English LCCC Newsbulletin For Le

English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For 21 July/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.july21.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
Luke 10/25-28: "Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 20-21/2022
Archbishop El-Hage’s detention is Unlawful, Arbitrary and Revengeful/Elias Bejjani/July, 19/2022
OUTRAGE: Archbishop to Jerusalem Musa al-Hajj Detained and Interrogated by Lebanese Military Court/American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD)/July 19/2020
The Guardians of the Cedars Party: In bad times, values crumble and morals are vanish./Media Dept/The Guardians of the Cedars Party/ 20 July/ 2022
A Rebuking Message from Father Tony Bouassaf to Judge Akiki Who Fabricated Archbishop El Hag's Judiciary false case/Father Tony Bou Assaf/ 20 July/ 2022
Maronite Church Bishops' Statement
Lebanon archbishop’s arrest sparks Christian anger
Lebanon Archbishop’s court summons sparks anger among Christian leaders
Aoun signs decree to grant temporary social assistance to public sector’s employees
Berri calls parliamentary committees for joint session on Thursday
Mikati discloses movable and immovable assets, broaches MoI employees’ demands with Makary
Mikati sponsons Lebanon Summer Campaign at MEA training Center
Corona - MoPH: 2560 new coronavirus infections, two deaths
Health Minister meets Pakistani Ambassador over medication crisis
Bou Habib tackles developments with UNDP’s Hauenstein
ATFL’s Gabriel visits Bou Habib, capitalizes on existing opportunity to settle maritime border demarcation issue
Finance Minister urges endorsement of 2022 state budget
Biden’s Middle East tour did little to aid Lebanon’s crises/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya English/July, 20/2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 20-21/2022
Turkey expects Russia, Iran to back fight against ‘terrorism’ in Syria: Erdogan
Turkey rejects responsibility for attack on Iraq's Dohuk that killed eight
Iraq’s Kadhimi condemns Turkey for ‘violation’ after deadly Kurdistan strike
Russia ally Syria breaks ties with Ukraine: Minister
Putin’s Iran trip shows how isolated Russia has become - White House
Ranil Wickremesinghe elected new president of Sri Lanka

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 20-21/2022
A strong Russia-Iran alliance could spell trouble - editorial/Jerusalem Post Editorial/July 20/2022
Of course Iran wants the bomb, it has been telling us so for 20 years/Michael Rubin/Washington Examiner/July 20/2022
Ayman al Zawahiri is alive; Taliban and Al Qaeda “remain close,” UN reports/Bill Roggio/FDD Long War Journal./July 20/2022
Iran’s hard-liners increasingly tilting toward Russia/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 20/ 2022
Heat waves here to stay as world drags feet on climate change/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/July 20/ 2022
Food catastrophe looms, even if Ukraine-Russia deal brokered/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/July 20/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 20-21/2022
Archbishop El-Hage’s detention is Unlawful, Arbitrary and Revengeful
Elias Bejjani/July, 19/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110470/elias-bejjani-archbishop-el-hages-detention-is-unlawful-arbitrary-and-revengeful/
General Security in Iranian occupied Lebanon, arbitrarily detained today for hours, the Lebanese Maronite archbishop Moussa El-Hage upon his return from the State of Israel, and he was exposed to humiliating lengthy unlawful interrogation. El-Hage is the Archbishop of Haifa, the Holy Land, and the Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Palestine and Jordan. He was detained at the Naqoura border crossing before being interrogated for eight hours. El-Hage’s detention is not comprehensible at all or acceptable by any means. Meanwhile, El Hage has also been summoned for interrogation before Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Akiki on Wednesday.
We call on the head of the Higher Judicial Council and the state prosecutor in occupied Lebanon to put an immediate end to the derailed judicial behavior of Judge Akiki, who viciously fabricated the case against El Hage, and to revoke the summoning and close the false file.
It was learned that El-Hage felt humiliated after he was subjected to an extensive search that involved all the items that he was carrying with him. His religious post was not taken into consideration, nor the fact that he is a patriarchal exarch who represents Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
He was released following the intervention of senior church and judicial officials. It is worth mentioning that there had been recent attempts to link Archbishop Moussa El-Hage to cases related to collaboration with Israel.
The Archbishop was falsely accused of transferring money and medicines from Lebanese exiles in Israel to their families in Lebanon. Sources close to El-Hage stated with sadness that he was very dismayed by the manner in which he was detained, and the Patriarch al-Rahi was also extremely disappointed and harsh-toned in dealing with those whom he considered responsible for this detention. El-Hage will put al-Rahi in the picture of everything that has happened with him, after which a release is expected to be issued.
We, deeply believe that the whole provocation is sinful, vicious, unlawful, revengeful and strongly condemned.

بيان صادر عن التحالف الأميركي الشرق أوسطي للديموقراطية يستنكر هرطقة اعتقال المطران موسى الحاج والتحقيق معه
OUTRAGE: Archbishop to Jerusalem Musa al-Hajj Detained and Interrogated by Lebanese Military Court
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD)/July 19/2020
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110483/%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%b5%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%83%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%82-%d8%a3%d9%88/
The Maronite community of Lebanon is in an uproar today after the Military Court’s Government Commissioner, Judge Fadi Akiki, ordered the arrest and interrogation of Archbishop Musa al-Hajj, the Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land, and the Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem, the Palestinian Territories and the Hashemite Kingdom. It is reported that he was interrogated for 8 hours on the flimsy excuse that he may have helped some Lebanese struggling under their collapsing economy obtain some relief from relatives who had fled the country.
Lebanese sources believe this is an attempt to pressure Patriarch al-Rahi to change his position in favor of UN resolution 1559 regarding the disarming of all militias and liberating Lebanon from all foreign meddling, specifically from the domination of the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah.
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy is very concerned about the use of Lebanese military courts against civilians. This military court has issued many other arrest warrants against those opposing the terrorist organization Hezbollah, even against American citizens, in an apparent effort to stifle their activism and freedom of speech. This abuse of power has been going on for some time but has escalated recently.
In 1994, the military court summoned Dr. Samir Geagea (head of a political party in Lebanon) to appear as a witness. He was imprisoned for eleven years. Similarly, in September 2019, the late Amer Fakhoury went to visit his family in Lebanon. Mr. Fakhoury, an American citizen, was asked by the military court to appear before it as part of an investigation and then he was arrested and jailed by the Lebanese military until March of 2020. According to his family, he was injected with chemical products while detained by Lebanese authorities. After efforts by the White House, with the help of Senators Cruz and Shaheen, Mr. Fakhoury was released, but died of cancer shortly after his return to the United States. There is also the case of Ms. Hanin Ghaddar, an American citizen of Lebanese ancestry and an outspoken critic of Hezbollah. Ms. Ghaddar was sentenced to six months in prison in absentia on January 10, 2018, for comments she made in a conference held in the United States in 2014.
On October 27 and 28, 2021, in coordination with the World Council of the Cedars Revolution, AMCD sponsored a delegation to Washington D.C. These meetings were to express the delegation’s concern over the involvement of Hezbollah in the civil and legal affairs of people living in Lebanon. Specifically, the delegation expressed its concern that military support provided to Lebanon by the United States should be conditioned upon it being used by the military free from the influence of Hezbollah. The delegation requested that Congress find ways to encourage the Lebanese Army to create “safe zones” that are not under the control or influence of Hezbollah. The delegation was also concerned about the Lebanese military courts increasingly being involved in civil matters.
This attempt to intimidate critics of Hezbollah should be roundly condemned by the US government and any future aid to Lebanon should be withheld until the Lebanese government ceases this outrageous practice of using military courts to harass, intimidate, jail and torture the opponents of Hezbollah.
As Mr. David Schenker a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs testified July 29, 2021, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “The Biden administration should likewise condition assistance on the LAF ending its obscene practice of employing military tribunals to target Hezbollah critics at home and abroad.”
https://americanmideast.com/2022/07/20/outrage-archbishop-musa-al-hajj-detained-and-interrogated-by-lebanese-military-court/

The Guardians of the Cedars Party: In bad times, values crumble and morals are vanish.
Media Dept/The Guardians of the Cedars Party/ 20 July/ 2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110486/110486/
It is not surprising that one of the security services working for the benefit of an authoritarian group has committed a derailed condemned act, that does not comprehend even the minimum meaning of dignity, respect for laws, and standards that preserve human rights and their moral entity.
We have never expected from this Lebanese occupied authority a patriotic action coupled with a civilized behavior that stops at the limits of respecting spiritual authorities, whether Islamic or Christian, or other scholars, intellectuals and honest stances
In a precedent that Lebanon has not witnessed in our modern history, as the Palestinian organizations, their barbarism, Ghazi Kanaan, his cruelty and tyranny during the time of the Syrian occupation, did not violate the aura of spiritual high ranging figures, as happened yesterday when one of the Lebanese judges, according to a judicial decree, arrested the Patriarchal Vicar, His Excellency Bishop Musa Al-Hajj, shepherd of the Diocese of Haifa and the Holy Land on the Lebanese-Israeli border upon his return to Lebanon.
It seems clear, and beyond doubt that what happened with His Excellency Archbishop Al-Hajj has its political dimensions and backgrounds that are linked to merely hollow minds colonized by gossip, hatred, and authoritarian eroticism.
Such derailed uncalculated acts are the outcome of occupation that led to the collapse of the country, and the despair of the people, and accordingly plunging Lebanon into a state of moral decadence far from its enormous heritage and living civilization in the whole world except in the country of origin.
It remains that error is in the nature of man, but repeating it intentionally is in the nature of Satan.
#Bishop_Musa_Hajj
#Labeik_Lebanon
Media leadership

A Rebuking Message from Father Tony Bouassaf to Judge Akiki Who Fabricated Archbishop El Hag's Judiciary false case
Father Tony Bou Assaf/ 20 July/ 2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110496/%d8%b1%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%a3%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%b7%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b9%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%81-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a7/
Yesterday, you wanted to stand up to an important figure of our Maronite Church...
You crossed the red lines. We had enough of you...
Listen well, we are all today, Archbishop Musa El Hage.
We want to enter and leave our holy land freely...
We will open the borders (Lebanese-Holy Land Borders) despite your policies and fabrications.
Our Maronite Church gave to Lebanon and the Lebanese from all their sects, without discrimination, what you and those behind you Endeavour to destroy.
We are all Archbishop Musa El Hage due to the actual fact that we are not agents, informants, intruders, or slaves.
We are all Archbishop Musa El Hage because we want to stand by our people in their tragedies and sufferings.
Yes, we carry from the Holy Land To our country medicines, money and living necessities because your masters plundered the state, stole its treasury coffers and starved the people...
We ask you to submit an apology to our church, and return al what you confiscated from archbishop El Gage and adhere to the morality of dealing with our clergymen because the glory of Lebanon was given to us.
Take a note, we will not be satisfied, or rest, so that this glory remains savely with its owners...
We advice you read history so you can learn... .
Yours Truly, Father Tony Bou Assaf
*Translated from Arabic by: Elias Bejjani

Maronite Church Bishops' Statement
20 July/ 2022
Video and text/Statement of the Permanent Synod of the Maronite Church Bishops regarding the unlawful detention of Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj Al and heretic interrogation with him: We reject, denounce, and denounce in the strongest terms what was perpetrated, pre-conceived and determined, at a remarkable and suspicious time, and for known malicious ends, against our brother Bishop Musa Al-Hajj. We demand the cessation of this security/judicial/political play, and the return of all the possessions and aid means that confiscated withheld to the Archbishop so that the all of then can reach their owners who are waiting for them, and closing this case immediately.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110491/%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%88-%d9%88%d9%86%d8%b5-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%85-%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%88%d8%af%d8%b3-%d8%a3/

Lebanon archbishop’s arrest sparks Christian anger
Najia Houssari/Arab News/July 20/2022
Senior cleric faces eight-hour interrogation after Israel visit
BEIRUT: A senior Lebanese Maronite cleric’s detention and military court summons following a visit to his parish in Israel sparked indignation among Christian leaders on Wednesday.
Bishop Musa Al-Hajj, archbishop of Haifa and the holy land, was detained for 11 hours and faced an eight-hour interrogation after returning to Lebanon. His passport was seized and a travel ban imposed by military court judge Fadi Akiki.
Al-Hajj was accused of bringing large sums of money in US dollars into Lebanon.
His detention sparked anger in church and political circles. It is not the first time that Al-Hajj has visited Israel, after obtaining special permission from the army command to cross the border, especially since the Maronite Church owns property and land in the area.
While the two countries remain technically at war, Hajj visited Israel because he heads a community of Lebanese Christian Maronites living there, many of whom are refugees who collaborated with Israel during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
The controversy over his arrest has brought to light the issue of the Lebanese who fled to Israel 22 years ago, and also revealed the behind-the-scenes political tug-of-war over the next Lebanese president.
The Council of Maronite Bishops, which held an exceptional meeting on Wednesday headed by Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, expressed its dismay at Al-Hajj’s arrest.
Sources close to Al-Rai said: “Whoever wanted to deliver a political message to Al-Rai through Al-Hajj’s arrest can consider the message received, but Al-Rai will never shift positions.”
President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati both phoned Al-Rai to condemn the cleric’s detention.
Al-Hajj visited Al-Rai at his residence on Wednesday and briefed the patriarch on his 11-hour detention at the Al-Naqoura crossing.
The cleric said that all the items he was carrying with him, including medicines and aid to Lebanese families, and even his personal mobile phone, were searched without regard to his religious position, and he was released only after the judiciary and the church became involved.
“I was treated with respect during those 11 hours, but I was detained and asked many questions,” Al-Hajj said.
A judicial source told Arab News: “During the investigation, many medicines and a sum of money worth $460,000 were found in Al-Hajj’s possession. He also had a list of more than 100 Lebanese names, and next to each name was a reference to an amount of money not exceeding $500 or a reference to a medicine bag to be delivered to them.
“The investigation focused on the possibility of suspected money laundering for spies. So the names on the list were compared to the files of suspected Israeli spies who fled to Israel after the latter withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, and they are accused of joining the ranks of the South Lebanon Army, which was operating under Israeli command.”
According to the judicial source, Al-Hajj faced prosecution 18 months ago after a soldier in the Lebanese army charged with colluding with Israel admitted that he had received a sum of money from the cleric.
“However, Al-Hajj was not arrested at the time. Only the soldier was arrested and tried for colluding with Israel.”
The local Al-Markaziyah news agency quoted a source close to the Lebanese Church and the Vatican as saying: “Al-Hajj’s arrest now has existential and fateful dimensions; it is a message to the Vatican and an attempt to harm the identity and existence of Lebanon as an entity. The Vatican has previously stressed the necessity of Lebanon’s neutrality and steering clear of imported ideologies that have nothing to do with it.”
During his Sunday sermon, Al-Rai discussed the Maronite president to be elected at the end of the current president’s term in October.
“We want to elect a president who does not pose a challenge to this or that matter, who is committed to the Lebanese cause, national constants, Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, and who abides by the principle of neutrality. We cannot call for Lebanon’s neutrality and choose a president who is biased toward certain axes and is thus unable to implement neutrality,” he said
Amin Gemayel, former president, said: “Arresting Al-Hajj while on a pastoral and humanitarian mission, and summoning him for investigation before the military court constitute a harsh blow by a political-judicial-security narrow-minded thinking against the role represented by the archbishop of the holy land through his care for the conditions of the Maronites, as well as all other Christian and Muslim denominations in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories.”
Gemayel added: “We reject this political message addressed to Al-Rai in response to his patriotic stances.”
The Druze community’s religious authority said that Al-Hajj was transporting aid sent by good samaritans in Palestine to relatives or charities in Lebanon and Syria. It also condemned Al-Hajj’s arrest and defamation, and said that the issue should be viewed from a humanitarian standpoint.
Many expressed solidarity with Al-Hajj on social media. However, no activist affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah’s ally, reacted to the incident.

Lebanon Archbishop’s court summons sparks anger among Christian leaders
AFP/20 July ,2022/July, 20/2022
A senior Lebanese Maronite cleric’s detention and military court summons after a trip to his parish in Israel drew indignant reactions from Christian leaders on Wednesday.
As the Patriarch of the Diocese of Haifa and the Maronite Holy Land, Mussa al-Hajj is, along with other Christian religious figures, allowed to cross Lebanon’s southern border and enter Israel, unlike regular Lebanese citizens.
While Lebanon and Israel remain technically at war, Hajj visited Israel because he heads a community of Lebanese Christian Maronites living there, many of whom are refugees who collaborated with Israel during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
But he was questioned for eight hours earlier this week upon his return from Israel, local media said, before a military court summoned him for further questioning Wednesday.
Hajj on Wednesday ignored the military court summons, issued for violating boycott laws imposed on Israel and for involvement in money laundering, an official close to the case said, asking for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai was due to discuss the case with his advisory board Wednesday and Samir Geagea, who heads the biggest Christian parliamentary bloc, condemned the priest’s arrest in a statement.
Geagea said that Lebanon’s general security agency had carried out the arrest and initial questioning of Hajj, and described the move as “not at all understandable.”
Archbishop Mussa was bringing aid from Lebanese nationals in Israel to relatives back home who have been hit by Lebanon’s crisis, the anonymous official added.
Many Lebanese rely on remittances from family abroad to weather a crushing economic crisis that began in 2019, but transporting products or money from Israel to Lebanon is illegal.
Security forces seized “large quantities of medicines, foodstuffs and canned goods, enough to fill a car, in addition to $460,000” when he re-entered Lebanon, the anonymous official said.
Archbishop Mussa handed Lebanese authorities a six-page list containing hundreds of beneficiaries’ names, with each person or family expecting between $100 and $500 from relatives in Israel, the official added.
Nadim Gemayel, a lawmaker from the Christian Kataeb party, dubbed the arrest “an attack on the Maronite Church.
The case comes amid tense political jockeying ahead of a presidential election later this year that will see the post go to a Maronite under the country’s sectarian political system.

Aoun signs decree to grant temporary social assistance to public sector’s employees
NNA/July, 20/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, signed Decree No. 9718 of July 20, 2022.
This decree grants temporary social assistance to all public sector employees, regardless of their job titles, and to retirees who benefit from a retirement pension. The decree also grants the Finance Ministry a treasury advance to pay this assistance.
Decree Text:
Article 1: Public sector workers are given “public administrations, including retirees who benefit from a retirement pension, public institutions (including government hospitals, the Lebanese University, the State Employees’ Cooperative, and the National Social Security Fund), municipalities, municipal unions, and anyone who receives a salary, wage, or allowance from public funds, employed and conducting services and projects emanating from the Ministry of Social Affairs, social assistance whose value is determined at 100% of the salary and is calculated on the basis of the salary, wage or pension basis without any increase of any kind or designation, provided that the value of this assistance is not less than /2,000,000 / LBP per month for those who are still in active service and 1,700,000/ LBP. For retirees and not more than / 6,000,000/ LBP. for those still in active service and /5,100,000/LBP for retirees.
The above-mentioned social assistance as of 1/7/2022.
-Excluded from the provisions of the above paragraph are employees of the diplomatic corps assigned to Lebanese missions abroad, and all workers in public administrations who receive their salaries, wages, or monthly remuneration allowances in other than the Lebanese pound, as well as anyone who receives compensation other than the Lebanese pound by virtue of his position.
- The value of the temporary social assistance for day laborers, invoice workers and technical service providers is determined by a decision issued by the Minister of Finance.
- In the event that any of the persons mentioned in the first article of this decree benefited from more than one social assistance, the beneficiary must inform the concerned administration about the duplication and only then is entitled to the higher aid.
- The treasury has the right to recover the money paid unlawfully at all times with legal interest until the date of payment.
Article 2: This decree shall be effective immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
Signing a decree giving a treasury advance:
President Aoun also signed Decree No. 9719 of July 20, 2022, to grant the Ministry of Finance a treasury advance of 3,400 billion pounds per month, to pay temporary social assistance to all employees in the public administration, regardless of their job titles, and retirees who benefit from a retirement pension.
Decree Text:
Article 1: The Ministry of Finance - Directorate of Public Finance - is given a treasury advance of 3,400/ billion LBP per month (three thousand and four billion LBP).
The purpose of the advance: Payment of temporary social assistance to workers in the public administration, whatever their job titles: public authorities, employees, contractors, workers, military and security agencies, judges, daily wage workers, bill workers, technical service providers, the educational corps with its various stages and types: primary and intermediate Secondary, vocational and technical education, in addition to retirees who benefit from a retirement pension.
Method of payment of the advance: By order of the Central Finance Accountant bearing the number and date of this decree based on the instructions of the Minister of Finance.
Duration of use of the advance: one year from the date of issuance of this decree.
The deadline for repaying the advance: a maximum period of one year from the date of the issuance of this decree (...). ----Presidency Press Office

Berri calls parliamentary committees for joint session on Thursday
NNA/July, 20/2022
Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday called the parliamentary committees for a joint session at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2022, to study a number of bill projects.

Mikati discloses movable and immovable assets, broaches MoI employees’ demands with Makary
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday visited the headquarters of the "National Anti-Corruption Commission" headed by Judge Claude Karam, and presented a declaration of his movable and immovable assets in accordance with the Illicit Enrichment Law.
Mikati separately held a series of meetings at the Grand Serail, where he welcomed Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, who visited him with an accompanying delegation. Following the meeting, Minister Makary said, “The country's situation is not well, neither is the treasury’s; strikes are everywhere. This is the first time that the Ministry of Information has been hit by a strike since its establishment — despite all that it has gone through throughout its history." “We’ve asked of the MoI employees to give us a week’s grace period to reach a solution. Consequently, we’ve met with Premier Mikati and briefed him over the matter,” Makary said, adding that Mikati is endeavoring to secure an advance, as soon as possible, to cover transportation expenses, so that MoI employees can continue their services until a solution is found for all. Mikati then met with Caretaker Minister of National Defense, Brigadier General Maurice Sleem, with whom he discussed the country’s security situation. Mikati finally welcomed ISF Director General, Major General Imad Osman, and head of the Tenders Department, Jean Elijah.

Mikati sponsons Lebanon Summer Campaign at MEA training Center
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday arrived at the Middle East Airlines Training and Conference Center to sponsor the launch ceremony of “Lebanon Summer Campaign”.

Corona - MoPH: 2560 new coronavirus infections, two deaths
NNA/July, 20/2022
Lebanon has recorded 2560 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, as reported by the Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday.

Health Minister meets Pakistani Ambassador over medication crisis
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Firas Abiad, met on Wednesday with Pakistan's Ambassador to Lebanon, Salman Athar, in the presence of the Head of the House Committee for Public Health, MP Bilal Abdallah.
The meeting touched on the medication crisis in Lebanon, especially that of cancer and chronic illness drugs.

Bou Habib tackles developments with UNDP’s Hauenstein
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Abdallah Bou Habib, on Wednesday welcomed United Nations Development Program resident representative in Lebanon, Melanie Hauenstein, with whom he discussed the means to decrease Lebanon's annual contribution to the United Nations program due to the dire conditions that it is going through. The pair also discussed other issues of common interest.

ATFL’s Gabriel visits Bou Habib, capitalizes on existing opportunity to settle maritime border demarcation issue
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, on Wednesday welcomed head of the American Task Force for Lebanon, Ambassador Edward Gabriel, who declared after the meeting that "discussions mainly focused on Lebanese-American relations and the importance of endeavoring to strengthen partnership between Lebanon and the US.” “The ATFL came to Beirut and met with decision-makers, Lebanese government officials, parliamentarians, and other personalities, including the army chief, with whom discussions touched on the situation of the Lebanese army. During these meetings, we’ve also discussed the situation in Lebanon, and the importance of acting quickly to save the country and achieve economic recovery,” Gabriel said. “We’ve also discussed the issue of maritime border demarcation and confirmed that it is a sovereign decision that belongs to Lebanon. We see that it is an opportunity for Lebanon, and this window of opportunity could be closed,” Gabriel added, fearing that at a letter stage, there will be no other opportunity to settle the problems between the two countries. “This means that Lebanon will not be able to develop the region in the disputed area, and there will be no companies that will come to explore said disputed areas; therefore, I hope that the small opportunity now available will be used within the framework of Lebanon's sovereign decision to develop a vision of a negotiated settlement that guarantees its interests,” Gabriel concluded.

Finance Minister urges endorsement of 2022 state budget
NNA/July, 20/2022
Caretaker Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil on Wednesday highlighted the obligation to endorse the 2022 state budget and to enact the required reforms to kick off the course of recovery. He also stressed the need to modernize the public procurement law.
His remarks came during his meeting with a delegation of the French Development Agency (AFD).

Biden’s Middle East tour did little to aid Lebanon’s crises
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya English/July, 20/2022
As the wheels of Air Force One, the US presidential plane, hit the tarmac at Tel Aviv airport, many presumed that this is the unraveling of American Middle East policy. His regional tour would affect many countries in the Middle East. This included the ailing Lebanese republic, which hoped that a potential regional settlement will reflect positively on its ongoing collapse.
This process of wishful thinking, however, presumed that Biden’s sojourn would translate into policy and that the White House and its many advisers have the Middle East and Lebanon in specific as a top priority. It’s an assumption which is uncorroborated by logic or past precedence.
Biden has tried to justify his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region, and while he adopted an apologetic tone, he was unashamed when reminding everyone including the American public that it is in the United States interest to engage with the oil rich region.
“We have to counter Russia’s aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world. To do these things, we must engage directly with countries that can impact those outcomes,” news reports quoted him saying.
Coincidently, Biden has identified US strategic interests. As it stands, it does not include Lebanon or its recovery, especially given the Lebanese political establishment, including Hezbollah. None has shown signs of remorse of the country’s state of disrepair or implemented reforms to facilitate the projected international community bailout and loans.
So, Biden’s visit sought to realign the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and Israel, and to strengthen the alliance to contain and neutralize Iran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, through former president Obama’s laxity received unmitigated access to the region. Biden choosing to land in Tel Aviv before flying to Jeddah was in no way a small detail: it is a message to Iran and anyone who wishes to destabilize the area.
Lebanon in this respect will not benefit from the realignment process nor will the oil-rich Gulf states reattempt to salvage it from the hands of Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. Simply, for Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, Lebanon has never been a priority, but instead a secondary issue they no longer wish to invest time and resources in.
Consequently, Hezbollah understands these political shifts. Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah took to television last week to remind everyone of the dangers of not appeasing Iran and granting it its demands. Nasrallah’s empty threats to go to war are merely a reflection of Iran’s frustration of its inability to get their way. Bullying and extortion is policy now, with Nasrallah threatening that if Lebanon cannot extract oil from contested gas fields with Israel, then no one will. Thus, Iran’s Lebanese outfit will declare war on Israel, or so he says.
The reality is that Lebanon’s inability to extract oil rests in the Lebanese state’s abysmal performance in ongoing mediation efforts led by the United States and Amos Hochstein, US senior advisor for Energy Security.
Nasrallah wants to maintain his position that Lebanon’s ongoing collapse is the work of US and Gulf economic sanctions and measures. He wants to exonerate himself and his militia’s role in turning Lebanon from a struggling state to a completely failed narco state.
Nasrallah gullibly believes that he can fight his way out of the poverty hole he has dug, and that recourse to war and violence can replace arduous measures of reform. It’s something which he, and the political elite who enjoy the protection of his Iranian weapons have proved uncapable of doing.
Nasrallah’s absurd suggestion to import Iranian fuel points to Hezbollah desperation
Hezbollah’s threats of going to war to garner resources are no different from Nasrallah’s ridiculous suggestion of growing potatoes on balconies or cozying up to China. It exposes his total lack of understanding of simple economics. Above all, Lebanon’s salvation is not linked to its ability to extract fossil fuel from its waters, but by its ability to understand regional and international developments and policies and adjust its own accordingly.
The war in Ukraine has changed global dynamics and has forced Biden to come down from his high-horse and beg his strategic allies for help in bridging the gap in oil supply. It’s something which Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are structurally uncapable of.
Yet, what Biden’s visit has been able to achieve is to remind the Lebanese and the Iranian regime that their countries - which suffer from bread riots and abysmal economies - can never achieve statehood with criminals at their helms.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 20-21/2022
Turkey expects Russia, Iran to back fight against ‘terrorism’ in Syria: Erdogan
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/20 July ,2022
Turkey is counting on the “support” of Russia and Iran in the fight against “terrorism” in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a trilateral summit with Russia and Iran on the Syrian conflict held in Tehran on Tuesday. He stressed that “words are not enough,” and that Ankara would continue its battle against Kurdish groups he labeled as “terrorist organizations” without a care for who supports it. “What we expect from Russia and Iran is their support for Turkey in its fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said after weeks of warning that Ankara may soon launch a new military incursion into Syria. Erdogan added that the Kurdish YPG militia was taking steps to divide Syria with foreign support and that the Syrian people would benefit of their country being rid of them. Turkey views the Kurdish-led forces in Syria as terrorists and a national security threat. Meanwhile, the US views them as an ally that has helped drive ISIS from vast areas of Syria. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said at the summit that Tehran supports a political solution to Syria’s crisis. “Syria's fate should be decided by its people, without foreign intervention... illegitimate presence of occupying US forces destabilizes Syria... powerful presence of the Syrian army will help maintaining the country's integrity,” Raisi said. With Agencies

Turkey rejects responsibility for attack on Iraq's Dohuk that killed eight
Reuters/20 July ,2022
Turkey on Wednesday refuted claims by Iraqi state media that it had carried out a strike on a mountain resort in Iraq's northern Dohuk province that killed eight tourists and wounded another 23 people, saying the attack was a terror act. The “fierce artillery bombing” hit a resort in Zakho, a city on the border between Iraq's Kurdistan region and Turkey, Iraq state TV said. Children were amongst the victims, including a 1-year-old, the Kurdish health minister said in a statement, adding that all the victims died before reaching a hospital. “We go towards the mountainside, there are strikes. We go towards the waterfall, there are strikes. We go towards this side, there are strikes,” said Mustafa Aala, 24, who was at the resort with a friend when the attack occurred. “We pulled up the fence that was around the waterfall. We looked from inside, I saw children lying on the ground... It's a scene that I've never seen in my life,” Aala added. Turkey's foreign ministry said Ankara was saddened to hear of the casualties in the attack, and added that Turkey took maximum care to avoid civilian casualties or damaging historic, cultural sites in its counter-terrorism operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia and others. “Turkey is ready to take every step for the truth to come out,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish military operations were in line with international laws.
“We call on the Iraqi government to not make remarks influenced by the heinous terrorist organization’s rhetoric and propaganda, and to engage in cooperation to uncover the perpetrators of this cruel act,” it said, referring to the PKK. Turkey regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its offensives as part of a long-running campaign in Iraq and Syria against militants of the Kurdish PKK and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Ankara regards both as terrorist groups. The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused in southeast Turkey where the PKK sought to create an ethnic homeland. The top United Nations envoy to Iraq condemned Wednesday's attack in a statement published on Twitter and called for an investigation.

Iraq’s Kadhimi condemns Turkey for ‘violation’ after deadly Kurdistan strike
AFP/20 July ,2022
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi condemned artillery strikes blamed on Turkey that authorities said killed nine civilians Wednesday in the country’s autonomous Kurdistan region as a “flagrant violation” of sovereignty. “Turkish forces have perpetrated once more a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” he said on Twitter, condemning the harm caused to “the life and security of Iraqi citizens” and reserving Iraq’s right to retaliate. Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish airstrikes killed eight tourists in northern Iraq and wounded over 20, Iraqi Kurdish officials said.

Russia ally Syria breaks ties with Ukraine: Minister
AFP/20 July ,2022
Syria announced Wednesday that it was severing ties with Ukraine in support of its close ally Russia, saying the move was a response to a similar move by Kyiv. “The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to break diplomatic relations with Ukraine in conformity with the principle of reciprocity and in response to the decision of the Ukrainian government,” a foreign ministry official, who was not identified, told the state news agency SANA. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already announced he was severing ties with Syria late last month after Syria recognized the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. “There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelenskyy said at the time. The breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose independence Moscow recognized in February, are situated in the Donbas region at the center of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which was launched on February 24. Syria was the first country apart from Russia to recognize their independence. The government of President Bashar al-Assad, who has relied heavily on Russian support in his country’s decade-old civil war, had already recognized two other Russian-sponsored breakaway republics in 2018. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are internationally recognized as part of Georgia, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but Russia and a handful of other countries recognize their independence.

Putin’s Iran trip shows how isolated Russia has become - White House
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Iran this week shows how Russia has become isolated in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, John Kirby, the White House's chief National Security Council spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday.
Putin had talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran on Tuesday, the Kremlin leader's first trip outside the former Soviet Union since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Ranil Wickremesinghe elected new president of Sri Lanka
The National/July 20/ 2022
Appointment could lead to further demonstrations as protest movement says leader is too close to politicians blamed for country's economic crisis
Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected Sri Lanka’s new head of state by MPs on Wednesday, replacing ousted leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Mr Wickremesinghe, 73, beat Dullas Alahapperuma, a candidate who had the support of a faction within the ruling party, and left-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party. The new president secured 134 of the votes cast in the 225-seat Sri Lanka Parliament. Mr Wickremesinghe described the victory as an honour and a privilege when he addressed Parliament. "Our divisions are now over," Mr Wickremesinghe said, inviting Mr Alahapperuma "to join me and work together to bring the country out of the crisis we are facing". Sri Lankan authorities ringed the Parliament building with heavy security as MPs prepared to choose from the three candidates, hoping the new leader can pull the island out of an economic and political crisis. The response of protesters was broadly muted, with just about 100 people gathered on the steps of the presidential secretariat, but some vowed to turn their focus to dislodging Wickremesinghe. "We're shocked. He's a person handling things in a very cunning way," protester Damitha Abeyrathne said of the leader. "He will start controlling us in a different way. As protesters, we will start our struggle again."“If Ranil comes [into power], we cannot have stability,” Duminda Nagamuwa, who organised protests in Colombo after the nominations were finalised, said before the vote. Other protesters have said he is an ally of the powerful Rajapaksa family, who they blame for the economic crisis. The Rajapaksas' Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, the largest in parliament, backed Wickremesinghe for the presidency.
'We have petrol stocks only for a single day', says Sri Lankan PM. Mr Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, became acting president last week, after Mr Rajapaksa fled to Singapore. Hundreds of thousands of people had come out on to the streets to protest against his administration and occupied his official residence and office in Colombo. Protesters also burnt down Mr Wickremesinghe's home and stormed his office. Mr Wickremesinghe has pledged to crack down hard if protesters take to the streets and hundreds of heavily armed troops and police stood guard outside the parliament, but there were no signs of demonstrators. As acting president, Mr Wickremesinghe extended a state of emergency that gives police and security forces sweeping powers, and last week ordered troops to evict protesters from state buildings they had occupied. Opposition MP Dharmalingam Sithadthan said ahead of the vote that Mr Wickremesinghe's hardline stance against demonstrators had gone down well with MPs who had been at the receiving end of mob violence, describing him as the "law-and-order candidate". Political analyst Kusal Perera said he had "regained the acceptance of the urban middle classes by restoring some of the supplies like gas and he has already cleared government buildings showing his firmness". Outside the presidential secretariat, where protesters camped for months to demand Rajapaksa step down, civil enginer Nuzly Hameem said he was "disappointed" by the result. "We expected more from our parliamentarians," he told AFP. The protests would "obviously" continue, he said, but added "We are burnt out. It's been four months."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 20-21/2022
A strong Russia-Iran alliance could spell trouble - editorial
Jerusalem Post Editorial/July 20/2022
If one of the outcomes of the Russia-Iran summit is the restraining of Israel’s ability to stop Iranian weaponry from passing through Syria, it indeed poses a serious problem for the Jewish state. These are both encouraging and troubling times for Israel in regard to the ongoing nuclear threat posed by Iran, which has dominated the country’s security attention for over two decades. Last week, during his visit to Israel, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed the Jerusalem Declaration – a joint strategic statement – declaring that America vows to use “all elements in its national power” to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The document outlines the US “commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome. “The United States further affirms the commitment to work together with other partners to confront Iran’s aggression and destabilizing activities, whether advanced directly or through proxies and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
It was the strongest signal yet that the US and Israel were closer than ever on their views that Iran poses an existential threat to the Jewish state. In addition, when asked during his interview with Channel 12’s Yonit Levy whether the US would use force to stop Iran’s nuclear program, Biden replied “as a last resort, yes.”With negotiations between the US and Iran on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal seemingly at an impasse due to intransigence from Tehran, Washigton seems to be digging in its heels, too.
That is what makes Tuesday’s visit to Iran by Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he was expected to meet Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, all the more important.
Iran and Russia
Both Iran and Russia need each other, but for totally different reasons.
Chafing under Western economic sanctions and at loggerheads with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program, Iran’s clerics are keen to strengthen strategic relations with Russia in the face of the emerging US-backed Gulf Arab-Israeli bloc that could tilt the Middle East balance of power further away from the Islamic Republic. Although Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia didn’t achieve a breakthrough regarding normalizing relations with Israel, it highlighted the concern about Iran that the Gulf Arab countries share with Jerusalem.
The president’s appearance at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit with leaders of six Arab Gulf countries plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq was aimed at bolstering US positioning in the Middle East and knitting the region closer together against Iran.
That is apparently alarming for both Iran and Russia. According to Reuters, a senior Iranian official said that one of Tehran’s goals for Putin’s visit is “to secure Moscow’s support in its confrontation with Washington and its regional allies.”
Yuri Ushakov – Putin’s foreign policy adviser – told reporters in Moscow that the contact with Khamenei is very important.
Russia’s interest in cozying up to Iran can be seen in the disclosure that the US made ahead of last week’s summit. The White House released satellite imagery indicating that Russian officials have twice visited Iran in recent weeks for a showcase of weapons-capable drones Moscow is looking to acquire to use in its war in Ukraine. The confluence of Russia and Iran around Ukraine presents a challenging scenario for Israel. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Ram Ben-Barak articulated that concern on Tuesday, telling KAN News that Putin’s attendance at the Tehran summit is “troubling, because the cooperation between Russia and Iran, with Russian technological capabilities, can spell troubling results in many regards.”
Israel is in a particularly precarious position in regard to Russia, because since the onset of the war with Ukraine, it has attempted to refrain from antagonizing the superpower so that it can continue to operate unfettered against Iranian elements in Syria.
If one of the outcomes of the Russia-Iran summit is the restraining of Israel’s ability to stop Iranian weaponry from passing through Syria, it indeed poses a serious problem for the Jewish state.
When two desperate, increasingly isolated countries look to each other for help, the results can be dangerous. With the goodwill and iron-clad support that the US displayed last week still fresh in Israel’s minds, it’s important to remember that ill winds are still blowing in from Moscow and Tehran that could force that theoretical support into military action.

Of course Iran wants the bomb, it has been telling us so for 20 years
Michael Rubin/Washington Examiner/July 20/2022
Kamal Kharrazi, Iran's former foreign minister who now is a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, finally acknowledged the obvious: Iran has sought the technical ability to build a nuclear bomb.
We have long known Iran's intentions for two reasons.
First, the logical flaws at the heart of Iran's claims that it needed nuclear power and, second, two decades of statements by those surrounding the supreme leader that a nuclear weapon was the goal. Iran's civilian nuclear drive never made sense. Iranian officials have explained they want an indigenous energy supply for which they need up to eight nuclear power plants. Because the U.S. Geological Service surveyed Iran extensively prior to the 1979 revolution, the U.S. government knows exactly how much natural uranium Iran has: enough, when enriched to fuel grade, to power those eight plants for 15 years. In contrast, a modest refurbishment and upgrade to Iran's refinery and pipeline network could enable the country to power itself with gas and oil for three centuries at a fraction of the price. While climate activists may wring their hands at Tehran tapping fossil fuels, remember: Iran is among the most seismically active countries on the planet. Any nuclear reactor, civilian or otherwise, is a ticking environmental time bomb.
Nor has Iran's secrecy made sense if its motives were pure. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allowed Iran to build a civilian nuclear reactor. What raised suspicion — and ultimately led the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council — was Iran's persistent lying to inspectors, as well as its documented nuclear work on nuclear triggers, warhead design, and other activities that have much more to do with destroying a city than powering one. That Iran hid its nuclear archives from inspectors gives ample reason for distrust.
However, the statements of Iranian officials give even more cause for concern. Here are just three.
On Dec. 14, 2001, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, at the time easily the second or third most powerful man in Iran, declared, "The use of an atomic bomb against Israel would totally destroy Israel, while (the same) against the Islamic world would only cause damage. Such a scenario is not inconceivable."
On Feb. 14, 2005, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Kharrazi, secretary-general of Iranian Hezbollah, said, "We are able to produce atomic bombs, and we will do that. We shouldn't be afraid of anyone. The U.S. is not more than a barking dog."
On Feb. 18, 2006, the "reformist" newspaper Rooz quoted Mohsen Gharavian, a Qom theologian close to Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a chief regime ideologue, as saying it was only "natural" for the Islamic Republic to possess nuclear weapons.
As American partisans engaged in a circular firing squad, they failed to give Iranian leaders credit for their own agency. While President Mohammad Khatami charmed the world with his offers of a "Dialogue of Civilizations" (a dialogue that never included Israel), his own aides bragged about how they hoodwinked Western officials with false engagement so that sanctions would not interfere with their covert nuclear program.
That Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden subsequently lifted, waived, or refused to enforce those sanctions changed not Iran's behavior but rather its rhetoric.
*Michael Rubin ( @mrubin1971 ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Ayman al Zawahiri is alive; Taliban and Al Qaeda “remain close,” UN reports
Bill Roggio/FDD Long War Journal./July 20/2022
Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of Al Qaeda who served as Osama bin Laden’d deputy on 9/11, “is confirmed to be alive” and is “communicating freely,” according to a report from the United Nations’ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. Additionally, the UN said the Taliban-Al Qaeda alliance remains strong, as reported by FDD’s Long War Journal, and the leaders of Al Qaeda’s branches in North and East Africa have assumed roles in Al Qaeda’s line of succession.
While it is not news that Zawahiri is alive, well, and communicating comfortably, some terrorism analysts previously claimed Zawahiri was dead as recently as Nov. 2020. While not explicitly stated, Zawahiri is likely operating inside Afghanistan.
“Member States note that al-Zawahiri’s apparent increased comfort and ability to communicate has coincided with the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and the consolidation of power of key [Al Qaeda] allies within their de facto administration,” the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team noted in its latest report on the status of Al Qaeda and its rival, the Islamic State.
Additionally, Al Qaeda’s “leadership reportedly plays an advisory role with the Taliban, and the groups remain close.”
Previously, in 2020, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported that the Taliban “regularly consulted with Al Qaeda during negotiations with the United States and offered guarantees that it would honor their historical ties.”
The most recent UN report went on to note that Al Qaeda is established in all areas of the country, as has been previously reported by FDD’s Long War Journal. “Fighters” from Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Al Qaeda’s branch in South Asia, “are represented at the individual level among Taliban combat units.” From the UN report:
Al-Qaida members reportedly remain in the south and east of Afghanistan, where the group has a historical presence. Some Member States noted a possible shift of core members further to the west to the Farah and Herat Provinces. One Member State reported that Al-Qaida intended to establish a position in northern Afghanistan, mobilize new fighters and generate increased resources.
Al Qaeda’s presence in northern Afghanistan is well known. The group operates through allied Central Asian jihadist groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party and Ansarullah. Just this spring, Abdul Haq al Turkistani, the head of the Al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Turkistan Islamic Party, celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Afghanistan. Turkistani has previously been identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a member of Al Qaeda’s central Shura, or executive committee.
The UN report also noted that Al Qaeda is better positioned to supplant the Islamic State and “to be recognized again as the leader of global jihad.”
The UN reported Al Qaeda’s “propaganda is now better developed to compete with ISIL as the key actor in inspiring the international threat environment, and it may ultimately become a greater source of directed threat.”
Finally, the UN report provided insight on Al Qaeda’s line of succession. Saif al Adel, the longtime Al Qaeda leader and veteran, is second behind Zawahiri. Next in line are Abdal-Rahman al-Maghrebi, Yazid Mebrak, the emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Ahmed Diriye, the leader of Shabaab, which is Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa.
Al Adel has long been a top leader in Al Qaeda, and he is known to have sheltered in Iran along with other key terrorist leaders. He is now also believed to be inside Afghanistan.
Maghrebi, a native Moroccan, is Zawahiri’s son-in-law, and has served in a number of senior roles within Al Qaeda. The State Department has described him as the “longtime director” of As Sahab, Al Qaeda’s central media arm and the “head” of the group’s “External Communications Office,” where he “coordinates activities with” Al Qaeda’s “affiliates.” Maghrebi has also been Al Qaeda’s “general manager in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2012,” a key role as top Al Qaeda leaders shelter in the region.
The presence of Mebrak and Diriye in the chain of succession should come as no surprise. Al Qaeda began diversifying its leadership and giving key leadership roles to its branch leaders as the U.S. stepped up its targeted killing of top Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan beginning in the mid-2000s. For instance, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula emir Nasir al Wuhayshi served as Al Qaeda’s general manager before he was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2015. Nasser bin Ali al Ansi, another key AQAP leader, served as Al Qaeda’s deputy general manager before he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2015. And Mebrak’s predecessor, Abdelmalek Droukdel, was Al Qaeda’s third in command before he was killed in a French raid in Mali in 2020.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has been a boon for Al Qaeda and other allied terror groups. Afghanistan is now in the Taliban’s full control, and Al Qaeda has enjoyed the same spoils the group had before 9/11: safe haven, and with that the ability to regroup, rest and train its fighters, while they plot and plan to execute attacks against the West.
*Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Iran’s hard-liners increasingly tilting toward Russia
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 20/ 2022
The Iranian regime’s military cooperation with Russia is one of the core pillars of Tehran’s foreign policy and this partnership intensifies whenever the regime faces greater isolation and pressure in the region.
The US last week stated that the Iranian government is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, known as UAVs, including advanced models capable of firing missiles. In order to examine Iran’s weapons-capable drones, a Russian delegation reportedly visited an airfield in central Iran on several occasions in the last month, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
As Sullivan told CNN: “We have information that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs. We assess an official Russian delegation recently received a showcase of Iranian attack-capable UAVs. We are releasing these images captured in June showing Iranian UAVs that the Russian government delegation saw that day. This suggests ongoing Russian interest in acquiring Iranian attack-capable UAVs.”
Iran was likely attempting to keep this development confidential because it will probably increase domestic anger against the regime for exacerbating the Russian-Ukrainian war and it will also increase the pressure on the regime from the US and the Middle East. Likewise, Moscow probably did not want to make it public that the Kremlin is trying to buy drones from Iran as it will likely have a negative impact on its image as a global military power.
This is not the first time that the Iranian regime has tried to keep its military cooperation with Russia a secret, especially when linked to an ongoing war in another country. For example, in 2016, Iran secretly allowed Russia to use its Hamadan Airbase to strike some parts of Syria that were under the control of rebel groups. By doing so, the Iranian leaders violated a crucial article of their own constitution, which stipulates: “The establishment of any kind of foreign military base in Iran, even for peaceful purposes, is forbidden.” This surprised the Iranian people, as no foreign power had used Iran’s soil as a base for military operations since the Second World War.
Russia and Iran have also used their different military capabilities to advance their interests in the region. For instance, in Syria, when their interests were being threatened by Daesh and powerful Syrian rebel groups, Russia relied on airstrikes, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, provided the boots on the ground necessary to make territorial advances.
Iran’s ruling hard-liners and Russia share a common interest in counterbalancing and scuttling US foreign policy in the region. Moscow also seems to favor Iran’s hard-liners — including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior IRGC officials — over other political camps due to the fact that they are less likely to undermine the Kremlin’s global influence by having any rapprochement with the West.
In addition, by being under significant pressure, Iran’s hard-liners and Russia seem to need each other more than ever. Tehran wants to increase its trade and evade US sanctions; Moscow would like to reassert its global leadership after it was heavily sanctioned by the West following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Russia’s closer ties with Tehran also extend its regional influence and give it leverage that can be used to push the West to lift sanctions.
On the other hand, there are some differences and competition between Russia and Iran. One of Russia’s main concerns is that the West might permanently decrease its energy dependence by tapping into Iran’s oil and gas sectors. Iran seeks a larger role in the gas market and is welcoming a Western partnership.
Russia and Iran possess the largest and second-largest proven gas reserves in the world, respectively. Improved ties between Tehran and the West could endanger Russian exports to Iran (mainly petroleum), as the former Soviet states could become better alternatives for Tehran to purchase petroleum. But so far, the Iranian regime is playing its cards wisely; by playing the West and Russia off against each other, Tehran is advancing its regional hegemony.
By playing the West and Russia off against each other, Tehran is advancing its regional hegemony.
In conclusion, Russia and Iran’s military and political ties are expected to grow due to the convergence of their interests in the region and their shared antipathy toward Washington. But there are limiting factors, including their competition in the energy sector. In addition, Moscow does not want to damage its ties with other regional powers, which are Iran’s rivals — its protection of these relationships will continue to create obstacles between the Iranian regime and Russia.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Heat waves here to stay as world drags feet on climate change
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/July 20/ 2022
Finally, it has been confirmed, climate change will make itself felt somewhere near you, wherever you are living on this planet. In the Global North, the extreme weather in winter has made itself felt through floods and unseasonal storms, while in summer, heat waves, droughts and bush fires are a stark comparison to our otherwise mild climate. The Global South is no different, with the weather affecting the livelihoods of those on the brink, damaging harvests, crops and livestock, thus leaving everyone’s food security and health teetering on the brink.
Here in Europe, where climate change has been particularly making itself felt this week, the roasting temperatures registered are what scientists have long warned about. Heat waves, they say, are becoming hotter, longer lasting and more frequent. These can be classified as part of the same pattern as seen with the record-shattering hot spell endured by India and Pakistan in March.
The role of humans can no longer be denied, as experts are becoming more vocal in claiming that, to a large extent, every weather fluctuation is a sign of human-induced climate change. “It is pure physics. We know how greenhouse gas molecules behave, we know there are more in the atmosphere, the atmosphere is getting warmer and that means we are expecting to see more frequent heat waves and hotter heat waves,” said Friederike Otto of Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute on climate change.
The scientists have been laying it out bare, but governments and individuals are still failing the planet. By doing so, they have been, for whatever excuse, failing their loved ones and their countries.
In recent years, advances in the discipline known as attribution science have permitted climatologists to calculate how much global heating contributes to individual weather events. March’s South Asian heatwave was, for example, calculated to have been 30 times more likely as a result of the 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming the planet has seen due to human activity since the mid-19th century. Another heatwave that shattered records, in North America in June 2021, which left hundreds dead as temperatures soared beyond 50 C in some places, would have been impossible without global warming. Three years ago, the heatwave that affected Europe was made 3 C hotter by climate change.
All this led the World Meteorological Organization to say in a statement this week that: “The increase in the frequency, duration and intensity of these events is clearly linked to the observed warming of the planet that can be attributed to human activity.”
Whatever the warnings emanating from Europe’s record temperatures this week — or in North Africa next week or in Asia the week after — the consensus among scientists and experts is that there is worse to come, depending on how quickly the global economy is decarbonized. So far, all the signs are that an economy led by lightly regulated corporations in rich and poor communities all over the world will not decarbonize quickly enough.
This failure is maybe related to our systemic failure to tame our habits, our consumerist mindset and the mindsets of all those at the helm of the economic drive to exploit resources and make more profit. All the social responsibility and ecological protection drives that should be embedded in their activities seem not to measure up and are failing to produce a significantly reduced carbon footprint that could shield the planet from further warming.
Decades of UN-led efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions to prevent climate change have fallen short of pushing governments to produce plans that stand the test of time. As a result, the Earth is on course to warm a catastrophic 2.7 C, according to the UN.
As parts of France, Portugal and Spain have this week been burning and the temperature in various parts of Europe were climbing to unprecedented levels, parts of the UK have experienced their hottest nights and days since records began. Against such a backdrop, a meeting in Berlin chaired by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the global warming target limit has been slipping further out of reach, leading to more people being hit by extreme floods, droughts, storms and wildfires.
The meeting in Berlin gathered senior officials from 40 countries for a dialogue about how to stay focused on fighting climate change and its impacts despite the current war in Ukraine, the rising cost of living everywhere, which is putting pressure on government budgets, and the return of investments in fossil fuels to plug shortages. These have all been the result of geopolitical adversities and have negatively impacted the building of trust while trying to kick-start the funding to aid developing countries in their efforts to meet climate targets.
The meeting once again highlighted the fear and the hope of all parties to stay on track, despite the seeping distrust that not all nations’ priorities are aligned in terms of achieving what has been pledged in the various UN climate change summits over the past three decades.
COP27, which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt in November, will be no different, as the desire for a consensus could be further complicated by the conflict in Ukraine. The target of that summit will mainly be to streamline the provision of aid to developing nations to support their transition to a greener economy. But that will not happen smoothly, for fear that many poorer nations could funnel such funds away from their intended use. At the same time, inflation and a lack of economic growth could push some rich countries to renege on their climate pledges in order to prioritize paying for their domestic crises.
The scientists have been laying it out bare, but governments and individuals are still failing the planet.
It is sad, therefore, to write the following lines: That climate change, emissions and delays in transitioning to a greener economy will directly impact human health, compound droughts and make larger areas vulnerable to wildfires, such as those raging in France, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Morocco. Such developments also affect food supplies and food security everywhere. This vicious circle could still be closed, but only if people and their governments put aside their differences and competitive nature for the benefit of all. So far, the signs of that happening are dim and heat waves are here to stay for now.
*Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist, media consultant and trainer with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.

Food catastrophe looms, even if Ukraine-Russia deal brokered
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/July 20/2022
Turkey, the UN, Ukraine and Russia may be nearing an agreement to reopen Black Sea shipping ports closed since Moscow’s invasion began in February. However, a food catastrophe is looming and the only question now is whether it gets even worse.
Even if a deal is reached, as welcome as that would be, much damage has already been done in the almost 150 days that the conflict has raged. Russia’s invasion has shocked agricultural markets, including sunflower oil exports, of which 80 percent of the world’s total comes from the Black Sea region, and wheat, for which Russia and Ukraine account for more than a quarter of global exports.
To be sure, some Ukrainian grain is being rerouted via Europe by rail, road and river, but the amount is small. Other measures include expanding the use of a Romanian Black Sea port, more Danube cargo terminals and cutting red tape for freight at the Polish border.
Since February, Ukraine has exported only a fraction of the 6 million tons a month of grain it did before the war. Typically, 90 percent of wheat and other grains from Ukraine are shipped by sea.
Another legacy of the last few months is that 20 million tons of such grains are currently stockpiled and 60 million tons of harvest in the coming weeks face a similar fate. Little wonder that Ukraine’s agriculture minister says there will be a global wheat shortage for three seasons.
Wheat prices rose 45 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2022, according to the UN’s wheat price index. Vegetable oil jumped 41 percent and sugar, meat, milk and fish prices also rose by double-digit amounts. Worryingly, the real impact of the conflict may only become manifest toward the end of 2022, as it generally takes seven to 12 months for producer cost rises to filter into final consumer prices.
One of the world’s leading financiers, BlackRock founder Larry Fink, warned last week that the significant spikes in oil and mineral prices seen since the Ukraine conflict began have distracted from the more dangerous impact of food inflation and a looming hunger catastrophe across the world. This topic was also a key one at last week’s G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Indonesia. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at that summit that the world is facing “an extremely difficult time for global food security.” She urged the group to halt stockpiling and export restrictions on food and provide additional financial assistance to countries and people struggling with food insecurity.
UN World Food Programme Director Patrick Beasley has said a global hunger catastrophe will explode over at least the next two to three years. About 180 million people in more than 40 countries face a food crisis or even outright famine in 2022.
The EU warned last week that it must brace for new waves of migrants who have been forced to uproot because of the food crisis aggravated by the Ukraine war. The bloc’s border agency chief Aija Kalnaja convened a meeting of Europe’s interior ministers — expanded to also include ministers from non-EU countries Ukraine and Moldova — to start the planning process. Ylva Johansson, the EU’s home affairs commissioner, said: “We should not wait until we have a crisis at our borders. We… need to reach out earlier on.”
The clear danger is that the number of people displaced across the world — which is already a massive 100 million, as shown by the latest UN “Global Trends” report — will grow much larger. That figure is already larger than the population of many countries, driven by violence, persecution and human rights abuses, including more than 7 million Ukrainians displaced within the country and more than 6 million refugees having fled the nation since February.
So much hinges on whether an accord can be finalized by Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the UN to help overcome what is a massive challenge. Turkish Defense Secretary Hulusi Akar said the initial deal reached last week needs further technical details to be agreed on, such as the establishment of a coordination center in Istanbul, where representatives of all parties would be present; joint controls at port exit and arrival points; and ensuring “navigational safety on the transfer routes.”
So much hinges on whether an accord can be finalized to help overcome what is a massive challenge.
While a final deal seems plausible, stumbling blocks remain. Ukraine, for instance, is wary of becoming vulnerable to attacks if it removes the mines that are protecting its ports, but which are also blocking its access to the sea. To strike a deal, Kyiv has said Moscow needs to provide guarantees that it will not hit the ports or grain ships once they start operating again.
In this troubled context, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN must now urgently conclude plans to reopen Black Sea shipping ports. It is time to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
*Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.