English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 07/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled
Luke 12,49-53: “‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2021
Hezbollah the Terrorist organization is totally responsible for the Beirut Port Explosion, and justice will not be achieved before Lebanon is liberated from its occupation/Elias Bejjani/August 04/2021
Reports: Aoun Sends Miqati ‘Positive’ Proposal on Govt. Formation
Miqati Says Made 'Slow Progress' in Meeting with Aoun
Hizbullah Fires Rockets at Shebaa Farms, Israel Responds but Says Doesn't Want War
Hezbollah, Israel exchange fire across southern Lebanon border
Israel army does not want Lebanon ‘escalation’ but ready
Israeli Defense Minister Warns Hizbullah and Lebanon but Calls for Pacification
Hezbollah members intercepted by locals in rare challenge to Iran-backed group
Villagers Intercept Rocket Launcher Carrier, Accuse Hizbullah of Endangering Civilian Lives
UNIFIL says situation very serious, urges Lebanon, Israel to cease fire
UNIFIL Urges Ceasefire, Says in Contact with Lebanon, Israel
Aoun Orders Help for Residents who Fled Israeli Shelling
Geagea Condemns ‘Playing with Fire’ after Hizbullah-Israel Fire Exchanges
A year on, Beirut port explosion victims still await justice/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
Lebanon's Year Zero/Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/August 06/2021
Beirut’s Nadine Fayyad gallery showcases Raouf Rifai’s ‘Dervishes’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2021
A Breakout Moment for a New Approach to Iran
G7 rebukes Iran for threatening international peace and security after ship attack
Saudi Arabia deplores ‘negative activity’ of Iran in the region
Israel, Iran exchange threats of military action
Sworn-in Raisi reiterates message of defiance against ‘arrogant powers’
Suspected Iran-backed forces copy tactics of Somali pirates
Israel names president’s brother as US envoy, points to Iran experience
Israeli Foreign Minister to Visit Morocco Next Week
Palestinian Dies of Israeli Gunfire after West Bank Clashes
Sudan takes first step towards ICC trial of Bashir
Taliban Assassinate Head of Afghan Government Media Department
Sudan sentences RSF members to death for killing protesters

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 06-07/2021
Question: "Do angels appear to people today?"/GotQuestions.org?/August 06/2021
Iranian athletes at Tokyo Olympics remember murdered wrestler Navid Afkari/Benjamin Weinthal/ Fox News/August 06/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2021
Hezbollah the Terrorist organization is totally responsible for the Beirut Port Explosion, and justice will not be achieved before Lebanon is liberated from its occupation.
Elias Bejjani/August 04/2021
حزب الله الإرهابي هو المسؤول عن تفجير مرفأ بيروت، والعدالة لن تتحقق قبل تحرير لبنان من رجس احتلاله
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101087/elias-bejjani-hezbollah-the-terrorist-organization-is-totally-responsible-for-the-beirut-port-explosion-and-justice-will-not-be-achieved-before-lebanon-is-liberated-from-its-occupation/
Prophet Isaiah 33/01: “Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed”.
In reality and practically, justice in Lebanon will remain a mirage and a dream while Lebanon is still occupied by the Iranian Hezbollah, and governed by a bunch of local puppets and Trojans.
Sadly, justice in our beloved occupied Lebanon is currently far from reach, and even impossible, whether in regards to the Beirut Port explosion horrible crime, or the assassinations of dozens of sovereigns, patriotic and free Lebanese figures.
Justice in the occupied Lebanon is currently ignored, muzzled, marginalized and down trodden, and will not be achieved in any way before the country is liberated from the occupation, domination, hegemony, barbarism and the Mafiosi of the Iranian terrorist organization, Hezbollah.
In this Trojan framework that Hezbollah is enforcing, all that is circulated in the media about judicial investigations into the Beirut Port Explosion crime in particular, revolves only around ignoring the real perpetrator, and on distracting the Lebanese people with names of political and security officials who are charged on mere negligence basis.
The occupier, Hezbollah who has been since 2005 in complete control of Beirut’s airport and port, brought the shipment of ammonium nitrate to Lebanon in full partnership and co-operation with the Syrian Criminal Assad Regime.
Hezbollah stored the ammonium nitrate in the Beirut Port, used it inside and outside Lebanon in terrorism explosions, and transported most of it to Syria, where Assad regime transformed it into bombing barrels of death and destruction.
Due to the fact that Hezbollah is an “assassination machine “and an Iranian terrorist organization that occupies and terrorizes the Lebanese, all the Lebanese security officials and politicians, including and foremost, the President, House Speaker, PM, ministers, MP’S and all high ranging government employees would not have dared to utter a word about the ammonium shipment, even if they were aware of it. This enforced silence would be either because of fear for their lives, or due to their treason affiliation with Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, the terrorist Hezbollah, and through its ruling puppets and officials in all positions continues viciously to distract the judicial investigation, and the peoples’ focus from the truth, that actually and plainly points towards its sole criminal role in exploding Beirut’s Port on August 04, 2020.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah has been openly and loudly threatening the Lebanese judiciary, and questioning its credibility, in a replicate to his evil role with the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL), that was investigating the assassination of the late PM, Rafik Al Hariri.
In summary, Hezbollah, which occupies Lebanon and controls its rulers, officials and political parties’ without even one exception, is fully accountable for the Beirut Port Explosion crime, and accordingly justice will not be fully achieved before the liberation of Lebanon, and before charging, arresting and before putting on all its leaders on trial. And until the day of liberation comes, this Terrorist and criminal armed militia, will continue to systematically and viciously to devour our beloved Lebanon, The Land Of The Holy Cedars, piece by piece, intimidating its people and assassinating its patriotic leaders.

Reports: Aoun Sends Miqati ‘Positive’ Proposal on Govt. Formation
Naharnet/August 06/2021
The fifth meeting between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati, following the port blast's first anniversary, was positive compared to the previous ones, according to media sources.
Sources have informed al-Joumhouria newspaper that Aoun has discussed with Miqati a “new and positive” approach, which was sent to the PM-designate through a special envoy on Wednesday. The newspaper stated, in remarks published Friday, that Miqati considered Aoun’s suggestions well worth “being studied” and described the new development to be positive, without being “too confident” nor “too pessimistic” about the results. Sources also said that there has been “great progress” in the distribution of non-sovereign portfolios, and an agreement on a formula that will facilitate the distribution of the four sovereign portfolios. A sixth meeting will take place today Friday between Aoun and Miqati.

Miqati Says Made 'Slow Progress' in Meeting with Aoun
Naharnet/August 06/2021
Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati seemed to be upbeat Thursday after his fifth meeting with President Michel Aoun in Baabda. “The meeting was important… and we made progress today in the consultations, albeit a slow progress, but we are determined and keen on forming the government,” Miqati told reporters. Describing the meeting as a “positive step forward,” Miqati added that he has set a formation deadline for himself out of his “patriotic sense,” seeing as the constitution does not stipulate a deadline. Asked about the reports that have suggested that he might resign soon, the PM-designate said: “I have accepted the designation in order to form (a government) and I have not mentioned anything about resignation.” “But should I face a dead end as to finding a harmonious team to achieve revival, I will speak to the Lebanese, but so far I have not encountered any problem,” Miqati added. Calling on the Lebanese to shun “despair,” the PM-designate said he will hold a sixth meeting with Aoun on Friday. A “highly informed source” had earlier told the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency that Miqati’s visit to Baabda on Thursday would likely be "the last."Paris will then “exert pressures on Aoun and MP Jebran Bassil and European sanctions will be imposed prior to Miqati’s resignation before the end of August,” the source added. “What’s more dangerous is that the club of ex-PMs will not offer Maronites any Sunni premier during Aoun’s tenure after Miqati’s resignation,” the source went on to say.

Hizbullah Fires Rockets at Shebaa Farms, Israel Responds but Says Doesn't Want War
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Associated Press/August 06/2021
Hizbullah said it fired "dozens" of rockets Friday at open areas of the occupied Shebaa Farms district, drawing retaliatory Israeli strikes for a second straight day. It is the first time that Hizbullah has directly claimed an attack on Israel since 2019, as tensions boil along the border following a week of tit-for-tat exchanges. The latest round of rocket fire on Friday morning came "in response to the Israeli air raids" that hit south Lebanon on Thursday, Hizbullah said in a statement. "The Islamic Resistance shelled open territory near positions of Israeli occupation forces in the Shebaa Farms with dozens of rockets," it said. An AFP correspondent in south Lebanon said he heard several explosions and saw smoke rising from the Shebaa Farms. The Israeli military said it was "currently striking the launch sources in Lebanon."An Israeli army spokesman said Hizbullah fired 19 rockets of which three fell inside Lebanon, 10 were intercepted and six landed in open Israeli-controlled territory without causing casualties or damage.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meanwhile swiftly convened a meeting with the country's top defense officials to discuss the situation. The Israeli army later said it was ready for an "escalation" on the Lebanese border but played down the prospects of all-out war. "We believe that neither Hizbullah wants a full-out war, and we definitely do not wish to have a war," an Israeli army spokesman, Amnon Shefler, told journalists. "We do not wish to escalate to a full war, yet of course we are very prepared for that and we will not allow these acts of terror to continue and we will do what is needed," he added.
He said life continued as normal on the Israeli side of the border.
Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem meanwhile said the group was committed to responding to any attack on Lebanon. But "we do not believe things are headed towards an escalation, though Hizbullah is prepared" if needed, he added. On Thursday, Israel carried out air strikes on Lebanon for the first time in seven years in response to a previous salvo of cross-border rocket fire. Israel has warned repeatedly that it will not allow a power vacuum and a deepening economic crisis in Lebanon to undermine security on its northern border. The Israeli military said at the time that it "views the state of Lebanon as responsible for all actions originating in its territory, and warns against further attempts to harm Israeli civilians and Israel's sovereignty." The Shebaa Farms district is claimed by Lebanon and Hizbullah, but the United Nations, which has maintained a peacekeeping force in south Lebanon since 1978, regards it as part of the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981.
The U.N. peacekeeping force patrolling the Lebanon-Israel border, UNIFIL, warned Friday of a "very dangerous situation." "This is a very dangerous situation, with escalatory actions seen on both sides over the past two days," it said, adding that it was working to "prevent the situation from spiraling out of control."Hizbullah, which in recent years has been fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the neighboring country's civil war, named Friday's operation after two of its fighters who were killed by Israeli fire.
Ali Mohsen was killed in July last year in an Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital Damascus. Mohammed Tahhan was shot dead by Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border in May during a protest in support of Gaza during this year's Israel-Hamas war.
Friday's exchanges were a significant escalation between Israel's new government and Iran-backed Hizbullah, and comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran that has played out in the Persian Gulf. Israel's defense minister warned Thursday that his country is prepared to strike Iran, issuing the threat against the Islamic Republic after a fatal drone strike on a oil tanker at sea that his country blamed on Tehran. The escalation comes at a sensitive time in Lebanon, which is mired in multiple crises including a devastating economic and financial meltdown and political deadlock that has left the country without a functional government for a full year. Hizbullah's response, rocketing open fields in a disputed area rather than Israel proper, appeared calibrated to limit any response. It is also a politically sensitive time in Israel. Israel’s new eight-party governing coalition is trying to keep peace under a fragile cease-fire that ended an 11-day war with Hamas’ militant rulers in Gaza in May. Israel has long considered Hizbullah its most serious and immediate military threat. It estimates the group possesses over 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking anywhere in Israel. In recent years, it also has expressed concerns that the group is trying to import or develop an arsenal of precision-guided missiles.

Hezbollah, Israel exchange fire across southern Lebanon border
Reuters, Tel Aviv / Beirut/August 06/2021
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah organization said it had fired dozens of rockets at open ground near Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms area on Friday in response to Israeli air strikes in Lebanon this week. Suggesting its attack was calibrated to avoid further escalation, Hezbollah said it had targeted open ground near Israeli forces in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that had also struck open areas. Israel said it did not wish to escalate to a full war, though it was ready for one. Rockets were fired towards Israel from southern Lebanon triggering sirens in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Israeli media reported that some of the rockets had been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. The Israeli military said sirens had sounded in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, and in the Golan Heights, part of territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Rockets fired from Lebanon two days ago drew retaliatory Israeli shelling and air strikes, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid friction with Iran.

Israel army does not want Lebanon ‘escalation’ but ready
AFP/06 August ,2021
Israel said it was ready for an “escalation” on the Lebanese border after an exchange of fire with Shiite militant group Hezbollah but played down the prospects of all-out war. “We believe that neither Hezbollah wants a full-out war, and we definitely do not wish to have a war,” an Israeli army spokesman, Amnon Shefler, told journalists. “We do not wish to escalate to a full war, yet of course we are very prepared for that and we will not allow these acts of terror to continue and we will do what is needed,” he said following Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel that prompted retaliatory shelling.

Israeli Defense Minister Warns Hizbullah and Lebanon but Calls for Pacification
Naharnet/August 06/2021
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Friday warned Hizbullah and Lebanon not to “test” Israel, after Hizbullah claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the occupied Shebaa Farms in response to Thursday’s Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon. In a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, Gantz called on Washington to intervene to seek a halt to the rocket fire from the Lebanese side. “Israeli will not allow Hizbullah to mess with it and it knows that,” Gantz added, noting that Israel “has no interest in Lebanon” and will “respond to pacification with pacification.” “We advise Hizbullah and Lebanon’s army and government not to test us,” the Israeli minister went on to say, warning that “the situation in Lebanon is horrible” and Israel “can make it worse.”And stressing Israel’s readiness for “any scenario,” Gantz said Israel “will continue to work against Hizbullah and its proxies to protect the Israelis.”

Hezbollah members intercepted by locals in rare challenge to Iran-backed group
Reuters, Beirut/06 August ,2021
Hezbollah fighters who fired rockets towards Israeli forces from Lebanon on Friday were intercepted by locals afterwards, the group said, a rare challenge to the Iran-backed organization as its members passed through a Druze area of the south. Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets towards Israeli forces in the disputed Shebaa Farms area, saying it had targeted open ground in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that hit open ground in Lebanon on Thursday. Israel responded to Friday’s rockets with artillery fire into Lebanon. As the Hezbollah fighters returned from the launch, “a number of citizens intercepted them” as they passed through the Chouya area, Hezbollah said in a statement. A video circulated on social media and broadcast by Lebanese TV stations showed a crowd of men gathered around a blue, flat-back truck loaded with rocket launchers in Chouya, a predominantly Druze area of the south. The Lebanese army said in a statement it had detained the “four people who launched the rockets and seized the launcher used in the operation”. In its statement, Hezbollah said the launch had taken place “in a wooded area totally far from residential areas, to preserve the security of citizens”. Hezbollah said it always took the utmost care to avoid exposing people to harm “during its resistance work”, and would continue to do so. Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon’s leading Druze politician, urged calm after the incident. “We hope that we all exit this tense atmosphere on social media,” he wrote on Twitter.Hezbollah enjoys strong support among Shias who form the majority in southern Lebanon, where its fighters helped drive out Israeli forces that occupied the area until 2000. But its powerful arsenal has long been a point of conflict in Lebanon, where its political opponents say the arsenal undermines the Lebanese state and should be handed over to the army.

Villagers Intercept Rocket Launcher Carrier, Accuse Hizbullah of Endangering Civilian Lives
Agence France Presse/06 August ,2021
Hizbullah said in a statement Friday that a number of citizens intercepted Hizbullah fighters in Shwaya at 11:15 a.m. after they had targeted Shebaa Farms with rockets, in a response to Israel’s previous attacks. A video widely shared on social media showed angry villagers blocking the truck's passage and accusing Hizbullah of endangering civilian lives by launching rockets from close to residential areas. Hizbullah responded that they had targeted open areas “in order to preserve the security of citizens.” The statement stressed that “Hizbullah has been and will remain keen on protecting its people and not to expose them to any harm during its resistance work.” A force from the Lebanese army and army intelligence agents later arrived in Hasbaya, and confiscated the truck carrying the rocket launcher. The truck was carrying 32 rockets, 21 of which were fired into the occupied Shebaa Farms and the Golan Heights, media reports said.

UNIFIL says situation very serious, urges Lebanon, Israel to cease fire
AFP & Reuters/06 August ,2021
The UN peacekeeping force patrolling the Lebanon-Israel border, UNIFIL, warned of a “very dangerous situation” after the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and the Israeli army traded fire on Friday. “This is a very dangerous situation, with escalatory actions seen on both sides over the past two days,” it said, adding that it was working to “prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.”Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah organization said it had fired dozens of rockets at open ground near Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms area on Friday in response to Israeli air strikes in Lebanon this week. In a statement, Hezbollah said the Israeli air strikes had hit open ground in Lebanon. Rockets were fired towards Israel from southern Lebanon triggering sirens in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Israeli media reported that some of the rockets had been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

UNIFIL Urges Ceasefire, Says in Contact with Lebanon, Israel
Naharnet/06 August ,2021
UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col is in direct contact with the parties over Friday’s hostilities on the Lebanese-Israeli border, UNIFIL said. “He calls on everyone to immediately cease fire,” UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that “this is a very dangerous situation, with escalatory actions seen on both sides over the past two days.” UNIFIL is “actively engaging with the parties through all formal and informal liaison and coordination mechanisms to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control,” the U.N. force added. “We are coordinating with the Lebanese Armed Forces to strengthen security measures throughout the area of operations,” it said, calling on the parties to “cease fire and maintain calm” so that the U.N. force “can begin an investigation.”

Aoun Orders Help for Residents who Fled Israeli Shelling
Naharnet/06 August ,2021
President Michel Aoun received reports from the Army Command about the developments of the Lebanese-Israeli fire exchange on Friday, the Presidency said in a statement. The army reports included the measures taken by the army to restore calm and stability in the region, in cooperation with the UNIFIL, the Presidency added.Aoun gave his directives to take care of the residents who were forced to leave their homes in the villages and towns that were shelled by Israel, in anticipation of any possible escalation and to provide them with the necessary needs.

Geagea Condemns ‘Playing with Fire’ after Hizbullah-Israel Fire Exchanges
Naharnet/06 August ,2021
Head of Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea tweeted Friday, after cross-border rocket fire exchanges between Hizbullah and Israel, that “what is happening is very dangerous, especially amid the great tension in the region.”He added that the Lebanese are already suffering and warned that “playing with fire” might “eradicate the rest of the Lebanese population.”He called on Hizbullah to “leave the Lebanese people alone” and not to add “bigger” and “more terrible and painful” tragedies to the tragedies they are already living.

A year on, Beirut port explosion victims still await justice
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
“It is a criminal state ruled by criminal and corrupt leaders”; “We will not rest until justice is achieved no matter how much they try to obstruct it.” The angry recriminations marked the first anniversary of the August 4 seismic explosion of Beirut port incriminating a corrupt ruling class responsible for the devastation of large swathes of the Lebanese capital. The explosion of more than 2,500 tonnes of highly-explosive ammonium nitrate fertilizer, stored haphazardly in the port for six years, killed 217 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed some 300,000 homes. One year on, the investigation is stalling and no charges have been filed in a country with a long history of impunity.
Human rights groups and families of the victims have accused the country’s political class of criminal negligence and of obstructing the investigation. The already-reviled officials have been hiding behind their proclaimed immunity to avoid prosecution for the blast, stalling a leading investigating judge’s work.
Judge Tarek Bitar is the second jurist to lead the investigation. He replaced Judge Fadi Sawwan in February, after the latter was dismissed for charging three former ministers and outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab with criminal negligence.
“We want to know the truth, but unfortunately we are dealing with a totally corrupt state,” says Ibrahim Hoteit whose brother Tharwat, a firefighter, was killed in the blast.
“After a whole year of manipulation and procrastination by officials refusing to appear before the judge using unlawful arguments which they try to promote as law, we have become more determined to demand justice and the truth.”
Hoteit has brought together over 100 families of the blast victims in an association that is waging campaigns and protests to press for lifting officials’ immunity and allowing the investigation to advance.
“We will resort to bone-breaking measures against those stonewalling the investigation,” Hoteit said. “A year of sufferings and bleeding wounds is enough. The Fourth of August is just one day, but we live it every day. We cannot wait any longer.”
In a country where impunity is the norm, the road to justice is a long and thorny one, but Hoteit and the families of the other victims, backed by the huge crowds that turned out at the commemoration ceremony at Beirut Port on Wednesday, vowed to continue fighting for justice. “Achieving justice is fundamental to make a closure. We cannot live in a country ruled by criminals, it is either us or them,” said a woman waiving the national flag outside the port. Former warlords have run Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990, heading sectarian-rooted factions and dividing power among them. Their patronage system has fomented widespread corruption which brought Lebanon to the brink of total economic, financial and social collapse. “In any decent country those people (warlords) should have been hanged or imprisoned but in Lebanon they have created a so-called state and divided powers between themselves,” Hoteit said. “It is true that impunity is the rule in Lebanon but this time it is different. The scope of the crime and the sufferings is (so) immense it cannot be overlooked,” he added.
Leaked official documents indicated that Lebanese customs, military and security authorities, as well as the judiciary, had warned successive governments of the dangerous stockpile of explosive chemicals at the port, yet no action was taken. Despite this, MPs and officials have been claiming their right to immunity throughout the investigation to evade interrogation and prosecution.
International lawyer Mohammad F Mattar argues that “there is no rule of law in Lebanon but rule by law”. “The ruling class has domesticated the judiciary and twisted existing laws to protect their corruption and maintain their illicit privileges,” he continued. “This system is grounded in corruption; it is a criminal enterprise run by a sectarian junta. There is no proper accountability or liability in Lebanon,” Mattar said. “The system is actually protected by self-serving legislation, abuse of law and judicial malpractice and corruption; it is sheer denial of justice. “How can you put an end to impunity in a system where the rule of the law is absent?!” Mattar asked. “Very few crimes, if at all, have ever been punished since 1975 (civil war). Politicians exploit law to maintain their immunity and obstruct just and due process by politicising the judicial process; the judiciary, especially the criminal one, is now confessionalised, each confession or sect has its own loyal judges! This, of course, does not mean that there are no honest judges of great integrity and professionalism. “It is one year already after the port’s explosion with no concrete results out as far as the investigation is concerned. Still, immunity have not been waived, this tells it all! The system is hiding behind immunity lest they all get behind bars,” Mattar added. Anger and sadness over the lack of justice for the blast’s victims and the severe deterioration in living conditions prevailed as thousands of people, many holding pictures of the dead and waving Lebanese flags, gathered near the port to mark the blast’s first anniversary. “Nothing has changed since last year. We are still suffering and our wounds are wide open,” said Pierre Noun, cousin of firefighter Joe Noun who was killed in the blast. “We know the road to justice is very long, but we will not give up even if it takes another year, or two or even more.”

Lebanon's Year Zero
Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/August 06/2021
How long do you keep investing in failure? How much effort does one put into reviving a corpse? When can you, or are allowed to, try something different? The late Sudanese rebel leader John Garang used to say that the regime in Sudan was "too deformed to be reformed" (he made a deal with that regime though, for the sake of peace, and tragically died before seeing the consequences). In a region full of rotten dysfunctional regimes, tiny Lebanon has become a cautionary tale of world class implosion and corruption. The World Bank described it as "likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top 3, most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century."[1] And this situation has been unraveling before our eyes for almost two years, seemingly in slow motion for outside observers, and unbearable for Lebanese suffering from so much cruelty and privation.
And while the international community – really France and the United States – has tried to cajole the Lebanese ruling elite, the same class that caused this crisis in the first place, taking urgent steps to allow the West to help, that elite is resistant. They have other priorities, such as remaining in power, dividing up the dwindling spoils, maneuvering for future positions, especially for the question of who will be Lebanon's president after the doddering Michel Aoun leaves the scene. Will it be another Hezbollah collaborator or a return to another agent of Damascus in the palace at Baabda? Aoun, the country's current head of state, is a perfect metaphor for the elite's political moment – oblivious, complacent, alternating between cunning and senility.
Lebanon is, of course, unique with its distinctive history and mix of sects. The disaster is also unique. Many states have had imploded economies, corruption, and rotten elites but in Lebanon this all happens with the context of the country being ruled indirectly by an Iranian terrorist group through that rotten elite and its institutions. Hezbollah is technically a Lebanese organization, its members are Lebanese citizens, but in any real sense it functions as an extension of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It is an occupation force whose occupiers are local citizens, akin to the old days when imperial powers would raise local subaltern forces to police their colonies for them.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds toward systemic change in Lebanon, there are dreamers who articulate a different path. Civil society and good governance groups associated with the 2019 Thawra, battered and weakened, still survive. Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Patriarch has pushed the idea that Lebanon should be neutral and disentangle itself from regional conflicts (war with Israel is the reason for Hezbollah existing as an armed force, of course).
Some of these dreamers have gone even further, questioning the nature of the state itself and calling for a federal Lebanon divided into four geographical "cantons" built around the country's four main religious sects – Sunni, Shia, Christian, and Druze.[2] I find the concept that Iyad Boustany has described, embodying qualities such as "subsidiarity, self-rule, and localism" extremely attractive, not just for Lebanon but elsewhere. Subsidiarity, that principle that social and political decisions are best dealt with at the smallest, most local level, with its echoes of Pope Leo XIII, De Tocqueville, Belloc, and Chesterton, seems much more urgent in a world where – despite the tantalizing promise of social media – real power seems more centralized than ever.[3] Lebanon has its predatory elite and increasingly it looks like similar elites, combining political, cultural and economic power in the same permanent class, are emerging elsewhere.[4]
Boustany sees a federal system as the last, best hope for Lebanon's embattled and dwindling Christian population. He recently wrote that without radical change, "Lebanon's Christians will soon be no more. Their civilization will slowly end. Not in a highly publicized massacre, not in a heroic last stand. History will not remember a fatal date nor glorious name: no May 29th 1453, no Constantine Palaeologus... and yet the lights of Hagia Sophia will go out. Slowly drained exhausted by time and demography and wrapped in the shame of a corrupt system, like watching a train wreck in slow motion, our civilization will soon exit history."[5]
A federated Lebanon does not seem to be "either a sham or a cure-all" but rather one of those reformist, hypothetical ideas that will never get very far because those in power – particularly Hezbollah, but also its enablers, including the Lebanese Christian ones – will never willingly give up any bit of the power, current or potential, that they hold. Where such an idea moves from the fantastical to the merely improbable is what happens if Lebanon's decline continues where what remains of a rickety state collapses and armed men put up barricades to protect their district and neighborhoods from outside looters.[6] You could get cantons or federalism by default, or just chaos. Obviously collapse and disintegration of that sort could be prevented by a well-armed (mostly by the Americans) Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) – assuming that the LAF itself does not collapse – at the service of whatever fig leaf of an authority remains. And that authority is likely to be a partner of Hezbollah. It seems that Lebanon must sink deeper before it has even a remote chance to rise and nothing is assured.[7]
Lebanon's predicament is relatively unique although Iran is working to refashion the Hezbollah model elsewhere, chiefly in Iraq, where it attempts to rule indirectly through corrupt parties and empowered and embedded local death squads. Other elements in the Lebanese catastrophe are not so unique and have accelerated over time: the loss of control over borders and supposedly sovereign institutions; a permanent predatory ruling class; a collapse of the currency and economic system/hyperinflation; a constant degradation of both the built and natural environment; and an emphasis on sub-group identity and loyalty over that of the nation. We see the incipient danger of some or all of these elements elsewhere, even in the West.[8]
We are not Lebanon, but we seem increasingly dysfunctional, divided, and unmoored. For Lebanon's abused and battered population having a situation anything like that in any Western country, with their myriad ills, would be a distinct improvement. They might be able to buy some food and medicine then. The country seems more broken than ever and with even less chance for a realistic positive outcome a year after the Beirut Port explosion.[9]
At this desolate point, one can only hope that one day the Lebanese dreamers – federalists, proponents of neutrality, those students winning university elections against the ruling parties, brave journalists – have a realistic chance of coming up with something better, more human, and dignified. And that in our clumsiness and lack of vision, a superficial and extremely distracted West does not just empower the latest glib and facile iteration of the entrenched status quo in Lebanon Year Zero.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.
[1] Worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/01/lebanon-sinking-into-one-of-the-most-severe-global-crises-episodes, June 1, 2021.
[2] Today.lorientlejour.com/article/1266103/federalism-in-lebanon-a-cure-all-or-a-sham.html, June 23, 2021.
[3] Theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/06/what-is-distributism.html, June 12, 2014.
[4] Tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/american-elite-tom-friedman, January 4, 2021.
[5] Medium.com/@iboustany_51445/from-the-roman-legions-to-federal-lebanon-an-essay-into-the-roots-of-devolution-bef5eba5900c, July 2, 2021.
[6] Youtube.com/watch?v=_a2HmAzuGzI, March 9, 2021.
[7] Nowlebanon.com/death-has-majesty, August 3, 2021.
[8] Unherd.com/2021/08/america-is-turning-into-the-soviet-union, August 3, 2021.
[9] Aljumhuriya.net/en/content/one-year-beirut%E2%80%99s-explosion-lebanon-more-broken-ever, August 3, 2021.

Beirut’s Nadine Fayyad gallery showcases Raouf Rifai’s ‘Dervishes’
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
The Nadine Fayyad gallery in Beirut continues to present the latest paintings of Lebanese artist, Raouf Rifai and also allows the public to discover the artist’s work via an online virtual exhibition. The exhibition showcases Rifai’s more mature artistic style which celebrates the dervishes in their moments of anger and joy. Many may not be surprised that Lebanese galleries are slowly getting back to mounting exhibitions, even if the situation in the country is no better than it was a year ago and is in fact probably much worse. There is no surprise in the galleries’ resumed activity because it is a Lebanese trait to overcome one’s grief and move on, even if there are no signs of reprieve ahead. What is also notable is that Nadine Fayyad, a Lebanese artist who is passionate about contemporary art, decided to return to her country after spending twenty years in Saudi Arabia, where she managed a contemporary art gallery. She came home to fulfil a long-held dream of opening her own gallery in Beirut. Fayyad has said more than once that she is fully aware of the extremely tense situation in Lebanon and is familiar with the critical challenges that art galleries are currently facing in Beirut. She says, these galleries “will resist and expand further if they join the list of international galleries that have opted for virtual artistic activity.” Virtual art-shows can successfully accompany the physical display in art galleries, she noted.
Fayyad believes that her return to Lebanon and to Beirut in particular could contribute to empowering her country in the way she knows well, which is providing support to artists and contributing to the success of the contemporary Lebanese art movement. The Nadine Fayyad Gallery has been showing since mid-July a large group of works by the Lebanese artist Raouf Rifai, which include paintings he has recently completed as well as older works selected by the gallery. Perhaps Fayyad’s decision to adopt Rifai’s work and exclusively deal with this artist comes at the right time. Everyone familiar with the paintings of this Lebanese artist, will concur. In Rifai’s “Dervishes” who are central in a Middle Eastern culture and Lebanese identity, one sees reflections of Lebanese figures first and Arab and Middle Eastern faces second. In today’s atmosphere of dark surrealism, who can better reflect the current mood than these Dervishes of Rifai? His figures clearly express the reality of the situation in Lebanon in particular and the world in general, especially after the pandemic and the exacerbation of economic and political crises and their direct impact on human nature. The artist says “The main theme around which my work revolves is humanity, humanity that emerged from a tremendous history of inherited civilisations and cultures. What I present here is a mirror for us, a mirror of the transformations and development of Middle Eastern societies.” The art which Rifai presents is not in a bleak form nor do his characters deepen the sense of tragedy. Rather, his work is of the type that either makes sense of the crises or pokes fun at them, so as to rise above them with wisdom and irony.
His world is colourful and noisy. There is no sight of blood and nor open wounds. His work, since he started in 2008, carries a hint of sarcasm in the contrasting of colours, even if most of the tableaus are in autumnal earth colours. Those who look at Rifai’s recent work will find a clear tendency toward abstraction. The message is not confined to a particular geography. Does the artist dedicate his new “Dervishes” to all human beings? A question that heralds future work expected from him. Rifai, who was born in 1954, lives and works in Beirut. He holds a university degree in decorative art earned in 1982. In 1995 he obtained a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris. He has held many solo shows and exhibited in Lebanon, France, Japan and the United States.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2021
A Breakout Moment for a New Approach to Iran
Reuel Marc Gerecht/Ray Takeyh/The Wall Street Journal/August 06/2021
Neither arms control nor military force is realistic. What would a more practical policy look like?
Mohammad Khatami, an affable, intellectual cleric who believed in the Islamic revolution but wanted more humanity and democracy in government, unexpectedly won the Iranian presidential election on May 23, 1997. His victory marked the beginning of the Western left’s conviction that the clerical regime was evolving into a less religious and oppressive system. But that isn’t panning out. Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric renowned for his ruthlessness, became president this week and is the apparent successor to Ali Khamenei as supreme leader. Joe Biden may be forced to answer a question presidents have preferred to avoid: Would Washington use force to stop the development of Iranian nuclear weapons? American presidents since 2002, when the Islamic Republic’s clandestine atomic program was revealed, have declared that Iran’s possessing such arms is unacceptable.
President Biden appears unprepared to unleash the U.S. Air Force, and the administration can’t plausibly argue that opening up more trade hurts the theocracy’s aggressive, Islamist ambitions. This leaves few options beyond economic penalties. The White House probably doesn’t appreciate the irony of its now reportedly contemplating leveling more sanctions on Tehran to coerce Mr. Khamenei to re-enter the nuclear deal, after Mr. Biden and his Iran team derided the sanctions diplomacy of Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign.
*Mr. Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
*Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The Last Shah: America, Iran and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty.”

G7 rebukes Iran for threatening international peace and security after ship attack
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/06 August ,2021
The top diplomats from the G7 lashed out at Iran for the July 29 drone attack on the Mercer Street tanker in a statement condemning Tehran for threatening international peace and security. “We condemn the unlawful attack committed on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on 29 July, which killed a British and a Romanian national. This was a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law,” the statement read. “All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack,” the foreign ministers added. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US are members of the G7. The attack led to a US aircraft carrier and other US ships accompanying the attacked ship. Iran and its proxies have repeatedly disrupted tankers and ships attempting to travel through international waters. “Iran’s behavior, alongside its support to proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threatens international peace and security. We call on Iran to stop all activities inconsistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and call on all parties to play a constructive role in fostering regional stability and peace,” the G7 statement read.

Saudi Arabia deplores ‘negative activity’ of Iran in the region
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
WASHINGTON--Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming Yemen’s Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon.
“All around the region, Iran continues to be emboldened,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a US think tank in an online appearance, alluding to reports that Iranian-backed forces were believed to have seized an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. “Iran is extremely active in the region with its negative activity, whether it’s continuing to supply the Houthis with weapons or endangering shipping in the Arabian Gulf, which we have got reports coming in today that may indicate additional activity there,” he said. Iran, he added, had abetted the political impasse that has undermined Lebanon’s economy. Addressing a virtual gathering of the Aspen Security Forum, he also repeated Riyadh’s stance that it could live with a “longer and stronger” version of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if it ensured Tehran never obtained nuclear arms know-how. “We certainly support a deal with Iran as long as that deal ensures that Iran will not now or ever gain access to nuclear weapons technology,” he said, saying Riyadh would welcome an Iran that contributed to regional stability and prosperity. “But that would require (Iran) engaging in the region as a state actor in a normal way … not supporting militias, not sending weapons to armed groups and most importantly, giving up a nuclear programme which might be used … to develop nuclear weapons.”

Israel, Iran exchange threats of military action
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
As their shadow naval war came to a head, Israel and Iran exchanged threats of military action. Israel’s defence minister warned Thursday that his country is prepared to strike Iran, issuing the threat against the Islamic Republic after a fatal drone strike on a oil tanker at sea that his nation blamed on Tehran.
The comments by Benny Gantz come as Israel presses other countries for action at the United Nations over last week’s attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street that killed two people. The tanker, struck off Oman in the Arabian Sea, is managed by a firm owned by an Israeli billionaire. The US and the United Kingdom also blamed Iran for the attack, but no country has offered evidence or intelligence to support the claim. Iran, which along with its regional militia allies has launched similar drone attacks, has denied being involved. Speaking to the news website Ynet, Gantz responded to whether Israel was prepared to attack Iran with a blunt “yes.”“We are at a point where we need to take military action against Iran,” Gantz said. “The world needs to take action against Iran now.”From Tehran, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described Gantz’s threat as “another brazen violation of Int’l law” and “malign behaviour” that allegedly stems from Israel’s blind support for the West. He tweeted: “We state this clearly: ANY foolish act against Iran will be met with a DECISIVE response. Don’t test us.”On Wednesday, in a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations described Israel as “the main source of instability and insecurity in the Middle East and beyond for more than seven decades.”“This regime has a long dark record in attacking commercial navigation and civilian ships,” Zahra Ershadi wrote. “In less than two years, this regime has attacked over ten commercial vessels carrying oil and humanitarian goods destined to Syria.” Ershadi’s comments refer to an ongoing shadow war being waged in Mideast waterways since 2019 that has seen both Iranian and Western-linked ships attacked. The latest provocation occurred earlier this week, when hijackers stormed an asphalt tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman, briefly seizing the vessel before departing on Wednesday. No one claimed responsibility for the incident, although recorded radio communication from the ship said that armed Iranians had boarded the Asphalt Princess. In response to a request for comment, the United States Central Command, known as CENTCOM, put the blame squarely on Iran on Thursday. “We are troubled by the temporary forcible seizure of the M/V Asphalt Princess by Iranian gunmen,” said U.S. Air Force Major Nicole Ferrara, a CENTCOM spokesman. “We are looking into the incident, but do not have an understanding of what the Iranians were doing at this time, or why they would impede the transit of this legitimate commercial vessel.”Iran has denied involvement in the incident, calling all the recent maritime escalations in the region as “completely suspicious.”
Last week’s attack on the Mercer Street killed the vessel’s Romanian captain as well as a British crew member who worked for Ambrey, a maritime security firm. In a statement Thursday, Ambrey identified the victim as Adrian Underwood, a former soldier in the British Army who started at the firm as a maritime security officer in 2020 before becoming a team leader. “We continue to be in contact with Adrian’s family to offer support at this sad and difficult time,” said John Thompson, Ambrey’s management director.
The attacks began a year after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. President Joe Biden has said he’s willing to rejoin the accord, but talks over salvaging the deal have stalled in Vienna. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that his government was “working on enlisting the world” in response to the attack but warned “we also know how to act alone”.“The Iranians need to understand that it is impossible to sit peacefully in Tehran and from there ignite the entire Middle East. That is over,” he said.

Sworn-in Raisi reiterates message of defiance against ‘arrogant powers’
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
Ebrahim Raisi, was sworn in as the country’s new president during a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, an inauguration that completes hard-liners’ dominance of all branches of government in the Islamic Republic. Raisi tried to strike a posture of openness to neighbours and desire for accommodation with the US but sent the expected messages of defiance and interventionism abroad that go with his hardline agenda. With economic misery palpable and signs of growing anger among Iranians, escaping US sanctions will be Raisi’s top economic goal, political analysts say. “The new government will work to improve the economy to resolve the nation’s problems,” Raisi announced. The Iranian leader, who is himself under US sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses when he was a judge, pledged to take steps to lift broader American sanctions that have cut Iran’s oil exports and shut it out of the international banking system.“The Iranian people expect the new government to improve their livelihoods … All illegal US sanctions against the Iranian nation must be lifted,” Raisi said.
Iran has been negotiating with six powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned three years ago by then US President Donald Trump. The new Iranian president stressed that “the policy of pressure and sanctions will not cause the nation of Iran to back down from following up on its legal rights”.
The last round of talks attempting to revive the international accord on Iran’s nuclear programme concluded on June 20, with no date set for another. In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Raisi to resume negotiations in Vienna with world powers.
“We urge Iran to return to the negotiations soon,” Price said. “For us, this is an urgent priority.”“If President Raisi is genuine in his determination to see the sanctions lifted, well that is precisely what’s on the table in Vienna,” he added.“The opportunity to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA won’t last forever,” State Department spokesman Ned Prices stressed.
Raisi also pointed out that one of his main foreign policy priorities will be improving relations with regional countries, in an allusion to Saudi Arabia in particular. “I extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to all countries in the region, especially our neighbours,” he said.
He also claimed that Iran’s regional “capabilities support the peace and security of countries” and would only be used “against the threats of oppressive powers.”Around 80 foreign dignitaries attended Raisi’s swearing-in ceremony, according to state TV, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Iraq’s President Barham Saleh. European Union nuclear deal negotiator Enrique Mora was also present, seated behind Ghani and representatives of Iran-backed regional groups such as Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas. Senior officials from Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Venezuela and South Korea also attended. But the new president announced his intent to pursue the Islamic republic’s revolutionary ambitions abroad.
“Wherever there is oppression and crime in the world, in the heart of Europe, in the US, Africa, Yemen, Syria, Palestine … we will stand by the people,” he vowed, referring to Iran-backed militias like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. His voice rose with emotion, eliciting a clamour of approval from his Iranian audience. “The message of the election was resistance against arrogant powers.”Iran’s neighbours, despite some recent overtures to Tehran, are not totally convinced of Iran’s good faith. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a “negative manner” around the region, endangering shipping, arming Yemen’s Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon..
Last week, two crew were killed in an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker off the coast of Oman. The United States believes Iran carried out the attack using explosive-laden drones. Britain and Israel have also accused Iran. Tehran denies responsibility.
In another incident, the United States said on Wednesday that it believed that Iranians hijacked a Panama-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman, but was not in a position to confirm this. Iran denied any role. Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday warned arch-foe Israel not to take military action against the Islamic republic after it threatened Tehran over a deadly tanker attack. “In another brazen violation of Int’l law, Israeli regime now blatantly threatens Iran with military action,” ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter. Raisi will have to worry about the home front where his country faces the effects of the pandemic, runaway inflation, diminishing revenues, rolling blackouts and water shortages that have sparked scattered protests. Barred from selling its oil abroad, Iran has seen its economy crumble and its currency crash, hitting ordinary citizens hardest. Its adventures abroad will not allow it focus on such challenges, experts say. Its covert naval warfare with Israel and the West might in fact spark the first military confrontation under Raisi’s rule.

Suspected Iran-backed forces copy tactics of Somali pirates
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
LONDON--Iran’s targeting of ships in the Gulf of Oman has brought to mind the actions of Somali pirates in Bab al-Mandab that wreaked havoc from 2007 to 2010. Despite the difference in context and goals, the actions are pretty the same with Iranians seeking to threaten international navigation just as Somali pirates did in the past. On Tuesday, a group of armed men boarded a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in what appeared to be a “hijacking incident,” according to Omani officials. The incident, involving eight or nine armed men, ended after the group left the ship on Wednesday morning, according to a statement from the British navy. Observers believe that the targeting of tankers is part of an Iranian strategy aimed at sending strong messages to Europe, the United States, Israel, as well as the Gulf countries. Iran, the observers argue, wants to demonstrate its ability to threaten the security of international navigation as well as the maritime transport of oil exports. The piracy incidents are apparently aimed at pressuring the owners of tankers or the countries that benefit from the traffic into making concessions. While Somali pirates were looking for money, the Iranians want to extort political positions in favour of Tehran’s influence, regional role and the country’s nuclear programme. Piracy off the coast of Somalia which expanded from a threat to international fishing vessels to become a menace to international shipping relied largely on traditional means. Iran’s piracy, however, is supported by the state, which gives the pirates access to sophisticated tools and technologies. In order to avoid compromising their piracy operations, the Iranians operate in the Gulf of Oman and not in the heavily-guarded Arabian Gulf, where they risk running into confrontation with the US forces. After boarding and threatening tankers, Iranian pirates usually return to their boats and avoid entering the Iranian territory, unlike Somalis who used to escape in speedboats towards their country’s shores.
Waddah al-Taha, an analyst and a member of the Advisory Board at the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment, considered that Iran has developed the concept of piracy from that of a criminal act by individuals, militias or gangs to that of “a pirate state”, which calls for international action to counter the phenomenon.
In a statement to The Arab Weekly, Taha noted that “acts of blowing up oil tankers in international waters using sea mines or drones are a method of piracy, and the same applies when tankers are hijacked and forced to change course and travel to Iran.” On Wednesday, the Oman Maritime Security Centre said in a statement it had received information about the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess being subjected “to a hijacking incident in international waters in the Gulf of Oman”, but gave no further details. “The Royal Air Force of Oman is carrying out sorties near the area, and the Royal Navy of Oman deployed several ships to help secure international waters in the region,” it added. Earlier on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a warning notice based on a third-party source that people who had boarded the tanker involved in a “potential hijack” had since left and that the vessel, which it did not identify, was safe. This incident comes after an attack last week on an Israeli-operated tanker off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman, which killed two crew members and was blamed by the United States, Israel and Britain on Iran. The United States and Britain said they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Liberian-flagged tanker Mercer Street, which is owned by a Japanese company and operated by Israel’s Zodiac Maritime. The Israeli government Wednesday publicly accused an Iranian military officer, Saeed Ara Jani, of overseeing the strike, alleging Ara Jani heads the Revolutionary Guards’ drone unit.  “For the first time ever, I will also expose the man who is directly responsible for the launch of suicide UAVs [unmanned vehicles] — his name is Saeed Ara Jani,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said. “The UAV command conducted the attack on the Mercer Street. Saeed Ara Jani plans and provides the training and equipment to conduct terror attacks in the region,” Gantz added in a briefing to ambassadors from member states of the UN Security Council.

Israel names president’s brother as US envoy, points to Iran experience
Reuters/06 August ,2021
Israel said on Friday it had appointed its president’s brother, former general Michael Herzog, as its next ambassador to the United States, highlighting his experience on Iran and its nuclear program. Tehran is currently negotiating with Washington and other world powers on reviving a 2015 deal that curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett - a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition - has warned against a return to the pact, whose caps on projects with bomb-making potential Israel deems too lax.
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a direct threat, though Tehran has said it is only interested in energy generation and other peaceful projects. Michael Herzog, 69, served in the Israeli military for 40 years, was chief of staff to four defense ministers and took part in many rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians, a statement from Bennett’s office said. It pointed to Herzog’s “in-depth knowledge of the strategic issues facing Israel, especially the Iranian nuclear program.” His appointment will be approved by the government soon, it added. The former general’s brother, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, was sworn in to the largely-ceremonial position in July. Former US President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal and reimposed harsh US sanctions - a move that was hailed by Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, and prompted Iran to respond by violating many of its curbs. Iranian and Western officials have said significant gaps remain in the revival talks and have yet to announce when negotiations, whose last round ended on June 20, will resume. Israeli and Western tensions with Iran have simmered after a suspected drone attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the Omani coast that killed two crew members. The United States, Israel and Britain blamed the incident on Iran. Tehran has denied responsibility and warned it would respond promptly to any threat to its security. Tensions have also flared between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which fired rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory Israeli fire.

Israeli Foreign Minister to Visit Morocco Next Week
Agence France Presse/06 August ,2021
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is to visit Morocco next week, the two countries said Friday, in the first trip to the kingdom by Israel's top diplomat since they normalized ties. A source at Morocco's foreign ministry told AFP that Lapid would visit on August 11-12 and meet with his counterpart, without providing further details. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the dates. Morocco was one of four Arab states to agree last year to normalize ties with Israel, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. The move came as the administration of former US president Donald Trump recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed and divided former Spanish colony. Morocco is home to North Africa's largest Jewish community, which numbers around 3,000. Some 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin live in Israel. Lapid's visit comes after the first direct commercial flights between Israel and Morocco were launched in last July. Lapid had announced he would make a "historic" visit to Morocco soon after the launch of commercial flights. In December last year, a direct flight carrying Israeli officials travelled from Tel Aviv to Rabat, where they signed several bilateral deals, including on air links. Rabat had a liaison office in Tel Aviv but relations came to a halt during the 2000-2005 second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. The normalization deals between Arab states and Israel have been branded a "betrayal" by the Palestinians, who believe the process should only follow a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian cause has mobilized elements of Moroccan civil society, and Islamists and some extreme left political parties oppose the normalization.

Palestinian Dies of Israeli Gunfire after West Bank Clashes
Agence France Presse/August 06/2021
A Palestinian shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank died of his wounds on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Imad Ali Mohammad Dweikat, 38, reached hospital in the city of Nablus "in a critical state" after receiving "a live bullet to the chest" in the nearby town of Beita, it said in a statement.Beita sees regular demonstrations against the Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, which often degenerate into clashes.

Sudan takes first step towards ICC trial of Bashir
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
Sudan on Tuesday approved a draft bill allowing the East African country to join the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. The decision by the cabinet to join the Rome Statute is a step forward in the long-awaited trial of suspects wanted for war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict, including former President Omar al-Bashir. There is no consensus, however, in Sudan about the ICC trial of the former autocrat. It is expected that a law will be enacted soon to establish the Transitional Justice Committee, which will lead the national consultations to set up the process of addressing past crimes. But positions seem to be divided among Sudanese factions regarding Bashir’s trial before the local judiciary or the International Criminal Court (ICC). One faction believes that concern for sovereignty requires that Bashir be brought to justice only at home. Another faction is afraid however that a prolonged trial at home would delay the process of holding Bashir accountable for his misdeeds. The issue also could fuel disputes within Sudan’s interim government. Armed movements in Darfur accuse the military component of the administration of obstructing the process of handing over Bashir to the ICC. The Sudanese military also fear that this process could drag into the case a number of senior officers, who are suspected of having played a role in the mass abuses in Darfur. The bill about joining the Rome Statute, however, still needs to be ratified by a joint meeting of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council and cabinet. Together they serve as an interim parliament. The cabinet did not offer a time frame for ratification. Sudan has been led by a joint military-civilian government since a popular uprising led to the military’s overthrow of Bashir in April 2019. That transitional government, which promised democratic reforms, has previously said that war crime suspects, including Bashir, would be tried before the ICC, but the trial venue is a matter for negotiations with The Hague-based court.
Samantha Power, who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide and now leads the US Agency for International Development, hailed the decision as “BIG news” on Twitter. “A revolution for ‘Freedom Peace & Justice’ just took a key step toward ending impunity,” wrote Power, who is on a visit to Sudan. She was referring to the uprising that led to Bashir’s ouster. Tuesday’s decision came two months after a visit by the International Criminal Court’s then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to Khartoum and Darfur, during which she urged the country’s transitional authorities to hand over suspects wanted for war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict. The Darfur strife broke out when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. Bashir’s government responded with a campaign of aerial bombings and raids by militias known as janjaweed, who stand accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.
The court charged Bashir with war crimes and genocide for allegedly masterminding the campaign of attacks in Darfur. Sudanese prosecutors last year started their own investigation into the conflict. Also indicted by the court are two other senior figures from Bashir’s rule: Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, interior and defence minister during much of the conflict and Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time and later the leader of Bashir’s ruling party. Both Hussein and Haroun have been under arrest in Khartoum since the Sudanese military, under pressure from protesters, ousted Bashir in April 2019.
The court also indicted rebel leader Abdulla Banda, whose whereabouts are unknown and janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, who was charged in May with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Taliban Assassinate Head of Afghan Government Media Department
Agence France Presse/August 06/2021
The Taliban shot dead the head of the Afghan government's media information center Friday at a mosque in the capital, the ministry said, days after warning they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased air strikes.
"Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan," interior ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said of the death of Dawa Khan Menapal. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sending a message to media saying "he was killed in a special attack carried out by mujahideen". Fighting in Afghanistan's long-running conflict has intensified since May, when foreign forces began the final stage of a withdrawal due to be completed later this month. The Taliban already control large portions of the countryside, and are now challenging Afghan government forces in several large cities. The militants warned Wednesday of more attacks targeting Afghan government leaders, a day after the defense minister escaped an assassination attempt. The bomb-and-gun attack on Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi Tuesday night brought the war to the capital for the first time in months. The Afghan and U.S. militaries have stepped up air strikes in their fight against the insurgents in a string of cities, and the Taliban said Wednesday the Kabul raid was their response.

Sudan sentences RSF members to death for killing protesters
The Arab Weekly/August 06/2021
A Sudanese court on Thursday sentenced six members of a feared paramilitary force to death for killing six protesters during a 2019 demonstration over food and fuel shortages. The protesters, including four schoolchildren, were shot dead in July 2019 in the city of Al-Obeid in North Kordofan, sparking outrage across Sudan. Days later, nine members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary units were arrested. At their trial on Thursday, broadcast on Sudan TV, Judge Mohamed Rahma sentenced six of the defendants to death, acquitted two others and referred one to a juvenile court, as he was under 18. Rahma said the actions of six found guilty were “unnecessary” and were “not on par with” the alleged verbal provocations by protesters during the otherwise peaceful demonstration. In Sudan, death sentences are usually carried out by hanging, but the six may appeal the ruling. Families of the victims demanded “retribution” for the killings during the trial. The RSF was formed in 2013 under now-ousted president Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in April 2019 following mass protests against his rule. The RSF is led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemeti, who is now a senior member of Sudan’s ruling council. Sudan has been led by a civilian-military transition since August 2019, vowing to ensure justice to victims of violence. A protest movement has long blamed the RSF for deadly violence against demonstrators, including the June 2019 breaking up of a mass sit-in Khartoum.
In 2019, protesters set up a sprawling encampment outside the army headquarters in Khartoum, calling for an end to Bashir’s rule. The camp remained for weeks after his ouster, demanding a transition to civilian rule.
In June 2019, armed men in military fatigues stormed the site and launched a days-long crackdown that left at least 128 people dead, according to medics linked to the protest movement. Sudan’s ruling generals at the time denied ordering the bloody dispersal and called for a probe into the incident. An investigation committee was launched in late 2019 to look into the events, but has yet to finish its inquiry.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials published on August 06-07/2021
Question: "Do angels appear to people today?"
GotQuestions.org?/August 06/2021
Answer: In the Bible angels appear to people in unpredictable and various ways. From a casual reading of Scripture, a person might get the idea that angelic appearances were somewhat common, but that is not the case. There is an increasing interest in angels today, and there are many reports of angelic appearances. Angels are part of almost every religion and generally seem to have the same role of messenger. In order to determine whether angels appear today, we must first get a biblical view of their ancient appearances.
The first appearance of angels in the Bible is in Genesis 3:24, when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. God placed cherubim to block the entrance with a flaming sword. The next angelic appearance is in Genesis 16:7, about 1,900 years later. Hagar, the Egyptian servant who bore Ishmael to Abraham, was instructed by an angel to return and submit to her mistress, Sarai. Abraham was visited by God and two angels in Genesis 18:2, when God informed him of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The same two angels visited Lot and instructed him to escape the city with his family before it was destroyed (Genesis 19:1-11). The angels in this case also displayed supernatural power by blinding the wicked men who were threatening Lot.
When Jacob saw a multitude of angels (Genesis 32:1), he immediately recognized them as the army of God. In Numbers 22:22, an angel confronted the disobedient prophet Balaam, but Balaam did not see the angel at first, although his donkey did. Mary received a visit from an angel who told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah, and Joseph was warned by an angel to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from Herod’s edict (Matthew 2:13). When angels appear, those who see them are often struck with fear (Judges 6:22; 1 Chronicles 21:30; Matthew 28:5). Angels deliver messages from God and do His bidding, sometimes by supernatural means. In every case, the angels point people to God and give the glory to Him. Holy angels refuse to be worshiped (Revelation 22:8-9).
According to modern reports, angelic visitations come in a variety of forms. In some cases, a stranger prevents serious injury or death and then mysteriously disappears. In other cases, a winged or white-clothed being is seen momentarily and is then gone. The person who sees the angel is often left with a feeling of peace and assurance of God’s presence. This type of visitation seems to agree with the biblical pattern as seen in Acts 27:23.
Another type of visitation that is sometimes reported today is the “angel choir” type. In Luke 2:13, the shepherds were visited by a heavenly choir as they were told of the birth of Jesus. Some people have reported similar experiences in places of worship. This experience does not fit the model so well, as it typically serves no purpose other than to provide a feeling of spiritual elation. The angel choir in Luke’s Gospel was heralding some very specific news.
A third type of visitation involves only a physical feeling. Elderly people have often reported feeling as though arms or wings were wrapped around them in times of extreme loneliness. God is certainly the God of all comfort, and Scripture speaks of God covering with His wings (Psalm 91:4). Such reports may well be examples of that covering.
God is still as active in the world as He has always been, and His angels are certainly still at work. Just as angels protected God’s people in the past, we can be assured that they are guarding us today. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” As we obey God’s commands, it is quite possible that we may encounter His angels, even if we do not realize it. In special circumstances, God allowed His people to see His unseen angels, so God’s people would be encouraged and continue in His service (2 Kings 6:16-17).
We must also heed the warnings of Scripture concerning angelic beings: there are fallen angels who work for Satan who will do anything to subvert and destroy us. Galatians 1:8 warns us to beware of any “new” gospel, even if it is delivered by an angel. Colossians 2:18 warns against the worship of angels. Every time in the Bible when men bowed down before angels, those beings firmly refused to be worshiped. Any angel who receives worship, or who does not give glory to the Lord Jesus, is an imposter. Second Corinthians 11:14-15 states that Satan and his angels disguise themselves as angels of light in order to deceive and lead astray anyone who will listen to them.
We are encouraged by the knowledge that God’s angels are at work. In special circumstances, we might even have one of those rare personal visitations. Greater than that knowledge, however, is the knowledge that Jesus Himself has said, “Surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus, who made the angels and receives their worship, has promised us His own presence in our trials.

Iranian athletes at Tokyo Olympics remember murdered wrestler Navid Afkari
Benjamin Weinthal/ Fox News/August 06/2021
A defector from the Islamic Republic displayed a picture of Afkari attached to a flag: 'We’ll always commemorate him'
An ancient sport, wrestling has long electrified Iran and the United States. Yet in 2020, the Islamic Republic executed the decorated Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari for his role in a 2018 protest against corruption in the theocratic state.
The contrast between the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, according to the U.S. State Department, and the dissident Iranian athletes who honored Afkari in Tokyo could not be greater.
On the one hand, in a video posted by Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad on Twitter, Vahid Sarlak, who defected from the Islamic Republic and now coaches Tajikistan’s national judo team, said from Tokyo, “I wanted to do a small gesture for an Iranian champion. This champion’s rights were violated in Iran. He should have been here now.
“But he is not among us. RIP Navid Afkari. I want to fly this in memory of Navid Afkari in the Olympic Village. So that his soul lives among us forever. In the name of the United for Navid campaign, we’re always thinking of Navid,” he continued.
As Sarlak spoke, he displayed a picture of Afkari attached to a flag and added, “Wherever in the world we are, Navid is always alive for us. We’ll always commemorate him. I am flying this flag in his memory.”
Sarlak, who was a member of Iran’s national judo team and has criticized the regime for prohibiting its athletes to compete against Israelis, is part of the United for Navid campaign that was founded by Alinejad.
On the other end of the spectrum, Iran’s regime recently celebrated the Olympic gold medal awarded to a member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Javad Foroughi, a 41-year-old IRGC member, won a gold medal as a marksman on July 24. Foroughi claims he served as a nurse for the IRGC in Syria between 2013 and 2015. He delivered a military salute from the Olympic podium.
United for Navid said in a statement that presenting a gold medal to Foroughi is “not only a catastrophe for Iranian sports but also for the international community, and especially the reputation of the IOC [International Olympic Committee].”
The NGO added, “The IRGC has a history of violence and killing, not only of Iranian people and protesters there, but also innocent people in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.”
Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh, a six-time Olympic medalist, slammed the IOC for awarding Foroughi, declaring it to be “pure nonsense,” The Korea Times reported. He asked: “How can a terrorist win first place [at the Olympics]?” adding, “That’s the most absurd and ridiculous thing.”
The Olympics praised Foroughi’s victory on its Twitter feed, sparking outrage among Iranians and human rights activists.
United for Navid sent a letter to the IOC’s Ethics Commission, demanding the organization initiate a formal investigation into Foroughi’s role as an IRGC member.
The IOC wrote in an email that the IRGC is the same as the armed forces of other countries. According to the U.S. government, the IRGC and its proxies have murdered over 600 American military personnel in the Middle East.
When asked about the IOC’s handling of Afkari’s case, Rob Koehler, director general of Global Athlete − The Movement for Positive Progress in Sport, told Fox News, “The IOC’s inaction on athlete abuse continues to send a clear message to athletes worldwide that their health and safety are secondary to the implementation of the Games and the preservation of a ‘global unity’ marketing strategy.”
Koehler, who seeks to advance the human rights of athletes, said, “Time and time again we are seeing examples of the IOC’s failure to prioritize athlete rights and human rights; the IOC’s inaction against the Iran Olympic Committee has resulted in continued athlete abuse.”
The IOC faced intense criticism for failing to sanction Iran’s regime after it executed Afkari in September 2020, in what Western governments and human rights organizations said was an extrajudicial killing of an innocent man. The U.S. government immediately sanctioned the judicial and prison officials who carried out Afkari’s execution.
Iran’s rulers claimed Afkari killed a security guard who was tracking protesters during the 2018 demonstration.
Then-President Trump helped breathe significant life into the campaign to save Afkari by tweeting a Fox News story on the two death penalties imposed on the wrestler.
At the time, Richard Grenell, Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, urged the glacial-like bureaucracy that is the IOC to intervene.
The Iranian-American Sardar Pashaei, the former coach of Iran’s renowned Greco-Roman wrestling team, told Fox News, “There are multiple people from intelligence services watching [Iranian] athletes.”
The top three representatives of Iran’s National Olympic Committee in Tokyo have intelligence service backgrounds, Pashaei said. The chairman of Iran’s National Olympic Committee, Seyed Reza Salehi, has been accused by Iranians of the torture and murder of political prisoners when he served as an intelligence officer.
“These three are without a sports background and Navid is not there [i.e., alive and at the Games in Tokyo],” said Pashaei, who helps run the United for Navid campaign.
“We are going to keep his memory alive in all of the Olympics. Navid’s dream was to go to the Olympics and become an Olympic champion. When I saw Vahid with a picture of Navid in Tokyo, it was emotional for me. Navid and other Navids should be there and it should not be the place for terrorists,” said Pashaei, in a reference to the IRGC marksman.
Pashaei said his goal is to have a “a human rights sports award for those athletes who are outspoken, for example in China, Russia and Iran. They try to do something to stop discrimination. And the award would be in Navid Afkari’s name to keep Navid’s name alive and raise awareness among athletes, especially for countries that do not have democracies.”
The involvement of famous athletes who have millions of followers on social media “could create a wave and be effective, like we did for Navid,” Pashaei said.
The women’s rights campaigner and head of United for Navid, Masih Alinejad, told Fox News that she is in touch with the Afkari family every day. Navid’s mother is “crying for justice” and wants the world to help secure the release of Navid’s brothers, Vahaid and Habib. The regime arrested the brothers for their participation in the 2018 protest and has held them in prison since 2018.
“Since September 2020, the authorities have subjected them to renewed torture and other ill-treatment in apparent retaliation for speaking out against the enforced disappearance of their brother Navid Afkari, who was executed in secret on 12 September 2020,” wrote Amnesty International in June.
The FBI disclosed last month that Iran’s regime sought to kidnap Alinejad from her home in Brooklyn and take her back to the Islamic Republic where she would likely face the death penalty for her human rights work.
She said she “expected the IOC to honor Navid and not a member of the IRGC.”
Alinejad urged the world to classify the Islamic Republic a “racist apartheid’ regime like the pariah status of the former apartheid regime in South Africa. She said the IOC and other sports federations should not “normalize the murders of such a brutal regime” like the Islamic Republic. United for Navid demands that Iran’s clerical regime be suspended from all international sport events.
*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 nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.