English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 28/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.
Matthew 15/01-09: Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands. And in answer he said to them, Why do you, yourselves, go against the word of God on account of the teaching which has been handed down to you? For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death. But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God; There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching. You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you, These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 27-28/2021
Pope Francis urges Catholics to pray for peace in Middle East
Health Ministry: 163 new Corona cases, two deaths
Health Ministry Says Delta Variant Hasn't Reached Lebanon
Rahi presides over Mass service in Dimane
Haniyeh in Beirut to Meet Top Officials and Palestinian Forces
Fahmi, Akar Hail Major Captagon Bust in Saudi Arabia
Lebanon’s interior minister hails major amphetamine bust in Saudi Arabia
Tripoli Protests Leave Nearly 20 Wounded
Protesters Clash with Security Forces in Tripoli and Sidon
Army Deploys in Tripoli after Lira Crash Sparks Riots
Army soldiers, protestors injured after night of violence in Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 27-28/2021
US carries out air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Syria
Israel FM tells Blinken of ‘serious reservations’ on Iran
‘Arab Alliance’ meets in Iraq in first visit in decades for an Egyptian leader
US supports Abraham accords but Israel needs to engage with Palestinians: Blinken
U.S. in First Meeting with Israel's New FM amid Iran Moves
Iran refuses to give nuclear site images to IAEA
Arab coalition intercepts two Houthi drones launched toward southern Saudi Arabia
ISIS claims responsibility for rocket attack on Iraqi power station
Afghanistan defends move to arm people against Taliban territorial gains
Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi ballistic missiles, drones targeting Khamis Mushait
Secret UK Defense Documents Found at Bus Stop

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 27-28/2021
After a Decade of War in Syria, Israel Should Change its Policy/Udi Dekel Carmit Valensi /INSS Insight No. 1451, April 7, 2021
The ayatollahs appointed a murderous fascist … let’s treat them accordingly/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 27/2021
Why the US must beware these terrorists in suits/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/June 27/2021
Turning our backs on refugees demeans us all/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/June 27/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 27-28/2021
Pope Francis urges Catholics to pray for peace in Middle East
NNA /June 27/2021
As Catholics across the Middle East took part in Divine Liturgies on Sunday to pray for peace, Pope Francis sent a letter to their Pastors, thanking them for the initiative. The Catholic Patriarchs of the Middle East also consecrated the region to the Holy Family. Speaking at the Sunday Angelus, the Pope urged Christians throughout the world to pray for peace in the region. “May the Lord sustain the efforts of those who work for dialogue and fraternal coexistence in the Middle East, where the Christian faith was born and is alive, despite the sufferings,” he said. “To those dear people, may God always grant strength, perseverance, and courage.”Separately, in his letter to Catholic Patriarchs, the Pope recalled his Apostolic Visits to the Middle East, starting with his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq. “Ever since the beginning of my pontificate I have sought to be near to your sufferings,” he said, pointing out that he has often invited the Church to pray and assist Syria and Lebanon.
HOLY FAMILY: IDENTITY AND MISSION
Pope Francis then reflected on the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, to which the Middle East was consecrated on Sunday. He said the Holy Family represents Middle Eastern Catholics’ identity and mission. “Above all, it safeguarded the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and was built around Jesus and lived for Him.” The Pope called the Holy Family “a mystery of humility and submission”, which was widely recognized by the great and small alike, but which was persecuted by those who seek only worldly power.
VOCATION INSPIRED BY THE SPIRIT
Pope Francis urged all Catholics in the Middle East to rediscover how each community can fulfill its vocation in the consecration to the Holy Family. He said this entails “not only asking for the just recognition of your rights as citizens of that beloved land, but also living your mission to take care of and witness to your apostolic origins.”The Pope lamented the violence that often plagues the region, recalling that human projects for peace must rely on the “healing power of God.” “Do not try to slake your thirst at the poisoned wellsprings of hate,” he said, “but let the fields of your hearts be irrigated by the rays of the Spirit, as the great saints of your respective traditions have done: Copts, Maronites, Melkites, Syriacs, Armenians, Chaldeans, and Latins.”
LIGHT OF FAITH
The Pope concluded his message recalling the many civilizations which have been born and died in the Middle East. “However, starting with our father Abraham, the Word of God has remained as a lamp which has illumined and illuminates our steps,” he said. And he urged Middle Eastern Catholics to persevere in the faith and in their prayers for peace, under the banner of “the prophecy of human fraternity.” “May you truly be salt for your lands,” he said. “Give flavor to the life of our societies, seeking to contribute to building up the common good, according to the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church”. --- Vatican News

Health Ministry: 163 new Corona cases, two deaths
NNA /June 27/2021
In its daily report, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Sunday the registration of 163 new infections with the Coronavirus, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 544,454.
It added that two deaths were also recorded during the past 24 hour.

Health Ministry Says Delta Variant Hasn't Reached Lebanon
Naharnet/June 27/2021
The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has become widespread in most countries but it has not yet reached Lebanon, the caretaker health minister’s advisor, Mohammed Haidar, said on Sunday. “Its presence in more than 100 nations might lead to its arrival in Lebanon through expats,” Haidar warned. Reassuring that “there are several measures at the airport to protect from this variant, such as PCR tests for all expats and quarantine in hotels,” Haidar noted that this variant “does not affect the taste and smell senses.”“The greatest danger is its very rapid transmission,” the advisor added.
He also pointed out that “Lebanon presence on the whitelist does not mean that the coronavirus pandemic has ceased to exist” but rather means that “we have brought most cases under control and that there are no infection hotbeds.”

Rahi presides over Mass service in Dimane
NNA/June 27/2021 
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, pointed out that "our visit to the Vatican on July 1st is a milestone in Pope Francis' efforts to help and sustain Lebanon, and we go bearing the concerns of all Lebanese, not just Christians."
In his sermon during the "Peace of the Eastern Day" Mass in Diman this monring, al-Rahi indicated that "the political group is extending its hand to steal depositors' money by withdrawing from the mandatory reserve as if it wants to finance its electoral campaigns from depositors' money, and this is an aggravated crime."He renewed his call to the political class to form a rescue government that would carry out the necessary reforms so that aid would come from abroad. Finally, the Patriarch stressed that "events have confirmed that weakening the Christian role will lead to the faltering of Lebanon's unity and its democratic pattern."

Haniyeh in Beirut to Meet Top Officials and Palestinian Forces
Naharnet/June 27/2021
The political leader of the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived Sunday in Beirut on an official visit that is part of a tour that the Islamist movement’s leadership kicked off in the beginning of this month. “This visit comes within the framework of capitalizing on the resistance’s great victory in the Sword of Jerusalem battle,” Haniyeh said in a press conference at Beirut airport. “Lebanon’s visit always has special importance, seeing as it is an opportunity to meet the state officials, starting by the Presidency, the Speakership and the Premiership, in addition to the leaders of the Palestinian factions; the Lebanese resistance forces, parties and dignitaries; and the sons of the Palestinian people at the camps of resilience and return,” Haniyeh added. He said his meetings will involve “the discussion of files of common interest, starting by the file of bilateral relations and means to coordinate them and develop them in a manner that serves the interests of the two brotherly countries and peoples.”The Palestinian leader also stressed that Hamas is holding onto “the right to return to the entire land of Palestine” and that it rejects the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the neighboring countries.

Fahmi, Akar Hail Major Captagon Bust in Saudi Arabia
Agence France Presse/June 27/2021
Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi and caretaker Deputy PM and Defense and Foreign Minister Zeina Akar on Sunday hailed a coordinated narcotics bust with Saudi authorities that led to the seizure of 14.4 million amphetamine pills in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Saudi customs officials found the captagon tablets "hidden in iron sheets coming from Lebanon," the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Fahmi praised "the coordination between the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and the Saudi forces, which led... to seizing" the smuggled captagon. In a statement on Lebanon's National News Agency, Fahmi added that the shipment came from the Syrian port of Latakia and passed through Beirut port using a forged Greek certificate. In April, customs officials in Jeddah seized 5.3 million captagon pills hidden in a consignment of pomegranates from Lebanon. In the same month, Saudi Arabia announced it was suspending fruit and vegetable imports from the country, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction. The decision was a blow to Lebanon, which is embroiled in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon has urged Saudi Arabia to rethink the ban.
Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Lebanon and probably also in Syria and Iraq, mainly for consumption in Saudi Arabia, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). Saudi Arabia has taken a step back from its former ally Lebanon in recent years, angered by the influence of Hizbullah, which is backed by Riyadh's rival Tehran.

Lebanon’s interior minister hails major amphetamine bust in Saudi Arabia
AFP/27 June ,2021
Lebanon on Sunday hailed a coordinated narcotics bust with Saudi authorities that led to the seizure of 14.4 million amphetamine pills in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Saudi customs officials found the captagon tablets “hidden in iron sheets coming from Lebanon,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. Lebanon’s interior minister Mohammed Fahmi praised “the coordination between the Lebanese internal security forces and the Saudi forces, which led... to seizing” the smuggled captagon. In a statement on Lebanon’s National News Agency, Fahmi added that the shipment came from the Syrian port of Latakia and passed through Beirut port using a forged Greek certificate. In April, customs officials in Jeddah seized 5.3 million captagon pills hidden in a consignment of pomegranates from Lebanon. In the same month, Saudi Arabia announced it was suspending fruit and vegetable imports from the country, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction. The decision was a blow to Lebanon, which is embroiled in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon has urged Saudi Arabia to rethink the ban.

Tripoli Protests Leave Nearly 20 Wounded
Agence France Presse/June 27/2021
Nearly twenty people were wounded in overnight scuffles in northern Lebanon between security forces and protesters angered by a spiraling economic crisis, a medical association said on Sunday. The protests in the city of Tripoli came as the Lebanese pound plumbed fresh lows on the black market due to a financial crisis that the World Bank says is likely to rank among the world's worst since the mid-19th century. Calm returned to the city on Sunday after protesters tried to storm official buildings, including a branch of the central bank, overnight, forcing the army to deploy.
"18 people, both civilians and soldiers, were injured, including four who were hospitalized," said the Emergency and Relief Corps, a local medical charity that dispatched ambulances to treat the wounded. Rubber bullets and shrapnel from stun grenades accounted for some of the injuries, a spokesperson for the charity told AFP. The army said 10 soldiers were wounded in the Tripoli clashes, the majority in a single incident that it said involved a group of protesters on motorcycles throwing stun grenades at personnel. The southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut saw smaller demonstrations against the ongoing dramatic fall in living standards. The Lebanese pound, officially pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997, traded at 17,300-17,500 to the dollar on the black market on Saturday -- a record low. Some social media users said it had fallen as low as 18,000, down from 15,000 earlier in the week.
The country is also grappling with a fuel crisis that has led to seemingly endless queues at gas pumps in recent weeks. The price of fuel is expected to rise after the government said it would fund fuel imports at a rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, instead of the official rate. The move effectively reduces subsidies on fuel as the central bank tries to shore up fast-diminishing foreign currency reserves. The financial collapse has sparked outrage at Lebanon's political class, seen as woefully corrupt and unable to tackle the country's many difficulties. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since a massive blast in Beirut last summer that killed more than 200 people and ravaged swathes of the capital. The government stepped down after the disaster, but efforts to agree on a new cabinet have repeatedly foundered.

Protesters Clash with Security Forces in Tripoli and Sidon
Agence France Presse/June 27/2021
Lebanese protesters tried to storm central bank offices in two major cities overnight, state media reported, after the national currency plunged to a new record low on the black market. The pound has been pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997, but the country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its unofficial value plummet. On Saturday, money changers told AFP it was trading at 17,300-17,500 to the greenback on the black market, while some social media users said it had fallen as low as 18,000. Dozens of angry Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli to denounce the depreciation and "difficult living conditions," the National News Agency reported. Some protesters managed to break through the gates of a branch of the central bank and enter the courtyard, the NNA said, but the army prevented them from reaching the building. Demonstrators also set fire to the entrance of a government office, an AFP correspondent said. Others were seen trying to force their way into the homes of two lawmakers but were stopped by security forces. The NNA said gunshots were heard outside the house of lawmaker Mohammed Kabbara and the army intervened to disperse protesters.
In a statement issued Sunday, the army said ten soldiers were injured when young men hurled percussion bombs and stones at them during the protests in Tripoli. In the southern city of Sidon, protesters tried to storm another branch of the central bank only to be pushed back by security forces, the NNA reported.
Scattered protests also took place in the capital Beirut, where a small number of protesters took to the streets and burned tires, an AFP correspondent said. Lebanon has been roiled since fall 2019 by an economic crisis the World Bank says is likely to rank among the world's worst financial crises since the mid-19th century. The collapse has sparked outrage at Lebanon's political class, seen as woefully corrupt and unable to tackle the country's many difficulties. The pound's dizzying depreciation comes as the eastern Mediterranean country grapples with shortages of medicine and fuel which are imported from abroad using foreign currency. The country has been without a fully functioning government since a massive blast in Beirut last summer that killed more than 200 people and ravaged swathes of the capital. The government stepped down after the disaster, but a deeply divided political class has since failed to agree on a new cabinet to replace it.

Army Deploys in Tripoli after Lira Crash Sparks Riots
Associated Press/June 27/2021
Army troops deployed in the northern city of Tripoli early Sunday taking positions around major state institutions after a night of protests and riots against worsening living conditions left several protesters and 10 soldiers injured. Sporadic protests were reported throughout Lebanon on Saturday as the country's 20-month economic crisis worsened. The World Bank described the crisis as one of the worst the world has witnessed in 150 years. It is coupled with a political deadlock that has left Lebanon without a government since August. The largest protests were in the southern port city of Sidon and in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city and most impoverished. Sporadic protests and road closures took place in the capital Beirut. Lebanon has been suffering severe shortages of vital products including fuel, medicine and medical products, angering the public. Lebanon's currency hit a record low Saturday, reaching 18,000 pounds to the U.S. dollar. The pound has lost more than 90% of its value since the crisis began.In October 2019 protesters called for the removal of the political class that has run the country since the end of the 1975-90 civil war and has been blamed for corruption and mismanagement that has ruined the country's economy. The army said rioters on motorcycles threw stun grenades at troops in Tripoli injuring nine soldiers, while another was injured when hit by a stone. Protesters attacked several state institutions in the city. State-run National News Agency said Tripoli and other cities in Lebanon were quiet around noon Sunday. The situation in Lebanon is not expected to improve as political bickering between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has delayed the formation of a government since Hariri was named to the post in October. Talks with the International Monetary Fund over the economic crisis have been suspended since last year. The World Bank said Lebanon's gross domestic product is projected to contract 9.5% in 2021, after shrinking by 20.3% in 2020 and 6.7% the year before. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs since late 2019 in the tiny country of 6 million, including a million Syrian refugees. More than half the population lives in poverty.

Army soldiers, protestors injured after night of violence in Lebanon
George Azar/Arab News/June 27/2021
DUBAI: Calm prevailed in Lebanon after a night of violence that left scores injured as hundreds of protestors took to the streets across the small Mediterranean country to decry deteriorating living conditions. Over the weekend, Lebanon’s currency hit record lows, with market dealers saying that the pound was trading at just shy of 18,000 to the dollar. This represents a depreciation of almost 92 percent since the economic and financial crisis erupted in October 2019. Despite still being pegged to the dollar and the official rate being set at 1,507.5 pounds per greenback, the highly coveted hard currency is in short supply, giving way to the rise of a black market. The northern port city of Tripoli, where meager government aid and rising unemployment has turned Lebanon’s second capital into a hotbed for demonstrations over the past 20 months, saw dozens of angry residents attempt to storm the city hall before lighting a fire outside the building. Nearby, armed clashes broke out between a group of protestors and guards of local MP Mohamad Kabbara. According to the National News Agency, panic ensued after shots rang out before the Lebanese Army restored order.
Images circulating on social media showed at least two people injured while local media reported that at least four were transported to a nearby hospital.
Protestors also charged at the central bank offices in Tripoli, broke through the metal gate and entered the courtyard before being pushed back by army soldiers. In a statement, the army said Sunday that 10 of its members were injured in the clashes. In the southern city of Saida, protesters targeted another branch of the central bank, which has found itself at the receiving end of Lebanese anger. Scuffles also broke out between security forces and protestors gathered outside the branches of the state electricity company and the local water establishment. Images circulating on social media also showed injured residents being carried into ambulances. Protests rocked the capital Beirut as well, with local media reporting that demonstrators blocked roads with burning tires in a number of districts. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government for almost a year as political players fail to agree on the makeup of the Cabinet. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who was appointed in October, has been at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun over naming ministers and the size of the government. With the central bank’s foreign currency reserves dwindling, officials have decided to hike fuel prices starting Monday. On Friday, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab approved the import of fuel at a rate of 3,900 pounds to the dollar, rather than the official rate of 1,507.5 pounds, weeks after gas stations started rationing supply.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 27-28/2021
US carries out air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Syria
Reuters/ 28 June ,2021: 03
The US military on Sunday carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, in response to drone attacks by the militia against US personnel and facilities in Iraq, the Pentagon said. The strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, the Pentagon said. “As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect US personnel,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The strikes came even as Biden's administration is looking to potentially revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The strikes appear to show Biden's efforts to compartmentalize defensive strikes to protect American personnel, while simultaneously engaging Tehran in diplomacy. His critics say Iran cannot be trusted and point to the drone attacks as further evidence that Iran and its proxies will never accept a U.S. military presence in Iraq or Syria. Biden and the White House declined comment on the strikes on Sunday. US officials believe Iran is behind a ramp-up in drone attacks and periodic rocket fire against US personnel and facilities in Iraq, where the US military has been helping Baghdad combat the remnants of ISIS. Two US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Iran-backed militias carried out at least five drone attacks against facilities used by US and coalition personnel in Iraq since April. The Pentagon said the facilities targeted were used by Iran-backed militia including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. One of the facilities targeted was used to launch and recover the drones, a defense official said. The US military carried out strikes with F-15 and F-16 aircraft, officials said, adding the pilots made it back from the mission safely. "We assess each strike hit the intended targets," one of the officials told Reuters. Iraq's government is struggling to deal with militias ideologically aligned with Iran which are accused of rocket fire against US forces and of involvement in killing peaceful pro-democracy activists. Earlier in June, Iraq released Iran-aligned militia commander Qasim Muslih, who was arrested in May on terrorism-related charges, after authorities found insufficient evidence against him.

Israel FM tells Blinken of ‘serious reservations’ on Iran
Arab News/June 27/2021
ROME: Israel has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna, new foreign minister Yair Lapid told his American counterpart, as he pledged to fix “the mistakes made” between the two countries over the past few years.
In their first face-to-face meeting since Israel’s new government was sworn in two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lapid said they would also discuss Israel’s normalization accords with Gulf Arab states. Blinken said he would also be raising the issue of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Blinken said the US supports Israel's normalization accords, but they cannot be a substitute for engaging in issues between Israelis and Palestinians. Iran and the United States have been holding indirect talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers that imposed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. “Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal that is being put together in Vienna. We believe the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct...conversations, not in press conferences,” Lapid said in his brief remarks before the meeting in Rome began. He also said Israel will be working to improve ties with Washington. “In the past few years, mistakes were made. Israel’s bipartisan standing was hurt and we will fix those mistakes together,” he added.

‘Arab Alliance’ meets in Iraq in first visit in decades for an Egyptian leader
Reuters/27 June ,2021
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Jordan’s King Abdullah met in Baghdad on Sunday during the first visit by an Egyptian head of state to Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.
The first Gulf War ruptured diplomatic relations between Iraq and Egypt, but these have improved in recent years with many senior officials from both countries exchanging visits. The US has been urging Iraq to boost ties with Arab nations to counter Iran’s influence and Sisi’s visit is for a third round of talks between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq aimed at closer security, economic, trade and investment cooperation. In recent years, Iraq had signed cooperation deals in the energy, health and education sectors with both countries. On Sunday, the three leaders discussed several areas of regional interest, including the recent development on the Palestinian issue, combating terrorism and economic cooperation, an Egypt presidency statement said. “The leaders stressed the need to intensify consultation and coordination between the three countries on the most important regional issues,” it added. Kadhimi, Sisi and Abdullah held a summit in Amman last year and were due to hold another in Baghdad in April, but this was delayed after a deadly train crash in Egypt. Egypt signed 15 deals and memoranda of understanding in sectors including oil, roads, housing, construction and trade in February after Iraq’s cabinet in December approved renewing its contract to supply the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) with 12 million barrels of Basra light crude for 2021. Iraq is also planning to build a pipeline that is meant to export 1 million barrels per day of Iraqi crude from the southern city of Basra to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba. “There is genuine economic benefits that come from the “Arab Alliance” for all three partners, notably on energy diplomacy,” Hafsa Halawa, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said, adding that there was an expectation that stronger relationships could reinvigorate US engagement in the region. “The hope remains that certain aspects of this alliance can pull Iraq slightly out of Iran’s orbit of influence, but not by rushing back into US arms and falling into the binary of being stuck between Washington and Tehran,” she added.

US supports Abraham accords but Israel needs to engage with Palestinians: Blinken
Reuters/Published: 27 June ,2021
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the United States supports Israel’s normalization accords, but they cannot be a substitute for engaging in issues between Israelis and Palestinians. Blinken met with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Rome. Lapid said Israel has “serious reservations” about the Iran nuclear deal hammered out in Vienna. Lapid described an upcoming trip to the United Arab Emirates as “historic.”Israel also said on Sunday that it has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna, Lapid told his American counterpart, as he pledged to fix “the mistakes made” between the two countries over the past few years. Iran and the United States have been holding indirect talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers that imposed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a nationalist atop of a cross-partisan coalition, has hewed to the opposition of his conservative predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, whose caps on projects with bomb-making potential Israel deemed too lax. “Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal that is being put together in Vienna. We believe the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct...conversations, not in press conferences,” Lapid said in his brief remarks before the meeting in Rome began. He also said Israel will be working to improve ties with Washington. “In the past few years, mistakes were made. Israel’s bipartisan standing was hurt and we will fix those mistakes together,” he added.

U.S. in First Meeting with Israel's New FM amid Iran Moves
Agence France Presse/June 27/2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Israel's new top diplomat Yair Lapid on Sunday, in the United States' first face-to-face meeting with the freshly installed government that seeks a less combative approach with its main ally Washington. Lapid, a centrist who delayed his own plans to be prime minister as he masterminded a coalition to unseat veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu, is flying to Rome to see Blinken, who arrives in Italy on Sunday on a three-nation tour of Europe. The meeting comes as President Joe Biden's administration moves ahead with fresh talks on reviving a 2015 accord with Iran -- strongly opposed by Israel -- in which Tehran drastically scaled back nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief. Biden and Blinken are also eager to preserve a fragile ceasefire that took effect on May 21 between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, after the worst fighting since 2014. The bloodshed triggered some of the strongest criticism of Israel in memory in the U.S. Congress, with some members of Biden's Democratic Party accusing Netanyahu of excessive force and of triggering the crisis by backing far-right Jewish groups that want to change the delicate status quo in the holy city of Jerusalem. Lapid, who took office on June 13 under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a nationalist, has accused Netanyahu of jeopardizing Israel's once rock-solid support in the United States by openly rallying behind former president Donald Trump's Republican Party. The new coalition government still sees Iran as the major threat to Israel, and has launched its own strikes on the Gaza Strip -- but has pledged to put the alliance with Washington first and to try to keep differences private. After one of Lapid's telephone conversations with Blinken, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the two agreed on no surprises in the relationship. Netanyahu quickly pounced, posting a video in English on social media calling the new government "so dangerous" and speaking of how he as premier would sometimes not inform the United States of pending Israeli actions.
Modest goals on Middle East  With tensions still high after last month's violence, a motley coalition getting its bearings in Israel and political uncertainties lingering within the Palestinian Authority, the Biden administration has made clear it is not rushing to make any grand Middle East peace initiatives. Blinken, speaking in Paris at a forum on the youth-oriented Brut network, said the immediate priority was finding ways to bring humanitarian and reconstruction aid into the densely populated and impoverished Gaza Strip. Also critical is to "avoid provocations and incidents over the coming days, weeks and months that could reignite the violence and then to work to create a bit more confidence between the Israelis and Palestinians," Blinken said. The hope is that "there can be conditions, which do not currently exist, to allow perhaps a relaunch of the peace process and the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine," Blinken said. "I don't think the conditions are there yet. We have to work on them and we will." He reiterated that the Biden administration plans to let the Palestine Liberation Organization reopen its office in Washington, which was closed under former president Donald Trump in one of the first of many decisions welcomed by Netanyahu. The Biden administration has hoped to be less involved in Middle East hotspots and to repair rifts created under Trump with European allies as part of a strategy to focus long-term attention on managing the rise of China. In his three days in Italy, Blinken on Monday will see Pope Francis, the pontiff's first meeting with a high-ranking Biden administration official. Blinken will also take part in meetings hosted by Italy of the Group of 20 major economies and of the coalition to defeat the Islamic State extremist group.

Iran refuses to give nuclear site images to IAEA
Arab News/June 27/2021
DUBAI: The speaker of Iran’s parliament said on Sunday Tehran will never hand over images from inside of some Iranian nuclear sites to the UN nuclear watchdog as a monitoring agreement with the agency had expired, Iranian state media reported. “The agreement has expired ... any of the information recorded will never be given to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the data and images will remain in the possession of Iran,” said Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. The announcement could further complicate talks between Iran and six major powers on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal. Three years ago then US President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran; Iran reacted by violating many of the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear program. A spokesman for parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee warned that “Iran will also turn off the IAEA cameras if the United States fails to remove all sanctions,” the state-run Tehran Times newspaper’s website reported. The IAEA and Tehran struck the three-month monitoring agreement in February to cushion the blow of Iran reducing its cooperation with the agency, and it allowed monitoring of some activities that would otherwise have been axed to continue. Under that agreement, which on May 24 was extended by a month, data continues to be collected in a black-box-type arrangement, with the IAEA only able to access it at a later date. On Friday, the IAEA demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend the monitoring agreement, prompting an Iranian envoy to respond that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer. Iran said on Wednesday the country’s Supreme National Security Council would decide whether to renew the monitoring agreement only after it expires. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that any failure by Tehran to extend the monitoring agreement would be a “serious concern” for broader negotiations. Parties involved in the talks on reviving the deal, which began in April in Vienna, have said there are major issues still to be resolved before the nuclear deal can be reinstated.

Arab coalition intercepts two Houthi drones launched toward southern Saudi Arabia
Arab News/June 27/2021
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted two explosive-laden drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward the Kingdom’s southern region, state TV reported on Sunday. The Arab coalition said the drones were targeting the city of Khamis Mushait, adding“the efficiency of the air defenses thwarted all hostile attempts toward Saudi Arabia.” On Saturday, Saudi defenses destroyed 3 booby-trapped drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Khamis Mushait. The coalition said that the Houthi militia deliberately targets civilians and civilian objects, adding that it is taking operational measures to protect civilians and deal with any threat. The UAE strongly condemned the attack, saying it reflects the Houthis’ blatant defiance of the international community and its disregard for all international laws and norms. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation urged the international community to take “an immediate and decisive stance to stop these repeated actions that target vital and civil facilities, the security of the Kingdom, energy supplies and global economic stability,” adding that the continuation of these attacks in recent times is a dangerous escalation and new evidence of these militias’ efforts to undermine security and stability in the region.

ISIS claims responsibility for rocket attack on Iraqi power station
Reuters/28 June ,2021
ISIS claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a power station in Iraq, the group's Nasheer News said on its Telegram channel. Iraq's Ministry of Electricity said on its Facebook page that Salah al-Din Power Station in the city of Samarra was targeted with Katyusha rockets, causing severe damage to parts of the generating unit.

Afghanistan defends move to arm people against Taliban territorial gains
Arab News/June 27/2021
KABUL: Afghanistan on Sunday defended its controversial decision to arm nearly 30,000 people to help troops limit the Taliban from making more territorial gains, which began with the phased withdrawal of US-led forces from the country on May 1.
“These are spontaneous local uprising forces to help national security and defense forces against the Taliban because these terrorists have committed brutalities in captured areas,” Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told Arab News on Sunday.
He said these armed groups were not militia forces and would operate “under the scrutiny” of security sectors. “We are not concerned that they will change into a threat but, if they act against the spirit of security forces, we will prevent that.”
Government resources for those wishing to join the “national mobilization” initiative are being channeled through factional and ethnic leaders, some of whom are accused of heinous crimes. Factional militia bosses have repeatedly challenged past governments, including the administration led by President Ashraf Ghani, who pushed for the establishment of a “united front” and supporting local forces to strengthen peace and “safeguard the republic system" during a meeting with former anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban figures last week. Arian added that 30,000 locals had either “unearthed their arms” or been given weapons and resources by Kabul. They belong to various regions where the predominantly ethnic Pashtun Taliban have captured several dozen districts from troops in recent weeks. Defense Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said that most “volunteers” were from the north, where ethnic Hazara and Uzbek loyalists of warlords blocked the Taliban from capturing the area over two decades ago. Thousands of militants were massacred, and an equal number of Taliban were reportedly left to suffocate in shipping containers after surrendering to the militias during a US-led invasion in 2001. “The number of these people keeps rising,” Aman told Arab News. “These are educated people who have picked up arms against the Taliban, and we can call them volunteers.”Both officials said that the process of providing arms and resources to the locals “was not unchecked” and would not lead to another era of civil war similar to the 1990s after Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The Taliban were unavailable for comment when contacted by Arab News on Sunday.They have intensified their attacks in recent months, taking advantage of the reduced number of foreign forces amid an ongoing drawdown process which ends on Sept. 11.
The Taliban have overrun some strategic districts in the north, including in Kunduz where nearly 5,000 Afghan families fled their homes after days of fighting between the Taliban and government forces, according to media reports. There were also reports of an escalation in attacks in the provinces of Kandahar and Baghlan. Ghani replaced his security chiefs last week amid increased Taliban gains, with newly appointed Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi calling on “patriots and people everywhere to stand alongside their security and defense forces,” while assuring of the government's support to “provide all equipment and resources.”Some parliamentarians backed the move to arm locals, while others expressed concern about providing them with resources through militia bosses. Mohammad Ibrahim Gheshtelai, an MP from southeastern Paktia province, explained why the initiative was a win-win for all. “The nation had the desire to defend the country,” he told Arab News. “That is why they picked up arms by welcoming the government’s proposal. The government found a good source for defending the system. This is good for the survival of the system. Majority in the parliament support this, and there is no serious concern about it.”However Ghulam Wali Afghan, a legislator from southern Helmand province, told Arab News that Kabul needed to make sure that the resources were not “misused by thieves, human rights abusers and criminals” as, otherwise, it would be civilians who suffered the most. Some critics warned that relying on former ethnic militia leaders and informal local fighting groups could further weaken Kabul’s control over the military's effort and risk a revival of “abusive and predatory behavior by warlords” against whose narrative Ghani came to power in 2014.
“It is solidly clear that the immediate and long-term threat that militias will pose is for sure,” Zabihullah Pakteen, a political affairs analyst based in northern Afghanistan, told Arab News. “However, the government has no option but to opt for militias to stand against the Taliban. Genuine public uprising and militias are two different things, yet we do not see a mass public movement to counter the Taliban.”Others pointed to the “dangerous” precedent being set by the government including ethnic leaders. “The uprising movement, or making of militias, is very dangerous for now and the future of Afghanistan,” said Nasratullah Haqpal, a Kabul-based expert in political affairs, as several ethnic leaders had committed brutalities during the civil war in the past. “The public is concerned about this. Leaders benefit from this process, and it may stoke ethnic tension, and this has to stop,” he added.
In recent weeks, the Taliban have fiercely criticized the deployment of local groups by the government, referring to them as “arbakis” or former local militias who were notoriously abusive, and accusing them of “fanning the flames of war” to maintain a grip on power. They also warned that such groups would receive “stern” treatment from Islamic authorities.

Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi ballistic missiles, drones targeting Khamis Mushait
Tamara Abueish and Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Published: 27 June ,2021
Saudi Arabia’s defense forces intercepted two ballistic missiles and two explosive-laden drones that were launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait, the Arab Coalition said on Sunday. The Houthis continue to deliberately target civilians and civilian objects, the coalition added. The coalition is taking the necessary measures to deal with the militia’s attacks on the Kingdom, according to a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Iran-backed group has launched ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones towards Saudi Arabia multiple times in recent months, most of which have been thwarted, according to Saudi authorities.

Secret UK Defense Documents Found at Bus Stop
Agence France Presse/June 27/2021
Britain's government said Sunday it was investigating how secret defense documents, outlining the movements of a warship that led to Russia firing warning shots off the Crimean coast, were found at a bus stop in England. The Ministry of Defense said that an employee told it last week that the documents had been lost, and that an investigation had been launched. "It shouldn't be able to happen," Brandon Lewis, minister for Northern Ireland, told Sky News on Sunday. "It was properly reported at the time... there's an internal investigation into that situation." An anonymous member of the public told the BBC they found 50 pages of classified information behind a bus stop in Kent, southern England, on Tuesday. The papers discussed the possible Russian reaction to Britain's HMS Defender travelling through Ukrainian waters off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday, the BBC reported. Russia on Wednesday said it fired warning shots at the navy destroyer in the Black Sea after what it said was a violation of its territorial waters. Britain however said it was making "an innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law." According to Moscow, the incident took place off the coast of Cape Fiolent on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that the vast majority of the international community has not recognized. The documents appear to show that the British officials knew the route could lead to a possible reaction from the Russians, but that taking an alternative passage could be considered by Moscow as "the UK being scared/running away". The route it did take would instead "provide an opportunity to engage with the Ukrainian government... in what the UK recognizes as Ukrainian territorial waters," said another document. Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the British ambassador to "strongly protest" the incident. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as a "deliberate and prepared provocation." Russia's defense ministry said warning shots were fired and bombs dropped along the path of the HMS Defender. Among the other documents found at the bus stop were those that laid out plans for possible British military presence in Afghanistan after the end of NATO operations there.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 27-28/2021
After a Decade of War in Syria, Israel Should Change its Policy
Udi Dekel Carmit Valensi /INSS Insight No. 1451, April 7, 2021
https://www.inss.org.il/publication/israel-assad/?fbclid=IwAR2_mfUqTxe_XEXj5WvpbHtl7B1DYRDlL2jl92ObZx_vatny9U2cIFTfgeI
Israel has preferred “the devil it knows” – Bashar al-Assad, who opened the door to Iran – over the chance to change the reality in Syria. Now, however, is the time for a paradigm shift in Israel’s approach – to stop sitting on the sidelines, recognize that Syria will remain divided, and work intensively to obstruct efforts by Iran and its proxies to consolidate their power in the northern arena over time
With the help of military aid from Russia and Iran, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has been able to survive and overcome the military setbacks it experienced in the early years of the civil war. Still, after a decade of warfare, the regime is unable to gain control over the entire country, which remains divided and unable to function effectively. As long as Assad controls Syria, no stabilization or recovery seems a viable possibility. Nonetheless, political and military elements in Israel continue to adhere to the idea that Assad, who opened to door to Iran and Hezbollah in Syria and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, is preferable to any other governmental option in Syria. Just as Syria has changed in the past decade, however, the Israel's strategic preference for the Syrian leader should also change. It is recommended that Israel change its policy on Syria from sitting on the fence to increased involvement in three strategic areas of critical importance to Israel: southern Syria, northeastern Syria (the border with Iraq), and the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Following a decade of civil war in Syria, it is clear that Syria as it was in 1963-2011 has ceased to exist. The civil rebellion, which was cruelly suppressed by a dictatorial regime with military and diplomatic backing from Russia and Iran, left Syria divided into spheres of influence and control with support from foreign countries. This reality renders the slogan "preserving the unity and integrity of the Syrian state," sounded frequently by Syrian officials and some Western countries, utterly meaningless. It appears that for the foreseeable future, Syria will remain a split and dismembered theater.
Map of Control: Syria is divided de facto into a number of enclaves. Bashar al-Assad, with military aid from Russian and Iran and its proxies, ostensibly controls two thirds of the country, mainly the backbone connecting the major cities of Aleppo, Homs, and Damascus, and to a lesser extent, the south. The Idlib area in northwestern Syria is an enclave of rebels under Turkish auspices. Along the Syrian-Turkish border are territories under Turkish control. Most of northeastern Syria, which contains a majority of the country's natural resources, is under Kurdish control, with US backing. Islamic State (ISIS) cells are active in central and eastern Syria. Control over the borders of Syria is also an indication of "hollow sovereignty": (1) The Syrian army, which is subject to the Assad regime, controls approximately 15 percent of the country's international land borders; (2) The Syrian-Lebanese border is under the control of Hezbollah; (3) The Iraqi-Syrian border is controlled on both sides by Shiite militias that are Iranian proxies; (4) The Syrian-Turkish border is controlled by elements that do not include the Assad regime and its patron, Iran.
Humanitarian Situation: Over 500,000 people lost their lives during the ten years of war (at a certain stage, UN agencies stopped counting the victims). Approximately 12 million people lost their homes and are now displaced persons or refugees, and 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Assad controls 12 million of Syria's estimated population of 17 million, the country is on the verge of a hunger crisis, and the shortage of basic goods, especially bread and fuel, is increasing. It is estimated that 11 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Infrastructure: More than a third of the state's infrastructure has been destroyed or severely damaged. In their war against the armed opposition, both the regime and its allies, Russia and Iran, attacked urban centers, including with chemical weapons and barrel bombs, as part of a strategy of destruction to eliminate areas held by the rebels. The cost of reconstruction in Syria is estimated at $250-350 billion, and at this stage, there is no party capable of financing such reconstruction, or willing to do so.
Regional and International Status: The Assad regime is boycotted by the West. The Biden administration is apparently continuing the tough American policy toward Assad, including sanctions against him and his close associates. The administration does not recognize Assad as a legitimate ruler; the results of the presidential elections scheduled for April-May will likewise be discounted as long as no political reforms or signs of stabilization and reconstruction of Syria according to the UN roadmap – Security Council Resolution 2254 – are on the horizon. Assad has few friends in the Middle East, although a number of countries have ostensibly normalized their relations with him, such as Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates, while Egypt and Jordan have accepted Assad's continued rule and recently called for easing the sanctions on the Syrian people. Syria has nevertheless been left outside the Arab League. Russia, which recognizes that governmental and economic reforms in Syria are necessary in order for the regime to attain recognition as a legitimate sovereign, has had no success in promoting a political settlement. For Russia, putting an end to Assad's government would exact a heavy political cost, because it sees no stable player capable of replacing him. Against this background, Moscow is trying to market Assad's murderous regime to the international community as a legitimate government.
"The Devil We Know": Why Must this Stance Change?
Since Russia began its involvement in the war in Syria in late 2015, Israel has accepted the Assad regime's continued rule, in line with its preference for "the devil we know." Other than an ongoing effort to disrupt the construction of the Iranian "war machine" on Syrian territory, Israel has elected to sit on the fence and avoid taking part in the struggle between the rival Syrian groups. The current situation, however, requires a reassessment of Israeli policy, and especially realization that a policy of non-intervention is no longer valid, for the following reasons:
First, Bashar al-Assed has given Iran an opportunity to expand and consolidate its influence in Syria on various levels for the long term, thereby posing a very significant security challenge to Israel on its northern border. Tehran supported Assad mainly through Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, and combat militias recruited among the Shiite population in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In the past two years, Iran has focused on the recruitment of Syrian fighters and their integration in local defense militias, which it trains and arms; Iran is deepening its influence in the Syrian army by training senior commanders and aiding in force buildup. Hezbollah controls the Syrian-Lebanese border and is establishing terrorist cells in the Golan Heights, and Iran is preparing bases in northern Syria for the al-Quds force of the Revolutionary Guards, which facilitate emergency rapid deployment of forces and launching facilities for missiles, rockets, and drones aimed at Israel. Israeli air attacks are not preventing growing Iranian consolidation and influence in Syria; they are merely disrupting the Iranian plans slightly for building an offensive front against Israel in Syrian territory. As long as Assad is in power, this security challenge facing Israel will only continue to mount.
Second, no political solution to the crisis in Syria can be expected as long as Assad remains in power. A large portion of the Syrian population does not regard him as a legitimate ruler. Signs of protest are already visible, even in the Alawite community, which is also suffering shortages and hunger. Assad's retention of power will therefore ensure more years of instability and worsen the conditions that led to the outbreak of war in the first place. Assad's stubborn opposition to governmental reforms and political concessions is an obstacle to any effort to achieve progress toward a settlement with UN mediation or led by Russia. Even though the United States is refraining from an explicit call for regime change, its demands indicate that this is its objective. The Biden administration is continuing the line advocated by the Trump administration by blocking any economic aid for Syrian reconstruction in the absence of political concessions and a return to the UN roadmap. Furthermore, retention of power by Assad guarantees that most of the refugees will not return to Syria, because they fear arrest or forcible conscription into the regime's armed forces. They are also afraid to return to a country in which their property was stolen, and where the economy is in ruins and there are no prospects of employment.
Third, where the Assad regime is involved, the argument that there is a responsible actor at the helm with whom rules of the game can be established has lost its value. Assad does not even exercise effective control of the territories over which he regained military control. Southern Syria is a significant test case. When the regime's forces regained control of the area in the summer of 2018, chaos prevailed there, with a mixed multitude of armed factions fighting each other and the regime unable to restrain them. These include opposition groups, militias under Iranian or Russian influence, and local groups enjoying a certain degree of autonomy from the central government.
Finally, beyond the strategic assessments of the situation, the moral aspect should be considered by decision makers in Israel and the international community. Recognition of the legitimacy of a leader who has perpetrated war crimes for years and continues to abuse civilians – some of these cases were revealed to the world only recently – is nothing less than a disgrace and a moral stain on those seeking to accept him into the regional and international order.
Recommendations
Three of Israel's assumptions have been disproved: one, that attacks will prevent Iranian military consolidation in Syria; two, that Russia will assist in the effort to drive Iranian proxies out of Syria and reduce Tehran's influence in the country; three, that a central government in a united country, even under Assad's leadership, is preferable to a division of authority. It is best for Israel to realize that Syria will remain divided, and that as long as Assad remains in power, Iran and its proxies cannot be driven out of the country. Israel should therefore encourage a broad-based initiative to remove Assad from power in return for an international effort at reconstruction in Syria with participation by the Arab Gulf states.
Until Syria is reshaped, Israel should take risks in the short term in order to prevent Iran and its proxies from taking over Syria. Israel should step up its activity in three strategic spheres of critical importance:
In southern Syria: In order to prevent Iran from using its proxies to create a terrorist and high-friction border in the Golan Heights, Israel should exploit the Assad regime's weakness and the competition for influence between Iran and Russia as an opportunity to adopt a proactive policy in the area. Coordinating activity with Moscow, Israel should attack the Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah forces, while strengthening both Sunni and Druze local forces. Ties can be formed with local population groups opposed to the regime, while granting them humanitarian aid – food, fuel, and health services – that will help generate "islands of Israeli influence," thereby thwarting the Iranian plan to consolidate its presence in the area.
In northeastern Syria: With an emphasis on the Iraqi-Syrian border, Israel should prepare for a potential withdrawal of United States forces. Iran is preparing to exploit the resulting vacuum to take over the area in order to establish a land bridge from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. It is recommended that Israel develop low-profile cooperation channels with the Kurdish forces and provide them with military and economic aid, while at the same time build a platform for ongoing operational activity in the theater in order to prevent an Iranian takeover of this strategic area, which is rich in energy and agricultural resources.
The Syrian-Lebanese border: The mutual deterrence between Hezbollah and Israel resulting from concern about escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border has expanded to Syrian territory in the area around the Syrian-Lebanese border. This area, which is controlled by Hezbollah, enables the organization, with Iranian assistance, to transfer arms to Lebanon, maintain a smuggling industry of critical importance to the organization, and deploy weapons for use against Israel when the time comes. Hezbollah's control of the wide-open border between Syria and Lebanon, a reflection of Israel's strategic weakness, enabled the organization to build up its forces following the Second Lebanon War (in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1701). It functions as Hezbollah's lever for exerting political, military, economic, and social influence in Syria. It is recommended that Israel step up its operational activity in the area in the framework of the “campaign between wars,” while at the same time encourage international involvement to obstruct the border between Syria and Lebanon, based on the assessment that this measure is essential for both reconstruction in Lebanon and any weakening of the radical groups in the entire region.
Publication Series: INSS Insight | Topics: Arab Spring, Syria

The ayatollahs appointed a murderous fascist … let’s treat them accordingly
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 27/2021
بارعة علم الدين: ملالي إيران عينوا قاتل فاشستي رئيساً لجمهوريتهم فدعونا نعاملهم بالمثل
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/100106/baria-alamuddin-the-ayatollahs-appointed-a-murderous-fascist-lets-treat-them-accordingly-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86-%d9%85/
I have long been of the opinion that it matters little who is president in Iran. It is a question of style over substance. Whether Iran promotes the greasy, dishonest smiles of Javad Zarif and Hassan Rouhani, or the angry bluster of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, it is the same radical regime commanded by a supreme leader who believes himself to be spearheading a divinely guided war against the world.
However, even for a skeptic such as I, the appointment (let’s not say election) of Ebrahim Raisi represents a dangerous new chapter.
As Khomeini and Khamenei’s “enforcer,” this man has the blood of thousands of Iranians on his hands. It was to him they turned when copious quantities of innocent blood needed to be shed. In his career at the pinnacle of Iran’s judiciary he sanctioned brutal crackdowns in 2009 and during the 1980s and 1990s, and handeddown death sentences for teenagers. When questioned, Raisi boasted that his 1988 blood-drenched orgy of thousands of summary executions of young political prisoners was “one of the proud achievements of the system.”
Why are American and European diplomats tying themselves in knots over how to engage with Raisi’s regime? Ultimately it is the Iranian regime’s problem if the figurehead they choose to represent them on the world stage is a mass murderer. What message does it send Iranians if the world engages with a detested figure who has killed so many of them? Little wonder that the world scarcely registers the genocide of Syrians, Ethiopians, the Uighur and the Rohingya, and the butchering of Afghans by the Taliban as America flees for the exit. Have we no shame in failing to enforce basic standards for governments who exterminate their citizens?
Raisi is not a man who can boast the legitimacy of having been chosen by Iranians. In a semi-open contest four years ago he was humiliatingly defeated, and won this year only after Khamenei had secured the ejection of all other viable candidates.
For the first time in eight years, all the regime’s power centers — the Majlis, the Revolutionary Guards, the government, the judiciary — are in harmony, in the hands of hardliners. Raisi himself is an ideologue for exporting Khomeini’s revolution through terrorism and paramilitary aggression. This heralds a return to the expansionist, aggressive and fanatical Iran that has existed all along, but in recent years at least sought to conceal its rawest edges.
Raisi’s appointment matters because long before his presidential term is due to expire, Khamenei may already be roasting in hell. So this isn’t about acquiring the toothless position of president — this man is in the frame as supreme leader, poised to dominate Iran until he too drops dead, or the courageous Iranian people finally rid themselves of these predators. When demands for change inevitably erupt, Iran’s elite know that Raisi will zealously crush dissenting citizens like ants.
Why are America and the West, along with Russia and China, going out of their way to normalize a regime that doesn’t want to be normalized?
Raisi’s entire career has been premised on an aggressive refusal to compromise in implementing the Islamic Republic’s radical agenda. This is how we can expect him to govern; a strategy of maximalist confrontation. His complete lack of experience of the subtleties of international diplomacy makes him particularly dangerous. How will he react when Israel bombs Iranian military targets, or America cracks down against Iranian proxies in Iraq? All bets are off.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is hurrying to restore the nuclear deal before Raisi’s inauguration in August. This is not a sensible strategy because it puts pressure on the Americans to make all the concessions, while negotiators like Zarif will have no mandate for compromise. Key provisions of the Iran deal are set to expire, meaning that Raisi can continue creeping toward breakout capacity.
Just as Barack Obama found in 2015, the cost of sealing a deal will be to go soft on all other aspects of Tehran’s criminal and terrorist behavior, to avoid giving hardliners a pretext to renounce the deal. Who can forget those US officials who energetically persuaded banks and corporations to reengage with Tehran, even after it became obvious that unfrozen funds and new revenue streams were being diverted for terrorism?
The Raisi regime will reap the material benefits of the deal, but can also make political capital out of denouncing and disowning it. We can already imagine European diplomats running around like headless chickens trying to salvage the deal at all costs, whatever Raisi does or says.
Biden should instead patiently await Raisi and force him into a deal that he must personally endorse. It isn’t America whose economy is collapsing under the weight of accumulated sanctions. It isn’t America suffering chronic international isolation. It isn’t America (this time) that has chosen a lunatic with a fanatical worldview as president. If Iran’s hardliners aren’t willing to voluntarily relinquish their nuclear ambitions, then a more decisive approach will become necessary, but any attempts to beg and cajole an extremist such as Raisi to do the right thing will inevitably backfire.
When Raisi was asked whether he would meet Biden, he spat out his response with contemptible disdain. Likewise, the prospect of curbing Iran’s missile programs or reducing its vast expenditure on overseas paramilitary armies was given short shrift. Why are America and the West, along with Russia and China, going out of their way to normalize a regime that doesn’t want to be normalized?
Targeting Iranian propaganda outlets is a smart move that shows Iran it has more to lose by embarking on cyberwarfare and disinformation, but let’s see this matched with other smart policies that remind the regime how isolated and friendless it is on the world stage. This includes preventing Iran from shipping military equipment to rogue states such as Venezuela in America’s own backyard.
Before rushing to appease and conduct deals — behaving like business as usual — Biden should observe how Raisi intends to govern. Four years ago an incoming President Trump tore up a nuclear deal that he had no role in writing and saw no benefits in abiding by. If we don’t want a comparably unhinged incoming Iranian president behaving in a similar manner, particularly one responsible for rivers of blood gushing through the streets of Tehran, let’s not rush into something we will regret.
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Why the US must beware these terrorists in suits
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/June 27/2021
A new campaign to promote freedom, democracy, justice and human rights has been taking place on the streets of New York. Such a cause is considered noble, especially in a state that is influenced by the far-left progressive wave.
It is ironic that the campaign was launched by a new nonprofit organization in the name of the late Mohamed Morsi, the former Egyptian president and Muslim Brotherhood leader who collapsed and died in Cairo in 2019 while on trial for espionage.
The goal of the campaign was to show the American people that Morsi was a US-educated political leader who wanted justice and prosperity, according to the group’s ads and slogans. This organization, like others that operate with a clear Muslim Brotherhood agenda, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), takes advantage of the average American’s lack of knowledge of this terrorist organization and its undeclared goals under the pretext of human rights and racial justice.
The Morsi Foundation for Democracy posted an online video message from Yasin Aktay, a chief aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he praised the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in the Middle East and North Africa. “We will not forget the president’s position on justice issues in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia, and his position on our main cause, which is Palestine,” he said.
Atkay added that Morsi was viewed in Turkey as a symbol of commitment and peaceful struggle, despite the fact that the Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist group in several Muslim-majority countries.
The Morsi Foundation for Democracy was registered and set up in London as a private limited company in May 2020 According to its Arabic website, it has offices in Washington, Italy, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, and of course Turkey. Itsdirectors are two of Morsi’s children, Ahmed and Al-Shimaa, both US citizens who live in Egypt; Mohamed Gamal Elsaid, an Egyptian TV presenter who lives in Turkey; Osama Khalefa, a British journalist; and Maha Azzam-Nusseibeh,an associate fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
In an recent interview with the Center for International Relations in Washington, Dr. Nusseibeh pointed out the similarity between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas as charitable groups with important social networks that have existed foryears and won “hearts and minds.” She said such groups were essential components of the democratization process in the Middle East. “These are real forces on the ground which represent an important constituency within society. In order to have a democratic environment, these Islamic groups will have to participate in the political process. Otherwise, what would happen is a very warped and limited democratic process that is ultimately unrepresentative of some of the most important forces in society,” she said.
Islamists are not victims. Islamists are not oppressed. They are the oppressors in their own homelands, and now abroad. They are terrorists in suits.
Such a statement highlights the real agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Western world — hiding behind slogans that sound neither suspicious nor harmful. It aims to monopolize Muslim voices in the West by creating organizations with the same school of thought that work locally, nationally, and internationally.
With its generous funding (mainly from Qatar), its influence, and access to politicians and elite groups, the group has managed to manipulate the Western political system by portraying itself as the only entity that represents Muslim voices and protects Muslim rights. Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who is close to the emir of Qatar,Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has said on several occasions on his weekly show on Al Jazeera TV, in which he promoted suicide bombings and the killings of US soldiers, that Islam will conquer America and Europe without resorting to the sword.
In the US, we have seen before our eyes how these ideologies are being implemented by well groomed politicians such as Representative Ilhan Omar, who is CAIR’s spoiled daughter.
With calculated and clever political maneuvers, CAIR is attempting to change US policies through its politicians in local and federal governments to further the agenda of radical Islamist groups.
It comes as no surprise that CAIR’s director Nihad Awad officially supports the Erdogan regime, leading a rally outside of the White House to condemn the coup attempt against his friend, the Turkish president. It comes as no surprise that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar votes against recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s genocide of Armenians. It comes to no surprise that Representative Rashida Tlaib tweets a phrase known as a call to wipe Israel out: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and several other countries designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the group continues to receive support from Qatar and Turkey, providing a haven for terrorists such as Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh.
What more does America need to see before it says its final word and cuts the lifeline of the Muslim Brotherhood and its tools? How many Omars and Tlaibs do Americans need to see in public office to be convinced that their own principles and beliefs are being misused to fool them?
Islamists are not victims. Islamists are not oppressed. They are the oppressors in their own homelands, and now abroad. They are terrorists in suits.
*Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

Turning our backs on refugees demeans us all
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/June 27/2021
Understandably, since the beginning of 2020 the eyes of the world have been on first understanding the coronavirus and then rising to the challenge that its devastating effects have presented.
Nevertheless, in a world of limited resources and equally limited ability or willingness to deal with an array of issues, other areas of extreme human suffering are being neglected. World Refugee Day last week was a timely reminder of the continuing hardships of those whose lives have been shattered by wars, civil upheavals or natural disasters that have driven them from their homes and their countries, and who are now coping with the additional distress caused by the pandemic.
Figures rarely lie, and the latest annual Global Trends report released to coincide with World Refugee Day by the UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, should be a cause of profound concern not only for humanitarian reasons, but also for the political impact of many millions of people uprooted from their homes, forced to live in dire conditions, and in many cases with very little prospect of returning home to live fulfilled lives.One of the tragic ironies of the pandemic is that the number of people crossing borders to look for refuge has fallen; however, this is not due to improving conditions, but rather because borders are being closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Consequently, many are trapped and and have become displaced within their own countries, where their lives are in danger every day as they face violence, persecution and other human rights abuses. Last year the number of forcibly displaced persons reached a record high of 82.4 million, a 4 per cent increase on 2019. Moreover, what are supposed to be a temporary measures to alleviate their situation until things blow over have too often turned into a permanent way of life — one of extreme hardship with little prospect of a brighter future.
The UNHCR report points out that while some long-standing unresolved conflicts continue to hinder any resolution to persistent cases of displaced persons, there are also emerging conflicts and issues, such as climate change, that exacerbate their conditions and result in increasing numbers of those in need of refuge. The picture becomes even bleaker when one takes into account that it is not the developed world with its abundance of resources that is shouldering the lion’s share of responsibility for hosting refugees, but it is actually the developing countries, with their more limited resources and their own social and political challenges, who in 2020 hosted 86 per cent of the world’s refugees.
In light of the venomous debates in Europe and the US about allowing refugees to enter their countries, one could be forgiven for being unaware that 73 per cent of refugees reside in countries that neighbor their country of origin. For instance, 1 in 8 people in Lebanon and 1 in 15 in Jordan are refugees, not to mention that currently on the tiny island of Aruba 1 in 6 are displaced Venezuelans. Moreover, more than two thirds (68 per cent) of all refugees originate from just five countries, which is sad testimony to the failure of the international community to either resolve the conflicts in Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar to make it safe for people to return, or to sufficiently support those countries who are buckling under the additional pressure that comes with hosting refugees.
One of the tragic ironies of the pandemic is that the number of people crossing borders to look for refuge has fallen; however, this is not due to improving conditions, but rather because borders are being closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
One of the disingenuous approaches, mainly in the discourse within affluent countries, is aimed at relinquishing such countries’ obligations to the displaced, and deliberately conflates those who have been driven out of their homes with those who are economic migrants. While there is room for a mature discussion about those seeking to better their lives and their contributions to society, this cohort should be completely distinguished from those who, in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, are defined as refugees and must be protected from threats to their life or freedom. Refugees and displaced persons are the tragic outcome of conflicts and natural disasters, and as long as those phenomena exist, people — many of them young children or the elderly and generally vulnerable — will look for refuge. For this reason international law was positioned to protect them, as a reflection of what the international community at the time believed was the responsibility of civilised humanity. Is this no longer the case?
“No one leaves home unless / home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border / when you see the whole city / running as well,” wrote the British poet and writer Warsan Shire, who was born to Somali parents in Kenya. Becoming a refugee or displaced person is not a choice, but is forcibly created by circumstance. If there is any wilful decision in this act, it is the triggering of the most basic of instincts, that of survival, in which case how can we not admire or at least respect and support the decision to flee one’s home or one’s country? The real choice rests with those who cruelly and unlawfully, wilfully or by neglect, push people into this life of despair, and with those in the rest of the international community who turn their backs on them. Worse is when the plight of those in the most acute need of an act of compassion is cynically exploited by those who promote a xenophobic, populist agenda, while portraying them as a menace to their societies.
It is for the international community to take a holistic approach to refugees and displaced people, one that is not afraid to combine a firm moral stand with expediency. This approach should prioritise resettling refugees in their countries of origin as soon as it is absolutely safe to do so, supporting with adequate resources those countries that bear the brunt of hosting refugees, and settling others elsewhere if they so wish. The latter should be done in accordance with an internationally agreed system that enables the absorption and integration of refugees within societies in the developed world to the benefit of both.
Beyond adequate resources, there is also a need for a change in the discourse, to one that educates people and societies about the duties we have towards the less fortunate, about our responsibility to embrace and protect them, and about the huge store of human potential that is lost and the instability that results when we don’t take this approach.
*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg