English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 16/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.december16.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come
Saint John 07/32-36/:”The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about Jesus, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’ The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, “You will search for me and you will not find me” and, “Where I am, you cannot come”?’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 15-16/2021
GCC Urges End to Hizbullah 'Terrorist Activities, Support for Militias'
Aoun: Government will fulfill its obligations in order to complete financed projects
Lebanon: Aoun Calls for Amending the Constitution
Miqati 'Won't Call for Cabinet Session' despite Aoun's Plea
Berri Says Ready to 'Walk' to Baabda if He Senses Positivity
Khalil to File New Lawsuit as Bitar Looks into Russian Satellite Images
Lira Recovers after BDL Intervenes to Halt Freefall
Santa Closed: In Beirut, Crisis Snuffs Out Christmas Spirit
EU health agency calls for 'strong action' as omicron spreads
Army Chief discusses with Hofman relations between armies of two countries
Mashaal arrives in Lebanon
Lebanon orders deportation of Shia Bahraini opposition group members
It Is An Approach, Not An 'Incident'/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/December, 15/2021
Time to Target Hezbollah’s Illicit Finance Facilitators/Danny Citrinowicz and Emanuele Ottolenghi/The Dispatch/December 15/2021
The Syrian Regime, Hezbollah and Pro-Iranian Militias and the Organized Crime-Terrorism Nexus/Charles Elias Chartouni/December 15/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 15-16/2021
Syrian soldier killed in Israeli missile attack on southern area
Guterres Appeals to US, Iran for Return to Nuclear Agreement
Iranian mouthpiece threatens Israel with map of targets
Israeli Intelligence Minister Says Syria Must Not Have Chemical Weapons
Iran Will Allow New Un Cameras at Karaj Nuclear Site
U.N. Nuclear Chief Says View of Iran Blurred
Gulf leaders conclude GCC summit in Riyadh, calling for unity, solidarity
Gulf Summit: Solidarity, Stability, Economic Integration
KSA Seeks 'Serious' Approach to Iran Nuclear Program
UN Chief Says Cross-Border Aid to Syria's Idlib Vital
EU to Hit Russia With New Sanctions If Ukraine Attacked
Grundberg Promotes Political Process, Gradual Progress to End Yemeni Conflict
Arab Coalition Destroys Four Houthi Drones, Kills 210 terrorists
Tunisia Opposition Objects on Saied's Decision to Extend Parliament Freeze
Turkey, UAE say they want deeper cooperation, trade after Dubai talks
EU Health Agency Says Time Too Short for 'Vaccination Alone' to Halt Omicron

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 15-16/2021
Qatar’s presence in eastern Mediterranean benefits Egypt, Turkey/Mohamed Saied/Al-Monitor/December 15, 2021
Fatah wins small victory in Palestinian local elections/Daoud Kuttab/Al-Monitor/December 15/2021
Can an Ex-President Claim Privilege for Communications While He Was President?/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/December 15/ 2021
Rewarding Iran/Ibrahim al-Zobeidi/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 15-16/2021
GCC Urges End to Hizbullah 'Terrorist Activities, Support for Militias'
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
A Gulf Cooperation Council summit has called for prohibiting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah "from carrying out its terrorist activities and supporting terrorist militias that threaten the stability of Arab countries."Lebanon's ties with Gulf states have grown increasingly strained in recent years because of Hizbullah’s growing influence and its interference in regional conflicts. A Lebanese minister's recent remarks on the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen's war sparked a row with Gulf countries that has exacerbated Lebanon's multiple crises. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia in cross-border attacks, using drones and missiles. Riyadh has meanwhile staged a deadly military campaign in support of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.

Aoun: Government will fulfill its obligations in order to complete financed projects
NNA/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received World Bank Regional Director in the Middle East, Mr. Sarouj Kumar Jah, today at the Presidential Palace. The President tackled, with Kumar Jah, the files that the World Bank is working to finance in Lebanon, especially the social safety net project which provides cash assistance to needy groups of the Lebanese society. Kumar Jah thanked the President for the support provided to start this project, which benefits several families who are supposed to begin receiving this aid starting next March. Moreover, the meeting addressed the role of the World Bank in financing gas and electricity import to Lebanon through Egypt, Jordan and Syria, and the procedures to be followed to expedite this issue. In addition, Kumar Jah asserted that the World Bank continues to provide support to Lebanon in financing several vital and basic projects after overcoming the obstacles which prevent their speedy completion. For his part, President Aoun thanked Kumar Jah for his efforts to help Lebanon, and stressed that the Lebanese government will fulfil its obligations in order to complete the projects financed by the World Bank. ---Presidency Press Office

Lebanon: Aoun Calls for Amending the Constitution
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
President Michel Aoun announced that he was in favor of holding a cabinet session despite being boycotted by Shiite ministers, in a remarkable stance against his ally, Hezbollah. “We are faced with the necessity of choosing between politics and the judiciary, so what will prevail?” Aoun asked, stressing that it was not possible to keep the government paralyzed, “as there are matters that need urgent decisions, including, for example, approving the budget.”The president’s remarks came on Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation of the Syndicate of Press Editors. The cabinet has not met since Oct. 12 amid a row over a probe into last year's deadly Beirut port blast. Hezbollah and its allies have pushed to remove the lead investigator of the explosion, accusing him of political bias. On his relation with Hezbollah, the Lebanese president said: “There are things that must be said between friends, and we call for abiding by the constitution, because disrespecting it will lead to chaos.” Aoun emphasized “a great deal of understanding” with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, noting that different opinions on some matters “do not mean disagreement.”Asked whether he would accept that his term be extended by Parliament in the event of failure to hold the elections, the president underlined that there would be no vacuum, reiterating that he would leave office at the end of his presidential tenure. Aoun rejected claims that he was seeking to restore the presidential system, saying: “The current authority is consensual with three presidents, and therefore it is difficult to rule… We hope that after these events, the situation will change.”Pointing to the need to amend the constitution, he stated: “I consider it the end of a certain era that extended over 30 years and needs to be changed.” “I will not be able to achieve this in the remaining year of my term, but I announce it,” the president added, referring to the Taif Agreement. On whether he was confident that the elections will take place in the spring, the Lebanese president said: “The elections will take place. What I changed is their date, from March 27 to May 8 or 15, and we will agree on that.”

Miqati 'Won't Call for Cabinet Session' despite Aoun's Plea
Naharnet/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Prime Minister Najib Miqati will not call for a Cabinet session, despite President Michel Aoun’s latest suggestion in this regard, a media report said on Wednesday. “I will not call now for a Cabinet session, seeing as the circumstances and timing do not allow for holding it, and those who rush things do not achieve their objective,” a parliamentary source quoted Miqati as saying, in remarks published by al-Joumhouria newspaper. “How can the president, who has the same belief, call on Miqati to hold a Cabinet session attended by the willing parties? Is this call aimed at overbidding and populism?” the source asked. Aoun had said Tuesday that he “supports calling for a Cabinet session, even if it gets boycotted” by Hizbullah, Amal Movement and their allies. “The (government’s) paralysis cannot persist,” Aoun said in a meeting with the Editors’ Syndicate. “There are matters that need to be addressed,” he added.
Cabinet has not convened since October 14, when a political crisis erupted over Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe into the Beirut port blast, with Hizbullah and Amal demanding that a decision be taken in Cabinet to remove him over alleged bias. Aoun's camp and other parties have meanwhile voiced their rejection of any political interference in the judiciary.

Berri Says Ready to 'Walk' to Baabda if He Senses Positivity
Naharnet/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Wednesday that he is willing to “go on foot to the Baabda Palace to meet President Michel Aoun” if he senses “the presence of positivity as to resolving the crisis that we are going through.”
Addressing Higher Judicial Council chief Judge Suheil Abboud, Berri said the Council “should have a role in the issue of investigative judge Tarek Bitar,” who is leading the probe into the catastrophic Beirut port blast. “Honestly, had the Higher Judicial Council practiced its role, we would not have reached the current sectarianization in the judiciary,” Berri added, in a meeting with a delegation from the Editors Syndicate. Moreover, he said that his Amal Movement and Hizbullah “do not want to sectarianize the judiciary.” “We don’t want to topple Bitar and what we only want is a return to the law and constitution, and this is what I said to the patriarch,” Berri added, calling for “implementing the constitution’s articles, especially in the issue related to the port blast.”Noting that the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers should handle the case of the ex-PM and former ministers who are accused in the port case, Berri said he had “agreed on these points” with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, noting that the head of the Maronite church also “announced that the presidents (Aoun, Berri and Miqati) had committed” to the proposed solution. “But this agreement was quickly torpedoed,” the Speaker lamented, noting that “those who blew up this consensus are those who work in the black room that oversees operations in this case.” Separately, Berri decried that “Lebanon is under siege,” adding that “it is unbelievable that Israel, the enemy, is opening up to Arabs as we’re witnessing today while Arabs are closing their doors in the face of Lebanon.”“Lebanon paid hefty prices to enshrine its Arabism and identity,” the Speaker went on to say. As for the issue of the parliamentary elections, Berri reassured that “the elections will take place within the constitutional timeframe,” while noting that he respects that the ruling that will be issued by the Constitutional Council on the appeal that has been filed by the Strong Lebanon bloc against the electoral law’s amendments.

Berri meets Editors Syndicate delegation
NNA - House Speaker met Wednesday at his Ain-el-Tineh residence with a delegation of the Editors' Syndicate, to whom he asserted that "the parliamentary elections will be definitely held on their scheduled constitutional date."
Berri added that "Lebanon is under Arab siege, while Israel managed to break it.""I am ready to go to Baabda Palace on foot to meet with President of the Republic Michel Aoun, if I sense positivity as to finding a solution to the current crisis," he went on to say. Berri also highlighted the necessity that the Higher Judicial Council plays a role regarding judicial investigator Judge Tarek Bitar. Separately, the Speaker received Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi, with whom he discussed the current general situation and the security condition

Khalil to File New Lawsuit as Bitar Looks into Russian Satellite Images
Naharnet/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The lawyers of ex-minister Ali Hassan Khalil intend to file a new recusal lawsuit in the coming hours against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, informed sources said. The sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that the lawsuit will be filed before the Civil Court of Cassation that is chaired by Judge Naji Eid. Khalil’s lawyers “are racing against time and are the ones in the most hurry to recuse Bitar in this period, especially after the latter returned the in-absentia arrest warrant issued against their client to the public prosecution and asked that it be enforced as soon as possible,” the sources added. Bitar’s move “embarrassed the public prosecution, which found itself obliged to refer it to security agencies,” the sources went on to say.
Separately, a judicial source told the daily that Bitar “looked into the content of the Russian satellite images of the Port of Beirut, which were taken by a Russian satellite before and during the (August 4, 2020) explosion.”Describing the images as “good,” the sources revealed that Bitar “took the information he wants and will make use of it in his investigations.” Asked whether the images reveal the cause of the explosion or whether it was the result of an aerial strike, the source said such information “are part of the confidentiality of the investigation and cannot be revealed except in the indictment that will be issued by Bitar after the completion of all aspects of the probe.”

Lira Recovers after BDL Intervenes to Halt Freefall
Naharnet/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The dollar exchange rate on Lebanon’s black market witnessed a major drop on Wednesday morning, hours after the central bank announced in a statement that it would take a host of measures aimed at halting the Lebanese lira’s freefall.
The exchange rate had hit a record high of LBP 29,000 on Tuesday evening before dropping to around LBP 26,450 on Wednesday. The central bank had announced overnight that a meeting was held between Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Finance Minister Youssef al-Khalil and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, in which the conferees discussed means to curb the collapse of the lira exchange rate. The central bank accordingly decided to take measures that include “supplying the operating banks with its cash share for the rest of this month in USD instead of Lebanese lira based on the Sayrafa platform exchange rate.”The bank added that its measures would contribute to “lowering market demand for dollars and increasing demand for the Lebanese pound.”

Santa Closed: In Beirut, Crisis Snuffs Out Christmas Spirit
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Beirut in December was once a shopping extravaganza, where day-long traffic jams clogged streets decked out with flashing Christmas lights and building-sized billboards advertising champagne and jewelry. In barely two years of a brutal economic collapse, the lights have gone out on Beirut's commercial heyday and power shortages have left the city's streets shrouded in gloom. This year, the roadside billboards tell a different, more frugal story: one that reflects the worst financial crisis to ever hit the once free-spending Middle Eastern country. Steel safes, banknote counters, discounts on money transfers -- the offers plastered on the bridges straddling the main highway into Beirut aren't your typical Christmas pleasers. "Sales of safes and vaults have increased by 35 to 50 percent since the start of the economic crisis in 2019," a sales representative at Smartsecurity LB, one of the main retailers in Lebanon, told AFP. Alarms and CCTV systems are also selling like hot cakes. The lack of trust in banks that are widely blamed for the worst financial crisis in Lebanon's history has raised the estimated amount of cash stashed away in Lebanese homes to a whopping $10 billion. "We're at minus 90 percent compared to pre-2019 crisis levels," said Antonio Vincenti, chairman of the Pikasso out-of-home advertising company, a market leader in Lebanon.
- 'Last Christmas' -
The banks, whose campaigns were once ubiquitous on his billboards, are insolvent, sometimes replaced by money transfer companies offering to funnel the diaspora's precious dollars into the country. "Digital screens remain switched off, mostly because of the problems we face in electricity supply," Vincenti said. The government provides barely two hours a day of mains electricity and the cost of powering the screens with newly non-subsidized diesel would outstrip the income from clients. In Beirut's long-deserted downtown area, where luxury brands used to be concentrated, one apologetic Christmas sign still flashes at night with the words: "Despite it all". On Hamra, a main thoroughfare in central Beirut, there is little left of the high street Christmas shopping vibe and the mood echoes the popular hashtag "Santa bala shanta" (Santa without a sack). Municipality budgets cannot keep traffic lights switched on, let alone the miles of string lights that used to canopy the street throughout December. Even Wham's usually unescapable seasonal hit "Last Christmas" is nowhere to be heard, a relief to some perhaps, but a sure sign that something has changed.
On shop windows, Christmas sale posters are outnumbered by "We're Closed" signs -- and beggars have replaced Santa impersonators on the street outside.
'No joy left'
The busiest shops are foreign exchange booths, which now provide free black plastic bags in which to carry out bulging wads of the ever depreciating Lebanese pound. Four out of five Lebanese are now considered poor, according to the U.N. income threshold of $2 a day. At a supermarket in an upscale neighborhood of the capital, a half-bottle of the cheapest champagne costs 900,000 Lebanese pounds, substantially more than the minimum monthly wage, now worth less than $25 on the black market. In previous years, gigantic pyramids of panettone and Christmas hampers overflowing with foie gras and cognac obstructed the aisles. "This year there's an offer on detergent! Buy one, get one free," Christine Kreidy said, laughing, as she pushed her empty trolley past the welcome displays and into the silent store. "I suppose it's an opportunity to focus on the real meaning of Christmas but I have to admit I used to enjoy Christmas shopping," the 49-year-old said. "That's the thing though in Lebanon now: whether it's Christmas or any other day, there's no joy left."

EU health agency calls for 'strong action' as omicron spreads
NNA/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday that vaccinations on their own would not be enough to halt the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant. The agency has called for "strong action" as it raised the risk assessment for omicron to "very high.""In the current situation, vaccination alone will not allow us to prevent the impact of the omicron variant, because there will be no time to address the vaccination gaps that still exist," ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said in a statement. The ECDC has called for the reintroduction of mask-wearing, hand sanitizing, working from home and curbs on crowded spaces to help stop the spread of the virus. The European health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, said in a tweet that, "Omicron is a real threat, and will likely become the dominant variant by the start of 2022."

Army Chief discusses with Hofman relations between armies of two countries
NNA/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Armed Forces Commander, General Joseph Aoun, received at his office in Yarzeh, the Belgian Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Michel Hofman, and an accompanying delegation. Discussions touched on bilateral relations between the armies of the two countries.

Mashaal arrives in Lebanon
NNA/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Head of Hamas Movement's Diaspora Office, Khaled Mashaal, arrived Wednesday in Lebanon on top of a delegation.

Lebanon orders deportation of Shia Bahraini opposition group members
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/15 December ,2021
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi ordered the country’s General Security to deport members of Bahrain’s Shia Wefaq opposition party after they held a conference that sparked the ire of Manama, state-run media reported Wednesday. The order was sent in a letter from Mawlawi to General Security to deport the non-Lebanese members of the party, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Mawlawi’s move came as a result of the press conference held in Beirut on Dec. 12, 2021, which “harms relations between Lebanon and the Kingdom of Bahrain and [negatively] impacts Lebanon’s national interests.”

Lebanon’s Crises Raise Suicide Rates Among Youth
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Since the beginning of the month, insomnia has haunted Arwa, a 35-year-old Lebanese woman. She keeps losing sleep, tossing around in her bed over feelings of guilt, longing, and nostalgia for her friend who committed suicide last year. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Arwa reminisces over the memory of her lost friend, Mazen, whom she recalls as obliging to all those who sought his help. He left behind a letter to his family and friends asking them not to grieve losing him, according to Arwa. “Mazen poisoned himself in an olive grove and left for good,” she said. For Arwa, Mazen isn’t the first close person to take their life. She had experienced the same pain three years ago when her maternal aunt also chose to end her life. “I was at work when my phone rang. My mom told me that my aunt had killed herself. I couldn’t comprehend the words, and my mind couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” she recounted. “I lived this painful experience twice, and I will never forget them...they are both gone, and we are the ones who stay to suffer the pain of parting, for sure they are in a better place,” said Arwa in a choking voice. Since 2019, the lives of many Lebanese have been turned upside down as the country plunged into the worst economic crisis in its history. This led to the impoverishment of most of the Lebanese and deprived them of their most basic life rights such as food, medicine, electricity, and fuel. Making matters worse, the shock of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, cast a dark shadow on the mental health of the Lebanese. The specialist and psychological therapist who supervises the “Embrace” lifeline, Reve Romanos, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the number of calls received by the organization for people under psychological pressure and in need of help has tripled in 2021.

It Is An Approach, Not An 'Incident'
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/December, 15/2021
The scene we saw recently at the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp next to the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Friday is one we have seen many times before. It is a play of three successive acts. Act one: the tragedy. In this camp, where over 20,000 people live, weapons and ammunition depot belonging to Hamas Movement explodes. According to the most circulated narrative, the explosion was ignited by a fire that had broken out in the Ubbay bin Kaab Mosque in the middle of the camp. The outcome, though the numbers are not yet confirmed, is two dead and a number (?) of wounded and injured.
Act two: the lie. Hamas issues a statement saying: “After looking into the facts of the incident and listening to eyewitnesses, it became apparent to us that it had been caused by an electrical short circuit in a warehouse containing a quantity of oxygen and gas cylinders designated for coronavirus patients, as well as cleaning and sterilization equipment.” The statement added that the supplies “were supposed to be distributed as part of a relief effort.”
Act three: the factions clash. During the funeral held for Hamza Chahine, one of those who had lost their lives because of the explosion, a clash erupted between armed men from the Palestinian factions Hamas and Fateh, leaving four dead and eight injured.
The arms depots, the rise in deaths (from 2 to 4), and contempt for people’s intelligence, including the victims’ families, are yet another indication of the kind of approach to which Hamas, as well as that of the organizations that resemble it, has adopted for managing the conflict with Israel. What is important is the tools of violence. Humans are details. The mosque’s sanctity is also a detail. Lebanon itself is a detail; its desecration, the desecration of the mosque, and taking human life are always justifiable when done for the sake of the ‘cause.’We are thus facing a new form of experimentation with this formula that puts weapons in one spot and the residents (with their property, meanings, symbols, and shrines) in another. Hezbollah’s arsenal, which at least four-quarters of the Lebanese people reject, is a model school for teaching this approach: what is important is the weapons, not what people think of those weapons or the harm that befalls the people because of them.
Indeed, the Port of Beirut explosion during last year's summer inaugurated a new and very advanced stage of this approach’s implementation that Hamas, Hezbollah, and the other parties to the axis of resistance follow: storing Ammonium Nitrate, which cannot happen and is impossible to understand outside the framework of plunging Lebanon into armed conflicts that the Lebanese have no right to interfere with (that was before it became clear that investigating the matter should not be interfered with either). That is exactly what a cause’s decay looks like: the absence of any bridge between residents’ lives and the weapons and for the arsenal’s cause to become entirely separate from the people, that is, something devoid of anything noble, to say nothing about being progressive or liberating. This kind of arsenal has the capacity, at any moment, to target the people themselves as superfluous beings that can be done without. Over the past few years, we have seen the implementation of the most advanced stages of this approach, that is, the Syrian regime’s horrifying implementation: the regime’s survival and confronting “the war on Syria” with an arsenal of chemical weapons, barrel bombs and all the death and broad displacement they produce. Here, let’s remind these forces living off a certain militant cause of the Latin concept ‘Jus Ad Bellum,’ that is, the principles and criteria that make war just: having just cause, waging war only as a last resort, and having it declared by a proper authority, having the right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end of the war being proportional to the means used.
Almost none of these requisites are met by our belligerents who blow people up, their people, and then lie to them, as well as desecrating everything in their hands or touching their hands. It could be said that very few wars meet the criteria mentioned above. While that is true, it is also true that the gap that separates them from those criteria is rarely as large as that we are seeing in our region today. For this reason, it would be correct to describe the epoch we are living in as one of decay: the justice and righteousness of these fighters’ causes have been and continue to be eaten away by these causes’ injustice.
Those who were living in Beirut on the eve of the 1982 war know what this decay means. The same approach, applied on a broader scale, strikes again. Today, as the talk about wars erupting in our region blooms, there are fears that we are on the cusp of going back to square one.

داني سيترينوفيتش وإيمانويل أوتولينغي/ موقع ديسباتش : حان الوقت لإستهداف مسهلي تمويل حزب الله المخالف لكل الشرّع
Time to Target Hezbollah’s Illicit Finance Facilitators
Danny Citrinowicz and Emanuele Ottolenghi/The Dispatch/December 15/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/104835/danny-citrinowicz-emanuele-time-to-target-hezbollahs-illicit-finance-facilitators-%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%88%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b4-%d9%88%d8%a5/
A hack on the group’s official bank yielded a trove of information that the Biden administration could use to implement sanctions.
In December 2020, an anonymous group called SpiderZ hacked Hezbollah’s unofficial bank, the U.S.-sanctioned al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH). The hacked files include account information for nearly 400,000 individuals and entities. In addition to average Lebanese citizens, the documents exposed expatriates, Hezbollah cadres and institutions, so-called “major depositors,” Iranian entities, and, importantly, the Lebanese banks that serviced AQAH.
The AQAH leak offers the Biden administration a much better understanding of how Hezbollah self-funds. The leak also provides data that would facilitate any U.S. effort to launch a sustained sanctions campaign against Hezbollah’s financiers, deny them access to the financial system, and ensure that targeted sanctions against Hezbollah continue to diminish the terror group’s ability to transfer funds raised overseas—often through illicit means—back to its headquarters. Yet since taking office in January, the Biden administration has refrained from exploiting the SpiderZ treasure trove, sanctioning only a handful of AQAH managers in May 2021.
This is a mistake the Biden administration needs to urgently rectify. The U.S. pressure campaign against Hezbollah that the George W. Bush administration launched and that continued, up to a point, under the Obama administration was successful because it relentlessly sustained multiple, protracted, and coordinated law enforcement actions and sanctions. Conversely, when the Obama administration relented in the mistaken belief that continued pressure against Hezbollah, an Iran proxy, could jeopardize nuclear negotiations with Tehran, Hezbollah’s illicit financial networks were able to regroup and reorganize. Without enforcement, follow-ups, and updating of sanctions, Hezbollah has been able to simply replace sanctioned officials with new ones and keep its funding streams flowing.
A case in point is the action the Obama administration took in 2009 against a key fundraiser for Hezbollah, Sheikh Abd El Menhem Qubaysi, the head of the Shiite mosque and al-Ghadir Association in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s capital. The Treasury Department sanctioned the Al-Ghadir Association and Sheikh Qubaisy, having identified him as the personal representative in Africa for Hezbollah’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. Treasury noted that Qubaysi “hosted senior Hizballah officials traveling to Cote d’Ivoire and other parts of Africa to raise money for Hizballah.”
Treasury even considered Qubaysi a quasi-ambassador for Hezbollah, including “speaking at Hizballah fundraising events and sponsoring meetings with high-ranking members of the terrorist organization.” Additionally, Qubaysi helped establish an official Hezbollah foundation in Cote d’Ivoire, “which has been used to recruit new members for Hizballah’s military ranks in Lebanon.”
Coupled with U.S. diplomatic pressure, Treasury sanctions resulted in Qubaysi’s deportation from Cote d’Ivoire. The initial success, however, was short-lived. Hezbollah eventually appointed Sheikh Ghaleb Khojok, another Hezbollah cleric, to replace Qubaysi in Abidjan. Khojok is the imam of the U.S.-sanctioned al-Ghadir Association, which continues to operate despite U.S. sanctions. He is also a major financial supporter of AQAH. The SpiderZ AQAH leaks indicate Khojok is one of the group’s major depositors, with an account in U.S. currency—likely evidence that he is a money collector for financial contributions from Hezbollah’s local supporters and activities.
Khojok, unlike his predecessor Qubaysi, is not under U.S. sanctions and is thus able to continue propaganda, indoctrination, recruitment, and fundraising activities for his overlords. His role as a major contributor to AQAH alone should be grounds for a U.S. designation. Lack of U.S. follow-up since 2009 against al-Ghadir’s fundraising activities in Cote d’Ivoire means that Washington has only briefly disrupted Hezbollah’s financial streams, which successfully resumed once Qubaysi’s replacement emerged.
Sanctions can be effective against illicit financial networks but, like locks on doors designed to prevent break-ins, they need to be constantly maintained, improved, and replaced with better ones in order to stay a step ahead of the criminals they are meant to deter.
The Biden administration should waste no time and designate Sheikh Khojok and numerous other AQAH account holders exposed by the SpiderZ leak who, much like Khojok, are key facilitators for Hezbollah’s illicit finance operations overseas.
*Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan research institute based in Washington, DC, that focuses on national security and foreign policy. Major (Res.) Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz is a senior fellow at the Institute for Strategy and Policy in Israel and a senior analyst at Maisha Group Ltd. Follow them on Twitter @eottolenghi and @Citrinowicz.

شارل الياس شرتوني: النظام السوري، حزب الله ، الميليشيات الموالية لإيران والعلاقة بين الجريمة المنظمة والإرهاب
The Syrian Regime, Hezbollah and Pro-Iranian Militias and the Organized Crime-Terrorism Nexus
Charles Elias Chartouni/December 15/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/104825/charles-elias-chartouni-the-syrian-regime-hezbollah-and-pro-iranian-militias-and-the-organized-crime-terrorism-nexus/
The important NYTimes report (December, 5 2021) on the transformation of Syria into a narco-State (captagon production) in connection with Hezbollah and the drug ring leaders (Nouh Zeaiter and ilk) operating on the interfaces between the two countries(Syria and Lebanon), the active sabotaging of civil peace in both Lebanon and Iraq and politically motivated assassinations in both countries, and the diligent spawning of internecine conflicts all across the Near Eastern geopolitical spectrum are quite challenging. The most striking feature of the Iranian destabilization strategy is its operational configuration structured on a continuum between political terrorism and organized criminality which aptly qualifies rogue states. The active action on political disruption based on the merger between terrorism and organized criminality has been a hallmark of totalitarian movements in the thirties of the Twentieth century Europe (Communism, Nazism, Fascism), the Cold Era whereby the Soviet Union and China enlisted and instrumentalized leftist terror movements ( Brigada Rota, Baader -Meinhoff, Japanese Red Army, Palestinian paramilitary groups PFLP, DFLP, Latin American communist guerrilla piloted by Fidel Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, Daniel Ortega, Abimael Guzmán …), the Islamist terror movements (al Qaida, ISIS, Islamic Brotherhood splinter groups…) and the terrorist movements piloted by the Iranian regime and entrusted to the various Hezbollah branches and led by its Lebanese headquarters.
What are witnessing at this time is the revival of the well tested modus operandi of the Cold War era whereby organized criminality (illegal drugs production and circulation, illegal economic activities, money laundering, arm smuggling ….) coalesce with terrorist undertakings, targeted political assassinations, assiduous subversion activities and shifting coalitions aimed at the creation and perpetuation of conflict zones as testified by the composite destabilization strategy scripted and enforced by Hezbollah and its clones, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, the Palestinian camps in Lebanon and Yemen…,. The fusion between terror and organized criminality locates on a continuum, and is a basic given if we were to make sense of the mobile and microcosmic nature of the post Cold War brand of conflicts. The emerging geopolitics of a disintegrating Middle Eastern geopolitical order is made up of ruptures, rhizomatic conflicts and disarrayed political architecture which evinces the structural defects of territorial statehood and its endemic and self defeating inabilities in our region.
The inability of the Syrian regime to regain legitimacy, rebuild State institutions and oversee,reconciliation and reconstruction processes, is paralleled by its transformation into a narco-State run by a a criminal military and sectarian Alawite oligarchy and its domestic minions), backed up by outright Russian tutelage and ambiguous relationships with Iran and its Lebanese Hezbollah piloting group. The criminal-terrorist nexus is the functional equivalent of Syria’s, Lebanon’s and Iraq’s inability to rebuild sustainable State structures based on nomothetic foundations and constitutional exercise of power. The very survival of the self defeating Islamic dystopia in Iran depends on its ability to disrupt, prevent and thwart any attempt at rebuilding embedded State structures based on working relationships with hypothetical, let alone inexistant or rudimentary civil societies. The disruptions of elections in Iraq, the repeated assassination attempts at the prime minister’s life, the “Anschlusspolitik” in the aforementioned States based on shady alliances, instrumentalization, coercion and the unabashed destruction of democratic polity and civility in Lebanon, the determination to overhaul its geopolitical configuration on the basis of a newly created Shiite political entity, and the recomposition of the regional interstate order, have meticulously proceeded on the multiple interfaces of Terrorism and organized criminality and will continue to do so, if consensual and federating political agendas fail to contain the inevitable consequences of a totalitarian dystopia and its strategic mandates.
The psychotic nature of this criminal Islamic dystopia is hardly reformable and elicits inevitably conflicts in a region that lost its multiple gravities. When Naim Kassem (vice Secretary of the Hezbollah) invites opponents to the Hezbollah bolting dictatorship and subversion to quit if they are unhappy, one wonders what’s left of Lebanon’s liberal and democratic credentials, basic civility and future as an independent political entity. The unleashed politics of Islamic imperialism are destructive and put at stake the region’s geopolitical stability, civil concord, European and Western strategic security and World peace at large.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 15-16/2021
Syrian soldier killed in Israeli missile attack on southern area
The Associated Press/16 December ,2021
Syria’s military said Israeli rockets hit army posts in the country’s south early Thursday, killing one soldier and causing material damage. State media quoted an unidentified military official as saying that rockets fired from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights activated Syrian air defenses and that most of the incoming missiles were intercepted. But one Syrian soldier was killed and there was damage to the area, the official added, without specifying where the missiles hit in southern Syria. Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled Syria in recent years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets the bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah group that has fighters deployed in Syria. It says it attacks arms shipments believed to be bound for the militias. Hezbollah is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces in the country's decade-old civil war. Israel says the Iranian presence on its northern frontier is a red line, justifying its strikes on facilities and weapons inside Syria.

Guterres Appeals to US, Iran for Return to Nuclear Agreement
Washington - Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The United Nations chief on Tuesday encouraged the US and Iran to build on the work already accomplished in earlier rounds of diplomatic engagements and to return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program (JCPOA) and resolution 2231 as soon as possible. “I appealed to the US to lift or waive its sanctions as outlined in the Plan… and I appeal to Iran to return to full implementation of the Plan and to reverse the steps that it has taken since July 2019, which it pledged are reversible,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his 12th biannual briefing on Resolution 2231 of July 2015, which endorsed the JCPOA. “Those steps are needed to facilitate the full and proper implementation of the Plan and resolution,” he said. On Tuesday, the Security Council was briefed on Guterres’ latest report on the implementation of the resolution.
Guterres said that despite difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Plan in recent years, he has always believed that it represents the best option available to realize the goals of non-proliferation, multilateral diplomacy and regional security in a manner that delivers tangible economic benefits for the Iranian people. The Secretary-General said he was encouraged by the diplomatic engagements to facilitate the return of the US and Iran to full and effective implementation of the Plan and the resolution. However, he said that in its most recent reports, the International Atomic Energy Agency documented that Tehran has continued its research and development activities related to uranium metal production. Guterres revealed that while the Agency has not been able to verify the total enriched uranium stockpile in Iran, it estimated that, as at 6 November 2021, its stockpile was 2,489.7 kg (above the limit of 202.8 kg), including 113.8 kg enriched to 20 per cent uranium-235 and 17.7 kg enriched to 60 per cent uranium-235. “I further urge Iran to carefully consider and address the other concerns raised by participants in the Plan and by other Member States in relation to resolution 2231,” he said. Although the Security Council called upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles, Guterres said he had received several letters from Permanent Representatives of France, Germany, the UK, the US and Israel, informing him that Iran had conducted two flight tests of satellite launch vehicles. Talks resumed on salvaging the JCPOA on November 29. Diplomats from Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are attending. Former US President Donald Trump pulled America out of the 2015 agreement during his presidency and US President Joe Biden wants to negotiate their return. Iran wants Washington to lift a raft of sanctions and is asking as well for guarantees.

Iranian mouthpiece threatens Israel with map of targets
Times Of Israel/Agencies/December 15/2021
Responding to talk of IDF strike on nuclear sites, state-affiliated Tehran Times publishes piece saying Israelis need reminder that Iranian forces can hit anywhere they want
Iran’s state-affiliated Tehran Times issued a threat to Israel on Wednesday, publishing a map of the country riddled with markers as a reminder that Iranian forces can ostensibly strike anywhere they want. Alongside a front-page opinion piece headlined “Just one wrong move!” the map showed scores of markers along the length and breadth of the country. Though the paper didn’t specify what the markers represented, the article opened by declaring, “An intensification of the Israeli military threats against Iran seems to suggest that the Zionist regime has forgotten that Iran is more than capable of hitting them from anywhere.” It went on to cite Hebrew media reports about a visit last week by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea to Washington, where they reportedly stressed concerns over Iran’s ballistic missile threat.
The paper also noted that the Israel Defense Forces earlier this month said it will conduct a major air force exercise in the spring simulating a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. The piece quoted Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of general staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, as saying Tuesday that “at the strategic level we do not intend to strike anyone, but at the operational and tactical level we are ready for a decisive response and a quick and tough offensive against the enemy.”
Iran’s state-affiliated Tehran Times issued a threat to Israel on Wednesday, publishing a map of the country riddled with markers as a reminder that Iranian forces can ostensibly strike anywhere they want. Alongside a front-page opinion piece headlined “Just one wrong move!” the map showed scores of markers along the length and breadth of the country. Though the paper didn’t specify what the markers represented, the article opened by declaring, “An intensification of the Israeli military threats against Iran seems to suggest that the Zionist regime has forgotten that Iran is more than capable of hitting them from anywhere.”It went on to cite Hebrew media reports about a visit last week by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea to Washington, where they reportedly stressed concerns over Iran’s ballistic missile threat. The paper also noted that the Israel Defense Forces earlier this month said it will conduct a major air force exercise in the spring simulating a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. The piece quoted Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of general staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, as saying Tuesday that “at the strategic level we do not intend to strike anyone, but at the operational and tactical level we are ready for a decisive response and a quick and tough offensive against the enemy.” “The Tehran Times doesn’t need to remind the illegitimate regime of Israel of Iran’s defense capabilities,” the article said. “Yet they need to remember something.”
The paper then recalled Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks in 2013 that “they are threatening to strike militarily, but I think they know it, and if they do not know it, they must know that if they make a mistake the Islamic Republic will destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa.”
“Keep your hands off!” concluded the newspaper. The Tehran Times piece came as talks are being held in Vienna to save a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that has been unraveling after the US pulled out of the pact.
The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action lifted sanctions from Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program that were aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons. The Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions, claiming the JCPOA was not strict enough and did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program. Since then Iran has also rolled back many of its commitments to the deal, in particular upping its uranium enrichment activities to levels surpassing those permitted in the agreement and raising fears it is becoming a nuclear weapons threshold state. US President Joe Biden has said he is willing to rejoin the JCPOA under the right circumstances but will not lift the sanctions until Iran reverts the progress it has made. Israel, which opposes a US return to the deal without stronger safeguards, has repeatedly said it reserves the right to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if that is what is needed to prevent Tehran from arming with nuclear weapons. With the US, along with European representatives at the nuclear talks, voicing pessimism and frustration over Iran’s demands so far, there have been reports that Israeli and American officials have been studying military options for stopping the Iranian program.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Says Syria Must Not Have Chemical Weapons
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Israel’s intelligence minister said Tuesday that Syria cannot be allowed to obtain chemical weapons, after a report emerged that Israel targeted the country’s chemical weapons facilities. In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, Elazar Stern would not directly comment on the report in the Washington Post that said that Israel struck Syria on two occasions — once this year and once last year — in a bid to block attempts to rebuild its chemical weapons stockpile. But Stern, a retired military general, hinted that Israel could not accept such weapons in the hands of its enemy to the north. “We have a neighbor who has already proved that it doesn’t hesitate to use chemical weapons even against its own people,” he said. “(Syrian President Bashar) Assad must not have chemical weapons.”Military affairs commentators in Israel, who often are briefed by top defense officials, said the timing of the report was not a coincidence and comes as negotiators are meeting with Iran in Vienna to try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, according to The Associated Press.
Iran has close ties with Syria and has sent fighters and advisers to back the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country’s decade-long civil war. “It was a signal to all of the actors, Iran and the United States, that Israel is serious about acting against the development of non-conventional weapons by its enemies,” wrote Yossi Yehoshua in the Yediot Ahronot daily. Israel has long opposed the 2015 nuclear deal between global powers and Iran, which granted Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Instead, it has called for an accord with even tighter safeguards on Iran’s nuclear program and that addresses other Iranian military behavior, such as its missile program and support for anti-Israel militant groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which also has sent fighters to Syria. Israel also supports a “credible” military threat against Iran as leverage.
Israel believes Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon — a charge Iran denies. US intelligence agencies and the IAEA have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003.
Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in Syria — almost all of them aimed at Iranian forces or its proxies. Attacks on Syrian targets are rare. One of the raids cited by the Washington Post, on June 8, was reported by Syrian state media as an Israeli aerial attack near the Syrian capital Damascus and in the central province of Homs, that prompted a response from Syrian national air defenses. There was no mention in official media of what was targeted in the strikes, although loud explosions were heard in Damascus.The Syrian government reported the strike to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in a July 9 letter. In it, Syria acknowledged that two chlorine cylinders were destroyed in an airstrike and had been moved there from Douma, the central Syrian town where the global chemical weapons watchdog agency has said chlorine was used as a weapon against civilians in 2018.
Although the agency did not assign blame for the attack, which killed some 40 people, the US, Britain and France blamed Syria and launched punitive airstrikes. The Syrian Archive, a Berlin-based group that documents human rights violations in Syria with a focus on chemical weapons, said one of the sites has reportedly been described as a chemical production center in the southern region. It said another in central Syria was described by former Syrian military officials, who joined the opposition, as a place where chemicals are stored and where work on developing missiles warheads as well. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that closely monitors the war in Syria, has said the targeted sites included a branch of the military-linked Scientific Studies and Research Center northwest of Homs, in addition to an ammunition depot likely to belong to Hezbollah, south of Homs. The strikes killed 11 soldiers, including a colonel it identified as Ayham Suleiman Ismail. Unconfirmed reports published by pro-Assad media at the time identified Ismail as a leading chemist at the research center.
The center is a government agency described by the Syrians as a facility for the advancement of scientific research. But Syria watchers have long described it as an outfit for the development of chemical, biological and other weapons. Israel is believed to have struck facilities associated with the SSRC on numerous occasions in the past. Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in September 2013, pressed by Russia after a deadly chemical weapons attack that the West blamed on Damascus. By August 2014, the Assad government declared that the destruction of its chemical weapons was completed, but its initial declaration of chemical stockpiles and production sites to the OPCW has remained in dispute. OPCW investigators have blamed at least three chemical attacks in 2017 on President Bashar Assad’s government. The agency last year suspended Syria’s voting rights in the organization. Syria says it has complied with its commitments and wants to continue cooperation with the OPCW. Earlier this year, the UN’s disarmament chief, Izumi Nakamitsu, told the Security Council that Damascus’ declaration of its chemical stockpiles and chemical weapons production sites nearly eight years ago remains incomplete.

Iran Will Allow New Un Cameras at Karaj Nuclear Site
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Iran will allow the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to reinstall cameras damaged at a site where it has centrifuge parts and manufacturing material, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Wednesday. The decision will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran describes as a sabotage attack in June. Iran since had refused the International Atomic Energy Agency access to replace cameras damaged in the incident.  The Vienna-based IAEA did not immediately respond to queries from The Associated Press regarding the reports by the semiofficial ISNA and Tasnim news agencies. The reports said Iran would keep all recordings from the cameras, however, part of another ongoing dispute between the agency and Tehran. The reports came after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reportedly said earlier Wednesday that Iran had "reached a good agreement" with the IAEA. Tehran blamed the Karaj assault on Israel amid a widening regional shadow war since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran´s landmark nuclear accord with world powers. In an interview Tuesday with the AP, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned limited access to Karaj hurt international efforts to monitor Iran's program. "If the international community through us, through the IAEA, is not seeing clearly how many centrifuges or what is the capacity that they may have ... what you have is a very blurred image," Grossi said. "It will give you the illusion of the real image. But not the real image. This is why this is so important."Grossi also dismissed as "simply absurd" an Iranian allegation that saboteurs used the IAEA´s cameras in the attack on the Karaj centrifuge site. Tehran has offered no evidence to support the claim, though it´s another sign of the friction between inspectors and Iran. Negotiations continue in Vienna over trying to restore the nuclear deal. However, Iran under hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi has taken a maximalist position in negotiations. Anxiety is growing among European nations at the negotiating table. "Without swift progress, in light of Iran´s fast-forwarding of its nuclear program, the (deal) will very soon become an empty shell," they recently warned. The US has remained outside of direct talks since abandoning the accord.

U.N. Nuclear Chief Says View of Iran Blurred
Associated Press/15 December ,2021
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has warned that the restrictions faced by his inspectors in Iran threaten to give the world only a "very blurred image" of Tehran's program as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview to The Associated Press, Rafael Mariano Grossi said he wanted to tell Iran that there was "no way around" his inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency if the Islamic Republic wanted to be "a respected country in the community of nations."
"We have to work together," Grossi said from a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, after he visited that country's first nuclear power plant. "They must work together. I will make sure they understand that in us they will have a partner."
Grossi's insistence that the Vienna-based IAEA remained "an auditor" for the world came as negotiations falter in Vienna to revive Tehran's tattered nuclear deal. Hours earlier, the chief of Iran's civilian nuclear program insisted his country would refuse the agency access to a sensitive centrifuge assembly plant.
That plant in Karaj came under what Iran describes as a sabotage attack in June. Tehran blamed the assault on Israel amid a widening regional shadow war since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran's landmark nuclear accord with world powers. Iran since has refused the IAEA access to replace cameras damaged in the incident.
"If the international community through us, through the IAEA, is not seeing clearly how many centrifuges or what is the capacity that they may have ... what you have is a very blurred image," Grossi said. "It will give you the illusion of the real image. But not the real image. This is why this is so important."
Grossi dismissed as "simply absurd" an Iranian allegation that saboteurs used the IAEA's cameras in the attack on the Karaj centrifuge site. Tehran has offered no evidence to support the claim, though it's another sign of the friction between inspectors and Iran.
Since the nuclear deal's collapse, Tehran has started enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The deal limited enrichment to 3.67%, enough to be used in a power plant. The nation's stockpile of enriched uranium grows every day far beyond the scope of the 2015 accord, which saw Tehran agree to limit its nuclear program in the exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. It also spins ever-more advanced centrifuges also barred by the deal. While stressing he wasn't involved in the political negotiations ongoing in Vienna, Grossi acknowledged the advances made by Iran since the deal's collapse meant there would have to be changes to the original agreement. "The reality is that we are dealing with a very different Iran," he said. "2022 is so different from 2015 that there will have to be adjustments that take into consideration these new realities so our inspectors can inspect whatever the countries agree at the political table."And while Iran insists its program is peaceful, U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003. "There's no other country other than those making nuclear weapons reaching those high levels" of uranium enrichment, Grossi said of Iran. "I've said many times that this doesn't mean that Iran has a nuclear weapon. But it does mean that this level of enrichment is one that requires an intense verification effort."Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Grossi's remarks.
In Vienna, however, anxiety is growing among European nations at the negotiating table. The U.S. has remained outside of direct talks since abandoning the accord. "Without swift progress, in light of Iran's fast-forwarding of its nuclear program, the (deal) will very soon become an empty shell," they warned in an overnight statement. Apparently responding to the criticism, Iranian negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani wrote on Twitter: "Some actors persist in their blame game habit, instead of real diplomacy." But the Iranian negotiators who have entered the talks for the first time in months under newly elected hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi have taken maximalist positions. Bagheri Kani himself described six previous rounds of negotiations with a team under former President Hassan Rouhani as a mere "draft."Asked about the difference between the two administrations, Grossi said that "the change is palpable."
"The president himself and people around him have been saying very clearly they have views about the program," he said. "They have strong views about the interactions that Iran has been having" with both the IAEA and parties to the nuclear deal. He also described cooperation with the Raisi administration as "slower than expected." "We have been able to start this relationship quite late I would say," Grossi said. Meanwhile, satellite photos obtained by the AP show ongoing construction in the mountain south of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, twice the target of suspected Israeli attacks. Another above-ground facility is being built at Iran's underground Fordo facility, which also has begun uranium enrichment amid the Vienna talks in defiance of the nuclear deal.
Grossi said Iran has informed the IAEA about the ongoing construction and his inspectors "are following" progress at the sites.
Regionally, Saudi Arabia has begun exploring nuclear power. Unlike the UAE — which has a strict agreement with the U.S. that ensures it doesn't enrich its own uranium — Saudi Arabia says it wants a centrifuge program. That opens the risk of nuclear proliferation as the kingdom has threatened to rush for a nuclear weapon if Iran obtains one. Grossi described discussions between Riyadh and the IAEA as "very positive."And in Israel, long believed to be a nuclear-armed state, a massive construction project continues at its secretive nuclear reactor near Dimona, which isn't subject to the IAEA's watch. Iran often points to Israel's weapons program as an international double-standard given the scrutiny of Tehran's civilian program. When asked about Israel, Grossi said: "I think the international community would like every country to sign up to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and to put all the facilities under safeguards from the IAEA." He stressed the importance of ensuring that IAEA inspectors have unfettered ability to monitor and access Iran's fast-accelerating nuclear program. "The problem is that the more time passes and you lose the ability to record what is going on, then the moment this capability is restored, inspectors come back and start to put the jigsaw puzzle together again," he said. "There might be gaps. And these gaps are not a good thing to have."

Gulf leaders conclude GCC summit in Riyadh, calling for unity, solidarity
Reem Krimly, Al Arabiya English/15 December ,2021
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders stressed the importance of accurate, complete and continuous implementation of the vision of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which calls for GCC unity, solidarity, and stability, in the final communique of the Riyadh Declaration issued at the annual GCC summit on Tuesday. The summit, which was the 42nd Session of the GCC Supreme Council, took place at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The GCC states include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.According to the communique, King Salman’s vision supports economic unity, joint defense and security system, coordination of stances to enhance GCC solidarity and stability, preserve interests, avoid regional and international conflicts, meet the aspirations of GCC citizens, and enhance the GCC regional and international role, by unifying political stances and developing political partnerships at the regional and international levels. The final communique was read by GCC Secretary-General Nayef al-Hajraf. GCC leaders affirmed that any attack against any of the GCC states is an attack on all of them, according to the communique, adding that “any danger that threatens one of them threatens all of them.”They asserted the GCC member states’ commitment of a collective action against all threats and challenges, the press agency reported.
Climate change
SPA reported that the Gulf leaders “stressed the importance of enhancing the joint cooperation and coordinating plans aimed at achieving sustainability and dealing with climate change and its effects, promoting joint action among the GCC countries to implement the circular carbon economy approach which was launched by Saudi Arabia during its presidency of the G20.”The relevant committees are assigned to put the necessary mechanisms to achieve the best results related to protecting the environment and benefiting from the Green Saudi and Green Middle East initiatives, launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the communique.
COVID-19
In the communique, Gulf leaders also stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation to “continue combating the coronavirus pandemic, and the importance of supporting the process of collective action to combat epidemics and diseases, and similar regulations in the future if they occur,” SPA reported.
They added that they encourage the proposal of effective policies and strategies to deal with such conditions in the future, to help combat them and deal with their economic and social repercussions, travel conditions, and movement among GCC countries.

Gulf Summit: Solidarity, Stability, Economic Integration
Riyadh - Abdulhadi Habtor/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
At the end of the 42nd Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Riyadh on Tuesday, Gulf leaders affirmed the significance of precise and comprehensive implementation of the vision of King Salman bin Abdulaziz. They also stressed the importance of pursuing economic, defense and security integration.
The leaders endorsed the coordination of positions to reinforce stability in GCC countries and ensure the best interest of the council's six members. This would help Gulf states avoid regional and international conflicts. Besides achieving the people's aspirations in GCC countries, it would also reinforce the regional and international role of GCC states. At Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, the summit focused on solidarity, stability, and economic integration. Its final communique stressed the importance of "unifying political positions and developing political partnerships at the regional and international levels."
In his speech to Gulf leaders, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman touched on several topics, including the Palestinian cause, the Yemeni crisis, and the situation in Afghanistan. On behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince welcomed Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia. He thanked Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his country's efforts during its chairing of the 41st GCC summit. He stressed that Saudi Arabia recognizes the importance of dealing seriously and effectively with Iran's nuclear and missile program "in a way that contributes to achieving regional and international security and stability."
Additionally, the Crown Prince highlighted the importance of "Iraq forming a government that is capable of working towards establishing national security, stability, and development."As for Yemen, he affirmed Saudi Arabia's continued support for the efforts of the UN special envoy to reach a political solution to the crisis according to the three references represented in the Gulf initiative. The Saudi Crown Prince also said that the Kingdom is following the developments of the situation in Afghanistan, urging regional and international efforts to unite and provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.
He also emphasized that Afghanistan should not transform into a haven for terrorist organizations. The summit's final communique, read by Nayef Al-Hajraf, the GCC general-secretary, said further teamwork would be necessary to meet future challenges and highlighted the importance of strengthening opportunities for women and young people and for digital transformation in the GCC countries. "The leaders agreed on principles and policies to develop strategic cooperation and economic development integration among the GCC states and to achieve the aspirations of their citizens," Al-Hajraf said. Gulf leaders also stressed the importance of strengthening work to implement the circular economy approach.

KSA Seeks 'Serious' Approach to Iran Nuclear Program
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called for an "effective and serious" approach to Iran's ballistic and nuclear program, during a Gulf summit in Riyadh. The de facto ruler was representing his country at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, which brought together Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Saudi authorities have not explained the absence of his 85-year-old father King Salman. "It is important to have an effective and serious approach to Iran's nuclear and ballistic program," the crown prince told the summit. Last month, the United States and GCC countries accused Iran of causing a nuclear crisis and destabilizing the Middle East with ballistic missiles and drones. They urged the Iranian administration to seize the "diplomatic opportunity" stemming from the resumption of talks in Vienna aimed at salvaging a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. In 2018, former president Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord, which provided Iran with sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program, prompting Tehran to begin rolling back on its commitments. After a five-month pause, the talks resumed on November 29 but are hanging in the balance. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a press conference after the summit that the evolution of the Vienna negotiations "is worrying and does not create optimism."He said that a Saudi presence at the talks "would allow us to be close to solutions since we are one of the countries most threatened.""Iran maintains an intransient position... and that is certainly worrying," he said.
'Multiple challenges' -
GCC secretary-general Nayef al-Hajraf said the summit had called for prohibiting Lebanese group Hizbullah "from carrying out its terrorist activities and supporting terrorist militias that threaten the stability of Arab countries." Lebanon's ties with Gulf states have grown increasingly strained in recent years because of the growing influence of Iran-backed Hizbullah. A Lebanese minister's recent remarks on the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen's war sparked a row with Gulf countries that has exacerbated Lebanon's multiple crises. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia in cross-border attacks, using drones and missiles. In a final summit communique, the GCC countries agreed on "the importance of coordinating to achieve a unified and effective foreign policy that protects the interest of the Gulf peoples." They also agreed on the need to "diversify" their economies, which rely heavily on oil and gas. Prince Mohammed called for "further coordination of efforts in the face of multiple challenges" and emphasized the need to "unify positions to strengthen the role" of the GCC on a regional and international level. The summit come almost a year after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed to restore relations with Qatar, after severing ties with Doha in 2017. The countries had claimed Qatar was too close to Iran and backed radical Islamist groups, allegations Doha has always denied. Shiite-majority Iran and its Sunni rival Saudi Arabia have held several rounds of talks since April aimed at improving ties since they cut relations in 2016. The Saudi crown prince visited GCC countries including Qatar last week.

UN Chief Says Cross-Border Aid to Syria's Idlib Vital
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria remains vital, the United Nations Secretary-General said in an internal report Tuesday, as a UN authorization allowing aid into opposition-held areas in the country's northwest without approval from Damascus is set to expire. A rare moment of cooperation between the United States and Russia in July allowed for a six-month extension of activity at Bab al-Hawa, the only border crossing through which aid reaches the opposition stronghold of Idlib province. That authorization is due to expire on January 10. "Cross-border assistance remains lifesaving for millions of people in need in northwest Syria," Antonio Guterres said in a confidential document obtained by AFP, adding that over four million people were in need of crucial assistance across the country. The United States and several European nations believe the UN authorization for the crossing between Syria and Turkey should renew automatically for an additional six months, without the need for a new vote. But Russia, a key ally to the Damascus regime, has previously opposed the move, invoking Syrian sovereignty. Moscow has linked any potential extension to Tuesday's report, as well as a possible new vote. The cross-border mechanism has been operating since 2020 through Bab al-Hawa, after the Russian-imposed removal in 2019 of three other access points in Syria. In Tuesday's document, the UN chief refers to another project for humanitarian operations, this time across the front lines, to reach Idlib. "If implemented, this plan will make operations across the front lines more predictable and effective," Guterres noted. However, he insisted upon the importance of the Bab al-Hawa crossing. "At this point such cross-line convoys, even if deployed regularly, could not replicate the size and scope of the cross-border operation," he said. Guterres said some 4.5 million people in Syria need help this winter, up 12 percent from the previous year, because of the economic crisis and the global pandemic. Only 2.9 percent of the Syrian population is fully vaccinated, according to the report. More than three million people live in Idlib province, much of which is controlled by jihadists and allied rebels. In June, the UN said around 2.4 million people there were in need of humanitarian aid.

EU to Hit Russia With New Sanctions If Ukraine Attacked
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The head of the European Union's executive warned Russia on Wednesday that the bloc has a battery of additional sanctions ready if Moscow decides to invade neighboring Ukraine. On the eve of an EU summit on the issue, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that beyond scaling up and expanding existing sanctions, the EU can adopt "unprecedented measures with serious consequences for Russia.''Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that there are already economic sanctions in place targeting Russia’s finance, energy and sectors because of its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014 and actions that the west sees as increasingly aggressive since. She did not elaborate what new sanctions could consist of, according to The Associated Press. US intelligence officials say Russia has moved 70,000 troops toward Ukraine’s border and is preparing for a possible invasion early next year. Moscow denies it has any plans to attack Ukraine and rejects Western concerns as part of a smear campaign. In draft conclusions for Thursday's summit of EU leaders seen by The AP, the 27 nations promise that “any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe cost in response.” The EU would coordinate any sanctions package with the United States and Britain. If some nations see an attack as imminent, others, like France and Germany, believe there is still time for diplomacy to work. “Above all, I call on Russia to de-escalate, to pursue diplomatic channels and to abide by its international commitments,” said von der Leyen. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will have talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels later Wednesday. In 2015, France and Germany brokered a peace agreement that helped end large-scale hostilities in Ukraine’s east, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists since 2014. Efforts to reach a political settlement to the separatist conflict, which has killed more than 14,000 people in seven years, have failed. Sporadic skirmishes continue along the tense line of contact. Russia so far refuses to meet France and Germany for more peace talks on the conflict.

Grundberg Promotes Political Process, Gradual Progress to End Yemeni Conflict
Washington - Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has presented his first vision for launching a political process in Yemen that enjoys international support and allows for “gradual progress” towards ending the war in the country by establishing “comprehensive governance arrangements.”
Grundberg warned that the military campaign in the governorate of Marib might lead to urban warfare with grave consequences on civilians. Yemen is teetering on a new “fragmented and bloody” chapter of war as military escalation and conflict escalates, Grundberg told the Security Council on Tuesday, calling for “restraint, de-escalation, and dialogue.”“Even as the conflict parties all profess to me their desire for peace, their focus remains on military options…[which] will not result in sustainable solutions”, he said. “In Hodeidah, on the 12th of November, the Joint Forces affiliated with the Government of Yemen evacuated their positions from large parts of the Governorate,” noted Grundberg, adding that Houthis “immediately took control of most of the vacated areas.”“This has led to a major shift of the frontline in the Governorate,” he explained. “As confrontations on the West Coast temporarily took center stage, the pivotal battle for Marib continued.”Fighting has intensified, with Houthis renewing their push for the “city and oil fields in the Governorate.” “I remain concerned about the possibility of urban warfare in the city, which would have terrible consequences for the civilians.”“In my meetings with the parties, I have stressed the urgent need for de-escalation and immediate measures to protect civilians,” affirmed the UN envoy, warning that the increased use of artillery, missiles, and airstrikes endanger civilian lives, infrastructure, and services. “I am also concerned about attacks against Saudi Arabia targeting civilian and commercial infrastructure,” he said. Also, Grundberg denounced the summary execution on the West Coast of ten individuals belonging to local security forces staged by Houthis on the 13th of November. He said that the incident is yet another example of the worrying disregard of international law in this conflict.

Arab Coalition Destroys Four Houthi Drones, Kills 210 terrorists
Aden- Ali Rabea/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced Tuesday that it will carry on supporting the internationally recognized state in Yemen, noting that its operations, which had inflicted heavy losses on Iran-backed Houthi militias, will continue. Coalition anti-aircraft units had shot down and destroyed four Houthi drones in Yemeni airspace hours after air defenses had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the militia against Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia. Moreover, according to a statement, the Coalition confirmed it has carried out 31 operations against the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen’s Marib and al-Jawf areas. During the past 24 hours, the targeted operations resulted in the destruction of 20 military vehicles and killed more than 210 militants, including Houthi leaders, the Coalition added. On Monday, the Coalition had announced staging 28 operations against Houthis in the governorates of Marib and al-Jawf. The operations were conducted within a window of 24 hours. They resulted in the destruction of 14 military vehicles and the killing of over 140 Houthi terrorists. Meanwhile, field sources pointed to Yemeni Army forces and pro-government popular units successfully repelling recent Houthi attacks and regaining control over several outposts in southeastern Marib. In the northern governorate of Saada, Yemeni Army forces were able to thwart a Houthi attempt to infiltrate pro-government positions in the as-Safra district. “Army artillery targeted Houthi gatherings and reinforcements, which resulted in the killing and wounding of a number of the militia members that tried to infiltrate, while the rest fled,” reported a military source. As Houthis continue to incur heavy losses, the Yemeni government warned that Houthis continue to lure minors into battlefields, using them as cannon fodder and human shields. In a series of tweets, Yemen’s information minister slammed the Iran-backed militia for coercively removing children from their schools and neighborhoods in Sanaa and other Houthi-run areas to recruit and deploy them to battlefields.

Tunisia Opposition Objects on Saied's Decision to Extend Parliament Freeze
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 December, 2021
Opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday slammed his decision to extend a months-long suspension of parliament, accusing him of dealing another blow to the country's nascent democracy. Saied had on Monday vowed to press on with reforms to Tunisia's political system, months after he sacked the government, froze the legislature and assumed wide-ranging executive powers. The former law professor announced an 11-week "popular consultation" to produce "draft constitutional and other reforms" ahead of a referendum next July 25. Saied had in October moved to rule by decree, escalating fears for the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab uprisings. He said on Monday that parliament would remain suspended until new elections on December 17 next year, the anniversary of the start of the revolution that chased dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power.
Many Tunisians, tired of a system seen as dysfunctional and corrupt, welcomed Saied's moves, but he has also faced growing opposition in the form of demonstrations at home and pressure from abroad.
Washington, however, gave a positive response to Saied's announcement.
"We welcome President Saied's announcement of a timeline outlining a path for political reform and parliamentary elections and look forward to a reform process that is transparent and inclusive of diverse political and civil society voices," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. The envoys of the G7 powers plus the European Union had urged Tunisia on Friday to set a timetable for a return to democratic institutions. On Tuesday, political analyst Slaheddine Jourchi said Saied was "determined to push through his political project to the end". Opponents have accused Saied of seeking to extend his one-man rule and unilaterally rebuild the political system. Noureddine Taboubi, head of the powerful UGTT trade union, criticized the lack of a vision for tackling the country's pressing social and economic woes. "Until when are we going to discuss the constitution? People today have empty stomachs and are getting poorer," he told journalists in the industrial hub of Sfax. In a speech to union members, he said the union had supported Saied's July 25 moves but "we didn't give (him) a blank cheque".However, some in Tunis welcomed Saied's latest move. Nizar ben Ahmida, a 37-year-old teacher, stressed the importance of announcing a timeline. But he said the president's speech lacked details on "employment, poverty, marginalization and prosecution of those who have committed crimes against this country". Tunis resident Nidhal said the election date was too far away. Saied said a consultation on constitutional reforms would be launched on January 1. These proposals would then be examined by a committee of experts appointed by the president, before being put to referendum. Tunisia faces mounting public debt, inflation, 18 percent unemployment and stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for its fourth bailout since the revolution. But the 63-year-old president's focus has remained firmly on remaking the political system and tackling opponents -- primarily Ennahdha -- whom he accuses of corruption. After seizing control of the judiciary in July, he has pushed judges to investigate alleged foreign financing for campaigns during 2019 parliamentary elections. In Tunisia today, Jourchi said, "the big problem lies in the fact that he is continuing to rule by decree. His political conflict with his opponents will escalate and tensions will remain."

Turkey, UAE say they want deeper cooperation, trade after Dubai talks
Reuters/15 December ,2021
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday they aim to deepen cooperation after talks in Dubai between the Turkish foreign minister and the UAE’s prime minister, as the rivals step up diplomacy to mend ties strained by years of animosity. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in the UAE on Monday to discuss bilateral relations and meet Turkish businesspeople in Dubai, the region’s trade and tourism hub. The visit comes after Turkey and the UAE signed accords and deals at talks in Ankara last month, in a move President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said would herald a “new era” in relations. The Dubai Media Office said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the ruler of Dubai and the UAE’s vice president and prime minister, met Cavusoglu to discuss “strengthening cooperation between the UAE and Turkey and developing frameworks to collaborate on all areas of common interest.”
On Tuesday, Cavusoglu met Turkish businesspeople in Dubai, who he said “play a big role in developing commercial ties with the UAE.” He said after meeting Sheikh Mohammed that Turkey and the UAE “will further develop our economic and commercial relations.”Dealings between Turkey and the UAE have been strained over the role of radical groups in the tumult following 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and the countries were on opposite sides in Libya’s conflict. Ankara had previously accused the UAE of financing a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 and of sowing chaos in the region with its involvement in Yemen, while Abu Dhabi has criticized Turkey’s military operations in the region. As part of a charm offensive launched last year, Turkey has also moved to repair ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but those talks have yielded little public improvement. Abu Dhabi has also accelerated a push to ease regional conflicts and refocus on the economy. Erdogan has said he plans to visit Abu Dhabi in February.

EU Health Agency Says Time Too Short for 'Vaccination Alone' to Halt Omicron
Agence France Presse/15 December ,2021
The EU health agency ECDC on Wednesday warned that vaccinations alone would not stop the rise of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, and said "strong action" was urgently needed. "In the current situation, vaccination alone will not allow us to prevent the impact of the Omicron variant, because there will be no time to address the vaccination gaps that still exist," Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said in a statement. The agency meanwhile also raised their risk assessment for Omicron's impact on public health from "high to very high" to "very high."The agency called for strengthening and reintroduction of "non-pharmaceutical interventions," such as mask-wearing, hand hygiene, distance working and prevention of crowds in public spaces. "It is urgent that strong action is taken to reduce transmission and alleviate the heavy burden on health care systems and protect the most vulnerable in the coming months," Ammon added. Ammon said that "there are indications that community transmission is already ongoing in EU/EEA countries," and that modelling suggested that a further rapid increase in Omicron cases was "imminent."World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that the Omicron variant had been reported in 77 countries and had "probably" spread to most nations undetected "at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant."Tedros also cautioned against "dismissing Omicron as mild," pointing out that even if the variant does cause less severe disease, "the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems."

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 15-16/2021
Qatar’s presence in eastern Mediterranean benefits Egypt, Turkey
Mohamed Saied/Al-Monitor/December 15, 2021
Qatar is enhancing its presence in the eastern Mediterranean that is rich in oil and gas reserves at a time when tensions are ripping through the region over the maritime borders and excavation rights.
Qatar has strengthened its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which is rich in oil and gas reserves, at a time when tensions are high in the region over maritime borders and exploration rights.
Qatar Energy, owned by the Qatari government, and the US giant ExxonMobil signed a contract Dec. 10 with Cyprus for oil and gas exploration and production sharing in Block 5 off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus.
This is Qatar's second exploration area in Cyprus. In February 2019, Qatar Energy and ExxonMobil also announced the discovery of a huge natural gas reserve in the Glaucus field off the coast of Cyprus in Block 10, the largest discovery on the island so far containing an estimated 5-8 trillion cubic feet.
Under the new agreement with the Nicosia government, Qatar Energy will own a 40% stake in Block 5, while ExxonMobil will own a 60% stake and will be the operator in the area.
Turkey, on the one hand, and Greece and Cyprus, on the other, have been involved for years in a dispute over sovereignty claims in the eastern Mediterranean, in addition to the status of some islands in the Aegean Sea, not to mention the dispute over the ethnically divided island of Cyprus between Ankara and Athens. Greece and Turkey, both members of NATO, do not agree on the borders of their continental shelf. When it comes to Cyprus, Turkey does not recognize the existence of a continental shelf, nor does it recognize the government of Nicosia.
Cyprus was divided after the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974 due to a military coup instigated by Greece to the north that is controlled by the Turkish Cypriots and the south controlled by the Greek Cypriots. Turkey is the only country to recognize Northern Cyprus as an independent state, and it does not have diplomatic relations with the government of Cyprus, a member of the European Union.
Turkey soon announced its rejection of the new agreement and accused Cyprus of violating its continental shelf by granting an exploration license to ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum. Turkey has threatened to ban the two companies from drilling.
However, Turkey is a strong ally of Qatar, and their relations have greatly strengthened since the Gulf crisis in June 2017, when Doha became a diplomatic pariah after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt decided to sever diplomatic ties with it and accused it of supporting and financing terrorism. They settled their differences early this year by signing an agreement in the Saudi city of Al-Ula.
Egypt, a regional rival to Turkey, has had close ties with Cyprus and Greece since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2014. The three countries have held several tripartite summits on energy, gas exploration, counterterrorism and border demarcation, often attacking Ankara's policies in the eastern Mediterranean.
Andreas Krieg, a UK-based Middle East analyst, told Al-Monitor that the contract with Cyprus has been in the making for a couple of years and has now become actually feasible amid a regional climate of de-escalation.
Krieg said, “Qatar remains a fairly neutral player in the eastern Mediterranean supporting Turkish claims based on GNA-Ankara agreements, while also working with Cyprus now to get access to a potentially lucrative exploitation opportunity.”
In August 2020, Egypt and Greece signed an agreement to demarcate the maritime borders between them, which effectively nullified an agreement that Turkey had signed with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) during its term in Tripoli in November 2019 to demarcate the maritime borders. Egypt and Greece described the deal as illegal and in violation of international law, and Greece considers it an infringement on its continental shelf, specifically off the island of Crete.
Experts who spoke to Al-Monitor believe that Qatar's increasing influence in the eastern Mediterranean may be a starting point for broader political cooperation with Egypt, and that it will facilitate an opportunity for Doha to play the role of mediator to promote rapprochement between Turkey and Egypt.
Mohammed Soliman, scholar at the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor that Egypt would view positively the offshore gas exploration deal between Cyprus with Qatar Energy and ExxonMobil.
Soliman said, “The eastern Mediterranean is filled with commercial and political opportunities, and it could be another cooperation opportunity for Egypt and Qatar.”
Sisi and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, met at the end of August 2021 in Baghdad for the first time since the Al-Ula agreement, which ended more than three years of estrangement between them. Egypt and Qatar appointed ambassadors in each others’ country, in an indication of improving relations.
Krieg said, “From all rapprochements between Qatar and the former blockading states, the relationship with Egypt has become the closest. Egypt and Qatar reengaged with no strings attached and without any preconditions making it easier to return to a normal working relationship.”
He noted, “Aside from close cooperation on the Palestine file, Qatar and Egypt have agreed on investments that are mutually beneficial and generate not just economic but political returns, especially in the field of energy, logistics and infrastructure."
Despite this, it seems that Qatar’s task with regard to mediating between Egypt and Turkey is not an easy one. The two countries are rival regional powers, and relations deteriorated between them after the Egyptian army toppled former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi following popular protests against his rule in 2012-13. In November 2013, both Egypt and Turkey withdrew their ambassadors and froze their relations.
Since then, Cairo and Ankara have been locked in a dispute that has turned into a broader regional struggle over political Islam. The authorities in Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, while Turkey provided sanctuary to hundreds of members and leaders of the group who fled Cairo with the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party.
In Libya, the two countries were at odds as they backed the warring Libyan parties before electing a presidential council and national unity government in February 2020, to lead the country through a transitional period under the auspices of the United Nations, in preparation for general elections by the end of 2021. Before that, Turkey deployed soldiers and thousands of Syrian mercenaries in Libya to help the Tripoli-based GNA repel an attack launched by eastern Libyan forces led by Khalifa Hifter with the support of Egypt, the UAE and Russia.
Egypt has repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya. But Turkey says the presence of its forces in Libya is part of a military cooperation agreement signed with the GNA in the midst of a fierce civil war between eastern and western Libya.
In response, Egypt sought to isolate Turkey regionally in the conflict of alliances in the eastern Mediterranean, as Egypt, Cyprus and Greece in addition to Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority formed the Cairo-based East Mediterranean Gas Forum in January 2019 as a governmental organization with commercial and political goals against Turkey as well.
Accordingly, early this year, Turkey took a more flexible approach in reformulating its regional alliances with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in addition to Israel as part of an attempt to build bridges of cooperation with countries allied with the United States, after years of political competition and military interventions that demonstrated Turkey’s influence in the region, but spoiled its alliances in the Arab world.
Krieg said that Qatar has an opportunity to play the role of a go-between helping with the rapprochement between Turkey and Egypt, which so far saw Ankara being more interested than Cairo in normalization.
“At the least, Qatar can help de-escalate tensions when they arise as it now has a stake in the region as well — albeit of less geostrategic importance than for other eastern Mediterranean players. But again, this could be another reason for Qatar trying to de-escalate here rather than fueling conflict,” he noted.
In early March, Egyptian and Turkish officials announced the resumption of diplomatic contacts between them. The two countries said in a joint statement Sept. 8 that they agreed to continue talks to repair and eventually normalize relations, after concluding a second round of "exploratory talks" aimed at settling differences. Officials of the two countries have so far held two rounds of bilateral talks in May and September. But talks between the two countries have abruptly been frozen since then, and Cairo considers Ankara not serious about mending ties yet.
“The offshore gas exploration deal in Cyprus with ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy was obviously previously discussed with Turkey during Erdogan's visit to Doha [Dec. 6]. Turkey agreed to it in the hope that Qatar can help push for a rapprochement with Egypt,” Krieg concluded.

Fatah wins small victory in Palestinian local elections
Daoud Kuttab/Al-Monitor/December 15, 2021
The slight victory of candidates supporting Fatah in the local council elections appear to have boosted the morale of the Palestinian leadership and opened the door for elections in major cities. Will the Hamas leadership agree to that in Gaza?
Ever since his April 31 decision to scrap the legislative elections, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been under pressure to give the population some kind of say. In a move that is contrary to the Palestinian law, which stipulates that elections should be held on the same day, the Palestinian government decided to hold local elections piecemeal.
They were confident of doing well in rural areas, while they were worried about major cities. That thinking appears to have paid off for the PLO’s main faction, the Fatah movement.
Results of the local council elections held in areas C gave Fatah a slight boost, according to election’s observer, Rima Nazal. Speaking to Al-Monitor, the member of the General Women’s Association said that “both Fatah lists and candidates close to Fatah did well in the elections of rural areas giving Fatah a small political boost.”
The biggest success for Fatah appears to have been in communities in which an uncontested list was presented. According to the Palestinian Election commission, 126 out of the 162 uncontested lists were registered as belonging to Fatah.
But despite the success in uncontested lists, the actual overall percentage of the winning politically registered lists was a mere 21%.
Hana Nasir, the chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC), told a press conference that 79% of the winners belong to independent lists. The term "independent" here refers largely to family-oriented or tribal lists that have no official political affiliation.
Suheir Ismael Faraj, a women’s activist in the Bethlehem area, told Al-Monitor that the elections were “a clear victory for tribal lists.” Faraj concedes that many heads of lists might have some political affiliations but that they ran on their family’s strength and numbers.
“Take the village of Khader where I was born,” she said. "The head of the list belongs to the largest family in our town, the Musa tribe. While politically he is affiliated with the left-wing FIDA party, he didn’t run as a representative of FIDA but as a representative of the Musa tribe.” Faraj argues that had he run as a FIDA representative, he would have lost.
Voter turnout hit 66% compared to 51% in the 2017 local council elections. Nasir said the percentage was issued after all voters who were inside polling centers were done casting their votes. The total number of voters was 268,318 out of 405,687 eligible.
The relative success of Fatah helped cement the decision to hold further local council elections in areas A & B on March 26, 2022. According to the Oslo Accords, areas A are major cities where the Palestinian government has full administrative and security control. In areas B, the Palestinians have administrative control but Israel has security control, and in areas C, Israel has both security and administrative control.
Nasir said that preparations for the second phase are proceeding. Voter registration will start on Jan. 8, while the start of the campaigning period will be March 13. Polling will take place in 66 localities, representing municipalities in Areas A and B of the West Bank, as well as all 25 localities in Gaza.”
The only unknown element in Gaza is Hamas, which officially boycotted the Dec. 12 elections to protest to the cancellation of last April’s legislative elections. But it will most likely be under pressure to go along, since no elections have taken place in Gaza since the Islamic movement won the parliamentary poll in 2007. While local elections have been held as per the Palestinian law every four years, the big question remains when legislative and presidential elections will take place. The slight boost that the current results gave Fatah might encourage them to consider legislative elections, but a firm decision will probably not be taken until after the results of the March 26 elections.

Can an Ex-President Claim Privilege for Communications While He Was President?
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/December 15/ 2021
A former spouse, a lawyer's former client, and a penitent's former priest can claim privilege -- and so could a former member of Congress and a former judge. The relevant issue is whether the communication was privileged at the time it was made. If so, it should be an enduring privilege that encourages confidential communications during their incumbency.
According to The New York Times, this is what [the House's lawyer] said: "The Constitution does draw a clear line between a president and an ex-president. An ex-president is somebody who rejoins the great unwashed" -- by which he apparently means you and me, who never had any executive privilege.
The issue is an open one that will likely be decided by the Supreme Court. I doubt that justices who are now retired or intend someday to retire -- and join the "unwashed" -- would be thrilled if Congress were to subpoena their former law clerks to disclose their confidential discussions about decisions they wrote while they were still among the washed.
They [the January 6th Committee] should seek to have the courts rule first on the constitutional issue, and if Meadows then refuses to comply with a judicial order, they can seek criminal penalties. This chronology is especially required because Meadows has said that he would comply with court orders.
Seeking a court order first is also required by the constitutionally mandated separation of powers.
Finally, criminal indictments should never be used to determine what the law is. It should only be used against individuals who know that they are violating existing law that is already clear.
Douglas Letter, the lawyer for the January 6th Congressional Committee, has argued that former President Donald J. Trump can no longer claim executive privilege, including over communications with Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, when they were both in office. The relevant issue, however, is whether the communication was privileged at the time it was made. If so, it should be an enduring privilege that encourages confidential communications during their incumbency. Pictured: Trump and Meadows at the White House, on July 29, 2020.
The Constitution provides no clear answer to whether a former president can claim executive privilege over communications that occurred while he was president. Both policy and analogy to other privileges would suggest an affirmative answer. A former spouse, a lawyer's former client, and a penitent's former priest can claim privilege -- and so could a former member of Congress and a former judge. The relevant issue is whether the communication was privileged at the time it was made. If so, it should be an enduring privilege that encourages confidential communications during their incumbency.
The lawyer for the January 6th Congressional Committee, Douglas Letter, however, has argued that former President Donald J. Trump can no longer claim executive privilege, including over communications with his former chief of staff when they were both in office. According to The New York Times, this is what he said: "The Constitution does draw a clear line between a president and an ex-president. An ex-president is somebody who rejoins the great unwashed" -- by which he apparently means you and me, who never had any executive privilege.
Where in the Constitution he or the committee find the "clear line" that supports his cramped interpretation of privilege is unclear. The issue is an open one that will likely be decided by the Supreme Court. I doubt that justices who are now retired or intend someday to retire -- and join the "unwashed" -- would be thrilled if Congress were to subpoena their former law clerks to disclose their confidential discussions about decisions they wrote while they were still among the washed.
In the absence of a definitive judicial decision to the contrary, former chief of staff Mark Meadows would seem to be required to accept former President Trump's claim of executive privilege. Were he now to divulge communications that the courts ultimately held were privileged, the damage would be irremediable. The cat could not be returned to the constitutional bag. On the other hand, if he does not now disclose and the courts ruled that he must, the only harm would be some delay. The balance of harms clearly favors non-disclosure at this time.
That is precisely why it is so outrageous for the committee now to be seeking the criminal indictment of Meadows for refusing to disclose material that may well be constitutionally privileged. They should seek to have the courts rule first on the constitutional issue, and if Meadows then refuses to comply with a judicial order, they can seek criminal penalties. This chronology is especially required because Meadows has said that he would comply with court orders.
Seeking a court order first is also required by the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. Congress cannot simply compel the executive to bow to its will when there is a conflict between the two elected branches, the third branch -- the judiciary -- decide who is correct under the constitution.
Finally, criminal indictments should never be used to determine what the law is. It should only be used against individuals who know that they are violating existing law that is already clear.
The Justice Department should therefore refuse any congressional demand to indict Meadows. If the Justice Department improperly secures an indictment from a grand jury -- which they can easily do because, as one judge put it, grand juries would "indict a ham sandwich" if asked to do so -- the courts should immediately dismiss it and demand that the Justice Department first get a judicial ruling on the constitutional issue.
The precedent that would be established by allowing an indictment of a former chief of staff to the president for the "crime" of seeking a judicial ruling before irretrievably disclosing information that may well be constitutionally privileged would do great harm to our constitutional structure. Its victims would not only be the president and its former incumbent, but all of us "unwashed" who depend on the courts to guarantee our constitutional rights.
Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School and served on the legal team representing President Donald Trump for the first Senate impeachment trial. He is the author of numerous books, including his latest, The Case for Color-Blind Equality in an Age of Identity Politics. His podcast, "The Dershow," is available on Spotify and YouTube. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Rewarding Iran
Ibrahim al-Zobeidi/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2021
US administrations, whether Democratic or Republican, convinced themselves, from the late eighties, that Saddam Hussein's regime manufactured weapons of mass destruction, supported terrorism and maintained secret relations with al-Qaeda. Then, based on this conviction, they made political, economic and military plans to strip the Iraqi regime of these presumed weapons, to stifle it and weaken it in preparation for its overthrow, with the help of Iraqi groups linked to Iran, along with Arab governments that feared Saddam Hussein's regime and wanted its downfall. Saddam then presented the United States with the perfect alibi to attack him with his invasion of Kuwait and his refusal to withdraw from there. It is not necessary here to review the details of American moves, from 1990 to 2003, which finally concluded with the invasion of Iraq, the overthrow of the regime and the facilitation of Tehran’s drive to inherit the American occupation, through its Iraqi state proxies and loyal militias.
After all the killings, arson and utter destruction, the truth was laid bare, despite the attempts by Americans and their allies to conceal it. It has been proved conclusively that the US charges were fabricated, that Iraq was free of weapons of mass destruction and that it was the fiercest enemy of al-Qaeda and other terrorist gangs. So that is how the Iraqi regime of the time was treated. With regard to the Iranian regime, it was a totally different matter. The United States, Europe and Israel pursued a policy of a completely different kind.
Although the United States, along with many allied governments, has asserted for forty years that the Iranian regime is bellicose, aggressive and poses a serious threat to American national security and international peace, one can make two important observations: -The first is that Iran's nuclear reactors (known by all) have remained safe and fully operational over the years. Iranians continued their efforts to get closer to developing a nuclear weapon, as confirmed by American, European and Israeli officials. -The second is that the Iranian regime transitioned from taking hostages, planting bombings and planning assassinations in the countries of its many enemies to the business of developing ballistic missiles and drones. These weapons were not confined to the borders of the Iranian regime, but were smuggled to its militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and Iraq, under the eyes of the Americans, Israelis and Europeans.