English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 10/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith
Matthew 23/23-26: “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.”

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 09-10/2022
Reports: US asked Israel not to make Lebanon talks part of 'electoral bazar'
Nasrallah to Israel: Don't make a mistake over oil and gas issue
S. Nasrallah Warns ‘Israel’ against Miscalculation: We’ve Reached End of Line, Ready for All Options
Hezbollah warns Israel against targeting Palestinian militants in Lebanon
Report: Israel hasn't told Lebanon it wants to delay demarcation
Report: Azour tops al-Rahi's presidential candidates list
Jumblat slams 'failed presidential tenure', urges dialogue with Hezbollah
Palestinian official shot dead in Ain Al-Helweh
Public sector strike cripples cash-strapped Lebanon
Shiite Muslims in Iraq, Lebanon mark festival of Ashoura

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 09-10/2022
Misfired rockets may have killed over a dozen in Gaza battle
With no support from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Islamic Jihad rushed to truce
UN envoy: Only peace can end Israel-Palestinian violence
Palestinians say Israeli troops kill 3 in West Bank raid
Israeli Troops Assassinate Senior Fatah Military Commander in West Bank Clash
EU expects decision 'very quickly' on Iran deal
Iran Allows Prison Leave for Detained French Academic
Iran Makes First Import Order Using Cryptocurrency
Shiite Muslims throng Iraqi shrine city to mark Ashura
Ukraine Claims Responsibility for Massive Blasts at Russian Base in Crimea Despite Kremlin’s Story
Russia Successfully Launches Iranian Satellite
Killing pro-Moscow officials. Blowing up bridges. Ukraine's guerrillas take up the fight
Turkish drone strike kills 4 in northeast Syria
Turkish Forces Pull out of Bases in Syria’s North

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 09-10/2022
Audio/What just happened in Gaza?/FDD/August 8, 2022 | Generation Jihad
It’s Time to Respond to Iran’s Bad-Faith Negotiations/Andrea Stricker and Anthony Ruggiero/Dispatch/August 09/2022
Is Provocative Is Deterrence 101..Biden has cancelled yet another test of our ICBM system so as not to cause more tension with China./Eric S. Edelman and Franklin Miller/Dispatch/August 09/2022
Palestinians: It Pays Better to Be America's Adversary, Not Its Friend/Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute./August 09/2022
Out With The 'Olds!' In With The 'News!'/Alberto M. Fernandez /MEMRI/August 09/2022
TAKE A TRIP, COME AWAY WITH US—TO SCOTLAND!/Sabine El-Chidiac for AdamSmithWorks/August 09/2022
US, Iran may be close to sealing new nuclear deal/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/August 09/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 09-10/2022
Reports: US asked Israel not to make Lebanon talks part of 'electoral bazar'
Naharnet/August 09/ 2022
The United States has pressed Israel on the issue of sea border negotiations with Lebanon, asking it not to make the file a part of the domestic "electoral bazar" in Israel, which is readying for a new round of early legislative elections.Quoting informed sources and Western diplomats, al-Akhbar newspaper said U.S. President Joe Biden himself has raised this issue with Israeli leaders, including with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Media reports have recently said that Israel has asked that the agreement with Lebanon be postponed until after the Israeli elections. Moreover, al-Akhbar said Tuesday that Israel cannot give up the Qana offshore field without something in return. It explained that under Israeli law, giving up any alleged Israeli property requires the approvals of several Israeli authorities, including the president, the premier, two thirds of the members of government and two thirds of the members of parliament, something which is not possible at the moment. "That's why they are talking about an exit mentioning Israel's sovereignty over the field while its reservoirs would belong to Lebanon," the daily said. "There's another detail related to the work of the company that would explore in the Qana field and whether it would need a notice or a permission whenever it wants to enter into the field," the newspaper added. According to the sources, U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein himself agreed during the Baabda meeting that it should be a notice so that Israel doesn't control the exploration works inside the field. Al-Liwaa newspaper meanwhile quoted political sources as saying that "all parties are keen on the completion of Hochstein's visit as soon as possible, in light of the expected benefit to all the concerned countries." "There is clear keenness from all the concerned nations to speed up the steps," the sources added. According to media reports, Hochstein is currently in Israel for talks with Israeli officials over the file.

Nasrallah to Israel: Don't make a mistake over oil and gas issue
Naharnet/August 09/ 2022
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel against “making a mistake towards the resistance in Lebanon” or over “the issue of oil and gas and the issue of the maritime border.”“Don’t make a mistake by committing any aggression,” Nasrallah added, in a speech marking the last day of the Ashoura commemorations. “I tell the Americans, who are presenting themselves as mediators although they are not, that we will not tolerate the looting of our resources and that we have reached the end of the line,” Nasrallah warned. “We will go to the end of the road. Let no one try us, test us or bet on scaring us,” Hezbollah’s leader added, referring to his recent warnings that his group would use military means to prevent Israel from producing gas from its offshore rigs without an agreement with Lebanon. Noting that Hezbollah is waiting for the answers that Israel will send to the Lebanese state through the U.S. mediator, Nasrallah told the Lebanese, “especially the axis of resistance,” that they “should be ready for all possibilities.” “In this battle and in this juncture we are serious to the highest levels of seriousness,” he said. Nasrallah also said that Lebanon should chop off any hand that might extend to its natural resources, “the same as it chopped off any hand that tried to extend to its land, villages and cities.”Apparently referring to Israel’s recent threats to target Islamic Jihad officials in Lebanon, Syria and Iran, Nasrallah warned that “any attack on any person in Lebanon will not go without punishment and a response.”
Turning to the domestic situations, Nasrallah called for “the broadest solidarity to overcome the difficulties.” “We seriously call for the formation of a government, especially that some are speaking of a presidential vacuum, and officials must truly feel the pains of the people, seeing as most officials in the country are distant from the people’s pains and are living in their ivory towers,” Hezbollah’s secretary-general added.

S. Nasrallah Warns ‘Israel’ against Miscalculation: We’ve Reached End of Line, Ready for All Options
Marwa Haidar/Al-Manar English Websiteظ August 9, 2022
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah Warned the Zionist entity against any miscalculation towards Lebanon, stressing that Hezbollah has reached “the end of the line” regarding the issue of gas and maritime border. Addressing mourners in Beirut’s southern suburb (Dahiyeh) on Ashura Day, Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed that the Lebanese resistance group is fully ready to confront all options, in response to Israeli threats and in a clear message that Hezbollah is prepared for war. Sayyed Nasrallah hailed what he called the legendry steadfastness of Gaza’s people and resistance in face of Israeli aggression, voicing full commitment to Palestine as the central cause of the nation. His eminence also voiced sympathy and support to Nigeria’s Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and people of Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.Sayyed Nasrallah also warned Iraqis against foreign schemes.
Ashura and Nigeria
Sayyed Nasrallah started his speech by offering condolences for Imam Mahdi (a.j.), the lord of the age, and all Muslims over martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (a.s.).
Talking via a video link, Sayyed Nasrallah renewed allegiance to Imam Hussein, noting that “throughout 40 years, we haven’t abandoned him, and we will never do so.”
He voiced sympathy with Nigeria Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been for years subjected to repeated crackdowns by Nigerian authorities. “Ashura is the day when we shall voice support to all those who are oppressed. We voice sympathy with Sheikh Zakzaky, along with his supporters.”
Palestine and Bahrain
The Hezbollah S.G. then stressed that Palestine is the central cause of the nation, praising those who were martyred and injured to defend the occupied country.
“Palestine is the central cause. We don’t expect mercy from the US, but we address those who claim they are Arabs. To be Muslims or Arabs is to support oppressed people.” “We feel proud of the martyrs and resistance fighters over their legendry steadfastness. We renew our commitment to this affair.”Sayyed Nasrallah, meanwhile, slammed Bahraini regime over normalizing ties with the Zionist entity, and over attacking Ashura ceremonies across the Arab island. “One of the ugliest parties who normalized ties with Israel is the regime in Bahrain who proved that it doesn’t tolerate a black flag,” he said referring to flags raised during Ashura ceremonies. “We recall the oppression of people of Bahrain, whose rights are stolen by their treacherous rulers who are embracing the enemies of this nation.”
Yemen, Iraq and Syria
Sayyed Nasrallah then reiterated the Lebanese resistance group’s stance towards Yemen. “In the day of oppressed (Ashura) we reiterate that we stand by the people of Yemen who have been for years tirelessly fighting for their dignity and confronting tyrants.”“People of Yemen are real personification of Karbala and supporting them is a duty.” The Hezbollah S.G. also urged Iraqis to solve their disagreements, calling on them to foil schemes set by the nation’s enemies. On Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah said the country has overcome the universal war launched by many international regional sides, but stressed that the blockade represented by the US Caesar Act.
His eminence also praised Iran, describing the Islamic Republic, led by Supreme Leader Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, as the heart of the Axis of Resistance.
In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled sacrifices made by martyrs Qassem Suleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis who were martyred by a US strike in Baghdad in 2020.
In Lebanon, Another Account to Settle
On Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah was very clear, as he responded to Israeli threats and warned the occupation regime against any miscalculation. “The Lebanese are the only people who decide their fates and make their decisions. Throughout 40 years we have confronted all forms of challenges including wars, blockades and assassinations.”
“We look forward to a free and powerful Lebanon that is capable to defend its dignity and to invest its wealth. We look forward to Lebanon which is capable of cutting off any hand that would extend to its wealth.”Meanwhile, his eminence called on Lebanese sides to exert joint efforts in a bid to form a government and to cope with current crises, urging officials to feel the pain of the Lebanese citizens. On the issue of gas, oil and maritime border, Sayyed Nasrallah said Hezbollah will see the responses to the Lebanese State’s requests in the coming days.
Addressing resistance supporters, and especially resistance fighters, Sayyed Nasrallah said they should be ready for all options. “We are dealing with this battle with utmost level of seriousness. I say to the Israelis and the Americans (US administration): Lebanon will never tolerate stealing its wealth.”“We have reached the end of the line and we will keep up on this way.”On the other hand, Sayyed Nasrallah responded to Israeli remarks regarding the “messages” behind the last 3-day aggression on Gaza.
“Yes, I was watching the latest developments in Gaza and the message was delivered. We have seen heroism and steadfastness in Gaza as well as the unity of its resistance factions. Gaza managed to impose its own equation of deterrence. As for Lebanon, there is another account to settle.” In this context, his eminence warned: “any aggression on any person in Lebanon won’t go unpunished. We remind you that we are the lovers of Imam Hussein (a.s.) who once said ‘Humiliation, never!’.

Hezbollah warns Israel against targeting Palestinian militants in Lebanon
Reuters/August 09, 2022
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: ‘Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered’
Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad
The head of Lebanon’s powerful armed movement Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned on Tuesday against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon. “Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a melancholic commemoration for Shiite Muslims of the killing the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein. The comments came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza strip, prompted by Israel’s arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader earlier this month. On Saturday, Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, who he said could be seen in “restaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon.”“They too will have to pay the price,” Gantz said. On Monday, a day after a truce brokered by Egypt ended the Gaza violence, he said Israel could carry out “pre-emptive strikes” abroad. “In the future too, if necessary, we will deliver a pre-emptive strike in order to defend Israel’s citizens, sovereignty and infrastructure and this is true for all fronts, from Teheran to Khan Younis,” he said. Iran-backed Hezbollah is vehemently opposed to Israel and tensions between the two have been escalating in recent months over a disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.

Report: Israel hasn't told Lebanon it wants to delay demarcation
Naharnet/August 09/ 2022
Lebanon has not been informed through a brotherly or friendly country that Israel wants to delay settling the sea border demarcation file until after its early legislative elections in the end of the next fall, a highly informed Lebanese source has said. “No message, information, details or report has been delivered to the official sides in this regard,” the source told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.“The only side carrying out a mediator role is the United States through Ambassador Amos Hochstein, and the latter has not informed official Lebanese authorities of any new stance,” the source said.“He is present in Israel, continuing his discussions with the officials there, and we’re waiting for his return to Lebanon with an answer to the Lebanese proposal, which we hope will be positive and clear, in a manner that would reactivate the indirect negotiations in order to complete the demarcation quickly,” the source added.

Report: Azour tops al-Rahi's presidential candidates list
Naharnet/August 09/ 2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has started thinking of potential candidates for the presidential election, Kuwait’s al-Rai newspaper reported on Tuesday. Al-Rahi’s choices will be based on “the president’s personality and the neutral characteristics he has proposed,” the daily said. “Al-Rahi was clinging to two names: ex-ministers Ziad Baroud and Roger Dib. Following a round of consultations, he later added the name of ex-minister (and current International Monetary Fund official) Jihad Azour, who has topped his choices,” the newspaper added.

Jumblat slams 'failed presidential tenure', urges dialogue with Hezbollah
Naharnet/August 09/ 2022
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has lashed out at President Michel Aoun’s presidential term, describing his tenure as “failed,” “spiteful” and “disastrous.” “Since its beginning, the presidential tenure has been a failed tenure -- a spiteful tenure that wants to liquidate all rivals in politics or the other parties in the Lebanese arena. Lebanon is a pluralistic and diverse country, and pluralism and respecting the other are necessary,” Jumblat said in an interview with Jordan’s al-Mamlaka TV. “Throughout six years, this tenure has brought us disasters,” Jumblat lamented. Turning to Hezbollah, the PSP leader said: “Hezbollah did not come to Lebanon from the moon. It came during objective Lebanese circumstances resulting from the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and it later came through support from the Islamic Republic of Iran. It exists, it is not comprised of foreigners and it represents a large segment of the Lebanese.”Jumblat added that any coming Lebanese president must devise a program for dialogue with Hezbollah and later a plan to integrate the group’s weapons withing the Lebanese state’s defense strategy. “We would later build a strong state, but to build it we need capabilities. Dialogue with Hezbollah and others is essential,” Jumblat added, mocking the Lebanese parties who mention U.N. resolutions when speaking of their strategy against Hezbollah. “Where has Palestine become in light of Resolution 242? We relied on 242 and Palestine is almost gone,” the PSP leader said.
As for the reports about his meeting with Hezbollah officials, Jumblat said he will meet with Hezbollah representatives in the coming days. “I will meet with them to discuss some matters that are not related to the thorny major issues such as the presidency. It will rather be an attempt to resolve some obstacles in the electricity file and to establish a Lebanese petroleum company so that the Lebanese fortune does not go to the pockets of some people,” he explained. As for his relation with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Jumblat said: “He has his policy and I have mine, but we might meet over the broad lines.”

Palestinian official shot dead in Ain Al-Helweh
Agence France Presse/August 09/ 2022
A Palestinian official has been shot dead Monday in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Al-Helweh, near the coastal southern city of Sidon, a Fatah official said. Saeed Alaeddine was an officer in Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, in charge of liaising between the group and Lebanese security. He was killed by a gunman, who fired at him while he was praying at a friend's house in the camp, said senior Fatah official Mounir Makdah. An unknown gunman shot him several times, and Alaeddine was rushed to hospital, where he died. The perpetrator fled the scene and details on his identity and motive were not immediately clear. An AFP correspondent heard more gunshots in the camp after Alaeddine's killing. Rival Palestinian militant groups often clash in Ain Al-Helweh camp.
The camp is home to more than 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees, who have been joined in recent years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria. By long-standing convention, the army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security. That has created lawless areas in many camps, and Ain al-Helweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives. More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in Lebanon with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Most live in squalid conditions in 12 official refugee camps and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on their employment.

Public sector strike cripples cash-strapped Lebanon
Associated Press/August 09/ 2022
Tarek Younes was once solidly middle class and felt he helped contribute to society as an inspector in the Lebanese government's consumer protection agency. But the country's economic free-fall has eroded his income and civic pride. In his desperation, Younes has joined tens of thousands of public sector employees across the country in an open-ended strike that has already lasted for six weeks. The protest of the civil servants who form the backbone of government signals a further erosion of Lebanon's public institutions, already struggling to afford their most basic operating costs. The strike gives a bleak preview of how Lebanon could sink even deeper, should officials continue to delay decisive action on key financial and administrative reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund to make Lebanon's comatose economy viable again. Meanwhile, the protest further disrupted life in Lebanon, with even the most basic government services on hold. Court cases have been delayed. Identity cards, birth certificates and school transcripts are not being issued. Air traffic controllers announced that they would stop working nights in August. Over the past year, public transportation drivers and public school teachers held unsuccessful sporadic strikes and protests, which they hoped would be a wake-up call for government. "I don't know how we're thinking about economic recovery, if you have that many people who were once middle class now living in poverty," Younes told The Associated Press. "We are extending our hand and making compromises, but the government needs to do so as well and give us some of our rights." Many point to decades of corruption and nefarious financial management as a cause for Lebanon's economic downward spiral, now in its third year. They say a handful of members of Lebanon's ruling elite caused the world's worst economic crisis since the mid-19th century, with three quarters of the population now considered poor.
The government has not increased wages for public sector workers since the onset of the country's fiscal crunch in late 2019, during which the Lebanese pound lost over 90% of its value against the dollar. On top of that, food, gasoline and medicine prices are up sharply due to high inflation.
Younes, who heads the Association of Public Administration Employees, said public sector wages once secured a middle class lifestyle at around $1,300 per month. But that value has rapidly plummeted to the equivalent of under $70. In a country of about 6 million people, some 350,000 Lebanese work in the public sector and their salaries account for a huge chunk of the national budget.
Younes says public workers are demanding a small wage increase, better health care and a flexible transportation stipend to keep up with rising gasoline prices. They would still work with a major pay cut but he says it would "at least help us get the bare minimum of a dignified life."
With the onset of the financial crisis, Younes was scrambling as a government inspector to crack down on illegal price hikes and the hoarding of gasoline, wheat and medicine. He and dozens of other inspectors at the consumer protection services division of Lebanon's Economy Ministry were tasked with monitoring thousands of Lebanese businesses. Lebanon's bickering ruling political parties have stalled in putting together an economic recovery plan and reaching a deal with the IMF for a bailout program to restructure its crippled banks and reform its pulverized economy.
The country's caretaker government under Prime Minister Najib Mikati says it can't afford the workers' demands but offered temporary cash bonuses and a slightly improved transportation stipend. Some employees have returned to work, but Younes said the majority still have their doors closed. "What will (the bonuses) do? Will it help you get to work, pay your electricity bill, or your phone bill?" Younes said. "You can do one of these, but then you can't feed your children, take them to school, or get them health care." Lebanon's public sector was weak even before the crisis began in late 2019, said Sami Zoughaib, an economist at Beirut-based think tank The Policy Initiative. He described it as bloated, inefficient and marred by political patronage and corruption. "The elite used public employment as a tool in their clientelistic practices to garner political support," he said. "A bunch of them are ghost employees who are there only to get their checks but never show up to work."
Trimming the public sector payroll might help make the country's budget sheet less sore on the eyes, but may cause backlash, impact political loyalty and worsen Lebanon's already alarming poverty rate. The cash-strapped country has no viable social protection programs to soften the blow. "If you fire 20 or 30 percent of the workers, how do you make sure they survive? What kind of social protection measures are you using?" Zoughaib said. Lebanon has stalled on adopting key structural reforms required to reach an agreement with the IMF on a wholesale economic recovery program, with the government instead resorting to stop-gap measures to quell social tensions. Zoughaib isn't optimistic this will change. "They will continue to kick the can down the road without harming themselves politically, with some patchwork," he said. "This is harmful for both the public sector and largely for the Lebanese public, which needs public institutions." Meanwhile, Younes anxiously shuffles papers at his desk at the consumer protection unit as he takes a phone call. It's another scuffle at a bread line and it appears that a bakery in Beirut has been illegally hoarding subsidized wheat imports. He calls two inspectors to investigate the situation. Younes insists his sporadic visits to the office, located just a few floors under the economy minister's, do not signal an end to the strike. He said he still gets involved in some emergencies linked to food security, especially bread. "Because we see how much people are suffering, and because we're part of the people, we no doubt choose to remain available on this matter even at the bare minimum," he said. Younes then prepares for another call with some ministers who have been negotiating with the striking workers. He says their sympathy alone is no longer enough. "Just like we're committed to the public administration to continue its work, we hope the rulers do so too," he said. "If there is no public sector, there is no state, no entity."

Shiite Muslims in Iraq, Lebanon mark festival of Ashoura
AP/August 09, 2022
The public rituals of Ashoura often fuels sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam’s two main sects both reside
BAGHDAD: Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon chanted, paraded and beat their chests on Tuesday as they marked Ashoura, one of the most important dates on the religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.
The symbols of Shiite piety and penitence blanketed major cities in Iraq, where Hussein was believed killed at the battle of Karbala, south of Baghdad, in 680 A.D. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people converge on Karbala, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, to observe the solemn holy day. Shiites see Hussein and his descendants as the rightful heirs to the prophet. His killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today. The public rituals of Ashoura often fuels sectarian tensions in places like Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan where Islam’s two main sects both reside. Security forces were on high alert for any violence, as extremist groups that consider the Shiites heretics have seized on the occasion to mount attacks in years past. In Iraq, the powerful cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr has used the emotional religious occasion to stir up support for his movement, deepening the country’s inter-Shiite divisions. Unable to form a government, Iraq descended further into political chaos last week when thousands of Al-Sadr’s supporters stormed and occupied the parliament building. Their sit-in continues outside the assembly, making it impossible for lawmakers to convene and raising the specter of civil strife. In the Shiite-dominated Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, Al-Sadr’s portrait hangs from nearly every door. Processions of men and boys expressed extreme fervor in the Ashoura rituals of self-flagellation on Tuesday. They beat their heads and chests in unison and whipped themselves with chains to the point of bleeding. “We inherited this from our fathers and grandfathers,” said participant Hamza Abdul-Jalil. “God willing, we will continue on this path.”In Lebanon, processions shut down Shiite areas across the country and Beirut’s biggest suburb.

Shiites in Lebanon mark solemn holy day of Ashoura
Associated Press/August 09/ 2022
Shiite Lebanese marked Tuesday the holy day of Ashoura, one of the most emotional occasions in their religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein. With power split in Lebanon among the country's religious sects, Ashoura presents an opportunity for Lebanon's Shiites to show force.Processions took place since early morning in Beirut's southern suburb, Tyre, Nabatiyeh and West Bekaa. Crowds of mourners marched in black typically shutting down Beirut's biggest suburb. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to deliver a speech on the occasion. Shiites represent over 10% of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to this day to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity. Over 1,340 years after Hussein's martyrdom, Baghdad, Tehran, Islamabad and other major capitals in the Middle East were adorned with symbols of Shiite piety and repentance: red flags for Hussein's blood, symbolic black funeral tents and black dress for mourning, processions of men and boys expressing fervor in the ritual of chest beating and sometimes self-flagellation with chains. The largest Ashoura gathering is set to take place today, Tuesday, in the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine. Thousands typically rush toward the shrine to symbolize their desire to answer Hussein's last cries for help in battle.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 09-10/2022
Misfired rockets may have killed over a dozen in Gaza battle
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/August 09/ 2022
Close to one-third of the Palestinians who died in the latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Gaza militants may have been killed by errant rockets fired by the Palestinian side, according to an Israeli military assessment that appears consistent with independent reporting by The Associated Press.
The Israeli military said 47 Palestinians were killed in the weekend of fighting — at least 14 of them by Islamic Jihad-fired rockets that fell short. No one in Gaza with direct knowledge of the explosions in question was willing to speak about them publicly. But live TV footage showed militant rockets falling short in densely packed residential neighborhoods. And AP visits to the sites of two explosions that killed a total of 12 people lent support to suspicions they were caused by rockets that went off course. Israel is claiming victory in the weekend clash, in part because it killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders and because no Israelis were killed or seriously wounded. If it turns out that Islamic Jihad harmed some of those it claims to protect, it would make for an even more humiliating outcome for the militant group and its main sponsor, Iran. In Gaza, the ruling Hamas militant group heavily polices dissent, and many Palestinians view armed groups as freedom fighters defending their homeland in the face of Israeli aggression. Israel said it targeted only militants and made every effort to spare civilians. But at least one strike, which killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in the southern city of Rafah late Saturday, also killed five civilians as Israel flattened one home and heavily damaged others. The violence began Friday, when Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Islamic Jihad because of what the military described as an imminent threat to Israelis living near the Gaza frontier. By the time a cease-fire took effect late Sunday, Islamic Jihad had fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, and Israeli aircraft had struck dozens of suspected militant targets.
The Israeli army said militants fired about 1,100 rockets, with about 200 landing inside the Palestinian enclave.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 46 Palestinians were killed in the three days of fighting, including 16 children and four women. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants. Islamic Jihad said 12 of its fighters were killed, a smaller armed group said it lost a fighter, and Hamas said two Hamas-affiliated policemen who did not take part in the fighting were killed. Israel said it killed at least 20 militants and seven civilians. Neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad responded to Israel’s claims that civilians were killed by misfired rockets. Instead, they have held Israel responsible for all the deaths.
Gaza-based human rights groups investigating the strikes also declined to address the claims. But their initial findings indicate that at least some of the explosions were questionable. The Al-Mezan human rights group said some civilians were killed by “projectiles” rather than Israeli airstrikes. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it has so far confirmed that 27 people were killed by Israeli strikes — far below the overall toll. PCHR director Raji Sourani said that the group has issued statements on only those incidents in which there was no ambiguity, and that the others will take more time to investigate because of “contradicting allegations.” He did not elaborate. “We need eyewitnesses, shrapnel, videos and evidence,” he said. “There must be an investigation.”
The suspicions are focused on three explosions in which at least 15 civilians were killed. On Saturday night, seven Palestinians were killed in a blast in the crowded Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said it carried out no operations in the area at the time. It released video footage purportedly showing a barrage of militant rockets, with one falling short. Islamic Jihad had announced a rocket attack on the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, just north of Jebaliya, at around the same time as the explosion. Video footage of the aftermath circulated online, showing what appeared to be a rocket casing sticking out of the ground on a narrow, busy street. When the AP visited the site on Monday, the casing was gone and the hole had been filled in with dirt. Palestinians are usually keen to display evidence of Israeli airstrikes to international media. Al-Mezan attributed the blast to a “projectile,” and the PCHR said it was still investigating. On Sunday night, an explosion killed five Palestinians ages 4 to 17 at a cemetery in Jebaliya, also around the same time Islamic Jihad announced a barrage of rockets. The Israeli military said it was investigating. Visiting both sites in Jebaliya, the AP saw none of the telltale signs of an Israeli strike — the wide craters left by F-16s or the narrow holes caused by drone strikes. In a third suspicious explosion, one of the Hamas-affiliated policemen, who was off-duty, was killed Sunday along with three of his young children in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Hamas, a far more powerful militant group that has fought four wars with Israel, stayed out of the latest fighting, and Israel appears to have been careful not to target it. Al-Mezan and the PCHR said they are still investigating that episode.

With no support from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Islamic Jihad rushed to truce
The Arab Weekly/August 09/2022
Experts say the calculations of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza did not match those of Iran.
Palestinian political analysts said that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement has rushed to accept the Egyptian-mediated truce in Gaza for lack of any other alternatives.
They point out that the militant group could not continue the hostilities in Gaza after Hamas stayed out, and Iran and Hezbollah refrained from providing any direct support that would have helped ease pressure on the militant movement. Palestinian experts said that to be able to effectively respond to the Israeli strikes, which were brutal and quick, the Islamic Jihad would have needed, as a first step, support from Hamas, as was the case in the past, when the PIJ used to rely on the combat experience and weaponry of Hamas, as the Jihad movement only possessed a limited arsenal. The PIJ’s prolific statements, echoed by Iran’s claims of being able to target Israel, were matched by very few missiles. The Islamic Jihad, analysts add, was prompted to accept the truce as a result of its frustration with the perceived betrayal by the so-called axis of resistance, including Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah, which did not move to help the PIJ in any way. Jihad leaders had imagined that Hezbollah, for instance, would open a northern front against Israel by launching at least a number of rockets that would relieve the Israeli relentless pressure in Gaza. The weekend bombardment of Gaza by Israeli planes and the hundreds of rockets fired towards Israel from Gaza were the biggest cross-border confrontation in more than a year. Israel focused its operation against Islamic Jihad, which it sees as an Iranian proxy, while carefully avoiding a direct confrontation with the larger and more powerful Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip.
But the conflict followed regular clashes in cities in the occupied West Bank and was set off by the arrest in the town of Jenin of Bassam Al-Saadi, a senior leader of the movement.
Islamic Jihad took root in the camps that dot Gaza and the nearby West Bank housing Palestinian refugees. Over the years, it has carried out a string of suicide bombings and gun attacks against Israelis, as well as rocket fire.
For the group, listed as a terrorist organisation by the West, the Gaza bombardment imposed a heavy cost, with two senior commanders killed, while Hamas refused to do more than offer limited verbal support.
Experts say the calculations of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza did not match those of Iran. Besides, no one knew the true size of the militant movement’s fighting force, its ability to target Israel, nor the effectiveness of its missiles, as it usually hid behind Hamas’s reprisals. The showdown in recent days has shown the Islamic Jihad to have limited influence on the ground and hardly a source of serious concern to Israel. On the contrary, its leaders were easy targets for the Israeli army, a vulneraibility that may have surprised Iran itself, which at the start of the confrontation was celebrating the visit tp Tehran by the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziad al-Nakhalah .Palestinian observers say that Hamas’s agenda prevents it from supporting the Jihad movement, even in a token way. Analysts speculate Hamas may have intended to show PIJ as a small and ineffective organisation for a number of reasons, including its wish to persuade Israel and the United States of its serious intent to uphold the truce hoping this would lead to the recognition of Hamas as a permanent authority in Gaza, while sending a message to Iran that Hamas is the only real force on the ground, and that marginal alternatives, such as the PIJ movement, have no real value. Observers believe that the de facto military defeat of the Islamic Jihad and its acceptance of the truce without any benefits have shown that the so-called resistance axis has lost its lustre and influence in the region. Despite all rhetoric, confrontation with Israel is not part of Iran’s agendas. Tehran seems little inclined to escalate tensions as it discusses with Western powers the details of a new nuclear deal, and seeks guarantees for the lifting of sanctions so as to be able to sell its oil again in the global market. Such considerations are obviously of greater importance than the fate of Islamic Jihad and Hamas or that of Gaza, experts say.

UN envoy: Only peace can end Israel-Palestinian violence
Associated Press/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
The top U.N. Mideast envoy warned Monday that the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants is "fragile" and the "cycles of violence" will only stop when an independent Palestinian state lives side-by-side with Israel. Tor Wennesland called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the international community at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the latest violence "to strengthen diplomatic efforts to return to meaningful negotiations towards a viable two-state solution." An Egyptian-mediated truce took effect late Sunday, ending the worst round of violence since an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas last year. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and has fought four wars with Hamas since the group won a 2006 election in Gaza and seized power from Fatah in 2007. The clashes have exacted a staggering toll on the impoverished territory's 2.3 million Palestinian residents. Israel began the offensive last Friday targeting Islamic Jihad fighters in Gaza, saying it faced "concrete threats" from the militant group. The nearly three days of violence killed 46 Palestinians, including 15 children and four women, and wounded 311, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, while 70 Israelis were injured, according to the U.N. envoy. Wennesland condemned the Palestinians' indiscriminate rocket fire aimed at populated centers in Israel. He recognized Israel's security concerns but stressed that any use of force "must be proportionate," with "all feasible steps" taken to avoid civilian casualties. The U.N. envoy said the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire "helped prevent the outbreak of a full-scale war" and warned that "any resumption of hostilities will only have devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis and make any political progress elusive." The Palestinian U.N. ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said the Palestinian people are "powerless," and urged the Security Council to take action to ensure their protection.
"As the highest authority responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, how many more years does it (Israel) get to impose its inhumane blockade on 2 million people (in Gaza), half of them children until someone says enough is enough?," he asked. "How many more children do we have to bury until someone says enough is enough?"Mansour said the current situation "is profoundly unsustainable," and demanded that the council "not wait until the next war or the next election" to implement and enforce Security Council resolutions backing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council that President Joe Biden, who visited the region in July, reaffirmed that "the United States remains deeply committed to a two-state solution."The United States strongly urges all parties "to refrain from any unilateral steps that would imperil progress," she said. "We call on all member states to join us in supporting steps that can stabilize the situation on the ground, deliver economic benefits to the Palestinian people, and revitalize political horizons that meets the needs of both Israelis and Palestinians," Thomas-Greenfield said. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the Security Council its military took action "to protect our civilians and defend our country" and conducted the operation "with astounding accuracy and extreme precision," doing everything possible to minimize civilian casualties. "Due to these extensive and documented precautions, there is no other military, I reiterate no other military, that has such a low collateral damage rate," Erdan told the council. He stressed that the only reason Gaza is in the situation it is now is that Hamas and Islamic Jihad chose "terror and violence over coexistence and peace." "There is no other explanation," Erdan said. "The only remedy for the Gazans is that their leaders stop trying to annihilate Israel and stop investing the resources in terror infrastructure."

Palestinians say Israeli troops kill 3 in West Bank raid
Associated Press/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Israeli troops killed three Palestinians and wounded dozens in a shootout Tuesday during an arrest raid in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The shootout came a day after a cease-fire ended three days of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip.Israeli police said security forces encircled the home of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, who they say was wanted for a string of shootings in the West Bank earlier this year. They confirmed that al-Nabulsi and another Palestinian militant were killed in a shootout at the scene, and that troops found arms and explosives in his home. The Israeli military said that troops came under attack from Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives, and that soldiers responded with live fire. It confirmed Palestinians were shot, but did not elaborate on their condition.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said three people were killed — al-Nabulsi, Islam Sabouh and Hussein Jamal Taha — and at least 40 were wounded. Israel has conducted near nightly arrest raids in the West Bank in recent months as part of a crackdown on Palestinian militant groups, foremost Islamic Jihad, in the aftermath of a string of deadly attacks targeting Israelis earlier this year that left 19 people dead. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops during these arrest raids. Last week, Israel arrested Bassam al-Saadi, a senior Islamic Jihad militant in the West Bank city of Jenin, during one of the nightly operations. The group said it was going "on alert," and on Friday, Israel launched a series of strikes on Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip in what it said was a response to an "imminent threat" by the militant group. During the three days of Gaza fighting, at least 46 Palestinians were killed, including 16 children and four women, and 311 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Twelve of those killed were Islamic Jihad militants, one was from a smaller armed group, and two were Hamas-affiliated policemen who were not taking part in the fighting, according to the armed factions. Israel estimated that a total of 47 Palestinians were killed, including 14 killed by misfired Islamic Jihad rockets. It said 20 militants and seven civilians died in Israeli airstrikes and that it was still investigating six deaths. Israel's caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, applauded the cooperation by Israeli security personnel and said that al-Nabulsi's killing "was another step in our uncompromising struggle against terrorism." Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, warned that continued violence could further ignite the region, and accused the Israeli government of shedding Palestinian blood to secure internal political capital ahead of November parliamentary elections. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians seek it as the heartland of their future state. Israel views the West Bank as the biblical and historical heartland of the Jewish people, and has constructed dozens of settlements, now home to over 400,000 Israelis. The Palestinians and much of the international community consider Israel's West Bank settlements a violation of international law and an obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the decades-long conflict.

Israeli Troops Assassinate Senior Fatah Military Commander in West Bank Clash
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Israeli forces killed four people Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, including two teens and a man Israel said was a senior militant commander. The latest violence comes two days after a truce halted deadly conflict between the Israeli military and Islamic Jihad militants in the coastal Palestinian enclave of Gaza, and as Israeli forces continue months of at times deadly raids in the West Bank. "The terrorist Ibrahim al-Nabulsi was killed in the city of Nablus," the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that "another terrorist who was staying in the house" also died. A 16-year-old was also killed in Nablus, and the Palestinian health ministry later said a 17-year-old had been shot dead in the flashpoint southern city of Hebron. In the old city of Nablus, an AFP correspondent reported Palestinians trading gunfire with Israeli security forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated 69 people for gunshot wounds across the Nablus area, at least four of them in critical condition. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed the raid as a "highly successful, precise action without casualties" among the security forces. Israeli forces said they launched a shoulder-fired missile at the house and detained four suspects in the raid. Nabulsi was a commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, one of the main armed groups present in the West Bank operating under the ruling Fatah party. Following the deadly raid, the group said "the response will fit the crime". Hundreds of mourners gathered in Nablus for the funeral procession of the three dead, with some gunmen firing into the air as the bodies were carried through the crowd.
Teens killed
The Palestinian health ministry identified those killed as Nabulsi, Islam Sabbouh and Hussein Taha. Jamal Taha said his 16-year-old son was killed while they were walking to work. "The army was in the old city. My son went ahead of me to the market, he was carrying his food. There was shooting and four of us were injured," he told AFP. Later Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said 17-year-old Moamen Jaber was shot in the chest and killed by Israeli forces in Hebron. An AFP photographer saw the teen's body at a local hospital following clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. In Nablus, heavy gunfire was heard as dozens of Israeli military vehicles brought traffic in one of the West Bank's largest cities to a standstill. Clashes with the Israeli army also broke out in other parts of the city, as Palestinians hurled stones at the troops. "A violent clash developed with dozens of rioters who threw stones and threw explosives at the forces, who responded by means of crowd dispersal and shooting. Several injuries were confirmed," the army said. Security forces have conducted near-daily and often deadly operations in the West Bank in recent months, focusing on militants from the Islamic Jihad group.
Deadly Gaza fighting
On Friday, Israel launched what it called a "preemptive" aerial and artillery bombardment of Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip, leading militants in the coastal enclave to fire more than a thousand rockets in retaliation, according to the army. An Egypt-brokered ceasefire reached Sunday ended three days of intense fighting that killed 46 Palestinians, 16 of them children, and wounded 360, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israel's Lapid spoke by telephone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, with the premier praising Cairo for its role in "preserving regional stability and security". But following the Nablus raid, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Israel is "not interested in calm and stability"."It's exploiting and killing Palestinians for gains in internal Israeli politics," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, alluding to a snap Israeli general election called for November 1.The Israeli prime minister said Monday the strikes on Gaza had hit the "entire senior military command of Islamic Jihad" in the Palestinian enclave. Islamic Jihad said 12 of its members had been killed, including commanders Taysir al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour. Israel insists that some civilians counted in the Palestinian toll were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short or misfired.

EU expects decision 'very quickly' on Iran deal
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 09 August, 2022
The EU said Tuesday it expects Tehran and Washington to "very quickly" respond to a "final" text aimed at salvaging a 2015 deal meant to curb Iran's nuclear program. "There is no more space for negotiations," a foreign policy spokesman for the bloc, Peter Stano, told journalists in Brussels. "We have a final text. So it's the moment for a decision: yes or no. And we expect all participants to take this decision very quickly." EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who served as coordinator for the negotiations, said Monday the text had been submitted for capitals involved to make a political decision on whether to accept it. Iran has said it is studying the 25-page text. Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia, as well as the United States indirectly, resumed talks on the issue last week, after a months-long hiatus. The EU-coordinated negotiations to revive the JCPOA began in April 2021 before coming to a standstill in March. The 2015 accord gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic program to guarantee Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do. But the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the deal under president Donald Trump in 2018 and the reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments. The U.N.'s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has found traces of enriched uranium at three undeclared Iranian sites. The agency's board of governors in June censured Iran for inadequately explaining the discovery. Iranian sources at the weekend insisted that the IAEA first "completely resolve" that "political" issue to clear the way for the nuclear deal to be restored.Iran had previously dug in its heels over a demand that its Revolutionary Guards be removed from a U.S. "terrorist" blacklist, but dropped that after Washington refused.

Iran Allows Prison Leave for Detained French Academic
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Iranian authorities have allowed a French-Iranian academic held in the country for the last three years to take brief leave from prison, her supporters said on Tuesday. Fariba Adelkhah has been given a five-day furlough, which can be extended, from Tehran's Evin prison where she is being held in a case that has raised tensions between Tehran and Paris, a statement from her support group said. Activists say that at least 20 foreign and dual nationals are being held by Tehran on baseless charges, in a deliberate policy of hostage diplomacy aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Her temporary release comes at a crucial time in the negotiations between world powers and Iran over the Iranian nuclear program, with Tehran studying a final proposal from the EU aimed at salvaging a 2015 deal. "Fariba has been granted a five-day period of leave, which is potentially renewable, and of course under judicial supervision," her supporters said in a statement. "We are delighted... but can only emphasize that this unacceptable deprivation of liberty is within the framework of a public policy of hostage taking by Iran," the statement added.It is relatively common for prisoners in Iran to be allowed brief leave for time at home with families before returning to jail. A specialist in Shiite Islam and a research director at Sciences Po university in Paris, Adelkhah was arrested in June 2019 along with her French colleague and partner Roland Marchal. Adelkhah was sentenced in May 2020 to five years in prison for conspiring against national security, accusations her supporters have always denounced as absurd. Marchal was released in March 2020 and Adelkhah was allowed home in Tehran in October 2020 with an electronic bracelet. But she was then sent back to prison in January 2022. Iran last month allowed German-Iranian woman Nahid Taghavi, who was arrested in October 2020, a medical furlough to get treatment for back and neck problems. Three other French nationals are also being held by Iran. Benjamin Briere, who according to his family is simply a tourist, was arrested in May 2020 after taking pictures in a national park with a recreational drone and sentenced to eight years in prison on spying charges. Meanwhile, French teachers' union official Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris were arrested in early May on security-related charges, Tehran has said. Iran insists the foreigners are given fair trials but their families argue they are being held as pawns in a political game.

Iran Makes First Import Order Using Cryptocurrency
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Iran made its first official import order using cryptocurrency this week, the semi-official Tasnim agency reported on Tuesday, a move that could enable the country to circumvent US sanctions that have crippled the economy. The order, worth $10 million, was a first step towards allowing the country to trade through digital assets that bypass the dollar-dominated global financial system and to trade with other countries similarly limited by US sanctions, such as Russia. The agency didn't specify which cryptocurrency was used in the transaction. "By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widely used in foreign trade with target countries," an official from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade said on Twitter. The United States imposes an almost total economic embargo on Iran, including a ban on all imports including those from the country's oil, banking and shipping sectors. Last year, a study found that 4.5% of all bitcoin mining was taking place in Iran, partly as a result of the country's cheap electricity. The mining of cryptocurrency could help Iran earn hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to buy imports and lessen the impact of sanctions. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are highly volatile and have not found a widespread footing for payments. The European Union on Monday said it put forward a "final" text to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as four days of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials wrapped up in Vienna. Under the 2015 agreement, Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN sanctions. But former US President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear deal in 2018 and restored harsh US sanctions, prompting Tehran to start violating the agreement's nuclear limits about a year later.

Shiite Muslims throng Iraqi shrine city to mark Ashura
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims on Tuesday marked the festival of Ashura in Iraq's holy city of Karbala, the burial place of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. The emotional event commemorates the 7th century battlefield martyrdom of Hussein, whom Shiites view as the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed, the issue at the heart of a schism with Sunni Islam. To mourn his death in the year 680, Shiite worshippers wearing black cry and beat their chests in unison and some flagellate themselves with swords and knife-edged chains. Shiites represent more than 10 percent of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, and Ashura is marked by millions of people from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Iran and Lebanon. Hussein lies entombed in a golden-domed mausoleum in Karbala, where he was killed by the Sunni troops. His mausoleum is linked to that of his brother Abbas, who also died in the battle. This year's festivities, which began on Monday evening, come as Iraq's majority Shiite population is split between rival political camps. Backers of the influential cleric Moqtada Sadr were continuing a sit-in outside parliament in Baghdad for a 10th day on Tuesday.
They oppose the Coordination Framework, an alliance of pro-Iran Shiite factions that has tried to appoint a prime minister against Sadr's wishes. "The Shiite house is divided," said Yussef al-Ardawi, 50, an employee of the Abbas Mausoleum. "We didn't expect this from Shiite politicians."
Another worshipper, 24-year-old medical laboratory worker Hussein from Nasiriyah in the south, said the tensions come as Iraqis face a litany of problems. "We are in 2022 and we don't even have electricity," he said about the oil-rich but corruption-plagued country now enduring blistering summer heat.
"Imam Hussein rose up against injustice, against oppressive power," he said. "All the people should rise up."

Ukraine Claims Responsibility for Massive Blasts at Russian Base in Crimea Despite Kremlin’s Story
Dan Ladden-Hall/The Beast/August 09/2022
Questions have been raised about the Kremlin’s version of events after several massive explosions were seen erupting from a Russian military airbase in Crimea on Tuesday. Videos of the blasts at the Saki base on the Russian-controlled peninsula were shared on social media. In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said the explosions had been caused as a result of aviation munitions detonating, though no explanation was given as to what had caused the ordnance to explode. They also claimed that there were no casualties as a result of the explosions, nor was there any damage to aviation hardware at the site. “Measures are being taken to extinguish the fire and find out the causes of the explosion,” the ministry added, Russian state media reported. “According to a report from the site, there was no fire impact on the bunded ammunition storage area at the airfield.” Despite the Kremlin’s denials, a contradictory narrative quickly emerged. An unnamed Ukrainian military official told the New York Times that Ukrainian forces were indeed behind the blasts. “This was an air base from which planes regularly took off for attacks against our forces in the southern theater,” the source said, adding that a “device exclusively of Ukrainian manufacture was used” in the attack.The diverging stories over the cause of the air base explosions join a growing list of disputed events in Ukraine in recent weeks. Both Kyiv and the Kremlin blamed each other as being responsible for internationally condemned explosions at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, at the weekend. And both belligerents pointed the finger at one another for an apparent air strike on a prison in Olenivka which left dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war dead.
Independent analysts looking at footage of Tuesday’s blasts in Crimea have also raised questions about the Kremlin’s latest story. Open source intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander was particularly curious about two explosions appearing to erupt at almost the same time, despite being some distance apart. “They’re almost simultaneous, those two explosions, so I don’t really think that would be an accident,” Alexander told The Daily Beast.” It would be very unlikely, unless they happened to happen at exactly the same time.”Alexander therefore thinks the blasts are likely to have been a Ukrainian attack. “I can’t really think what else it could be,” he says. “If it was just one explosion, sure, it could be an accident, stuff happens. I can’t really say anything for certain until I see satellite imagery tomorrow where you can see exactly what was hit, but it does seem like both of the munition storage sites were hit almost simultaneously, which seems strange for it being an accident.”The Russian defense ministry’s line that there were no casualties may also turn out to be untrue, Alexander speculates, given the alarming proximity of the explosions to civilian housing. “I’m not exactly sure who lives there—it could also be houses for soldiers and stuff, but they still have families,” he says. “I don’t know what the situation is, if they’ve evacuated that area before or what have you. But those houses probably don’t exist anymore.”And aside from video evidence, Alexander says the denial would be consistent with a Kremlin strategy when it comes to dealing with potentially embarrassing military stories. He points to the example of the Kremlin’s narrative around the April sinking of the Russian warship Moskva, the vessel which was on the receiving end of the now immortal Snake Island battle cry: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” Ukrainian forces claimed to have destroyed the Moskva with anti-ship missiles, while Russia’s defense ministry put forward a shifting kaleidoscope of stories about the vessel’s demise, claiming first that an accidental fire caused munitions on board to explode before the ship sank in stormy seas while being towed back to port. “They usually start by denying,” Alexander says, “Then [they call it an] accident, and then they just kind of go quiet.”

Russia Successfully Launches Iranian Satellite
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
A Russian rocket on Tuesday successfully launched an Iranian satellite into orbit.
The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled at 8:52 a.m. Moscow time (0552 GMT) Tuesday from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan, The Associated Press said. About nine minutes after the launch, it placed the Iranian satellite called Khayyam into orbit. It's named after Omar Khayyam, a Persian scientist who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. Iran has said the satellite fitted with high-resolution camera will be used for environmental monitoring and will remain fully under its control. Tehran said no other country will have access to information it gathers and it would be used for civilian purposes only, but there have been allegations that Russia may use it for surveillance of Ukraine amid its military action there. If it operates successfully, the satellite would give Iran the ability to monitor its archenemy Israel and other countries in the Middle East. Yuri Borisov, head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, hailed the launch as an “important landmark" in cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. Iranian state television aired footage of the launch live, noting that the country’s telecommunications minister attended the liftoff in Kazakhstan. Tehran said the satellite will help improve productivity in the agriculture sector, survey water resources, manage natural disasters, confront deforestation and monitor border areas. Citing Iran’s civilian space agency, state television said the satellite would provide high-resolution surveillance images with a one-meter-per-pixel definition. Western civilian satellites offer around half-a-meter per pixel, while US spy satellites are believed to have even-greater definition. Iran has both a civilian and military space program, which the US fears could be used to advance its ballistic missile program. However, Iran has seen a series of mishaps and failed satellite launches over recent years.

Killing pro-Moscow officials. Blowing up bridges. Ukraine's guerrillas take up the fight
LA TimesLA Times/August 09/2022
In a growing challenge to Russia's grip on occupied areas of southeastern Ukraine, guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv are killing pro-Moscow officials, blowing up bridges and trains, and helping the Ukrainian military by identifying key targets.
The spreading resistance has eroded Kremlin control of those areas and threatened its plans to hold referendums in various cities as a move toward annexation by Russia.
“Our goal is to make life unbearable for the Russian occupiers and use any means to derail their plans,” said Andriy, a 32-year-old coordinator of the guerrilla movement in the southern Kherson region.
A member of the Zhovta Strichka — or “Yellow Ribbon” — resistance group, Andriy spoke to the Associated Press on condition that he not be fully identified, to avoid being tracked down by the Russians. The group takes its name from one of the two national colors of Ukraine, and its members use ribbons of that hue to mark potential targets for guerrilla attacks. Ukrainian troops recently used a U.S.-supplied multiple-rocket launcher known as HIMARS to hit a strategic bridge on the Dnieper River in Kherson, severing the Russians' main supply link. The city of 500,000 people, seized by Russian troops early in the war, has been flooded with leaflets from the resistance, threatening Moscow-backed officials. Just before the bridge attack, leaflets appeared, saying: “If HIMARS can’t do it, a partisan will help.”
“We are giving the Ukrainian military precise coordinates for various targets, and the guerrillas' assistance makes the new long-range weapons, particularly HIMARS, even more powerful,” Andriy told the AP. “We are invisible behind the Russian lines, and this is our strength.”As Ukrainian forces step up attacks in the region and reclaim some areas west of the Dnieper, the guerrilla activity also has increased. They coordinate with the Ukrainian military's Special Operations Forces, which helps them develop strategies and tactics. Those forces also select targets and have set up a website with tips on how to organize resistance, prepare ambushes and elude arrest. A network of weapons caches and secret hideouts was established in occupied areas.
Bombs have been placed near administrative buildings, at officials' homes and even on their routes to work. An explosive placed on a tree went off as a vehicle carrying Kherson prison chief Yevgeny Sobolev passed by; he survived the attack. A police vehicle was hit by a shrapnel bomb, seriously wounding two officers, one of whom later died. The deputy head of the local administration in Nova Kakhovka died of wounds after being gunned down over the weekend.
Guerrillas have repeatedly tried to kill Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Kherson region's Russia-backed temporary administration, offering a bounty of 1 million hryvnias (about $25,000). His assistant, Pavel Slobodchikov, was shot and killed in his vehicle, and another official, Dmytry Savluchenko, was killed by a car bomb. The attacks have prompted Moscow to send anti-guerrilla units to Kherson, Saldo said. “Every day, special units from Russia detect two or three caches with weapons for terrorist activities,” Saldo said on his messaging app channel. “The seizure of weapons help reduce the threat of sabotage.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shaking hands with mayor of Melitopol
Early in the occupation, thousands of residents staged peaceful protests. But the Russian military quickly disbanded them and arrested activists, radicalizing the resistance. Wedding photographer-turned-activist Oleksandr Kharchikov, 41, of Skadovsk, said he was beaten and tortured after being arrested in a Russian security sweep. “The Russians tortured me for a long time. They beat me with a baseball bat. They pinched my fingers with pliers and tortured me with electric shocks,” Kharchikov said in a telephone interview. “I suffered a concussion and a broken rib, but I didn't give them any information, and that saved me.”Kharchikov spent 155 days under Russian occupation until he escaped.
“The repressions are intensifying. They are creating unbearable conditions for the Ukrainians, making it increasingly difficult to survive under Russian occupation,” he told the AP. The Russians were offering 10,000 rubles ($165) to anyone applying for Russian citizenship to strengthen their grip on the region, he said. Moscow has introduced the ruble, set up Russian cellphone networks and cut off Ukrainian television in the area. Giant screens showing Russian TV broadcasts have been placed on the main squares of cities. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, who also spent a long time in Russian captivity, told the AP that about 500 Ukrainian activists were detained, with many tortured. Some vanished for months after their arrest. In May and June, guerrillas blew up two railway bridges in Melitopol and derailed two Russian military trains, Fedorov said. “The resistance movement is pursuing three goals: to destroy Russian weapons and means of supplying them, discrediting and intimidating the occupiers and their collaborators, and informing Ukrainian special services about enemy positions,” he added. Russia responded by bolstering patrols and conducting regular sweeps for those suspected of guerrilla links. During such raids, they check phones and arrest those with Ukrainian symbols or photos of relatives in military uniforms. “In a mopping-up operation, the Russians seal the entire neighborhood, halt traffic to and from it, and methodically go from one apartment to another. If they find any Ukrainian symbols or any link to the Ukrainian military, they put all family members in a filtration camp,” Fedorov said. “In the best case, people are told: ‘Get out of here if you are against Russia,’ but it also happens that some people disappear,” he said. Of Melitopol’s prewar population of 150,000, more than 60,000 people have left.
Pro-Moscow officials are preparing for a possible referendum on Melitopol and other occupied areas joining Russia, conducting security raids and handing out Russian passports, Fedorov said. “We will thwart the Russian referendum. We won't allow voting under Russian gun barrels,” he said, adding that no more than 10% of the population sympathizes with Moscow, and half of the population has fled.
People at an office for Russian citizenship applications in Melitopol, southern Ukraine
Guerrillas have tied yellow ribbons on buildings where voting is to be held, warning residents that they could be targeted by bombs during balloting. The resistance ranges from radical activists to teachers and retirees who sing Ukrainian songs in parks and secretly wear yellow and blue ribbons.
“The Russians were expecting that they would be met with flowers, but they faced the fact that most people consider themselves Ukrainians and are ready to offer resistance in various forms, from collecting information to burning and blowing up the occupiers,” said Oleksii Aleksandrov, who owned a restaurant in the southern port of Mariupol. In one recent gesture of defiance in Mariupol, a young man wrapped in a Ukrainian flag stood on a street next to the theater destroyed by Russian bombs. The photo spread through Ukrainian media, and President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed him in an address to the nation. “It was a very brave thing to do, and I would like to thank him for his action,” Zelenskyy said. “This man is one of many people who are waiting for Ukraine's comeback and won't accept the occupation under any circumstances.”
Although pro-Moscow sentiment is strong in Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking industrial heartland of the Donbas, in the east, a guerrilla movement also has emerged there.Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said six Russian troops were wounded last month when their vehicle was blown up by guerrillas in the city of Severodonetsk soon after its seizure. They also have targeted railways, disrupting Russian munitions shipments and other supplies. “The guerrillas have acted quite successfully,” Haidai told the AP. “They haven't only spread leaflets. They also have destroyed infrastructure facilities. It helps a lot to slow down the Russian attacks and advances.”Observers say the guerrilla movement varies by region and that it is in the interest of both sides to exaggerate its scope. “The Russians do it to justify their repressions on the occupied territories while the Ukrainians seek to demoralize the Russian forces and extol their victories,” said Vadim Karasev, head of the Kyiv-based Institute of Global Strategies think tank. “It's hard to believe the tales about Ukrainians feeding Russian soldiers with poisoned cakes, but sometimes myths work better than facts.”
*This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Turkish drone strike kills 4 in northeast Syria
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
A Turkish drone strike Tuesday killed at least four people in a northeast Syrian city held by Kurdish forces, the latest in a flurry of attacks, a war monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack struck near a hospital in Qamishli, the de facto capital of a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that runs large parts of the country's northeast. The four victims, all affiliated with the administration, were killed while they dug trenches near Turkey's border in anticipation of a new offensive that Ankara has threatened to launch since May, the monitor said. Ankara has launched successive military offensives in Syria. Most have targeted Kurdish militants that Ankara links to a group waging a decades-long insurgency against it. Turkey has stepped up its drone strikes in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria since a July 19 summit with Iran and Russia failed to greenlight a fresh offensive, according to Kurdish officials and the Observatory. A Turkish drone strike on Qamishli at the weekend killed four people, including two siblings, said the Observatory. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have counted at least 13 of their members killed in several Turkish attacks since July 19. Syria's conflict that began in March 2011 has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country's pre-war population.

Turkish Forces Pull out of Bases in Syria’s North
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 August, 2022
Turkish forces evacuated two bases in the western countryside of Tal Abyad, in the northern countryside of Raqqa, northern Syria, sources revealed. The forces withdrew from their military bases in the villages of Hareqli and Tannuz. The withdrawal, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is a UK-based war monitor, was coordinated with Russian forces in the area. The withdrawal will likely be followed by Russian and regime advances in Tal Abyad in an unspoken agreement between Moscow and Ankara. Meanwhile, in a sign that Ankara may not have completely abandoned its plans to launch a cross-border military operation against Kurdish forces, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed his country's determination to connect safe zones in northern Syria soon. Last May, Turkey announced that it would pursue a full-scale military campaign in northern Syria to complete the establishment of safe zones near its borders. The said zones would extend 30 kilometers deep in Syrian territory. On Monday, Erdogan threatened to clear northeast Syria from Kurdish-led forces amid an increase in drone attacks and shelling in northeast Syria. “We will continue our fight against terrorism. Our decision to establish a 30-kilometre-deep secure line along our southern border is permanent,” he told the 13th Ambassadors Conference in Ankara. “I hope we will join the parts of this security zone together soon by clearing the last areas where the terrorist organization is nesting in Syria,” added Erdogan in reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Despite Erdogan’s loud rhetoric, Turkey’s plans for a military campaign in Syria remains without international support. The US, which considers the Kurds a key ally in the war against ISIS in Syria, has warned against any Turkish military move, saying that it would pose a threat to the forces participating in the war against the terror group. European countries also rejected any new Turkish incursion. For its part, Russia demanded that Ankara cooperate with Damascus instead of resorting to a military option. Iran, another backer of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, declared that any Turkish operation would play out in the interests of terrorists only, and would destabilize the region.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 09-10/2022
Audio/What just happened in Gaza?
FDD/August 8, 2022 | Generation Jihad
https://www.fdd.org/podcasts/2022/08/08/what-just-happened-in-gaza/
Episode 76
Bill Roggio
Senior Fellow and Editor of FDD's Long War Journal
Jonathan Schanzer
Senior Vice President for Research
Joe Truzman
Research Analyst at FDD's Long War Journal
Listen
FDD · Episode 76 - What just happened in Gaza?
Episode 76
Bill is joined again by Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at FDD, and by Joe Truzman, research analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal, to discuss the latest round of violence that emanated from the Gaza Strip this weekend and eventually resulted in an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. They also unpack details about the terrorist group behind the escalation, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) — including where they get their weapons, training, and funding (spoiler alert: it’s Iran).

It’s Time to Respond to Iran’s Bad-Faith Negotiations
Andrea Stricker and Anthony Ruggiero/Dispatch/August 09/2022
..The Islamic Republic has flouted its nonproliferation obligations and is moving closer to the nuclear threshold.
The Biden administration scored a diplomatic victory in June when Washington and its European allies spearheaded the international censure of Iran for failing to cooperate with an investigation into Tehran’s past nuclear activities. That positive momentum was short-lived. Last month, Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), rejected cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declaring that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran absolves his country of probes into past nuclear work. He said those issues are “closed” and “will not be reopened.”
Tehran’s response is not surprising after years of non-cooperation with the IAEA inquiry. The clerical regime has drawn out talks aimed at restoring the 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to approach the threshold of an atomic weapons capability. At a new round of negotiations in Vienna last week, Iran doubled down on its demand that the IAEA close its probe before Tehran agrees to revive the accord. Washington and Europe should not take the bait. They should end the talks and call a special IAEA meeting to give Iran a firm deadline to meet its nonproliferation obligations. If Tehran does not comply, they must snap back the international sanctions against the regime.
As a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran is legally required to declare all sites where it makes nuclear material and to cooperate with IAEA inquiries aimed at ensuring the peacefulness of its atomic program. This obligation is entirely separate from commitments made under the JCPOA. Yet the Islamic Republic has failed to answer the IAEA’s questions about the presence of man-made uranium particles the agency found in 2019 and 2020 at three Iranian sites, and has not answered inspectors’ questions about a fourth site. In June, the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors finally passed its first censure of Iran in two years, calling on Tehran to act “without delay” and “resolve all outstanding safeguards issues.”
That was a step forward, but President Joe Biden created most of the roadblocks to holding Iran accountable. Despite the Biden administration’s efforts to blame Iran policy failures on President Trump’s 2018 JCPOA withdrawal, Tehran’s most egregious nuclear advances happened during Biden’s presidency. The president entered office promising to lift Iran sanctions in exchange for a return to the deal. He then gave Tehran breathing room from U.S. sanctions, which ultra-hardliners used to solidify ties to China and Russia and fortify their resistance economy.
The clerical regime clearly wants Biden to end the IAEA’s probe just as the Obama administration stopped a similar investigation to ensure the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal. Under the terms of the nuclear accord, world powers instructed the IAEA to issue a “final report” assessing the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran stonewalled the investigators, but the IAEA Board of Governors voted in December 2015 to suspend the inquiry lest it prevent implementation of the JCPOA. AEOI chief Eslami was referring to this decision when he claimed the JCPOA had immunized Iran from probes of past nuclear activities.
The folly of ignoring past violations became clear in 2018, when Israel stole a tranche of Iran’s nuclear weapons files, proving beyond doubt that Tehran had a nuclear weapons program up until 2003, despite the regime’s denials. The documents showed that senior Iranian officials plotted to downsize and better hide their nuclear efforts after the work was exposed. The IAEA assessed the files to be authentic and has investigated information about undeclared sites, nuclear material, and activities ever since—but with very limited cooperation from Tehran.
The showdown at nuclear talks over the IAEA’s investigation is occurring in the shadow of Iran’s unprecedented nuclear advances and the Islamic Republic’s efforts to severely limit IAEA monitoring of its atomic program.
Iran is steadily moving closer to the nuclear threshold, the point at which Tehran’s close proximity to atomic weapons may render ineffective foreign action to stop a breakout. In April 2021, the month nuclear talks began, the regime enriched uranium to 60 percent purity—close to 90 percent or weapons-grade. Overall, it now has enough enriched uranium for five nuclear bombs. The regime has also installed and operated hundreds of advanced centrifuge machines for uranium enrichment, and has manufactured uranium metal, a material used in the core of nuclear weapons. It could make weapons-grade uranium within weeks, and its timeline to exploding a working nuclear device may be under six months.
Amid these rapid advances, Tehran has dramatically curtailed IAEA monitoring, prompting its director general, Rafael Grossi, to lament the agency’s limited oversight in Iran with all manner of illustrative analogies: the IAEA is “flying in heavy clouds” or “on a ventilator”; the JCPOA has been dealt a “fatal blow”; and Iran’s nuclear program is “galloping ahead.” In short, the effectiveness of international monitoring is open to doubt.
In February 2021, Iran ended IAEA access to sites related to production of centrifuges, mining and milling of uranium, and an array of other sensitive activities. It pledged to retain video monitoring and data recording of events at nuclear sites, but only to turn over footage and information once it received sanctions relief. After the IAEA’s resolution in June, Iran retaliated by switching off dozens of IAEA cameras and data collection devices at atomic sites and put in question whether it would ever turn over safeguards information. The AEOI’s Eslami ratcheted tensions further, stating that Iran will not turn on the watchdog’s cameras “until the other side [the West] returns to the nuclear deal.”
Despite the seriousness of these developments, the Biden administration seemingly does not have a plan. It seems content to allow the European Union, the mediator between the United States and Iran, to push for a renewed nuclear deal without any regard for Tehran’s continued escalations and demands that the IAEA close its inquiry. All the waiting, however, only increases the danger posed by the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and presumably strengthens Tehran’s temptation to make a dash to weapons. Meanwhile, the JCPOA’s provisions are expiring and Iran’s technical advances have rendered defunct most of the deal’s value, even if it were restored.
It is time for Washington and Europe to staunch the bleeding and remind Iran that they still have leverage over Tehran’s momentum toward the bomb and its flouting of nonproliferation obligations.
The United States should begin by exiting the nuclear talks and calling a special IAEA board meeting to denounce Iran’s continued non-compliance with the IAEA’s investigation, Iran’s expanding nuclear program, and Iran’s reductions in IAEA monitoring. The June 2022 board resolution focused on Tehran’s obstruction of the investigation, but failed to even mention Iran’s nuclear advances or obstruction of monitoring activities. It is unclear why the resolution omitted these key issues, but the United States and its European partners have been reluctant to tackle these matters for fear of upsetting negotiations on a return to the JCPOA. The parties must rectify this mistake.
A new resolution must give Tehran a deadline to cooperate with the IAEA and should require the regime both to explain what it did at the sites in question and to restore agency monitoring. If Iran fails to meet the deadline for compliance set by the board, the board must refer Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council. To be sure, Russia and China will block the passage of any new Iran resolution, so board referral is mostly a procedural step to pave the way for other countermeasures: Namely, Washington and Europe should trigger the snapback mechanism contained in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231—the JCPOA’s implementing resolution—which permits signatories to the nuclear deal to reinstate all prior U.N. sanctions. Notably, this would also restore the previous U.N. standard prohibiting any uranium enrichment in Iran. The United States and Europe should act on the basis that Iran is in violation of its NPT commitments and is not interested in nuclear restraint or transparency.
The Biden administration tried the diplomatic path, but Iran has not acted in good faith. State Department Spokesman Ned Price said last month that the administration will “pursue alternatives” to the 2015 nuclear deal when “it’s no longer in our interest to pursue a mutual return to compliance.” That time is now. Washington and Europe must act soon to prevent an Iranian atomic bomb.
Andrea Stricker is deputy director of the nonproliferation and biodefense program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Anthony Ruggiero is senior director of the program and served as the National Security Council’s senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense in the Trump administration. Follow Andrea and Anthony on Twitter @StrickerNonpro and @NatSecAnthony. FDD is a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.

Is Provocative Is Deterrence 101..Biden has cancelled yet another test of our ICBM system so as not to cause more tension with China.
Eric S. Edelman and Franklin Miller/Dispatch/August 09/2022
Last week Xi Jinping directed his armed forces to surround Taiwan and carry out live fire exercises; in addition, Chinese forces carried out a series of ballistic missile launches, five of which overflew Taiwan and landed in Japanese waters. These provocative military actions reflected the PRC leadership’s fit of pique at the recent one-day visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. As the many observers have pointed out, this military temper tantrum represents a disproportionate response to the Pelosi visit, since delegations of U.S. Senators and House members had visited Taiwan as recently as last November without eliciting this kind of over-the-top reaction.
In response, the Biden administration has canceled a long-planned test of an unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), because, as White House spokesman John Kirby said, “we have no interest in escalating the tensions.” The U.S. normally tests our ICBM system several times a year. These tests are an important part of maintaining an effective nuclear deterrent. They are a visible and powerful demonstration of the most responsive leg of our nuclear triad and a reminder to adversaries that the U.S. possesses a potent nuclear deterrent force.
The administration’s feckless decision represents a total failure to understand strategic nuclear deterrence, extended deterrence, and escalation dynamics. This decision, taken while PRC missiles were flying around Taiwan and encroaching on the territory of a treaty ally, was not the first time this year that the Biden team canceled a scheduled ICBM test. In March, shortly after Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked, illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the White House initially rescheduled and then subsequently canceled another long-standing Minuteman test. Putin, clearly deeply impressed and touched by this U.S. show of restraint, responded by ordering a test of his new super “America killer” ‘Sarmat’ ICBM. Sadly, Team Biden did not learn from this pointed public humiliation.
Effective deterrence relies upon potential enemy leaders recognizing both U.S. military capabilities and our will to use them to defend ourselves and our treaty Allies. If the potential enemy believes that our will is lacking, deterrence is weakened, and new acts of aggression become more likely. Moreover, failure to signal one’s determination can also lead to misunderstanding and miscalculation by other governments with enormous, indeed, catastrophic consequences.
The dangers of unanswered aggression and misreading adversary intentions were clearly demonstrated in the years between World War I and World War II, the last time the international system was characterized by such intense rivalry and use of force among multiple players. Britain and France did not respond to Hitler’s illegal remilitarization of the Rhineland. An emboldened Hitler then proceeded to annex Austria—again with no Allied military response. Believing London and Paris lacked the stomach to confront him, he next bullied British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at Munich, won a concession to take the Sudetenland—and then in violation of his Munich pledge proceeded to swallow the rest of Czechoslovakia. Again, there was no British or French military response. Conditioned by this pusillanimous behavior, there was little wonder that Hitler believed his attack on Poland would also go unanswered. He was stunned when Britain and France declared war. Similarly, Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the rest of China in 1937 went almost entirely unopposed by the international community. A failure that almost certainly contributed to the hubris of the senior Japanese leaders who made the ill-fated decision to attack Pearl Harbor. Together these misjudgements let loose the most devastating war in human history.
For Hitler and the Japanese Imperial War Council, substitute Putin and Xi—cold, calculating, risk-taking autocrats. Their aggression, escalation of conflicts, and saber-rattling with nuclear threats and ballistic missile firings has been met by consistent statements by Washington that focus on the dangers of U.S. actions that might be “provocative” and invite escalation that would put us on the “path to World War III.” Prudence about escalation dynamics is always wise, but accepting the implication that the normal, steady state management of the U.S. nuclear deterrent is somehow escalatory is very dangerous. It stands in stark contrast to the behavior of former French Foreign Minister Yves Le Drian who, at the outset of the conflict in Ukraine in the face of President Putin’s nuclear threats, pointedly reminded the Kremlin that NATO remains a nuclear alliance.
Demonstrations of weakness in the face of aggression is itself provocative and simply invites more aggression. It also unnerves allies. As the late Dennis Healey, Britain’s longest serving secretary of state for defense, famously wrote, “it takes only five percent credibility of American retaliation to deter the Russians but ninety-five percent credibility to reassure the Europeans.” Continuing recent flirtations with declaratory policies that suggest the sole purpose of nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear weapons use or pledge “no first use” combined with the fact that the Nuclear Posture Review remains classified will only serve to undermine allied confidence in U.S. extended nuclear deterrence.
The Biden administration deserves a lot of credit for unifying the allies and assisting Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression, but it needs to absorb the traditional lessons of strategic nuclear deterrence and extended deterrence quickly, before our Allies in Europe and Asia begin to wonder if the U.S. nuclear umbrella that has done so much to protect global peace and security is transforming into the ignominious umbrella that Chamberlain unfurled as he fatuously declared that he had secured “peace for our time.”
*Eric S. Edelman and Franklin Miller have held senior positions in national security affairs over administrations of both parties over a 30-year period. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.

Palestinians: It Pays Better to Be America's Adversary, Not Its Friend
Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute./August 09/2022
The statement in support of China is yet another example of the Palestinians' betting on the wrong horse. Always on the side of the despotic regimes and countries, Palestinians appear to have learned nothing from their mistakes.
While Israel consistently stands by its US partners, Palestinians continue to ridicule and condemn the US, undermine its interests by aligning themselves with anti-US parties, and financing the families of Palestinians who murder Israeli and US citizens.
Palestinians expect US financial aid, but oppose the US on every foreign policy front. The Biden administration does not seem to have a problem funding the Iranian regime, the Chinese Communist Party, the illegitimate Venezuelan government or the Palestinian leadership while Palestinians are spitting in the face of the US and openly supporting all those who hate the US and the Americans. It sometimes seems as if the harder America's adversaries spit, the harder the Americans rush to fund them.
Palestinians, who have sided against America with Nazi Germany, the Russians, Saddam Hussein, North Korea, Syria's Assad, Iran, Hezbollah, and now China, are again exposing their anti-US sentiments. They will happily pad their bank accounts with American money, while continuing to act against the US and its policies in different parts of the world.
Many Arab countries have learned the lesson of Palestinian betrayal: that is why they long ago stopped funding the Palestinians. The Arab leaders refuse to throw their money at those who praise their enemies.
The US has actually been teaching those who wish to create a Palestinian state that being best buddies with America's worst enemies is where the biggest profits lie.
Palestinians have chosen to be on the side of China in its latest skirmish with the US over Taiwan. The statement by the Palestinian "presidency" supporting China illustrates what has been known for years -- that Palestinians are adversarial to American interests and hostile to American allies. Pictured: Palestinians burn a US flag in Bethlehem, on January 29, 2020. (Photo by Musa Al Shaer/AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinian leaders have a tradition of backing tyrants and corrupt regimes around the world. When their choices prove disastrous, they run to the Americans begging for pity.
The Palestinian leaders do not run to their Arab brothers: they know that most Arab countries are sick and tired of Palestinian lies and backstabbing.
The Palestinians, in addition, are best known in the Arab world for biting the hand that feeds them.
Less than a month after the Biden administration announced new contributions totaling $316 million to support the Palestinian people, the Palestinian leadership proved once again that the Palestinians are not friends of the US.
In response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan together with five Democratic members of the House, the Palestinian "presidency" was quick to issue a statement supporting China. The statement illustrates what has been known for years -- that Palestinians are adversarial to American interests and hostile to American allies.
"The Palestinian presidency affirmed that the State of Palestine stands by the friendly People's Republic of China," read the statement issued by Abbas's office in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians.
The statement expressed Palestinian "support for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing its right to defend its sovereign, security and development interests."
The Palestinians, in other words, are saying that they have chosen to be on the side of China in its latest skirmish with the US over Taiwan. This anti-US Palestinian position, however, does not surprise those who are familiar with the ruinous policies, strategies and decisions of the Palestinian leaders over the past decades. The statement in support of China is yet another example of the Palestinians' betting on the wrong horse. Always on the side of the despotic regimes and countries, Palestinians appear to have learned nothing from their mistakes.
In the 1940s, Palestinian leader Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini met with Adolf Hitler in the midst of World War II, during the murder of Jews in Eastern Europe. According to a British archive, the Mufti asked to take the opportunity to thank the Führer, who is popular with the entire Arab world, for the sympathy he has always shown to the Arab world, especially the Palestinians.
"The Arab states are convinced that Germany will win the war and that Arab interests will flourish," the archive documents note.
"The Arabs are Germany's natural friends because they have the common enemies of Germany, especially the British, the Jews and the Communists, and for this reason they are willing to cooperate with Germany with all their heart."
Since then, Palestinian leaders have remained faithful to the strategy of the Mufti, which is based on aligning themselves with the world's most reprehensible leaders and countries.
Ironically, the Palestinian statement in support of China was published on the same day marking the anniversary of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait (August 2, 1990). When the Kuwaitis got back their country a year later, they and other Gulf states sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians packing. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat backed Saddam Hussein both when Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, and Kuwait 10 years later. Arafat also opposed the US-led war that liberated Kuwait in 1991.
The Palestinian people were the ones who paid a heavy price for Arafat's disastrous decision to side with Saddam Hussein. Some 450,000 had lived in Kuwait before the invasion. Most were expelled or pressured to leave after the tiny, oil-rich Gulf state was liberated. Dozens of Palestinians were convicted after the war for collaborating with the Iraqi occupiers.
In the 1970s and '80s, the Palestinians supported the Irish Republican Army (IRA) against the British. Arafat's PLO provided guns and sabotage devices to its IRA friends and gave special training to IRA members.
The Palestinians supported and aligned themselves with the Japanese Red Army terrorist group, which carried out a series of attacks throughout the '70s and '80s, including the 1975 takeover of the US Consulate in Kuala Lumpur and the 1972 gun and grenade attack on Israel's Lod Airport, which left 26 people dead and around 80 injured.
During the Cold War, the Palestinians chose to side with the Soviet Union -- against the US.
The Palestinian leadership has more recently sought to warm up their relations with the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, even though in the past few decades, the Syrians have killed thousands of Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon. To this day, Palestinians continue to publicly voice support for the Assad regime. Most recently, Palestinians have come out in support of Russia in its war with Ukraine, probably more out of hatred for the US than love for the Russians.
Similarly, the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly expressed solidarity with North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un. In return, North Korea has praised the Palestinians for their anti-US policies.
While Israel consistently stands by its US partners, Palestinians continue to ridicule and condemn the US, undermine its interests by aligning themselves with anti-US parties, and financing the families of Palestinians who murder Israeli and US citizens.
If Palestinians love China so much, then why does the Biden administration, and not China, continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars on them? Is it better to be America's adversary so it will bribe you to become an ally? Just look at how America is groveling before Iran; the mullahs have been calling for "Death to America" (here, here, here and here) and taking hostages since 1979.
Palestinians expect US financial aid, but oppose the US on every foreign policy front. The Biden administration does not seem to have a problem funding the Iranian regime; the Chinese Communist Party; the hostile, illegitimate Maduro government of Venezuela or the Palestinian leadership, while Palestinians are spitting in the face of the US and openly supporting all those who hate the US and the Americans. It sometimes seems as if the harder America's adversaries spit, the harder the Americans rush to fund them.
Palestinians, who have sided against America with Nazi Germany, Russia, Saddam Hussein's Iraq, North Korea, Syria's Assad, Iran, Hezbollah, and now China, are again exposing their anti-US sentiments. They will happily pad their bank accounts with American money, while continuing to act against the US and its policies in different parts of the world.
Many Arab countries have learned the lesson of Palestinian betrayal: that is why they long ago stopped funding the Palestinians. The Arab leaders refuse to throw their money at those who praise their enemies.
It is in the best interests of the Biden administration and other Americans to take note of the Arab leaders' self-respect in the face of Palestinian treachery. If US leaders skip that lesson, they may discover that the Palestinian state they talk about endlessly will continue on the same path exploiting the moral hazard the US so stupidly offers. Rewarding bad behavior more and more in the hope of changing it instead simply incentivizes and reinforces it. The US has actually been teaching those who wish to create a Palestinian state that being best buddies with America's worst enemies is where the biggest profits lie.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 2022 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.

Out With The 'Olds!' In With The 'News!'
Alberto M. Fernandez /MEMRI/August 09/2022
One of the many initiatives in the Chinese Cultural Revolution that began in 1966 was a repudiation of the past. The "Destroy the Four Olds and Cultivate the Four News" campaign aimed at destroying old ideas, culture, habits, and customs that had survived the Communist takeover of the country 17 years earlier and replacing them with "new" doctrines more in line with Chairman Mao. The extremely bloody (more than a million victims) Cultural Revolution itself was less a grassroots effort by an underclass than it was a plot to consolidate power from above. Mao was to remain in charge, but it was a messy, confused affair, as "anti-rightist" groups struggled to fill the vacuum in the various institutions of political power that had been ravaged by the purges led by the Red Guard.
2020 attempt to topple statue of President Andrew Jackson in front of the White House
The U.S. today is undergoing its own Cultural Revolution. It is a "soft" and slow revolution, far less violent than China in the Sixties, but still sweeping in its scope and ambitions. In an echo of Mao's strategy, it seems to aim at keeping many of the same people in charge at the top while replacing "the Olds" of American society, politics and culture. This decades-long shift was potentiated by reaction to the presidency of Donald Trump. Coming out of leftist university campuses and activist communities and spreading across the culture, media and politics, the New Ideology is largely powered by the most progressive demographic of the political spectrum – white, Democratic Party, upper class to wealthy – that already holds near monopolistic dominance in education, media, and culture.
This demographic is a numerical minority (6% of all Americans) but punches far above its weight because of its wealth and privilege. This fascinating reality is often vividly illustrated on social media, as white, comfortable academics and journalists denounce "whiteness" or "white supremacy" in what seems like a type of political performance art. They carry out such acts while remaining precisely in the exalted positions they already hold. It is mostly white, wealthy and privileged Americans who say they want to demolish American institutions and rebuild them because of "racial bias."
The New Ideology has profound implications for those traditional depositories of the old ways of thinking about the nation, the family, and belief. As far as religion is concerned, "fifth columnists" (as Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand called them) inside the Western Church look to remake traditional religion along modernist lines while aping the latest progressive enthusiasm. The West is steadily becoming post-Christian, with belief increasingly residing in an emerging syncretism in an arranged marriage with progressive political stances.
On the family, the ideology of the moment has moved far beyond the issue of gay rights (now broadly accepted and almost old fashioned and quaint these days) to a radical gender theory[6] seeking to redefine what a man or a woman is, and increasingly exotic demands about sexualizing and indoctrinating children as early as possible in state-run schools. Who would have thought a decade ago that the cause of equal rights for all would morph into pushing for radical surgery and drugs for minors and beyond?
The principles of sexual libertinism seem to constantly advance onto the next mountain to climb, having no fixed endpoint but increasingly endorsed by the state. Both what it means to believe and what it means to be human seem to be increasingly up for grabs in the West in a technologically enhanced brave new world of infinite possibilities and no limits. The dream of perfection and utopia augurs to be a very special kind of nightmare.
As for the nation, that too is seems to require radical surgery. It seemingly began with Confederate statues and has moved on to questioning the founding of the nation and its historical narrative. While the concept of nation is subverted in order to be reinvented, the state and its national security and coercive powers are constantly enhanced while also being ideologically "reformed." The trend is toward less privacy and more surveillance as the tools for digital monitoring are perfected. It all sounds like something out of a bad dystopian sci-fi movie – a "nation" dissolved of meaning, a state omnipresent and growing.

TAKE A TRIP, COME AWAY WITH US—TO SCOTLAND!
Sabine El-Chidiac for AdamSmithWorks/August 09/2022
https://www.adamsmithworks.org/speakings/el-chidiac-trip-to-scotland
Adam Smith's Scotland: A post to plan a trip, remember a trip, or just enjoy the idea of one.
Fans of Adam Smith have long made the trip to the town of Kirkcaldy in Scotland to experience his birthplace and hometown, and to check out Adam Smith House, the location where he once lived with his mother and where he wrote the An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Wealth of Nations). However, there are so many other spots in Scotland to visit for the avid Smith fan. I had the opportunity to visit Scotland several years ago for the wedding of one of my best friends, and took the time to tour as many Adam Smith–related locations as I possibly could while I was there.
If you’re planning a trip to Scotland, or want to take a virtual tour of some places related to Smith from the comfort of your home, follow me as I guide you through the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh as we explore statues, cemeteries, and the old stomping grounds of Adam Smith, David Hume, and many of his contemporaries from the Scottish Enlightenment.
We begin our Smith tour of Scotland at the University of Glasgow: I took an incredible tour via bus all around Glasgow with stops at the university and many other lovely places. At the time that we visited, they had just moved the statue of Adam Smith from where it usually stands, so we went on a campus-wide search for the statue, and we were not going to leave until we found it.
We ended up finally finding the statue at Bute Hall, which is the building where the university holds its convocations. The statue is at the bottom of the grand staircase, and an investigation of Facebook photos from the University of Glasgow’s recent graduation ceremonies show that the statue is still at that location. The statue is incredible, but beware that it might be cordoned off and you won’t be able to get too close. However, it’s beautifully done and to be at the university that Adam Smith taught at was is a wonderful experience itself.
There are also many campus buildings named after Adam Smith at the University of Glasgow, namely the Department of Economics, so I do recommend taking a look around the rest of campus, as it is quite nice to see his name on everything. The university’s gift shop has a wide array of Adam Smith memorabilia for sale. They might still be restocking years later after I cleared out the Adam Smith section. They have everything from Adam Smith mugs, to busts, to Christmas ornaments, so it’s worth checking out. Unfortunately, the gift store worker did not know much about Adam Smith, and was quite keen to understand why I was so interested in him as someone visiting from Canada. I took that opportunity to chat with her about why I loved Smith so much and about the impact he and the Scottish Enlightenment had on me and my development in academia and in my work. I left with several bags of Smith memorabilia and a new friend.
While in Glasgow, my friend and I visited Prezzo’s, a British chain serving delicious Italian food, located in Merchant City. Glasgow’s Merchant City is one of Glasgow’s oldest quarters where in the 1750s you would find the warehouses of wealthy merchants who shipped tobacco, sugar and tea, and later Glasgow’s fruit, vegetable, and cheese market in the 19th century. Although it is now home to trendy bars and restaurants, dining in a quarter with this kind of history might help you connect with the world of Smith and his ideas on trade.
Smith may have taught in Glasgow, but Edinburgh is also a city that commemorates him well. On a trip to Edinburgh, we spent a lot of time on The Royal Mile, or the stretch of street that leads to the British Monarchy’s Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Palace itself is quite the sight, and I would recommend taking a tour if it is available during your visit.
Located at around 192 The Royal Mile, you will find a famous and impressive statue of Adam Smith. Be sure to take a look at the plaque that sits underneath it, as you might recognize some of the names and organizations that helped make this statue a possibility (such as Milton and Rose Friedman, and Liberty Fund, to name just a few). Selfies look great when taken right under the statue with Smith looking on approvingly from above!
A little bit farther down the Royal Mile you will also find the Canongate Kirkyard, a cemetery that is located on the side of the Canongate Kirk Presbyterian church where Adam Smith is buried. Smith’s plot is small and unassuming (as he likely would have liked it), along with a larger tombstone dedicated to him. It’s also worth taking a look around the church itself, as it is quite nice inside.
Farther along the Royal Mile you will also find a fantastic statue of David Hume, fellow Scottish Enlightenment thinker and Smith’s best friend, which was unveiled in 1995. It sits right outside the Edinburgh High Court, a fact that his enlightenment enemies would probably hate.
While in Scotland, I also encourage you to visit some sights that Adam Smith might have liked. The Central Library and 7-9 George IV bridge in Edinburgh is a delightful place that I imagine Smith might have visited to read and write. There is also a breathtaking monument to Sir Walter Scott at East Princes St. Gardens, an author I would venture to guess Smith might have very much enjoyed. Some believe Scott was influenced by Scottish enlightenment thinkers to include ideas of sympathy and progressivism in his writing, while remaining somewhat skeptical of modernity.
One sight that Smith might have snickered at is the Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington located at the Royal Exchange Square in Edinburgh. Legend has it that some drunken revelers climbed the statue and placed a traffic cone on his head, and ever since then each time a city official climbs up to remove it, it is replaced almost immediately the same evening by other drunken revelers. The Duke is rarely ever seen without a traffic cone perched upon his head. As you can see:
Of course, Kirkcaldy should be a stop for all Smith fans, and one suggestion from a local is to grab a meal in South Queensferry with a view over to Fife, one restaurant they would recommend for such a view is Scotts at Port Edgar Marina. It’s important to remember, however, that all over Scotland the keen Smith-loving traveller has countless opportunities to walk in the footsteps of the giants of the Scottish Enlightenment, and encounter the sights and people of cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh through their eyes.

US, Iran may be close to sealing new nuclear deal
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/August 09/2022
The escalation of global tensions as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China-Taiwan stand-off, the medical and economic crises, and the exchanges between the Israeli state and the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement has overshadowed the Iran nuclear deal talks.
Is reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action still on the table? Maybe it is no longer a breaking news story, but the Iranian regime and the US administration are definitely still trying to resurrect the 2015 agreement. On Thursday, a sudden call was made to all the international negotiating parties to resume the nuclear talks with Iran.
In fact, the indirect Vienna talks between Tehran and Washington had already begun, with a meeting between Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and the EU’s European External Action Service Deputy Secretary-General Enrique Mora. The latter returned to his shuttling between Bagheri Kani and US special envoy to Iran Robert Malley. In an op-ed published by the Financial Times late last month, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell revealed that he had presented a new framework to relaunch the JCPOA.
It may indeed be the happy ending that the leaders of Iran and the US wish for if what the BBC published is proven true. It reported that an anonymous European official stated that Tehran’s demand for Washington to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its official blacklist of “foreign terrorist organizations” had been dropped from the discussions and would instead be dealt with “in the future.” The source also revealed to the BBC that Washington would guarantee that no future US president could withdraw from the new deal.
However, the government in Tehran must realize that the US is a democratic country whose president is elected by its citizens. Therefore, no law obliges any future president not to cancel any agreement reached by a former leader.
The Iranians are clever enough to be well aware of this fact, but it does not matter what happens in the future, as long as it receives billions of dollars once the sanctions against this rogue state are lifted. As long as the Democrats are in power, nothing terrible will ever happen to them.
In the meantime, Tehran would be able to equip the IRGC to become the most significant force in the region, which would destabilize the already fragile security of some of Washington’s major allies.
During a meeting in Tehran on Saturday, IRGC head Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami told Ziad Nakhaleh, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s general-secretary, that his country was committed to supporting the movement until the end. Salami said that “all the anti-Zionist” capabilities “are on the scene in a united formation working to liberate Jerusalem and uphold the rights of the Palestinian people.”
The Iranian regime had been sending signals that Washington should be aware that the upcoming hours in Vienna could be decisive.
How can Biden turn a blind eye to all the strategic threats of the Iranian regime unless there are reasons directly related to his unsecure position inside the US?
Prior to his departure to the Austrian capital, Malley posted on Twitter that he was preparing to resume the talks. “Our expectations are in check, but the United States welcomes EU efforts and is prepared for a good faith attempt to reach a deal. It will shortly be clear if Iran is prepared for the same,” his post read. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime had been sending signals through various channels that Washington should be aware that the upcoming hours in Vienna could be decisive.
The Tehran Times quoted an anonymous Iranian diplomat as saying that the stability of an agreement lies in its balance. “Confidence for confidence. The alleged safeguards-related issues were created and had been continuing with political pressure and are political in nature. They must not be a pretext for future abuse against Iran,” the source said.
Iran gave Biden a deadline to increase the built-in pressure before the midterm elections, while the White House has been facing challenges left and right. If Malley’s team acquiesces to Iran’s demands, the gates of hell will be opened in the region. The result will harm many of Biden’s allies, while Tehran and its proxy militias will be the biggest winners.
*Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi