LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 06/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.june06.19.htm

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

Bible Quotations For today
If you endure pain when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps
First Letter of Peter 02,/18-25:”Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on June 05-06/2019
Four Lebanese Army & Internal Security Martyrs Laid To Rest
Iran Agrees to Free Nizar Zakka
Tripoli Attack Revives Concerns in Lebanon Over Threat of ‘Lone Wolves’
Al-Rahi Says Rulers Undermining 'Foundations of Strong State'
Report: Hizbullah Moved Precision Missile Technology from Lebanon to Syria
Lebanese Man Killed in Australia Shooting
French embassy condemns Tripoli shooting
Lebanon's Army Commander inspects deployed units in Tripoli, meets with Shaar: Cost was high but an honor to us, we are proud of our martyrs and will never forget them
Othman says no attempt can shake the country's stability
Government Head of Canadian Nova Scotia Province visits Gebran Museum, Cedar Forest
Abu Sleiman: Parliament to witness budget discussion folklore, LF to submit draft law to end illegal employment, combat illegal foreign labor
Jumblat: Enough with Spreading Hatred against Sunnis
Lawsuit Filed Against Energy Ministry, EDL over High-Voltage Power Lines Project
Army Commander Stresses Full Readiness to Confront Dangers
Israel expects U.S.-mediated Lebanese sea border talks in weeks
Israel’s intelligence giant deployed to thwart Hezbollah
Lebanese Writers,Muhammad Barakat & Qassem Marwani: Hizbullah Is Oppressing South Lebanon Residents – And They Are Subjected To Increasing Islamization
Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region's Balance Of Power

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 05-06/2019
Trump: Always a Chance of Military Action against Iran
Iran Leader Condemns U.S. Mideast Plan as 'Great Betrayal'
Sinai Checkpoint Attack Kills 8 Egypt Police
Israel’s Ehud Barak Prepares to Bring Labor Party Back to the Forefront
France, UK Condemn Israeli Settlement Plan in Occupied East Jerusalem
Assad Joins Eid Prayers in Damascus
Syrian Regime Advances in Idlib, High-Ranking Commander Killed in Suwaida
Sudan Death Toll Rises as Military Chief Says Ready to Resume Talks
Libyan Army Accuses Turkey of Providing Military Support to Brotherhood
Houthi Land Mine Explosion Kills Two Yemeni Children in Al Bayda
China's Xi in Russia to Usher 'New Era' of Cooperation

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 05-06/2019
Israel expects U.S.-mediated Lebanese sea border talks in weeks/Reuters|/Ynetnews/June 05/2019
Israel’s intelligence giant deployed to thwart Hezbollah/Yoav Zitun/Ynetnews/June 05/2019
Lebanese Writers,Muhammad Barakat & Qassem Marwani: Hizbullah Is Oppressing South Lebanon Residents – And They Are Subjected To Increasing Islamization/MEMRI/June 05/2019
Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region's Balance Of Power/MEMRI/June 05/2019
The Iranian-Palestinian Plan to Thwart Trump's Peace Plan/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
The Palestinians Miss Yet Another Opportunity/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
Making Real Arab-Israeli Peace at the Bahrain Conference/Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
What a War With Iran Would Look Like, Neither Side Wants a Fight, but That Doesn’t Eliminate the Danger/ Ilan Goldenberg/Foreign Affairs/05 June/2019
Opinion/What Will Trump and Netanyahu Pay Putin to Join Their anti-Iran Camp?/Daniel B. Shapiro/Haaretz/June 05/2019
Bush/Al-Qaeda Vs. Trump/Iran: Comparisons and Probabilities/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 05/2019
Beijing, Washington and the Policy of Neutrality/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 05/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on June 05-06/2019
Four Lebanese Army & Internal Security Martyrs Laid To Rest
LCCC/June 05/2019. Today the four Lebanese Army and Internal Security soldiers, the martyrs who were killed by an ISIS terrorist In Tripoli laid to rest each in his home town.

Iran Agrees to Free Nizar Zakka
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Iranian authorities have informed Lebanon that they have agreed to release Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese man who has been imprisoned there since 2015. In a statement, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it has been contacted by the Iranian ambassador in Beirut who said authorities have agreed to set Zakka free, based on a request by President Michel Aoun. According to the statement, after Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil relayed the news to Aoun, the president requested General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to “carry out the mission (to extradite Zakka) in coordination with the Lebanese embassy in Tehran.” Zakka, who also has permanent US residency, is accused in Iran of having "deep links" to US intelligence services, a charge the family denies. The information technology expert was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2016 after a security court convicted him of espionage and fined him $4.2 million. A statement released by Ziad Zakka, Nizar’s brother, confirmed the “imminent liberation of our brother Nizar Zakka after three years and nine months held in Iranian jail.”

Tripoli Attack Revives Concerns in Lebanon Over Threat of ‘Lone Wolves’
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/A shooting carried out by an extremist in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli on Monday has revived concerns over “lone wolf” attacks ahead of summer that is expected to be promising for the country’s tourism industry. On Monday, Abdul-Rahman Mabsout, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on police and army vehicles in the city, killing two police officers and two soldiers before breaking into a residential building and hiding there. He later blew himself up by detonating an explosive belt when confronted by troops. The attacker had earlier been in jail on charges of ISIS membership. On Tuesday, President Michel Aoun chaired a security meeting at Baabda Palace to discuss the terrorist attack. The President said confronting terrorism requires vigilance and constant readiness. He emphasized the significance of coordination, cooperation and exchange of information between the security apparatuses, and called for intensified security monitoring of suspects. The attack was the first in two years ago. Lebanon has relatively been stable with the army and security forces arresting fugitives and militants returning from Syria. The country has also been constantly keeping tabs on suspects and sleeper cells. Mabsout is considered a “lone wolf” attacker, who managed to escape after the Lebanese authorities dismantled extremist organizations during the August 2017 Fajr Al Jurud operation against militants on the border with Syria. Military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun believes that there is a constant security threat in Lebanon over the return of extremist fighters from Syria.“The Tripoli attack was a sign that extremists are still able to operate as lone wolves,” the sources said.

Al-Rahi Says Rulers Undermining 'Foundations of Strong State'
Naharnet/June 05/2019/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday warned that Lebanon’s leaders are “undermining the foundations of the strong state.”“We in Lebanon have political conflicts that turn into sectarian ones and distort the culture of the National Pact, coexistence and the formula of balanced partnership in power and administration,” al-Rahi lamented. “This political-sectarian spirit is interfering in the matters of administration, judiciary, the court’s rulings, the army, the Internal Security Forces and other security agencies according to its interests, undermining confidence in them,” the patriarch said. He decried that “the rulers themselves are destroying public institutions and undermining the strong and respectable state, the state of law and justice.”“This situation cannot continue at the expense of the people, who are suffering from stifling economic and social crises,” al-Rahi cautioned.

Report: Hizbullah Moved Precision Missile Technology from Lebanon to Syria
Naharnet/June 05/2019/A senior source from Iran’s revolutionary guard has confirmed Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest remarks that “there are no precision missile factories in Lebanon at the moment,” a media report said. “But this does mean that there are no missile factories but that Hizbullah had stopped manufacturing the precision type since a while after they were exposed and after it faced along with the Lebanese government strong pressures from the Americans,” the source told the Iran correspondent of Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper. Hizbullah also feared that the precision missile plants could be located by “Israel’s spies,” the source added. Al-Jarida was the first media outlet to report the presence of Iranian arms factories in Lebanon in 2017. “Nasrallah is not lying, because Hizbullah has moved these factories to areas in northeast Syria so that they be distant enough from the Israeli targeting,” the source added, noting that “the electronic devices and warheads necessary for these precision missiles are being manufactured in Syria whereas the missile bodies are being manufactured in Lebanon.” “Hizbullah only needs to install those parts on these bodies in order for the missiles to become precision-guided,” the revolutionary guard source explained. “In addition to Syria, the parts that the missiles require to be turned from normal into precision-guided are being manufactured in Iran, North Korea, China and Russia,” the source added, noting that “due to the Israeli raids against its Iranian arms shipments, Hizbullah has managed over the past years to smuggle arms factories from Bulgaria and Ukraine in the form of fragments, before successfully assembling them in Lebanon and Syria.”“It accordingly no longer needs to import a lot of types of weapons from Iran,” the source added.
He revealed that an additional reason to shut down the precision missile factories in Lebanon was Nasrallah’s desire to “give credibility to his allies in the government, who denied the presence of such factories, putting at stake their credibility with the Americans and Europeans.”“Hizbullah now has more than 250,000 normal and precision-guided missiles of the short, medium and long ranges that can hit any point in Israel,” the source added. Hizbullah chief Nasrallah on Friday rejected what he called U.S. conditions for mediating the border and maritime dispute with Israel.
Nasrallah said in a speech that Washington is "using the talks" to discuss, and even make threats over, degrading his group's capabilities, bringing up an Israeli claim that Hizbullah has precision missile factories. Nasrallah acknowledged his group has the weapons but denied it produces them. "So far in Lebanon there are no factories for precision missiles," he said.

Lebanese Man Killed in Australia Shooting
Naharnet/June 05/2019/Lebanese citizen Hassan Baydoun, 33, has been killed in a shooting rampage in the Australian city of Darwin, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. Baydoun, who worked as a taxi driver after graduating recently from university, was the shooter’s first victim, NNA said. Three other people were killed in the spree. Baydoun’s employer said he was having a food break when he was shot, expressing its grief over an employee who had an excellent record. Police said the 45-year-old gunman, who local media identified as Ben Hoffman, was an ex-convict wearing a monitoring bracelet. He was armed with an illegal pump-action shotgun and was hunting for a specific person during the rampage in Darwin on Tuesday evening, police added. He was released from prison in January, and reportedly had had repeated brushes with the law. Police said they were investigating possible links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and drug-related grudges. The motive for the attack remains unknown, but police said it was not terror-related and that the gunman was "looking for one individual." They said they had since spoken to that person, who was in another Australian state at the time of the shooting. Witnesses recalled harrowing scenes from Tuesday as a man moved from room to room in a local motel, opening fire on occupants. "He shot up all the rooms, and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off," witness John Rose told ABC, the national broadcaster. Dramatic footage of the arrest shown by the ABC showed the suspect flailing on the ground as he was tasered by heavily armed police. Police said he remained in hospital Wednesday due to injuries suffered during his arrest.

French embassy condemns Tripoli shooting
Wed 05 Jun 2019/NNA - The French Embassy in Lebanon strongly denounced in communiqué Wednesday the terrorist attack in Tripoli on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, which killed four Lebanese servicemen. "France sternly condemns the attack that targeted the city of Tripoli on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, which killed four soldiers of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces," the communiqué said. "We offer our condolences to the victims' families, to the Lebanese authorities and the Lebanese people," the communiqué added. It also reiterated that "France will remain steadfast in its support to Lebanon's fight against terrorism." Finally, the French Embassy praised "the commitment of the Lebanese security apparatuses in pursuing this battle."

Lebanon's Army Commander inspects deployed units in Tripoli, meets with Shaar: Cost was high but an honor to us, we are proud of our martyrs and will never forget them
Wed 05 Jun 2019/NNA - Army Chief, General Joseph Aoun, inspected Wednesday the military units deployed in Tripoli during a visit to the North region earlier today, where he met with Mufti of Tripoli and the North Sheikh Malik Al Shaar and thanked him for his supportive positions in favor of the army. General Aoun considered that the price was high in wake of the tragic incident that hit Tripoli and all of Lebanon on the eve of the Fitr Eid and led to the martyrdom of four servicemen, but deemed it a source of pride and honor to the military institution. "We are proud of our martyrs and we will never forget them," he assured. "Terrorism has no religion," said Aoun, stressing that "the army will remain in full readiness to face any threat to the security and safety of Lebanon no matter the sacrifices, for honor, sacrifice and loyalty are the motto and message of the military institution." Praising the role of Mufti Shaar and the respected sheikhs of the region, the Army Chief said "they are the safety valve of the homeland because they bear a great national responsibility towards the nation and its people." In turn, Mufti Shaar asserted that "the army is the backbone of Lebanon and its living conscience, and thanks to it Lebanon enjoys stability." He added that "the security situation is delicate and must be monitored," stressing that "terrorism is refuted and rejected." Shaar also commended the speed and professionalism that characterized the army's moves in intervening and putting an end to the terrorist's act. He pointed to the popular consensus and unanimous support to the army, hoping that it would also enjoy the consensus of the state's pillars.

Othman says no attempt can shake the country's stability
Wed 05 Jun 2019/NNA - Director General of the Internal Security Forces, Major General Imad Othman, stressed Wednesday that the state's security is an entrusted responsibility, whereby no attempt to shake the country's stability can succeed. Othman's reassuring stance came before a delegation representing the Future Movement's South Lebanon coordinating branch who visited him at his Zaarourieh residence earlier today to express their support and solidarity, in wake of the tragic incident that occurred in Tripoli on the eve of the Fitr Eid that led to the martyrdom of four servicemen. The delegation praised Othman's valuable achievements and prominent role as head of the ISF institution in confronting any threats against the nation and homeland.

Government Head of Canadian Nova Scotia Province visits Gebran Museum, Cedar Forest
Wed 05 Jun 2019/NNA - Prime Minister of the Canadian Nova Scotia Province, Stephen McNeill, and two of his Cabinet Members of Lebanese origin, Lina Metlej Diab and Patricia Arab, visited Wednesday the Gebran Khalil Gebran Museum in Bsharre and the Cedar Forest, accompanied by the Lebanese Consul in Halifax, Wadih Fares. The Canadian officials were warmly welcomed by "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc Member, MP Joseph Ishaq, Mayor of Bsharre Freddie Keyrouz, and Museum Director Joseph Geagea, where they toured the various parts of the Museum and left a tribute word in its guestbook of honor. McNeil and his accompanying delegation also planted trees in the Cedar Forest, receiving certificates in their names.A luncheon banquet was later held in their honor at the Military Officers' Club in AL-Arz, during which the Gebran National Commission Head, Joseph Fenianos, presented them with souvenir gift tokens symbolizing the Museum. It is to note that the delegation members are currently visiting Lebanon to participate in the Foreign Affairs and Emigrants' Conference organized by the Ministry, where McNeill will be delivering a speech on behalf of the Province of Nova Scotia.

Abu Sleiman: Parliament to witness budget discussion folklore, LF to submit draft law to end illegal employment, combat illegal foreign labor
Wed 05 Jun 2019/NNA - Labor Minister Kamil Abu Sleiman expected Wednesday that the Parliament Council would witness "some folklore" in discussing the annual budget, which will be endorsed eventually. In an interview with "MTV" Station this evening, he advised against "reopening the discussion bazar once again, in case of any tendency towards making amendments to the budget within the House of Parliament, since that would lead nowhere!" "If they begin to alter the budget and eliminate certain austerity or tax measures taken, and we enter into new debate, it would then be difficult to rectify the economic situation and the crisis might be prolonged," cautiouned Abu Sleiman. "Hence, we are in need of a quick adoption of an austerity budget," he underlined. Abu Sleiman deemed most of the current political class as "lacking sufficient awareness of the severe economic conditions prevailing in the country.""We are faced with an economic situation that must be dealt with responsibly and patriotically, regardless of the reasons...We must all sacrifice to overcome this stage and exert our efforts to reduce the deficit, for we cannot wait for the fight against corruption," he corroborated. Meanwhile, Abu Sleiman disclosed that the Lebanese Forces deputies will propose a draft law to end all illegal employment in state institutions, as well as a plan to combat the illegal presence of foreign laborers in the country.

Jumblat: Enough with Spreading Hatred against Sunnis
Naharnet/June 05/2019/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Wednesday urged an end to what he called “hatred theories” targeted against the Sunni community in Lebanon, in the wake of a deadly attack in Tripoli by an ex-fighter of the jihadist Islamic State group.
“Enough with spreading the theories of spite and hatred against the Sunnis. Terrorism has neither a religion nor an identity and it should be combated through lifting oppression off the (Islamic) detainees through putting them on trial and doing them justice,” Jumblat tweeted.
He also called for “real and not fictional developmental projects in the North” and for “improving the situations of prisons.”Jumblat also said that “lone wolves could resemble Shaker al-Absi and his extensions,” in reference to the leader of the extremist Fatah al-Islam group that fought a months-long war with the Lebanese Army at the Naher al-Bared camp in 2007. Absi was accused at the time of having ties to the Syrian regime after he was reportedly released from a Syrian prison.

Lawsuit Filed Against Energy Ministry, EDL over High-Voltage Power Lines Project
Kataeb.org/June 05/2019/The archdiocese of Beirut and owners of several lands in Ain Saade and Beit Meri filed a lawsuit before the Shura Council against both the Energy Ministry and Electricite du Liban (EDL), demanding that the installation of high-voltage power lines be stopped. The lawsuit demands the annulment of the decision issued by the governor of Mount Lebanon (399/2019) regarding said project, saying that it violates several provisions of the Shura Council's laws and regulations. The lawsuit also argued that the decision must be abrogated because it goes against one of the governor's top duties, which consists in safeguarding public safety and health as well as preventing pollution in the area that falls under his prerogatives. The lawsuit notes that no official decree on lands acquisition was issued for the installation works to be kicked off, saying that the defendants have altered the law and forced the project despite all scientific evidence proving its health hazards.

Army Commander Stresses Full Readiness to Confront Dangers
Kataeb.org/June 05/2019/Army Commander Joseph Aoun on Wednesday stressed that the military will remain vigilant and in full readiness to face any danger that would threaten Lebanon’s security, affirming that it will continue to fulfill its duties no matter how big the sacrifices are. “Terrorism knows no religion,” Aoun said during an inspection visit to Tripoli in the wake of the terrorist attack that targeted the military and Internal Security Forces earlier this week.

Israel expects U.S.-mediated Lebanese sea border talks in weeks
رويترز ويدعوت احرانوت: إسرائيل تتوقع أن تبداء محادثاتها مع لبنان بواسطة أميركية خلال اسابيع لتسوية النزاع الحدودي معه
Reuters|/Ynetnews/June 05/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75526/%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b1%d8%b2-%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d8%aa%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9/
Formally at war since 1948, the neighbors have long disagreed on border demarcations in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that gained prominence in the past decade when large deposits of natural gas were found there.
Israel expects to launch U.S.-mediated talks within weeks with Lebanon on setting their maritime border, a senior Israeli official said Tuesday, naming a UN peacekeeper compound in southern Lebanon as a possible venue.
Lebanon has not commented publicly on whether it would attend talks or on any possible timeline. The United States, which has been sending a senior envoy on shuttle missions between Lebanon and Israel, also has not announced a date or venue but said it is prepared to help them resolve the dispute.
Formally at war since Israel's creation in 1948, the neighbors have long disagreed on border demarcations in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that gained prominence in the past decade when large deposits of natural gas were found there.
Among the bridging proposals put forward by both sides was for international energy groups, operating in both Israeli and Lebanese waters, to carry out the first seismological survey of the disputed area, the Israeli official said.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said last week that Israel was open to U.S.-mediated talks on the sea border.
The senior Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that Israel expects the negotiations "will begin already in the coming weeks."
U.S. envoy David Satterfield has been travelling between Israel and Lebanon to try to lower tensions, which have also stemmed from a land border dispute.
The Israeli official said that if there were talks, they would address only the maritime border and not the land frontier.
"In the past 10 days of Satterfield's shuttling between Israel and Lebanon a number of technical issues have been discussed, like the agreement that the talks will happen at the U.N. facility in Naqoura in southern Lebanon and with U.S. mediation by Satterfield," the Israeli official said.
A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington "stands ready to work towards solutions that are mutually agreeable to both parties," but declined to elaborate on Satterfield's discussions.
Lebanese lawmakers close to parliament speaker Nabih Berri have quoted him as saying there was "clear progress" on efforts to resolve the border dispute.
Lebanon was awaiting responses after presenting a "united stance" on the matter, they quoted him as saying, without elaborating.
Israel is currently tendering off 19 offshore blocks to exploration and production companies, but it has avoided offering areas close to the disputed border.

Israel’s intelligence giant deployed to thwart Hezbollah
تقرير من يدعوت احرنوت: إسرائيل تقيم غرفة مراقبة استخبارتية عملاقة على هضبة الجولان لإحباط إى عمل عدائي يقوم به حزب الله عبر الحدود السورية
Yoav Zitun/Ynetnews/June 05/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75516/%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%86%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d8%aa%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%85-%d8%ba%d8%b1%d9%81/
Iranian-backed terror group is attempting to build infrastructure for operations on Israel-Syria border, worrying Israelis who understand that while they are still in early stages, they pose a later threat
Two serious incidents on the on the Golan Heights put an end to any hope that the Israeli-Syrian border will be return to the calm of the pre-civil war days, now that Bashar Assad’s army has cemented its control, with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The source of ground-to-air missiles fired at an Israeli Air Force jet in May or the identity of those behind the launching of two other missiles at Mount Hermon earlier this month are still unknown but the incidents illustrate the complex reality that Israel’s military will have to face.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militia, replaced rebel fighters pushed out of the Golan region by the Syrian military. They are the most serious threat to Israel with deployment on both the Lebanese and the Syrian frontiers.
The IDF is now completing the construction of an unprecedently broad intelligence-gathering apparatus, attached to the Dotan division on the Golan Heights.
Never has a division entrusted with protecting the border had access to that kind of intelligence force, concentrated in a secret location a short distance away.
On the other side of the border, Hezbollah’s efforts, under the leadership of Ali Mussa Abbas Daqduq (codenamed Abu Hussein Sajed), are now focused on observing Israel from several observation posts and military locations, while also recruiting fighters from villages on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.Ali
Daqduq’s efforts, conducted under the name “The Golan file,” are in their early stages but still pose a worry for the Israelis. The militants have in their possession explosives, light arms, machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
Lt. Col L. from the IDF Spokesperson’s Office, assures Ynet there is no permanent Iranian presence on the Golan Heights, but Hezbollah is trying to set itself up there.
“Hezbollah, has been trying to establish a military infrastructure on the Syrian side of the Golan, and this is the latest effort so the IDF has reveal it to the public,” he said. “We continue to gather intelligence and are not going to allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on the Golan, capable of striking Israeli civilians.” At the secret Intelligence compound, screens show virtually every inch of the arena. Different branches of the military have representatives in the room.
When a convoy is spotted across the border, a drone is dispatched for a closer look.
Any clue is immediately analyzed, and field operatives stand ready to deploy as needed.

Lebanese Writers,Muhammad Barakat & Qassem Marwani: Hizbullah Is Oppressing South Lebanon Residents – And They Are Subjected To Increasing Islamization
MEMRI/June 05/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75512/memri-lebanese-writers-muhammad-barakat-qassem-marwani-hizbullah-is-oppressing-south-lebanon-residents-and-they-are-subjected-to-increasing-islamization-nasrallah-u-s-war-with-iran-wou/
The Lebanese daily Al-Mudun and the Shi'ite Janoubia.com website, both known to be anti-Hizbullah, published articles bemoaning the situation in South Lebanon under Hizbullah rule. The articles criticized Hizbullah's suppression of free expression, leisure and political activity, and more, against which the residents are unwilling to protest for fear that they will be harmed.
The articles also highlighted the continuing Islamization of the region, as manifested in Hizbullah's banning of alcohol sales, of secular New Year's celebrations, and of parties, on pretexts such as the death of a martyr in some village or other or bereavement for Iranians killed in an earthquake in Iran. Also noted was the marked proliferation of loudspeakers through which Shi'ite prayers were regularly piped.
The following are translated excerpts of the two articles:
Muhammad Barakat/Janoubia.com
Southern Lebanon Under Hizbullah: No Freedom For Initiative Or Production – Only Factories Churning Out Fighters And Wars, Universities Teaching Religion And Accusations Of Treason
Shi'ite journalist and author Muhammad Barakat wrote on Janoubia.com that those who pride themselves for liberating South Lebanon from Israelin May 2000 and have marked the anniversary of this event ever since, have not liberated the region's residents at all. Instead, he wrote, they have launched a drive for control, oppression and religious coercion. He added:
"When we said that all Lebanese must oppose the oppression of the residents of South Lebanon... everyone leaned towards maintaining their relations with Hizbullah, or refrained from conflict – as this oppression expanded and spread from region to region... What is unfortunate is that everyone – the Lebanese, the parties, and the Arabs – clung to their positions.
"It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to develop an idea or an initiative in Lebanon without the sponsorship of [certain] elements in [Lebanon] or the region. If this drive [for oppression], in which the residents of South Lebanon have been trapped since 2000, continues,... [that is,] bans on alcohol, singing and political activity, it will cause burnout across the region, and in all likelihood nothing is going to change.
"Israel has developed and advanced in agriculture, industry, and technology – while 'liberated' South Lebanon has no factories except for those churning out fighters and wars. There are no universities except for those [teaching] religion and accusations of treason. There are no real hospitals except for the spiritual [ones] that anesthetize the people and convince the young people to die instead of those who fund [the wars but do not fight]."[1]
No Selling Alcohol – Anyone Doing So Is Attacked
Qassem Marwani/Al-Mudun
In Al-Mudun, author Qassem Marwani described life in South Lebanon since Hizbullah took over: "My trip to Tyre began in Bint Jbeil, one of Hizbullah's vital strongholds, and I had to pass through several villages full of portraits of martyrs and leaders. I found nowhere to buy alcohol until I reached the coastal villages, the Amal stronghold. Once, before Hizbullah tightened its hold on the mountain villages, it was possible to find a few liquor stores, but all their owners were forced to shut down. If anyone refused, his business was set on fire. When we wanted to buy liquor, we had to drive long distances to reach one of the Christian villages.
"In 2011, we decided to spend New Year's Eve [December 31] at the Al-Tirus restaurant in Tyre, where they served alcoholic beverages and there were singers who performed. [But] several days before the event, the restaurant was bombed. No one claimed responsibility for it and no motive for it was published, but we knew all too well who had done it and why. It was the first step towards changing, at least partially, the way of life in Tyre, in order to later control it all. Despite the bombing, we all insisted on joining the Christian New Year celebrations, but a short time later the restaurant shut down.
"It didn't stop with the alcohol [ban]... We used to throw parties in the village every weekend. There was music in the courtyard or garden of one of our friends, and we would dance. I remember well those days, in 2003, and the years before that. But suddenly, during one party, a Hizbullah official came and said, '40,000 martyrs were killed in an earthquake in Iran, and you're partying...?'
"At a restaurant in the village, a singer was performing at an engagement party. Then a vehicle pulled up with some gunmen in it; they stopped the party and silenced the music, claiming that in the next village people were holding a memorial for a martyr. Instead of music, there were Shi'ite prayers.
"I sat alone in the town square one evening after everyone had gone to dinner, and listened sorrowfully to the voice of the Shi'ite preacher coming from the village mosque. Every day, the voice gets louder, and the number of loudspeakers increases. Every time anyone builds a house, they have to include a loudspeaker. They sound the preacher's prayers every Friday and every day during Ramadan. [There is only] this prayer, and endless houses of mourning. Sometimes I wonder: Were I God, how would I bear all the continuous sadness and bitterness?"[2]
[1] Janoubia.com, May 25, 2019.
[2] https://www.almodon.com, May 14, 2019.

Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region's Balance Of Power
MEMRI/June 05/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75512/memri-lebanese-writers-muhammad-barakat-qassem-marwani-hizbullah-is-oppressing-south-lebanon-residents-and-they-are-subjected-to-increasing-islamization-nasrallah-u-s-war-with-iran-wou/
Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech he delivered on May 31, 2019 in honor of Quds Day that Trump and his administration are fully aware that a war against Iran would ignite the entire region, and he threatened that Israel and the Saud clan would be the first to "pay the price" because they had "plotted and schemed." He said that the only thing preventing an American war with Iran is the human and material loss that the U.S. would sustain. Nasrallah went on to say that Lebanon has enough precision missiles to change the regional balance of power and that, while it does not currently have any factories for the production of precision missiles, it has the right and scientific capabilities to produce them. He added that Lebanon will build such factories and sell the missiles internationally if the Americans insist on negotiations regarding the possession of precision missiles. At several points throughout his speech, Nasrallah's audience cheered: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!" The speech aired on Al-Manar TV (Lebanon).
To view the clip of Hassan Nasrallah on MEMRI TV, click below.
https://www.memri.org/tv/hizbullah-nasrallah-quds-day-american-war-iran-ignite-region-precision-missiles
"War Against Iran Means That The Entire Region Would Go Up In Flames"
Hassan Nasrallah: "Let the world hear me well: Mr. Trump, his administration, and his intelligence agencies know full well that a war against Iran would not be limited to Iran alone. War against Iran means that the entire region would go up in flames."
Crowd: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!"
Hassan Nasrallah: "The entire region will go up in flames. All the American forces and interests in the region would be annihilated. All those who collaborated and conspired would pay the price – first and foremost Israel and the Saud clan."
Crowd: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!"
"The Price Of A Barrel Of Oil Would Become 200, 300, Or 400 Dollars, And [Trump] Would Lose The Elections"
Hassan Nasrallah: "Mr. Trump knows that when the region goes up in flames... He does not care about people, or who dies and who lives... What he cares about is that when the region goes up in flames, the price of a barrel of oil would become 200, 300, or 400 dollars, and he would lose the elections. This is the balance of power. When the Leader [Khamenei] says that there is not going to be a war, it means that Iran will not start a war with anyone. It has never started a war with anyone. If the U.S. wants to wage war, it should take these things into account: the extent of human and material loss that it would sustain if it enters such a war. This is what is preventing war.
"Today, on Quds Day, the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Quds Day, I repeat, for the entire world to hear: Yes, we in Lebanon have enough precision missiles. The missiles can change the face of the region and the balance of power."
Crowd: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!"
Hassan Nasrallah: "As of this moment, the night of Quds Day, there aren't any factories for manufacturing precision missiles in Lebanon."
"If The Americans Still Want To Open The Issue For Discussion, Then May The Entire World Hear: We Will Establish Factories For Manufacturing Precision Missiles In Lebanon"
"Our right [to manufacture precision missiles] is not up for discussion with the Americans. That's one thing. Whether we have such a factory or not – what's it to you? I am telling you that at this moment we do not have such a factory, but you do not have the right to even discuss with me whether I have such a factory or not. We have the right to possess weapons with which we can defend our country, regardless of whether we buy them, get them for free, or produce them. That's one thing.
"Secondly, if the Americans still want to open this issue for discussion, then let me tell you loud and clear: we have the scientific capability, and we have the manpower – our youth – to manufacture [precision missiles]. We are able to obtain the machines that would enable us to manufacture [precision missiles]. Tonight, I am telling you that if the Americans still want to open the issue for discussion, then may the entire world hear: We will establish factories for manufacturing precision missiles in Lebanon."
Crowd: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!"
Hassan Nasrallah: "If they still want to open the issue for discussion... So far we have not built such a factory, but this way, they would convince us [to do that]. Furthermore, the [Lebanese] government talks a lot about supporting the Lebanese industry. Today, the most important market in the world is the arms industry. Why are you laughing? I am serious. We are able to manufacture precision missiles and sell them to the world, and thus support the Lebanese treasury. Okay?"

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 05-06/2019
Trump: Always a Chance of Military Action against Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to talk to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani but that there was always a chance of US military action against the country. "So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office," Trump told British television station ITV. "They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today." When asked if he thought he would need to take military action, he said: "There's always a chance. Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance." "Yeah of course. I would much rather talk,” he said, when asked, that he was prepared to talk to Rouhani. Tensions between Washington and Tehran soared recently over America’s deployment of an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Arabian Gulf over a threat it perceives from Tehran. Last year, the US withdrew from a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and re-imposed sanctions on Iran targeting the country's oil sector. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the US is willing to talk with Iran "with no preconditions." Iran says Washington must return to the deal first.

Iran Leader Condemns U.S. Mideast Plan as 'Great Betrayal'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 05/2019/Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday slammed a U.S. Middle East peace plan as a "great betrayal of the Islamic world", and warned Gulf rivals not to back it. Washington is gearing up to roll out economic aspects of its long-awaited plan for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians -- dubbed the "deal of the century" -- at a conference in Bahrain later this month. "The aim of this conference is to realize America's traitorous, dastardly plan on Palestine which they have named the 'deal of the century'," Khamenei said in a live television address at prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. "The 'deal of the century' will, god willing, never take root... this is a great betrayal of the Islamic world. We hope the leaders of Bahrain and Saudi (Arabia) will realize into what a quagmire they are stepping and how harmful it will be for their future."
The peace plan, fronted by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say the White House's policies have been blatantly biased in favor of Israel. US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are set to attend the Bahrain conference on June 25-26, but the Palestinians are boycotting it and have encouraged other Arab states to stay away. Palestinians have cut off all contacts with the Trump administration since the president broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.

Sinai Checkpoint Attack Kills 8 Egypt Police
Sinai- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Militants killed eight Egyptian policemen on Wednesday at a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula, center of a long-running militant insurgency, the interior ministry said. "Terrorist elements targeted a checkpoint west of El-Arish early this morning... The exchange of fire killed fire terrorist elements and eight police were martyred," a ministry statement said. Some militants escaped and security forces are following "their movements", the ministry added. A security source said reinforcements had been dispatched to the checkpoint near El-Arish, capital of North Sinai province. "The checkpoint is currently surrounded by the army and police," he said. A medical source said three members of the Central Security Force, a paramilitary force under the control of the interior ministry, were also wounded in the attack and taken to El-Arish public hospital. Egyptian state television said there were fears the death toll could rise as there were reports of attacks on multiple checkpoints. The attack came at the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. No group has claimed responsibility so far. Egypt has for years been battling insurgents in the North Sinai affiliated with the ISIS group. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed in militant attacks which intensified after the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide offensive against the militants focused mainly on the North Sinai. According to official figures, around 650 militants have been killed since the start of the operation, while the army has lost some 50 soldiers.

Israel’s Ehud Barak Prepares to Bring Labor Party Back to the Forefront
Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Former Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak has decided to make a political comeback as the battle for the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for September 17, has kicked off, sources close to him said. Barak is studying with a number of prominent Israeli figures the possibility of competing for the chairmanship of the Labor party, and then establishing a broader alliance with other liberal forces or at the top of an independent list. The sources said that over the past two weeks, Barak has spoken with senior officials of the Labor party and other political figures. They added that the head of the current Labor party, Avi Gabbay, was aware of Barak’s efforts. Gabbay was quoted as saying that if Barak decided to run for the party leadership, he would support him, but he was prepared to also announce his candidacy.
Barak, 78, has been the Israeli army’s chief of staff. He holds the highest number of military honors in the history of the Israeli army and is considered the most important military figure. But he has been unlucky in politics. He failed in all the political positions he held, from the Ministry of the Interior in Yitzhak Rabin’s government in 1995, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996, to the head of the Labor Party and the premiership from 1999 to 2001. He lost in the extraordinary elections to Ariel Sharon and then became Minister of Security in the government of Ehud Olmert and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu from 2007 until 2013. Labor Party members consider that Barak had betrayed them, and contributed to destroying the party, which was the founder of the Zionist movement. But Barak has regained some of his popularity in recent years, becoming the most important opposition figure, who has persistently spoken against Netanyahu’s policies. Many believe that his return to politics would allow him to form a serious alliance that, along with the “generals’ party”, could defeat Netanyahu.

France, UK Condemn Israeli Settlement Plan in Occupied East Jerusalem
Ramallah- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/France and Britain have condemned Israel’s recent approval of plans for the construction of hundreds of new settler units in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds irrespective of the international outcry against the Tel Aviv regime’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision is a matter of concern, contributes to unrest and undermines the achievement of a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of the so-called two-state solution. The statement then described Israeli settlements as contrary to international law, particularly United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. The French ministry called on Israeli authorities to reverse the decision to build over 800 new settler units in East Jerusalem al-Quds, and to abandon any project that would harm the possibility of the two-state solution. On Monday, the British government condemned the latest Israeli settlement plan. “The UK Government is gravely concerned by plans announced on May 30 to advance tenders for hundreds of settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem,” Palestine's official WAFA news agency quoted British Minister for the Middle East Andrew Murrison as saying. “We are clear that settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory are contrary to international law and an obstacle to a two-state solution. Regrettably, this takes us further away from a negotiated peace agreement,” he added. Murrison noted that he visited Jerusalem al-Quds between May 28 and 30, where he reiterated London’s support for the two-state solution. On May 30, Israel's Housing Ministry published tenders for the construction of 805 new settler units in East Jerusalem. A total of 460 units will be constructed in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement, while another 345 will be built in Ramot neighborhood in the northern part of East Jerusalem. About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions. Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council in December 2016 adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem". Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Assad Joins Eid Prayers in Damascus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 05/2019/Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended a mosque in the capital Damascus on Wednesday for prayers marking the end of Ramadan, pictures posted by state media showed. Assad joined dignitaries including the country's top Muslim cleric Ahmad Badredine Hassoun for the prayers in the Hafez al-Assad Mosque named after his father and predecessor as president. In previous years, Assad has marked the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday with rare visits outside the capital. Last year, he visited the city of Tartus, in the heartland of his Alawite sect on the Mediterranean coast, where key ally Russia maintains a naval base. In 2017, he visited the central city of Hama. Support from Russia, and from Iran and its allies, has enabled Assad's forces to claw back most of the territory they lost in the early years of the devastating civil war which erupted in 2011.

Syrian Regime Advances in Idlib, High-Ranking Commander Killed in Suwaida
Beirut - London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Backed by Russian air support, Syrian regime forces infiltrated areas controlled by opposition factions in the northwestern province of Idlib, for the first time since the regime launched an operation about a month ago by advancing into the last opposition stronghold and unleashing a wave of intense bombing. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday regime forces and local factions were violently clashing on the outskirts of al-Qassabiyyeh in the countryside of Idlib's south. It said government forces were able to advance into the towns of al-Humayrat, Hardana, Qiratah, and al-Qaroutiyyah. In September 2018, several areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo were included in a de-escalation zone deal, signed between Russia and Turkey to avert a regime offensive against the last opposition-held stronghold in the war-torn country. However, since regime forces launched their offensive on the Idlib area, at least 1,098 were reportedly killed, the Observatory said. Around 1,246 people were killed between April 20 and June 4, including 94 children and 94 women killed in Russian air strikes and regime shelling on areas in Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Idlib. Separately, local sources said a brigadier general, who is a commander of the Syrian army's 15th Division of al-Suwaida province, was killed on Tuesday. Jamal Al-Ahmad was shot by unidentified gunmen on Tareeq al-Hajj west of the province.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sudan Death Toll Rises as Military Chief Says Ready to Resume Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Sudan's military ruler on Wednesday offered to resume a dialogue on a transition to democracy, one day after he scrapped all agreements with an opposition alliance, as the death toll in the crackdown on the opposition rose to around 60. In a Eid al-Fitr message broadcast on state television, the head of Sudan's ruling military council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, paid homage to the uprising that began in December and culminated with the military overthrow and arrest of President Omar al-Bashir in April. He was still ready to hand over power to an elected government, he said. "We in the military council, extend our hands to negotiations without shackles except the interests of the homeland," Burhan said. Burhan had previously announced he was skipping any negotiations with protest groups and said he would organize elections within nine months.
His decision came after security forces stormed a protest camp site outside the Defense Ministry in central Khartoum in an operation that resulted in the death of at least 35 people, according to the doctors' group. The association said more people had been killed since then.  The last previously reported death toll stood at 40 but the Sudan Doctors Committee said security forces killed at least 10 people on Wednesday in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman. That came after another 10 people were killed on Tuesday, including five in the White Nile state, three in Omdurman and two in Khartoum's Bahri neighborhood.

Libyan Army Accuses Turkey of Providing Military Support to Brotherhood
Cairo - Khalid Mahmoud/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/Karama operations media center of the Libyan National Army (LNA) has said ‘Turkish drones’ had targeted several regions in the south of the capital Tripoli. The center accused Turkey of making a “blatant intervention in support of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood and its militias despite a UN Security Council arms embargo on Libya.”LNA’s Brigadier General Fawzi al-Mansouri said that his forces thwarted Tuesday an attack conducted by militias loyal to Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA). They attacked Tripoli’s former international airport but they ended up with heavy casualties, Mansouri added. Military sources in Sarraj’s government said that its forces launched an attack on at least four fronts in an attempt to force the LNA to withdraw. They noted that the attacks included airstrikes on army positions near Tripoli. Moreover, the GNA announced that Undersecretary of Housing and Utilities Ministry Salah al-Din al-Ruqaie was killed while fighting alongside pro-Sarraj militias on Monday. On its Facebook page, the ministry mourned Ruqaie and affirmed that he was on the frontlines of Tripoli before getting killed. Karama operations media center, further, unveiled that the GNA’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has officially requested Malta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to permit the passage of three flights coming from Sabiha Gokcen International Airport starting Wednesday until June 25. The center said that these flights will most likely carry arms, ammunition and mercenaries, stressing that Malta should not be party to the Libyan conflict. Moreover, it accused High Council of State chief Khalid al-Mishri of recruiting children and attempting to form a battalion of children and youths from Hararat region. It also said that Mishri has recruited around 20 juveniles to fight alongside the militias in return for money.

Houthi Land Mine Explosion Kills Two Yemeni Children in Al Bayda
Taiz- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 5 June, 2019/As a series of battlefield losses left Houthi militants desperate to reinstate depleted fighter morale on south Yemen’s Ad Dali front and even in the northern Sadah province, where the insurgency is headquartered. In parallel, land mines left behind by Houthi militants continued to kill innocent civilians, with the latest victims killed being two young children in the Zaher district in the central Al Bayda governorate. According to locals, crimes committed by coupists targeted various areas of Al Bayda. Houthis shelled residential villages incessantly and planted mines indiscriminately throughout civilian infrastructure. The two children killed by a Houthi mins explosion were Abdullah Al-Hayqani and Abdul Qader Al-Hmeikani, who were both 13 years old. Houthi militia formations in Al Bayda incurred the loss of 10 fighters—a single account in a long string of losses militants have suffered. This has propagated fear and anxiety within Houthi commandership, eventually forcing it to order a security crackdown in areas controlled by the insurgency. Meanwhile, Yemeni army units, backed by Arab Coalition air forces, logged substantial advances in Taiz. The progress has allowed lifting the siege off the southern province which was overrun by Houthi fighters some four years ago. In view of the exceptional push, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed commended the hard efforts put in by pro-government popular forces, the Arab Coalition, and the Yemeni national army. Abdulmalik, according to the state-owned Saba news agency, voiced his strong belief that the remaining Taiz towns held captive by Houthi militants will soon be liberated. “Taiz was and will remain at the forefront of fighting against the abhorrent Imamate priesthood project,” he said in reference to Houthis enacting an Iranian agenda in the war-torn Middle Eastern country. The prime minister reiterated “the government’s full support to the national army, popular resistance, and local authorities when looking to bolster the country’s security and stability through liberating Taiz.”

China's Xi in Russia to Usher 'New Era' of Cooperation
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 05/2019/Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia Wednesday for talks he said would boost strategic cooperation, as Beijing and Moscow continue to spar with the U.S. The leader was received with full honors at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in the early afternoon ahead of a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Xi said the visit would "serve as an incentive for the development of Chinese-Russian relations, comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction in a new era," according to Russian news agencies. "I am certain this visit will yield fruitful results," he said.
The trip comes five years after Moscow's annexation of Crimea led to a serious rift with its Western partners and subsequent turn toward its neighbor to the east. After watching a performance at the Bolshoi Theater on Wednesday evening, Xi is set to travel to Russia's former imperial capital Saint Petersburg. There he will attend an economic forum hosted by Putin on Thursday and Friday. China and Russia "have strong political mutual trust, and support each other firmly on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns," Xi said during an interview with Russian media ahead of the visit. Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the visit was "a crucial event for our bilateral relations". The Soviet Union was the first country to recognize Communist-ruled China in 1949, he noted. Ushakov said Xi and Putin would sign a new declaration on "global partnership and strategic cooperation, which are entering a new era."The Chinese delegation is bringing two pandas as gifts, which are bound for the Moscow Zoo. "The animal is a symbol of China and the gesture is very important to our partners," Ushakov said. The partnership is yielding increasing trade, which has increased by 25 percent in 2018 to hit a record $108 billion, he added, calling China "Russia's most important economic partner."Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui praised the upcoming visit as having a "milestone significance in the development of bilateral relations."
Russia's 'pivot' paying off
Russia may have had unrealistic expectations from its pivot to the east following Western sanctions over Ukraine, said Alexander Gabuev, who heads the Asia program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. Nevertheless, China's share in Russian foreign trade has nearly doubled since then, he added. "The pivot really is happening," he said. "Despite all the difficulties, China became a significant creditor and rather significant investor" in Russia at a time when many other investors preferred to pack their bags. Cooperation with China is seen as "the lesser of two evils" to stimulate economic growth, Gabuev said -- the alternative being deep internal reforms and reconciliation with the West. Politically, the two countries seem consistently aligned and often vote in unison as permanent members of the UN Security Council. Presidential adviser Ushakov said "the positions of Russia and China are very close or coincide completely on most international issues," including the North Korean nuclear program, the Venezuelan crisis and the Iran nuclear deal. All these issues would be discussed during the leaders' meeting, he added. The countries would also discuss their relationship with the "great Western powers, including the United States," he said. Moscow's relations with Washington have been at a post-Cold War low for some time, and Beijing is locked in a trade war with the U.S. And after Washington criticized its rights record, Beijing issued a travel warning to Chinese nationals Tuesday about crime and police harassment in the United States.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 05-06/2019
The Iranian-Palestinian Plan to Thwart Trump's Peace Plan
خالد أبو طعمة/معهد كايتستون: الخطة الإيرانية الفلسطينية لإجهاض خطة ترامب للسلام
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14324/iran-palestinians-trump-peace-
Iran's support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad also needs to be seen in the context of Tehran's effort to undermine Arab states that have close relations with the Trump administration.
By boycotting the US-led conference in Bahrain, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have placed themselves in the same league as Iran -- a country that despises them, deems them traitors and bankrolls their rivals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip.
Even so, Abbas and Palestinian Authority officials match Iran's incendiary rhetoric of violence at the US administration and its "Deal of the Century" by denouncing it as a conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims.
Iran's leaders have every reason to be satisfied with Abbas, whose every remark indirectly bolsters the Ayatollahs in their campaign to undermine any Arab and Muslim who wants to work with the US or make peace with Israel.
The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip are now offering themselves as a weapon in the hands of Iran to foil President Trump's peace plan. "No one should blame us for thanking Iran... Iran has provided us with rockets and money and helped us develop missiles that hit Tel Aviv," said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Pictured: Sinwar in a 2018 television interview. (Image source: MEMRI video screenshot)
As the US administration prepares to roll out its long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the "Deal of the Century," Iran appears to be increasing its efforts to help its allies in the region try to thwart the plan.
Recently, Iran seems to have stepped up its political and military support for radical Palestinian groups that are staunchly opposed to any peace agreement with Israel. These groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, do not recognize Israel's right to exist and are publicly committed to its destruction and replacement by an Iranian-backed Islamic state.
Iran, of course, has long shared the same ambition of destroying Israel and has never hesitated to make its position known to the world. In several statements during the past few decades, Iranian leaders have been frank about their wish that Israel be "a one-bomb country."
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has several times referred to Israel as a "cancer" and threatened to "annihilate" the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. He has also taken to Twitter to denounce Israel as a "barbaric, wolf-like and infanticidal regime." Israel, he added, "Has no cure but to be annihilated."
Earlier this year, the chief of Iran's Air Force, Gen. Aziz Nassirzadeh, was quoted as saying that his forces are "impatient and ready to fight against the Zionist regime to wipe it off the Earth."
Such threats by Iranian leaders and officials are not uncommon or new. In fact, they accurately reflect Iran's long-standing policy of incitement against Israel and recurring threats to "annihilate the Zionist regime."
To achieve their goal, the leaders of Iran have been providing financial and military support to their proxies in the Middle East, specifically Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah -- three groups committed to Israel's obliteration.
Now, the Iranians are focusing their efforts on foiling US President Donald J. Trump's peace plan. The Iranians also appear to be angry with some Arab countries for allegedly colluding with the Trump administration to facilitate the implementation of the "Deal of the Century."
On May 29, Khamenei told a group of university professors, academic elites and researchers that some Arabs were committing an act of treason by collaborating with the Trump administration. Although he did not mention the countries by name, it is clear that he was referring to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Referring to the "Deal of the Century," Khamenei said: "Of course, it will never be accepted and it will never be realized. The US and its cohorts will certainly face failure on this matter."
The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip are now offering themselves as a weapon in the hands of Iran to foil Trump's plan.
"No one should blame us for thanking Iran," said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
"It is our duty to thank anyone who supports the goals of our people. Without Iran's support, we would not have such military capabilities. We will continue to develop our weapons to face the occupation. Iran has provided us with rockets and money and helped us develop missiles that hit Tel Aviv. Those who support the resistance and Jerusalem are our friends, while those who want to sell Jerusalem are our enemies."
Last year, Iran announced its decision to "endorse" all the families of Palestinians killed and injured in the weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel border. The protests, called the Great March of Return, were launched in March 2018. The endorsement means that Iran will provide financial aid to the families.
Walid Awad, a senior official with the Palestinian People's Party, formerly the Palestinian Communist Party, praised the Iranian financial aid to the families. "We salute Iran for standing with the Palestinians and Arabs," he said. "The option of resistance is needed to foil the Deal of the Century."
Sources in the Gaza Strip revealed this week that Iran is also planning to provide financial aid to Palestinian employees who stopped receiving salaries from the Palestinian Authority (PA). In the past few months, the Palestinian Authority has cut the salaries of hundreds of employees in the Gaza Strip, including physicians and schoolteachers. The punitive measure comes in the context of the Palestinian Authority leadership's efforts to undermine its rivals in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Iran's increased financial and military support for radical Palestinian groups is hardly the result of love for the Palestinians: rather, it is out of a desire to advance its own goals in the region. These include not only foiling Trump's peace plan, but also seeing Israel destroyed. That is why it is supporting Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two Gaza-based groups that are committed to the annihilation of the "Zionist entity." Iran is also supporting radical Palestinian groups because it seeks to undermine the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his regime in the West Bank, whom they consider traitors for their perceived moderate policies towards Israel.
Iran's support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad also needs to be seen in the context of Tehran's effort to undermine Arab states that have close relations with the Trump administration. Iran and its Palestinian allies are worried about the apparent rapprochement between Israel and some Arab countries.
Nasser Abu Sharif, the Islamic Jihad representative in Iran, said this week that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have become enemies of the Palestinians. Trump's "Deal of the Century," he added, "aims to pave the way for normalization" between the Arabs and Israel.
The Trump administration is planning to unveil the economic portion of the "Deal of the Century" during a "workshop" in Bahrain in late June or "when the timing is right." The Palestinians have called on all Arabs to boycott the US-led "workshop" on the pretext that it is part of a scheme to "eliminate the Palestinian cause."
This view is shared by the leaders of Iran, who are now calling on the Arabs to boycott the "workshop" and the Trump administration. "Regrettably, a number of Persian Gulf states are cooperating [with the US] because they are hoping that America will protect them in return for their betrayal of the Muslims," said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
By boycotting the US-led conference in Bahrain, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have placed themselves in the same league as Iran -- a country that despises them, deems them traitors and bankrolls their rivals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip.
Even so, Abbas and Palestinian Authority officials match Iran's incendiary rhetoric of violence at the US administration and its "Deal of the Century" by denouncing it as a conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims.
The Palestinian Authority's actions and words serve to support Iran's self-appointed task of meddling in Palestinian affairs and strengthening radical Arabs and Muslims in the region. Iran's leaders have every reason to be satisfied with Abbas, whose every remark indirectly bolsters the Ayatollahs in their campaign to undermine any Arab and Muslim who wants to work with the US or make peace with Israel.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 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.

The Palestinians Miss Yet Another Opportunity
ألان دايرشويتس/معهد كايتستون: الفلسطينيون يضيعون فرصة أخرى
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14344/palestinians-miss-opportunity
If the Palestinian leadership persists in its refusal to sit down and negotiate, they will only have themselves to blame for the lack of statehood.
The great Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once presciently observed that the Palestinians "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Well, they are about to miss yet another opportunity by staying away from the June 2019 meetings in Bahrain during which the United States might unveil the economic aspects of its proposed Middle East peace plan.
The history of the Palestinian leadership is a history of missed opportunities for statehood and economic viability. Had the Palestinian leaders accepted the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 -- two states for two peoples -- there would have been a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel. Had they accepted the peace plan offered by President Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000-2001 or the even the more generous plan offered by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, there would now be a viable Palestinian state on 95 percent of the West Bank and Gaza. But no! Neither offer was accepted, much to the regret of many moderate Palestinians and Sunni Arabs in the region.
Now the United States is working on yet another peace plan which the Palestinian leadership has already rejected without even knowing its precise contents. It is enough for them to know that the plan is being proposed by the Trump administration, which recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights (which was never claimed to be part of any Palestinian state).
But neither of these recognitions undercuts the possibility of a Palestinian state or even of a Palestinian capital in part of Jerusalem. They are yet another pretext for missing an opportunity for Palestinian leaders to sit down and negotiate a good deal for the Palestinian people.
Palestinian statehood is not off the table, although every deliberately missed opportunity makes it more difficult for the Palestinians to reasonably demand a state. Other groups such as the Kurds and the Tibetans have never turned down offers for their independence. The Palestinian rejections make their case for statehood weaker in comparison.
The Palestinians should send a delegation to Bahrain and participate in the meetings. They can make their demands and propose changes in the U.S. plan. There is no good reason for them not to participate. They can object to what President Trump has done and even demand that it be undone, but their objections will have no credibility if they continue to be no-shows.
One reality should be clear to the Palestinian leadership at this point if they want a state rather than a "cause" they will never get through any means other than direct negotiations with Israel. They will not get a state from the United Nations, from the European Union, from Russia, from Iran or even from the United States. Nor will they get it as a result of BDS or university protests. They will certainly not get it through military conquest or terrorism. Only by negotiating with Israel will they achieve statehood. And it won't be on the 1967 lines or without any other compromises, such as to the so-called right of return, despite dozens of meaningless one-sided resolutions, including the one engineered by outgoing President Barack Obama during his final days in office. Both sides will have to make painful compromises. Israel has already shown its willingness to do so by twice offering compromise plans. Prime Minister Netanyahu has recognized the need for Israel to make compromises. So must the Palestinian leadership.
Israel's current political deadlock, with new elections scheduled for September, will inevitably postpone any real progress toward peace. The Palestinian leadership should take advantage of this delay to attend the meeting without having to make any concessions. They can listen and propose, knowing that no final decisions are likely to be made until Israel forms a new government in the fall.
If the Palestinian leadership persists in its refusal to sit down and negotiate, they will only have themselves to blame for the lack of statehood. President Abbas himself has bemoaned the failure of Palestinian leadership to accept prior peace proposals. Now he is the leader in charge, at least in theory. He should learn the lessons of the past, come to Bahrain and begin a process of negotiation that may be the only remaining road to Palestinian statehood.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of The Case Against the Democrats Impeaching Trump, Skyhorse Publishing, 2018. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 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.

Making Real Arab-Israeli Peace at the Bahrain Conference
شوشانا برين/كايتستون: صناعة سلام حقيقي عربي-إسرائيلي في مؤتمر البحرين
Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14327/bahrain-conference-peace
Bahrain allows the Arab states to reach back, meet their obligations under UN Resolution 242 and restart the process the way the United Nations intended....
The UN did not offer Israel a nebulous "peace" but a concrete set of conditions to create "security": "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
All of that was to be given to Israel not by the Palestinians, who did not and do not meet the requirements of a state, but the belligerents of 1948 and 1967. Egypt and Jordan have done so.
Some of the countries that have to make their peace with Israel will be in Bahrain, and UN Resolution 242 should be on the table. Fifty-two years late is not too late.
The U.S.-led economic conference set for Bahrain in late June needs only a few tweaks to emerge as a potentially dramatic event in the history of Middle East "peacemaking."
The return of Israel to election mode is no reason to change the Trump administration's plans for the U.S.-led economic conference set for Bahrain in late June. The Palestinian decision to boycott the meeting certainly is no reason to change -- or cancel -- it. It needs only a few tweaks to emerge as a potentially dramatic event in the history of Middle East "peacemaking."
The modern phase of the Arab-Israel conflict began in the 19th century and solidified in 1948. It morphed by design or neglect into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. The Arab states escaped responsibility for wars they initiated in 1948, '56, '67, '73, and '82, leaving Yasser Arafat to figure out how to do what they never could -- either make peace with, or win a war against, the State of Israel.
Bahrain allows the Arab states to reach back, meet their obligations under UN Resolution 242 and restart the process the way the United Nations intended -- when its intentions were honorable.
The UN understood the 1967 Six Day War as a war of Arab aggression against Israel. The Security Council recognized that the root of the "Arab-Israel conflict" was not where Jews lived, but that they had sovereign rights to a Jewish homeland -- which the Arabs did not accept. The Arab position, in the view of the UN, was wrong -- Israel had an absolute, undeniable and irrevocable right to a sovereign presence in the historic Jewish homeland.
The Security Council decided that Israel should not be forced to give back territory as it had in Sinai in 1956 without a resolution of the underlying problem. In that frame of mind, it passed Resolution 242.
The preamble states, "Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security." Two things jump out:
First, use of the word "war," not "force" as it is generally translated. Israel's use of force in 1967 was defensive; "war" was initiated by the Arabs. The inadmissibility of territorial acquisition applies to "by war," which makes sense -- otherwise an offender, in this case, the Arab states, could simply say, "Okay, status quo ante," and wait for the next opportunity. Israel's acquisition of territory by defensive force was not unacceptable. While the acquisition might (or might not) be permanent, the final disposition would be left for the time that the Arabs met their obligation to Israel.
Second, use of the word "security" is key as well -- the UN did not offer Israel a nebulous "peace" but a concrete set of conditions to create "security."
To ensure that, Resolution 242 has two indivisible clauses – (i) and (ii):
(i) Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
Not all the territories -- American and British diplomats insisted then and do now -- and accompanied by:
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.
Concerned that Resolution 242 did not go far enough in providing security for Israel, the UNSC added the necessity for:
"Guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area," the proximate cause of the 1967 war;
"Achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem."
"Guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area."
All of that was to be given to Israel not by the Palestinians, who did not and do not meet the requirements of a state, but the belligerents of 1948 and 1967. Egypt and Jordan have done so. Israel is still awaiting acknowledgement of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the countries that supported the war -- Algeria, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, and Tunisia. Today, Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority (PA) -- successor to the PLO in the West Bank -- accept those terms as well. The PA has refused.
It should have been simple. In 1967, the Arab states should have acknowledged that their obstructionism in 1948 was illegitimate and the establishment of Israel was legal and just. Some of the countries that have to make their peace with Israel will be in Bahrain, and UN Resolution 242 should be on the table. Fifty-two years late is not too late.
If this conference is part of a pathway toward Arab states not only working with Israel as a counterweight to Iran, but as a political and economic partner in the region... If this conference establishes Arab-Israel relations as the norm in the region... if this conference establishes that both Arabs and Israelis have places to go together and the only way for Palestinians to go there with them is to accept the requirements of UN Resolution 242...
Then progress can be made.
*Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of the Jewish Policy Center.
© 2019 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.

What a War With Iran Would Look Like, Neither Side Wants a Fight, but That Doesn’t Eliminate the Danger
إيلان كولدبرغ/فورن أفيرز/في حال وقعت الحرب بين إيران وأميركا، ترى كيف سيكون حالها
 Ilan Goldenberg/Foreign Affairs/05 June/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75500/%d8%a5%d9%8a%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%83%d9%88%d9%84%d8%af%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%ba-%d9%81%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%86-%d8%a3%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%b2-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%84-%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84/
Tensions between Iran and the United States are at their highest point in years. The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement is teetering. The Trump administration is using sanctions to strangle the Iranian economy and in May deployed an aircraft carrier, a missile defense battery, and four bombers to the Middle East. Washington has evacuated nonessential personnel from its embassy in Baghdad, citing intelligence suggesting that Iran is increasingly willing to hit U.S. targets through its military proxies abroad.
The United States also stated that Iran almost certainly perpetrated the recent damage to oil tankers flagged by Saudi Arabia, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and claimed that Iran had temporarily loaded missiles onto small boats in the Persian Gulf. In early May, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton publicly threatened a response to any Iranian attacks, “whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards [sic] Corps or regular Iranian forces.”
The good news is that the situation is not as bad as it appears. None of the players—with the possible exception of Bolton—seem to really want a war. Iran’s military strategy is to keep tensions at a low boil and avoid a direct confrontation with the United States. Washington struck a tough public posture with its recent troop deployment, but the move was neither consequential nor terribly unusual. If the United States were truly preparing for a war, the flow of military assets into the region would be much more dramatic.
The bad news is that a war could still happen. Even if neither side wants to fight, miscalculation, missed signals, and the logic of escalation could conspire to turn even a minor clash into a regional conflagration—with devastating effects for Iran, the United States, and the Middle East.
A conflict would most likely start with a small, deniable attack by Iran on a U.S.-related target. Iran’s leaders, in this scenario, decide that it is time to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump. Shiite militias in Iraq with ties to Iran hit a U.S. military convoy in Iraq, killing a number of soldiers, or Iranian operatives attack another oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, this time causing an oil spill. Tehran knows from past experience that such attacks do not result in direct retaliation from Washington, provided they are somewhat deniable. Iranian proxies in Iraq, for example, killed roughly 600 American soldiers from 2003 to 2011, with few consequences for Iran.
But this time is different. Following the Iranian attack, the Trump administration decides to strike at several military sites in Iran, just as it hit Syrian targets in 2017 and 2018 after the regime of President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. Using air and naval assets already stationed in the Middle East, the United States strikes an Iranian port or hits a training camp for Iraqi Shiite fighters in Iran. Through public and private channels, the U.S. government communicates that it conducted a one-time strike to “reestablish deterrence” and that if Iran backs off, it will face no further consequences. Ideally, the Iranian leadership pulls back, and things end there.
But what if Iran does not respond the way Assad did? After all, Assad was fighting for his very survival in a years-long civil war and knew better than to pull the United States any further into that fight. Iran’s leader has many more options than the beleaguered Syrian president did. The Islamic Republic can use proxy forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen to attack the United States and its partners. It has an arsenal of ballistic missiles that can target U.S. bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Its mines and land-based antiship missiles can wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz and drive up global oil prices. Iran has the capacity to shut down a significant portion of Saudi oil production with aggressive sabotage or cyberattacks, and with its paramilitary unit known as the Quds Force, Iran can attack U.S. targets around the globe.
Between the United States and Iran there is a distinct potential for misunderstanding, not least when both actors are making decisions under time pressure, on the basis of uncertain information, and in a climate of deep mutual distrust. Iran may mistake a one-off strike by the United States as the beginning of a significant military campaign that requires an immediate and harsh response. The danger that the United States will send confusing signals to the Iranians is especially high given Trump’s tendency to go off on Twitter and the fact that his national security adviser has articulated a more hawkish agenda than his own.
The two sides will also face an intense security dilemma, with each side’s defensive measures appearing aggressive to the other side. Suppose that during the crisis the United States decides to send aircraft carriers, battleships, bombers, and fighters to the region to defend itself and its allies. Iran’s military leaders might infer that Washington is gearing up for a bigger attack. Similarly, imagine that Iran decides to protect its missiles and mines from a preemptive U.S. strike by moving them out of storage and dispersing them. The United States might interpret such defensive measures as preparation for a dramatic escalation—and respond by carrying out the very preemptive strike that Iran sought to avoid.
In one scenario, all these escalatory pressures set off a larger conflict. The United States sinks several Iranian ships and attacks a port and military training facilities. Iran drops mines and attacks U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf. Iranian proxies kill dozens of U.S. troops, aid workers, and diplomats in the region, and Iranian missiles strike U.S. bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, causing limited damage. At every turn, Iran tries to save face by showing resolve but stopping short of all-out war; Washington, intent on “reestablishing deterrence,” retaliates a little more aggressively each time. Before long, the two have tumbled into full-scale hostilities.
Even if neither side wants to fight, miscalculation, missed signals, and the logic of escalation could conspire to turn even a minor clash into a regional conflagration.
At this point, the United States faces a choice: continue the tit-for-tat escalation or overwhelm the enemy and destroy as much of its military capabilities as possible, as the United States did during Operation Desert Storm against Iraq in 1991. The Pentagon recommends “going big” so as not to leave U.S. forces vulnerable to further Iranian attacks. Bolton and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo support the plan. Trump agrees, seeing a large-scale assault as the only way to prevent humiliation.
The United States sends some 120,000 troops to its bases in the Middle East, a figure approaching the 150,000 to 180,000 troops deployed to Iraq at any given point from 2003 to 2008. American aircraft attack conventional Iranian targets and much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in Natanz, Fordow, Arak, and Esfahan. For now, the military does not start a ground invasion or seek to topple the regime in Tehran, but ground forces are sent to the region, ready to invade if necessary.
Iran’s military is soon overwhelmed, but not before mounting a powerful, all-out counterattack. It steps up mining and swarming small-boat attacks on U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. Missile attacks, cyberattacks, and other acts of sabotage against Gulf oil facilities send global oil prices skyrocketing for weeks or months, perhaps to $150 or more per barrel. Iran launches as many missiles as it can at U.S. military bases. Many of the missiles miss, but some do not. Iran’s proxies target U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen increase their rocket attacks against Saudi Arabia. Iran may even attempt terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies or military facilities around the globe—but will likely fail, as such attacks are difficult to execute successfully.
Israel might get drawn into the conflict through clashes with Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group and political party in Lebanon. Iran has tremendous influence over Hezbollah and could potentially push the group to attack Israel using its arsenal of 130,000 rockets in an attempt to raise the costs of the conflict for the United States and one of its closest allies. Such an attack will likely overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, leaving the Israelis with no choice but to invade Hezbollah’s strongholds in southern Lebanon and possibly southern Syria. What began as a U.S.-Iranian skirmish now engulfs the entire region, imposing not only devastating losses on Iran’s leadership and people but serious costs in blood and treasure for the United States, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states, and other regional players.
The United States may stumble into the kind of regime change operation it carried out in Iraq and Libya—but this time on a much larger scale.
Even once major military operations cease, the conflict will not be over. Iranian proxies are hard to eradicate through conventional battlefield tactics and will target U.S. forces and partners in the Middle East for years to come. U.S. air strikes would set back the Iranian nuclear program anywhere from 18 months to three years. But air strikes cannot destroy scientific know-how, and the conflict may push Iran to take the program further underground and build an actual nuclear weapon—a goal it has refrained from achieving thus far.
Moreover, even if the United States goes into the conflict hoping only to weaken Iran militarily, it will soon face calls at home and from Jerusalem, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi to overthrow the Islamic Republic. As a result, the United States may stumble into the kind of regime change operation it carried out in Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011—but this time on a much larger scale. Iran today has a population of 80 million, more than three times that of Iraq at the beginning of the Iraq war. The country’s topography is much more challenging than Iraq’s. The cost of an invasion would over time reach into the trillions of dollars. And consider for a moment the destabilizing effects of a refugee crisis stemming from a country with a population the size of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria combined.
The United States might instead try to engineer the collapse of the Islamic Republic without invading, as it tried in Iraq in the 1990s. But unlike many Middle Eastern countries that have grown unstable in recent years, Iran is not an artificial creation of European colonialism but a millennia-old civilization whose nationalism runs deep. Iranians are not likely to respond to a major war with the United States by blaming their own leadership and trying to overthrow it. Even if they did, the most likely result would be a transition from clerical rule to a military dictatorship headed by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the worst case, internal collapse would lead to civil war, just as it has with several of Iran’s neighbors, potentially creating terrorist safe havens and enormous refugee flows.
Even short of such worst-case scenarios, any war with Iran would tie down the United States in yet another Middle Eastern conflict for years to come. The war and its aftermath would likely cost hundreds of billions of dollars and hobble not just Trump but future U.S. presidents. Such a commitment would mean the end of the United States’ purported shift to great-power competition with Russia and China.
Most likely, all parties understand these dangers—not least the Iranian government, for which a war with the United States would be particularly catastrophic. And for this reason, both sides will continue to try to avoid an all-out war. But sometimes even wars that nobody wants still happen. The Trump administration and the Islamic Republic should tread much more carefully, lest they send their countries down a dangerous and costly spiral that will quickly spin out of control.

Opinion/What Will Trump and Netanyahu Pay Putin to Join Their anti-Iran Camp?
دانيال شابيرو/هآرتس: ما هو الثمن المطلوب أن يدفعاه كل من ترامب ونيتانياهو لبوتين لينضم لمعسكرهما المناهض لطهران؟
Daniel B. Shapiro/Haaretz/June 05/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75509/%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a8-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%88-%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d9%85%d8%a7-%d9%87%d9%88-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ab%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b7/
The first ever trilateral meeting between U.S., Russian and Israeli national security advisers could be a gamechanger on pushing Iran's military out of Syria. But at what cost - and who will pay.
Largely overshadowed by last week's political upheaval in Israel was a low-key but highly significant announcement: Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will host a joint meeting with his American and Russian counterparts, John Bolton and Nikolay Patrushev, later in June.
A meeting of this sort is unprecedented. But so are the regional challenges facing all three countries, and the need to work together to find solutions.
Some may see it as a favor from President Donald Trump to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Trump has consistently boosted as he tries to remain in office. But regardless of the political backdrop, the meeting presents an important strategic opportunity, and its originators deserve praise for pulling it off.
The central subject of the meeting will be Syria, and particularly the Iranian military presence there that has drawn dozens, if not hundreds, of Israeli airstrikes.
Russia has acquiesced to Israel's highly accurate and professional campaign against Iranian missile and drone installations, some of which have been used to launch attacks against Israel. But Netanyahu, who has repeatedly traveled to Moscow to press his case with Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeks greater Russian cooperation to eliminate this threat.
Until now, Russia has done little to limit the Iranian presence in Syria. That will be the major demand of Israel and the United States at the joint meeting of the national security advisers. They will insist that Russia, with its dominant position in Syria and massive influence over the Assad regime that it rescued from oblivion, lay down the law with Iran and force the withdrawal of Iranian forces.
The problem is that Russia's motivation and reliability are in doubt.
At times, the Russians have claimed they lack authority, and that only Assad can dictate which foreign forces are allowed on Syrian territory. On other occasions, Russia reached understandings with Israel that Iranian forces, Hezbollah fighters, and Shia militias would be kept 60 kilometers from the Israeli border.
But despite Moscow taking responsibility for enforcing these rules, they were regularly violated. And Israel has felt compelled to hit Iranian installations, equipment, and personnel at numerous other locations in Syria to prevent the entrenchment of capabilities that threaten Israeli territory.
Can adding the United States to the discussion change the equation? Israel Channel 13's Barak Ravid reported this week that Washington has already made clear to Russia in recent weeks that it fully supports Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, and that the removal of Iranian forces is an American demand, no less than an Israeli one.
But American leverage in Syria is limited. As the campaign to defeat ISIS wound down, President Trump made it clear that he desired the full removal of U.S. troops from Syria. While some forces remain, Russia may understandably doubt the U.S. commitment. And talks on post-war arrangements in Syria have largely been conducted between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, without U.S. representatives present.
Israel and the United States need to use the opportunity of this joint meeting to create incentives that would persuade Russia to finally curtail the Iranian presence in Syria.
For the U.S., which is edging toward relaunching nuclear talks with Iran, that may include giving Russia a seat at the table, or even a key intermediary role. There is a trade-off in such an offer. Russia does not favor an Iranian nuclear weapon. But it continues to support the Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from, and would certainly seek fewer restrictions on Iran going forward than would either the United States or Israel.
At the same time, Russia wants to avoid a military conflict between the United States and Iran. The destabilizing impacts of such a clash, or of the collapse of the Iranian regime, are one reason, but not the main one.
What Russia most wants to avoid is a scenario that necessitates a surge of U.S. forces back into the Middle East. With two consecutive U.S. administrations seeking to limit and decrease American military commitments in the region, Russia, fully invested in Syria, enjoys greater regional influence than it has had in decades. So Moscow will try to use diplomacy, including urging Iranian concessions, to minimize the chance of a U.S.-Iranian conflict.
There are also risks associated with these talks that Israel and the United States must avoid.
One is that Russia would seek to divide the two allies, or indeed, to use Israeli pressure to get the United States to make unacceptable concessions to Russia. Netanyahu, whose last two trips to Moscow sandwiched his March visit to Washington, has positioned himself as something of an intermediary between Trump and Putin, helping advance a dialogue both leaders seem to want but have found hard to conduct.
But Israel and the United States could find themselves facing a dilemma. Patrushev might seek, for example, a reduction in U.S. sanctions over Russia's aggression against Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in exchange for Russia agreeing to expel Iran from Syria.
The United States should not take this deal, which would sacrifice core strategic interests in Europe in exchange for dubious Russian promises in the Middle East. And Israel should not find itself in a position of urging the United States to follow this course. Bolton would be wise to rule out such a Ukraine-for-Syria trade before these talks commence.
One more risk is that Israel could get pulled into high-stakes U.S. domestic politics. Although Trump felt exonerated by the Mueller report, Congressional investigations into his campaign’s relations with Russia, his financial dealings with Russian partners, and his obstruction of all such inquiries are ongoing and could yet lead to impeachment proceedings. An Israeli role as the facilitator of what Trump seems to most long for and what his critics view with the greatest suspicion - a normalized relationship with Putin - could cast Israel into the midst of a drama in which it wants no part.
Israel has every reason to pursue its strategic interests, which include using the warm Netanyahu-Putin channel and this new trilateral format to try to minimize Iranian threats in Syria. But it is better off pursuing those goals without becoming a player in the biggest political showdown Washington is capable of.
*Daniel B. Shapiro is Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017. Twitter: @DanielBShapiro

Bush/Al-Qaeda Vs. Trump/Iran: Comparisons and Probabilities
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 05/2019
Some critics have suggested that former President George W. Bush – following the 9/11 attacks - acted as a Roman emperor. Some, for example, concluded that he adopted the arbitrariness of the two pagan emperors, Nero and Caracalla, and was inspired by the two Christian emperors Constantine and Justinian in the Holy War. George W. had very humble intellectual abilities. His modesty degenerates into illiteracy when it comes to foreign policy. But the crime of Osama bin Laden in New York and Washington ignited his term.
This was how he turned into the emperor that we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq, and later in Guantanamo. Before 9/11, his authority seemed to be lacking legitimacy. He won with a small difference of 537 votes in Florida, which is governed by his own brother, Jeb Bush!
His Democratic rival and former vice-president, Al Gore, preceded him by nearly half a million votes. Moreover, as soon as he was elected to the presidency, his supporters returned to their senses and were aware of what they had done: his popularity was rapidly falling apart in public opinion polls. But after 9/11, everything changed. The rescuing hero emerged from a cosmic error. Because of his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the accompanying mobilization, this modest person was compared to Napoleon Bonaparte: He had a message to the world.
Indeed, bin Laden’s gift was for Bush a generous opportunity to showcase intelligence and heroism. They said he was not only eradicating terrorism and spreading democracy, but also reshaping the world in a fairer and juster way.
The myths of good and evil, and “either with us or against us,” were spread through Bush’s doing. A bunch of Manichaean values - promoted upside down by bin Laden himself – came to life under the US president’s rule. The two are almost twins in their mythical consciousness, but each of them pretends to be the good twin of his villain brother.
Nonetheless, because of the bin Laden strike, the modest president was again elected to the head of a very complex country. George W. Bush is a genius compared to Donald Trump. But there are fears that the latter will find in Tehran what the former found in Al-Qaeda, that is, the substance that turns him into an extraordinary leader in intelligence, knowledge, and courage. Indeed, amidst a US-Iranian climate of war, he announced that he would launch his campaign for a second presidential term, and many expect him to succeed. There is an important point to highlight in this regard: Trump has reached the White House with an incomplete legitimacy: On the one hand, his rival, Hillary Clinton, preceded him with a big number of votes, and on the other hand, his election was surrounded by several suspicions - not completely dissipated - on the Russian role behind his victory.
It is Iran that can turn him into a champion and a wise man, just as Al-Qaeda did with George W. Bush. It can precisely do so because of its permanent policy of war and aggression. Since the early days of its revolution, Iran began spreading the theory of “exporting the revolution” that has made millions of fearful people support a murderer like Saddam Hussein and regard him as the savior, even through an invasion.
This theory culminated with Iran’s intervention in Syria, which was supported by its sectarian arms in Lebanon and Iraq. Today, there is an expansionist octopus that scares its neighbors as much as it tries to change the face of the region, not in response to the wishes of its people, but by a will dictated by Tehran. All this may be shadowed by a nuclear weapon that expands the fear of Iran as much as it deepens it. Those reasons are not necessarily the same reasons that make Trump move. But the probability of war - despite its decline that is met with legitimate satisfaction – cannot be discarded indefinitely. Such a war can turn Trump into a hero whom the legend will call the Dragon Assassin. All his failures, in this case, will turn into great successes.
His childish narcissism, his attitude towards foreigners and women, his walls policy, his threat to international trade, his isolationist tendency, his hostility to liberal democracy, the media and the judiciary… all this package will become part of a shining program that is worthy only of immortal leaders. As Ariel Sharon found in the war launched by George W. Bush a cover to resume his attack on the Palestinians and put it within the framework of fighting terrorism, an American-Iranian war will provide many Sharons with arguments, from “fighting terrorism” to “resisting imperialism”, always accompanied with destruction and blood. The world plight will further deepen, and conscience will be one of its first victims. Extremism, violence, and fear create false heroes... Many saw in the October Communist and Russian Revolution of 1917 one of the reasons for the subsequent rise of fascism in Europe. And so on...

Beijing, Washington and the Policy of Neutrality
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 05/2019
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly magazine Al-Majalla. He is also a senior columnist in the daily newspapers Al-Madina and Al-Bilad.
The dispute over the Huawei communications network is just one battle in a major dispute between China and the US that did not begin yesterday. There is also the issue of Taiwan, the dispute over China’s maritime borders, and the security of Washington’s allies in the region.
There is no doubt that China is an amazing country in its ability to rise as a modern force that is moving forward under an ambitious and quiet program, and expanding throughout the globe and world markets, militarily, technically and economically.
It is clear that we are leaving behind the American unipolar world, which emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. An open multipolar conflict may begin unless the major powers succeed in containing and organizing it.
Later on, this conflict will reach our region, the Middle East, dividing it in the same way it was divided for decades by the Soviet-American conflict. In the meantime, China has smoothly crept into Asia and Africa and under the watchful eyes of Western institutions, which doubt its ultimate goals, and speculate that China is concealing a major project to dominate sources and markets.
It is not new to say that the technological revolution caused the conflict and that a new Cold War is coming. The last Cold War lasted for decades following the invention of nuclear weapons; and, although the fear of mass destruction led to the cessation of major wars, it ignited small wars instead. The dispute over Huawei is mostly about security, although the economic aspect is no less important. China’s dominance in the field of telecommunications networks worries the US, as it could pose a threat to its military capabilities.
Most of its strategic weapons — including flights, nuclear weapons and submarines — are operated and controlled by telecommunications. Otherwise, had it been merely an economic competition, the Americans would have struck a partnership deal with the Chinese for access to their markets; as is usually the case in the division of business interests.
So far, China seems to have no desire to play a political role on the international stage, especially in our region. However, the American-Chinese confrontation may leave no room for choice, and we will have no option but to return to the world of axes, where every government has to position itself in one camp, against the other. The controversy over Huawei’s right to deploy its fifth generation network opens up differences at a time when it was assumed that cooperation and coexistence could prevail in a world governed by norms and bodies. The likes of the World Trade Organization have heralded an economic globalization that brought countries and peoples closer to a vast global market.
What was the Cold War for those who do not know or remember it? It was a collection of wars fought with conventional weapons in places such as the Congo, Southeast Asia and Indonesia, where the two superpowers were not directly involved. The Middle East was the broadest theater of smaller wars, and the conflicts of the superpowers in this area are likely to become worse later. The Russian-American conflict in Ukraine and the Crimea was one reason for Russia’s intervention in Syria, as well as the ongoing war between Moscow and Washington there.
What about avoiding alliances? Well, those who believe that there is a place for neutrality in this world are wrong. Founded during the Cold War, the Non-Aligned Movement, which has a membership has that reached 120 states, not only had no influence whatsoever, but member states were still willingly or unwillingly aligned to one of the superpowers at the time. In the years of building up its global position, we have known China as a neutral country that has avoided confrontation and succeeded in not getting involved in wars, despite appeals and attempts to seek its help. But who knows what might happen after the “battle of Huawei” and whether Beijing would be willing to continue with its old policy of neutrality or if it will adopt explicit positions in conflicts and behave accordingly?