details of the judiciary’s work in line with the principle of the separation of powers.”But Fadlallah snapped back at Najem, saying that “instead of addressing her negligence, she is insisting on fallacies.” “It seems that she has forgotten her main profession, although she was reminded several times by those who are more experienced than her in the profession and at the ministry of the need to read her jurisdiction very well,” the MP added. “For information: reports are a legal measure used when the judiciary does not act automatically. The files that are in the minister’s hands had witnessed investigations and some had witnessed lawsuits, and it is the minister’s legal duty to answer MPs about the outcome of these investigations and the fate of the stolen billions,” Fadlallah emphasized.

Mustaqbal 'Awaiting' STL Ruling, Lauds Religious Leaders' Stances
Naharnet/July 14/2020
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday said it is “awaiting along with the Lebanese” the verdict that will be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on August 7 in the case of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri. In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc stressed its “respect for what the Tribunal will issue” and its “keenness on knowing the full truth ahead ahead of bringing the accused to justice so that they can get their punishment.”Separately, the bloc said it greatly values the latest stances that were voiced by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Aude and Dar al-Fatwa’s Higher Juristic Council. “The values of moderation and dialogue bring these leaderships together,” Mustaqbal said. The bloc endorses their calls for “preserving the political and economic character of the country; refraining from displacing its people or pushing them into despair; abiding by the principle of dissociation to neutralize Lebanon; rejecting that the country be turned into a conflict arena; and refraining from tampering with its constitution, Arab identity and free economy,” it added.

Ghajar: Power Supply to Further Improve as of Thursday Evening
Naharnet/July 14/2020
Lebanon’s daily power supply has increased by 2.5 hours and a ‘Grade A’ fuel oil ship is expected to arrive Wednesday evening, which would allow the activation of the Zouk and Jiye power plants, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar said on Tuesday. “Four days will pass before we will be able to benefit from the ship’s load and we might witness improvement as of Thursday evening,” Ghajar added. As for the availability of diesel in the Lebanese market, Ghajar said the Lebanese state will purchase 90,000 tons. “Certainly there is smuggling, but the size of the trafficked quantities is not determined yet,” the minister added. Lengthy power cuts have plunged the country into darkness in recent weeks, adding to the gloom of the deepening economic crisis. The country's electricity company and the powerful operators of generators have been rationing power since late June as fuel supplies dwindle amid a delay in the arrival of fuel shipments.Ghajar has blamed the delay on the recent counterfeit fuel scandal.

Jumblat Says 'Ruling Gang' is Destroying Lebanon's Foundations
Naharnet/July 14/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Tuesday blasted Hassan Diab’s government as “the ruling gang.”In a tweet, Jumblat accused Prime Minister Hassan Diab and Education Minister Tarek al-Majzoub, without naming them, of “issuing a decree licensing additional branches for the LIU university at the expense of the Lebanese University and the renowned and historic universities.”Warning that such a move will come “at the expense of competency and standards,” Jumblat decried that “the project of destroying Lebanon’s foundations is manifesting itself every day and every moment at the hands of the ruling gang.”Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab hit back at Jumblat, telling him: “Had there not been a university like LIU, we should have created it, because (its owner) Abdul Rahim Mrad educates half of the people for free.”“Out of your keenness on the Lebanese University, you opened branches across Mount Lebanon during 30 years of your presence in power,” Wahhab added sarcastically. “The government received Lebanon destroyed from your gang and it seems you don’t know that we have gone bankrupt,” Wahhab went on to say.

Man Jumps Off Bourj Hammoud Bridge
Naharnet/July 14/2020
A man attempted to commit suicide on Tuesday by jumping from a bridge in Bourj Hammoud neighborhood in an apparent link to the country’s deepening economic downturn. The man jumped from the bridge but was lucky to survive, said the National News Agency quoting the Civil Defense team who rescued the man. Investigation was opened into the incident, said NNA. Suicides increased in Lebanon apparently linked to the crumbling economy amid a wave of criticism over the government's mishandling of the crisis. Earlier this month, a 61-year-old man from the eastern region of Hermel shot himself on the sidewalk of a bustling Beirut shopping street in broad daylight, leaving a note and his clean criminal record at the scene. A second suicide, by a van driver near the southern city of Sidon, was also apparently linked to the economic crisis, a local official said. The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 1,507 pounds to the greenback, reached more than 9,000 to the dollar last week on the black market in a dizzying devaluation. Prices have soared almost as fast as the exchange rate has plummeted, meaning that a salary of one million pounds is now worth a little more than $100, compared with almost $700 last year.

MECHRIC Opposes the Turkish Hagia Sofia Ruling
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy
July 13, 2020, 04:15 GMT
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, July 13, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Middle East Christian Committee (MECHRIC), representing Middle East Christians around the world, vehemently opposes Turkey's High Court ruling that turns the beautiful, ancient church and internationally recognized landmark, the Hagia Sophia, from museum (and symbol of peaceful religious co-existence) back into a working mosque. "This is a clear victory for the hard-line Islamists of Turkey," said MECHRIC executive board member, John Hajjar. "They are insulting every Christian the world over and every person concerned with preserving the 1,483 year-old structure." "This building is the heritage of the entire world," added Chairman of the American Maronite Union, Tom Harb. "By making it into a working mosque, Erdogan is in effect saying that it belongs to Muslims. Christians and other tourists will be forbidden to enter or put under restrictions instead of being allowed to marvel at this ancient architectural wonder. So what was formerly an area of peaceful cooperation, has been openly spurned. This does not bode well for world peace."
Joseph Saouk, European coordinator for MECHRIC condemned the conversion of Haghia Sophia into a working mosque, arguing that this is a setback to religious pluralism. “We know a majority of Muslims worldwide oppose what Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood are doing to destroy the growing positive relationship between Muslims and Christians worldwide, especially among the youth." “There is a link between what Erdogan is doing in Istanbul and what his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood front group, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), are doing to try to topple the statue of Saint Louis in the United States,” added Mr. Hajjar. “It is an all-out Christian-phobia campaign waged by the extremist Ikhwan.”
Rebecca Bynum/Middle East Christian Committee/+1 615-775-6801

The farewell letter from UK ambassador Fletcher to Lebanese: terribly moving, and such a British humor.
In a particularly touching letter, UK ambassador Tom Fletcher said goodbyes to Lebanese, not without giving them a breath of hope for a better future, that the citizen is called upon to build with his own hands, as he advocates it. At no point in Lebanon's political class, describing in a style that impacts the bitter realities of the Lebanese daily life, the ambassador poured into his sentences a steadfast burden of love towards Lebanon and its people.
Here are some excerpts from his letter:
′′ I leave your extraordinary country after four years. Unlike your politicians, I can't extend my mandate.
′′ I dreamed of Beirutopia and Lebanon 2020, but I experienced the macabre reality of the Syrian war.
′′ Bullets and botox. Dictators and divas. Warlords and wastas. Machiavels and mafios. Guns, greed and God. Game of Thrones with RPG. Human rights coupled with the rights of the tribute. Four marathons, 100 blogs, 10 tweets, 59 telephone interviews with heads of government, 600 and longer dinners, 52 graduation speeches.
′′ I was even offered an ass lift, the cost of which exceeded the value of the gifts we have the right to accept, 140 pounds. So this intimidating intervention never happened.
′′ Political life in your country is just as confusing, for ambassadors as well as for Lebanese citizens.
′′ Some oligarchs tell us they agree to start a change, but are unable to do so. They flatter us and feed us. They unnecessarily complicate things by adding conspiracy ingredients, creative corrigenda, plots. They undermine the work of leaders working towards national interest. They just do nothing and blame opponents, a third party community, Sykes-Picot agreements, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia (eliminate variables as needed). They ask us to put their cousin's friend first and before anyone waiting for their turn to apply for a visa. It's worthy of Orwell's novels, it's infuriating and destructive for Lebanese citizens that they are supposed to serve.
′′ When the Middle East was on fire and blood and the peoples of the region caught between tyrants and terrorists, Lebanon I remember sent its soldiers to protect borders, faced daily frustrations to build businesses and educate your children, showing extraordinary generosity towards foreigners, whether it's ambassadors or refugees. Lebanon I will remember is not asking for help, but oxygen. He doesn't plan on the past, but discusses the future.
′′ Those who look back to see the difficult time we've gone through will ask themselves: how did Lebanon survive? We already know the answer: Never underestimate the most tenacious people on the planet. A people who, for thousands of years, braved obstacles.
′′ They say Lebanon is the grave of idealism. Not my Lebanon. I had the privilege of fighting alongside you. I am convinced you can challenge history, geography, even politics. You can build the country you deserve. Maybe also, stop importing problems to export solutions instead. (...) You must be stronger than the forces that tear you apart. You must fight hard.
′′ I realized that if we can't win the debate about tolerance and diversity in Lebanon, we'll lose it everywhere else. That's why we wanted to help, it's because of our national interest as well.
′′ This is the front line of a much bigger battle. For the lines of cleavage are not between Christians and Muslims, between Shia and Sunni, between East and West, but between those who believe in coexistence, and those who do not believe in it.
′′ So if the Internet doesn't work, install a new network. If the electric current is not working, build a new generator. If politics doesn't make progress, build other policies. If the economy is mired in corruption and waste stacks up, define a new economy. If Lebanon does not progress, invent a new Lebanon. The time is for development, not for survival.
′′ Me and the extraordinary team that accompanied me to the embassy continue to buy shares in Lebanon 2020. I conclude my mission as ambassador, but with your permission, I will always be an ambassador for Lebanon.

Lebanon: PM Diab's government still beholden to Hezbollah, Christian ally
Mona Alami/Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Seven months have passed since the government in Lebanon of Prime Minister Hassan Diab was appointed by a coalition dominated by Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic and the Amal movements, after four months of anti-corruption protests, set against the backdrop of Lebanon’s economic meltdown. Diab was appointed and promised to put in place an expert cabinet filled with technocrats that would bring radical change to the country and work to fulfill the people’s demands.
Yet, nothing seems to have changed.
Despite Lebanon’s economic collapse accelerating following its default on its $90 billion debt in March, the government has failed to intervene to control rampant inflation and a growing number of Lebanese falling below the poverty line. Hyperinflation could be threatening Lebanon’s future as Bank of America predicted that one dollar could amount over 46,000 LL by the end of the year. Before coronavirus hit Lebanon, the World Bank in November 2019 – shortly after mass protests against a deteriorating economy and a corrupt government broke out – predicted that the portion of Lebanese below the poverty line with rise from 30 to 50 percent in 2020. And still, the government has remained aligned with the interests of the political establishment, rather than focus on making serious reforms needed to attract foreign funding, namely a $10 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. Currently, talks with the IMF have halted, with the IMF saying they will resume when Lebanon begins to make the needed reforms.
Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut said that the new cabinet has failed to show any independence from its political sponsors, including Hezbollah the Free Patriotic Movement and Amal.
“The cabinet still applies the policy of mouhassassa to every ministry, regardless of the people’s interests,” he said. Mouhassassa is the division of power based on sectarian and political interest, rather than on merit.
For political analyst Sami Nader, from the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, the first signs of a lack of independence were evident with the capital control law that was drafted by Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni presented in March, but was shelved without explanation. Today, capital controls are applied unevenly and arbitrarily by Lebanese banks, barring those in the country access to their bank accounts. If the law was to be implemented, it would limit outflows and withdrawals from Lebanon on everyone, including the political establishment. Under the current de facto system, small depositors, like the majority of Lebanese, have primarily borne the burden.
The government, under Hezbollah pressure also reversed in May a decision it had made to build two power plants. In May, with pressure from Hezbollah, the government announced it would build a controversial power plant in Selaata north of the capital Beirut, the birthplace of former minister Gebran Bassil who heads the Free Patriotic Movement and is the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, Hezbollah’s ally. The Selaata project is linked to a plan to install Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) that allow for natural gas to be used at plants. But the Selaata project would cost around $200 million in land appropriation alone, and some Cabinet ministers have objected the project on these grounds. The project is said to favor the FPM. A few months ago, the Cabinet also witnessed a tug of war between Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and President Aoun over judicial appointments, mainly over judges Ghada Aoun, who is close to the president, and Rahif Ramadan, who is close to Berri. The appointments were viewed as highly political, and the president has now blocked all the judicial appointments, after their approval by the minister of justice and the Superior Council of the judiciary.
“The same can be said of the financial appointments made recently, which were also highly politicized,” said Nader.
In Lebanon, a growing rift between Hezbollah and their long-time Christian ally
Last month, Lebanon’s cabinet agreed on 18 long-awaited financial appointments, including on four new vice-governors at the central bank including, Wassim Mansouri, Salim Shaheen, Bashir Yaqan and Alexander Muradian.
Ironically, the four vice governors came from local banks with strong links to political parties, such as Bankmed which is said to be tied to the Future Movement, led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Cedrus which is said to be linked to the FPM.
“Similarly, appointments of the board of directors of the [state-owned utility] Electricité du Liban only took place this week after a meeting between Bassil and Berri and a power sharing agreement between the two men,” points out Khashan.
Without a doubt, the Diab government’s biggest failure, analysts agree has been its negotiations with its IMF, which after 16 rounds have hit rock bottom, with the government and the parliament disagreeing over the total value of losses accrued by the state. “This government is far from being independent,” said Khashan. “Its loyalty is to the regime in place.”For Nader, regardless of the government in place, the current political system can in no way reinvent itself. “The only solution is for it to be overthrown.”

Orphanages in Lebanon are on the brink: Children at risk of hunger, lack of education
Nicholas Frakes, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Lebanon’s economic crisis continues to worsen, and as many struggle to get by, orphanages and foster homes are receiving fewer donations, putting nearly 11,000 children at risk. The children at these orphanages and shelters are becoming increasingly aware of the dire economic situation and are worried about whether or not they will continue to have food, an education or even a place to live as conditions in the country worsen. The crisis – the worst to hit the country since the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990 – has seen the value of the Lebanese lira sharply devalue, fluctuating between 7,500 and 10,000 to the US dollar, compared to the official pegged rate of 1,507 to $1. Prices of many products have doubled, and in some cases tripled. Lebanon’s Dar al-Aytam al-Islamiya (Islamic Orphanage) runs 54 centers throughout the country that provide shelter for orphans, run programs for the disabled and poor, and offer vocational trainings.
The Islamic Orphanage primarily received its funding from the community, along with support from the government. However, their funding has drastically decreased as traditional donors are now themselves struggling to get by, and the money they receive from the government comes later and later. Annually, the Islamic Orphanage receives around 132 million Lebanese lira ($88,000 at the official rate) from the government. “Everyone still wants to help and we saw this happening on TV after the pandemic first happened with people rushing to donate,” Dania Safadieh, the division director for the Islamic Orphanage, told Al Arabiya English. “Today, everyone still wants to help, but they are all affected by the [economic] crisis. The people that usually donate might now need donations themselves. This is where we are affected the most.”
Previously, donors provided organizations like Home of Hope, a foster home, with food, money and, on occasion, outings for the children.
“Some of the donors provide food,” Yasmin Kerbej, a social worker at Hope of Hope, told Al Arabiya English. “Some provided activities for the children such as a camp, a trip to have fun. Some of them pay money so we can pay for the needs of our children because they have many needs. For example, some of the cleaning supplies that we need for the shelter.”But goods, including food, have become increasingly hard to acquire. According to Kerbej, they have only been able to purchase a fraction of what they were able to buy previously.
“Now food is so expensive,” Kerbej stated, “and the budget that we had previously for food, if we had, for example, 500,000 Lebanese lira ($333), now it will buy us a quarter of the amount we used to buy before.”One of Home of Hope’s main donors is the Lebanese Evangelical Society, but, with the economic crisis and subsequent diminished donations, the shelter is struggling financially. Kerbej expressed concern about what might happen if foster shelters are forced to close.
Nowhere to go
“Other associations are not taking children,” she stressed, “So, if any association closes, it is hard to find another one to take them, and the government is not taking into consideration the harm that is going to happen if any shelter closes.”Because of the decreased funding, orphanages and foster homes have to focus on acquiring the necessities to continue to provide the best care possible for the children that they look after. According to Kerbej, Home of Hope no longer buys meat due to its drastic increase in price from 20,000 lira ($14) to around 80,000 lira per kilogram ($54). It’s not just food though that’s become hard to purchase – maintaining the facilities has also become a challenge. Now, it is costing organizations significantly more to take care of one child than it did just a few months ago, only adding more strain on the already struggling institutions.
“When it comes to maintenance, our centers are quite large,” Safadieh explained, “All of the maintenance services became more expensive. The cost of one child became equal to the cost of ten and your resources are still the same. These services were more affected than the others because for them to continue, you need electricity, fuel, in order to operate the generators and pay salaries for the workers.”
Lebanon suffers from chronic electricity shortages, and where state-provided power fails, generators make up the gap. But lately, even generators have failed to provide adequate power for those in Lebanon. On top of the amount of aid decreasing, many programs were abruptly ended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has put the children’s education at risk. Prior to the crisis, Home of Hope had five or six teachers, the majority of which came from NGOs. However, now they only have two and are unable to pay for more.
“Our children need more,” Kerbej said. “Because most of them are 12, 13, 14 and they don’t know how to calculate or how to read or write, either in Arabic or English.”
Fears rising
With the worsening situation, the children are worried what will happen to them. To alleviate their fears, organizations have tried to comfort them that they will be taken care of and that their needs will be met. “We tried to make them feel safe,” Kerbej explained, “‘Yes, we are facing many problems, but don’t worry because we are going to provide you with your needs. Maybe we’ll have some changes. The priority is for the food and your safety. Maybe we’ll have less activities outside.’ Now, they have started asking if we will still be able to provide them will food. This affects them in a very harsh way because there is no stability.”At the Islamic Orphanage, the staff made similar efforts to explain the situation but tried to take a more positive approach to try to keep the children from worrying.
“The work that happens in Dar al-Aytam isn’t about pitying them,” Safadieh explained, “but increasing the positivity in morale. We try our best to show the kids that life will go on and that they will be happy and that all of this will pass and they will be able to get back to their lives.”
However, with there being no end to the economic crisis in sight, both Home of Hope and the Islamic Orphanage are working on long-term solutions that would allow them to continue their work. For Home of Hope, this means submitting proposals to NGOs.
“We are waiting for any response from the NGOs that we spoke with previously,” Kerbej stated. “Hopefully we will get some donations.”According to Safadieh, the Islamic Orphanage is working on an emergency plan in the event that donations continue to dwindle and the crisis continues.
“Right now we don’t know exactly what we are going to do,” she explained. “We are creating this plan to the greatest extent that we can in order to maintain the services despite these situations. The plan works on two parts: The first is looking for new resources and the second is to minimize the expenses as much as possible. The goal is to be able to continue our work regardless of the economic situation.”While the Islamic Orphanage does not normally work with NGOs or international organizations, Safadieh said that they would be open to it if the organization was in line with the secular beliefs of the orphanage.
While the future remains uncertain, the Islamic Orphanage remains hopeful that they will continue to find people willing to help their cause, and they insist their doors will not close – no matter how bad things might get.
Despite their best efforts, all that can be done now is to continue their work as best they can and wait to see what happens next.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 14-15/2020
Canadian far-right politician calls for removal of Jews from Canada
Jerusalem Post/July 14/2020
"What we need to do, perhaps more than anything, is remove these people, once and for all, from our country."
Far-right white nationalist Canadian politician Travis Patron – leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party – shared antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories involving Jews to the political party's official social media channels on Saturday – personally labeling the religious group a "parasitic tribe."
The CNP shared both a video and a flier featuring Patron, with the latter displaying the proper way to do a Roman salute – which can be easily construed as a Nazi salute.
"The question remains, as it always shall: Is he a member of that 'parasitic tribe?' Is he the 'black sheep?' A member of the so-called 'inside manipulators?'" Patron said in the Facebook video. "Everywhere these people go, they infiltrate the media, they hijack the central bank, and they infect the body politic like a parasite.""These people, they walk among us, and you could walk right past them on the sidewalk – and you wouldn't think twice about it," Patron states, afterwards giving a long pause for thought staring at the camera sternly. "While we focus our attention on our brothers and our sisters, who are with us not against us, these 'black sheep' hide, and they perpetrate, and they pull the strings. And they laugh about it. And they watch us. And we fight each other. And they profit from our wars. And they seek to control and demoralize us in every aspect of what we try to do."
Patron further made a comment that could be construed as being oblivious to the Holocaust, although not directly mentioning it. "It's their world, and we're just a number to them," he stated. "If they had their way, our entire way of life would be eradicated. They don't like us. In fact, they despise us because of what we are. They cannot coexist with it."Patron then formulates a call to action, calling for the removal of Jews from Canada as per the general consensus in the CNP. "What we need to do, perhaps more than anything, is remove these people, once and for all, from our country," he concluded.
Once Patron's speech was finished, the political faction shared a number of bible verses. One was Revelation 3:9, which states: "Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."The video continues, noting other verses such as Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 10:16 and Job 9:24, which discuss how to recognize and fight evil as well as combating corrupt and shadow players in society.
While the flier touches on the same rhetoric shared in the video, it does have one addition: "The people we speak of are not truly 'Jews.' They are liars and deceivers attempting to shield themselves from criticism using a false identity. Let us be aware and expose them for what they are: a tribe of parasites."

Turkey to open Hagia Sophia to visitors, Christian icons to remain
AFPTuesday 14 July 2020
Turkey's Hagia Sophia could open to visitors outside prayer times and its Christian icons will remain, religious officials said on Tuesday, after a court ruling paved the way for it to become a mosque. The sixth-century Istanbul landmark's museum status – in place since 1934 - was revoked on Friday and control was handed to the religious authority, Diyanet. The decision sparked condemnation from Western governments, Russia and Christian leaders -- Pope Francis saying he was “very distressed.” Hagia Sophia spent almost 1,000 years as a cathedral before being converted into a mosque in 1453 and later a museum. Diyanet said in a statement on Tuesday that Christian icons in Hagia Sophia were “not an obstacle to the validity of the prayers.”“The icons should be curtained and shaded through appropriate means during prayer times,” it said. “There is no obstacle from a religious perspective to Hagia Sophia Mosque being open to visitors outside prayer times.”Hagia Sophia, a major tourist attraction, has been the scene of Islam-linked activities in recent years. In 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited a verse from Koran at the building. Erdogan, who said the first Muslim prayers in Hagia Sophia would begin on July 24, has insisted the building will be open to all, including non-Muslims.

Iran executes Iranian agent linked to CIA: Mizan news agency
ReutersTuesday 14 July 2020
Iran has executed a former defense ministry worker who sold information to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Iranian judiciary said on Tuesday. Reza Asgari had linked up with the CIA during his last years serving at the defense ministry and sold the agency information about Iran's missile program, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said, quoted by its Mizan website. He retired from the ministry four years ago. Esmaili said Asgari was executed last week. Separately, Esmaili said a death sentence for Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, an Iranian accused of spying for US and Israeli intelligence, is among those still to be carried out. Last year, Iran announced it had captured 17 spies it said were working for the CIA.

Iran executes two over 2010 bomb attack at military parade
AFPTuesday 14 July 2020
Iran on Tuesday executed two people convicted of involvement in a 2010 bomb attack at a military parade that killed a dozen people, the Islamic republic’s judiciary said. “The death penalty was carried out today for the two main perpetrators of the (2010) bombing in the city of Mahabad,” said a statement by the judiciary authority of West Azerbaijan province. It said the two were “the agents of terrorist groups linked to foreign intelligence services,” according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website. It did not reveal the identity of the convicts nor the alleged countries involved. Twelve people were killed and 81 injured by the bomb that exploded in Mahabad, on Iran’s northwestern borders with Iraq and Turkey, in September 2010. Most of the victims in the Kurdish-majority city were women and children attending a military parade.Iranian officials blamed the attack on “counter-revolutionary elements” in the region which regularly witnesses armed clashes between Iranian forces and Kurdish militant groups. Days after the attack, Iran said 30 “terrorists” including some “American mercenaries” involved in the attack were killed in an operation by the Revolutionary Guards in Iraq. Iran’s intelligence ministry said in 2014 that three linked to the attack were arrested, adding that they had confessed to being part of the Kurdish nationalist group Komala. The group has conducted a long-running insurgency in Iran’s Kurdistan from bases located across the border in Iraq. Iran has accused the United States of supporting the groups, most notably Komala and Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).

Iran’s judiciary upholds death sentences of three Iranian protesters
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Iran’s highest judicial authority has upheld the death sentences of three Iranian protesters arrested following the country’s anti-government protests last November, Iran’s judiciary spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. In June, Iranian rights group HRANA said the Supreme Court of Iran has upheld the death sentences of three protesters, Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili confirmed the ruling on Tuesday, saying the three protesters were “among the main rioters,” according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Moradi, Tamjidi and Rajabi were arrested following protests that broke out across Iran last November after the government introduced gasoline rationing and price hikes. Thousands were arrested and about 1,500 Iranians were killed by security forces, according to a Reuters report. The three protesters have been reportedly forced to confess to crimes they have not committed through torture, according to HRANA. They had videos on their phones in which they set fire to banks and buses, Esmaili said. “They filmed their criminal acts and sent them to some foreign news agencies,” he said. “They were thugs who committed crimes during the riots,” added Esmaili. Iran often describes anti-government protests in the country as “riots” and protesters as “thugs” and foreign-affiliated agents.

Several Wounded in Syria Attack on Russian-Turkish Patrol
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 14/2020
Three Russian and several Turkish soldiers were wounded Tuesday in Syria's restive Idlib province when a joint military patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device, Russia's defence ministry said. The device blew up at 8:50 local time (0550 GMT) as their convoy patrolled the M4 highway in the southern part of a de-escalation zone, a statement said. A Russian and a Turkish armoured vehicle were damaged, with three Russians "lightly injured," it said. Several Turkish soldiers were also wounded. Russia and Turkey launched the patrols along the M4 in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that "numerous explosions were heard as the patrol passed in a village northeast of the town of Ariha".
The blast occurred "despite Turkish forces having heavily combed the area 24 hours before the joint patrol set off on the road separating areas controlled by the rebels from those held by government forces, according to the ceasefire". No such patrols had yet been able to circulate along the entire length of the road as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, from the village of Tarbana in the east of Idlib province to the village of Ain Hawr in the north of Latakia province, the Observatory said. Jihadists opposed to the patrols as well as protests against them had previously prevented them from advancing, but without them ever being targeted like this, it said. Home to some three million people, the Idlib region is dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, a jihadist outfit let by ex-leaders of Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate, and its rebel allies. A Russian-backed regime offensive displaced nearly a million people between December and March, but thousands have returned since the truce came into force. After Tuesday's attack, Moscow's warplanes launched several air strikes on jihadist positions in the countryside of Latakia province, said the Observatory. Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict and Turkey backs the opposition, but the two countries have agreed several deals to reduce hostilities. Syria's nine-year-old war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country's pre-war population.

Syrian militants detonate bomb near Russian-Turkish patrol in northern Syria
Reuters/MoscowTuesday 14 July 2020A
A roadside bomb planted by Syrian militants detonated near a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in northern Syria on Tuesday morning, injuring three Russian soldiers, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Russia called off the patrol following the blast near the town of Ariha in Idlib province, which damaged one Russian and one Turkish armored personnel carrier, the Russian ministry said. The Russian statement said an unspecified number of Turkish troops were also hurt. Two sources said there were no Turkish casualties in the attack. Turkey’s defense ministry later said two vehicles were partially damaged as a result of a car bomb and that no one was killed. Russian jets that flew at high altitude conducted a series of bombing raids on several opposition held areas in retaliation for the attack, according to residents and a network of plane spotters who document sightings of jet fighters.
Civil defense groups said five civilians were injured in the strikes. Hundreds of civilians fled, fearing a wider resumption of the Russian-led air strikes that had displaced over a million people before the ceasefire, witnesses said. Russia was evacuating its equipment from the area and moving its troops to the Hmeimim air base where some of them would receive treatment, the Russian statement said. Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, agreed in March on a ceasefire and joint patrols following weeks of clashes that took them to the brink of direct confrontation. Ankara backs rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow supports Damascus. The patrols take place in a “de-escalation zone” intended to serve as a buffer between government forces and opposition fighters in the last major area still held by the rebels after nine years of civil war. An unconfirmed social media video of the attack circulated by Russia’s RIA news agency showed a powerful explosion right by a convoy of passing armored vehicles.

Libya Parliament Authorises Egypt Intervention in Principle
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 14/2020
Libya's parliament has passed a motion authorising Egypt to intervene militarily if needed to safeguard the "national security" of both countries in light of what it termed a Turkish "occupation". The eastern-based legislature backs military commander Khalifa Haftar, who fought a year-long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to seize the western capital Tripoli from a United Nations-recognised unity government. Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, while the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has the backing of their regional rivals Turkey and Qatar. In a resolution passed late Monday, the legislature in the eastern city of Tobruk authorised "Egyptian armed forces to intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they see an imminent danger to both our countries". Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned last month that Egypt could send troops into Libya, after the unity government pushed back Haftar's forces from around Tripoli following months of stalemate.Libya has seen years of violence since the ouster of long-time leader Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed 2011 uprising, with the GNA and the eastern parliament, elected in 2014, vying for power. Relations  between their respective backers in Cairo and Ankara have been deteriorating since 2013, when Sisi led the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood figure close to Turkey. Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital, but the GNA took advantage of Turkish military support including drones to re-impose its control over Libya's northwest. In its statement late Monday evening, the parliament said Libya and Egypt should work together "to guarantee the occupier's defeat and preserve our shared national security" in the face of "the dangers posed by the Turkish occupation". While Libya's parliament rejects the unity government's legitimacy, it is also interally divided into pro- and anti-Haftar factions.

Ukraine unsure about Iranian claim ‘human error’ led to downing of airliner
AFP, KievTuesday 14 July 2020
Ukraine said on Tuesday it was too early to conclude that a Kiev-bound passenger plane was shot down by Iran in January because of human error as Tehran has claimed. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was hit by two missiles and crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran’s main airport on January 8 amid heightened US-Iran tensions. Iran admitted several days later that it accidentally shot down the plane, killing all 176 people on board. Do not fly over Iran: Families of shot down Ukraine airliner victims launch petition. On Sunday, Iran’s civil aviation authority said the misalignment of an air defense unit’s radar system was the key “human error” that led to the accidental downing of the jet. But Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “I want to emphasize clearly that it is too early to state that the plane was shot down due to human error.”Soldiers carry a coffin of one of the eleven Ukrainian victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 plane disaster during a memorial ceremony outside  He said conclusions should be drawn “within the framework of an investigation”, adding that “all the facts should be established”. Last month French aviation investigators said they would take the jet’s black box recorders from Iran and begin studying them on July 20. Ukraine has said it would send experts to help with the work and suggested the findings from Paris would be reliable.

12 Dead in Fighting on Armenia-Azerbaijan Border
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 14/2020
At least 11 troops and a civilian were killed on Tuesday in a third day of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia, despite international calls for restraint. The fighting between the arch-foes in the South Caucasus since Sunday is the heaviest in years, raising fears of a major flare-up in the volatile region. All-out war between the ex-Soviet republics could have wider implications and pit regional rivals Russia and Turkey against each other. Azerbaijan said seven of its troops –- including a major general and a colonel -– and a civilian had died on Tuesday, and Armenia said four of its troops had been killed, its first reported fatalities in the clashes. Overall, 16 people have been killed from both sides since Sunday. The ex-Soviet republics have for decades been locked in a simmering conflict over Azerbaijan's southwestern separatist region of Nagorny Karabakh, which was seized by ethnic Armenian separatists in a 1990s war that claimed 30,000 lives. Fighting outside the region is rare, but since Sunday the two sides have reported clashes in northern areas along their shared border. The fighting hundreds of kilometres from Nagorny Karabakh has prompted calls for an immediate ceasefire from the United States, European Union and the regional power broker Russia. Azerbaijan's defense ministry said Armenian forces had attacked its positions in the northern Tovuz region with artillery fire, mortars and large-caliber machine-guns on Tuesday. It said several villages in the area had also come under fire. Azerbaijani forces opened fire again on the northeastern section of the border in its Tavush province, the defense ministry spokesman, Sushan Stepanyan, said.
'Baku will retaliate'
Azerbaijan's ally Turkey -- which competes with Russia for the influence in the strategic region -- expressed support for Baku. Turkish foreign ministry has accused Armenia of "aggressive nationalism" and vowed to "continue, with all its capacity, to stand by Azerbaijan in its struggle to protect its territorial integrity."Azerbaijani political analyst Elhan Shahinoglu said the probability of a full-scale war was now "very high." "An Azerbaijani general has been killed and Baku will retaliate," he said. "There is a widespread popular demand in Azerbaijan to shift military actions to Karabakh."
But Armenian analyst Hakob Badalyan said an all-out war was very unlikely. "Baku and Yerevan, as well as the region's geopolitical powers (Russia and Turkey), don't want a big war which they know will lead to catastrophic consequences," he said, adding that neither side was in a clear position to win a protracted conflict.Four years ago, Azerbaijan had military superiority over its neighbor, but Armenia has since "restored the balance" with purchases of sophisticated Russian weapons, he said.
Stalled taks
In April 2016, four days of fierce fighting in Karabakh -- the worst violence in decades -- claimed dozens of lives from both sides and nearly spiraled into full-scale war. Mediated by the "Minsk Group" of diplomats from France, Russia and the United States, talks on the Karabakh conflict have been largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire deal. Armenia, which controls the disputed region, is happy with the status quo in Karabakh that also suits Russia's interests as the Kremlin uses its power-broker's role in asserting its influence in the ex-Soviet republics. Moscow has a military alliance with Armenia, where it maintains a base, but supplies both Yerevan and Baku with weapons worth billions of dollars. Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to restore control over the territory by force. Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive.

White House Hails British Ban on China's Huawei
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 14/2020
The United States hailed Britain's decision Tuesday to order the phased removal of China's Huawei telecoms giant from its 5G network, following months of pressure from Washington. The British ban, which came despite warnings of retaliation by Beijing, handed U.S. President Donald Trump a victory.
"The reported #UK action reflects a growing international consensus that #Huawei and other untrusted vendors pose a threat to national security, as they remain beholden to the Chinese Communist Party," White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said on Twitter. "We look forward to working with the UK, as well as our many other partners and allies, to spur innovation, promote vendor diversity in the #5G supply chain, and ensure 5G security free from dangerous manipulations."Amid rising tensions with China, Trump has pushed allies to ban Huawei from their telecommunications networks on the grounds that it poses a national security risk. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially resisted, allowing Huawei to roll out a new high-speed network in Britain in January. But U.S. sanctions in May blocking Huawei's access to US chips for the 5G networks brought a change of heart in London.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 14-15/2020
Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Supremacism
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/July 14, 2020
Why now? Erdoğan possibly thought the move could reverse the ongoing erosion of his popularity due, among others, to a looming economic crisis. All the same, it appears to be wrongly timed, as presidential and parliamentary elections are three years from now and Turks are notorious for not having a good memory. Praying at the Hagia Sophia Mosque will not turn a hungry man into a happy man. "This is against the Quranic commandments... Prophet Mohammed never converted a Jewish or Christian house of prayer into a mosque." — Cemil Kılıç, Muslim theologian, t24.com.tr, July 12, 2020.
An Islamist leader decides to convert a monumental cathedral into a mosque, and his fans, are spilling out hatred against Jews. This is Turkey's new normal. According to his fans, Turkey's Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, conquered Istanbul for the second time when he signed a decree to convert the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, built in 537, into a mosque. Pictured: Islamists celebrate Erdogan's decree outside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, on July 11, 2020. According to his fans and political allies, Turkey's Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, conquered Istanbul for the second time when he signed a decree to convert the monumental Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, built in 537, into a mosque. With that logic, he became the first statesman who conquered a city that already belongs to his country.
"First, you should fill Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque, Istanbul) ... This is a plot, this is sheer provocation," Erdoğan told a crowd as recently as in March 2019 when party fans demanded the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. He was right. Most of Istanbul's nearly 3,000 mosques (one mosque per 5,000 population) do not attract crowds. Sixteen months later, Erdoğan changed his mind. In this theater-like play, he said the supreme court would decide on the fate of Hagia Sophia. Under a constitutional amendment in 2010, Erdoğan won the authority to appoint all members of that court, the Council of State. Erdoğan said he would respect the court's verdict in "whichever direction it comes."And, unsurprisingly, the verdict came in the direction Erdoğan wanted: On July 9, the Council of State decided to void a cabinet decision, signed in 1934 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, designating Hagia Sophia as a museum, in a show of respect for Christianity. Only an hour after the verdict was announced, Erdoğan signed a decree for the conversion into a mosque of the monument on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Hagia Sophia Timeline
537: Byzantine Emperor Justinian I builds Hagia Sophia as a cathedral in then Constantinople.
1453: Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II (Mehmet the Conqueror) converts Hagia Sophia into a mosque after taking Constantinople from the Byzantines.
1453-1934: Hagia Sophia remains a mosque.
June 7, 1931: The cabinet of the infant Turkish Republic signs a decree for the restoration of priceless mosaic frescoes at Hagia Sophia. The decree gave the job to Thomas Whittemore, an American Byzantine specialist.
Aug. 25, 1934: Turkish Education Minister Abidin Özmen writes a letter to Prime Minister İsmet İnönü to inform him that he had received a verbal order from Atatürk for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a museum.
Nov. 24, 1934: The Turkish cabinet signs a decree that "un-mosques" Hagia Sophia.
1980: Turkish Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel allows Muslim prayers at an annex of Hagia Sophia.
1981: The military junta bans Muslim prayers at Hagia Sophia.
1991: Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel re-opens the annex to Muslim prayers.
2005-2020: The Council of State rejects three applications for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
July 9, 2020: The Council of State rules in favor of the fourth application to make Hagia Sophia a mosque.
July 24, 2020: Hagia Sophia will open as a mosque, with a Greek name and Orthodox frescoes on its walls.
Erdoğan comes from the ranks of political Islam, which made its debut in Turkey in the late 1960s – and was not then on the global radar. In the 1970s, Islamists of all flavors, including Erdoğan's mentor, Turkey's first Islamist prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, made the "Hagia Sophia Mosque" a symbol of the completion of Istanbul's conquest. The iconic church also became a symbol in the Islamists' fight against Atatürk's secularism.
Why now? Erdoğan possibly thought the move could reverse the ongoing erosion of his popularity due, among others, to a looming economic crisis. All the same, it appears to be wrongly timed, as presidential and parliamentary elections are three years from now and Turks are notorious for not having a good memory. Praying at the Hagia Sophia Mosque will not turn a hungry man into a happy man.
The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque has once again underlined the insane racism of the majority in Turkey against the sanity of a dwindling minority.
One Muslim theologian, Cemil Kılıç, argued against the decision: "This is against the Quranic commandments," he said. "Prophet Mohammed never converted a Jewish or Christian house of prayer into a mosque."
His voice came against an abundance of racist comments on social media:
"Jewish and Christian bastards will now understand who we are."
"Erdoğan is correcting what Jewish, Shabbetaist (Jews who converted to Islam), atheist crowds have done in the past century."
"You Jews, are you having fun?"
"Day of mourning for Crusaders and Jewish converts."
"Cry, you Greeks! And wait for your turn, you Jews!"
"Sad day for Zionists."
"A Shabbetaist Jew from Thessaloniki [Ataturk, born in Thessaloniki] closed it [to Muslim prayers] and man from Black Sea (Erdogan) opened it."
"You Jewish dogs, it will come to Al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] too."
This much of national sentiment reflects sheer ignorance, a hatred for "the religious other," a self-isolationist thinking and a century-long desire to challenge all things non-Turkish, with an emphasis on "the Jew." An Islamist leader decides to convert a monumental cathedral into a mosque, and his fans, are spilling out hatred against Jews. This is Turkey's new normal.
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Palestinians: Abbas Signs His Own Death Warrant
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 14, 2020
By courting Hamas, Abbas and Fatah are emboldening an Islamist movement that seeks to extend its control from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Hamas's declared goal is to replace Israel with an Iranian-style Islamist state.
Abbas may also be using his renewed ties with Hamas as a way of pressuring the international community into providing him with more financial aid. Hamas evidently wants to use the West Bank as a launching pad for carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel.
Hamas also does not appear to be headed towards recognizing Israel's right to exist. As such, Abbas seems to be handing Hamas the noose that eventually will be tied around his own neck. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah faction are now cozying up to their rivals in Hamas -- a move that may prove to be counterproductive and pave the way for the resumption of massive anti-Israel violence. Pictured: Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub, in Ramallah, attends by video conference a meeting with deputy Hamas chief Saleh Arouri (on screen from Beirut) on July 2, 2020.
After renouncing all agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah faction are now cozying up to their rivals in Hamas -- a move that may prove to be counterproductive and pave the way for the resumption of massive anti-Israel violence. By courting Hamas, Abbas and Fatah are emboldening an Islamist movement that seeks to extend its control from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Hamas's declared goal is to replace Israel with an Iranian-style Islamist state.
Abbas may also be using his renewed ties with Hamas as a way of pressuring the international community into providing him with more financial aid. The message he is sending to Western donors is: "If you don't fully support us and exert pressure on Israel, I will throw myself into the arms of Hamas."
The apparent rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas began earlier this month when the two parties held a joint press interview by videoconference, during which they announced their intention to work together to "topple" both Israel's plan to apply its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank and US President Donald Trump's Peace to Prosperity vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The appearance of Jibril Rajoub, Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, alongside senior Hamas official Saleh Arouri, a founding commander of Hamas's military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was aimed at sending a message to the Palestinians and the rest of the world that when it comes to Israel and the US, the Palestinians are prepared to lay aside their differences and stand united against "conspiracies aiming to liquidate the Palestinian cause and national rights."
Although he holds the title of "Deputy Chairman of Hamas's Political Bureau," Arouri, who is currently based in Lebanon, is anything but a politician. In 2018, the US Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that would lead to the identification or location of Arouri and two senior Hezbollah military operatives. In addition to his political activity in recent years, Arouri has played a major role in forming ties between Hamas and Iran and Hezbollah. He also deals with the construction and handling of Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank, where Rajoub lives and works. In 2014, Arouri announced Hamas's responsibility for the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, including dual US-Israeli citizen Naftali Fraenkel. Arouri publicly praised the Hamas murders as a "heroic operation." Until recently, Abbas and Fatah saw Hamas's activities as a threat to their control over parts of the West Bank. Earlier this year, however, Hamas accused Abbas's Fatah-dominated security forces of arresting 195 of its members in the West Bank. Hamas said that the detainees were "ex-prisoners (released by Israel), former political detainees (held by the PA security forces), and university students from Nablus and Hebron."
According to Hamas, the PA security forces "have been carrying out arrests against Hamas members to obtain information about the movement's activities" in the West Bank. As Arouri is responsible for handling the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank, it is safe to assume that Abbas and Rajoub are well aware of his activities, particularly in light of the PA security crackdown on dozens of Hamas members. One may also assume that during their interrogation, many of the Hamas detainees provided information about Arouri's responsibility for funding and arming terrorist cells in the West Bank. In the past, Fatah had accused Hamas of planning a military takeover of the West Bank.
According to a Fatah statement already back in 2007, Fatah revealed that several Hamas members detained by the PA security forces admitted to planning the coup in the Gaza Strip. PA security officials said that the detainees' confessions made it clear beyond any doubt that Hamas intended to expand its control to the West Bank, adding that large quantities of weapons and explosives seized from the detainees helped corroborate the confessions. Abbas would not have ordered his security forces to continue the crackdown on Hamas since then unless he was convinced that the Islamist movement has not abandoned its plan to stage a coup against his regime in the West Bank. By authorizing one of his senior officials (Rajoub) to hold a joint press conference with Arouri, Abbas is sending a direct message to Hamas that, as of now, it is free to continue with its military activities in the West Bank, including those that endanger his own regime. There is no question that Hamas members will interpret the appearance of their military commander, Arouri, with a senior Fatah official and close confidant of Abbas as a green light from the PA leadership to launch terrorist attacks against Israel.
Shortly before his appearance with Rajoub, Arouri said that Hamas believes that "the only way to deal with Israel is through a comprehensive resistance."
In an interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen television station, Arouri said he did not rule out the possibility that the "armed struggle" would return to the West Bank and said that that could happen "sooner than some imagine." He also praised Abbas for halting security coordination with Israel, in a move mainly designed to prevent Hamas from staging a coup against the PA regime.
It would be naïve to think that Abbas and his Fatah leaders in the West Bank did not heed Arouri's threat to launch a "comprehensive resistance" against Israel. Arouri deliberately used the term "comprehensive resistance" to counter the PA leadership's call for a "popular peaceful resistance" against Israel.
Arouri, in short, is saying that the Palestinians should resort to all forms of "resistance" against Israel. These would include terrorist attacks such as the 2014 kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teenagers. These forms of "resistance," moreover, would not be limited only to holding demonstrations and rallies, or hurling rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers.
Instead of distancing himself from Hamas, Abbas has chosen to forge an alliance with a terrorist group whose charter explicitly calls for Jihad (holy war) and the elimination of Israel. Instead of working with Israel to prevent Hamas from expanding its control to the West Bank, Abbas has chosen to sever all ties with Israel, including the security coordination that keeps him safe and guarantees his continued control over the PA.
Abbas, who is refusing to talk to Israelis and Americans, has now shown that he is happy to speak with Hamas. On July 6, Abbas again demonstrated his determination to continue courting Hamas: he dispatched Rajoub and a Fatah delegation to "congratulate" Amjad Kabaha, a senior Hamas operative released from Israeli prison, for his role in anti-Israel terrorist activities during the Second Intifada.
On July 9, another senior Fatah official, Osama Qawassmeh, announced that contacts and coordination with Hamas were continuing almost "on a daily basis to escalate the popular resistance" against Israel.
Qawassmeh noted that he missed the days when his Fatah faction worked cooperatively with Hamas during the First Intifada, in 1987. "We and Hamas have drawn the conclusions from our previous experiences," he said, referring to the power struggle that erupted between the two parties in 2006 and which reached its peak a year later, when Hamas staged a coup against Fatah, violently seized control of the Gaza Strip, and ousted Abbas.
Hamas evidently wants to use the West Bank as a launching pad for carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel. Hamas -- whose leaders have repeatedly denounced Abbas as a "traitor" because of his purportedly moderate positions toward Israel and security crackdowns on Hamas members in the West Bank -- will undoubtedly use the "comprehensive resistance" not only to kill Jews, but also to undermine Abbas and his Fatah-controlled PA regime.
In 2017, senior Hamas official Marwan Abu Ras called for the execution of Abbas by hanging after accusing him of depriving its Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of international financial aid. "Abbas is the biggest traitor in Palestinian history," Abu Ras said in a statement.
Abbas's recent efforts to appease Hamas may also, then, be aimed at saving himself from facing the death penalty. Hamas, in any event, will not shift its stance on Abbas. Hamas also does not appear to be headed towards recognizing Israel's right to exist. As such, Abbas seems to be handing Hamas the noose that eventually will be tied around his own neck.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran Could Face a Summer of Nuclear Sabotage
Andrea Stricker//FDD/July 14/2020
A powerful explosion destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant in Iran earlier this month, an event which anonymous sources told U.S. journalists was the result of Israeli sabotage. An attack by Jerusalem on one of Tehran’s key nuclear assets could foreshadow a covert action campaign designed to set back Iran’s nuclear program. The timing for such a campaign is opportune, since Tehran may hesitate to respond with force, lest it provoke the final collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. The blast on July 1 destroyed the Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center (ICAC), located within the Natanz nuclear complex. The ICAC produces advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium at much faster rates than Iran’s older centrifuge design models. A 2018 video by Iranian state media shows that IR-2m, IR-4, and IR-6 centrifuges were assembled at the plant before delivery to the enrichment facility at Natanz. Iran has deployed each of these models in increasing numbers, in contravention of limits established by the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Tehran likely planned to increase its uranium enrichment capacity by deploying fewer but faster centrifuges of the kind being assembled at the ICAC, rather than adding additional units of its antiquated IR-1 centrifuges. Thus, the explosion may have hit a key bottleneck in Iran’s scale-up effort. Two unnamed intelligence officials told The New York Times that the ICAC blast may have set back Iran’s advanced centrifuge program by up to two years. The Institute for Science and International Security estimated the event was “a major setback to Iran’s ability to deploy advanced centrifuges on a mass scale for years to come.” An Iranian nuclear official admitted that the disabling of the ICAC could hinder the program for at least several months.
The ICAC incident took place amid a series of other mysterious fires and explosions throughout Iran. Two of the affected sites included a missile production facility in Khojir and another facility that may also have a military purpose. The explosions at the three strategic facilities have occurred on consecutive Thursdays or Fridays.The blasts may have been the result of explosive devices planted at the sites, potentially involving the ignition of gas. Anonymous officials interviewed by U.S. media have not ruled out a cyber-related trigger. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has thus far declined to publicly characterize the causes of the explosions or any connection between them.
THE BEGIN DOCTRINE
Israel has a long history of employing covert military action against the nuclear assets of hostile regional powers. After Israeli airstrikes destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin announced a policy of using force to prevent enemies from developing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction; this became known as the “Begin Doctrine.” The 1981 strike successfully hindered an early incarnation of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weapons program. In 2007, Israel’s “Operation Orchard” again used aerial bombardment to obliterate a nuclear reactor in Syria, halting Bashar al-Assad’s nuclear weapons effort. In 2009 and 2010, Israel used cyber sabotage to infiltrate computer systems at Iran’s Natanz fuel enrichment plant. The resulting malware infections destroyed some 1,000 Iranian IR-1 centrifuges, or about one-tenth of the number then deployed at the site. However, Tehran was able to quickly overcome the setback. Between 2007 and 2012, Israel may have assassinated several key Iranian nuclear scientists who were involved in sensitive atomic work.
In most cases, Israel has not claimed responsibility for its actions, even if others presumed Jerusalem to be behind them. By comparison, in 2018, several months after Mossad agents stole a large archive of nuclear weapons files from vaults at a Tehran warehouse, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly claimed responsibility. Jerusalem has since publicly revealed new information about Iran’s nuclear program, some of which it derived from the Tehran archive.
AN OPPORTUNE MOMENT
If Israel is responsible for the ICAC blast, the timing of its action may amplify its impact while limiting the odds of Iranian retaliation. While Tehran has openly violated the JCPOA and refused access to UN inspectors, its enrichment capacity and stockpile of enriched uranium have not yet rebounded to pre-JCPOA limits. The regime may also avoid reprisals for the moment, since provocative actions may persuade the European parties to the JCPOA to “snap back” UN sanctions lifted by the agreement. However, the Trump administration may trigger a snapback of UN sanctions before October, when an associated conventional arms embargo on Iran is set to expire. If the JCPOA collapsed following a snapback, the Iranian regime may be less inclined to restrain its response to sabotage. Thus, the window to damage Tehran’s nuclear assets without provoking a violent response may be closing.
The upcoming U.S. presidential election may also close a window of opportunity for Jerusalem. A Biden administration may be less tolerant of sabotage as it seeks to renew nuclear talks with Tehran with an eye toward reviving the JCPOA.
While the regime in Iran may avoid military retaliation for the moment, pressure to respond to the Natanz blast is likely to result in an array of efforts to frustrate international nuclear inspectors. To start, Iran will almost certainly move underground a reconstructed centrifuge assembly facility, where it will be less vulnerable to attack. Tehran could also reduce adherence to its nuclear safeguards agreements, creating more opacity around its nuclear activities. In addition, Iran will be less inclined to comply with a UN nuclear watchdog investigation into the regime’s alleged undeclared nuclear material and activities.
Israel understands that the Islamic Republic will resist the conclusion of an agreement that effectively constrains its nuclear ambitions, unless severe sanctions leave Tehran no other option. Yet Jerusalem may figure that whether or not the mullahs eventually negotiate, they should have fewer nuclear assets to bargain with.
Andrea Stricker is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where she also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) and Iran Program. For more analysis from Andrea, CMPP, and the Iran Program, please subscribe HERE. Follow Andrea on Twitter @StrickerNonpro. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Turkey will see a green light for attacking American dissidents if DC court grants appeal
Michael Rubin/FDD/July 14/2020
On May 16, 2017, against the backdrop of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington, the Turkish president’s security detail and pro-Erdogan brownshirts assaulted and beat peaceful protesters in Sheridan Circle in the heart of the city. Video of the incident appears to show Erdogan giving the order for the attack. While several members of Erdogan’s team subsequently fled the country, police arrested and charged other Erdogan partisans who did not have diplomatic passports and whose crimes were caught on camera. Five U.S. citizens, including Lucy Usoyan, who suffered brain damage in the melee, subsequently sued the Republic of Turkey. While it is rare for a civil suit to proceed against a sovereign state, the egregiousness of the event led the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to allow the lawsuit to proceed.
Now, Turkey is appealing that decision, citing the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act, and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Representing Turkey in its arguments is Saltzman and Evinch PLLC, a Washington law firm that has long had Turkey as a client and has now formally registered with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
For the court to uphold Turkey’s argument would be extraordinarily dangerous. Several years ago, I noted that the Turkish Heritage Organization has apparently been collecting data on dissident Turks and others in the United States on behalf of the Turkish government. The Turkish Heritage Organization subsequently engaged Saltzman and Evinch to force a retraction but apparently dropped the process when it became clear the process might lead to discovery. The FBI also reportedly questioned the organization’s then-president about its activities shortly before his resignation. A WikiLeaks dump of emails from Erdogan's son-in-law (and current finance minister) Berat Albayrak also shows that other Turkish NGOs, such as the SETA Foundation, reported back to Turkish government officials about perceived opponents.
Two patterns emerge. The first is the use by the government of Turkey of nongovernmental organizations to skirt U.S. law and act on Erdogan’s behalf while maintaining plausible deniability. That Turkish intelligence now has files of Turkish dissidents and international critics of Erdogan, including the locations of their homes and places of employment, is a certainty.
The second is more troublesome: a growing pattern in which Turkey not only gathers intelligence on Erdogan opponents abroad but actually seeks to kidnap or kill them. While to date, no known kidnapping attempts have occurred in the United States, they have occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Turkish agents have raised the possibility openly: Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was allegedly present at a meeting with Turkish nationals in which they discussed kidnapping Erdogan ally-turned-adversary Fethullah Gulen from his Pennsylvania compound.
Back to Washington: If the D.C. court now dismisses the Sheridan Circle melee lawsuit on the basis that Turkey should enjoy sovereign immunity for events perpetrated on Erdogan’s order against dissidents, critics, and bystanders in the heart of Washington, then Erdogan may interpret that as a green light to do far worse on American soil. Likewise, if the court dismisses the suit on the basis of the argument that Kurdish civil society activists are terrorists, that too would mean open season on anyone advocating greater partnership with the Kurds (including many current and former U.S. government officials).
Such a scenario is not beyond the realm of the possible. In 1976, agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet detonated a car bomb in Sheridan Circle, killing a former Chilean ambassador and a human rights activist who was critical of his regime.
Just four years later, diplomats at the Iranian Embassy in Washington coordinated the assassination of a former Iranian diplomat who had sought asylum and lived in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. (It was that incident in April 1980, rather than the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran five months earlier, that led the Carter administration to sever ties.)
At stake now is not preserving the traditional notion of sovereign immunity on relatively minor issues, such as collecting on diplomatic missions’ parking tickets or prosecuting diplomats for automobile accidents, but rather accepting that a head of state can order thugs and hit men to target Americans exercising their constitutional rights on their own soil. If the court fails to hold Turkey to account for its agents’ deliberate actions in Sheridan Circle, it will effectively greenlight future murder and mayhem on American soil.
*Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official.

Even if solution is found in Libya between warring factions, instability will remain
Alain Oudot de Dainville/Al Arabiya/Tuesday 14 July 2020
Since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been gripped by civil war between two main belligerents while extremist and rebel groups interfere. Even if a solution were found between the main warring parties in the near-decade long conflict, instability on the country’s southern border will remain.
The Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Al-Sarraj and recognized by the United Nations, is challenged by General Khalifa Haftar's forces that are fighting to gain power. The GNA is supported by Turkey and Qatar, and Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) is backed by Russia, Western countries, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The latter does not want the Muslim Brotherhood or extremists on its border, and is prepared to fight them with the support of other Arab countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet reaffirmed on June 23 that the security of the Arab Republic of Egypt is an integral part of the security of Saudi Arabia and of the entire Arab nation, and that the Kingdom stands by Egypt’s side in defending its borders and people from extremism, terrorist militias and their supporters in the region. As for Tunisia, the country is confronted with the same threat on its western border with Libya.
Turkey’s involvement in the Libyan crisis is a game changer. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent thousands of former extremists to fight in Libya, and these mercenaries are unlikely to return to Turkey after the fight.
The main justification cited for the turn of events in Libya is Turkish ambition to reconnect with its glorious past when the Ottoman Empire reigned over the Middle East. Erdogan claims that Turkey’s influence spreads beyond its modern borders. He cares little about international agreements, and Turkey’s wish for membership of the European Union has all but vanished.
And many Arab countries have distanced themselves from the Turkish ruler who is supported by the Muslim Brotherhood that is now headquartered in Qatar, making Turkey’s involvement in Libya a delicate issue for many Arab states.
Turkey’s involvement in Libya is also linked to its economic interests and need for gas from the Eastern Mediterranean for its own consumption. In November 2019, Turkey signed an agreement with Tripoli to determine the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the two countries at the expense Cyprus and Greece. The planned EastMed gas pipeline would bypass Turkey to export gas from Israel, Cyprus and Greece to Europe. Now, Turkey can block the project in its claimed maritime zone.
Under the new agreement, gas fields are to be shared between Libya and Turkey, and the two countries are currently discussing potential Turkish use of the naval base in Misrata and of the air base of al-Watiya, with a clear long-term goal of controlling the Libyan EEZ.
Turkey imports 84 percent of its energy, and with ambitions to become a major gas actor, it covets Eastern Mediterranean gas. To achieve its goal, however, it must gain Libya’s support where other countries have been openly hostile toward Turkey. It also needs to strengthen its economy to reach its dreams of greatness. Today the growth rate of the Turkish economy is decreasing, and the Turkish lira lost 30 percent against the dollar in 2018; unemployment and inflation are high.
While Turkey looks elsewhere for allies, Europe and the US are divided and do not share the same interests in the area, and this is visible in NATO’s ambiguous attitude. The US, which holds de facto leadership of NATO does not want to upset their Turkish ally who has strayed further from NATO since the 2016 failed coup.
Now, Turkey turns a blind eye to offenses against NATO, and Turkish frigates under NATO cover escort cargo ships carrying arms into Libya in violation of UN Resolution 2526 that extended authorization to inspect ships to enforce the 2011 Libya arms embargo.
The European Union is calling for a ceasefire in accordance with the terms agreed upon in Berlin in January 2020, and such an initiative would be an opportunity to tighten links between the UAE and France.
But the EU is still divided on Libya. Italy, for instance, has been more supportive of Fayez Al-Sarraj’s GNA, because of his control on Sabratah, the main harbor of Lampedusa bound migrant smugglers. EU countries do not want Turkey to take control of migrant smuggling, nor of persons or organizations intent on infiltrating European soil.
Nevertheless, taking a common stand would give EU countries an opportunity of putting together a European defense structure, because the head-in-the-sand American policy does not serve European interests and is showing its limits. Ankara’s blackmail on NATO’s Incirlik Air Base, used for American operations and deterrence, is demonstrating that aircraft-carriers are preferable to an overseas air base. And Ankara is engaged in a lengthy process of procurement of Russian built S-400 missiles that are under the threat of American sanctions.
American strategies are not always global, and economic warfare does not always coincide with diplomatic or military pressures. But when it comes to smaller countries, they have to maintain coherence between their procurement policies of strategic assets and their alliances. So if it is established that Turkey is going against their national interests, they will have to stop all business dealings, even more so when public funding is involved. This is a good reason to start a discussion with the Turkish rulers.
It is also highly likely that an agreement will be found to establish a buffer zone to insulate the Egyptian border from Turkish influence to avoid war. There have been discussions between the American and Turkish presidents, and red lines have likely been defined.
As for Libya, the Turkish involvement has allowed the Tripoli-based forces to retake the capital’s airport and gain the upper hand against the rival forces.
It is probable that Turkey will extend its eastward push to ensure control of the EEZ agreement and the offshore gas field, but it is likely to be stopped in Cyrenaica by the tribes faithful to their leader and the militias and Russian mercenaries that have recently moved to the Al-Jufra air base to better protect the town of Sirte. But the main Libyan oil field is in this region, and it is probable that the GNA forces will try to control it.
The Middle East is riddled with many crises, in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and maybe soon in the West Bank. Some of the protagonists of these crisis can use the civil war in Libya as a smokescreen to solve their issues in the shadow, adding fuel to the fire.
But Libya will endure long periods of instability, affecting the civilian population. And the Turkish involvement in Libya maintain, as long as Turkey will control the Mediterranean gas field. As for the links with NATO, as long as the US needs Turkey for their own interests, their love/hate relationship will continue.