English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 07/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.may07.21.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am
there among them
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
18/18-22:”Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell
you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for
you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am
there among them.’Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of
the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven
times?’Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven
times.”
Titles For The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 06-
07/2021
MoPH: 1017 new coronavirus cases, 25 deaths
Le Drian in Lebanon with a Message of 'Great Firmness'
President asserts achieving reforms essential for advancement of Lebanon
Berri welcomes French FM at Ain el-Tineh
Hariri meets FM in The French Embassy
Hariri leaks intent to drop cabinet bid on eve of Le Drian visit
Report: Concerns over Social Protection Mount as Subsidies Draw to a Close
Financial Prosecutor Detains Turkish Power Ships, Freezes Payments
Diab chairs Inter-ministerial Economic Committee's meeting
Geagea renews calls for early parliamentary polls
Jumblatt calls not to wager on regional changes to form government
Judge Aoun reaches Prosec money transfer company in Baabda
Ship with hazardous material on board leaves Beirut port
Fahmy, Ali discuss measures required to keep pace with Lebanon-residing Syrians
wishing to participate in Syrian presidential elections
IDF carries out attacks on Hezbollah outposts - Syrian reports
Lebanese opposition needs to stand up to Hezbollah/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab
News/May 06/2021
Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 06-
07/2021
SANA: Israeli aggression with a helicopter on an area in
Quneitra, no damage
Iran needs to let go of ‘unrealistic demands’ for a nuclear deal with US:
Official
Blinken reveals uncertainty clouding US-Iran nuclear talks
Iran IRGC head: Israel can be destroyed in one operation/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem
Post/May 06/2021
Top 10 ways Iran has claimed attack on Israel, MidEast region - IRGC
Baghdad residents celebrate removal of Iran’s Khomeini, Soleimani billboards
Israeli spymaster visits Bahrain to discuss Mideast security in wake of US-Iran
talks
Turkey, Saudi, Iran, Syria: High-level talks underpin new MidEast ethos/Seth J.
Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 06/2021
Qatar’s attorney general orders arrest of finance minister
Saudi Arabia, Iran held talks more than once in Iraq - Iraqi president
Philippines' Duterte orders arrest of mask violators
Ukraine president says country still under Russian military threat
Ethiopian dam is ‘existential issue’ for Egypt, El-Sisi tells US diplomat
Titles For The Latest The
Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on May 06-
07/2021
Biden Administration Should Ascertain the Status of Iran’s Arak
Reactor/Andrea Stricker/FDD-Policy Brief/May 06/2021
Iran’s Military Establishment Doubles Down on “Revolution”/Farzin Nadimi/The
Washington Institute/May 06/2021
Iraq Brokers Secret Saudi-Iran Talks as Biden Resets U.S. Policy/Khalid Al
Ansary, Golnar Motevalli, and Zainab Fattah/May 06/2021
Authoritarian countries will try to use coronavirus vaccines as an internal
cudgel/David Adesnik/The Washington Post/May 06/2021
Microwaving the White House: Enemies Are Now Sonic Attacking Americans from
American Soil/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/May 06/2021
America's Border: Cui Bono? – Who Benefits?/Chris Farrell and Shea Garrison/Gatestone
Institute/May 06/2021
Rehabilitating Assad: The Arab League Embraces a Pariah/David Schenker/The
Washington Institute/May 06/2021
Controversy between Kerry and Zarif appears to diminish - analysis/Mike
Wagenheim/The Media Line//May 06/2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 06- 07/2021
MoPH: 1017 new coronavirus cases, 25 deaths
NNA/May 06/2021
Lebanon has recorded 1017 new coronavirus cases and 25 deaths during the past 24
hours, as announced by the Ministry of Public Health on Thursday.
Le Drian in Lebanon with a Message of 'Great
Firmness'
Associated Press/May 06/2021
France's foreign minister began a visit to Lebanon Thursday with a message of
"great firmness" to its political leaders, threatening to take additional
measures against officials obstructing the formation of a government in the
crisis-hit country.
Tweeting ahead of his arrival, Jean-Yves Le Drian said French travel
restrictions on Lebanese officials suspected of corruption or hindering the
formation of a new Cabinet were "just the start."France has been trying to force
change on Lebanon's ruling class, whose corruption and mismanagement has driven
the tiny country into the ground and pushed it to the verge of bankruptcy. The
country is experiencing the worst economic and financial crisis of its modern
history. The local currency has lost 85% of its value against the dollar in
recent months while banks imposed informal controls on transfers and
withdrawals. The economic crisis was made worse by a massive explosion at
Beirut's port last summer, which destroyed the facility and surrounding
neighborhoods. The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab stepped down in the
wake of the explosion, and former premier Saad Hariri was tasked with forming a
new one. Hariri has not been able to form a Cabinet amid deep disagreements
between him and President Michel Aoun, who has no legal recourse to fire him.
The deadlock is accelerating the country's meltdown.
"I will be in Lebanon tomorrow with a message of great firmness to political
leaders and a message of our complete solidarity to the Lebanese," Le Drian
posted Thursday. "Firmness in the face of those hindering the formation of a
government: we have taken national action, and this is just the start."
Last week, Le Drian said France will start to put in place measures restricting
access to French territory for Lebanese officials implicated in the political
blockage or corruption. He did not name any of those targeted or say how many.
The Foreign Ministry did not release details of what the restrictions entail.
The move stops short of sanctions for now, but Le Drian said more could come
later. Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a roadmap to break
the political stalemate in the former French protectorate. Macron, who has
previously said he is "ashamed" of Lebanese politicians, has been pressing for a
Cabinet made up of non-partisan specialists who can work on urgent reforms to
extract Lebanon from its multiple crises. Those efforts have led nowhere as
Lebanese top officials continue to bicker about the shape and size of a new
Cabinet, and who chooses which ministers.
President asserts achieving reforms essential
for advancement of Lebanon
NNA/May 06/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met French Foreign Minister,
Jean-Yves Le Drian, today at Baabda Palace. The President asserted that the
implementation of reforms which constitute the forensic audit, which is the
first clause of the French initiative, announced last September 1st, is
essential for the advancement of Lebanon and restoring confidence of the
Lebanese and international community. “There is also a top priority to form a
new government which enjoys Parliament confidence” the President said. President
Aoun also indicated that he will continue to exert efforts to reach practical
results in this context, despite all international and external obstacles, in
addition to the lack of response of those concerned by following constitutional
principles and the adopted methodology in forming governments. Then, the
President briefed the French Foreign Minister on the stages of the government
formation process, and explained the constitutional responsibilities entrusted
to the President of the Republic under the trustworthy constitution, in addition
to the President’s responsibility to maintain political and sectarian balance in
forming governments to ensure that governments gain Parliament confidence. The
President also stressed the cost of lost time in completing the
government-formation process. In addition, the President asked Minister Le Drian
for the help of France, in particular, and European countries, in general, in
recovering abroad-smuggled funds, asserting that this would help achieve reforms
and prosecute those who misused public or European funds which were provided to
Lebanon, or those who wasted funds through corruption or laundering, according
to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Finally, President Aoun
conveyed his greetings to his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, thanking his
constant interest in Lebanon and his eagerness to assist this country in all
political, social, health and educational fields”. -- Presidency press office
Berri welcomes French FM at Ain el-Tineh
NNA/May 06/2021
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Thursday welcomed at his Ain El-Tineh residence
visiting French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in the presence of French
Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, and his accompanying delegation. On the
other hand, Speaker Berri received former Minister, Ghazi al-Aridi, with whom he
discussed the general situation and most recent political developments.
Hariri meets FM in The French Embassy
LCCC//May 06/2021
Designated Lebanese PM, Mr. Saad
Al Hariri met French FM, French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian in the
French Embassy. Hariri Left the embassy without giving any brief on the meeting.
Hariri leaks intent to drop cabinet bid on eve of Le Drian
visit
The Arab Weekly/May 06/2021
BEIRUT - Lebanese political sources revealed that it is possible Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri could consider “apologising” for not being able
to form a new cabinet. They explain that Hariri’s possible decision to apologise
is linked to the obstacles that President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Gebran
Bassil have thrown in the way of his forming a government of “specialists” based
on the French initiative. The Lebanese political sources said that Hariri will
not simply apologise for not being able to form a new government; his apology
could be accompanied by his resignation and that of his parliamentary bloc from
the House of Representatives. This could mean forcing new parliamentary
elections or disrupting the work of the House of Representatives, which also
elects the president of the republic. The sources said that Hariri deliberately
put forward the idea of abandoning his cabinet formation mandate to coincide
with the visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Beirut, which
started Thursday. Such a move would take the government crisis back to square
one and embroil the French initiative in new complications, against the
background of what appears to be a cooling of relations between Paris and the
Lebanese prime minister-designate. Analysts have noted that Le Drian’s agenda in
Beirut does not include a meeting with Hariri, while it does include meetings
with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. This, they add,
was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the prime minister-designate, as
the step showed the emergence of a deep gap between him and the French who
seemingly no longer have full confidence in him.
The Arab Weekly had indicated a few weeks ago, based on its own sources, that
this cooling of relations was mainly because France had become convinced that
all the political parties in Lebanon, including Hariri, are responsible for
obstructing the formation of the government. The prime minister-designate had
previously worked based on the assumption that he had a mandate to carry out the
French initiative and that he had the full support of Paris in his mission. The
sources indicated that French political circles began talking about restricting
entry to France of certain Lebanese figures, including Saad Hariri himself or
those around him. The French would work to “pressure everyone” in Lebanon to
form a government as soon as possible, so that President Emmanuel Macron could
appear able to carry off his Lebanese initiative. The vice-president of the
Future Movement, Mustafa Alloush, said that the issue of Hariri’s apology was
“under consideration,” but that this would not be announced “today or
tomorrow.”He added, “If Prime Minister Hariri’s apology facilitates the
formation of a government, then he has no objection to that.”Alloush insisted
that pressures on Hariri were from Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the head
of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil.
He wondered, “In the end, how long will he wait? Since all the pressures on
Bassil and Aoun over the course of six months did not yield any results, then
the question is how long shall he wait?”Deputy-speaker of parliament, Elie
Ferzli, said, “It is crime not to lift a finger while the country drifts to the
black fate where some want to draw it.”He expressed his fear of a return to “the
1989 scenario,” which would mean “recycling” the leader of the Free Patriotic
Movement, MP Gebran Bassil. He added that the option of the resignation of the
House of Representatives itself is not on the table. Parliament speaker Nabih
Berri is pushing with all his power and authority for the formation of a
government, but he has met with rejection. After months of hinting at its
possible imposition of sanctions, France started talking last week of its intent
to impose restrictions on the entry to France of Lebanese figures that it
considers responsible for the political stalemate. In late March, France warned
senior political officials in Lebanon that it was exploring ways to exert
national and European pressure on those who hinder a settlement that would make
it possible to overcome the political and economic crisis in the country. Last
month, Le Drian issued a series of fiery statements in which he said that
“France will take measures against those who obstruct a solution to the crisis
in Lebanon; and the coming days will be fateful.” He considered that the bind is
not a result of a natural disaster but rather caused by well-known political
officials, pointing out that Lebanese political forces are being deliberately
stubborn and do not seek a way out of the mess and some of them are putting
impossible conditions on the process. In talks with his European counterparts,
Le Drian also considered “identifying the tools in the European Union’s arsenal
to reinforce pressure on those responsible for obstruction,” hence threatening
to expand the sanctions to include broader European measures. This is in light
of confirmed reports that Europeans are running out of patience with all
Lebanese blocs and figures and not only Hezbollah, which is already subject to
international sanctions. The European Union is apparently examining names and
types of sanctions, which may include travel bans to Europe. Lebanese President
Michel Aoun tasked Saad Hariri with forming a new government last October, after
receiving the support of the majority of MPs. But the two parties have not
agreed on a government that would work to save the country from economic
collapse. Over the past few months, Hariri and Aoun have traded accusations of
obstructionism and trying to impose counter-conditions.
Report: Concerns over Social Protection Mount
as Subsidies Draw to a Close
Naharnet/May 06/2021
As Lebanon prepares to stop subsidies on the import of basic goods, concerns
emerge about its repercussions on security in a country grappling with an
unprecedented economic and financial crisis and a sharp depreciation of its
local currency, media reports said on Thursday. A “prominent” security source
told MTV television station that Lebanon is going to face a big challenge, “not
at the level of terrorism, but at the level of social protection and social
security this time.” The source indicated that lifting subsidies will inevitably
increase burden on the Lebanese people, especially those below the poverty line,
as “many could resort to illegal methods of collecting money, meaning an
increase in thefts, extortion and kidnapping …,” said the source. However, the
security apparatuses are following up on the matter to determine the measures
needed to limit the repercussions of this decision on the security level, he
assured. An unnamed international diplomatic figure, has also expressed concerns
to MTV about the fate of Lebanese and social protection when subsidies on basic
goods are put to a halt. He said Lebanon’s security could be undermined
especially in some areas where the rate of security violations and poverty are
high. A close political breakthrough seems distant, and the controversial
process of forming a much-needed government seems unlikely. Lebanon is locked in
its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with no end in sight.
The value of the Lebanese pound has plunged, driving up the price of crucial
imports like food and fuel and triggering small but angry protests. More than
half of Lebanon's population is poverty stricken and relies on subsidies, but a
central bank demand for "an immediate plan to ration subsidies" is still
incomplete. The central bank plans to end subsidies on wheat, fuel and medicines
before its foreign currency reserves run out.
Financial Prosecutor Detains Turkish Power
Ships, Freezes Payments
Naharnet/May 06/2021
Lebanon’s Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim on Wednesday issued an order
detaining the two Turkish power ships Fatmagül Sultan and Orhan Bey in
connection with a suspected violation of the contract signed with the Lebanese
state. “Attorney General Judge Ghassan al-Khoury has informed the relevant
ministries -- finance; public works and transport; and energy and water -- as
well as the Electricite du Liban company and the Internal Security Forces,
General Security, the Customs administration and the army’s Intelligence
Directorate of… Ibrahim’s decision to detain the ships and prevent them from
leaving Lebanon,” the National News Agency said. Khoury also informed the
Finance Ministry of another order issued by Ibrahim, which freezes any payments
to the Turkish firm that owns the ships, Karpowership, to “guarantee the state’s
rights as to the $25 million penalty clause should the payment of commissions be
verified,” NNA added. Two Lebanese suspects have been arrested on suspicion of
being involved in the payment of a commission to secure Karpowership the
contract with the Lebanese state.
Diab chairs Inter-ministerial Economic
Committee's meeting
NNA/May 06/2021
Caretaker Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, in the afternoon chaired at the Grand
Serail, a meeting of the Inter-ministerial Economic Committee attended by
Ministers Zeina Akar, Mohamed Fahmy, Ramzi Musharrafieh, Raymond Ghajar, Michel
Najjar, Imad Hoballah, Hamad Hassan, Ghada Chreim, Abbas Mortada, Lamia Yammine,
and Charbel Wehbe, in addition to the Director General of the Lebanese
Presidency, Dr. Antoine Choucair, PCM Secretary General, Judge Mahmoud Makie,
and PM Advisor, Khodor Taleb.
The Committee pursued its deliberations on the financing card and examined
available options aimed at securing the necessary funds to finance it. ----PCM
Press Office
Geagea renews calls for early parliamentary
polls
NNA/May 06/2021
Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, on Thursday renewed calls for early
parliamentary elections in order to change the current ruling class. "The
starting point to exit the current situation is the reproduction of power in
Lebanon," Geagea told a conference via Zoom, organized by the LF to tackle the
economic and livelihood challenges. "We cannot get rid of the current ruling
class unless we hold early legislative polls," he said.
Jumblatt calls not to wager on regional
changes to form government
NNA/May 06/2021
Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Jumblatt, on Thursday highlighted the
necessity not to bet on regional changes to form the new government. "In
prevention of any interpretation, the key parties concerned with the government
formation must not wager on the regional changes that will take time," he wrote
in a tweet. "Enough with the game of regional axes," he added.
Judge Aoun reaches Prosec money transfer company in Baabda
NNA/May 06/2021
Mount Lebanon Prosecutor, Judge Ghada Aoun, arrived at the premises of Prosec
money transfer company in Baabda for the second day in a row, as part of her
field moves in the money transfer dossier, the NNA correspondent said. It is to
note that the aforementioned company refused yesterday [Wednesday] to hand over
its data to Judge Aoun.
Ship with hazardous material on board leaves
Beirut port
NNA/May 06/2021
The "Amoenitas" cargo ship has left Beirut sea port with 59 containers of
hazardous materials on board, heading to Wilhelmshaven in Germany for the
treatment of substances, our correspondent reported on Thursday.
Fahmy, Ali discuss measures required to keep
pace with Lebanon-residing Syrians wishing to participate in Syrian presidential
elections
NNA/May 06/2021
Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Muhammad Fahmy, received at
his office this Thursday the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim Ali,
and discussed with him the general situation and the measures that the Syrian
embassy requests from the Ministry of Interior to keep pace with the influx of
Syrians residing in Lebanon to cast their votes in the Syrian presidential
elections.
IDF carries out attacks on Hezbollah
outposts - Syrian reports
Jerusalem Post/May 06/2021
This is the second consecutive night that Syrian media reports an attack
attributed to the IDF in Syria. The IDF carried out attacks against Hezbollah
outposts near Quneitra on the Syrian border Wednesday night, according to Syrian
reports cited by Israeli media. This is the second consecutive night that Syrian
media reported an attack by the IDF in Syria. On Tuesday, an alleged Israeli
airstrike targeted a site near Latakia and Tartus along Syria’s Mediterranean
coast, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. A civilian was killed and
six were injured, including a child, according to Syrian media.The last alleged
Israeli airstrikes in Syria were reported late last month after a surface-to-air
missile was fired from Syria and exploded near the nuclear reactor in Dimona in
southern Israel. The missile was reportedly fired in response to an alleged
Israeli strike in Syria.
Lebanese opposition needs to stand up to Hezbollah
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/May 06/2021
As Lebanon is plunging into the abyss of chaos, the entire focus for a solution
is on the formation of a government involving the same political parties that
have ruled for decades and are responsible for this situation. And this
government formation, which is supposed to solve everything, has hit a dead end
over the nomination of two ministers that would give President Michel Aoun veto
power over all its decisions. We need to stop for a minute and note the
ridiculousness of the situation. We need to repeat that the same political
parties that led us to the current situation are fighting over the formation of
a government that is supposed to solve everything. Am I the only one to think
that this government, if Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is able to form
one, will not be able to tackle any of the issues for one simple reason? The
Lebanese government, no matter its intentions, cannot overrule Hezbollah. The
“blocking minority” that Aoun and Gebran Bassil are requesting is not theirs, it
is Hezbollah’s.
The focus within what is called the opposition has been on Aoun and particularly
Bassil as the target of all accusations. Hariri and others, mainly when seeking
international support, are depicting the situation as Bassil being the source of
all corruption and that his removal from the political landscape would solve
everything. Despite him being hit by sanctions, this belief is an illusion. More
importantly, what difference would it make? Let us go with the unlikely scenario
that Aoun gives up the two seats and Hariri forms his government. What are the
real reforms that can be implemented? In fact, none of Lebanon’s politicians are
serious about reforms, but are instead focused on getting international
financial aid. Also, and in essence, Hezbollah does not need the blocking
minority as it has the capacity to stop any decision at any time using violence.
The blocking minority simply makes it happen in a decent and polite manner, with
less damage.
What is today called the opposition knows this very well. They know that
Bassil’s power comes from his political agreement with Hezbollah and that he
loyally represents their interests in government. He did as minister of
telecommunications, as minister of energy and water, and as minister of foreign
affairs and emigrants. One common denominator we can notice in all his official
positions is flows: Telecommunications is the flow of data, energy is the flow
of electricity, and foreign affairs is the flow of people. This is what is key
for Hezbollah’s attempts to build its own state and infrastructure. It is the
military and security side of everything that needs to be focused on. So, when
Bassil is accused of corruption in all these posts, he is shielding the
accusation from Hezbollah and being loyal to their agreement. Therefore, there
is no reason for Hezbollah to give up its agreement with Aoun and accept the
removal of Bassil. Hezbollah is loyal to its own people, but also to its
partners, and this might be a big difference from the opposition, which shifts
and morphs and sells out while trying to read geopolitical trends and changes.
Lately, the “Syria back in the game in Lebanon” scenario has impacted the
opposition more than it did Hezbollah and company in trying to find the correct
potential partners.
Focusing criticism on Bassil and depicting him as the center of all Lebanon’s
problems is a weak play.
As international pressure mounts, including the threat of sanctions, most
political and economic actors are looking to be part of the coming political
formation to protect their own interests. This is what the current political
system is all about: Protecting political parties’ interests by giving veto
powers to the opposition block. Keeping government decisions intertwined with
the opposition is the best way to make sure they all keep each other’s secrets.
It is also the best way to share the economic benefits of the country’s riches
and to keep everyone quiet. Most of all, for Hezbollah it is a fantastic tool to
keep leverage over every leader, which it can use to put the pressure on
whenever it is needed.
Therefore, and as a simple example, no matter who leads the current system
politically, any investigation into ministries, public institutions or obviously
the Banque du Liban will be carefully selective. No one wants to open this box,
which is a clear continuation of the Syrian occupation and how public life and
business is conducted in Lebanon. This is the way of an occupied country, where
whatever limited resources are available go to the occupying force and to their
acolytes locally. All political parties are currently trying to solve the same
equation: How can we get international financial support to distribute to our
people without implementing any real reforms, and while keeping as much leverage
as possible? The answer for all of them is to wait for the May 2022
parliamentary elections to bring in a new agreement and try to better position
themselves. The wait might even give them time to reach a new deal as the
geopolitical landscape changes. They might even decide to self-extend their
elapsed mandate, as they have done repeatedly in the past.
What type of political regime is this? How do we define such a political system?
Simply by stating the obvious that this country is still under occupation. The
rest is noise. The opposition focusing their criticisms on Bassil and depicting
him — especially to the international community — as the center of all Lebanon’s
problems is a weak play and serves the occupation’s objectives. Moreover, for
some within the opposition, the only objective is actually to replace Bassil
within Hezbollah’s structure and reap the benefits that go with this service.
It is, therefore, high time the opposition took a courageous step, stood its
ground and stayed loyal to the Lebanese people by stating that the real problem
is Hezbollah’s status, starting with its military arsenal and its continuous
attacks on the country’s sovereignty. A new country cannot be built under the
threat of a competitor to its armed forces. The opposition also needs to
understand that the international community respects strength and avoids
liabilities. No matter the sticks and carrots, France and others will not be
able to change the equation on the ground and so will go with the pragmatic
solution. The opposition needs to finally understand that it urgently needs to
state a vision, with unity and loyalty, which is something that Hezbollah has
and they lack.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the
editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 06- 07/2021
SANA: Israeli aggression with a helicopter on an area in Quneitra, no damage
NNA/SANA/May 06/2021
The Israeli enemy launched after midnight an aggression on one of the areas in
Quneitra. SANA’s reporter in Quneitra said that a helicopter for the Israeli
enemy carried out an attack with a missile after midnight on one of the areas in
Jubata al-Khashab town in Quneitra countryside.The reporter added that the
aggression didn’t cause any damage.
Iran needs to let go of ‘unrealistic demands’ for a nuclear
deal with US: Official
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/06 May ,2021
Ahead of the fourth round of talks between the United States and Iran, a senior
State Department official questioned whether Tehran was prepared to let go of
its “unrealistic demands.” “They have yet to agree to the steps that they would
have to take to come back into commitment” with the JCPOA, the official said, in
reference to the 2015 nuclear deal signed under the Obama administration. The
official said talks had been constructive so far but also voiced some skepticism
over whether the US would still be “faced with unrealistic demands by Iran” of
lifting certain sanctions and “unrealistic commitments by them [Iran]The gaps
are there,” the official said, adding that there was a possibility to reach a
deal if Iran expressed “seriousness” in doing so. The fourth round of talks will
take place this week and into the weekend, where Special Envoy Rob Malley will
head the US delegation. As for the previous three rounds of talks, they have
helped “crystalize” what the US and Iran must do for a return to mutual
compliance with the JCPOA. “Again, we think that it’s doable, because it’s not
rocket science; it’s not inventing a new deal. It’s reviving one that has been
undermined over the last several years,” the State Department official said.
Asked if a deal was possible before the Iranian elections next month, the
official said it was. “Is it likely? Only time will tell … because a political
decision needs to be made in Iran,” he said. Last weekend, Iranian officials
leaked reports to media outlets that a prisoner exchange had been reached where
the US would unfreeze billions of dollars of frozen assets and release Iranian
prisoners in return for US hostages held in Iran. On Thursday, the US official
slammed what he said were false reports and said Iranian officials took part in
“unspeakable cruelty” by doing so. In an interview with MSNBC in Ukraine,
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the official’s remarks on the nuclear
deal talks. “What we don’t know is whether Iran is actually prepared to make the
decisions necessary to return to full compliance with the nuclear agreement.
They unfortunately have continued to take steps that are restarting dangerous
parts of their program that the nuclear agreement stopped, and the jury is out
on whether they’re prepared to do what’s necessary,” Blinken said.
Blinken reveals uncertainty clouding US-Iran nuclear talks
Arab News/May 06/2021
LONDON: Negotiators in talks with Iran over curbs to its nuclear program do not
yet know if Tehran is willing to make a deal, according to the White House’s top
diplomat. “We’ve been engaged now in Vienna for some weeks with our European
partners, with Russia, China, and indirectly … with Iran,” Secretary of State
Antony Blinken told the BBC on Thursday. “We’ve demonstrated our very
seriousness of purpose in terms of wanting to get back into the so-called JCPOA
(Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),” he added. “What we don’t yet know is
whether Iran is prepared to make the same decision and move forward.” Blinken
warned that, having progressively walked back on nuclear curbs hammered out as
part of the 2015 deal agreed with world powers, Tehran could acquire nuclear
weapons within months. Under the original deal, from which former US President
Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, Iran received billions of dollars’ worth of
sanctions relief in exchange for strict curbs and heavy monitoring of its
nuclear program. “Right now, unfortunately, Iran has itself lifted many of the
constraints imposed on it by the agreement because we pulled out,” Blinken said.
“And it’s now getting closer and closer again to that point where its breakout
time is going to be down to a few months and eventually even less.”
Iran IRGC head: Israel can be destroyed in one operation
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 06/2021
Salami says Israel’s security bubble has been burst, brags about maritime, cyber
and Dimona operations, ‘Zionist regime’ collapsing from within.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami said
that Israel “security” has been eroded, and its safety “bubble” burst in the
last few months in a wide-ranging television interview.
He bragged at length about how the “Zionist regime” is supposedly in the midst
of security, political and social disintegration. He then claimed that Israel
has suffered strikes against its maritime interests, cybersecurity
vulnerabilities and other security setbacks, including mysterious explosions and
a rocket that flew over Dimona.
Salami pointed to a string of incidents over the last several months, appearing
to take credit for them. He said that a mysterious explosion in Israel,
allegedly at a rocket factory on April 20, was a huge explosion that he said
“resembled that of a nuclear explosion.”
This is part of a domino effect, which has included cyberattacks on Israel, “the
killing of Mossad operatives in northern Iraq” and threats to a chemical factory
in Haifa and Ben-Gurion Airport. His interview was headlined in most major
Iranian media on Thursday, receiving front-page coverage.
The long list of incidents provided by Salami indicates that he wants Iran to be
seen as somehow responsible. He pointed to the list, as well as cyberattacks on
80 companies. He also said that 90% of Israel’s trade is maritime and that
Israel is vulnerable at sea. He noted that it is a relatively narrow country and
has no strategic depth.
THE EXTRAORDINARY interview is not the first time Iran has bragged about attacks
on Israel. Tehran likes to show that it is retaliating against the Jewish state,
even if there is no evidence of the various examples even happening. Most of
these Iranian “attacks” which have been reported in Iranian media have been
revealed to be accidents or even total myths.
But that is not always the case. Several Israeli-owned ships have been attacked
in the Gulf of Oman. This includes a February incident involving the MV Helios
Ray. The Hyperion Ray was allegedly attacked in April. This was after a Wall
Street Journal report claiming that Israel had struck a dozen Iranian ships.
Salami’s main message is that Israel is suffering from a long decline and the
“Zionist regime” is collapsing from within. He also says that the US is
gradually leaving the region. The message is that Israel’s “security bubble” has
been penetrated.
The program aired on Wednesday, May 6. "We are on the eve of Al-Quds [Jerusalem]
Day,” he said, recalling the leadership of former IRGC Quds Force head Gen.
Qassem Soleimani, “whose memory is always alive in our hearts.”
He says Iran “is facing a new political phenomenon in the world and the region,"
adding that we are now seeing a “gradual political decline of the great powers
outside the region and inside the region.”
The IRGC Commander-in-Chief continued: "This arrangement of power is breaking;
the connection we saw on the front of a coalition of demons and the arrogant of
the world is breaking." What this means is that he is referring to the US, which
Iran sees as an “arrogant” power. He accused enemies of wanting to change Islam,
an apparent reference to the Gulf states.
"The United States cannot help them,” he said. “Today, the United States cannot
do anything to save Saudi Arabia from an obvious defeat; the United States
itself has not been able to intervene directly or indirectly in the past and is
completely on the margins of change."Salami said that Riyadh could not defeat the Iranian-backed “Yemeni Mujahideen
(jihadists),” a reference to the Houthis. Saudi Arabia and Iran have held rounds
of talks in Iraq aimed at some kind of arrangement. Salami’s message is that the
US is leaving the region and Iran has leverage.
"The Americans are under political pressure from public opinion and under
pressure from Iraqis,” he said, adding that Iraqi groups “are trying to expel
the United States from the region in any way possible.” He is referring to
Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, and other PMU units that
fire rockets at American facilities in Iraq. Three such attacks happened this
week.
TURNING TO Israel, he said that "we see fragility and vulnerability in the
Israeli national security system, but the United States cannot help the Zionist
regime. We do not see [them]; their foreign policy is not active…The region is
affected by such a situation, the balance of power is clearly changing in favor
of Yemen, and the Saudis have been hit very hard. None of the Saudi air defense
and missile systems, which are all American, are capable."He pointed to Houthi drone operations as a success. "There is a political
balance in Syria and it is moving towards an election,” Salami said. “The
Resistance Front in Syria has not faced any decline. There is political unity in
Iraq, and resistance movements are active in Iraq.” The “resistance” is a
reference to Iran and its allies in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.
The IRGC head sketched out Iranian power bestriding the region. As the US is
“weakened” and “lacks influence,” he said that Iran now has a role in Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan. “We see that the noble lineage of the
Islamic Resistance is responding, so the region is a region in which the process
of US security presence has been completely weakened, [and] it has been shown
that it is not possible to implant foreign forces in this region.”
He praised the Quds force. "The Quds Force was able to create power in Lebanon
and Palestine and make the Palestinians self-sufficient." Palestinian Islamic
Jihad and Hamas have both threatened to attack Israel in recent days. The Quds
force is now run by Email Ghaani, an expert on Afghanistan. He has had trouble
controlling pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria.
SALAMI THEN returned to the subject of Israel. He said Israel was in a state of
decay and covering up its internal weaknesses. “The Israelis have tried to show
a figure of authority over the past year and a half and have tried to expand the
scope of their evil, while they have [experienced] tremendous damage.”
He claimed that Israel has suffered blows at sea. “It is very easy for Israel's
maritime trade to be seriously disrupted.” He then pointed to an explosion in an
“Israeli satellite engine factory. A large refinery in Haifa then exploded… harm
to 80 companies and killing their spies in Erbil, Iraq.” He then referred to an
S-200 fired from Syria. “The missile struck near Dimona… They could not destroy
it. Any tactical action can be a great defeat for them. You can destroy Israel
with one operation.”
Salami then warned Israel to be careful. "They have correctly understood the
power of our drones… These modern advances have taken place in all areas. Our
drone power is a modern power that competes with all the advanced drone powers
in the world. The most important feature of our drones is their accuracy and
range. The accuracy is so high that it will target very small points.” Iran has
numerous drones, some with ranges exceeding 1,000 km. Recent concerns have
pointed to Iran using drones from Yemen to strike at Israel.
Iran evidently thinks Israel is in economic decline and losing “social
cohesion,” as Salami said. He may be referring to the Israeli elections. “They
have held four elections to appoint a prime minister, but they have not been
able to do so and will probably go to the fifth election.”
He says the Zionist system has collapsed. "They have extraordinary injuries. One
or two months ago, all the injuries of the Zionist regime were shown.” He urged
Israel “to regulate their behavior based on reality. The biggest failure of
irrational and evil political systems such as the United States and Israel is
that they do not have the power to make a realistic and accurate assessment of
the environment and the scene."
It is one of the most wide-ranging and specific interviews Salami has given in
recent years, in which he sketched out an assessment of Israeli vulnerability
and the weakening of other US allies and partners in the region.
Top 10 ways Iran has claimed attack on Israel, MidEast region - IRGC
Jerusalem Post/May 06/2021
From calling out vulnerability in Israel's maritime trade to claiming Mossad
operatives were killed in Iraq, IRGC general lists Iran's operations and threats
to Israel and the region in an interview.Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps head Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami provided
a long list of Iran’s operations and apparent threats to Israel and the region
in an interview on Wednesday. His claims reveal the depth of Iran’s strategy in
the region.
These are the top ten claims he made:
Israel’s maritime trade is vulnerable
Salami said that 90% of Israel’s trade travels by sea. He says that it goes
through “international waters” and that Israel is vulnerable to “maritime
incidents.” This is apparently a reference to at least three attacks on Israeli
ships in the last several months. He warned that Israel can suffer “obstruction”
if it is threatened by sea. In the 1950s, there were similar attempts to cut off
Israel’s sea routes by Egypt.
In recent years, Israel has increased its capabilities at sea, including two new
Corvettes of the Sa’ar 6 class, one of which arrived last year and the second of
which was handed over in Germany this week.
US media reports and Iran have accused Israel of a dozen attacks on Iranian
ships and on an IRGC “mother ship” in the Red Sea.
An Israeli missile factory blew up
The IRGC head claimed that an Israeli missile factory suffered a massive
explosion. He is referring to an April 20 incident where an explosion was seen
in central Israel. Iran said that a “sensitive” Israeli missile factory was
affected. Later reports said that it was a controlled test of a solid fuel
rocket engine, according to a US expert. Mossad operatives killed in Iraq .The IRGC leader claimed that several “Mossad operatives” had been killed in
northern Iraq. Salami’s comments went further than Iranian media has gone in the
past, claiming that “spies” were killed in Erbil, Iraq, the capital of the
Kurdistan Regional Government. This relates to an April 14 report about an
alleged attack on “Mossad in Iraq,” which appeared at Iran’s PressTV; the claims
by Salami appear to indicate this.
Cyberattacks on 80 Israeli companies
Iran claims that numerous Israeli companies have been hit with cyberattacks. The
number Salami specifies is at least 80 companies. There have been a growing
number of cyberattacks reported in Israel. Globes reported the growing number in
January. A report said H&M was also targeted. In April 2020, there were also
incidents.
A fire at an oil refinery in Haifa
A fire in Haifa was also mentioned by Iran. Iranian media had reported earlier
this week a “huge fire” at a refinery in Haifa. A pipe malfunction had led to a
fire at a petrochemical plant and the Bazan refinery in Haifa, according to
reports. Part of a petrochemical plant was also demolished in February. Iran
appears to be taking credit for these incidents.
An “explosion” near Ben-Gurion Airport
A fire that broke out near Ben-Gurion on May 2 was also mentioned by the IRGC
head. This was reported as having happened at Moshav Zeitan south of the
airport. Salami claims that in fact, this was a nefarious incident, or at least
implies it was since he includes it in the rest of the list of incidents.
Syrian missile near Dimona shows Israel “tactical” weakness
Salami said that Israel is a narrow strip of land and this means it can be
harmed with just one “blow.” He pointed to this as a weakness, noting that any
tactical defeat for Israel is a major strategic defeat because the country has
no strategic depth. Tasnim media quoted him as referring to a Syrian S-200
missile that “struck near Dimona” on April 21, which he said Israel was unable
to intercept.
Drone threats to Israel
The IRGC head warned of drone threats to the Jewish state. He said that the
modern battlefield now includes UAVs that have increased the offensive power of
Iran. “UAVs are not just reconnaissance elements, but are now like a missile.”
He said that Iranian drones now have a longer range and better accuracy. Tehran
has used them extensively to aid the Houthis, who carry out drone attacks on
Saudi Arabia. Iran also used them against Saudi Arabia in September 2019, and
used one against Israel in February 2018 from Syria.
Iran increases attacks on US in Iraq
"The Americans are under political pressure on public opinion and under pressure
from Iraqis… [Iraqi group] are trying to expel the United States from the region
in any way possible,” Salami said. He was referring to Kataib Hezbollah, an
Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, and other PMU units that fire rockets at US
facilities in Iraq. Three attacks happened this week. He says that the
“resistance” is active in Iraq. This is a reference to increased attacks on the
US.
Saudi Arabia under threat
"The balance of power is clearly changing in favor of Yemen, and the Saudis have
been hit very hard. None of the Saudi air defense and missile systems, which are
all American, are capable," he said, adding that they can’t prevent
Iranian-backed Houthi drone operations. The comments against Saudi Arabia were
part of a wider claim that the US is leaving the region; Iran senses this to
mean that US partners and allies are weaker.
Baghdad residents celebrate removal of Iran’s Khomeini,
Soleimani billboards
Al Arabiya English/06 May ,2021
Residents in Baghdad have been captured on camera cheering after billboards of
Iran’s former and top leaders were torn down in the Iraqi capital, a Twitter
video posted on Thursday showed. Protesters gathered in the Sunni-majority
neighborhood of al-Adhmaya in Baghdad and chanted at the removal of large
advertising structures featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, former
Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini - founder of Iran’s current political system –
and late commander Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was the head of Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – Quds Force and one of Iran’s most powerful
men. He was killed in a US airstrike on Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020
alongside Iraq’s Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed
militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. On Twitter, one user shared a
video of the chanting crowds. Iran has been in the forefront of news since a
leaked audio recording in which Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
complained about lack of power and criticized the country’s military’s dominance
over foreign policy drew an array of reactions, including from US politicians.
In the three-hour recording, published by London-based Iran International TV
station earlier this week, Zarif said he had “zero” influence over Tehran’s
foreign policy and complained about the extent of the influence the IRGC and its
assassinated commander Qassem Soleimani had in comparison.
In response, Iran’s Khamenei said the foreign minister’s criticism of the
military in a leaked recording was “surprising and unfortunate.”“We have
recently heard some things from some of the country’s officials that were
surprising and unfortunate,” Khamenei said in a live televised speech.Khamenei,
who did not mention Zarif by name at any point during the speech, accused him of
echoing US claims.
Israeli spymaster visits Bahrain to discuss Mideast
security in wake of US-Iran talks
The Associated Press/06 May ,2021
The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency visited Bahrain for talks with
officials on Thursday, the Bahrain state-run news agency reported. The trip came
amid heightened tensions in the region over Iran and followed Israel’s recent
deal to normalize relations with the island kingdom.
The brief statement carried by the news agency said only that Yossi Cohen met
with Bahrain’s heads of national intelligence and strategic security to discuss
“the most prominent security topics, regional developments and issues of common
interest.” It did not elaborate. The two countries opened diplomatic ties last
fall in a US-brokered deal under the Trump administration and following the
United Arab Emirates’ decision to normalize relations. Indirect talks between
the US and Iran over a return to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers,
which former President Donald Trump abandoned, are now gaining traction in
Vienna. Israel and Gulf Arab states previously have voiced concern over a
generous American rapprochement with Iran that doesn’t address the Islamic
Republic’s ballistic missile program and support for regional proxies, in
addition to its nuclear program.
Turkey, Saudi, Iran, Syria: High-level talks underpin new MidEast ethos
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 06/2021
Over the last decade, there were increasing divisions in the region as Iran
gobbled up property in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen and as Saudi Arabia worked
closely with Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief went to Syria recently. This was a big move
because Syria had been given a cold shoulder by leading Arab states for many
years during the Syrian civil war. Saudi Arabia is also talking to Iran, and
Turkey’s president spoke with the Saudi king this week.
This marks a major move for the region and looks to present a series of attempts
at reconciliation, as opposed to the more Hobbesian reality of the last decade.
Martin Chulov at The Guardian notes that “the Saudi delegation was led by Gen.
Khalid Humaidan, the head of the country’s General Intelligence Directorate. He
was received by Syria’s Gen. Ali Mamlouk, the architect of the push to crush the
early years of the anti-Assad revolution and the key interlocutor with Russian
forces, which took a significant stake in the conflict from September 2015.”
Meanwhile, in Turkey, the news of the phone call between President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and the Saudi king is being greeted with a newfound sense of purpose in
the region. Pro-Ankara media in Turkey tend to highlight past issues with the
Saudis and cast Riyadh in a negative light.
“Aside from the Khashoggi incident, Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Israel,
support of the coup in Egypt and its stance on Libya and Syria have been other
points of contention between Ankara and Riyadh,” notes Daily Sabah, the Turkish
newspaper. Basically, the Turkish media are a bit skeptical of the new
possibilities.
Over the last decade, there were increasing divisions in the region as Iran
gobbled up property in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and as Saudi Arabia
worked closely with Egypt and the UAE and Bahrain, including green-lighting new
relations with Israel.
Notice that Turkey’s media present Saudi Arabia’s apparent warm view of Israel
as a “point of contention” with Ankara. This is symbolic because Ankara backs
Hamas and has backed the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as sending
mercenaries to Libya, making a key part of the Erdogan agenda the isolation of
Israel and supporting terrorism against Israel.
Turkey says with one voice that it wants reconciliation with Israel, but,
alternatively, has threatened the UAE against its ties with Israel and sees
Riyadh’s views of Israel as a problem.
What this means is that Ankara is misleading when it says it wants new ties with
Israel. But Ankara may be more serious in pretending to repair relations with
Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Ankara wants to buttress against a US administration
that may become cold to Turkey.
All of this is important because the high-level meetings showcase how the region
could be changing from periods of instability and extremism to an era where
large state policies matter a bit more. It becomes more important to closely
watch these high-level calls and meetings and the context within which they take
place.It is also important to be carefully observing what the US is doing. Last week,
the US hosted a high-level Israeli delegation, and this week US President Joe
Biden spoke with the UAE’s crown prince.
Watching the Riyadh discussions with Iran as well as Turkey’s meetings in Egypt
will be important to help assess and judge the next several months of activity.
Qatar’s attorney general orders arrest of finance minister
Arab News/May 06/2021
Qatar’s Public Prosecutor ordered the arrest of Minister of Finance Ali Sharif
Al-Emadi over reports of crime related to holding public office, Qatar News
Agency reported on Thursday. “After reviewing documents, and their attached
reports, the Attorney General ordered the arrest of the Minister of Finance Ali
Sharif Al-Emadi to investigate what was mentioned in the reports of crimes
related to practicing public office,” the statement said. The reports consisted
of damage to public funds, abuse of public office, and abuse of power. The
Public Prosecutor ordered wide investigations into the crimes raised in the
submitted reports.
Saudi Arabia, Iran held talks more than once in Iraq - Iraqi president
NNA/Reuters/May 06/2021
Iraq has hosted more than one round of talks between regional foes Iran and
Saudi Arabia, Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Wednesday. Salih made his
remarks during an interview broadcast live online with the Beirut Institute
think tank. He gave no more details. Diplomats hope the opening of direct
channels between Iran and Saudi Arabia will signal a calming of tensions across
the Middle East after years of hostilities that have brought the region close to
a full-scale conflict.Baghdad hosted talks between officials from its two
neighbours and mutual adversaries on April 9 in the only round of talks to have
been previously reported. Asked how many rounds of Saudi-Iranian talks Iraq had
hosted, Salih replied: "More than once.""It is ongoing, and it is important and
it is significant, and for Iraq to be able to play that convening role between
these regional actors is important," he added, although he gave no further
details on the talks. Washington and Tehran have engaged in indirect talks in
Vienna that seek to revive an international pact reached in 2015 that
constrained Iran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. Former U.S.
President Donald Trump pulled out the deal in 2018 and imposed harsh sanctions
on Iran and its regional allies, increasing tension as Iran-backed militias
attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and a series of attacks hit oil installations and
tankers in the Gulf, where Washington counts Arab states such as Saudi among its
close allies. The killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air
strike in Baghdad in January 2020 brought the region close to war. Iran
responded with limited missile strikes against a U.S. base in Iraq, the first
such direct attack, but took no further action. Iraqis hope for a general
regional detente that would allow their country to rebuild instead of being used
as an arena for U.S., Gulf Arab and Iranian score-settling.Iraq is trying to
rein in powerful Iran-backed militias and deal with a resurgent Islamic State -
the Sunni hardline Islamist group that took over a third of Iraq in 2014 and was
beaten militarily in 2017 by U.S. forces, the Iraqi military, Kurdish fighters
and Iran-aligned paramilitaries. "The war against ISIS (Islamic State) and
terrorism cannot be won by (only) military means," Salih said. "We have
succeeded in liberating our land with the help of our friends but terrorism
remains."
Philippines' Duterte orders arrest of mask violators
NNA/AFP/May 06/2021
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to arrest anyone not
wearing a mask properly, including below the nose, as the country battles to
contain surging coronavirus infections. Duterte issued the directive after a
meeting with his Covid-19 task force -- where everyone except him can be seen
wearing the mandatory face covering -- an official video released late Wednesday
showed. Thousands of people have been punished for violating Covid-19 rules
since the end of March, when restrictions were tightened in the capital and
surrounding provinces after a spike in cases. The justice secretary and police
chief have urged officers to fine offenders or make them do community service
instead of arresting them, following the death of a man forced to do a hundred
squats as punishment for breaking curfew. But Duterte said police should get
tough on rule breakers and arrest those not wearing a mask properly -- including
those who leave their nose exposed. "My orders to the police are those who are
not wearing their masks properly... arrest them and detain them, investigate why
they are doing it," Duterte said. "It's not for me, it's not for us. It's for
the interest of the country so you won't infect and you won't be infected."-
Ukraine president says country still under Russian
military threat
NNA/AFP/May 06/2021
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is still under Russian
military threat during a press briefing with the US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken on Thursday. "We think that the decrease (of Russian troops near the
border) is slow, therefore, perhaps, there still may be a threat.--AFP
Ethiopian dam is ‘existential issue’ for Egypt, El-Sisi
tells US diplomat
Arab News/May 06/2021
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reiterated that the issue of
the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) is an “existential issue” for
Egyptians, adding that his country will not accept any risk to its water supply.
In a meeting with US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman on
Wednesday, El-Sisi said Egypt is keen to enhance bilateral cooperation with the
US and underlined the vital role of such a partnership in achieving stability in
the Middle East and Africa. A spokesman for El-Sisi said the two men discussed
several issues relevant to the Horn of Africa, foremost of which was the GERD.
Feltman said the US is keen to help reach “a fair and comprehensive settlement”
to the matter, given its great importance to Egypt and the region. Ethiopia
started building the 1.8 km-long gravity dam in 2011. Egypt fears it will
threaten its supplies of water from the River Nile. Sudan, meanwhile, is
concerned about the dam’s safety and its effect on the water supply of Sudanese
dams and water stations. El-Sisi said Egypt has adopted a flexible approach to
the issue over the years through a range of negotiation methods. Egypt’s
approach, he said, has been based on seeking a “balanced and legally binding”
agreement that respects the interests of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. He blamed
Ethiopia’s “lack of political will” for the failure of negotiations to date. The
president stressed that Egypt is still seeking a fair agreement regarding the
filling and operation of the dam under the negotiations sponsored by the African
Union, led this year by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. El-Sisi called on
the international community to “assume its responsibilities” to help solve the
crisis. The president also highlighted the vital role of US influence in this
regard. Feltman said the US values its strategic relations with Egypt highly in
light of Cairo’s political influence and pivotal role in the region. The envoy
also stressed America’s desire to boost cooperation with Egypt. Egyptian Foreign
Minister Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed
Abdel-Ati also met with Feltman. They told him that Egypt still hopes to reach
an agreement over the GERD before summer this year. They added that the process
of filling the dam should be carried out according to an agreement that respects
the interests of Egypt and Sudan — the two downstream nations — and limits any
damage to those two countries. During their meeting with Feltman, the ministers
expressed Egypt’s willingness do as much as possible to ensure the success of
the negotiations sponsored by the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both ministers
said Egypt is looking forward to cooperating with its international partners,
especially the US, to achieve this goal.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on May 06-
07/2021
Biden Administration Should Ascertain
the Status of Iran’s Arak Reactor
Andrea Stricker/FDD-Policy Brief/May 06/2021
The Biden administration says it wants to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
because the accord seals off Tehran’s pathways to nuclear weapons, one of which
involves plutonium. Yet the accord will not prevent Iran from producing
plutonium, even temporarily, unless Washington confirms the implementation of
permanent changes to the proliferation-prone design of Iran’s IR-40 heavy water
nuclear reactor at Arak.
Under the accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),
Iran may not build new heavy water nuclear reactors or reprocess plutonium for
15 years. Iran also committed to “redesign and rebuild” the 40-megawatt IR-40
reactor so as “to minimise the production of plutonium and not … produce
weapon-grade plutonium,” which Tehran could further process to develop nuclear
weapons. To that end, the JCPOA established an international working group to
oversee what the accord called a “modernization project” for the IR-40. As of
early 2020, a U.S. official told FDD, firms and consultancies in the United
Kingdom, China, the Czech Republic, and Germany had contracted to perform the
work.
As required by the JCPOA, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified
the permanent disablement of the IR-40’s calandria, which is a metal lattice
that holds reactor fuel rods. Thereafter, the IR-40 working group moved slowly
on reaching agreement on the redesign, and construction lagged. In January 2019,
the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, complicated
matters when he said on state television that Tehran had prepared to
reconstitute the reactor in case the deal fell apart.
Salehi further admitted that Iran had imported a spare set of pressure tubes,
ostensibly to construct a duplicate calandria if needed. With a duplicate
calandria, and unless the working group ensured additional, irreversible
modifications to other reactor components and systems, the IR-40 could once
again produce significant amounts of weapons-grade plutonium.
Salehi feared that had the IAEA known about the spare pressure tubes, it would
have demanded that Iran destroy them. Yet even after Salehi’s revelation, the
other parties to the JCPOA were silent on the matter. Nor did the IAEA report
following up with Iran about the tubes, even though Tehran’s import was a clear
violation of the deal’s intent to prevent use of the old reactor design.
Limited media reporting about the IR-40’s progress indicated other potential
problems, including potentially reversible technical allowances made by the
modernization working group. For example, the IR-40’s secondary cooling circuit,
which became active in December 2019, may not have been irreversibly altered to
suit the new proliferation-resistant design. Only the primary cooling circuit
was modified.
According to Olli Heinonen, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center and
former IAEA deputy director for safeguards, “The reactor has yet to be
irreversibly modified not to produce plutonium in quantities of
non-proliferation concern. This requires modifications both to the first and
secondary [cooling] systems, and not just one of them.”
The working group’s decisions regarding the IR-40 have also been overly
secretive, and the parties have failed to issue progress reports. Nor has the
IAEA provided public updates.
Regardless of whether Washington re-enters the JCPOA, the Biden administration
must ascertain whether the Arak reactor working group agreed to technical
compromises that could permit Iran to revert to the previous design. If so, the
administration should urge the working group to rectify those allowances.
The IAEA must demand that Iran account for the spare pressure tubes and destroy
them. In addition, the IAEA should publicly report on the Arak reactor’s
modernization to date. IAEA member states and the public should be able to
assess the technical rigor behind the reactor’s reorientation and the status of
Iran’s plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons.
*Andrea Stricker is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), where she also contributes to FDD’s Iran Program,
International Organizations Program, and Center on Military and Political Power
(CMPP). For more analysis from Andrea, the Iran and International Organizations
programs, and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Andrea on Twitter @StrickerNonpro.
Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_Iran and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington,
DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and
foreign policy.
Iran’s Military Establishment Doubles Down on
“Revolution”
Farzin Nadimi/The Washington Institute/May 06/2021
By dismissing the Zarif tape and calling for further securitization of
government decisionmaking, the officials truly in charge of Iranian foreign
policy are previewing what negotiators and neighbors can expect from Tehran for
the foreseeable future.
Amid heightened nuclear diplomacy and controversial new revelations by Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the leadership of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) has called for a review of the country’s regional policies.
Yet far from scaling back its current posture, the military establishment—often
referred to as “the field”—seems intent on further securitizing Iranian foreign
policy, increasing the budget of the IRGC-Qods Force, and otherwise cementing
the Islamic Republic’s ingrained military adventurism.
During the April 28 inauguration ceremony for the new Qods Force deputy
commander, IRGC chief Gen. Hossein Salami praised the “heroic and beautiful
regional role” that the force has played over the past decade, describing how it
created an array of potent proxy actors and military fronts around the Middle
East in order to prevent enemies from concentrating their power. According to
him, this effort was made possible by integrating Iran’s ideological and
national interests with those of sympathetic actors in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and other arenas. He also rebutted Zarif’s assertion that
the IRGC had interfered with Iranian diplomacy, instead arguing that the
deceased Qods Force commanders Qasem Soleimani and Mohammad Hossein-Zadeh Hejazi
are the ones who empowered the government’s diplomatic efforts through their
military achievements abroad.
These messages were soon echoed by other IRGC commanders, including Brig. Gen.
Gholamreza Jalali Farahani, the hardline chairman of the National Passive
Defense Organization. In a statement released May 1, he accused Zarif of
sacrificing revolutionary values and strategies for short-term tactical gains
that make the country more vulnerable. Criticizing both Zarif and President
Hassan Rouhani for their “false idealism,” he referenced Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei’s November 2015 speech mandating that all Foreign Ministry initiatives
should serve the regime’s strategic principles, not work against them.
With that mandate in mind, Jalali called for a more securitized foreign policy,
using “active resistance” on the “battlefield” and deterring the enemy’s use of
hard power in order to gain the upper hand in negotiations. This includes
boosting and demonstrating the IRGC’s strength, holding more military exercises,
and unveiling new weapons and capabilities. In his view, such efforts will make
Iran less vulnerable, more unpredictable, and better positioned at the
negotiating table, while also complicating enemy calculations.
Interventionism Is the Core of the Regime’s Identity
For more than three decades, the IRGC has been running its own foreign policy
apparatus via the Qods Force and the Khamenei-controlled Supreme National
Security Council, but the Guards are also heavily embedded in Iran’s traditional
diplomatic institutions and activities. Zarif referred to this fact in his
leaked interview when he mentioned the regime’s growing “securitization” of the
diplomatic corps, but he did not elaborate on why he has failed to resist this
intrusion or resign in protest.
According to Articles 3, 152, and 154 of the Iranian constitution, the country’s
foreign policy is built on an open-ended commitment to support the struggles of
oppressed Muslims worldwide by any means possible—the same principal objective
as the IRGC. The military-security establishment has therefore consistently
sought to advance the regime’s revolutionary values through foreign
interventions, regardless of what the president’s team may negotiate in
multinational agreements like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Unlike Zarif’s complaints that the “field” has either interfered with the work
of Iranian diplomats or failed to adequately coordinate with them, the two
sectors are more often described as intertwining arms, both focused on
safeguarding the revolution and the Islamic system (Nizam) as the main source of
Iran’s “national identity.” For example, an April 27 tweet by Ali Shamkhani,
secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, insisted that the Nizam’s
diplomatic and “field” policies take shape only after extensive internal
deliberations based on the “definitive principles of the Islamic Revolution.”
The practical significance of this mindset becomes clearer when one understands
that many of the figures who lead regime institutions tend to prioritize the
revolution and Nizam over traditional national interests, despite theoretical
attempts to combine them in a unified identity. Zarif is not exempt from this
tendency, despite his occasional advocacy for diplomatic realism during the
JCPOA process and other instances. Even when the Islamic Republic was arguably
at its weakest—in 1988, when it accepted a UN resolution to end the long,
devastating war with Iraq—founding leader Ruhollah Khomeini still told the
public that “safeguarding Islam” and exporting the revolution were the country’s
top priorities. His successor, Khamenei, has repeatedly emphasized the same
goal.
This unflinching commitment to revolutionary interventionism helps explain why
Zarif and Rouhani’s approach to U.S. relations still runs into obstacles at
home. Zarif’s leaked interview offered a model for “managing conflict” with the
United States by setting aside “unsolvable” issues (e.g., Iran’s militant nature
and rejection of Israel’s existence) and focusing on areas of potential
cooperation, much like Washington has approached relations with China and
Taiwan. Yet the non-zero-sum approach that Zarif often advocates in foreign
interviews totally ignores the zero-sum game that the regime has openly been
playing against the United States and Israel since the 1979 revolution.
The most recent example of this contrast is the JCPOA. Zarif has criticized “the
field” for failing to coordinate with his team and thereby undermining the JCPOA.
Yet Khamenei used his May 2 speech to fully endorse the Qods Force and declare
that the direction and management of foreign policy should be left to the
highest level (meaning himself), with Zarif’s team merely giving minor input and
implementing the leader’s decisions—including on the nuclear front.
Despite these differing attitudes about how to manage U.S. relations, Zarif and
other cabinet members are far more involved in facilitating the field’s
interventionism than they let on. For example, in one part of the leaked tape,
Zarif expressed surprise that civilian carrier Iran Air had increased its
flights to Syria six-fold during the war in order to deliver military personnel
and arms, but such a massive increase could not happen without explicit cabinet
authorization via the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation
Organization. Similarly, his account of the IRGC’s shootdown of a Ukrainian
jetliner raises suspicion that he, Rouhani, and other cabinet members knew the
cause of the crash early on and concealed the information to cover for the
field.
Policy Implications
Regardless of who is foreign minister, Iran’s diplomatic machine will continue
taking a back seat to the IRGC’s constitutionally mandated military
interventionism as directed by the Supreme Leader, and IRGC commanders will
continue advancing their missile projects and foreign policy objectives
according to their “non-conservative” military vision. As highlighted by the
latest surge in aggressive IRGC harassment of U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian
Gulf, any decrease in Iran’s “active deterrence” and “resistance” measures is
only temporary and tactical.
Thus, even if the parties make progress in JCPOA negotiations, one can expect
increasing IRGC assertiveness on various fronts, especially the Gulf and the
Strait of Hormuz, but also via proxies elsewhere in the region. More missile
parades and test launches are likely as well, with the usual objective of
gauging the international community’s tolerance. And if Washington and other
parties attempt to curb Iran’s missile capabilities and regional adventures via
new JCPOA mechanisms, separate deals, or back-channel measures, the IRGC will do
whatever it can to stymie these efforts.
*Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, is a
Washington-based analyst specializing in the security and defense affairs of
Iran and the Persian Gulf region.
Iraq Brokers Secret Saudi-Iran Talks as Biden Resets
U.S. Policy
Khalid Al Ansary, Golnar Motevalli, and Zainab Fattah/May 06/2021
raq is carving out a mediating role between Iran and Gulf Arab oil producers
including Saudi Arabia, a shift for a country better known as a victim of
regional conflict than a conduit to defuse it.
In recent weeks, Iraq convened indirect talks between its neighbors Saudi Arabia
and Iran, with a focus on Yemen’s war, where the two countries back opposing
sides. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief
experienced in regional security issues, is seen by Saudi Arabia and its ally
the UAE as having a degree of autonomy from Iran. He’s thus been able to build
up trust to make such engagement possible, four people briefed on the talks say.
Iran Open to Saudi Talks as Iraq Pushes Mediation to Ease Feud
Kadhimi has also kept open channels between Tehran and President Joseph Biden’s
administration, which two people briefed on the Iraqi side say has welcomed the
separate avenue to engage diplomatically with Iran. World powers are holding
talks in Vienna to try to resurrect a 2015 deal with Iran to rein in its nuclear
activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
The mid-May expiration of an agreement on monitoring Iranian nuclear facilities
gives these multi-track talks added urgency. The regional outreach could help
promote the revival of the nuclear accord, after former President Donald Trump’s
unilateral exit was followed by attacks on global shipping lanes and Saudi oil
installations, many of them blamed on Iran or its regional proxies.
Kadhimi’s Path
Kadhimi has navigated Iraq’s politics on the front-line of the broader
confrontation with Iran, and played his cards wisely, said Robert Satloff,
executive director of The Washington Institute and an expert on U.S. Middle East
policy. “His stock is very high in Washington right now.”
Long caught in the middle of conflicts between global and regional powers, and
still rebuilding from the invasions of the U.S. and Islamic State, Iraq hopes to
ratchet down tensions that affect it directly. Kadhimi is also seeking to
strengthen his role on the international stage, even as he navigates internal
politics in Iraq, where he’s pulled between powerful competing parties.
None of the countries has directly acknowledged the talks, but both Iran and
Saudi Arabia have alluded to increased regional engagement. The discussions,
which have involved intelligence officials, began under former Prime Minister
Adel Abdul Mahdi but have intensified under Kadhimi. Several rounds are planned
with the first set mainly used to test the waters for future rapprochement, a
senior Iraqi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss
confidential conversations.
“The U.S. is pushing its Gulf allies to talk directly to Iran,” said Renad
Mansour, a senior research fellow and project director of the Iraq Initiative at
Chatham House. “That’s part of the two-track approach that Biden is pursuing to
get all sides involved in the process.”
The State Department didn’t respond when asked to comment on Iraq’s role as a
mediator. Spokesman Ned Price on April 22 referred questions about Iraq’s role
to Baghdad and Riyadh.
Back-Channel
Regional and global concerns converged this week with the visit of a delegation
of senior U.S. officials to the Middle East, meant to ease allies’ concerns over
Biden’s bid to rejoin the nuclear deal. Gulf Arab states have long said they
should be involved in diplomacy on Iran at a global level for any deal to be
sustainable.
Top Biden Officials Plan Mideast Trip Over Iran, F-35 Concerns
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed Iraq’s role during a visit
to the country last week and said Tehran wanted to see Baghdad become a more
“pivotal” actor in regional matters.
If the Vienna talks fail, Iran-backed militias will act up in the region and
Iranian hardliners will continue to resist the deal, said Dina Esfandiary, a
senior adviser in the Middle East and North Africa team at International Crisis
Group. The Gulf Arabs and Iraqis are trying to pre-empt that by conducting their
talks now, she said.
Iran, U.S. Inch Toward Nuclear Deal With Sanctions Consensus
Saudi Arabia and Iran both want to end the regional crises, according to the
senior Iraqi government official. Tehran is under increasing economic pressure
from sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, while Saudi Arabia’s top
concern is mounting attacks from Iran-backed Yemeni fighters, a second person
close to the Iraqi government said.
Iraq has found Saudi Arabia more open to dialog with Iran and thinks Kadhimi is
a factor in that, the senior Iraqi government official said. The UAE also takes
that view, trusting Kadhimi to communicate with them on Iran, a person familiar
with the UAE government view said.
Prince Mohammed
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said last week
the kingdom was working to resolve its differences with Iran, in comments that
referred to an unspecified regional effort.
“We’re working today with our partners in the region to find solutions to these
issues, and we hope to overcome them and have a good and positive relationship
with them,” Prince Mohammed told a Saudi television channel on April 27.
That’s a dramatic reversal from his remarks on Iran in his last local television
interview in 2017, when he accused Iran of trying to control the Islamic world
and said the kingdom would take “the battle” to Iran, rather than wait for it to
be in Saudi Arabia.
**With assistance by Fiona MacDonald, Sylvia Westall, and David Wainer
Authoritarian countries will try to use coronavirus
vaccines as an internal cudgel
David Adesnik/The Washington Post/May 06/2021
The world will have to work to keep distribution of scarce lifesaving resources
equitable
While the United States races to vaccinate its entire adult population against
the coronavirus, poor countries struggle to inoculate even their most vulnerable
citizens. The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, reports that 1 in 4 residents of wealthier countries has been
vaccinated — but only 1 in 500 in low-income nations. “Vaccine equity is the
challenge of our time. And we are failing,” Tedros said. “This is not just a
moral outrage,” he said, but a prescription for disaster, as the pandemic breeds
new variants of the coronavirus with the potential to evade the current
vaccines.
Unjust as it may be, the scarcity of vaccines in poor countries was widely
anticipated. As early as April 2020, the World Health Organization partnered
with three other global health organizations to establish the Covax initiative
to promote vaccine equity. President Biden announced a $2 billion U.S.
contribution to Covax during his first month in office, and total donations now
stand at $6.6 billion.
But the initiative is already falling behind schedule. Covax had planned to
deliver 100 million doses by mid-April, but it shipped only 40 million,
according to Tedros. The goal of delivering 2 billion doses by the end of the
year seems increasingly implausible. The main challenge is that there are just
not enough vaccine doses to buy.
An additional problem looms, though: Covax’s single-minded focus on the
logistics of making and delivering vaccines has blinded it to how corrupt and
authoritarian governments can worsen inequity even after vaccines arrive.
An enduring lesson of foreign medical assistance programs is that scarce,
lifesaving resources quickly become focal points of conflict: Unscrupulous
leaders may distribute the aid to favored constituencies, while denying it to
political, ethnic or religious groups they consider hostile.
During the first year of the war in Syria, the regime of Bashar al-Assad began
to withhold polio vaccines from Deir Ezzor, a province increasingly resistant to
Damascus’s control. The WHO had certified Syria as polio-free more than a decade
earlier, but the disease returned to cripple dozens of children. Rather than
sounding the alarm, the top WHO official in Damascus echoed government talking
points. Only after humanitarian nongovernmental organizations smuggled
laboratory samples across the border to Turkey for independent analysis did the
Assad regime and the WHO acknowledge polio’s resurgence.
This sort of deference to authoritarian regimes has been a recurring challenge
for the WHO. While former president Donald Trump made wild accusations about
Tedros’s subservience to Beijing, the Biden administration also has serious
concerns about Chinese influence over the organization. Just five days before
announcing its $2 billion donation to Covax, the White House warned that the
WHO’s credibility was in danger because its investigation of the pandemic’s
origins appeared vulnerable to “intervention or alteration by the Chinese
government.”
The challenge for Covax is to build monitoring and verification mechanisms into
its distribution process, so recipients cannot weaponize the coronavirus the way
Assad did with polio. To incentivize equitable distribution, Covax should
accelerate deliveries to recipients that implement thorough safeguards.
Conversely, it should work with donor states to pressure governments that resist
accountability.
Promoting vaccine equity requires Covax to work with precisely those regimes
most likely to abuse or manipulate foreign assistance. The initiative’s initial
distribution forecast included 8.9 million doses for Ethiopia, 5.1 million for
Egypt, 4.2 million for Iran, 4.2 million for Myanmar, 2 million for North Korea,
1 million for Syria and 860,000 for South Sudan.
In Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, massacres and sexual violence have
pervaded the conflict that began in November. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said the atrocities in Tigray amounted to ethnic cleansing, while senators
condemned the Ethiopian government for preventing aid from reaching those in
need.In early April, Iran received an initial shipment from Covax of 700,000
doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The clerical regime in Tehran has a long
history of medical corruption. In 2012, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi
— both a gynecologist and the first woman to hold a ministerial post in the
Islamic Republic — said on state television, “I have heard that luxury cars have
been imported with subsidized dollars, but I don’t know what happened to the
dollars that were supposed to be allocated for importing medicine.” She was
promptly fired. Iran’s ethnic minorities, such as Arabs and Kurds, have also
suffered at the hands of the regime, along with religious minorities such as the
Baha’i.
In North Korea, state media have imposed a blackout on any reporting about the
existence of vaccines, even as the regime arranges for Covax to deliver millions
of doses. The regime’s songbun system of social classification determines an
individual’s level of access to food, health care and other essential goods.
Those with least hope of access to the vaccine — if they learn of its existence
at all — are the 80,000 to 120,000 inmates in the country’s prison camps.
Government officials in South Sudan have found numerous ways to profit from the
pandemic. They granted one firm a monopoly on hand sanitizer production, then
suspended imports to drive up prices. They sold fraudulent certificates
certifying people to be covid-free. A contractor received millions of dollars to
renovate an infectious-diseases hospital, but the work was so deficient that the
site is now used for storage. A former U.S. diplomat who served in South Sudan,
Elizabeth Shackleford, was among the early advocates of incentivizing equitable
distribution by accelerating Covax deliveries to governments that accept
monitoring. However, she noted, a potential drawback of linking deliveries to a
regime’s conduct is that “no one wants to punish a population for the
transgressions of its government.”
Eliminating all corruption is an unrealistic goal, yet regimes that deliberately
deprive minorities or other vulnerable groups of the vaccine should face
consequences. For the worst offenders, it may make sense to provide enough doses
of the vaccine to inoculate physicians, nurses and other public health officials
but make further aid contingent on independent monitoring.
For the moment and probably for the rest of the year, the demand for vaccines in
low-income nations will far outstrip the inventory available to Covax. Triage is
unavoidable. One way to help address the problems of unfair distribution within
countries would be to change the allocation process so that the readiness of
recipient nations to distribute vaccines in a just and equitable manner should
influence the allocation process, which currently employs an algorithm that
prioritizes equality among countries, not equity within them.
This shift would actually be consistent with the principles Covax has adopted:
The initiative commissioned a panel of experts to develop a values framework for
allocating vaccines, as well as a road map for equitable delivery of limited
supplies. There is also detailed guidance for the development of national
vaccination plans. The values framework warns there should be “no tolerance for
personal, financial, or political conflicts of interest or corruption.” Yet
without independent monitoring, such aspirations are sterile.
The WHO and Covax leadership should broaden their view of vaccine equity to
encompass responsibility for what happens after a partner state receives its
doses. In all likelihood, this change will require the Biden administration and
the other main Covax donors, especially Germany, the European Commission and the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to make clear their support depends on
efforts to forestall abuse. It is not just a matter of principle, but one of
self-interest. As Tedros observed, one cannot put out only part of a fire.
*David Adesnik is director of research at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @adesnik. FDD is a Washington, DC-based,
nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Microwaving the White House: Enemies Are Now Sonic
Attacking Americans from American Soil
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/May 06/2021
Unfortunately, neither the Obama nor Trump administrations imposed costs on Cuba
or China. With such direct attacks on the U.S. going unpunished, how could
American enemies not now be tempted to use their new weapons on American soil?
"If we do nothing, then China or Russia will deploy these devices for
large-scale use on the eve of a major military conflict. Imagine microwave
weapon trucks on the bluffs overlooking the Pentagon." — Richard Fisher, leading
China military expert at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, to
Gatestone Institute, May 2021.
Up to now, the CIA and State Department have been especially lax in trying to
get to the bottom of the mysterious cases, but no unit in the federal government
has made much progress.
Washington... should know who at least some of the culprits are. The real
mystery is why the U.S. still has not done anything to protect its officials and
citizens.
Unidentified parties have in recent years been directing sonic attacks on U.S.
officials on American soil. The attacks have also occurred in Cuba, China, and
Russia. In spring 2018, American diplomats assigned to the U.S. Consulate in
Guangzhou, China (pictured) suffered brain injuries after being hit with
microwaves or something similar. (Image source: iStock)
Unidentified parties have in recent years been directing sonic attacks on U.S.
officials on American soil. One such attack even occurred on the grounds of the
White House.
We should not be surprised. Failure to impose costs on known sonic attackers —
the Cuban and Chinese regimes — almost certainly emboldened the perpetrators to
think they could harm Americans in America.
Two attacks, both from American soil, have involved National Security Council
officials, one on the White House's south lawn, the Ellipse, last November and
another after Thanksgiving in 2019 in Arlington, Virginia.
The earlier attack involved a White House staffer walking her dog. The pet
"started seizing up," and then she too suffered "a high-pitched ringing in her
ears, an intense headache, and a tingling on the side of her face."
As many as 40 U.S. officials have been affected. "Many reported hearing a loud
sound and feeling pressure in their heads, and then experienced dizziness,
unsteady gait, and visual disturbances," NBC reported last December. "Many
suffered longstanding, debilitating effects." A CIA officer ended up with
"traumatic brain injury." Mike Beck, once a National Security Agency
counterintelligence official, developed a rare form of Parkinson's as did his
colleague working with him while on an assignment overseas.
The attacks have also occurred in Cuba, China, and Russia.
U.S. troops in Europe, the Middle East and South America have been targeted as
well.
There are also unconfirmed reports of similar brain disorders of corporate
employees. The disorders were suffered while the employees were in China, even
on short-term visits.
The National Academy of Sciences this March concluded that "directed, pulsed
radiofrequency energy" is the most probable cause of reported symptoms.
Some cases involving U.S. officials posted overseas go back decades, according
to Newsmax.
American officials so far are flummoxed. Incidents of these sorts, in the words
of Politico, are "difficult to track and attribute with confidence due to their
nature." One reason is that these attacks, attributed to directed-energy
devices, "can be small and portable." Moreover, "symptoms can appear similar to
other illnesses."
All this is true. Nonetheless, American officials have no excuse, as there is
virtually no question as to the identity of some of the attackers.
American diplomats in late 2016 were sonic-attacked in Cuba's capital city,
showing symptoms — vertigo, ringing ears, nausea, memory loss, and other
ailments — similar to those of the more recent cases. The incident is so well
known that there is now a phrase for the effects of directed-energy attacks:
Havana Syndrome.
Or perhaps one should call it the Guangzhou Disease. In spring 2018, American
diplomats assigned to the consulate in that southern Chinese city suffered brain
injuries after being hit with microwaves or something similar.
Beijing denied responsibility, but the Communist Party claims infallibility and
runs a near-total surveillance state. How could anyone in China launch
directed-energy waves without the authorities knowing about them? The Chinese
regime had to be, in some manner, behind the incident.
The same could be said of attacks launched in Cuba's repressive state.
China's Communist Party has a doctrine of "unrestricted warfare," a phrase that
comes from a 1999 book of that name by two Chinese air force colonels, Qiao
Liang and Wang Xiangsui. These "peacetime" directed-energy attacks fit that
description.
Unfortunately, neither the Obama nor Trump administrations imposed costs on Cuba
or China. With such direct attacks on the U.S. going unpunished, how could
American enemies not now be tempted to use their new weapons on American soil?
At the moment, only individuals have been targeted. What, however, is to stop
another escalation? "If we do nothing," Richard Fisher of the International
Assessment and Strategy Center told Gatestone, "then China or Russia will deploy
these devices for large-scale use on the eve of a major military conflict."
Think of the possibilities. "Imagine microwave weapon trucks on the bluffs
overlooking the Pentagon," Fisher, a leading China military expert, said.
Up to now, the CIA and State Department have been especially lax in trying to
get to the bottom of the mysterious cases, but no unit in the federal government
has made much progress.
That must change. Senator Susan Collins told CNN's Jake Tapper on May 2 that the
U.S. needs a whole-of-government defense.
"This pattern of attacking our fellow citizens serving our government appears to
be increasing," wrote Senators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, chairman and vice
chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in a joint statement
issued on April 30, referring to "medically confirmed cases of Traumatic Brain
Injury."
The incidents are indeed "puzzling" as CNN correctly termed them at the end of
last month, but Washington, as described above, should know who at least some of
the culprits are. The real mystery is why the U.S. still has not done anything
to protect its officials and citizens.
**Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China, a Gatestone
Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
America's Border: Cui Bono? – Who Benefits?
Chris Farrell and Shea Garrison/Gatestone Institute/May 06/2021
The Biden administration has made a deliberate decision to abandon the
application and enforcement of federal law. Why?
How will the Biden administration fulfill its sworn official duty to uphold and
defend the Constitution and laws of the United States by willfully ignoring and
failing to carry out legal obligations?
The only rational explanation for the Biden administration's policy position is
a crassly political one. Border policy decisions are all tied to the immigration
question and the apparent desire to affect long-term voting demographics,
skewing it in favor of the Democrat Party. This is a "long term investment
strategy" at the expense of the American tax-paying citizen, for the political
benefit of the current party in power.
Border communities bear the frontline brunt of Biden's policies, but the total
fabric of America's healthcare, education, housing and social services are being
shredded to pay for Biden's new voters.
[T]he Biden border crisis will rise to the number one position when Americans go
to the polls in November 2022. Its overt criminality and reckless disregard for
the law will be remembered.
The administration's sponsorship of outlaw behavior and endorsement of
criminality cannot be talked away or excused. Too many communities... are
already experiencing... the impact of Biden's abandonment of the enforcement of
the law.
It is essential for American citizens to deprive the Biden administration of its
hoped-for "benefit". An administration cannot politically distort law
enforcement and compromise national security to pad their voter rolls. Justice
demands equal enforcement under the law, not playing favorites and granting
extraordinary benefits to non-citizens that ordinary Americans do not enjoy....
Each of us is called to demand attention and accountability on all matters
pertaining to border security. This includes legal immigration enforcement,
aggressive drug enforcement, and counterterrorism efforts to ensure U.S.
national security.
President Biden has now moved the Mexican border to each American's hometown.
The Latin expression "cui bono?" has been used by law enforcement officials and
prosecutors for centuries to examine and evaluate criminal conduct in order to
identify the most likely suspects and determine questions of motive. For nearly
every crime, there must be a motive, a means, and an opportunity. When examining
the ongoing criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexican border, any serious
analysis requires the application of the cui bono investigative and legal
concept.
With the advent of the Biden administration, we have seen a 180-degree turn -- a
complete reversal -- of the Trump administration's "get tough" enforcement of
federal immigration, drug enforcement, and national security laws along the
Mexican border. The Biden administration has made a deliberate decision to
abandon the application and enforcement of federal law. Why?
This is the crux of the public policy analysis and argument that illuminates the
Biden administration's motives. How will the Biden administration fulfill its
sworn official duty to uphold and defend the constitution and laws of the United
States by willfully ignoring and failing to carry out legal obligations?
Here are the specific questions that need to be answered:
What benefit, goal, or objective is achieved by not enforcing federal law?
How is the American public made safer in their homes and businesses?
How are American lives and property protected?
How is it compassionate to materially cooperate with Mexican criminal
enterprises like cartels and human smugglers in the exploitation of humans
supposedly seeking a better life?
The only rational explanation for the Biden administration's policy position is
a crassly political one. Border policy decisions are all tied to the immigration
question and the apparent desire to affect long-term voting demographics,
skewing it in favor of the Democrat Party. This is a "long term investment
strategy" at the expense of the American tax-paying citizen, for the political
benefit of the current party in power.
Rarely have we seen federal policy radically skewed and exploited for the
clearly partisan benefit of one political party. Border communities bear the
frontline brunt of Biden's policies, but the total fabric of America's
healthcare, education, housing and social services are being shredded to pay for
Biden's new voters.
This is a betrayal of American citizens, who have a sacred compact under the
Constitution requiring their government to defend borders and provide safety for
their homes and businesses. In addition, it is insidious and demoralizing that
U.S. law enforcement agents are put in the position to carry out the last leg of
a human-smuggling journey by being ordered to let apprehended illegals go; often
buying bus or airplane tickets from their operating funds for their travel to
the interior of the United States.
Biden's border crisis deepens and broadens exponentially on a daily basis. You
may not know that from news media coverage. The only question threatening the
administration is whether broad public understanding and realized consequences
of Biden's border crisis can be contained until the midterm elections. That
prospect looks doubtful. Despite a host of militant socialist initiatives being
advanced by the administration across a number of public policy issues, the
Biden border crisis will rise to the number one position when Americans go to
the polls in November 2022. Its overt criminality and reckless disregard for the
law will be remembered.
The administration's sponsorship of outlaw behavior and endorsement of
criminality cannot be talked away or excused. Too many communities across the
country are already experiencing -- with much more in the coming months -- the
impact of Biden's abandonment of the enforcement of the law.
The question, then, is cui bono -- who benefits? Certainly not American
citizens. It is essential for American citizens to deprive the Biden
administration of its hoped-for "benefit". An administration cannot politically
distort law enforcement and compromise national security to pad their voter
rolls. Justice demands equal enforcement under the law, not playing favorites
and granting extraordinary benefits to non-citizens that ordinary Americans do
not enjoy under their own Constitution.
Each of us is called to demand attention and accountability on all matters
pertaining to border security. This includes legal immigration enforcement,
aggressive drug enforcement, and counterterrorism efforts to ensure U.S.
national security. This will be accomplished through personal activism -- each
American has a role to play, starting with civic engagement at the local level
regarding the crises Biden has created, all the way up to communicating with
members of Congress. Chiefs of police and city council members should understand
these matters as clearly as members of Congress and Senators, because President
Biden has now moved the Mexican border to each American's hometown.
Chris Farrell is Director of Investigations at Judicial Watch and Distinguished
Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
*Shea Garrison, Ph.D. is President of Counterpoint Institute for Policy,
Research, and Education (CIPRE) and Affiliated Faculty and Policy Fellow at
George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Rehabilitating Assad: The
Arab League Embraces a Pariah
David Schenker/The Washington Institute/May 06/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/98608/%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%b4%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%83%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%86-%d8%a5%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%aa/
Brief Analysis
Parochial interests and war fatigue are driving many member states to support
premature elections and normalization with Damascus, but this approach will only
consolidate Assad’s control and help him evade accountability for war crimes.
In recent weeks, momentum has been building toward reintegrating Syria into the
Arab League. The country was suspended from the organization in November 2011,
eight months into a brutal regime suppression effort that had killed 5,000
civilians. Ten years on and with an estimated 500,000 dead, several Arab
states—encouraged by Russia—are taking steps to end the decade-long isolation of
Bashar al-Assad and restore Syria’s membership. Although the Arab League is an
archaic, dysfunctional, and largely irrelevant organization, the move is
nevertheless significant for what it signals: a greater regional willingness to
engage with Assad politically and economically. Consistent with UN Security
Council Resolution 2254 (2015), U.S. policy has premised any such reengagement
on a valid political transition, but regional states may undermine the prospects
for real change by welcoming Damascus back into the fold prematurely.
Increased Arab Engagement
Upon suspending Syria for refusing to implement the Arab League peace plan in
2011, the organization levied a series of sanctions that included travel bans on
some senior regime officials and limitations on investments and dealings with
the Central Bank of Syria. With the exception of Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, all
league members enacted and at least partially enforced these measures for the
better part of a decade, largely due to concerns that Western countries might
sanction them if they did not comply.
Over the past few years, however, a number of Arab states began pressing to end
Syria’s suspension, spurred by economic exigencies, fatigue with the war,
regional rivalries, and a growing sense that the Assad regime had prevailed.
Senior Trump administration officials pushed back against these efforts, but
contacts between Arab capitals and Damascus nevertheless intensified from 2016
to 2020, with several states reopening their shuttered embassies and reposting
senior diplomats.
The United Arab Emirates has been among the most insistent of these advocates.
Despite initially supporting the rebels, Abu Dhabi reopened its embassy in
Damascus in December 2018 and has since called for reinstating the country’s
Arab League membership. The idea gained further traction this March after
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov toured the UAE and other Gulf states. At
a joint press conference during Lavrov’s visit, Emirati foreign minister
Abdullah bin Zayed disparaged Washington’s approach to the matter and lamented
that U.S. economic restrictions such as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act
“make the matter difficult.” He then called for the reconstruction of postwar
Syria.
The UAE has not been alone in its outreach:
Tunisia reopened its embassy in 2015, posting a mid-tier diplomat to Damascus.
Oman returned its ambassador to Syria in October 2020, the first Gulf state to
do so. Five months later, the Syrian ambassador accredited to Muscat stated that
the two countries had agreed to “boost investments” and trade.
Jordan dispatched a charge d’affaires to Damascus in 2019, filling a slot that
had been empty since 2012.
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry announced last month that Cairo
supported Arab normalization with Syria, shortly after his meeting with Lavrov.
Iraq hosted Syria’s minister of petroleum last week, in part to negotiate a deal
for importing Egyptian natural gas via Syria.
Saudi Arabia dispatched its intelligence chief to Damascus for talks with his
Syrian counterpart on May 3, which the Guardian described as “the first known
meeting of its kind since the outbreak of the war.” They reportedly discussed
reopening embassies.
Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan will soon hold a meeting in Baghdad focused on
reintegrating Syria into the region, according to an April report in Asharq
al-Awsat.
A range of parochial motivations appear to be driving this embrace. For the UAE,
reintegrating Assad and rebuilding Syria holds the promise of ending Turkey’s
deployment in Idlib, where the Emirati adversary has stationed troops to prevent
additional refugee flows. Jordan seems driven primarily by a desire to help its
economy, repatriate refugees, reestablish consistent trade, and restore overland
transportation through Syria en route to Turkey and Europe. In this regard,
Washington’s Caesar Act restrictions continue to irritate Amman.
More broadly, Egyptian officials seemingly subscribe to the dubious idea that
Syria’s reentry into the league would gradually accentuate its “Arabism” and
thereby move Damascus away from Persian Iran. Other regional states likely share
similar views; even some Israeli national security figures improbably assess
that Russia may limit Iranian encroachment in postwar Syria under Assad.
Most Arab states—particularly Egypt—also seem prepared to accept the charade of
Syria’s imminent presidential election as evidence of a political transition.
During his April 12 press conference with Lavrov, Foreign Minister Shoukry
declared that the planned May 26 vote would allow the Syrian people to “choose
their future...and form a government that represents them,” despite the
inevitability of rigged results in Assad’s favor.
Defying the UN, Ignoring War Crimes
Efforts to rehabilitate the Assad regime are inconsistent with Security Council
Resolution 2254, which outlines the need for free and fair elections with
diaspora participation, the writing of a new constitution, and other
prerequisites that Syria has not yet met. The resolution also stipulates full
implementation of the June 2012 Geneva Communique, which called for a full
political transition to a democratic, nonsectarian Syrian state that respects
human rights.
Beyond these still-distant political goals, engaging Assad also ignores the need
to hold the regime accountable for its “massive violations of human rights and
international humanitarian law,” in the words of UN secretary-general Antonio
Guterres. Technically, these violations fall short of the international
definition of “genocide,” but the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has
characterized them as “brutal crimes against humanity and war crimes.” During an
April address to the General Assembly, Guterres reiterated that those
responsible for such crimes—including the use of chemical weapons against
civilians—should no longer enjoy impunity. “Perpetrators,” he said, “must be
held to account.”
Arab League Cynicism
The league’s 2011 decision to suspend Syria was astounding at the time because
the organization had seldom if ever demonstrated distaste for its members’
crimes against humanity. In March 2009, for example, it hosted Sudanese
president Omar Bashir at a Qatar summit just weeks after he was indicted by the
International Criminal Court for ordering the murder of nearly 500,000 civilians
in Darfur.
A decade later, this willingness to overlook human rights violations is
seemingly returning to the fore. On April 21, Syria was stripped of its voting
rights in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a decision
supported by eighty-seven OPCW member states. Yet eight Arab League states
abstained from the vote, including Jordan and Iraq, whose own Kurdish population
was subject to chemical attacks during the Saddam Hussein era. Another league
member, Palestine, was among the fifteen opposing votes, joining the likes of
Iran and Russia. Elsewhere, the league has failed to condemn the genocide being
perpetrated against Chinese Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. To the contrary, Beijing
noted that the organization explicitly supported “China’s just position
on...Xinjiang” during the July 2020 China-Arab States Cooperation Forum meeting
in Amman.
Policy Implications
Despite the disappearing Arab commitment to Resolution 2254 and the long odds
against success, Washington should continue to press for change in Syria.
Admittedly, regional fatigue with the war and refugee crisis is growing, but
Syria under Assad will never be a safe haven for these millions of exiles to
return. Likewise, readmitting Syria to the Arab League and funding postwar
reconstruction will not prompt Assad to break the regime’s forty-year strategic
relationship with Tehran. Rather, normalizing with Damascus would simply
alleviate pressure on the regime and enable it to further consolidate power.
Notwithstanding the growing acceptance of Assad in Arab capitals—and even
Israel—his rehabilitation is not inevitable. To forestall the collapse of the
processes enshrined in Resolution 2254, however, the Biden administration will
have to reassert leadership, assigning a new envoy or other empowered senior
official to coordinate the international approach with Europe and regional
states.
Washington should also reject Syria’s imminent presidential election, which will
assuredly hand Assad another seven-year mandate even as Arab League members
attempt to characterize it as a “transition.” Instead, U.S. officials should
work with European partners to shape international consensus regarding the
election’s failure to meet the “free and fair” requirements laid out in
Resolution 2254.
Concurrently, the United States should increase its humanitarian efforts in
Syria and prevail on those Gulf states leading the normalization charge to
provide additional assistance as well, especially in areas outside regime
jurisdiction. Assad remains in control of Damascus and its environs, but the
decisions to use chemical weapons and commit other mass atrocities against the
Syrian people are beyond the pale and should preclude his rehabilitation. At
this point, however, only the United States can prevent that outcome.
*David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute. From
2019 to January 2021, he served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern
affairs.
Controversy between Kerry and Zarif appears to diminish - analysis
Mike Wagenheim/The Media Line//May 06/2021
Kerry strenuously denied the new claim by Zarif that the supposed conversation
about Israeli strikes in Syria never happened. Zarif has offered no further
clarification
Some Republicans say John
Kerry is a traitor who needs to resign immediately. The US climate czar’s
defenders – at least those willing to acknowledge the allegations against him –
say the accusations wither upon examination.
For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org
Kerry, a former US Secretary of State and chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, came under fire recently after Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif told a journalist in a supposedly leaked interview that
Kerry informed him that Israel attacked Iranian targets in Syria 200 times,
something Zarif claimed he had no knowledge of. Israel was widely believed to
have been conducting the strikes which started in 2013.
Outgoing Israel Air Force chief Majority Gen. Amir Eshel, now director-general
of the Defense Ministry, confirmed publicly in August 2017 that Israel had
struck Syria over 100 times, and then-Intelligence Minister Israel Katz who
added public claims of 200 strikes in September 2018.
“It doesn’t matter what is in the public domain. Classified information doesn’t
become unclassified because of media reports or the conversation of officials
from other governments,” Gabriel Noronha, a former special adviser to the
secretary’s Iran Action Group at the State Department, and former special
assistant at the US Senate Armed Services Committee, told The Media Line.
Zarif, who complained in the leaked interview that he was often left in the dark
about Iranian military matters, provided no timeline or further context for the
conversation with Kerry, though Kerry admitted previously that he met with Zarif
on multiple occasions following Kerry’s tenure at the State Department, but
before the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord.
Kerry, however, strenuously denied the new claim by Zarif, writing that the
supposed conversation about Israeli strikes in Syria never happened. Zarif has
offered no further clarification.
“It really does come down to a he-said, she-said, and there is no way to prove
or disprove that this conversation happened. But that is part of the problem.
Kerry was having these conversations without informing the State Department in
advance and without providing details afterward. This goes against department
protocols,” said Noronha.
“It isn’t unusual at all for former diplomats to maintain relationships with
their counterparts from other countries. In fact, it is quite common. But, there
is a huge difference between maintaining a dialogue with a diplomat from an
allied nation and continuing to speak with the foreign minister of a sworn
enemy. Kerry needed to take extra care in every word he might have said to
Zarif,” Noronha said.
Recently confirmed Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who served as the US
chief negotiator of the Iran nuclear accord under Kerry, said that she, too,
maintained contact with Iranian officials following her previous tenure, but
kept then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apprised. Another senior member of
President Barack Obama’s national security team, Robert Malley, now US special
representative for Iran, also met with Iranian officials in his capacity as
president of the International Crisis Group NGO.
Pompeo has accused Kerry of attempting to thwart then-President Donald Trump’s
“maximum pressure” campaign against Iran through his ongoing conversations with
Zarif.
Meanwhile, 19 Republican senators wrote a letter to President Joe Biden calling
for an investigation into Kerry’s alleged conversation, calling his removal from
his current government role if he divulged Israel-related military secrets to
Zarif, even accidentally.
“Kerry doesn’t have the benefit of the doubt here. His past animus towards our
ally Israel and his overly friendly stance with Iran is troubling, and it comes
into play here,” the office of Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who
was a signatory to the letter to Biden, told The Media Line in a statement.
“Unfortunately, a serious, damaging accusation of this nature doesn’t seem all
that far-fetched. There aren’t many American officials about whom this charge
would sound even remotely credible. But, with Kerry, it is. He’s the one who has
treated Iran with more respect than Israel, and it is incumbent upon the Biden
administration to determine whether there is any truth to what Zarif alleged,”
the statement said.
Kerry’s allies seem uneager to breathe life into the situation, and few have
gone on the record to discuss it. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “I
would just make the broad point that if you go back and look at press reporting
from the time, this certainly was not a secret, and governments that were
involved were speaking to this publicly on record.”
Those supporting Kerry, at least in the broad sense, say this is all
manufactured controversy for the advancement of political purposes, rather than
national security.
“These are trumped-up claims and really provide a window into how the Republican
Party will operate while Joe Biden is in the White House, and it looks no
different than [during] Barack Obama’s tenure,” Tom McMahon, a long-time
prominent Democratic Party operative, told The Media Line.
“Back then, just as now, it’s about launching bad-faith, base-pleasing,
fundraising-friendly media campaigns that paint Democratic officials as enemies
of the state. They’re hunting for the next Benghazi,” said McMahon, alluding to
the 2012 terrorist attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya that led to the
deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The security
circumstances surrounding the attack dogged then-Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, with “Benghazi” becoming a one-word challenge to Clinton’s credibility.
Of course, there is also the distinct possibility that Zarif is simply lying
about his conversation with Kerry, for any of myriad reasons. Multiple analysts
have noted that even if the Iranian military was not forthcoming with
information with Zarif, it was not difficult for anyone with a simple
understanding of geopolitics to decipher that Israel was behind the attacks in
Syria. Even those Republicans who wrote to Biden allow for this, noting that
should it be shown that Zarif was untruthful, it should be used as further
evidence of Iranian officials’ dishonesty and should be taken into consideration
as both internal and external US negotiations about and with Tehran continue.
Republicans, who largely revile the Iran nuclear accord and are making efforts
to prevent or restrict US re-entry into the agreement, see Kerry as needlessly
friendly with the Iranian regime, and someone who – while perhaps not guilty of
all-out treason – allowed his desire to keep the accord intact to cloud his
responsibilities as a former chief diplomat.“Even if we assume that Zarif must have known about the Israeli strikes, what
does it say about Kerry if he was having these types of conversations with him?
And the larger question is: If he was talking about Israeli military operations
with him, what else did they talk about?” Noronha said.
Without further context from Zarif, though, the controversy is likely to die
out. Democrats maintain control of both the House of Representatives and the
Senate, which means any official investigation is almost certainly off the
table. And with nothing concrete to go on other than a seemingly throwaway claim
by Zarif, Republicans find themselves having to choose between believing Kerry,
whose viewpoints they abhor, and Zarif, who they say travels the world lying on
behalf of a despotic regime intent on America’s destruction.