English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 14/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile
First Letter of Peter 01/17-21/:”If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 13-14/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/

Report: Paris Says Sanctions on Obstructors in Lebanon Drawing Closer
U.S. State Department Announces Hale's Official to Visit Beirut
Lebanon’s president says new maritime claim needs government approval
Aoun Puts on Hold Decree Expanding Sea Area Disputed with Israel
Lebanon’s Hezbollah may attack US interests in region: Intelligence report
1 Dead, 2 Hurt in Tripoli Clash over Food Rations
Hariri to Visit Moscow this Week
Pro-Berri MP Says One-Third-Plus-One Hurdle Delaying Govt.
FPM Bloc Says Hariri Thwarting 'Every Positive Idea'
Lebanon Opposition Wants Joint Election Push to Oust Elite
Salameh: BDL is the Last Solid Pillar for Lebanon
More Reports Surface on Swiss Probe of Salameh and His Brother
Lebanese Scale Back Ramadan Meals amid Soaring Inflation
Ramadan in Lebanon limited due to high inflation, virus restrictions/Najia Houssari/Arab News/April 13, 2021
Lebanon civil war survivors say today’s crisis even worse/Layal Abou Rahal/The Arab News/April 13/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 13-14/2021

CDC and FDA recommend US pause use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine
Report: Israel on Maximum Alert over Possible Iranian Attacks
Israeli-owned ship attacked off UAE coast
Iran to begin enriching uranium at 60 pct purity: State media
Israel's Netanyahu says will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons
US invites senior Israeli official to Washington as potential Iran deal fuels concern
Israel navy on alert after freight ship hit by Iranian missile off UAE coast: Sources
EU sanctions elite Iran commander, seven others over 2019 protests
G7 foreign ministers’ statement on Ukraine
Biden delays withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan until September
Kuwait court orders pre-trial detention of former prime minister: Media
Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny has difficulty speaking, loses more weight, wife says
Suez Canal chief: Vessel impounded amid financial dispute over blockage
Egypt Frees Journalist Khaled Dawoud
Syrian President Sacks Central Bank Governor
Jordan Royal Feud Stirs Unease in Saudi Arabia

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 13-14/2021

Israel sends message to Biden with Iran attack/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/April 13, 2021
Klaxons Should Be Sounding in U.S. After Natanz Hit/Bobby Ghosh/Bloomberg/April 13/2021
Saudi Arabia Sentences Aid Worker to 20 Years/Varsha Koduvayur/Policy Brief-FDD/April 13/2021
Inside Iran’s torture prisons: Tehran quick to jail those with pro-Israel ties/Benjamin Weinthal/Fox News/April 13/2021 |
A Closer Look at Israel’s New High-Tech Barrier/Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer/FDD/April 13/2021
Turkey’s Courtship with China Spells Trouble for Uyghurs/Aykan Erdemir and Umut Can Fidan/The National Interest/April 13/2021
Anticipating the Biden Administration’s New North Korea Policy/David Maxwell/The National Interest/April 13/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 13-14/2021

Report: Paris Says Sanctions on Obstructors in Lebanon Drawing Closer
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
Diplomatic sources from the French capital reported that Paris is likely to issue imminent punitive steps against parties delaying the formation of a government in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. The sources also spoke of a “strongly-worded” statement that will be issued by the Elysee or the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, preceding or associated with these sanctions. The diplomatic sources say that French officials view with suspicion and concern the escalation of political tension in Lebanon, which they say appears to be contrived, worsening and complicating the crisis even more. Paris and the international community share the same concern over the situation in Lebanon, and have therefore repeatedly urged Lebanese leaders through relentless communication channels to assume responsibility towards their country. “Time is very short, Paris’s commitment to impose sanctions is a final obligation. Certainly, the French position after the sanctions will take an ascending form, unless the Lebanese side issues sure and urgent signals that contradict all the previous course, and reflect a serious and tangible direction of a firm commitment to the French initiative and the formation of a government,” French sources in Paris said on condition of anonymity. “In conclusion, the ball today is in the court of the obstructors to take advantage of the opportunity that is still available to Lebanese leaders to reach this understanding and avoid pressures and sanctions,” they added.

U.S. State Department Announces Hale's Official to Visit Beirut
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
The US State Department announced Monday it will send a senior official to voice the administration's "concern" over the worsening social and political situation in Lebanon. Under-secretary for political affairs David Hale, the third-highest ranking State Department official, will travel to Beirut from April 13-15, the department said in a statement. "He will underscore America's concerns with the worsening socio-economic conditions throughout the country and the political impasse that is contributing to the deteriorating situation," the statement said. Lebanon is in the midst of its worst financial crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Endless political deadlock, as well as alleged corruption and negligence, have given way to the financial slump now sounding a death knell for a fragile middle class. Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market, and prices have soared.
Yet authorities have done little to stem a crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 6,700 people, and by last year's port blast that cost more than 200 lives and ravaged swathes of Beirut. "Under Secretary Hale will press Lebanese officials and party leaders to come together and form a government capable of and committed to implementing economic and governance reforms," the department statement said.
 

Lebanon’s president says new maritime claim needs government approval
Reuters/April 13, 2021
Aoun's decision could significantly delay the process
Israeli Energy Minister said Monday Lebanon's expanded claim would derail talks
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president said on Tuesday a draft decree expanding its maritime claims in a dispute with Israel must be approved by the caretaker government, rejecting a request to grant it swift presidential approval.
The dispute with Israel over the maritime boundary has held up hydrocarbon exploration in a potentially gas-rich area of the eastern Mediterranean. The decree, approved by Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, defense minister and minister of public work on Monday, would add around 1,400 square km (540 square miles) to an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean claimed by Lebanon. Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s office said the decree should be approved by President Michel Aoun so that the new maritime coordinates setting out Lebanon’s claim could be submitted to the United Nations. But the presidency said it should be approved by Diab’s full cabinet, even though the government resigned eight months ago following a devastating explosion in Beirut, because of the gravity of the issue. The draft decree “needs a collective decision from the council of ministers..., even under a caretaker government, due to its importance and the consequences,” a statement from Aoun’s office said. Aoun’s decision could significantly delay the process. Since the government resigned in August it has referred all issues for exceptional approval by the president, leaving them to get formal endorsement when a new government is finally agreed. Negotiations were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute with Israel yet the talks, a culmination of three years of diplomacy by the United States, have since stalled. Israel already pumps gas from offshore fields but Lebanon has yet to find commercial gas reserves in its own waters. Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday Lebanon’s expanded claim would derail the talks rather than help work toward a common solution, warning that Israel would implement “parallel measures.” Lebanon, in the throes of a deep financial meltdown that is threatening its stability, is desperate for cash as it faces the worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. But political leaders have failed to bridge their differences and form a new government.

Aoun Puts on Hold Decree Expanding Sea Area Disputed with Israel
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
President Michel Aoun on Tuesday put on hold a decree expanding the sea area disputed with Israel, citing the need for a Cabinet meeting. The decree was signed Monday by caretaker PM Hassan Diab and the caretaker ministers of public works and defense before being sent to the Presidency for an “extraordinary approval.”“The draft decree received from the Premiership for the amendment of Decree 6433 requires a decision taken during a Cabinet session, according to the opinion of the Legislation and Consultations Committee” of the Justice Ministry, “even amid the presence of a caretaker cabinet,” the Presidency said in a statement. “It is up to the president of the republic to specify what he sees best to preserve the country and he is entrusted with this according to the constitution and his oath,” the Presidency added. “The President calls on the Lebanese to trust the strength of the Lebanese stance and he reassures them that things will only go in a manner that fully preserves Lebanon’s territorial and maritime rights,” the Presidency said. “Mr. President takes into consideration the repercussions and all the circumstances that oblige him to take such stances that relate to the country’s safety,” Aoun says in the memo sent to the Premiership. The amended decree signed by Diab and the two ministers would formally extend Lebanon's claims by 1,430 square kilometers. Lebanon and Israel began indirect talks with U.S. mediation in October to reach a deal over the disputed area that is believed to be rich with oil and natural gas deposits. The meetings that stopped few weeks later were being held at a U.N. post along the border of the two nations that remain technically in a state of war. The negotiations were the first non-security talks to be held between Lebanon and Israel, which have no diplomatic relations following decades of conflict. Resolving the border issue could pave the way for lucrative oil and gas deals on both sides. In late October, the Lebanese delegation to the talks -- a mix of army generals and professionals -- offered a new map that pushes for an additional 1,430 square kilometers. This area is to be included in Lebanese territory on top of the already disputed 860 square kilometer-area of the Mediterranean Sea that each side claims is within their own exclusive economic zones. The developments come as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale was expected in Lebanon on Tuesday to meet Lebanese officials. Lebanon is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history and had plans to start drilling in search for oil and gas in the disputed area this year. Israel has already developed offshore natural gas rigs, producing enough for domestic consumption and export abroad. Lebanon hopes that its own oil and gas discoveries will help alleviate its long-running economic troubles. In the first Israeli response to the move by the Lebanese ministers, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz warned Monday that any “unilateral” Lebanese steps will be met by “Israeli counter-steps.”
“This is not the first time in the past 20 years that the Lebanese have changed their maritime maps for propaganda purposes and to express a ‘patriotic stance’, and by this they are obstructing themselves one time after another,” the Israeli minister added.
 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah may attack US interests in region: Intelligence report
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/13 April ,2021
Lebanon’s Hezbollah may conduct attacks against US interests, and the Iran-backed group continues to try to push the United States out of the region, an intelligence report released Tuesday said. “We expect Hezbollah, in coordination with Iran and other Iran-aligned Shia militants, to continue developing terrorist capabilities as a deterrent, as retaliatory options, and as instruments of coercion against its adversaries,” the US intelligence assessment said. According to the 2021 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, Hezbollah might conduct attacks against US and allied interests in response to rising tensions in the Middle East and as part of its effort to push the United States out of the region.” The annual report focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the US for the upcoming year.The report said that China was the leading threat to US national security, but Russia was also an immediate threat after Beijing. Iran and North Korea were also deemed to be top threats to the US. Later this week, newly confirmed CIA director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines will testify and be asked about the report. US invites senior Israeli official to Washington as potential Iran deal fuels concern. “The diffusion of the terrorist threat globally, competing priorities for many countries, and in some cases decreased Western [counterterrorism] assistance probably will expand opportunities for terrorists and provide them space to recover from recent setbacks,” Tuesday’s report said when discussing Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s efforts to reduce US influence in Lebanon particularly and across the Middle East more generally intensified after former President Donald Trump ordered the killing of a top Iranian general in 2020, the report suggested. “Hezbollah maintains the capability to target, both directly and indirectly, US interests inside Lebanon, in the region, overseas, and—to a lesser extent—in the United States,” the report said. As for Hezbollah’s backers in Iran, US intelligence assesses that Tehran is determined to maintain influence in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is pursuing a permanent military presence and economic deals in Syria as the conflict winds down, the US said. “Tehran almost certainly wants these things to build its regional influence, support Hezbollah, and threaten Israel,” the report stated. In Yemen, Iran will remain a destabilizing force a

1 Dead, 2 Hurt in Tripoli Clash over Food Rations
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
One person was killed and two people were wounded in a clash Tuesday in the northern city of Tripoli. The National News Agency said the clash, in Tripoli’s al-Khnaq area, erupted between a number of young men over “the distribution of food rations in the area.”Army troops and Internal Security Forces members later arrived on the scene of the clash, which involved gunfire, and investigations got underway, NNA added.
 

Hariri to Visit Moscow this Week
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri received an invitation from his Russian counterpart to visit Moscow, Hariri’s press office said in a statement. Hariri will head to Moscow on Wednesday at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, said the statement. During his visit he will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mishustin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a number of officials, it added.

Pro-Berri MP Says One-Third-Plus-One Hurdle Delaying Govt.
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
The efforts of Speaker Nabih Berri towards all parties are aimed at “reaching a government of independent, nonpartisan specialists according to the French initiative,” a pro-Berri MP has said. The lawmaker, Ali Bazzi, added in an interview on al-Hurra TV that the so-called one-third-plus-one obstacle is still preventing a “breakthrough” in the crisis. And while ruling out a “major explosion” in the country, Bazzi urged those concerned with the government’s formation to “shoulder their responsibilities and prove their commitment to the salvation process, away from the approach of share splitting and partisan calculations.”

FPM Bloc Says Hariri Thwarting 'Every Positive Idea'
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday accused PM-designate Saad Hariri of thwarting “every positive idea” regarding the cabinet formation crisis. “The PM-designate is still standing idly by, seeing as whenever a positive idea is proposed he thwarts it, the last of which was the 24-minister format, which did not include any one-third-plus-one share for any party,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly e-meeting. “This is an additional proof that he does not want to form the government now and is escaping forward, inventing dates, sparking problems, undermining balances and creating disputes,” the bloc added. “He has a responsibility to openly tell the people that he does not want to form the government now because he fears to shoulder the responsibilities of lifting subsidization, demarcating the border, the forensic audit, the needed reforms and the difficult decisions,” Strong Lebanon charged.
 

Lebanon Opposition Wants Joint Election Push to Oust Elite
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
A coalition of Lebanese civil society groups and parties called Tuesday for a unified electoral bloc to try to defeat traditional leaders in 2022 polls. The joint appeal by 16 groups, including the National Bloc, Beirut Madinati and Mintishreen, marks the most concerted effort yet towards forming an opposition umbrella to take on the ruling elite in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2022. "We are calling on all forces of change and the different revolutionary groups... to unify their ranks and work together towards forming the widest possible opposition bloc," spokesperson Nada Sehnaoui said. "Together, we will develop a joint plan for our participation in parliamentary polls through joint opposition lists," she told a Beirut press conference held at the National Bloc's headquarters. The groups taking part so far have mostly coalesced around a 2019 protest movement demanding the wholesale removal of political leaders widely deemed inept and corrupt. They will run against established parties, many of which have been in power since the 1975-1990 civil war. The coronavirus pandemic and last year's monster explosion at Beirut port that killed more than 200 people drained much of Lebanon's revolutionary momentum. But anger is still rife over an economic crisis that has left more than 50 percent of the population below the poverty line. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the dollar in a devaluation that has eaten away at salaries and savings. Consumer prices have skyrocketed and more people now depend on handouts and aid deliveries to survive. "We don't have time to waste," Sehnaoui said. "Hunger is stalking the vast majority of our people and the fate of our country is at stake."

Salameh: BDL is the Last Solid Pillar for Lebanon
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
The Central Bank governor Riad Salameh affirmed on Tuesday that "the central bank remains the last solid pillar for the country."In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Salameh stressed that he had not “embezzled money from the central bank’s account, not directly or indirectly.”
“I explained on April 8, 2020 the assets of my fortune by showing documents that prove that I own $ 23 million in 1993, before I assumed the presidency of the Central Bank,” added Salameh. In response to a question about accusations of illicit enrichment, he said: “I did not have any illegitimate money or embezzled funds from the Central Fund, either directly or indirectly. I have previously declared all my assets, including those outside (Lebanon), and I also have no phantom name. "

More Reports Surface on Swiss Probe of Salameh and His Brother
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
From the British Virgin Islands to Geneva, Swiss prosecutors are tracking the suspected fund movements of Lebanon's central bank chief Riad Salameh, a Swiss newspaper reported Tuesday. The Swiss attorney general's office said in January it was investigating "aggravated money laundering... in connection with possible embezzlement to the detriment of" the Lebanese central bank. It said it had requested judicial assistance from Lebanon. Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper reported at the time that the probe was part of a wider effort spearheaded by France, Britain and the United States to investigate the activities of Lebanese officials, including Salameh. On Tuesday, Le Temps reported it had seen the Swiss judicial assistance request and that it listed a series of movements of funds between Lebanon and Switzerland. According to the Swiss daily, the funds, worth more than $300 million (251 million euros), had been moved by Riad Salameh and his brother Raja. Contacted by AFP, the Swiss attorney general's office confirmed Tuesday that its aggravated money laundering probe involving Lebanon's central bank was ongoing, but refrained from further comment. In January, judicial sources told AFP that a Lebanon judge had referred Salameh to judicial investigation over his mishandling of a foreign currency scheme meant to stem skyrocketing food prices.
In February, a Lebanese prosecutor passed on to Switzerland information they had requested as part of their investigation into Salameh, a judicial source told AFP.
Multiple accounts
The Swiss request to the Lebanese authorities highlighted a contract signed on April 6, 2002 between Lebanon's central bank and a company called Forry Associates Ltd, Le Temps reported. Raja Salameh is listed as the beneficiary and while the company is registered in Britain's Virgin Islands overseas territory, it has an office in Beirut. That contract, reportedly signed by Riad Salameh and his brother, appears to have authorized Forry Associates to sell treasury bonds and Eurobonds issued by the Lebanese central bank, at a commission. This arrangement enabled Forry Associates to boost its account at the HSBC Private Bank in Geneva by $326 million between April 2002 and October 2014, according to the judicial assistance request seen by Le Temps. Most of the money that landed in the account, which listed Raja Salameh as the beneficiary, was reportedly immediately transferred to his personal account at HSBC, and on to five Lebanese establishments. The request revealed that Riad Salemeh had also opened an account with Julius Baer in Zurich in 2008 through a company called Westlake Commercial Inc based in Panama City, Le Temps reported.Another account was reportedly opened with UBS in 2012, yet another with Credit Suisse in 2016, and finally one with the Geneva Banque Pictet in 2018.
Real estate probe
In its judicial assistance request, the attorney general's office also voices suspicions that Riad Salameh obtained real estate holdings in Switzerland through two companies based in Geneva, Le Temps reported.
The news comes as Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with more than half of its population mired in poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar on the black market in a devaluation that has eaten away at pensions and salaries. Lebanese banks have limited access to pound deposits and halted all dollar transactions since 2019 to stem a liquidity crunch and shore up dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
 

Lebanese Scale Back Ramadan Meals amid Soaring Inflation
Associated Press/April 13, 2021
Muslims in many parts of the world marked the start of Ramadan on Tuesday, but a spike in coronavirus cases in several countries has once again put curbs on the holy month's signature feasts and lengthy prayers in mosques. In Lebanon, most Muslims began Ramadan on Tuesday amid soaring inflation. The small country is in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, with the Lebanese currency losing some 80% of its value against the U.S. dollar in past months. The crisis -- a result of decades of endemic corruption and mismanagement -- has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Many people were having to scale back their Ramadan preparations. "We cannot buy anything. We ask how much the lettuce is, the cucumber and the tomato," said Samiyeh al-Turk at a busy open air market in Beirut Monday. "How we are going to get through the month of Ramadan? I don't know," she added.

Ramadan in Lebanon limited due to high inflation, virus restrictions
Najia Houssari/Arab News/April 13, 2021
Iftar events banned as new curfew goes into effect and donations are fleeting during the holy month
People ask me about the prices, and when I answer, they seem very unhappy. Some even beg me to give them lower prices. But the truth is, I am one of these people. I am suffering just like them
BEIRUT: The social events, traditions and gatherings usually celebrated during Ramadan will be very different this year in Lebanon as the country continues to grapple with unprecedented economic collapse and a coronavirus (COVID-19) surge.
Leading up to the holy month, preparations for Ramadan were slight in Beirut as only a few signs reminding people to donate could be seen in the city’s main streets. Charity foundations usually rely on the month of Ramadan every year to collect donations but the country’s ability to give is fleeting.
“More than 50 percent of the Lebanese now live under the poverty line,” World Bank Group Vice President for Middle East and North Africa Farid Belhaj said on April 4.
In an attempt to combat the spread of the virus, the National Disaster Management Operations Room imposed a new curfew that applies during Ramadan from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. It has also banned all iftar events.
Charitable organizations can distribute food to houses, but only after obtaining a permit from the electronic platform. The capacity of worshippers at mosques will be limited to 30 percent while restaurants and cafes, which have already endured several months of lockdown, will be closed again during the holy month. The price inflation has become a daily nightmare for the Lebanese, and with the arrival of Ramadan, the prices of essential goods, like vegetables and fruits, have increased even further due to the high demand.
“The price of one kilo of beef has increased to between 60 and 70,000 pounds and a kilo of taouk chicken was sold at 50,000 pounds on the first day of Ramadan,” Abbas Ali Salim, a butcher shop owner in Beirut’s southern suburbs, told Arab News.
“People ask me about the prices, and when I answer, they seem very unhappy. Some even beg me to give them lower prices. But the truth is, I am one of these people. I am suffering just like them. The black market is trading the state-subsidized meat, monopolized by traders who are controlling the prices.”
Due to inflation, the cost of a typical iftar meal — lentil soup, fattoush salad, a main dish of chicken and rice, a half a cup of yogurt and a single date — has reached more than 60,000 Lebanese pounds, according to the crisis observatory at the American University of Beirut.
By those estimates, a full month of iftar meals for a family of five would cost 1.8 million pounds, which is much higher than the Lebanese minimum wage of 675,000 pounds. This cost does not even cover the juices, desserts, gas, electricity or cleaning material used for cooking.
Researchers at the observatory said a fattoush salad for a small family that cost 6,000 pounds during Ramadan last year, now costs 18,500 pounds. This means that the cost of a daily salad during this year’s Ramadan would be about 82 percent of the minimum wage.
The observatory feared that families might cope with the inflation by “cutting quantities or opting for cheaper alternatives to replace vegetables and meat, which would result in malnutrition.”
Mohammad Chamseddine, a researcher from the independent studies and statistics company Information International, said: “The prices of basic goods in Ramadan have increased by between 25 and 100 percent, with a significant reduction in sales, as the purchasing power of the Lebanese, especially those getting paid in Lebanese pounds, has eroded.” Ramadan has also been affected by the country’s slow COVID-19 vaccination plan, which started in February. Lebanon's Health Minister Hamad Hassan said on Tuesday that “over 20 percent of the Lebanese people have developed immunity, either through infection or vaccination.”
s Tehran’s support to the Houthis poses a threat to US partners and interests, “notably through strikes on Saudi Arabia.” Turning to Afghanistan, where the US said on Tuesday that its troops would be withdrawn by September, Iran “will hedge its bets in Afghanistan, and its actions may threaten instability.”

Lebanon civil war survivors say today’s crisis even worse
Layal Abou Rahal/The Arab News/April 13/2021
BEIRUT-During the civil war that ended over 30 years ago Abla Barotta survived shelling and clashes, but she now fears a “slow death” from Lebanon’s worst economic crisis in decades. The 58-year-old mother of three is a survivor who worries she will soon join the more than 50 percent of Lebanese today living in poverty. Echoing a common refrain on television and at public gatherings, Barotta said even the worst days of the war weren’t this tough. “We used to hide in houses or basements every time we heard shelling during the war, but today, where can we go to hide from hunger, the economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and our political leaders?” she said. “We used to fear death from bombardment or sniper fire, but now we fear everything: illness, poverty and hunger.”Her voice lowering to a whisper, she added: “To die from shelling is better, at least there is no suffering… while today, we suffer and die slowly every day.”Lebanon on Tuesday marks 46 years since clashes erupted in Beirut between Lebanese Christians and Palestinians backed by leftist and Muslim factions, marking the start of a 15-year conflict that drew in regional powers Israel and Syria. At the time, the country was divided into warring sectarian fiefdoms. But many still managed to preserve a semblance of normal life between bouts of heightened violence and kidnappings. The wheels of Lebanon’s economy kept turning, bolstered by money and weapons sent to warring parties from abroad. But after the conflict ended in 1990, with 150,000 people killed and 17,000 missing, bitter political divisions continued to plague the country.
Curious absence of the state
Endless political deadlock, as well as alleged corruption and negligence, finally gave way to a financial slump now sounding the death knell for a fragile middle class. Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market and prices have soared. Customers have come to blows in supermarkets to secure fast-selling subsidised products, while shortages in pharmacies have made buying medicines akin to hunting for treasure. Yet authorities have done little to stem a crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 6,600 people and by last year’s port blast, which cost more than 200 lives and ravaged swathes of Beirut. “The war was ugly… but we never lived through anything like this economic crisis,” Barotta said in her Beirut home, which was hard hit by the August 4 explosion. Her first-floor flat in an old building in the Mar Mikhail neighbourhood next to the port has since been renovated and her neck has healed from a blast injury. But she said there is plenty left to worry about. “This anxiety over whether we will be able to eat tomorrow… we’ve never lived that before,” she said. “Sometimes I can’t sleep at night.”In the blast-strewn Karantina district, also next to the port, Jean Saliba pointed to gutted buildings awaiting renovation and listed the names of families who lost loved ones in Lebanon’s worst peace-time disaster. Karantina has since become a stomping ground for non-governmental groups spearheading the reconstruction effort. “We haven’t seen the state,” said Saliba, a 63-year-old former civil servant. “If it weren’t for the money and food handouts distributed by NGOs, people wouldn’t have had the strength to go on.”
Tough juncture
Saliba called the monster blast a “collective catastrophe” that made the war-time suffering look like “a drop in the ocean.” During the war, people could go back to work when bombardment slowed, he said. But with current unemployment rates approaching 40 percent, many don’t have jobs to return to. “Who can earn money at all today?” the father of three asked. “Economically, we are finished.” Elsewhere in the capital, Victor Abu Kheir sat idly inside his small barber shop in the Hamra neighbourhood. “There are days when I only have one customer, or two at most,” the 77-year-old said, wearing an apron. Since it opened in 1965, the shop’s decor has remained unchanged, its black leather armchair and glass cabinets harking back to a brighter past. The civil war days, Abu Kheir said, were more “merciful” than those of today’s crisis, even if he was briefly kidnapped and survived gunfire hitting his shop. “No one prefers war, but those days were better,” he said, adding that he only ever lowered his blinds when bombardment spiked. “There was money and the people were comfortable.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 13-14/2021

CDC and FDA recommend US pause use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine
CNN/April 13/2021
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over six reported US cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot. The six reported cases were among more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States. All six cases occurred among women ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination, according to a joint statement on Tuesday from Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Report: Israel on Maximum Alert over Possible Iranian Attacks
Naharnet/April 13, 2021
Israel has entered into a state of maximum alert to confront Iranian threats amid tensions linked to a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility and a suspected Iranian attack on an Israeli commercial ship, Al-Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday. “Israeli media circles have said that the ship attack is the beginning of a series of Iranian attacks,” Al-Arabiya’s correspondent in Israel said. “The Israeli navy, including submarines, have been put on a state of maximum alert,” the correspondent added. “Israel fears that Iranian missiles could be fired from Syria or from ships and it also fears booby-trapped drones,” the correspondent went on to say. The report came around an hour after Israeli officials blamed Iran for an attack Tuesday on an Israeli commercial ship off the UAE’s Fujairah. It also comes a day after Iran accused Israel of a bomb attack on its Natanz nuclear facility and vowed retaliation.
 

Israeli-owned ship attacked off UAE coast
AFP/April 13, 2021
Israeli officials blame Iran for attack near port of Fujairah
JERUSALEM: An Israeli-operated ship was attacked Tuesday off the UAE opposite the Iranian coast, Israeli media said, in the latest apparent escalation between the Jewish state and the Islamic republic. Security sources, quoted by Israel's Channel 12 television, said the vessel Hyperion Ray was "lightly damaged" near the Emirati port of Fujairah, with Iran suspected of carrying out the attack. Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen television channel, believed to be close to Iran and Syria, also reported that the Bahamas-flagged Hyperion Ray, operated by Israeli firm Ray Shipping, had come under fire. The firm had another of its ships, Helios Ray, come under attack in February, hit by a blast off Oman while headed from the Saudi city of Dammam to Singapore. Iran at the time denied Israeli charges that it carried out the attack.
 

Iran to begin enriching uranium at 60 pct purity: State media
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/13 April/2021
Iran will begin enriching uranium at 60 percent purity starting Wednesday, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi announced on Tuesday, state media reported.“Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its plan to start 60 percent uranium enrichment as of Wednesday,” Iran’s Press TV cited Araghchi as saying. The announcement comes after an attack on Sunday on Natanz, a key nuclear site in central Iran, for which Tehran has held arch-foe Israel responsible. Iranian authorities have described the attack as “nuclear terrorism” and vowed revenge. Israel has not commented on the incident. Iran will “soon” replace the centrifuges that were damaged in Sunday’s attack on Natanz, as well as install an additional 1,000 centrifuges of 50 percent higher enrichment capacity at the nuclear site, Araghchi said, according to Press TV. Shortly after the announcement, Iranian state media reported that talks scheduled for Wednesday in Vienna between Iran and world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been postponed to Thursday “due to a member of the European Union delegation contracting coronavirus.” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had said in February Tehran might enrich uranium up to 60 percent purity if the country needed it. “Iran’s uranium enrichment level will not be limited to 20 percent. We will increase it to whatever level the country needs ... We may increase it to 60 percent,” Khamenei said at the time.

Israel's Netanyahu says will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons
Reuters/April 13/2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran has never given up efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and that Israel will not allow Tehran to build them. The Israeli leader, addressing reporters with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at his side, made no comment about Iran’s accusation that Israel had sabotaged its key Natanz nuclear site. “Iran has never given up its quest for nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them,” Netanyahu said. “I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of elminating Israel.”Iran says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.

US invites senior Israeli official to Washington as potential Iran deal fuels concern
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/13 April ,2021
The United States on Tuesday invited a top Israeli official to visit Washington as ties between the US and Tel Aviv have become rocky since the Biden administration took office and eased pressure on Iran. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan extended the invite to his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, during a virtual meeting that comes in a series of talks between the two countries on “security issues of vital importance,” the White House said. Shared regional threats and challenges, most notably Iran, were discussed in the meeting. “Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the Biden-Harris administration’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and to ensuring that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon,” a readout of the meeting said. The US and Iran have been engaged in their first talks - albeit indirect - since the Obama administration over Tehran’s nuclear program. Last week, the opening round of indirect discussions were held in Vienna. European capitals, Russia and China, are mediating the talks and conducting shuttle diplomacy. The second round of talks were scheduled for Tuesday, but a member of the EU delegation tested positive for coronavirus forcing the talks to be delayed for one day. Israeli officials have voiced skepticism over any potential deal that fails to deal with Iran’s support for terrorist groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, and its ballistic missile program. Sullivan invited Ben-Shabbat for “follow-up consultations” before the end of the month, according to the White House.

Israel navy on alert after freight ship hit by Iranian missile off UAE coast: Sources
Marco Ferrari, Al Arabiya English/13 April ,2021
The Israeli navy is on high alert after an Israel-owned freight ship was struck by an Iranian missile in the Arabian Sea, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. Two maritime security sources told Reuters that an Israeli ship was hit near the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah port resulting in an explosion but that there were no casualties. Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen television channel, citing sources, identified the vessel as the Hyperion Ray. The ship is the second owned by the same company to be targeted after an attack on the Helios Ray in February. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Tuesday it was aware of a possible incident which occurred off the coast of Fujairah. Iran has been blamed for the attack on the ship, according Israel’s top-rated television station Channel 12 quoting unnamed Israeli officials. There has been no official confirmation from the Israeli or UAE authorities. The incident comes a day after Iran accused arch-foe Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear site. Last month an Iranian container ship was damaged in an attack in the Mediterranean, two weeks after an Israeli-owned ship the MV HELIOS RAY - owned by the same company as the Hyperion Ray according to a UN shipping database - was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman. With Reuters

EU sanctions elite Iran commander, seven others over 2019 protests
Robin Emmott/Reuters//April 13/2021
The European Union has imposed sanctions on eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019, the bloc said in its Official Journal on Monday.The travel bans and asset freezes are the first EU sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses since 2013, as the bloc had shied away from angering Tehran in the hope of safeguarding a nuclear accord Tehran signed with world powers in 2015. Their preparation was first reported by Reuters last month.The bloc, which also hit three Iranian prisons with asset freezes, blacklisted Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic Republic. “Hossein Salami took part in the sessions that resulted in the orders to use lethal force to suppress the November 2019 protests. Hossein Salami therefore bears responsibility for serious human rights violations in Iran,” the EU said. The three prisons sanctioned included two in the Tehran area where the EU said those detained after the 2019 protests were deliberately wounded with boiling water and denied medical treatment. About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15, 2019, according to a toll provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials at the time. The United Nations said the total was at least 304. Iran has called the toll given by sources “fake news”. Iran, which has repeatedly rejected accusations by the West of human rights abuses, dismissed the EU’s sanctions as “invalid”. “In response, Iran suspends comprehensive talks with the EU, including human rights talks and all cooperation resulting from these talks, especially in the areas of terrorism, drugs and refugees,” Iranian media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying. On March 9, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, presented a report saying Tehran used lethal force during the protests and chided it for failing to conduct a proper investigation or failing to hold anyone accountable. Other individuals targeted with EU sanctions, which take effect on Monday, include members of Iran’s hardline Basij militia, who are under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, and its head Gholamreza Soleimani. The eight Iranians were added to an EU sanctions list for human rights abuses in Iran that was first launched in 2011 and which now numbers 89 people and four entities. It includes a ban on exports of equipment that could be used for repression. Diplomats said the sanctions were not linked to efforts to revive the nuclear deal, which the United States pulled out of but now seeks to re-join. That deal made it harder for Iran to amass the fissile material needed for a nuclear bomb - a goal it has long denied - in return for sanctions relief.Reporting by Robin Emmott, additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, editing by Marine Strauss, Giles Elgood and Steve Orlofsky
 

G7 foreign ministers’ statement on Ukraine
April 12, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
“We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are deeply concerned by the large, ongoing buildup of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s borders and in illegally annexed Crimea.
“These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities. We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations. In particular, we call on Russia to uphold the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) principles and commitments that it has signed on to regarding the transparency of military movements and to respond to the procedure established by Chapter III of the Vienna Document.
“Recalling our last statement of 18 March, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We support Ukraine’s posture of restraint.
“We underline our strong appreciation and continued support for France’s and Germany’s efforts through the Normandy Process to secure the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, which is the only way forward for a lasting political solution to the conflict. We call on all sides to engage constructively in the Trilateral Contact Group on the OSCE’s proposals to confirm and consolidate the ceasefire.”

Biden delays withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan until September
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/13 April/2021
President Joe Biden has set a new date for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, a senior administration official said Tuesday. US troops were supposed to be out of Afghanistan by May 1, according to a deal reached between the Trump administration and the Taliban last year.
The new withdrawal date will be “no later than the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “It could be well before that,” the official added. But if the Taliban conducts attacks against US forces, “we will hit back hard and we will hold them accountable,” the official said. And the US will keep “significant assets” in the region in case there is a potential reemergence of terrorist threats. That would mark 20 years since terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and other US cities. The 9/11 attacks drew the US into one of its longest wars in history after the Bush administration sent troops to Afghanistan in an effort to root out al-Qaeda, which was based out of Afghanistan. The Afghan government has urged Biden and the Pentagon not to withdraw over fears that the Islamist Taliban would take over the country.
Last month, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the US had spent $825 billion in Afghanistan since 9/11. “Afghanistan just does not rise to the level of those other threats at this point,” the Washington Post quoted a person familiar with Biden's plans as saying earlier. "We are going to remain committed to the government, remain committed diplomatically. But in terms of where we will be investing force posture, our blood and treasure, we believe that other priorities merit that investment,” the person reportedly said. Since taking office, Biden has said that Russia and China pose the biggest threats to Washington and to the international community.
 

Kuwait court orders pre-trial detention of former prime minister: Media
Published/13 April ,2021
Kuwait’s ministerial court ordered the pre-trial detention of former prime minister and ruling family member Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah in a case over the alleged mishandling of military funds, three Kuwaiti newspapers said on Tuesday. Al Rai and Al Jarida newspapers said Sheikh Jaber and former defense and interior minister Sheikh Khalid al-Jarrah al-Sabah rejected the charges directed against them. The court denied a request to release Sheikh Khalid, also a senior member of the Gulf Arab state’s ruling family, Al Jarida and Al Qabas newspapers said. The newspapers said the court also ordered a ban on publishing information about the case based on a request from the defense team. It set the next hearing for April 27. A government spokesman was not available for comment on the court order. Sheikh Jaber had in 2019 resigned as prime minister, a post he had held since 2011, after lawmakers sought a no-confidence vote against Sheikh Khalid, who was interior minister at the time. The then defense minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed had issued a statement two days after the government resignation, saying the cabinet stood down to avoid addressing mismanagement of some 240 million dinars ($790 million) in military funds before he assumed office. The ailing Sheikh Nasser died last December just months after his father and ruling emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad passed away. After the government’s resignation, the late emir had reappointed Sheikh Jaber as prime minister but he rebuffed the offer citing media campaigns against him. The corruption allegations had led to public protests outside parliament, the Gulf region’s most outspoken with the power to question ministers. Senior posts in the appointed cabinet are held by members of the ruling family. Kuwait’s current prime minister has said combating corruption was a government priority.

Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny has difficulty speaking, loses more weight, wife says
Reuters/13 April ,2021
Hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was having difficult speaking and had lost more weight, his wife said in a social media post on Tuesday, after visiting him in prison. Navalny, 44, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced a hunger strike at the end of March in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. In an Instagram post, Yulia Navalnaya described his condition after speaking to him by phone through a glass window. “He is still as cheerful and upbeat as ever. He speaks with difficulty, though, and from time to time he hangs up the phone and leans on the table to take a break. He has lost a lot of weight ... and weighs 76 kilograms at 190 (cm).” It means that Navalny’s weight has fallen by 16 kilograms since he arrived at the prison facility 100 kilometer (62 miles) east of Moscow last month. “They still won’t let a doctor see him ... I’ve never seen skin so tight around one’s skull, but I know he’s not going to give up,” she added. Navalny, whom the West says has been wrongly jailed and should be freed, returned to Russia in January after recovering from what German doctors say was a nerve agent poisoning. He was jailed in February for two and a half years for parole violations that he called politically motivated. Russia has said it has yet to see evidence he was poisoned. Staff at the Russian prison have said they have offered Navalny proper treatment, but that he has refused it. Navalny was moved to a prison clinic earlier this month after complaining of a high temperature and a bad cough. Russia’s prisons service said on Tuesday that a panel of doctors assessed Navalny’s health as satisfactory and that he was transferred from the clinic back to the main part of the prison on April 9, the RIA news agency quoted it as saying.

Suez Canal chief: Vessel impounded amid financial dispute over blockage
The Associated Press/13 April ,2021:
Egyptian authorities impounded a massive cargo vessel that blocked the Suez Canal last month amid a financial dispute with its owner, the canal chief and a judicial official said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie said the hulking Ever Given would not be allowed to leave the country until a compensation amount is settled on with the vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. “The vessel is now officially impounded,” he told Egypt’s state-run television late Monday. “They do not want to pay anything.” There was no immediate comment from the vessel’s owner. Rabei did not say how much money the canal authority was seeking. However, a judicial official said it demanded at least $900 million. The state-run Ahram daily also reported the $900 million figure. That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal. The official said the order to impound the vessel was issued Monday by a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, and that the vessel’s crew has been informed Tuesday. He said prosecutors in Ismailia also opened a separate investigation into what led the Ever Given to run aground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. Rabie said negotiations were still ongoing to reach a settlement on compensation. He warned last week in an interview with The Associated Press that bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the vessel’s owner than settling with the canal’s management. Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama. The Panama-flagged ship that carries some $3.5 billion in cargo between Asia and Europe ran aground March 23 in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Asian Sinai Peninsula. The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez. On March 29, salvage teams freed the Ever Given, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the world’s most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce. The vessel has since idled in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake, just north of the site where it previously blocked the canal. The unprecedented six-day shutdown, which raised fears of extended delays, goods shortages and rising costs for consumers, added to strain on the shipping industry already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic. Rabie, the canal chief, told state-run television there was no wrongdoing by the canal authority. He declined to discuss possible causes, including the ship’s speed and the high winds that buffeted it during a sandstorm. When asked whether the ship’s owner was at fault, he said: “Of course, yes.” Rabie said the conclusion of the authority’s investigation was expected Thursday.

Egypt Frees Journalist Khaled Dawoud
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
Egypt has freed prominent dissident journalist and politician Khaled Dawoud after more than 18 months in detention, a fellow journalist and a lawyer said Tuesday. A former head of the liberal opposition Dostour party and a senior journalist for the English edition of state newspaper Al Ahram, he had been arrested in September 2019 after rare anti-government protests. "At around 5:00 pm on Monday, a police official informed us that the prosecutor had decided to release him," said Hisham Younes, a member of Egypt's press club. "He got out at around midnight... no charges were brought against him." Lawyer and rights activist Khaled Ali said on Facebook that the prosecution had "decided to free" Dawoud. "Khaled left prison and was taken to State Security. He retrieved his car and went home, where he his now with his family," Ali said. Dawoud, who is an adjunct professor of journalism at the American University of Cairo, was detained after rare protests calling for the ouster of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The general-turned-president has overseen a massive, crackdown aimed at quashing dissent, jailing many journalists, lawyers, academics and activists, both secular and Islamist. Dawoud was accused of "collaborating with a terrorist organization," "publishing false information" and "misusing social media", charges often levelled against dissidents. Egypt ranks 166th out of 188 countries on Reporters Without Borders (RSF)'s Press Freedom Index. Rights groups say some 60,000 prisoners of conscience are currently languishing in Egyptian jails.

Syrian President Sacks Central Bank Governor
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
The Syrian president on Tuesday dismissed central bank governor Hazem Karfoul whose three-year tenure coincided with a severe economic crisis. "President Bashar al-Assad issues a decree terminating the appointment of Hazem Karfoul," the presidency said in a statement. It did not give a reason or appoint a replacement. Karfoul was named central bank governor in 2018, seven years into a conflict that has killed more than 388,000 people and displaced millions. He oversaw an accelerating economic crisis sparked by civil war and compounded by sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and a financial crunch in neighboring Lebanon. An analyst in Damascus, asking not to be named over security concerns, said Karfoul "did not live up to his role through implementing real interventions" that could salvage the local currency. Karfoul, he said, had been incapable of "quick and decisive decisions" at a time when the government was looking for "energetic new faces" to oversee a rescue phase. The Syrian pound has lost more than 98 percent of its value against the dollar over the past decade. Officially valued at 1,256 to the greenback, it sold for more than 3,000 on the black market on Tuesday, money exchangers told AFP. Last month, it sold for 4,000 to the greenback, hitting an all-time low. The government last month started enforcing a series of measures to stem a further drop in the pound's value, according to pro-government newspaper Al-Watan. They include new import bans and a state crackdown on unofficial money exchangers, it said. Karfoul held several posts at the central bank, including deputy chief, before he was named governor. The U.S. treasury department sanctioned him in 2020 along with several other senior officials. In its announcement, the treasury cited reports that Karfoul in September 2019 met with some of Syria's wealthiest businessmen to press them to donate to state coffers. He allegedly "identified the properties and other assets of the businessmen during the meeting and had suggested... their fortunes could be seized if they did not give a significant contribution."

Jordan Royal Feud Stirs Unease in Saudi Arabia
Agence France Presse/April 13, 2021
Saudi Arabia fervently denies involvement in Jordan's royal feud, but the arrest of an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stirred unease in Riyadh, which sources say is pushing for his release. Bassem Awadallah, seen as an influential figure familiar with the inner workings of the Saudi leadership, was ensnared in a rift within Jordan's royal family that played out in full public glare. Riyadh officially threw its support behind Jordan's King Abdullah II, who has sought to draw a line under the damaging row with his half-brother Prince Hamzah as state television showed them together on Sunday for the first time since the crisis erupted. Saudi officials dismiss speculation it was behind the split, insisting that such royal infighting could have dangerous ripple effects for other monarchies in the tinderbox region. The speculation arose as Jordan suggested a "foreign" hand was behind the crisis, with observers immediately pointing the finger of suspicion at Riyadh. The crisis followed media reports that warming Saudi-Israel ties could cost Jordan -- home to a large Palestinian population -- its custodianship of Jerusalem's holy sites including Al-Aqsa mosque, a key source of legitimacy for Amman's ruling Hashemite dynasty.
But a source close to the leadership of Saudi Arabia, no stranger to royal ructions, told AFP that Riyadh has "zero interest in destabilising Jordan", a longstanding regional ally. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan led a delegation to Amman last week to express what he called solidarity with Abdullah. The trip came, the source said, as Saudi rulers felt "the (Jordanian) king was being fed rumours by other parties that they needed to refute in person and not over the phone".
'Hurting image' -
But further intensifying speculation about Saudi motives, two sources privy to the discussions said the delegation in Amman pushed for Awadallah's release. Awadallah, a Saudi-Jordanian, has appeared alongside Prince Mohammed at Riyadh's Davos-style Future Investment Initiative.
He has also been photographed praying beside the prince, known by his initials MBS, an honour usually reserved for his closest confidantes. Awadallah, a contentious figure in Jordan who has served as head of its royal court and also special envoy to Saudi Arabia, is among at least 16 people arrested in connection with what Amman has described as a plot to destabilise the country. "Not only did the (Saudi) foreign minister go to get Bassem, the Saudi intelligence director and MBS's chief of staff went to Amman," Bruce Riedel, a former long-time American CIA officer now with the Brookings Institution, told AFP. The Saudi source denied the delegation was there for Awadallah, without saying which officials were part of the team. "Awadallah has a personal relationship with the crown prince," a Gulf-based Western official told AFP. "Having him in jail is hurting the Saudi image both in Jordan and abroad as suspicions about Saudi involvement are not totally erased." Bessma Momani, a professor at Canada's University of Waterloo, said Awadallah was important to the Saudis as he has "working knowledge of many Saudi economic plans, policies and strategies that they would like to ensure are not shared" outside the kingdom.
'Hamzah episodes' -
Jordanian officials have not specified the charges against Awadallah. But his arrest appears to be a red herring in the entire feud which broke out earlier this month, the Western official said. What Jordanian authorities initially called a foreign plot has turned out to be a bitter squabble between the king and his half-brother, whom he had stripped of the title of crown prince in favour of his son. "Awadallah's arrest diverts attention from the rivalry inside the Jordanian royal family and hints at a possible foreign involvement," the Western official said. The troubles in Jordan echo similar power plays in Saudi Arabia, where King Salman sidelined a senior royal in 2017 to name his young son, Prince Mohammed, as heir to the Arab world's most powerful throne. Since then, Saudi Arabia has ignored an outcry from human rights campaigners as it detained multiple royal family members in a sweeping crackdown, including the ousted former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef. "It remains to be seen whether King Abdullah has the will and or the power/authority to shut his brother down, but a failure to do so will weaken the monarchy, maybe fatally," Ali Shihabi, a Saudi government advisor, wrote on Twitter. "This explains why King Salman (a strong and experienced leader) has been so firm with his family during the succession to Crown Prince MBS. "Failure to have done that could have exposed Saudi to multiple 'Hamzah episodes'."
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 13-14/2021

Israel sends message to Biden with Iran attack
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/April 13, 2021
Whether it was a cyberattack or a deliberately planned explosion that caused a serious power outage at Iran’s underground Natanz uranium enrichment plant on Sunday, it was most likely carried out by Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed Tel Aviv for the sabotage and vowed to “take revenge on the Zionists,” while also promising to replace the damaged centrifuges at the site with even better ones. Iran described the attack as “nuclear terrorism.”
The incident dealt a severe blow to the country’s ability to enrich uranium and could take at least nine months to restore, according to intelligence sources cited by the New York Times on Monday. Israel has apparently targeted Iran’s nuclear program on a number of occasions, the most recent being the bold assassination operation that killed the country’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, last November.
The timing of this latest attack was intriguing. It took place as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin landed in Israel for the first visit by a senior member of the Biden administration. While the declared objective of his trip was to discuss ways to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two countries, regional issues and US arms supplies to Israel, analysts believe Austin wanted to convey a message from the Biden White House to Israeli officials regarding the Iran nuclear agreement, which Tel Aviv vehemently opposes. Indirect talks between Iran and the US, sponsored by the EU, took place last week in Vienna and are expected to resume this week. A senior State Department official was quoted as saying that the talks “met expectations” but did not assuage US doubts about Iran’s willingness to negotiate in good faith over the 2015 nuclear deal.
The attack also took place one day after Iran began using what were described as advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium at the Natanz plant, as it marked its National Nuclear Technology Day. President Hassan Rouhani said that “all our nuclear activities are peaceful and for nonmilitary purposes.”
Despite the strategic ties between Washington and Tel Aviv, Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu has stood firm in its rejection of the 2015 nuclear deal and supported former US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it. Netanyahu went as far as to snub then-President Barack Obama by accepting an invitation to address the US Congress in March 2015, when he attacked the nuclear deal that the White House so strongly supported.
Speaking to his country’s top military brass on Sunday, Netanyahu bragged that “the fight against Iran and its proxies… is a massive task. The way things are now doesn’t mean they will stay that way later on. It’s very hard to explain what we’ve done here in Israel, moving from total helplessness… to a global power.” Israeli military sources talked about upcoming exercises that would mimic an attack on Iran. But Israel is not the only country in the region that is worried about Iran’s nuclear activities and its regional behavior. Those concerns are shared by a number of other countries.
This is a problem for the Biden administration — and its European allies — as they are eager to bring Iran back to the nuclear deal, but not without forcing Tehran to make concessions. Iran wants the US to lift all economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration before it recommits. The US, as far as we know, is ready to start the partial lifting of sanctions that are directly linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Other sanctions are related to its regional activities, human rights record and ballistic missile program.
The Americans and their European partners want to reach a deal before Iran holds its presidential elections in fewer than 100 days’ time. Perceived to be a pragmatist, Rouhani warned last month that hard-line opponents are obstructing efforts to lift the biting US sanctions. The view from the West is that Rouhani may be replaced by a hard-liner handpicked by Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader.
Despite the strategic ties between Washington and Tel Aviv, Israel has stood firm in its rejection of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The Israelis argue that their sabotage efforts are working to delay and hinder Iran’s nuclear program, but they offer no realistic view of what could happen next. Iran and Israel have been engaged in a maritime drone war. In the midst of the Vienna talks last week, Iran accused Israel of attacking an Iranian tanker in the Red Sea. Tel Aviv, meanwhile, has pointed the finger at Tehran for a missile strike that hit an Israeli cargo ship in the Arabian Sea last month. Israel has also been carrying out almost weekly strikes against Iranian military targets in Syria, with Netanyahu vowing to contain the Iranian military presence in that country. Joe Biden, who served as vice president to Obama, will have a tough time reining in Israel as his team negotiates with Iran. The damage that Israel is doing goes far beyond delaying Iran’s nuclear program. The attacks will force Tehran to take its program further underground and away from any form of international inspection regime. Even as Netanyahu fights his rivals to form a government, he knows that, when it comes to the Iranian threat, all his opponents are in line with him. He also knows that Republicans in the US continue to support Trump’s policy on Iran.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. Twitter: @plato010

Klaxons Should Be Sounding in U.S. After Natanz Hit
Bobby Ghosh/Bloomberg/April 13/2021
If President Joe Biden wasn't alarmed by recent skirmishes between Israel and Iran, the attack at the Iranian uranium-enrichment facility should change that.
Beware the fog of propaganda around the Natanz attack. But beware, too, what the attack portends: a real escalation in the confrontation between Iran and Israel. And finally, beware any claims that the Biden administration is pivoting away from the Middle East.
At the time of writing, it is not clear whether the damage to Iran’s largest uranium-enrichment facility over the weekend was the result of a cyberattack or sabotage by human hand. The regime in Tehran says Israel was responsible, and reports in Jerusalem seem to confirm that was indeed the case.
Amid the cumulonimbus of conjecture that has inevitably followed, it is best to ignore the claims and counter-claims about the extent of the damage wrought, and of the implications for Iran’s enrichment program. The New York Times, quoting unnamed Israeli and American officials, reports it will be nine months before the Natanz facility is fully repaired. Tehran’s spin is that only old centrifuges were affected, and that these will be replaced by new, more efficient machines — and so, in effect, Israel did the Islamic Republic a favor.
Just as ineludible, there will be speculation about the timing of the attack, which coincides with a diplomatic ferment: the visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Israel, the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Iran, and of course the resumption of talks in Vienna, aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.
It is only in Hollywood potboilers that saboteurs synchronize their subversion to the geopolitical calendar. In the real world, an attack on what must be Iran’s most carefully guarded site would have taken months, even years of planning and patience, its execution dependent not on the diplomatic docket but on opportunity. If an almanac was consulted at all, the planners would have drawn as circle around Iran’s “National Nuclear Technology Day,” an annual ritual in which the regime seeks to distract attention from its multitudinous failures by pretending that the enrichment of uranium is a significant achievement. This was on the diary long before Austin and Lavrov made their travels plans, and delegations booked hotel rooms in Vienna.
This year, President Hassan Rouhani used the occasion to launch an array of 200 advanced centrifuges. Within 24 hours, his government was claiming that an electrical accident had blacked out Natanz, then blaming it on sabotage by Israel and finally pledging “revenge against the Zionists.”
If there is a message to be read into the Natanz attack, it is simply this: The nuclear program is a giant target on Iran’s back. The attack on the enrichment facility comes less than six months after the assassination of Tehran’s top nuclear-weapons expert, which has likewise been attributed to Israel. It will not be the last. Iran’s nuclear program, as I have explained, exists for the sole purpose of menacing its neighbors. The bigger the program gets, the more threatening it becomes — and the greater the motivation for those it threatens to prevent its completion.
Israel has damaged the program before, by using cyberattacks like the Stuxnet worm and assassinations of nuclear scientists. This campaign halted when Iran appeared to slow the program in the lead-up to the negotiations for the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It resumed after Tehran, reacting to the U.S. withdrawal from that deal, revved up the centrifuges again. The confrontation between the two countries has recently escalated in other theaters, notably reciprocal attacks on shipping: Israel has targeted tankers carrying Iranian oil to Syria in the Red Sea and Mediterranean, and Iran has rocketed Israeli-owned shipping in the Arabian Sea. Off the Yemeni coast last week, Israel hit an Iranian vessel used to deploy commando boats.
If President Joe Biden was not already alarmed by these skirmishes at sea, the Natanz attack should have set off klaxons in the White House. For all that the new administration is keen to deprioritize the Middle East in U.S. foreign policy, the escalating Iranian-Israeli confrontation will demand more American attention, not less. The risk of Iranian retaliation for Natanz is hard to gauge: Tehran has a long list of unavenged affronts. But even if Iran simply follows through on its threat to enrich still more uranium, Israel will feel obliged to step up its efforts to undermine the nuclear program.
Until now, Israel’s attacks have exacted remarkably little collateral damage among the Iranian populace. Nor have Iran and its proxies claimed casualties among Israelis. But as the hostilities escalate, so too will the likelihood that blood will be spilled. That, more than anything else, should be at the top of the minds of the diplomats heading to Jerusalem, Tehran and Vienna this week.

Saudi Arabia Sentences Aid Worker to 20 Years
Varsha Koduvayur/Policy Brief-FDD/April 13/2021
Saudi Arabia last week sentenced Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, a 37-year-old aid worker for the Saudi Red Crescent, to 20 years of imprisonment followed by a 20-year travel ban for tweets criticizing the government, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s continuing crackdown on rights activists. The sentencing comes as Democrats in Washington are pushing to punish Saudi Arabia – and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – for its human rights record and the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Sadhan was first arrested in March 2018 and was held for two years without being allowed to communicate with his family. In February 2020, he was permitted one call home but was denied any further contact until February 2021, when authorities falsely informed him he would not face charges and would be released soon. Sadhan was then brought before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in March and sentenced on April 5.
Sadhan’s case is part of a recent uptick in Saudi convictions of human rights activists. In February, the SCC sentenced six activists to multi-year prison terms. Mohammed al-Rabiah, an activist who supported women drivers, was arrested in May 2018 and faces the prospect of a 20-year sentence. In March, the SCC denied an appeal for a modified sentence for prominent rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who is currently facing a five-year travel ban and three years of probation. All three activists say they were tortured by Saudi authorities.
President Joe Biden has vowed to recalibrate, but not rupture, the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The alliance remains vital for several reasons – including pushing back against Iran, countering Chinese encroachment in the Gulf, balancing global energy markets, and expanding Arab-Israeli peace. In late February, the Biden administration declassified the CIA’s report on Khashoggi’s murder and imposed visa restrictions on 76 individuals for threatening Saudi dissidents abroad. The administration also halted some weapons sales to the kingdom and ended U.S. support for offensive operations in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has waged a six-year-long war to oust the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
While Saudi officials are reeling from these moves, some U.S. lawmakers view them as insufficient. Last month, three Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban Mohammed bin Salman from entering the United States, claiming Biden’s actions on Khashoggi did not go far enough. A recent letter signed by 76 legislators called on the administration to “publicly pressure Saudi Arabia” to lift its blockade on Yemen.
To quell the diplomatic firestorm, Saudi Arabia should commit to more significant human rights reforms. A good start would be to release all rights activists and prisoners of conscience, including Raif Badawi, who has endured eight years of imprisonment – and 50 lashes – for expressing his opinions by blogging. The kingdom should also repeal the travel bans, probation periods, and other unfair limitations it has imposed on released detainees. Additionally, Riyadh should overturn the draconian sentence and sham charges levied against Abdulrahman al-Sadhan.
U.S.-Saudi ties are at a crossroads. Congressional calls for Biden to further weaken this relationship will only grow if Saudi Arabia does not take these steps. Whether Riyadh will acquiesce under pressure remains to be seen. But a halt to the brutal treatment of rights activists is consistent with reforms that Saudi Arabia has already committed to fulfill. This should be Washington’s message, particularly as tensions continue to soar. *Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where she focuses on the Persian Gulf. For more analysis from Varsha and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Varsha on Twitter @varshakoduvayur. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Inside Iran’s torture prisons: Tehran quick to jail those with pro-Israel ties
Benjamin Weinthal/Fox News/April 13/2021 |
Thanks to a rare glimpse inside the Islamic Republic of Iran’s vast penal establishment in Tehran, Fox News has obtained exclusive information about Iranians condemned to harsh sentences for mere contact with Israelis, including, for one, a betrayal by Turkish intelligence — an alleged ally of the U.S. “A woman who was incarcerated in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison — where the regime keeps most of its political prisoners — was arrested leaving the Israeli embassy in Ankara by Turkish intelligence,” a source told Fox News. Ankara, however, deported her to Iran and into the hands of the Revolutionary Guards, the source said. The Turkish government under the rule of political Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ostensibly an ally of the United States because Turkey is a member of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Trump administration designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and that classification remains in force. The Guards have been responsible for the murders of hundreds of Americans in the Middle East.
The source, who declined to be named, said the woman “had been given 16 years on espionage and terrorism charges. She had an Iranian boyfriend whom she had met in Europe and who she says works as a doctor for the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”
The source added that “the woman had visited Tel Aviv with him on her Iranian passport and most likely was involved in doing something for the Israelis. She is a practicing Muslim and would pray regularly yet somehow felt drawn to or connected to Israel.”
It was not the first time Erdogan has betrayed Israel. In 2013, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported that Erdogan “is said to have disclosed to Iranian intelligence the identities of up to 10 Iranians who had been meeting inside Turkey with their Mossad case officers.”
The Resistance Axis Monitor organization, which provides insight into “Iranian operations” in the Middle East, tweeted on March 23: “Some popular pro-IRGC Telegram channels claim that Turkish intelligence warned about a Mossad plot to assassination Qods Force economic deputy and former oil minister Rostam Qasemi in Lebanon yesterday, and that authorities foiled the plot.”
Another individual has told Fox News that inside Iran’s prisons, “many of the anti-regime activists were very pro-Israel, on the basis of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend,’ and would say things like ‘I love Israel’ or ‘I wish Israel would bomb Iran.’”
This source brought up the case of another Iranian prisoner who had allegedly been given a five-year sentence for being in touch with people in Israel. This person had posted comments expressing sympathy for or interest in Israel on a Farsi-language website about Israel that had been set up by an Israeli NGO trying to reach out to regular Iranians.
“The prisoner was then contacted by this organization and recorded a video in support of them,” the source said. “The individual had been in touch via video call directly with a couple of Israelis whom they had met via this website. The Iranian regime was monitoring them and arrested the prisoner because of these illicit communications and for posting something pro-Israel online, and charged them with espionage offenses. The prisoner remained very pro-Israel in prison and would openly talk about their interest in visiting Israel after their release.”
According to the source, “The prisoner even hoped Israel would grant them asylum after their release, because they went to jail for Israel.”
The Islamic Republic has criminalized visits to Israel and has imprisoned Iranian Jews over the years who managed to visit the Jewish state and returned to Iran. In 2020, the Iranian regime’s parliament passed a law outlawing any prearranged contact between Iranians and Israelis.
A third case brought to the attention of Fox News involved an Iranian prisoner who had been convicted of spying for the Mossad along with their partner, who successfully fled Iran before the prisoner was arrested. This prisoner allegedly owned an apartment in Tel Aviv and had visited Israel on a number of occasions.The revelation that Turkey damaged a suspected Israeli asset in Ankara could trigger new criticism of Erdogan’s government. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have expressed strong opposition to Erdogan’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles. Russia is hostile to NATO and critics view the Turkey-Russia alliance as endangering the NATO alliance. Fox News sent press queries to the governments of Turkey and Israel and did not immediately receive responses.
**Benjamin Weinthal reports on human rights in the Middle East and is a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @BenWeinthal. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

A Closer Look at Israel’s New High-Tech Barrier
Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer/FDD/April 13/2021
Israel reported significant progress last month on an underground fence around the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Officials say Israel is close to completing the underground component and can see the finish line with the above-ground elements (roughly 80% complete). Once fully assembled, the three-layered barrier may be the most sophisticated barrier in the world. The threat to Israel from Gaza and other adjacent territories has been constant. Suicide bombings by Hamas, Fatah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during the Second Intifada prompted Israel to build a barrier to control border crossings. This inspired Hamas to instead construct and fire thousands of crude rockets into Israel. In response, Israel developed the Iron Dome missile defense system (and others for longer range threats). Frustrated again, Hamas began digging commando tunnels for fighters to reach Israel to gather intelligence, conduct terrorist attacks, or even launch surprise, coordinated assaults.
The Israelis first understood the need for such a barrier during the 2014 Gaza conflict, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, after uncovering several commando tunnels. But it was not until 2016 that Israel set out to build this complex, multilayer barrier.
The new border fence has three levels: a deep underground layer, an upper fence physical layer, and an upper hi-tech layer that includes detection devices like robots, drones, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and more. They are all equipped with visual, electronic and intelligence equipment and powered by artificial intelligence. And they all operate through command-and-control bases along the barrier. The physical upper layer of the Gaza barrier is similar to what Israel erected along the Egyptian border. It stretches across the entire 40-mile border with the coastal enclave. All of the elements are not yet public. But Israeli officials say it is adaptable to a range of threats.
The underground layer includes a high-tech cement wall extending “tens of meters” beneath the ground (the exact depth is not public). It is equipped with a multi-dimensional sensor net to detect any activity near, at, or under the barrier. The barrier even stretches into the Mediterranean Sea to stymie Hamas naval commandos from penetrating Israel, as occurred at Zikim Beach during the 2014 conflict.Israel also set out to detect and destroy existing tunnels. In total, more than 20 were found and neutralized. At the start, the Israel Defense Force harbored concerns that Hamas might accelerate efforts to attack Israel via tunnels. But the “use it or lose it” calculus did not push Hamas to engage. After more than five years of tunnel detection and destruction, officials are confident the threat is neutralized.
While the high-tech Gaza fence is likely to attract attention now, Israel now seeks to fulfill its total fence protection doctrine on all of its borders, as articulated in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2018 National Security Strategy. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Eran Ophir, Israel has built more than 620 miles of fence along the borders with Egypt (150 miles), the West Bank (370 miles), the Golan Heights (68 miles), Lebanon (8 miles) and Jordan (21 miles). More adaptations are likely, but they hinge on technical, budgetary, and political considerations.
These fences have prevented unlawful entry and violence, but they are not without controversy. Fences can inadvertently signal Israel’s view of legal borders – particularly those subject to bilateral or multilateral disagreement. Domestically, there is disagreement about the path of some fences. The Israeli left protests when fences divide Palestinian villages. The Israeli right protests when settlements are not included on Israel’s side of a fence. Controversy also surrounds the military message that barriers send. Some in the IDF believe the construction of expensive and high-tech fences sends a message of weakness or a defensive posture. They argue that effective fences might prevent political leaders from taking decisive action during conflict, particularly if they feel the barrier might shield the country from a wider conflagration.
Barrier proponents argue these measures prevent terrorism and loss of life. The West Bank fence brought the number of suicide bombings to near zero. The Egypt border fence brought smuggling down to negligible numbers, too. As with Iron Dome, some argue that advanced fences give political leaders flexibility to decide exactly when and how to launch a military response to provocations. As always, the debates will continue in Israel. But in the meantime, the Gaza border is likely safer — until Hamas invents new ways to attack.
*Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a visiting professor at the Technion Aerospace Engineering Faculty. He previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acting national security advisor and head of Israel’s National Security Council. Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president at FDD and a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury. Follow Jonathan on twitter @JSchanzer.

Turkey’s Courtship with China Spells Trouble for Uyghurs
Aykan Erdemir and Umut Can Fidan/The National Interest/April 13/2021
The deepening courtship between these two authoritarian regimes will only intensify the plight of Uyghurs in both countries.
“The incidents in China are, simply put, a genocide. There’s no point in interpreting this otherwise,” said Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2009, almost twelve years before the United States applied that label to the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs in the country’s northwest Xinjiang region. As a growing number of countries join Washington’s vocal criticism of Beijing, Ankara appears to be pulling a volte-face, not only silencing its criticism of the Chinese government but also strengthening its bilateral partnership. This spells trouble for the 50,000 Uyghurs who have taken refuge in Turkey as well as their 12 million brethren back in China. When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Turkey last month to meet with President Erdogan, Tukey’s foreign minister announced that the two countries would like to take their relations to “a level of strategic partnership.” This comes on the heels of accusations by Turkish and foreign analysts that China has bought Turkey’s silence on the Uyghur issue, the way Beijing has also done with many other Muslim-majority states. China and Turkey have a yuan-lira swap deal dating back to 2012, and Beijing has invested heavily in infrastructure projects, including grabbing a 65 percent stake in Turkey’s third-largest container port in Istanbul. Turkey’s Uyghurs know best the potential ramifications of Ankara’s deepening ties with Beijing. Hundreds of Uyghurs staged protests in Istanbul and Ankara during Yi’s visit, demanding the Erdogan government take a stronger stance against China. This embarrassed Erdogan, who has presented himself as the leading patron and defender of Turks and Muslims worldwide. Given Turkey’s ongoing financial meltdown, and Ankara’s desperate need for Chinese capital, however, Erdogan has little room for maneuver. So instead of heeding the Uyghurs’ calls, Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian president will do what he knows best by cracking down on Uyghur asylum seekers the way he also does with Turkish dissidents.
Ahead of Yi’s Ankara visit, for example, Turkish authorities placed Seyit Tumturk, the chairman of the East Turkistan National Assembly—an Uyghur advocacy platform established in 2018—under house arrest under the pretext of a Covid-19 quarantine. In protest, Tumturk tweeted that he was perfectly healthy and pointed out that the quarantine order conveniently coincided with the Chinese foreign minister’s arrival.
In January and February, the Turkish police tried to prevent Uyghur protests by citing both public health and security concerns, and released detained demonstrators on the condition that they end their protests outside the Chinese diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Ankara. Turkish officials have gone as far as to suggest Washington is manipulating the Uyghurs to create a pretext for conflict with China. In February, following another round of arrests of Uyghur protesters in Ankara, Turkey’s interior minister warned Uyghurs not to fall prey to “overseas plans,” a Turkish euphemism for U.S. meddling.
The Erdogan government’s attempts to silence the Uyghur community extend to the Turkish parliament, where the government’s indifference to the plight of the Uyghurs continues to draw criticism from Turkey’s opposition leaders. An opposition motion for a parliamentary inquiry into China’s treatment of the Uyghurs failed when Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party and its ultranationalist coalition partners voted in unison to block it. An opposition lawmaker has even accused the government of selling out the Uyghurs in exchange for immediate access to the coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac. Ankara has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, but received only 18 million so far instead of the 50 million that Beijing promised by the end of February.
China has also been taking other steps to increase the legal pressure on the Uyghur diaspora in Turkey. Last December, Beijing ratified an extradition treaty Turkey and China signed in 2017, raising concerns that Ankara’s ratification would put Uyghur asylum seekers at risk. There is already evidence that China has been demanding the extradition of specific Uyghurs in Turkey. The Turkish government also received criticism from Uyghur activists for sending the refugees to third countries like Tajikistan, from which it is much easier for the Chinese to extradite them.
The disappearance of the members of Turkey’s Uyghur diaspora has raised further concerns about the safety of Uyghurs in Turkey. Many suspect Beijing is behind such incidents and that the Chinese have pressured Ankara to either utilize the Turkish police or allow Chinese operatives to roam freely within Turkey’s borders to harass the Uyghurs. China’s similar pressure on other governments to intimidate, detain, and deport Uyghurs strengthens such suspicions.
Turkey’s ongoing drift away from its NATO allies and transatlantic values and the country’s troubling economic trajectory will offer China greater political and economic leverage over the Erdogan government and thereby exacerbate the pressure on Uyghurs. As Turkey’s NATO allies continue to increase pressure on Beijing by introducing sanctions against senior Chinese officials, Ankara is set to remain an outlier.
The Erdogan government’s reluctance or inability to join its treaty allies in their condemnation of China’s abysmal treatment of the Uyghurs speaks volumes about the state of Turkish democracy in a country where almost the entire nation supports the Uyghur cause. China’s hope is that Erdogan will sustain his iron grip over Turkey and continue to muzzle reactions from Turkish citizens and Uyghur refugees. The deepening courtship between these two authoritarian regimes will only intensify the plight of Uyghurs in both countries.
*Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and the senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. @aykan_erdemir. Umut Can Fidan, a student at the George Washington University, is an intern at the Turkey Program of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Anticipating the Biden Administration’s New North Korea Policy
David Maxwell/The National Interest/April 13/2021
The heart of the administration’s new Korea policy will likely focus on implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions to achieve North Korea’s verifiable nuclear dismantlement.
A meeting of national security advisors from the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) on April 2 appears to be one of the final steps before Washington announces its new policy for the Korean Peninsula. U.S. allies and adversaries, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are eagerly awaiting Washington’s announcement. While no one can predict what the new policy will be, its basic contours are apparent from the official statements and comments of U.S. leaders.
The heart of the administration’s new Korea policy will likely focus on implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCR) to achieve North Korea’s verifiable nuclear dismantlement. The United States and its allies articulated these commitments first in the April 2 joint statement of the national security advisors: “They agreed on the imperative for full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions by the international community, including North Korea, preventing proliferation, and cooperating to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
Similarly, a March 12 joint statement by leaders of America, Australia, India, and Japan—also known as the Quad—highlighted the importance of “the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The international community has agreed that Kim Jong-un’s malign behavior outlined in UNSCRs—from proliferation to cyberattacks to human rights violations—must stop. Thus, the implementation of the UNSCRs should be the baseline not only of the Biden administration’s new Korea policy but for all members of the UN Security Council as well as the ROK and Japan.
The national security advisers also stated on April 2 that Washington’s strategy would rest on the foundation of deterrence and defense against North Korean conventional and nuclear attack. This approach is essential to prevent Kim from dominating the peninsula and unifying it on his terms.
Likewise, during meetings last month in Japan and South Korea, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Auston affirmed that the U.S. alliance structure—particularly trilateral cooperation among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo—is important for a successful Korea policy.
Another clue regarding the Biden administration’s policy for the Hermit Kingdom is its consistent use of the phrase “denuclearization of North Korea” to describe its long-term objective. The United States and its regional allies have long debated this phrasing. Washington and other members of the Quad prefer this wording, North and South Korea and many Korean pundits say the goal is “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
The latter phrase dates back to the 1992 North-South Agreement on Denuclearization, which pledged that neither North nor South Korea would seek nuclear weapons. Various agreements and resolutions over the past thirty years, including UNSCR 1718 and the 2018 statements at summit meetings in Panmunjom and Singapore, have also used this phrasing. Yet the “denuclearization of North Korea,” which solely references the Hermit Kingdom, is the more accurate description of what must take place on the Korean Peninsula.
This is because the ROK and the United States completed the denuclearization of the South when America withdrew tactical nuclear weapons in 1991. It is North Korea that has continued to develop weapons of mass destruction to threaten the ROK, the region, and the world. The Biden administration’s choice to use “denuclearization of North Korea” suggests the new policy’s objectives will not be complete until North Korea denuclearizes.
Kim Jong-un uses the phrase “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” as part of his demand for the end of Washington’s “hostile policy,” which he defines as the presence of U.S. troops in the region, the ROK/U.S. alliance, and Washington’s extended deterrence over South Korea and Japan. Whether witting or not, those who use this phrase are supporting the North Korean narrative, thereby providing the continued rationale for Kim Jong-un to make his various demands. Without U.S. forces, Kim believes he can successfully implement Pyongyang’s strategy, which is based on subversion, coercion, and extortion. If conditions are right, then he might even be able to achieve the regime’s strategic aim to dominate the peninsula in order to ensure its survival.
Developing the new policy and a supporting narrative around compliance with all relevant UNSCRs should end the debate about denuclearization of the North or the entire Korean Peninsula. This is because these resolutions cover the prohibition of all North Korean weapons of mass destruction to include nuclear, chemical and biological arms, ballistic missile programs, global illicit activities, and proliferation.
North Korea’s human-rights abuses are another concern. While China and Russia have prevented UNSCRs from effectively addressing human rights, individual countries and regional organizations have sanctioned the regime’s human rights abuses. Moreover, a 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry identified the comprehensive crimes against humanity conducted by Kim.
However, Kim will likely continue using the phrase “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” to mask his true motives. When he does so, the United States and the international community should respond with two messages as part of an influence campaign.
First, they should publicly explain Kim’s own hostile strategy every time the regime uses the phrase. This is in keeping with Sun Tzu’s famous dictum, “what is of supreme importance is to attack the enemy’s strategy.”
Second, they should remind the international community and North Korea that the ROK already completed denuclearization of the South back in 1991 and that there are no nuclear weapons on any southern territory. It is the North that has refused to comply with all relevant UNSCRs, and it alone must do so to complete denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula.
Critics will ask how a policy based on compliance with UNSCRs will lead to denuclearization of the North. They will say that this is in effect the same policy that has not worked since UNSCR 1718 was passed in 2006. They may very well be correct. However, what the policy will do, if consistently executed over time, is contribute to Kim Jong-un’s understanding that his policies have failed.
As long as the international focus is on full compliance with the UNSCRs, Kim cannot achieve his short-term goal of sanctions relief. Consistent application of this approach, with no backsliding, appeasement, or premature sanctions relief, is the only way to make Kim recognize that he cannot successfully execute his long con. Sanctions relief should remain off the table so long as Kim maintains his nuclear weapons, which he depends upon to ensure he remains in power and is someday able to dominate the entire Korean Peninsula.
Critics instead argue for arms control negotiations, sanctions relief in return for negotiations, an end of war declaration, acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear state, and even a revitalization of the 1999 North Korean Perry Policy Review. The problem with such recommendations is that they rely on the false assumption that Pyongyang is willing to take negotiations seriously and indeed has made the strategic choice to relinquish its nuclear weapons. This has proven false numerous times.
Consequently, if the Biden administration pursues these alternative policies, the United States and its allies will hand North Korea a victory and Kim Jong-un will assuredly judge his long con, political warfare strategy, and blackmail diplomacy to be successful. He will likely double down using the seven-decades-old Kim family regime playbook of using threats, increased tensions, and provocations to gain political and economic concessions rather than participate in sincere and substantive negotiations.
This is why the new Biden policy must be built upon a thorough understanding of the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. The international community has stated its objectives and demands through the passage of relevant UNCSRs. It will be up to Kim to recognize that his path forward cannot be successful if it rests on a seventy-year-old fantasy that he can dominate the peninsula.
*David Maxwell, a thirty-year veteran of the United States Army and retired Special Forces colonel, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from David and CMPP. Follow David on Twitter @davidmaxwell161. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.