English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 04/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Prophet, Anna, Blesses The Child Jesus In The Temple
Luke 02/36-40/There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 03-04/2022
In rare instance, Lebanese government rebukes Hezbollah and its leader
Nasrallah: Frankness Needed with FPM, Hizbullah Ready to Improve MoU
Sayyed Nasrallah to Saudi King: You Are the Terrorist, Not Hezbollah
“For God’s sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop [fueling] political and sectarian hatred,” PM Najib Mikati said in a series of tweets.
Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement admits frayed ties with Hezbollah, Amal
Lebanon 'failed state' under Hezbollah leadership, says party's ally
Lebanon's Bassil Attacks Hezbollah, Berri, Threatens to End Mar Mikhael Agreement
Berri Says Would Attend Aoun's Dialogue but Skeptic on Results
Khalil Says There are ‘Two Presidents’ in Lebanon, Accuses FPM of ‘Catastrophic Failure’
Lebanese Lira Hits New Record Low on Black Market
FPM Denies Talks between Bassil and Safa over Polls Cancellation
Khoury Says Ministers Trial Council in Port Case Can be Discussed
Aoun Urges Citizens and Residents to Get Vaccinated
Aoun Preparing Dialogue Invitations, Nasrallah to Have 'Calm' Speech
NBN Calls FPM ‘Free Fall Movement’ as Amal MP Scheduled to Respond to Bassil

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 03-04/2022
IDF helicopter crashes off Israeli coast; crew members rescued
Iran Detects New 'Realism' from West in Nuclear Talks
Iran nuclear talks won’t end in good result for Israel - Lapid
Iran commemorates anniversary of Soleimani’s death
Iran Vows Revenge unless Trump Tried for Soleimani Killing
Bennett Reverses Netanyahu’s Decision to Release Palestinian Prisoners
Drone attack on US base foiled, Iraqi security sources say
Five Syrian Soldiers Killed, 20 Injured by ISIS
US Calls for Civilian Rule in Sudan after Hamdok Quits
Iran Not at Point of Recognizing Taliban's Government
Sudan’s Hamdok Quits as Premier after Failing to Restore Civilian Government
Two Tunisian Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Crash

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 03-04/2022
Zarif, living in past, slams Trump and Netanyahu again - analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
Iran sets its sights on symbolic revenge for Soleimani - analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
Despair Is Forbidden. We Must Not Fear/Raghida Dergham/The National/January 03/2022
America's 'Back to Basics' Policy – Year One/ Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/January 03/2022
The Biden Team Knows Its Iran Policy Is Failing/Anthony Ruggiero/Foreign Policy/January 03/2022
Blaming Israel, Not Muslims, for Christian Woes/Raymond Ibrahim web site/January 03/2022
Gatestone's Man of the Year - 2021/Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone Institute/January 03/2022
When Israel bombs Syria, Russia turns a blind eye/Nikola Mikovic/The Arab Weekly/January 03/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 03-04/2022
Nasrallah: Frankness Needed with FPM, Hizbullah Ready to Improve MoU
Naharnett/January 03/2022
Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced Monday that his party is ready to “improve” its 2006 memorandum of understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement, its main Christian ally, a day after FPM chief Jebran Bassil criticized Hizbullah over its alignment with Speaker Nabih Berri in several key issues. “We stress the importance of dialogue among the Lebanese and the importance of any invitation for dialogue among the Lebanese,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech commemorating slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, in response to President Michel Aoun’s latest call for national dialogue.“As for everything that has been mentioned and written about Hizbullah's relation with the FPM, I note that we are very keen on our allies and relation,” Nasrallah added. “We're keen on the understanding (with the FPM) and we're ready to improve it in a manner that achieves the national interest,” Nasrallah emphasized. He also noted that what was said by Aoun and Bassil over the past days are “issues that require frankness and clarifications.”Hizbullah’s leader also said that he will extensively address the domestic situations in another televised address in the coming days.

Sayyed Nasrallah to Saudi King: You Are the Terrorist, Not Hezbollah
Marwa Haidar/Al Manar/January 03/022
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed that the US is the source of tyranny and aggression in the region. Talking on the second martyrdom anniversary of former head of IRGC’s Quds Force General Qassem Suleimani and deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd Shaabi paramilitary force Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized on the difference between the martyrs and the “criminal” US. His eminence pointed to US crimes in the region starting from Afghanistan, to Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Sayyed Nasrallah said that the US has created ISIL in a bid to stay in the region. He noted that Saudi Arabia has backed the Takfiri group, through spreading its Wahhabi ideology. In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah hit back at the Saudi King who described Hezbollah as terrorist. He stressed that the terrorist is the one who sent thousands of Saudi Takfiris to fight in Syria and Iraq.
Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed that Hezbollah is a Resistance movement and not a terrorist one, accusing the regime in Riyadh of being terrorist.
Ties between Hezbollah, FPM
Sayyed Nasrallah started his speech by offering condolences over the martyrdom anniversary of Sayyeda Fatima Zahraa a.s., as well as the demise of Iranian envoy to Yemen Hassan Irloo. His eminence also congratulated Christians and Muslims on the Christmas and the New Year.
Before getting into the topic of the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed Hezbollah’s keenness to preserve ties with the party’s local allies, responding to allegations circulated by some media outlets that the relation between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) has worsened over latest developments in Lebanon. “We stress on the importance of dialogue between Lebanese people. We are keen on our allies and friends and open to developing ties,” Sayyed Nasrallah addressed attendees of the ceremony held in Beirut’s southern suburb, Dahiyeh.
The Killer-Martyr Formula
Talking about the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah noted that the repercussions of assassinating Gen. Suleimani and Al-Muhandis are still standing, stressing that marking their martyrdom anniversary shows some gratitude to their souls. “These two martyrs have given much to their countries, region, religions, but some want to deny their good. Opposition to raising their posters on the road to Beirut Airport is a form of this ingratitude.” Throughout the last two years, some major battles took place. Such battles proved that the Axis of Resistance is abiding by the path of these two great leaders, Sayyed Nasrallah said, citing the latest Israeli war on Gaza (Sword of Al-Quds), as well as what he called “Battle of Steadfastness in Yemen.” Hezbollah S.G. then talked about the killer-martyr formula, as he deplored putting Iran and the US on the same level. “There is a real problem in our region. This problem is represented by disagreements on designating the ally and the enemy of this region’s peoples.” “Our countries must take a firm stance towards the killer and the martyr. Iraq must take a clear position. The US is the one who occupied Iraq, oppressed its people and committed crimes even before the emergence of Gen. Suleimani.”
“The US created ISIL in order to redeploy its forces in Iraq. It bears responsibility for the crimes committed by ISIL. The US is the killer and the unprecedented hypocrite who committed crimes in Iraq, while Suleimani is the martyr who stood by the Iraqi people. Iran was the first sides who stood by the Iraqi people against ISIL which was created by the US.”“Is it fair to equate between the criminal US and Iran which stood beside Iraq? It’s catastrophic to do so.”
US Source of Tyranny, Oppression
Sayyed Nasralah then stressed that the US is the source of tyranny and oppression in the region. “The US is fully responsible for all Israelis crimes in Palestine and Lebanon. The US is behind all raids, massacres committed by the Zionist entity in Lebanon. How can we look to the US as a friend?!”
“As for the war on Yemen, it is an American war carried out by the US,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, as he elaborated on the US policy in the region, which is based on suing discord between its countries. In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah cited the Gulf siege on Qatar, noting that Gulf Arab countries were like puppets in the hand of the US. Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah also affirmed the US role in the war on Syria, pointing to what he called continued aggression on the Arab country through the economic blockade, especially the so-called Caesar Act. “In every place where the US was causing destruction, martyr Suleimani was present. He achieved victories, changed the equations and finally he sacrificed his soul on this path.” Hezbollah S.G. stressed here that the perpetrators who committed the assassination crimes of Suleimani and Al-Muhandis will be punished. “This is a promise by free people, not only by Iranians.”
Sayyed Nasrallah then affirmed that allowing US forces to stay in Iraq “means a new assassination of martyrs Suleimani and Al-Muhandis,” stressing that the only fate awaiting US forces in the region is the pullout. “The blood of martyrs Suleimani and Al-Muhandis delivers a message to all free people of this region. This message says: Know your enemy, the US is the head of aggression and the source of tyranny and oppression, don’t surrender.”“Terrorist” Saudi Sayyed Nasrallah talked about the Saudi regime’s role in backing ISIL, citing acknowledgements by Saudi officials in this regard. “Saudi Arabia backed ISIL. It sent suicide bombers and explosive-laden cars to Iraq.” “Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman said that the US had called on Riyadh to spread the Wahhabi ideology. Saudi Arabia sent its suicide bombers to kill Iraqi men and children, while Iran sent its fighters to defend Iraqi people.”
Sayyed Nasrallah then hit back at those who accuse Hezbollah of “harming” Lebanon’s diplomatic ties.
“Lebanon’s ties with whom? With the US which is a clear enemy? As for Saudi, we did not attack it, but rather, it was a partner in the universal war in this region.”“Who backed ISIL in Syria? The vast majority of Lebanese people know that Lebanon’s existence was in risk because of ISIL which was created by the US and backed by Saudi.” In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah commented on remarks made by Saudi King Salman, who described Hezbollah as a “terrorist organization.”“The terrorist is the one who sent thousands of Takfiri Saudis to Syria and Iraq. On the other hand, Hezbollah proudly defended the region against those conspirators.”“The terrorist is the one who takes thousands of Lebanese nationals in Gulf states hostages and threatens to expel them on daily basis.”“The resignation of a Lebanese minister won’t change the Saudi stance towards Lebanon since its problem is with the sides who foiled its scheme,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, referring to pressures exerted on former Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi to resign over remarks he made on the Saudi war on Yemen. “Hezbollah is a Resistance movement. It is not a terrorist, but you are so!”

“For God’s sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop [fueling] political and sectarian hatred,” PM Najib Mikati said in a series of tweets.
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/03 January ,2022
Lebanon’s government hit out at Hezbollah on Monday, shortly after the group’s leader made disparaging comments about Saudi Arabia. With the rare condemnation of the Iran-backed group by the Lebanese state, Prime Minister Najib Mikati implored for a halt to the fueling of “political and sectarian hatred.” “For God’s sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop [fueling] political and sectarian hatred,” Mikati said in a series of tweets. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia and its leadership of supporting terrorists and trying to make Lebanon a “Gulf emirate.”He also claimed that Saudi Arabia sent suicide bombers to Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Nasrallah was speaking on the second anniversary of the slaying of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US drone strike after he arrived in Baghdad. He was killed alongside the deputy leader of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Mikati voiced opposition to Hezbollah’s “trend of positions” that hurt the Lebanese population “first” and Lebanon’s ties with its “brothers, second.”“We have called for adopting the policy of dissociation from Arab disputes and refraining from harming Lebanon’s ties with Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia,” Mikati said. “What the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia tonight does not represent the stance of the Lebanese government or the broader Lebanese population. And it is not in the interest of Lebanon to harm any Arab country, especially Gulf countries,” he added. Iran has formed proxies or armed militias in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. Hezbollah has enjoyed increased sway over the Lebanese government in recent years and continues to possess arms outside of the state’s control. Palestinian refugee camps, outside of the state’s authority, are also filled with weapons. Since the outbreak of the Syrian war and Hezbollah’s support for the Houthis in Yemen, Lebanon’s ties with Gulf countries have soured. Saudi Arabia pulled its ambassador from Beirut, and several other Gulf nations followed suit last year after a Lebanese minister voiced support for the Houthis and criticized Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement admits frayed ties with Hezbollah, Amal
The Arab Weekly/January 03/2022
The head of Lebanon’s largest Christian party said on Sunday that a 15-year-old alliance with the country’s powerful Shia group Hezbollah was no longer working and must evolve, pinning frustration on Hezbollah’s other ally, the Shia Amal Movement. The televised speech by Gebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement, signalled an unprecedented level of frustration with Hezbollah and suggested the 2006 alliance credited with helping maintain peace in the small country was in jeopardy. Bassil’s comments come amid a devastating economic crisis and also ahead of critical parliamentary elections in which his party is expecting tough competition. Undoing the alliance with Hezbollah would cost him more votes in the May elections. But Bassil, a former foreign minister, said the alliance is costing him credibility with supporters. Bassil is also the son-in-law of Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun. He has positioned himself as a reformer and is believed to have ambitions to run for president himself. Bassil pinned his frustration on Hezbollah’s other ally, the powerful Shia Amal Movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He said in recent months Hezbollah has backed Berri’s Amal at the expense of their own alliance.
“We reached an understanding with Hezbollah (in 2006) not with Amal,” Bassil said in an hour-long speech. “When we discover that the one making decisions in (this alliance) is Amal, it is our right to reconsider.”
Hezbollah and its allies control most seats in parliament and are the main backers of the government that took office in September. But the government and parliament have been paralysed as political disagreements deepened and as Lebanon faces an unprecedented economic crisis unravelling since 2019.
Berri is an old-time rival of Bassil, who accused him of using his power in parliament to block several of his draft bills. Recently, Hezbollah and Amal have been widely critical of the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port investigation, accusing the judge of being biased against their allies— a position at odds with Bassil’s party. Hezbollah has asked for the judge to be removed, leading to a paralysis within the government. Deadly clashes in October that pitted Amal and Hezbollah supporters against Christian gunmen were triggered by the investigation dispute and further strained relations with Bassil’s party, which accused Amal of the violence. Bassil criticised Hezbollah for not backing his party on reform laws that he says aim to weed out corruption and ensure decentralised financial policies, or in efforts to protect constitutional powers of the president. Such choices have left Bassil unable to justify to his supporters Hezbollah’s decisions, he added, openly blaming Berri for the rift. “It is understandable why the Americans want to corner Hezbollah, but it is not understandable why (Hezbollah) wants to corner themselves,” Bassil said of Hezbollah’s alliance with Berri. Hezbollah is designated a terrorist group by the United States. Bassil has been placed on a US sanctions list for corruption. He claims the sanctions are to pressure him to undo his alliance with Hezbollah. “We don’t want to cancel or tear apart the (2006) memorandum of understanding,” Bassil said. “But we want it to evolve because it no longer responds to the challenges, particularly economic and financial, facing us.”Supporters hail the alliance as a step toward a more democratic Lebanon, transcending traditional Christian-Shia rivalry. For Hezbollah, the alliance with Christian groups, which traditionally sided with the West, provided it with cover after its 2006 war with Israel. “Naturally, we are stronger electorally if allied with Hezbollah,” Bassil said. “But between winning the elections and gaining ourselves, we choose ourselves, our credibility and our dignity.”

Lebanon 'failed state' under Hezbollah leadership, says party's ally
Tzvi Joffre/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
Hezbollah ally Gebran Bassil attacked Hezbollah for preventing Lebanon's cabinet from meeting. Gebran Bassil, the head of the Hezbollah-ally Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), attacked Hezbollah for holding up Lebanon's cabinet for over two months on Sunday, saying that the state is a "failure" under Hezbollah's leadership, according to Lebanese media. The FPM and Hezbollah have been allies since 2006 when they signed a memorandum of understanding known as the Mar Mikhael agreement. The agreement established an alliance between the two parties and expressed a commitment to a number of principles on how the Lebanese state should be structured. Bassil called for a major change to the entire system of government in Lebanon, saying “we want a civil, secular state, a strong army, a productive economy and an independent foreign policy," according to Naharnet. Referring to Hezbollah's refusal to allow a cabinet meeting unless Justice Tarek Bitar is removed from the Beirut port blast case, Bassil expressed outrage that "some have turned consensual democracy into a veto right for every sect, and they're using it to paralyze Cabinet or even prevent voting on ordinary resolutions."
Bassil additionally stressed that the "resistance" (referring to Hezbollah's military forces) must remain under the state and not above it. "We cannot afford to lose the state for the resistance." The FPM leader additionally expressed outrage that Hezbollah was maintaining its alliance with the Amal party, blaming Amal for holding up votes in the parliament. Bassil claimed that Hezbollah had no answers for the issues at hand and that their only answer was "Berri!" according to Naharnet. “Lebanon cannot be without a state! They (Hezbollah) are losing people's sympathy and the problem has become with all communities, from all orientations and sects, both allies and rivals," stressed Bassil. "I have warned that the problem has become deep within the FPM's bases, and when I no longer become convinced of some things, I do not try to convince them of them." Despite the criticism of Hezbollah, Bassil stressed that the FPM still chose the Mar Mikhael agreement over joining with the Christian Lebanese Forces, saying that the Force's leader, Samir Gaegea, "has always been linked to foreign interests, whether Israel or the United States." However, Bassil warned that while joining with Hezbollah would make them stronger in elections, the FPM would rather be alone if it meant retaining their honesty and dignity. Bassil additionally stressed that he had tried to improve the Mar Mikhael agreement with Hezbollah behind closed doors and was only making these public statements because those talks did not meet their demands.
Bassil's comments come a week after Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the founder of the FPM, attacked Hezbollah for holding up the cabinet meeting, demanding that the "unjustified, deliberate and systematic blockage which dismantles the State and drives it to its demise" be ended.
"By which law, by which logic, by which constitution is the Council of Ministers blocked, asked to make a decision that does not fall within its powers and have its action frozen over an issue that does not represent a pact-related disagreement?" said Aoun. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Monday at 6 p.m. to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Hezbollah has expressed strong opposition in recent months to Bitar continuing the investigation. The case has been suspended multiple times due to allegations of bias filed by officials who have been charged by the judge. Both implied and explicit threats have been made by Hezbollah and its allies against Bitar in recent months, claiming that the investigation is being influenced by foreign and political pressure. The investigation into the Beirut port blast has also been halted for a fourth time due to a lawsuit by ex-ministers who Bitar had summoned for investigation.

Lebanon's Bassil Attacks Hezbollah, Berri, Threatens to End Mar Mikhael Agreement
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Head of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil launched an unprecedented attack against Hezbollah on Sunday, threatening to break off the alliance established between the FPM and party by the 2006 Mar Mikhael agreement. Bassil also did not spare parliament Speaker Nabih Berri - a Hezbollah ally - from his criticism. Speaking at a press conference, the FPM leader spoke of "major change" that should cover all national life in Lebanon. He spoke of the Mar Mikhael agreement, saying the FPM "chose understanding instead of strife". "It struck a national agreement, not a sectarian one, "he added. "The deal also included an agreement on the defense strategy, consensual democracy and the building of a state where the weapons would only be used to protect Lebanon."Bassil said he did not want to "eliminate" the understanding with Hezbollah, but rather he wanted to "develop it because it no longer applies to current challenges, especially economic and financial ones." "We supported the resistance against Israel and ISIS and we supported it politically, not with money, weapons or lives," he went on to say. "In return, we received political support to cement rights through national partnership and balance," he continued. "We chose Mar Mikhael over Tayyouneh and we are committed to this choice," he stressed. "Where, however, has the Mar Mikhael agreement been implemented? Where is state building?" The Tayyouneh area was the scene of protests organized by Hezbollah and its Amal movement ally in October against Judge Tarek Bitar who is probing the August 2020 Beirut blast. The protests soon escalated in clashes between the Shiite duo and Lebanese Forces supporters. "Our priority is the state and reforms," continued Bassil. "Their priority is resistance and defending it. We have stated that the both can remain as long as the resistance stays under the state, not above it.""We cannot lose the state [for the sake of the resistance], but we may gain the two." Bassil, however, remarked that the Amal movement, led by Berri, now dictates the Mar Mikhael agreement. He said the FPM signed the deal with Hezbollah, not Amal.
"When we discover that Amal is now calling the shots in the agreement, then we have the right to reconsider it," he added. "Return to Mar Mikhael. You will find us there." Bassil acknowledged that "we would be in a stronger position for the elections if we are allied with Hezbollah.""But faced with the choice of winning the election or winning ourselves, we would choose our credibility and dignity," he declared. Elections are scheduled for May.

Berri Says Would Attend Aoun's Dialogue but Skeptic on Results
Naharnet/January 03/2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has announced that he would attend national dialogue if invited by President Michel Aoun, as he warned against the postponement of parliamentary elections. “I cannot boycott a dialogue I’m invited to, but what’s important is the result of any dialogue,” Berri said in an interview with the Lubnan al-Kabir news portal. The Speaker also stressed that the parliamentary elections must be held on time, warning that postponement would have “disastrous consequences for Lebanon.”He also emphasized “the great importance of the participation of ex-PM Saad Hariri and al-Mustaqbal Movement, given what they represent, in this juncture.” He added that “any boycott by them would have repercussions on the shape of the next parliament.”

Khalil Says There are ‘Two Presidents’ in Lebanon, Accuses FPM of ‘Catastrophic Failure’
Naharnet/January 03/2022
The political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, said Monday in response to Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil’s “rude accusations” that the Shiite Duo cannot be “blackmailed” by any “words of incitement.”The alliance between “the patriotic duo” is based on transparency and respect, Khalil said. The lawmaker went on to accuse the FPM of disrupting Cabinet sessions in the past, of corruption at the Ministry of Energy, of shelving draft laws, of covering up for thefts and of causing half of the Christians to emigrate. “There is diffusion in responsibility, when two presidents are elected at the same time,” Khalil said. He added that Bassil is not defending the Christian rights, that were “wasted” by the FPM, but rather “his clan’s rights.”“The Lebanese have lived years of disruption for the son-in-law’s sake,” Khalil said. He added that Bassil is speaking of financial decentralization “to cover up the catastrophic failure and waste at the Ministry of Energy,” and accused Bassil and President Michel Aoun of shelving and delaying many draft laws. Concerning the Tayyouneh clashes, Khalil asked “how the right to expression and demonstration became a conspiracy and how Bassil considered it an illegal act.” Hizbullah and Amal have been widely critical of the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port investigation, accusing the judge of being biased and asking for his dismissal — a position at odds with Bassil's party. The dispute triggered October deadly clashes, further straining relations with Bassil’s party, which accused Amal of the violence.

Lebanese Lira Hits New Record Low on Black Market
Naharnet/January 03/2022
The Lebanese pound sank to a new low on the black market on Monday, with no end in sight to the economic and political crisis gripping the country. According to apps monitoring the black market rate, the pound was trading at 29,000 to the dollar on Monday afternoon, a record low.
Lebanon is mired in an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern times, but officials are yet to strike an international bailout deal. The financial meltdown began in 2019, and Lebanon defaulted on its debt last year. Negotiations with the IMF opened in May 2020, but after two months they stalled amid arguments over the size of financial losses. Talks resumed in September this year after the formation of a new government headed by Prime Minister Najib Miqati. Lebanese officials have yet to submit a plan for negotiation. But they have since agreed that financial sector losses amount to around $69 billion, according to Deputy Prime Minister Saade al-Shami, who is leading Lebanon's IMF negotiation team. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value in two years, and four out five Lebanese are living under the U.N.'s poverty threshold. Even though the official value of the pound still stands at 1,507 to the dollar, the central bank has adopted multiple exchange rates to try to combat its devaluation on the black market. A unification of the different rates "would not be possible" without an IMF deal and political consensus, central bank governor Riad Salameh said this month, adding that $12-15 billion was needed to kickstart recovery.

FPM Denies Talks between Bassil and Safa over Polls Cancellation
Naharnet/January 03/2022
The Free Patriotic Movement's Central Committee for Information and Communication denied Monday any talks between FPM chief Jebran Bassil and Hizbullah coordination official Wafiq Safa over the cancellation of the parliamentary elections. The committee said in a statement that the FPM is against extending Parliament’s term. It said the FPM was the only party that opposed the extension of Parliament’s term, considering it a serious violation of the Constitution. Furthermore, the committee added that the parliamentary elections are today “a domestic need and an international request.”
The statement expressed the committee’s disappointment over the media outlets that “instead of adhering to truth and objectivity, have become subservient to money and a tool for political assassination.”

Khoury Says Ministers Trial Council in Port Case Can be Discussed
Naharnet/January 03/2022
Justice Minister Henri Khoury on Monday expressed openness to the possibility of referring the accused former officials in the port blast case to the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers – a 15-member body comprised of MPs and judges that has rarely been active throughout Lebanon’s history. Khoury voiced his remarks in a meeting with a delegation from the Beirut Bar Association. “This file is in the hands of the judiciary, which is performing its duties in this regard,” the minister said, in response to a question about the port blast file. As for the issue of the parliamentary-judicial Higher Council, Khoury said: “This matter is a legal point that is up to discussion, that’s why no legal stance must be rushed about it.”

Aoun Urges Citizens and Residents to Get Vaccinated
Naharnet/January 03/2022
President Michel Aoun on Monday received a series of reports about the development of the coronavirus situation in the country amid the significant surge in cases, especially among those who are yet to be vaccinated. In this regard, Aoun urged all citizens and residents who have not been inoculated to head to hospitals and health centers to take the jab and to cooperate with the campaigns that the Health Ministry is organizing in the various regions to this end. “It is necessary to take the vaccine, which provides immunity and limits the severity and consequences of infections, according to the reports of the specialized doctors,” the President added.

Aoun Preparing Dialogue Invitations, Nasrallah to Have 'Calm' Speech
Naharnet/January 03/2022
President Michel Aoun is preparing to send out invitations to the national dialogue conference he has called for and based on the agenda that he mentioned, a media report said. A source following up on the file meanwhile told Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that “the Shiite Duo’s decision is final as to meeting the invitation to dialogue.”The source added that, in his speech on Monday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will “calmly and positively” answer all the “concerns-questions” that have been raised by each of Aoun and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, “especially that both of them escalated their political stances within the format of questions and concerns, without resorting to the direct confrontation option.”

NBN Calls FPM ‘Free Fall Movement’ as Amal MP Scheduled to Respond to Bassil
Naharnet/January 03/2022
The political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Ali Hassan Khalil, will hold today a press conference in response to Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil’s speech. Bassil on Sunday pinned his frustration on the Amal Movement, saying that in recent months Hizbullah has backed Berri at the expense of their own alliance that is “no longer working.”“We reached an understanding with Hizbullah (in 2006) not with Amal,” Bassil said in an hour-long speech. “When we discover that the one making decisions (in this alliance) is Amal, it is our right to reconsider.”Berri, an old-time rival of Bassil, had reportedly asked his officials not to hit back, when President Michel Aoun gave a speech last week as “the speech came up less than expected,” according to Amal sources. But today, a heated response is expected. Berri’s NBN slammed Bassil on Sunday, saying that the Free Patriotic Movement has become a “free fall movement” and that he was solely right when he said that “he lacks understanding.” Shiite duo circles described “Bassil’s determination to come between Hizbullah and Amal as a desperate attempt,” the PSP's al-Anbaa news portal reported Monday. The news portal also added that Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s circles were surprised that Bassil didn’t mention in his speech the government and the Cabinet sessions’ resumption, hinting that the speech likely had electoral purposes. Lebanese Forces sources, for their part, said that Bassil who is “claiming to have clean hands” has been placed on a U.S. sanctions list for corruption. Bassil claims the sanctions are to pressure him to undo his alliance with Hizbullah. Meanwhile, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will give a speech today to mark the second anniversary of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani’s death by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq two years ago.
It is not known whether he will respond to Bassil who signaled an unprecedented level of frustration with Hizbullah and suggested the 2006 alliance was in jeopardy. Bassil’s comments come ahead of critical parliamentary elections in which his party is expecting tough competition. Undoing the alliance with Hizbullah would cost him more votes in the May elections. But the FPM’s chief, believed to have ambitions to run for president himself, said the alliance is costing him credibility with supporters. Recently, Hizbullah and Amal have been widely critical of the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port investigation, accusing the judge of being biased against their allies— a position at odds with Bassil's party. Hizbullah has asked for the judge to be removed, leading to a paralysis within the government. Deadly clashes in October that pitted Amal and Hizbullah supporters against Christian gunmen were triggered by the investigation dispute and further strained relations with Bassil’s party, which accused Amal of the violence.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 03-04/2022
IDF helicopter crashes off Israeli coast; crew members rescued
Ynetnews/January 04/2022
One crew member taken to Haifa hospital in fair to moderate condition, suffering from hypothermia; condition of both pilots still unknown; circumstances of crash being investigated.  An Israeli military helicopter crashed off the coast of the northern city Haifa Monday night with three crew members on board. One crew member was rescued and taken to the city's Rambam Health Care Campus in fair to moderate condition, suffering from hypothermia. The hospital said he was treated in its shock ward and was then moved to its intensive care unit for further care. Search-and-rescue teams also recovered the helicopter's two pilots after more than an hour at sea. Their condition remains unknown. The helicopter — a Eurocopter AS565 Panther, or "Atalef" (Hebrew for bat) as it is known by the Israeli Air Force — was taking part in a training exercise when it went down, according to the military. The circumstances of the crash are being investigated.

Iran Detects New 'Realism' from West in Nuclear Talks
Agence France Presse/January 03/2022
Iran said Monday it has detected a new "realism" on the part of Western countries, ahead of further negotiations in Vienna aimed at rescuing an accord on its nuclear program. "We sense a retreat, or rather realism from the Western parties in the Vienna negotiations, that there can be no demands beyond the nuclear accord," struck by Tehran and world powers in 2015, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. However, "it is too early to judge if the United States and the three European countries have drawn up a real agenda to commit to lifting sanctions," he said. Negotiations to restore the accord began last year but stopped in June as Iran elected ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi. They resumed in late November and the latest round is due to restart on Monday after a three-day break for the end of year holidays. The 2015 deal offered Iran much-needed relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy, in return for curbs on its nuclear program. But then-US president Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the deal in 2018 prompted Tehran to walk back on its commitments. "Today is the time for the opposing parties to show their commitment and show that we can progress in the area of lifting sanctions, of guarantees and verification, on which we have made little progress," the spokesman said. On Thursday, Washington voiced concern about a new Iranian space launch last week but indicated it was still pursuing diplomacy to return to a nuclear deal. "The United States remains concerned with Iran's development of space launch vehicles, which pose a significant proliferation concern," a State Department spokesperson said. Trump's successor President Joe Biden backs a return to the nuclear deal, with Washington indirectly taking part in the European-brokered negotiations on reviving the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "Iran's nuclear program was effectively constrained by the JCPOA," the spokesperson said. "That is why we are seeking a mutual return to full compliance with the deal."

Iran nuclear talks won’t end in good result for Israel - Lapid
Lahav Harkov/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
Lapid said the Vienna talks “won’t reach an optimal result as far as we’re concerned, but we are always working with the people involved to improve the result for Israel.” The negotiations for Iran to return to compliance with its nuclear deal with world powers will not come to a good result for Israel, but Jerusalem is trying to mitigate the damage, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Monday, as talks were set to continue in Vienna. “The prime minister, defense minister and I said that we are not against any agreement; a good deal is a good thing,” Lapid said at a press briefing. “There is an intense discussion of what a good deal entails. In that discussion, we are at the table. The world, including the involved parties, is listening - including this morning.” Lapid said the Vienna talks “won’t reach an optimal result as far as we’re concerned, but we are always working with the people involved to improve the result for Israel.” Those discussions will bring “a lot of small achievements, not a big one” for Israel, he predicted. Lapid said Israel has successfully gotten the world to pay attention to the Iranian nuclear threat and negotiations. “At the beginning, [the Americans acted] like ‘let’s get this over with and move to the really important thing, China,’” Lapid said. “That’s not what’s happening now. It’s a central issue.”
Lapid was confident that the other parties to the talks - the UK, France, and Germany, as well as Russia and China more than in the past - are taking Israel’s position seriously. “We feel we succeeded to some extent - I don’t want to exaggerate - to get the world to listen to us,” he said. Israel has maintained that, while it is working to influence its process, it is not committed to the agreement and has freedom to act, a senior diplomatic official with knowledge of Israel’s engagement on the Iran talks said, echoing public statements by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Israel’s main goal is to prevent funds flowing into Iran through the removal of sanctions and other means, the source said. The official gave an example of the US wanting to release over $7 billion that Iran has in South Korean banks, saying it would go to humanitarian aid, whereas Israel argued that money is fungible and in the end, that would cause an influx of funds to proxies in Iraq and Syrian and Iran’s nuclear program.
When it comes to the progress in Iran’s nuclear program, Israel has been able to rely on its allies, the source said, citing UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as a strong voice on the matter. In addition, Israel has constant discussions about the Iranian threat that is beyond the scope of the JCPOA, such as its missile program and sponsorship of terrorism. As for an interim agreement, Israel is concerned that it would still leave Iran weeks away from nuclear breakout. Referring to Americans diplomats calling such an agreement - by which the US would provide some economic relief while the Iranians froze its nuclear program -  different names like “less for less,” “freeze for freeze,” or an interim agreement, the source said compared it to the Jewish custom of renaming a sick baby in hopes that the evil eye will be confused and the child will get well. World powers’ negotiations with Iran were set to resume on Monday, after a break for New Years weekend. In recent rounds of talks, Western diplomats expressed frustration that Iran demanded the removal of all US sanctions from recent years, without agreeing to concessions on its nuclear program, while advancing its uranium enrichment as negotiations took place. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed at a press conference on Monday morning that the West retreated from its “maximalist demands.” That language echoed comments by Russian envoy to the Iran talks Mikhail Ulyanov that had backed down from its “maximalist demands.” “We have made progress in four areas of verification, guarantees, lifting of sanctions and nuclear issues - in some areas more, in some areas less,” Khatibzadeh said. “Little progress has been made in areas related to the other side’s commitments.”Khatibzadeh also confirmed that negotiations with the US have continued to be indirect, with diplomats not speaking to one another, but they have passed written texts through interlocutors.

Iran commemorates anniversary of Soleimani’s death
Al-Monitor/January 03/2022
Iranians marked the two-year anniversary of the death of former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, vowing to "exact revenge." Iranian officials and media outlets have been paying tribute to the former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by a US drone strike two years ago. Speaking at an event in Tehran commemorating Soleimani’s death, President Ebrahim Raisi said that Soleimani was “not just an individual, but a doctrine, and that he will not be destroyed with an assassination and missiles — doctrines remain and survive.” Raisi added that Soleimani’s “path is the continuation of the path of Imam Khomeini and Imam Khamenei.” In a meeting with Soleimani’s family, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that “honesty and sincerity are the essence of determinant of Soleimani’s doctrine, which built his life and martyrdom.” Khamenei added that the late commander “was and is the most nationalist and religious person in Iran and the world of Islam.” He used the word "ummah," signifying the Muslim nation at large. The doctrine of Soleimani, as Iranian officials like to refer to it, is the country’s effort to promote his legacy. As head of the Quds Force, Soleimani was responsible for military operations outside of Iran’s borders, particularly in supporting so-called “resistance groups,” or groups that Iran supports in the region militarily and that are aligned with Iran’s geopolitical ambitions. Soleimani played a large role in supporting Shiite groups in Iraq and various forces in Syria. When Soleimani was assassinated at the Baghdad International Airport, he was with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces who played a significant role with Soleimani in the region in supporting various groups.  Soleimani specifically came to prominence during the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, with pictures of him emerging showing him close to the front line. Iran had carefully cultivated his image as a nationalist and religious hero who was defending the country against terrorists and enemies. Spokesperson for the IRGC Ramazan Sharif said that the United States and others behind the assassination “should await the repercussions.” Immediately after the attack, Iran launched missiles at the Ain al-Asad US air base in Iraq. Called Operation Martyr Soleimani, the attack caused extensive damage and also reportedly resulted in long-term health problems for many US soldiers at the base. Iran has also called for the prosecution of US officials for the attack. President Raisi said that former US President Donald Trump, who ordered the drone strike, must be prosecuted and face the maximum punishment. Raisi also included former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who advocated for the strike, as among those who should face prosecution. Raisi said that if there is not a prosecution of Trump and Pompeo, Iran will exact revenge itself.

Iran Vows Revenge unless Trump Tried for Soleimani Killing
Agence France Presse/Monday,03 January, 2022
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge against Donald Trump if the former U.S. president is not tried over the killing of Qassem Soleimani, as Tehran marked two years since the commander's death. "The aggressor and the main assassin, the then president of the United States, must face justice and retribution," Raisi said. "It would be ok if the trial of Mr. Trump, (former secretary of State Mike) Pompeo and other criminals was held in a fair court where their horrible crimes were addressed and they faced justice for their actions," he added. "Otherwise, I will tell all US leaders that without a doubt the hand of revenge will emerge from the sleeve of the Muslim nation." Raisi was addressing thousands at Tehran's biggest prayer hall, at Iran's main event to mark Soleimani's death anniversary during a week of commemorations. Participants held national flags and portraits of the slain commander, state TV showed. Raisi called Soleimani a symbol of the Iranian revolution and of "bravery and rationality." Soleimani, former commander of the Quds' force, the foreign operations' arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a US drone strike near Bagdad's airport on January 3, 2020. Five days later, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. airbase in Ain al-Assad housing American troops in Iraq, and another near Arbil in the north. No U.S. troops were killed in those strikes but Washington said dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries from the blasts.
Trump said at the time he had ordered the drone strike in response to a number of attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq, and with more expected. Iran's foreign ministry said in a Twitter post on Friday that "the current U.S. government bears definitive international responsibility for this crime."

Bennett Reverses Netanyahu’s Decision to Release Palestinian Prisoners
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Army Reserve General Moshe Tal revealed Sunday that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed twice to conclude a prisoner swap deal with Hamas but then backed out. However, he affirmed that PM Naftali Bennett has reviewed the file and figured that the deal includes releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, so he refused to proceed with the matter, hindering its implementation. Tal, a former army official responsible for prisoners, resigned from his post on Tuesday. He left the army intelligence in 2019 and remained as the chief-of-staff’s representative for dealing with captives and missing soldiers at the Prime Minister’s Office. In an interview with Army Radio, Tal said he resigned because he felt Israel doesn’t want to return the Israeli prisoners held by Hamas, especially the political leadership, which gets to decide in this matter. The Israeli decision-makers do not have enough “will and motivation to carry on the process,” Tal said, noting that when the former leadership reached an agreement to release Gilad Shalit in exchange for Israel releasing 1,050 Palestinian prisoners it was due to a great public pressure. “However, the situation is currently in favor of Hamas and pressure is being exerted on us (Israel).” Tal further referred to several missed opportunities to release Israeli soldiers and citizens, even with military operations against the Gaza Strip to put pressure on Hamas. He pointed out that the replacement of the US administration had eased pressure, and that the Egyptians are pushing for a deal. When asked about Bennett, and whether he had changed his predecessor's approach to this issue, Tal said, “if he is a leader, he must make decisions.” He underlined the obligations of previous governments that agreed to release many Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is holding the bodies of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed in the 2014 Gaza War, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. Israel has presented the return of the captives and missing soldiers as a condition for making any progress in negotiations over the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the repair of infrastructure damaged during May’s hostilities with Hamas.

Drone attack on US base foiled, Iraqi security sources say
Reuters/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
The words "Soleimani's revenge" were written on the wing of one of the drones, indicating that the attempted attack was connected to the two-year anniversary of the Iranian general's assassination. Two armed drones were shot down on Monday as they approached an Iraqi military base hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi security sources said, adding that nobody was hurt in the incident. The attack came as Iran and its allies in Iraq marked the second anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was killed in a drone strike near Baghdad airport ordered by then-US president Donald Trump. Commenting on the attack, an official of the US-led international military coalition said the base's defense system had engaged "two fixed-wing suicide drones. They were shot down without incident." "This was a dangerous attack on a civilian airport," the coalition official said in a brief statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Armed groups that some Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran have claimed responsibility for similar incidents in the past. Footage provided by the coalition official showed what the official said was debris of two fixed-wing drones destroyed in the attack, with writing clearly visible on the wing of one drone reading "Soleimani's revenge." Soleimani, head of an elite overseas unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was killed along with Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on Jan. 3, 2020, in a US drone strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport. Hundreds of supporters of Iran-backed militia groups gathered on Sunday at Baghdad airport to mark the anniversary of Soleimani's death and to chant anti-American slogans.

Drone Attack on US Base Foiled, Iraqi Security Sources Say
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Two armed drones were shot down on Monday as they approached an Iraqi military base hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi security sources said, reporting no casualties. The attack came as Iran and its allies in Iraq marked the second anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was killed in a drone strike near Baghdad airport ordered by then-US president Donald Trump.

Five Syrian Soldiers Killed, 20 Injured by ISIS
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Five Syrian soldiers were killed and 20 injured in a rocket attack by ISIS militants on a military transport bus on Sunday in the east of the country at approximately 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), Syrian state media said on Monday. ISIS, the extremist group that declared a so-called “caliphate” straddling parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, has lost all territory that was under its control in 2019. However, the group continues to wage a low-level insurgency in both countries. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat in remarks published Monday that seven regime troops were killed in an ISIS attack on an oil field in Raqqa’s countryside on Saturday night. Heavy fighting between the two sides left seven soldiers dead, the sources said.

US Calls for Civilian Rule in Sudan after Hamdok Quits
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
The United States has urged Sudanese leaders to ensure civilian rule and end violence against protesters after Abdalla Hamdok resigned as prime minister. "After PM Hamdok's resignation, Sudanese leaders should set aside differences, find consensus and ensure continued civilian rule," the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs said in a tweet. Hamdok, an economist and former United Nations official widely respected by the international community, had served as prime minister under a military-civilian power sharing deal that followed the overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The military dissolved his government in a coup in October, but he returned a month later under a deal that tasked him with forming a government of technocrats ahead of elections in 2023. Hamdok announced on Sunday that he was resigning after being unable to forge a consensus to bring the transition forward. He called for dialogue to reach a new agreement for the transition. His resignation came hours after the latest round of mass rallies against the military. At least 57 civilians have been killed as security forces have moved to contain or disperse demonstrations since the Oct. 25 coup, according to medics aligned with the protest movement. Further protests are planned for Tuesday.

Iran Not at Point of Recognizing Taliban's Government
Agence France Presse/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Iran has not reached the point of recognizing the Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan, the foreign ministry said Monday. "Today, we are basically not at the point of recognizing" the Taliban, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference.
"We hope that the governing body of Afghanistan will move, through its actions, in a direction that will enable it to achieve international recognition," he said. "Iran and the neighboring countries of Afghanistan insist particularly on the formation of an inclusive government which reflects the ethnic and demographic diversity of this country."Shiite-majority Iran, which shares a 900-kilometer (550-mile) border with Afghanistan, did not recognize the Sunni movement's rule during their 1996 to 2001 stint in power. Already host to millions of Afghans and fearing a new influx, Tehran has sought to sketch a rapprochement with the Taliban since their lightning seizure of Kabul amid the U.S. withdrawal last August. The Taliban has formed an all-male cabinet made up entirely of members of the group, and almost exclusively of ethnic Pashtuns.
It has further restricted women's rights to work and study, triggering widespread international condemnation.

Sudan’s Hamdok Quits as Premier after Failing to Restore Civilian Government
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Sunday he was resigning, six weeks after returning to his post in a deal with military coup leaders he argued could save a transition toward democracy. Hamdok, who had failed to name a government as protests continued against the military takeover in October, said a roundtable discussion was needed to produce a new agreement for Sudan's political transition. "I decided to give back the responsibility and announce my resignation as prime minister, and give a chance to another man or woman of this noble country to ... help it pass through what's left of the transitional period to a civilian democratic country," Hamdok said in a televised address. The announcement throws Sudan's political future even deeper into uncertainty, three years after an uprising that led to the overthrow of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir. An economist and former United Nations official widely respected by the international community, Hamdok became prime minister under a power-sharing agreement between the military and civilians following Bashir's overthrow. Ousted and placed under house arrest by the military during a coup on Oct. 25, he was reinstated in November. But the deal for his return was denounced by many in the civilian coalition that had previously supported him and by protesters who continued to hold mass demonstrations against military rule.
Risk of 'Disaster'
On Sunday Hamdok said he had tried in vain to forge a consensus between deeply divided factions that would have allowed for the completion of a peace process signed with some rebel groups in 2020, and the preparation of elections in 2023. "I have tried as far as I am able to spare our country the danger of slipping into disaster," Hamdok said. "Despite all that was done to bring about the desired and necessary agreement to fulfill our promise to the citizen of security, peace, justice and an end to bloodshed, this did not happen."
In the latest rallies on Sunday, hours before Hamdok's speech, security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in Khartoum as protesters marched toward the presidential palace. At least three people were killed, bringing to 57 the death toll in protests since the Oct. 25 coup, a doctors' committee aligned with the protest movement said. Six died and hundreds were injured in nationwide demonstrations on Thursday. The military has said it will allow peaceful protests, and will hold to account those found responsible for violence. Among the economic reforms Hamdok oversaw were the removal of costly fuel subsidies and a sharp devaluation of the currency. Those enabled Sudan to qualify for relief on at least $56 billion of foreign debt and a long-running economic crisis had shown signs of easing. The coup put the debt relief deal in doubt and froze extensive Western economic backing for Sudan. On his return as prime minister in November, Hamdok said he wanted to preserve the economic steps taken by the transitional government and halt bloodshed after rising numbers of casualties from the crackdown on protests.

Two Tunisian Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Crash
Agence France Presse/Monday, 3 January, 2022
Two Tunisian soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash on Monday, one instantly and the other of his wounds in hospital, the defense ministry said. The military helicopter crashed in the early afternoon during a routine mission in the northern Tunisia region of Bizerte. "The copilot was killed during the crash and the pilot, who was severely injured, was swiftly transported to the regional hospital in Bizerte, where he died," defense ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri told AFP. In early October, three Tunisian soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash during a nighttime training exercise in the southern region of Gabes.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 03-04/2022
Zarif, living in past, slams Trump and Netanyahu again - analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
The former Foreign Minister is out of office, so he no longer needs to tweet propaganda.
In a bizarre tweet on the first of the month the former Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif decided to memorialize former IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani by slamming former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump. This was a throwback to a bygone era when Zarif was the toast of the town in the West, hanging out with smiling western diplomats, while he blamed calls for war on Trump and Netanyahu. Zarif, like some other Iranian officials, has a Twitter account that tweets in English. While Iran crushes protests at home and suppresses its own people from using social media, its leaders use social media. Because companies like Twitter don’t ban dictatorships from doing this, enabling their leaders while often banning politicians in democracies, this contradictory arrangement persists.
The tweets in English from the Zarif account are often designed to fit center-left American and European media narratives. However, now that Trump and Netanyahu are gone, his main talking points appears to have evaporated. In addition, Zarif is out of office, so he no longer needs to tweet propaganda.
However, on January 1 he tweeted about Qasem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC Quds Force who the US killed in January 2020. It is the two year anniversary of Soleimani’s death. Zarif used to pretend to be primarily a diplomat, but he has tried to ride the legacy of Soleimani over the last years. “2 years ago, I lost a friend, Iran a hero and the world a champion in fighting terrorism,” he tweeted. While Soleimani was fighting ISIS, Zarif felt more comfortable in nice suits relaxing in Europe or the US meeting officials and hamming it up for the cameras. When Soleimani was dead, Zarif tried to pretend they knew each other. In fact Zarif has critiqued him secretly. Now Zarif’s latest attempt to manipulate the narrative is to try to latch onto anger in the US over the January 6 pro-Trump riots in the US capital last year. “To those in denial, Trump's true colors were on full display only a year later in US Capitol,” he wrote. This is classic Zarif, reading western media and pretending that he is “woke.” But he went further on January 1, slamming the former Israeli and US leaders. “The world needs brave fighters like #Soleimani—not coward warmongers like Trump, Netanyahu and Co.” This is a reminder of the days when he was foreign minister and would use Trump and Netanyahu as a straw man, always claiming they wanted war or pretending Israel controlled US foreign policy. He used to call them the “B team.” But that team is now out of office, as is Zarif. Yet he is living in the past, thinking that tweeting about the former leaders will still work. However, the world has changed. There are new administrations in Iran, the US and Israel. While some aspects of the national positions of these new leaders has not changed, there are still fundamental differences. However, Zarif is still riding the “Trump” media narrative, still trying to score points by slamming “Netanyahu.” It’s not clear who his audience is. His own government doesn’t seem to care what he does. Iranians who supported Soleimani know that Zarif is no Soleimani. Soleimani wore modest outfits and went to the frontlines. Zarif enjoyed dinners and hotels in the West. If the tweet won’t be read by Iranians or regime backers, and no one in the West really cares about this narrative anymore, it’s not clear what credentials Zarif thinks he is still showing off.

Iran sets its sights on symbolic revenge for Soleimani - analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 03/2022
That Iran chose a relatively inexpensive and simple weapon and message to show the US that it remembers the Soleimani anniversary could show that they str going for the symbolic gestures.
Iran has preferred symbolic attacks on the anniversary of the death of Qasem Soleimani on Monday. The IRGC Quds Force head was killed by the US two years ago and on the anniversary, drones with his name mentioning “revenge” were reportedly used to target US forces in Baghdad.
According to Nafiseh Kohnavard, a correspondent for the BBC covering Iraq, “two ‘suicide drones’ aimed at Baghdad airport, housing US-led coalition, were shot down by US def[ense] system, C-RAM at around 0430 this morning.” She noted the wreckage has “leader’s revenge” and “Soleimani’s revenge,” written on the wings of the drones. These drones were not much larger than a person and had wooden propellers. Such simple drones can be used to fly to a pre-arranged target. However, they don’t have large munitions on them usually. Iran has exported kamikaze-style drones and technology to fly them to Yemen, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. It has increasingly used drones to target the US and Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia and other states.
That Iran chose a relatively inexpensive and simple weapon and message to show the US that it remembers the Soleimani anniversary could show that Iran is going for the symbolic gestures. There have been rage-filled speeches in Iraq by pro-Iranian proxies. In addition, US and Israeli flags were trampled in Iraq on the anniversary. However, all this seems symbolic. The US has also symbolically said its last combat troops are leaving Iraq. The reality is the US doesn’t really have combat troops in Iraq. Thus the “end” to the US combat mission in Iraq announced in December is largely just messaging to Iran.
This doesn’t mean that there may not be more serious Iranian attacks or attacks by proxies such as Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq or others. Iran has shown it can wreak havoc across 3,000 miles of frontline from Lebanon via Syria and Iraq to the Persian Gulf. In July it used drones to target a commercial ship, and the IRGC head diplomat recently died after being evacuated from Yemen.
What Iran must weigh is whether it is worth attacking the US, as the US is in the midst of focusing on a new Iran deal that could come out of talks in Vienna. Iran has sometimes heated up attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, like it did in 2019 until the US killed Soleimani in January 2020.
Then it used ballistic missiles to target a large US base in Iraq. It increased attacks in the first months of 2021. However it has moved towards using more drones that have plausible deniability and can be put in the hands of small militias.
Iranian forces used drones against Saudi Arabia in September 2019 as well. The Houthis often use drones and missiles against Saudi Arabia with backing from Iran, and Iran has also showcased new Shahed drones that allegedly can target Israel from Yemen because of their range. These have been shown at recent drills in Iran. Israel has likewise highlighted how Iran conducts training in Kashan.
Taken together this means Iran has the capability to strike at the US, and US allies and partners. However, it must weigh its response. In November, reports emerged that Iran had attacked the US garrison at Tanf in Syria in response to alleged Israeli airstrikes on Syria, and the Syrian regime media accused Israel of two strikes on Latakia in December. But Iran knows that too many attacks on the US could harm its chances for a deal in Vienna. It must weigh carefully the cost and benefit of more attacks on the US, or on Israel or Saudi Arabia. It preferred symbolic incidents on the morning of January 3. It may increase attacks in coming weeks, but this is calculous above is the one that will guide it. Iran wants to invest in strategic programs, like long-range missiles and military satellites. It could jeopardize that by unruly attacks across the region.

Despair Is Forbidden. We Must Not Fear
Raghida Dergham/The National/January 03/2022
This reading of the geopolitical landscape and its local, regional, and global ramifications will not pretend to be a prediction of next year’s events; it is merely an analysis of developments and how they may affect grand policies.
A first glance, 2022 will potentially bring tensions that will dominate the early new, difficult year, for which 2021 has set a pessimistic stage. Nevertheless, there should be no hasty pessimism – and despair should be banished. We are partners in shaping the future and redefining stability, and must never be passive towards corrupt, inept, reckless, weak, or authoritarian leaders – all of whom are hostile in one way or another. We have no right to shirk our responsibility to participate in shaping out fates and decisions, especially when the means to do so are in our hands, from voting to speaking up, and from thinking outside the box to acting. And there are many reasons to hope for a year of positive change, astounding discoveries, and scientific and technological progress. There is always hope, faith, and wonder. There is always the beauty of nature and human relations, and the passion for rebuilding in the face of those who adopt destruction as a slogan, goal, and policy.
The year 2022 is set to begin under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic and the new Omicron variant. It will not be an easy beginning of a year the world had hoped would be the year to get rid of the virus, which has confiscated people’s plans for the past two years, leaving behind a trail of death, pain, and shattered dreams.
There are also signs of a global economic crisis in 2022, not just because of Covid-19 and Omicron, but also as a result of central bank policies, unemployment, inflation, and sectoral collapse. Naturally, many factors could preclude a major global economic crisis, including cash liquidity in the hands of consumers as a result of high levels of savings during the lockdown phases of the pandemic. However, economists warn of huge risks facing the world economy, including geopolitical and political tensions.
Clearly, the crisis between Russia, and the United States and NATO, over Ukraine, is a risky gamble for Russia as much as it is a serious challenge for US and European leaders. As things stand, there is hope for defusing the crisis during the talks planned for 10 January in Geneva between Russia and NATO powers. But Russian experts close to the thinking of Vladimir Putin are not optimistic: While the NATO powers are hoping to begin prolonged talks without a timetable, President Putin wants something that resembles a treaty and written guarantees as quickly as possible, against an ultimatum of military action he has threatened in all seriousness (see last week’s column). The dangerous crisis carries risks of a new cold war and the return to the Iron Curtain in Russia. The geopolitical crisis has implications for Europe and the United States of course, but also for the policies of powers like China, which could benefit from the escalation between the West and Russia; and Iran, which may find relief from US and European pressures amid the prioritization of Ukraine and the standoff with Moscow.
The absence of leadership in Europe will be an influential factor in European geopolitical and political turmoil. German former chancellor Angela Merkel played a crucial role leading Europe, and no European leader is qualified to step into her shoes. The new chancellor Olaf Scholz does not appear to be interested in the role and wants to focus on domestic challenges. French President Emmanuel Macron is crippled by the incoming election that could end his stint in power. European policies are scattered and hindered by the obligatory unanimity and are therefore ineffective in brokering solutions to regional crises, including in Libya, where Western efforts seeking to hold elections before 2022 have now failed.
The crisis of weak American leadership, or at least, the growing global impression that there is a structural weakness in leadership under President Joe Biden at the level of both the president personally and his National Security and State Department teams. The world is accustomed to proactive, decisive, and strong American leadership and sees the Biden administration as appeasing, running after an absent European leadership, and afraid of decisiveness and leadership from the front. What could be new in 2022 will be seen after the mid-term elections in the Senate and the House, which could fall into the control of the Republicans. This will radically alter US policies. Such a development will increase pressures on President Biden and his team and could pave the way for the comeback of former President Trump to the US political arena.
There will be no crisis of leadership in China. The 20th Congress of the ruling Communist Party this year will most likely re-elect President Xi Jinping. China will hence continue its wolf warrior diplomacy, including vis-à-vis Taiwan. This will create tensions with the United States and the West. In other words, there are signs of a crisis with China, not signs of Chinese international leadership.
The Iranian crisis continues to dominate the regional landscape of the Middle East along with the Israeli crisis. The two are linked, amid clear tensions on account of the nuclear standoff and the development of conventional weapons in the balance of power between the two states. The Vienna talks could be a starting point into a breakthrough or could lead to a confrontation – the two outcomes are both possible. In the event of a breakthrough, a nuclear deal between Iran, and the US, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany, may not be acceptable to Israel. But it will defuse a scenario for direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel if the talks fail.
The first message Tehran has been sending is that in case the JCPOA is not revived in exactly the same way it wants, it will accelerate its nuclear program, rendering Iran more dangerous.
The second message is that Iran today is not the same as Iran of yesteryear, in terms of its military capabilities, missiles, and nuclear program. Therefore the balance of power with Israel has shifted, and Iran is challenging the US-backed military edge that Israel maintains in the Middle East. The third message is that the Israeli threat of attacking Iranian nuclear sites – such as the reactor in Natanz – will lead to a counter attack. In other words, Iran has decided its response would be to attack nuclear sites inside Israel. This is a major new shift, if these threats are serious and not designed for domestic consumption. The fourth message is that Iran is not joking when it reiterates its commitment to the goal of destroying Israel. For the first time, it has developed its arsenal to the point that it can conduct multiple strikes on Israel using advanced rockets. The equation has changed, or that is the message Tehran wants to deliver to all those concerned. The fifth message is that the Iranian leadership is confident that the United States under Biden will not intervene militarily alongside Israel if a direct war were to erupt between them, but will stand aside and try to contain the conflict instead.
Israel for its part believes that Iran is very close to acquiring nuclear weapons, and has become militarily formidable. Israel will not be able to sit idly by. A pundit close to Israeli thinking cited former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who once said that the fate of Israel was one bomb away, to stress that Israel will not wait around for that fateful bomb to come.
Some believe that cyber warfare will continue between Iran and Israel, as the latter steps up its intelligence and covert operations, including assassinations. These same voices believe that Iran will not seek war with Israel, because such a war would destroy Hezbollah and its arsenal in Lebanon, a precious card for Iran. Therefore, there will be no ‘real war’ between Iran and Israel, they further believe, as Israel has adopted a policy of turning a blind eye of what Hezbollah is doing inside Lebanon, while escalating against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria.
The other view is that Lebanon could indeed be the theatre for a direct war between Iran and Israel, because of Hezbollah and its arsenal there, and that a confrontation between the two would not be limited to a rocket war between Tel Aviv and Tehran. According to a source close to decision makers in Tehran, Iran has adopted a strategy that it will begin implementing from January 2022, namely, to expand and renew support for Hezbollah. According to the source’s estimations, Iran will be ready for attacks using missiles, drones, and Hezbollah’s capabilities in a war that will not “be over in one day” but will be “a serious military conflict between Iran and Israel that could erupt in February or March” if the nuclear negotiations in Vienna fail. Or so the leadership in Iran wants us to believe and fear.
Thus the new year will be conceived in anxiety. It will be a difficult year on account of the pandemic, and the geopolitical and economic troubles ahead. Yet the best way to adapt and defy, and shape our destiny, is to not fear. Let us then embrace a faith in a better future between the folds of sadness and anxiety, and refuse to submit to destruction and fearmongering whatever its source. We must not fear.

America's 'Back to Basics' Policy – Year One
 Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/January 03/2022
It sounds good on the surface. Our predecessors overreached but we won't, even though we are the same people who overreached before. They were "maximalists," but we are much more realistic. That is a summary of the "Back to Basics" foreign policy of the Biden administration in the Middle East, as enunciated recently by Brett McGurk, the Biden White House's Coordinator for the Middle East.[1] It is an interesting critique of past U.S. actions, and even more interesting as a type of spin that seeks to present the new administration's aims as more reasonable than those of the past. A cynic would say that Biden is actually a photonegative image of President Trump's policy, with the current administration substituting a maximalist approach in favor of Iran in place of Trump's maximalist approach against it.
The perception of what McGurk spelled out is also of interest. Today, in much of the world, the perception is that the U.S. is weakening, that it is adrift, with weak leadership and an internal crippling existential crisis on multiple levels that may be fatal. My own view is that America is indeed in deep crisis, on many levels, although the expectations of our demise by our adversaries are somewhat premature. China's much publicized rise is not without major challenges and not quite inevitable.[2]
Aside from Beijing and Moscow, perhaps nowhere is American decline as much a topic of conversation as in the Middle East. This sense of decrepitude has been fed by the actions and inactions of the Biden administration during its first year: removing the Yemeni Houthis from the terrorism list, a maximum deference policy towards Iran, the open debacle at the fall of Kabul, being blindsided by the coup in Sudan, difficult discussions breaking into public with the Israelis, Saudis, and Emiratis. I can't think of one friendly government in the region that is sincerely heartened by the actions of the new administration. They are all wary of Washington. Regimes in Damascus, Tehran, Ramallah, and Sanaa may be relieved to some degree at Back to Basics, although hardly grateful to America.[3]
America's internal turmoil over the past two years, from mass rioting, overheated rhetoric, and overturned statues to a botched pandemic response, has also fed into the global narrative of American decline. I remember one senior Middle East official expressing to me his shock at seeing images of the statue of President Andrew Jackson, in Lafayette Park in front of the White House, with a rope around its neck, defaced by graffiti, as mobs tried to bring it down in June 2020. And, for once, it wasn't Al-Jazeera or RT channeling toxic themes about America – or not only them – but Americans themselves.
Regional governments as varied as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (which seems to have replaced a $23 billion American arms deal with a $19 billion French one)[4] increasingly look to other countries for energy and security deals.[5] China, Russia, Turkey and France all benefited for being clear alternatives to dealing with the tremulous Americans.
America still has some arrows in its quiver: A still powerful and ubiquitous military (albeit tarnished after Afghanistan). Weapons deals (with multiple strings attached) and resupply of existing past arms sales certainly. U.S. sanctions are still something to be avoided, if at all possible, given still-potent American hegemony over the world financial system (just ask the Syrians and Iranians). Then there are the occasional massive non-military projects like the deal signed in 2020 for the American construction company Bechtel to work on Saudi Arabia's Neom city project (companies from other countries, including China, have their own pieces of this massive development).[6] Thousands still want to study in the U.S. (the majority of international university students in the U.S. are from China and India but the numbers also include 30,000 students from Arab Gulf states).[7]
The Biden administration's policy towards an ambitious Iran seems extraordinarily dangerous, but I do think some of the other actions the U.S. has taken or not taken can be seen within the context of a course correction in the face of obvious imperial overreach by the U.S. – a course correction which the last three American administrations, with many a misstep and variations here and there, have rightly seen as overdue. But there are some problems.
First of all, describing the current policy as – unlike those in the past – not focused on regime change is not quite accurate. A policy that will further empower Iran with cash and impunity in exchange for an illusory nuclear promise is indeed in favor of regime change. It will strengthen the regime change Iran has already wrought in the region and empower Tehran to pursue further efforts at regime change elsewhere in the region. Rewarding Iran is rewarding Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, the Iraqi death squads beholden to Iran, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis. This is betting on more instability, not less, whether or not Iran gets a bomb. "Listening to allies" on the one hand, and then following an extraordinarily volatile path with the main destabilizing force in the Middle East on the other, is a lopsided, transparent approach unlikely to convince anyone in the region.
In this sense, Back to Basics is not new at all, and the results I describe above are not unintended consequences but quite intentional, as Mike Doran and Tony Badran described early this year in their incisive "realignment" piece.[8] What is being sold as "modest" and "steadier," a return to realism and the status quo after years of vaulting ambition, is anything but.
Those who see much of U.S. policy over the past few decades, in the region and elsewhere, as expensive, exhausting, and counterproductive are not wrong. A course correction was needed, and Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden were not wrong in sensing that. On Iran, it is my view that Trump was right and the appeasers were wrong – something that will become even clearer in the months ahead.[9] But in many ways, all three presidents were not bold enough in their course corrections.[10]
A much broader, more ruthless, reexamination of the basic premises of American foreign policy still awaits, one that incorporates a tough look at our own internal economic, social and ideological challenges. America's greatest recent foreign policy disasters, from two expensive military debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan to the "dazzling stupidity" of empowering China were self-inflicted.[11] One step away from the madness is to stop listening to those who were so deeply invested in bringing us to where we are today.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.

The Biden Team Knows Its Iran Policy Is Failing
Anthony Ruggiero/Foreign Policy/January 03/2022
Tehran’s march toward the bomb has been enabled by the administration’s refusal to impose consequences.
The Biden administration now admits a nuclear deal with Iran may not happen despite its continued outreach to Tehran. There are signs the administration wants to pin the blame on former U.S. President Donald Trump, whose withdrawal from the original nuclear deal supposedly provided Iran with the pretext to advance its nuclear weapons capabilities. But the uncomfortable truth is Iran’s most aggressive moves came after U.S. President Joe Biden was elected. What’s driving Tehran forward is not Trump’s maximum pressure campaign but Biden’s decision to ease that pressure. Simply put: Iran is doing what it can get away with.
In early December, the administration acknowledged it is discussing alternatives “if the path to diplomacy towards a mutual return to compliance [with the 2015 nuclear deal] isn’t viable in the near term.” A U.S. State Department spokesperson made that comment while Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was visitingWashington to propose joint military exercises to prepare for potential strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The need for such consultations indicates a deal is slipping out of reach.
Earlier this month, an unnamed senior U.S. official also warned that “in the first quarter of [2022],” Tehran could “configure things and rapidly get one bomb’s worth of [highly enriched uranium].” In other words, Iran has taken advantage of lengthy negotiations in Vienna to move toward nuclear breakout, which is when a state achieves nuclear weapons capability.
Washington’s European allies also know the talks are headed for failure. British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said this is Iran’s “last chance” for a deal.
Yet acknowledging failure and taking responsibility for it are two very different things. Earlier this month, when an interviewer told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “the path for diplomacy seems to be failing,” Blinken pivoted to blaming Trump. He said Trump’s “decision to pull out of the [original] agreement was a disastrous mistake because what’s happened since is that Iran has used that as an excuse, despite the maximum pressure applied against Iran, to also renege on its commitments under the agreement and to inexorably rebuild the nuclear program that the agreement had put in a box.”
As my colleagues have pointed out, the problem with that argument is Tehran’s most egregious nuclear advances occurred after Biden was elected, not after Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018. Does Blinken believe Tehran is ignoring Washington’s outstretched hand because it is still angry about Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal more than three and a half years ago?
Unlikely. Rather, Biden has incentivized Tehran’s march toward the bomb by refusing to impose any consequences on the clerical regime for its provocations. There were five key instances when Biden stuck to his “engagement only” strategy despite Tehran’s nuclear advances.
First, Iran began producing uranium metal, a crucial element in nuclear weapons, in February. Tehran also started enriching uranium to 60 percent purity in April—its highest level ever and a short distance to the 90 percent purity needed for nuclear weapons. The knowledge Tehran’s scientists have acquired is irreversible.
The United States and its European allies condemned Iran’s actions and emphasized there is no civilian need for such advances. But Tehran faced no consequences.
Second, Tehran has obstructed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) investigation into Iran’s undeclared nuclear activities at several suspect nuclear sites. Last month, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that Iran’s stonewalling “seriously affects the Agency’s ability to provide assurance of the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.” Again, no consequences.
Third, Iran reduced its cooperation with the IAEA at declared nuclear sites as of February. Since then, the agency cannot review data from surveillance equipment and other techniques used to monitor Iran’s nuclear program’s status. Grossi said Iran’s actions “seriously undermined” the agency’s verification and monitoring activities. Consequences? None.
Fourth, Tehran has increased production of advanced centrifuge parts since August but has not allowed the agency to inventory or verify the location of this equipment. Grossi brokered a deal with Iran in mid-December that will allow the agency to install new surveillance cameras. But he also warned that even if monitoring and verification is restored, “there might be gaps. And these gaps are not a good thing to have.”
Fifth, the Biden administration has allowed each IAEA Board of Governors meeting this year to conclude without a censure resolution against Iran. One could argue the Biden administration was still getting its Iran policy and personnel in place during its first months in office, so the March board meeting was an inopportune time. No such excuse exists for the June, September, and November meetings. At the last meeting, the U.S. representative suggested the board should be recalled by the end of the year for a special session if Tehran does not cooperate.
Nevertheless, the Biden administration declined to convene a special session, losing a high-profile opportunity to show Iran’s impunity has come to an end. Even if a censure resolution is discussed at the next regular IAEA meeting in March, the outcome would not be a foregone conclusion. The administration would have to expend the diplomatic capital needed to secure the board’s agreement.
Next, Biden should pursue a bipartisan Iran policyso Iran cannot exploit divisions in Washington. This can be achieved by tasking a senior Democrat and senior Republican to conduct a quick policy review. Biden prides himself on being a deal-maker; only a bipartisan nuclear deal would be ratified by U.S. Congress and withstand a future administration’s whims.
Tehran’s amassing of knowledge about the development of nuclear weapons will irreparably harm the global nonproliferation regime and lead to a more dangerous world. If Biden hopes to stop it, he will have to recognize that his decisions and no one else’s have brought the United States to this point.
*Anthony Ruggiero is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the U.S. National Security Council during the Trump administration. Twitter: @NatSecAnthony.

Blaming Israel, Not Muslims, for Christian Woes
Raymond Ibrahim web site/January 03/2022
The following article, written by Chaim Silberstein and Hillel Fendel, was published by JNS on Dec. 28, 2021:
Fact: The 2016 killing of a gorilla in Cincinnati received six times more media coverage than the beheading by ISIS of 21 Coptic Egyptian Christians who refused to recant their faith. This is just one example of the woeful paucity of reporting on rampant Muslim persecution of Christians around the world. Others abound.
In Nigeria, no fewer than 32,000 Christians were butchered to death by the country’s main jihadists over the course of the decade that just ended. Another more than 3,000 Christians were murdered there during the first seven months of this year, and three months ago, Muslims attacked a Christian community, murdering 49 Christians and kidnapping another 27.
The situation in other Muslim countries is better, but that’s little comfort. Raymond Ibrahim, author of a 10-year-old monthly Gatestone Institute series entitled Muslim Persecution of Christians, says that “the phenomenon of Muslim persecution of Christians is real: it’s unwavering, constant and systemic, and it conforms to sharia-approved patterns—meaning its root source is Islam.”
Ibrahim emphasizes that in addition to the “pure genocide” of Christians in Nigeria, this same jihadist spirit is well entrenched or increasing in other African nations, such as Somalia, Mauritania, Kenya, Mozambique and many more. In Christian-majority Uganda, it is common to see Muslims attacking or killing family members for converting to Christianity.
In Pakistan, Ibrahim writes, “blatant and systemic discrimination against Christians is downright disgusting. Not a week seems to go by without a young, underage Christian girl being abducted, raped and then forced to convert and marry her abductor—with the police and courts siding with the abductors and rapists.”
In Egypt, numerous churches have been bombed by Muslims over the years, killing many worshipers, while others have been banned outright, and kidnappings and forced marriages of Christian women and girls to their Muslim abductors have reached record levels.
Palestinian Authority Christians
What about in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas? A 2019 report by Edy Cohen of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies cited three horrifying incidents that received very little attention, because they are “not connected to Israel.” These stories “encapsulate the persecution of Palestinian Christians,” in the words of an HonestReporting.com report.
One of them occurred on April 25, 2019, when Muslims stormed a village near Ramallah in response to a Christian resident who complained to police that the son of a Fatah leader had attacked her family. Rather than protecting the innocent civilian, police ignored the armed Fatah-affiliated rioters as they lobbed petrol bombs at homes and fired live rounds into the air.
The men even demanded that the Christians pay a jizya, a yearly tax historically levied, by authority of the Quran, on permanent non-Muslim subjects (dhimmi) of Islamic states.
In the two other incidents in Cohen’s report, vandals broke into, desecrated and stole equipment from churches in Bethlehem and Ramallah. In 2013 in Gaza, the Christian Holy Family School was set on fire, while the five Christian schools in the district were closed by Hamas government order.
“The only thing that interests the P.A. is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media,” Cohen wrote, because Fatah exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the attacks, so as not to damage the P.A.’s image.
“[Many] Christians in the PA … fear—with good reason—that Muslim aggression against them will only escalate. Such fears are all the stronger in light of the thunderous silence of the Western (and Israeli) media in the face of the Christian minority’s ongoing disappearance from the P.A. and Islamic lands in general—in striking contrast to the growth, prosperity and increasing integration of the Christian community in Israel proper.”
Church leaders blame Israel
With all this, a recent declaration by church leaders in Jerusalem puzzlingly lays all blame for Christian woes in the Holy Land at the feet of Jewish and Israeli elements. They warned that Christians have become targets of “frequent and supported attacks by radical fringe groups”—Jewish ones, that is. Nowhere do they mention attacks, both physical and otherwise, initiated against Christians by Muslims. The religious leaders warned of a “systematic [Jewish] attempt to drive the Christian community out of Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.”
Several days later, two leading Christian clerics, one in Britain—no less than the head of the Church of England, Justin Welby—and one in Jerusalem, wrote an article supporting the claims and clearly suggesting that Israel is at fault for the decline in the Christian population in the Holy Land. This, even though the Christian population in Hamas-run Gaza has plummeted by 80 percent (!) over the past 15 years, to around 1,000…. keep reading

Gatestone's Man of the Year - 2021
His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone Institute/January 03/2022
The Abraham Accords would not have been possible without Mohammed bin Zayed's pioneering efforts and willingness to embrace the trailblazing proposals.
His major confidant is his brother, H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser. He stands out both for the breadth of his role and his ability to remain under the radar, as a pragmatic, probing and analytical man. He is described as "The Man of Difficult Missions."
The leadership of Mohamed bin Zayed has been demonstrated in a broad range of areas. He is helping to transform the UAE into a beacon of hope and change in the Middle East. We wish him, his brilliant close advisors, and the UAE future success in their many visionary and pace-setting initiatives.
The Abraham Accords would not have been possible without Mohammed bin Zayed's pioneering efforts and willingness to embrace the trailblazing proposals.
One of the most intractable issues over the last 40 years has been the instability and hostilities in the Middle East. The conflicts between Israel and its neighbors, the persistent threat of terrorism, Al Qaeda, and ISIS have kept the region as a major international trouble-spot.
Mideast leaders and U.S. presidents from Clinton to Trump had invested enormous amounts of time and energy in trying to find a breakthrough peace formula - with no result.
All that changed on August 13, 2020, when President Donald J. Trump's designee for identifying a path forward, Jared Kushner, approached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a historic plan for a breakthrough. It was immediately pioneered by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. A historic peace agreement was unveiled.
On that date, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Israel issued a joint statement, announcing the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE. The agreement was formally called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel. It was truly a historic announcement.
It is for this bold and stunning initiative that His Highness Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is Gatestone Institute's Man of the Year - 2021. The Abraham Accords would not have been possible without his pioneering efforts and willingness to embrace the trailblazing proposals. This was the first recognition of the State of Israel by a Middle East country since Jordan signed a peace accord in 1994. It was also the first of any country from the Gulf region.
Soon after the UAE signed the Abraham Accords, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Kosovo also joined. Credit goes to all of the leaders who have created this new momentum and framework for stability and a lasting peace. It took immense courage and leadership to be the first to embrace such a new paradigm.
Mohammed bin Zayed had also developed an impressive leadership team. His major confidant is his brother, H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser. He stands out both for the breadth of his role and his ability to remain under the radar, as a pragmatic, probing and analytical man. He is described as "The Man of Difficult Missions": recently he met with the new president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he has strong relations with both Israel and the United States.
Tahnoun bin Zayed works quietly and effectively in the background, assisting the Crown Prince and the UAE to be among the most positive, forward-looking countries today. Both men are transforming not only the UAE but the region.
Mohammed bin Zayed, known familiarly as MBZ, has made the UAE a country creating change in many more ways as well, on multiple other fronts that no one would have thought possible even a few years ago. Under his leadership, the UAE is opening up; it appears clearly committed to religious freedom and tolerance. He stresses the need for dialogue as the most effective means to avoid violence. It is evident from his strong and continuing embrace of the Abraham Accords that he values peace and peaceful co-existence.
In recent years the UAE has also advanced its role in the international community, and has been ranked consistently as one of the most generous donor states, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Over the years, the UAE has assisted more than 178 countries. Most recently, it has focused much of its assistance to help with COVID-19 issues. In this regard, more than 135 countries have benefited from its generosity.
Along with the unprecedented changes in the Middle East and the UAE's acceptance of increased global responsibility, Mohammed bin Zayed has been fostering internal reform and development. Below are just a sampling of some of his initiatives:
The most wide-ranging, significant reform of the country's legal system. More than 40 laws are included in the changes, which represent the largest legal reform in the nation's 50-year history. Changes include stronger protections for women and domestic workers, and modernization of the business environment. It was a comprehensive and collaborative process that included the government and the private sector.
The establishment of a comprehensive development initiative, "Projects of the 50". This initiative comprises new strategic ventures for the next 50 years to generate economic growth, internally and externally, in the public, private and international sectors.
The launch of Expo 2020 Dubai, in which more than 192 countries are still participating.
The establishment of the world's first international derivatives exchange to trade futures contracts for Murban crude, produced by the Abu Dhabi Oil Company (ADNOC).
The successful Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) as well as the Dubai Airshow.
The UAE's national book fair ranked as the world's largest in terms of buying and selling copyrights for 2021.
The UAE won its bid to host the 27th Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference in 2025 under the theme, "The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities."
The formation of the "UAE Net-Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative", a national drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The UAE won a bid to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28) in 2023, the world's most important annual global climate conference.
In space initiatives, the UAE's Hope Probe successfully reached Mars. The UAE is releasing massive troves of data from that mission to the public.
The UAE announced a probe to explore Venus and seven asteroids in the solar system, and announced a new group of astronauts, including the first Arab female astronaut, Noura Al Matrooshi.
The UAE won membership in the UN Human Rights Council for the third time.
The UAE issued a new law establishing the National Human Rights Institution; new paths streamlining customs, residency, and citizenship.
The UAE has exhibited leadership in international sporting competitions, particularly, among other sports, in soccer, Asian boxing, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship with the participation of more than 2,000 competitors from 75 countries, and the FINA World Swimming Championships and World Aquatics Festival, which featured 1,100 participants from 180 countries.
The UAE is a country of roughly 10 million residents. The initiatives being put forward by this small country, from government reform, space exploration, climate and humanitarian aid, to a breakthrough Middle East peace, highlights the UAE as a country that punches well above its weight. Most importantly, its efforts contribute significantly to the world becoming a safer and better place.
It is a country of many talented leaders, and the leadership of Mohammad bin Zayed has been demonstrated in a broad range of areas. He is helping to transform the UAE into a beacon of hope and change in the Middle East. We wish him, his brilliant close advisors, and the UAE future success in their many visionary and pace-setting initiatives.
*Peter Hoekstra was US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump administration. He served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the second district of Michigan and served as Chairman and Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Center for Security Policy Board of Advisors.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

When Israel bombs Syria, Russia turns a blind eye
Nikola Mikovic/The Arab Weekly/January 03/2022
The Kremlin is not willing to harm its relations with Israel for the sake of its alliance with Syria and a potential strategic partnership with Iran.
Russia has deployed its most advanced S-400 air defence system to Syria, but the sophisticated weapon does not seem to work against Israeli jets.
It is an open secret that Moscow, an ally of Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad, allows Israel to conduct air strikes against both the Syrian army and Iranian militias operating in the country. Russia’s supremacy over Syria’s airspace helped turn the conflict in Al Assad’s favour, so why does it allow Israel to carry out its operations unimpeded?
On December 28, Israeli warplanes attacked the container complex at the port of Latakia, in a part of Syria where Russia maintains its main naval base. The strikes hit a yard thought to house Iranian weapons shipments. This was Israel’s second attempt to destroy the cargo. The first one took place on December 7 but was apparently less successful than the latest air strike, which caused significant damage.
That night, neither Russia’s S-400 nor Syria’s air defence systems attempted to hit the Israeli planes. The truth is, Russia never activates its air defence systems against Israeli jets. Such passivity is believed to be part of a wider deal between the two countries.
After the Kremlin started its military adventure in Syria in 2015, it reached an agreement with the Jewish State: Israel reportedly pledged to guarantee the safety of Russian citizens and military installations in Syria during its strikes on Iranian militias and Syrian military targets. In return, Moscow promised not to use its weapons to repel Israeli attacks. In that case, why did the Syrian army not react with its own weapons on December 28?
According to Kremlin officials, a Russian military transport aircraft was descending to land at the Khmeimim Air Base – located some 25 kilometres from Latakia – as the Israeli strikes took place, hence Syrian air defences were not activated to repel the attack.
There is no doubt that the Kremlin wants to avoid incidents like the one in 2018 when a Russian reconnaissance plane, returning to Khmeimim with 15 servicemen on board, was mistakenly hit by a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile. Moscow blamed Israel for the incident claiming that Israeli jets put the Russian Il-20 plane into the path of Syrian air defence systems after failing to give Russian command enough warning of a strike on Syrian targets.
There were, however, speculations that the Il-20 was hit by an Israeli F-16 jet, but even if that was the case, the Kremlin never went beyond its usual verbal condemnation of the incident.
The tragic event did not have an impact on relations between Russia and Israel. Although the Russian military operating in Syria has the power to prevent Israel from hitting Iranian and Syrian targets, Russia constantly turns a blind eye to Israel’s activity in Syria. The attack on Latakia port was no exception. For Assad and the Iranians, the Kremlin acts as an unreliable ally and partner. In 2010 Moscow refused to sell S-300 air defence systems to Tehran, bending to pressure from the United States and Israel. In 2019, Russia again rejected an Iranian request to buy S-400 systems, concerned that the sale would “stoke more tension in the Middle East.”Even now that the UN Security Council embargo on conventional arms shipments to Iran is no longer in effect, it remains highly uncertain if Moscow will sell the S-400 to Tehran. The Kremlin is allegedly concerned that Israel could respond by providing sophisticated drones to Ukraine where there are fears of an impending war with Russia.
Therefore, not to jeopardise its ties with Israel, Russia will probably refrain from deeper military cooperation with Iran.
As Israeli former National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat recently said, Russia shares Israel’s view that Iran is a “destabilising force in the Middle East.” He also stressed that Moscow’s position on Iran is closer to Israel’s than what is revealed in public. Russia’s passive position regarding Israeli air strikes in Syria clearly demonstrates that the Kremlin is not willing to harm its relations with Israel for the sake of its alliance with Syria and a potential strategic partnership with Iran.
Just a few days before the Latakia strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog held a phone call and discussed bilateral cooperation.
Relations between Israel and Russia are historically entwined around World War II, the foundation of Israel and the migration of Russian Jews to live there.
There are up to 1.5 million Russian-speaking Israelis in the Jewish State, and some Russian oligarchs, such as Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, have taken up Israeli citizenship.
Given that oligarchs play a very important role in Russian politics, and Moscow aims to preserve good relations with all actors in the Middle East, the Kremlin is expected to keep preventing Damascus from responding to Israeli air strikes.
Syria is the weakest link in Russo-Israeli relations and Tehran, for its part, is not in a position to pressure Moscow to enable Iranian proxies to use Syrian territory as a base against Israel.
Russia will continue to balance between the so-called Axis of Resistance (Syria, Iran and Tehran’s proxy militias) and their arch enemy Israel. But historic and current ties mean the balance is more likely to tip in favour of Israel.
Copyright: Syndication Bureau/ www.syndicationbureau.com