English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For 26 July/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened
Luke 11/01-13/When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ ” He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’ and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’? I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs. “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?””

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 25-26/2022
Lebanon’s Rahi: Al-Hajj’s Arrest Insults the Patriarchate
Countdown to border deal has begun as Hochstein visits soon with final response
Report: State security to audit Archbishop al-Hajj's properties
Ibrahim distances General Security from al-Hajj case
Govt. formation: Who will take the first step?
Ukraine sets up port dedicated to shipping wheat to Lebanon
Lebanese authorities launch investigation to find Saudi national missing in Bekaa
Lebanese authorities investigate Saudi's kidnap in Baalbek
Safieddine says Hezbollah ready 'on all fronts'
Geagea accuses authorities of evading responsibility, calls for Akiki's dismissal
AUB honors Professor Samir Tabet with University Medal
Text Of Sayyed Nasrallah's Speech: No Israeli Target Out of Hezbollah’s Missile Reach
Nasrallah renews warning to Israel, says Hezbollah not behind al-Hajj's case
In Fight Over Lebanon's Future, Bishop's Detention After Israel Visit Crosses a Red Line/Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/July 24/2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 25-26/2022
3 dead, including suspect, after multiple shootings in Langley, B.C. Canada
Iran Parliament to Discuss Belgium Prisoner Swap Treaty
Iran Will Keep IAEA Cameras Turned off until Nuclear Deal is Restored
Iran Announces Thwarting Attack on ‘Sensitive’ Center in Isfahan
Iran says it won’t be rushed into ‘quick’ nuclear deal
War in Ukraine: latest developments
Sudanese Minister Accuses Bashir’s Regime of ‘Fueling Tribal Conflicts’
Jordan’s King Abdullah, Palestine’s Abbas Discuss Joint Action ahead of UN Meetings
Saied Supporters Welcome Vote on Tunisia Constitution
Grundberg Condemns Attack on Taiz, Presidential Leadership Council Calls for Punishing Houthis

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 25-26/2022
Confucius Institutes 2.0: Chinese Government Money Speaks Loudly/Peter Schweizer/Gatestone Institute./July 25/2022
The Levant’s Dilemma: Destructive Terror or Constructive Fear/Raghida Dergham/The National/July 25/2022
Laughter Is a Weapon Putin Can’t Fire Back/Clara Ferreira Marques/Bloomberg/July 25/2022
Iraq's ‘Powerful’ and the Slain Lebanese/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 25/2022
What lies behind Iran’s drones deal with Russia?/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/July 25/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 25-26/2022
Lebanon’s Rahi: Al-Hajj’s Arrest Insults the Patriarchate
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
The Maronite Patriarchate’s summer residence in Lebanon’s northern town of Diman on Sunday witnessed crowds gathering in support of the Maronite Patriarch, Beshara Al-Rahi, who had stepped up his rejection of the arrest of a senior Lebanese Maronite religious leader. Bishop Mousa Al-Hajj, archbishop of the Maronite archdiocese of Haifa and the patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories and the territories of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, was arrested at the Naqoura crossing between Lebanon and Israel after a visit to his parish in the holy territories. Al-Hajj faced a long interrogation by the general security service pursuant to a judicial decision. He was also subject to a travel ban  and was referred to the military court. “Go look for agents elsewhere,” Al-Rahi said in a sermon he delivered to the crowds gathered at the church’s courtyard at the patriarch’s residence in Diman. “It’s about time we change the reality filled with hatred and hostility.” Al-Rahi said that Lebanon “cannot be built, progress and unify through this approach that does not reflect the values of its people and history.” “Those who implement these policies and make up these files should learn from their predecessors and the experiences that prove that bad people cannot be part of Lebanon’s honorable history.”Al-Rahi affirmed that “what bishop Moussa Al-Hajj faced violated the dignity of the church.”Al-Rahi said that it was not permitted to prosecute a bishop without referring to his authority, which is the Patriarchate. “We reject these actions with political implications and we demand that the bishop’s seized belongings, including his passport, mobile phone, the aid, money and medicines, be returned to him, as Lebanese in the holy occupied lands entrusted him to deliver this aid to their families in Lebanon from all sects,” he said. “That is what the Maronite bishops used to do for years in the past and what he should continue doing in the future.” Addressing those “harming Lebanon,” Al-Rahi also said: “Stop saying that the aid was coming from agents and look for these agents elsewhere. You know where they are and who they are.”Al-Rahi said that Al-Hajj “maintains the Christian, Palestinian and Arab presence inside Israel and deserves to be praised and supported instead of attacking his dignity and honorable message.”

Countdown to border deal has begun as Hochstein visits soon with final response
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
The countdown to reach an agreement on the border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel has begun, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Monday. The daily said that General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is carrying on with the negotiations with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who is expected to visit Lebanon soon with a final response to Lebanon's demands.Senior Sources have told al-Joumhouria that signing an agreement with Israel is unlikely, thus high-level discussions have begun on how and where to sign the deal.

Report: State security to audit Archbishop al-Hajj's properties
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
A state security service is expanding the investigations over Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj to include an audit of the bishop’s properties, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday. The daily said that informed sources had suggested a possibility of a material benefit in exchange for the transfer of funds from Israel to Lebanon. "It is not clear whether al-Hajj will be summoned again after he failed to appear before the court, given the political and religious protection that he enjoys," the sources told al-Akhbar. Al-Hajj had been questioned for 12 hours last week upon his return from Israel with large quantities of medicines, foodstuffs and canned goods, in addition to $460,000. A military court summoned him for further questioning, but he ignored the summons amid a strong support from Christian leaders.

Ibrahim distances General Security from al-Hajj case
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on Monday stressed that the General Security agency implemented the judiciary’s instructions when it interrogated Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj and searched his luggage for at least eight hours at the Naqoura border crossing.“Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj did not face any insult from the General Security agents and he had 20 travel suitcases which required eight hours to be searched,” Ibrahim told al-Jadeed TV. “We did not dispose of what the archbishop was carrying. Everything that we confiscated it has become at the disposal of the judiciary,” Ibrahim added.
“If my father crosses the checkpoint or the border crossing and there is a (judicial) order to search him, we would fully perform our duty, and if there is any ambiguity, the authority that should be asked is the judiciary and not security agencies,” the general explained.
He accordingly stressed that neither him nor General Security “have anything to do with political calculations.” “I have full respect for (Maronite) Patriarch (Beshara) al-Rahi, but as the head of a security apparatus tasked with controlling the entry and exit movement through all borders, it is also part of my job to enforce any judicial order,” Ibrahim added. As for the border demarcation dispute between Lebanon and Israel, Ibrahim noted that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will return to Lebanon at the end of next week to carry out a round of consultations.”“He might carry an (Israeli) response to the proposal made by Lebanon during his last visit,” the general added. “We’re headed for a settlement, no matter how much it takes,” he went on to say. As for Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s recent remarks that a war could erupt over the sea border and gas dispute, Ibrahim said: “A war would have to do with the course of the negotiations and I hope it won’t happen, but if our right will be wasted, I stress that it would be legitimate that we resort to any other method to fulfill this right.” “The Lebanese state will fulfill Lebanon’s right and it must do what’s needed to recover this right. As for those who assist the state in this matter, they are welcome,” Ibrahim added.

Govt. formation: Who will take the first step?
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
All contacts between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati regarding the government formation have been halted, al-Joumhouria newspaper said. The daily said Monday, based on high-level sources, that even mediations have stopped between Baabda and the Grand Serail, and that all the attention now is on the upcoming Presidential election. "The President is waiting for the PM-designate to initiate, and vice versa," the sources said, adding that countries, in the region and internationally, are not showing any real concern regarding the government formation, but are rather prioritizing the Presidential election.

Ukraine sets up port dedicated to shipping wheat to Lebanon
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday met with Ukrainian Ambassador to Lebanon Ihor Ostach. The Foreign Ministry said Ostach told Bou Habib that “as part of its aid for Lebanon, his country has set up a port for maintaining the delivery of wheat to Lebanon due to Lebanon’s stance on the Russian-Ukrainian war.”The Lebanese Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and called on Moscow to “immediately halt military operations.”Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry had swiftly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. “In light of the military invasions that Lebanon’s modern history witnessed, which inflicted heavy losses on it and its people… Lebanon condemns the invasion of Ukrainian territory and calls on Russia to immediately halt military operations,” the Ministry said in a statement at the time. Lebanon calls on Moscow to “withdraw its forces and return to the approach of dialogue and negotiations, as the best means to resolve the current conflict, in a manner that would preserve the sovereignty, security and concerns of both parties and that would contribute to sparing the peoples of the two countries, the European continent and the world the tragedies and pain of wars,” the statement added.Several Lebanese political forces meanwhile disavowed the statement, describing it as biased and inconsistent with Lebanon’s so-called dissociation policy.

Lebanese authorities launch investigation to find Saudi national missing in Bekaa
Najia Houssari/Arab News/July 25/2022
There were 24 kidnappings in the first quarter of 2022
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have launched an investigation to locate a Saudi national who went missing after being lured to the country's eastern region of Bekaa to buy a property, officials have said. But the measures being taken to search for Hussein Al-Shammari are being kept under wraps. Reports circulating on social media on Monday morning claimed that unidentified people had lured Al-Shammari to one of the hills of Baalbek to sell him real estate. They later kidnapped him and demanded a ransom in exchange for his release. There is conflicting information about the location of the kidnapping.
BACKGROUND
The kidnappers find in Baalbek-Hermel governorate — which is under the control of Hezbollah’s security force — a haven for their protection, weapons, and movements.
Al-Shammari was on the road to Rafic Hariri International Airport after arriving at the airport when he was kidnapped, according to news reports.
A military source told Arab News that the security services had no information about a kidnapping in Lebanon in the past 24 hours or about the nationality of the captive should the kidnapping be confirmed.
But security and judicial services in the Baalbek region have been mobilized, as has the Lebanese military. Raids began in the early hours of Monday on the house of a wanted person from the Al-Jaafar family in the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood on suspicion of his involvement with other people in previous kidnappings. Forces confiscated weapons and ammunition but found no captives. Baalbek-Hermel Gov. Judge Bashir Khader told Arab News that the security forces, army intelligence, and the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces had not received any information or news from any Saudi family reporting that a member of their family had been kidnapped. He also said that the Saudi diplomatic mission in Lebanon had not reported any information about a Saudi national being kidnapped on Lebanese territory.
Khader said the security services had, however, carried out pre-emptive raids against people involved in previous kidnappings or had precedent.
“The aim of these agencies — if there is a kidnapped person — is to ensure his safety and arrest the perpetrators — if the matter is confirmed — in a way that ensures the captive's safety.”Khader stressed that the issue would not go unpunished, although there were hopes for an early breakthrough in the investigation. Kidnappings for ransom have increased this year in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon due to the deteriorating security situation.
The kidnappers find in Baalbek-Hermel governorate — which is under the control of Hezbollah's security force — a haven for their protection, weapons, and movements.
They have been using illegal crossings for transferring kidnapped individuals to Syrian territory or moving there themselves to avoid detention. Official figures indicate an increase in kidnappings this year compared to 2021. The first three months of 2022 witnessed 24 kidnappings, compared to 17 during 2021, with kidnappers using different methods.The nationalities kidnapped for ransom include the Lebanese, Syrians, Saudis, Yemenis, and Egyptians. Some were freed by the Lebanese security forces, while others were released after a ransom was paid.

Lebanese authorities investigate Saudi's kidnap in Baalbek
Agence France Presse/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Lebanese authorities launched an investigation Monday into the kidnapping at the weekend of a Saudi lured to the country's eastern region of Bekaa to buy a property, a judicial official said. The Bekaa public prosecutor instructed security forces to "conduct investigations and gather information on his whereabouts, which is likely the al-Sharawneh neighborhood" on the outskirts of the city of Baalbek, the official told AFP, asking not to be named. Unrest and clashes between rival influential families are common in Baalbek, where the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah is dominant.
The army often conducts raids in the city, notably in al-Sharawneh, over cases of drug trafficking, theft, kidnapping and other crimes. A "gang" lured the victim to Lebanon to buy property and the man was taken directly to Baalbek upon landing in Beirut, the official said, specifying that he was snatched on Sunday.
A ransom demand has not been issued but the Saudi was likely taken "with the aim of financially extorting" him, he said. In April, a gang kidnapped an Egyptian accountant in Baalbek. He was rescued by the army after two weeks in captivity. On July 11, a Saudi dissident living in Beirut's southern suburbs was killed, and two of his brothers were arrested in connection with the murder. The latest kidnapping comes three months after Riyadh announced the return of its ambassador to Beirut, following a diplomatic crisis last year between Lebanon and Arab states in the Gulf. Riyadh also suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon in April last year, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction. Captagon pills, an amphetamine that is wreaking havoc in the kingdom and other Arab states, are produced mainly in Syria, neighboring the Bekaa, and smuggled to the main consumer markets in the Gulf.

Safieddine says Hezbollah ready 'on all fronts'
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Head of Hezbollah Executive Council Sayyed Hashem Safieddine said Monday that Hezbollah is close today to defeating Israel by land and sea. "We are close to defeating the Israelis by land and by sea if we want to, and we will decide when to do it," Safieddine said, adding that the Israelis are not the ones who impose their equation in this matter. Speaking from the Southern town of Kfarkela, Safieddine reiterated that Hezbollah does not want war but is ready for it. "The more you put pressure on our country, the more our determination, strength and solidity will increase," Safieddine said. "We are ready on all fronts," he added.

Geagea accuses authorities of evading responsibility, calls for Akiki's dismissal
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Lebanese chief Samir Geagea urged Monday for the dismissal of Judge Fadi Akiki as he described him as a traitor and accused Lebanese authorities of evading responsibility. "What he did was indecent and those behind him are bigger traitors," Geagea said, urging the Lebanese not to believe a word of what was said about the reasons behind Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj's detention. "They are liars," he assumed. Geagea accused the ruling parties of having "uncovered political intentions to control the country in different ways." "This is not against Bkerki nor al-Hajj, this is against the foundations of Lebanon" he said. He added that Akiki represents the Axis of Defiance and that everyone has evaded responsibility, including President Michel Aoun and the minister of justice who both said it is not within their powers to pursue judges."The minister of Justice has the power to act when the national security is threatened," Geagea said, adding that Akiki must be dismissed and referred to judicial inspection.

AUB honors Professor Samir Tabet with University Medal
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
The American University of Beirut’s most prestigious recognition, the University Medal, was conferred on Professor Samir Tabet in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and achievements, AUB said Monday in a statement. The statement said that Tabet, AUB vice-president emeritus, former acting president, accomplished academic, and artist had received the University Medal during a ceremony held on July 7 at AUB’s Marquand House. "Samir Tabet is an iconic figure in the history of the American University of Beirut. He held critical roles at AUB as an academic over more than 3 decades, as an outstanding professor of chemistry, an invaluable mentor, and as a leader. He served as provost and VP for academic affairs for a decade and a half when AUB badly needed his sound judgment, firm resolve and personal generosity," said AUB President Fadlo Khuri while conferring the university medal on him.
"Tabet's long and distinguished career at AUB was marked by many years of service in administration, several of them during difficult years for Lebanon and AUB," the statement said. He joined AUB in 1953 when he was appointed an assistant professor of chemistry. He held a number of leadership positions at AUB including associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as of 1969, acting dean (1969-1970), university provost (1970-1976), vice president for academic affairs (1977-1986), vice president emeritus effective 1988, as well as acting president in 1984. He also served as chairman of the Chemistry Department from 1955-56, and again from 1966-69. Tabet published throughout his academic career a large number of articles in internationally refereed journals. "Extraordinarily versatile, he has served as president of the Beirut Rotary Club (1981) and as cultural advisor to the president of the republic (1987). He also took up the presidency of the Society of the Friends of the AUB Museum. Moving regularly between Paris and Lebanon, Dr. Tabet ardently pursues his life-long calling, painting. He is a fellow of the Paris Salon and has held in both Paris and Beirut numerous exhibitions, with proceeds that were donated to scholarship funds for students." AUB added that a Beirut weekly, commenting on Tabet's 1995 exhibition at the Galerie Epreuve d'Artiste, said his still lifes constitute a genre in themselves. "Former colleagues see the influence of chemistry in his colors, the bright hues of inorganic irons animate his canvases. To his students as well as colleagues, he is known as a compelling teacher with a good sense of humor and a flair for an artistic approach in displaying chemical structures and equations," the statement went on to say. AUB’s University Medal was created by the Board of Trustees in the spring of 1990 to be awarded periodically by the vote of the board to selected individuals in recognition of distinguished and meritorious service to the university. It is accompanied by a citation signed by the chairman of the Board and the president of the university. Tabet is the first of three awardees of this year’s University Medals, with Trustee Emeritus Ali Ghandour and Professor Makhlouf Haddadin being the second and third, the statement said. The award will be offered to the family of the late business leader Ali Ghandour in September 2022, and to Professor Makhlouf Haddadin in October 2022. Previous recipients of the University Medal were Rafic B. Hariri (1990, 1998), Constantine Zurayk (1991), Samir Makdisi (1998), Raja N. Khuri (2000), Suliman Olayan (2000), George Mitchell (2002), Paul Volcker (2002), Richard A. Debs (2005), Kamal A. Shair (2007), Nicola N. Khuri (2009), Thomas Q. Morris (2009), Ann Z. Kerr-Adams (2010), Etel Adnan (2017), Maroun Semaan (2017), Huguette Caland (2017), Farouk K. Jabre (2018), and Myrna Bustani (2019).

Text Of Sayyed Nasrallah's Mayaden Interview: No Israeli Target Out of Hezbollah’s Missile Reach
Al-Mayadeen English Website/July 26/2022
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah warned ‘Israel’ anew on Monday that it would not be able to extract gas from the Karish field in September before Lebanon obtains its right, making it clear that the resistance movement’s precision missiles can hit any Israeli target at sea or on land.
In an exclusive interview on Al-Mayadeen’s Ghassan Ben Jeddou, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed that the start of deterrence between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation started in 1985 when “Tel Aviv” had to withdraw earlier than planned from many areas it had occupied.
The interview with Sayyed Nasrallah comes as part of the “Dialogue of the 40th Anniversary” about the achievements of the resistance over the past several decades and the status-quo against the Israeli occupation which Al-Mayadeen broadcast on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Lebanese Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah.
“The Israeli enemy dealt with the border strip as a security belt preventing the freedom fighters from going into Palestine, and that is when deterrence began,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah underlined.
At the time, the Hezbollah chief said, deterring the Israeli occupation was a collaborative effort achieved by all the resistance movements that carried out operations against the Israeli occupation, not just Hezbollah. “The second phase of deterrence started through the actions of the resistance in the villages adjacent to the border carried out until 1993 when phase three began.”“From 1993 until 1996, a high level of deterrence was achieved,” Sayyed Nasrallah explained. “The April 1996 agreement was the foundation of the victory in 2000, when deterrence manifested in various ways, including preventing the occupation from shelling civilian targets without any response [to its aggression].”
Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that the Israeli occupation realized, through the July war, that confrontation with the resistance was dangerous and that the resistance’s capabilities were much more than just confrontations at the border. “Since 2006, the enemy does not dare take any action against Lebanon,” the resistance leader noted, noting that “Tel Aviv” was only resorting to run-of-the-mill operations that leave no mark in Lebanon.
The Karish equation
Commenting on the Karish equation underlined in a speech he made two weeks ago, when he sternly said: “When things reach a dead-end, we will not only stand in the face of Karish… Mark these words: we will reach Karish, beyond Karish, and beyond, beyond Karish,” Sayyed Nasrallah said Lebanon now has a historic opportunity in light of Europe’s need for an alternative to Russian oil and gas. “US President Joe Biden came to the region for gas and oil, and the [additional resources] that Saudi Arabia and the UAE can offer will not solve the issue of Europe’s needs,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah explained.
“The United States and Europe need oil and gas, and Israel sees an opportunity in that,” he explained. “Biden does not want war in the region, and this is an opportunity to pressure [them] for our oil.”The issue is not about Karish and Qana, Sayyed Nasrallah said. “It is about all of the oil and gas fields looted by Israel in Palestine’s waters in exchange for Lebanon’s rights.”“The Americans distracted Lebanon with negotiations while ‘Israel’ explored for gas and is preparing to extract it,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed. “The United States pressured the Lebanese state into agreeing to the Hoff line, i.e., the Israeli proposal for the maritime borders.”
Warning the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said there were no Israeli targets in the sea or land out of the reach of the resistance’s precision missiles. “[Targeting] Karish or beyond depends on the Israeli enemy’s decision along with that of the United States,” he underlined.
“The Lebanese state made a major concession through what it asked for from the US mediator when it mentioned line 23+,” he highlighted. “Right now, the ball is not in Lebanon’s court, as it is prohibited from extracting oil and gas in the non-disputed area.”
“What is required is a commitment to the borders stipulated by the Lebanese state and ending the veto on the companies extracting oil,” the Hezbollah chief added.
“If the extraction of oil and gas starts in September before Lebanon retains its rights, we are heading toward a confrontation,” he said. “We have set a goal that we will seek to achieve no matter what, and we will resort to anything to this end.”
“The Lebanese state is incapable of making the right decision that would protect Lebanon and its riches, therefore the resistance must take this decision,” Sayyed Nasrallah underlined. The goal today, he said, is for Lebanon to extract its oil and gas, explaining that this was the only way for the country’s survival.
The Lebanese must trust the resistance
“Hezbollah is capable of deterring the enemy and striking targets anywhere in the sea of occupied Palestine,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed. “The major violations of Lebanon’s airspace committed by the Israeli drones is what pushed us to make the decision to use some of our capabilities,” he clarified. “The Israeli UAVs were largely violating Beqaa and South Lebanon, but the reconnaissance flight rates were reduced following the resistance’s response.”The resistance leader stressed that it was necessary for the Lebanese people to have faith in the resistance and that “the resistance has enough manpower and military and financial capabilities to subjugate ‘Israel’.”“If the situation heads to war, the Lebanese people must trust the resistance that will be able to impose Lebanon’s will on the enemy.”
Hezbollah ready to provide Iranian fuel for free.
The Hezbollah chief stressed that there was no coordination with Syria, Iran, or any domestic allies when it came to Hezbollah resorting to any friendly companies for help.
Sayyed Nasrallah then went on to express Hezbollah’s readiness to provide Iranian fuel to Lebanese power plants for free, conditioning the proposal to the Lebanese government’s approval. “Sadly, the Lebanese political class is not bold enough to take such a step out of fear of US sanctions on [politicians] and their families.”
It is unacceptable for anyone to doubt Hezbollah’s patriotism
“Classifying one as patriotic is not based on standards; rather it is subjected to personal whims targeting Hezbollah, and some [parties] even went as far as targeting the entire Shiite population,” the Lebanese resistance leader said. “Our presence in this country goes back 1,400 years in history at the very least, and I dare you to bring me one witness since the establishment of Hezbollah 40 years ago that can say that Hezbollah did anything that was in the interest of Iran and not Lebanon’s.” Hezbollah has nothing to do with Archbishop Al-Hajj’s case“Some parties’ assumption that the Lebanese state apparatuses working under Hezbollah’s command is nothing but lies, slander, and injustice toward the security services and Hezbollah,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed.
The Hezbollah chief touched on the case of the Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land, Moussa Al-Hajj, who was arrested by the Lebanese General Security Services on July 18 upon his return to Lebanon through the Ras Al-Naqoura border crossing from the occupied Palestinian territories, saying the resistance movement had no previous knowledge of his arrest.
“Hezbollah and I found out about Archbishop Moussa Al-Hajj along with the other Lebanese people,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “Hezbollah has no relation to the case of Archbishop Moussa Al-Hajj, and we will not interfere in it.”“What happened over the past two days in light of Archbishop Al-Hajj’s case will lead to the dissolution of the state, its institutions, and the judiciary, and this is a dangerous path,” Sayyed Nasrallah clarified. “The transfer of funds from occupied Palestine is illegal, regardless of the reason.”
“Some parties in Lebanon hypocritically say that Israel is an enemy, while it is, for them, an ally, a friend, and the future.”
President Aoun was strong throughout his tenure
“Approaching the issue of the presidency by determining the characteristics of the upcoming president is a waste of time as much as it is futile,” Sayyed Nasrallah said regarding the domestic issue of forming a government and electing a president. He also noted that Hezbollah did not even begin deliberations regarding presidential candidates while negating what is being reported on behalf of the party in relation to the issue.
“Hezbollah will not have a presidential candidate of its own; it will decide which of the candidates to support,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. He added that to be fair when discussing the tenure of President Michel Aoun, one must take into consideration the jurisdictions of the President of the Republic. “Aoun was a leader who stood strong, taking decisions no one else would have taken, such as engaging in the Dawn of the Jurds battle till the very end.”
Commenting on the issue of the Lebanese government, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed that Lebanon needs a government that is capable of bearing the burdens facing the state and taking full responsibility, “which is why certain parties do not want to participate in it.”
Demise of ‘Israel’ won’t take another 40 years
“I see that the demise of the Israeli entity is imminent,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed, where Israeli settlers will be seen leaving through airports, seaports, and border crossings. “We will not need another 40 years to witness the demise of Israel.”“All the elements allowing Israel to survive are diminishing and dwindling while the elements that will lead to its demise are growing stronger.”IRGC participated in joint operations room during Seif Al-Quds
“During the battle of Seif Al-Quds, we were providing all the information we had to the Palestinians through the joint operations room,” the Lebanese resistance leader revealed, stressing that there was communication in place between the various forces of the Axis of Resistance. He also disclosed that the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) was active in the joint operations room during the pivotal battle against the Israeli occupation.
“There was direct coordination with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with around-the-clock follow-up throughout the war, and the contact level was highly dependent on intel.”
Sayyed Nasrallah personally interested in Hamas-Syria reconciliation
The Hezbollah chief touched on the reconciliation between Hamas and Syria, saying the Hamas leadership “arrived at a conclusion that they cannot turn their backs on Syria, for it is an integral part of the Axis of Resistance.”He also expressed his personal interest in getting the relations between Syria and Hamas back on track, as it became clear to everyone where the struggle was heading to.
Hezbollah stands with Yemeni people, Ansarullah
Regarding the Saudi war on Yemen, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that when it comes to this war, Hezbollah cannot play a mediation role as it openly takes sides; the side of the Yemeni people and Ansarullah. Considering that a mediator usually asks for concessions from the parties involved, Sayyed Nasrallah conjectured what concessions could be demanded from Ansarullah. On the issue of mediation, the Lebanese Resistance leader went on to say that the Iranians stressed that there is nothing that the Yemenis can concede. He also stressed that the relationship of Hezbollah with Saudi Arabia and the UAE is in no way based on ideological issues; rather, the factors that govern the relationship are merely political.
“The arrests in the UAE are a tool of political pressure on Hezbollah, and they must be dealt with.”
Turkey has expansionist interests in Syria
Sayyed Nasrallah touched on the Turkish intervention in Syria, saying: “It does not seem that the situation is headed for a settlement between Turkey and Syria, as Erdogan is still betting on some things to leverage his position.” “We cannot deny there being Turkish expansionist interests in Syria and Iraq,” Sayyed Nasrallah added. Clarifying Hezbollah’s position on Iraq, the movement’s chief said: “Hezbollah has no private project in Iraq, and we do not adopt one party at the expense of the others […] Hezbollah’s role has long been about bringing the viewpoints of the Iraqi factions closer.”
Iran never asked Sayyed Nasrallah for anything
“Had Iran been after a greater influence in the region, it would have reconciled with the Americans, abandoned Palestine, and went back to being the policeman of the Middle East,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “Iran’s stance on the Palestinian cause is based on [the Islamic Republic’s] ideologies and religion; it expects no thanks for it. It is not for gaining any influence in the region.”The Lebanese resistance leader underscored that Iran never asked him for anything, whether in Lebanon or the region, at a time it helped Iraq and Syria in curbing the expansion of ISIS. “[Iran] standing by its friends and allies does not in any way mean that it controls them.”
On its 40th anniversary, Hezbollah has fully grown
“The presence of Hezbollah in the Axis of Resistance will grow stronger and more capable throughout the region,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “Hezbollah’s vision regarding the upcoming period on the local level in Lebanon is engagement more than ever before.”The Hezbollah chief said the party will cooperate with all parties in Lebanon, except those dealing with Hezbollah with political and media enmity. “I do not take credit for any of Hezbollah’s achievements. All of Hezbollah’s achievements were made possible through God’s will and upper hand first, and collective efforts second. When I say Hezbollah, I mean [the party’s] supporters, too.” “Spearheading our achievements is the liberation in 2000 and imposing a state of safety and security for our people in the South,” he stressed.
A message to the loyal people
“I say to the loyal people who never backstabbed us or left us at all and bore the brunt of living: you are the most honorable and purest people,” he said.“If it were not for my trust in the popular base of the resistance, I would not have said what I said about going to war for the sake of Lebanon’s rights in the latest speech,” Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.
Addressing the supporters of the resistance and its people, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “All the blessings we have are bestowed upon us by Allah Almighty, and after thanking Allah, I cannot but thank the people whom we are not merely complementing when we call them the most honorable, the purest, and the most generous… the sacrifices were constantly growing with time, yet they remained loyal and never let us down or backstabbed us.”

Nasrallah renews warning to Israel, says Hezbollah not behind al-Hajj's case
Naharnet/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel anew on Monday that it would not be able to extract gas from the Karish field without a sea border agreement with Lebanon. “If the extraction of oil and gas from Karish begins in September before Lebanon obtains its right, we would be heading to ‘a problem’ and we'll do anything to achieve our objective,” Nasrallah said in an interview on al-Mayadeen TV. “No one wishes for war and the decision is in Israel's hands, not in our hands,” he said. “The U.S. president does not want a war in the region and this is a chance for us to press to get our oil,” Nasrallah added. He again warned Israel that “all fields are under threat, not only Karish,” adding that “no Israeli target at sea or on land is out of the reach of the resistance's precision missiles.”“Such an action, whether in Karish or beyond, is hinging on the Israeli enemy's decision along with the U.S., and the Lebanese state offered a major concession in what it demanded through the U.S. mediator when it spoke of Line 23+,” Nasrallah said. “The ball now is not in Lebanon's court, because it is the party barred from extracting oil and gas in the undisputed area, and what's needed is to abide by the limits demanded by the Lebanese state and to lift the veto off the companies that will extract the oil,” he added. Asked whether Hezbollah has the ability to win a future war with Israel, Nasrallah said: “I tell the Lebanese people that they should be confident in the resistance's capabilities.”“We have not asked anyone to join a future war on our side but it is not known if other forces might join such a war and this is a strong probability,” he added. Asked about the controversy over General Security’s interrogation and search of Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj upon his return from Israel to Lebanon, Nasrallah emphasized that “the Lebanese security agencies do not work at Hezbollah's instructions.” “There is a law in Lebanon and security agencies address everything related to collaboration with Israel,” he noted. “Hezbollah knew of the archbishop's case from the media,” Nasrallah pointed out. “I tell all Lebanese people, especially Christians, that Hezbollah has nothing to do at all with Archbishop al-Hajj's case,” he said. Warning that “what happened over the past two days over Archbishop’s al-Hajj case will not keep a state, institutions or a judiciary,” Nasrallah noted that “the transfer of money from occupied Palestine to Lebanon is an outlawed action regardless of its reasons.”
"Judge (Fadi) Akiki is being accused of treason because he ordered General Security to search the archbishop's suitcases, and today the marginalization of security agencies and the judiciary is being practiced by those who objected against us when we spoke of the port blast incident," Nasrallah added. As for the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon, Nasrallah said: “We in Hezbollah have not started discussing the presidential candidates yet and we will not have a candidate but will rather decide whom to support among the natural candidates.”

تقرير من جريدة هآررتس الإسرائيلية يتناول هرطقة وجريمة اعتقال المطران الحاج للكاتب تسفي برئيل تحت عنوان: في الحرب على مستقبل لبنان، اعتقال المطران بعد زيارته لإسرائيل يتخطى الخطوط الحمر
Analysis | In Fight Over Lebanon's Future, Bishop's Detention After Israel Visit Crosses a Red Line
Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/July 24/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/110654/zvi-barel-haaretz-in-fight-over-lebanons-future-bishops-detention-after-israel-visit-crosses-a-red-line-%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%ac%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%a9-%d9%87%d8%a2/Maronite Christian leader becomes latest target in arm-twisting between the various forces vying for control over Lebanon – and Iran-backed Hezbollah appears poised to do whatever it takes to make sure it has the upper hand when the next president is picked. On Monday morning last week, Maronite Bishop Moussa el-Hage and his entourage crossed from Israel back into Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra, after visiting Israel and the West Bank. This is far from being the first time this has happened. As part of his duties as archbishop of the Maronite Christian community in Haifa and the Holy Land, the bishop and his entourage regularly cross the border, and always pass without a hitch.
Each time he brings money donations from the Maronite community in Israel for their needy coreligionists in Lebanon. And it's not only the Maronite who donate money. The Druze community in Israel and Palestinians from the West Bank also use the bishop’s courier service to transfer funds to their families and communities across the border. This time, however, he was detained by Lebanese intelligence for 12 hours and interrogated. They confiscated his baggage, phone and some $460,000 in cash.
His detention ignited a firestorm. Not only did the interrogation take place at the Military Intelligence's headquarters, it also contravened the custom in Lebanon, by which clergy are questioned – and if necessary, also tried – by the Vatican. At first, the archbishop refused to get out of his car, but since the order came from a civil judge, Fadi Akiki, who represents the civilian judicial system in military courts, el-Hage finally acceded. Only around midnight was he finally released. He went straight to his boss' home, and from there, the affair spread and became a political imbroglio that reached Lebanese President Michel Aoun. The Christian and Druze political leadership stirred a commotion and accused Hezbollah and other “internal and external” officials of trying to drag Lebanon into civil war.
A meeting of Maronite leaders, headed by Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, quickly released a sharply worded condemnation, stating: “The security, legal and political show should end immediately, and all the money and medications confiscated should be returned, so they can be distributed to the needy who are waiting for them, the legal case should be closed and Judge Akiki should be questioned and suspended.”“The money that the bishop transferred is not the property of the church. It derives from collaborators who live in Israel,” Akiki retorted, hinting at former officers with the Israeli-backed Southern Lebanese Army who came to Israel after it withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon in 2000, “most of whom work for the enemy."
According to Akiki, "This money is subject to the law in Lebanon, which relates to anything that comes from the occupied territories, and is applied to anyone who comes from there… there is a law boycotting Israel and it is my job to enforce it.”The affair is still not over. The bishop has been summoned to appear again before the judge for more questioning, but he has made clear that he does not intend to appear without authorization from his superiors. Meanwhile, it seems that political pressures are working, and the case could soon be shelved or forgotten. The case might disappear, but the tensions it has already generated will continue to reverberate across Lebanese society and politics.
For the Maronite leadership, which holds the state presidency according to Lebanon's constitution, this is a particular embarrassment when Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a Sunni Muslim, is struggling to form an agreed-upon government. President Aoun is meant to end his tenure in October – unless it is extended in the event that political troubles delay the nomination of his replacement. Aoun sided with the bishop, but thick hints from Hezbollah opponents – including the Druze leadership and the head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea – that the Iran-backed militant group is responsible for el-Hage’s interrogation, are amplifying the affair and moving it to the political arena.
Now it has also become tied to the issue of maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel; Hezbollah is involved in both issues, and in both, it's trying to cross red lines and dictate the rules of the game. Aid and funds from Israel, negotiations over the disputed gas field, the formation of a government or loans from the International Monetary Fund – Hezbollah leaves no loose threads it doesn't wrap around its finger. President Aoun said last week that an agreement on delineating the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel is moving ahead, and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib predicted that it would be signed in September.
It is difficult to know what these optimistic assessments are based on, when Lebanon has still not received Israel’s response to its proposed border map. Hezbollah’s position, however, is as clear as can be: that Lebanon will not sign an agreement that does not ensure its full rights, most importantly to the Qana gas field, right in the heart of maritime territory claimed by Israel. Hezbollah has stated that it will support whatever the Lebanese government decides, but is working to ensure that the government does not decide anything against its will.
What worries Hezbollah is not necessarily the fate of the gas field, but the composition of the government in Lebanon, who will be its next president and how the group can maintain its leverage of power. The gas field is a powerful leverage, and the affair of the bishop’s interrogation serves its goals. As Foreign Minister Bou Habib said exactly two years ago in an interview with Lebanese website Asas Media: “Hezbollah is the de facto ruler of Lebanon.” No great news there, but the interrogation of the bishop crosses a red line, in a country where red lines are impressively flexible.
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2022-07-24/ty-article/.premium/in-fight-over-lebanons-future-bishops-detention-after-israel-visit-crosses-a-red-line/00000182-2f7e-d9c7-a9a7-effedb690000.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 25-26/2022
3 dead, including suspect, after multiple shootings in Langley, B.C. Canada
CBC/July 25, 2022
Canada/Langley, B.C/Two victims are dead and two others are seriously hurt after multiple shootings in Langley, B.C., on Monday prompted emergency alerts to the public. A suspect known to police was later identified and shot dead by RCMP, ending a series of attacks officers initially said were targeted at homeless people in the community. At a news conference on Monday afternoon, police said the shootings unfolded in the City of Langley and the neighbouring Township of Langley over the course of six hours, starting around midnight. One man was found dead by the Langley city bus loop at Logan Avenue and Glover Road. Another man was discovered dead at the nearby Creek Stone Place supportive housing project. Police also found a woman who'd been shot and critically injured near 203A Street and Fraser Highway. By 5:45 a.m., police had identified a suspect and found him outside Willowbrook Mall near 200 Street and the Langley Bypass. A fourth victim, who survived a gunshot wound to the leg, was also in the area. Police shot and killed the suspect after an "interaction," but did not say at what time. Just before 6:20 a.m., RCMP issued a blaring direct-to-cellphone emergency alert to the public with a description of a suspect and possible suspect vehicle — the second time in the past year the Alert Ready system has been used for an active shooter scenario in B.C. Police said the alert wasn't sent earlier because investigators did not immediately realize the shootings were connected.
"Our first responders were handling each case, one on one, and as the scene unfolded and as we were able to piece [it] together ... The alert was done at the appropriate time as the information became known to us and a proper risk assessment was done," said Sgt. David Lee with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). "That time was the best time that we were able to issue the alert and tie these things together." Multiple victims reported in Langley, B.C. shootings
Earlier Monday, RCMP told CBC News a suspect had been taken into custody. Sgt. Rebecca Parslow said in an interview the victims were homeless and that police believed the attack was targeted. At the news conference, RCMP said officials had identified the suspect and the two victims who died but would not be releasing their names until their families had been notified. "At this time we don't know the motive behind this deadly incident, nor if there was any relationship between the deceased suspect and the victims," said Chief Supt. Ghalib Bhayani, assistant district commander with the Lower Mainland RCMP.
Multiple crime scenes downtown. The city and township of Langley are located around 40 kilometres southeast of Vancouver. The crime scenes at the mall, casino, housing complex and bus loop were just a few kilometres apart. In the parking lot of Willowbrook Mall, the area where police say the suspect was killed, an unmarked black police vehicle was seen riddled with at least nine bullet holes in the windshield and driver's side window. RCMP said they could not say whether the suspect shot at police or whether an officer fired through their window.
On the sidewalk, a bicycle lay toppled with a blue sleeping bag and other personal belongings tied to a crate on the back. Outside the casino, a shopping cart and other items sat behind yellow police tape. The initial emergency alert described the suspect as a white man with dark hair who was wearing brown Carhartt coveralls and a blue and green camouflage T-shirt with a red logo on the right sleeve.
The notice said he was connected to a white vehicle. Later Monday, a white four-door sedan with its licence plates covered by police sat in the same area where the suspect was shot dead.
Officials sent a second emergency alert just after 7:20 a.m. PT.
It said the suspect was "no longer a threat" but reiterated the need to stay away from the downtown core as officers ruled out the possibility of multiple suspects.
'My heart breaks,' mayor says
City of Langley Mayor Val van den Broek was at a loss for words on Monday.
"I can't even explain it. Like I said, my heart breaks. This is something that you never want to see happen in your community. Never, ever," she said.
"Sorry, I'm pretty emotional right now," she added, through tears. "I volunteer with the homeless and I know them and it's very personal for me as well."
Along with IHIT's deployment, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which looks into police-related incidents causing serious harm or death, has also been called out because the suspect was shot dead.
Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators, Bhayani said.
RCMP have closed 200 Street, a major route through the centre of the city, between Willowbrook Mall and the Langley Bypass.
Police specified the following areas as places for the public to avoid:
200 Street and the Langley Bypass
Cascades Casino on Fraser Highway and 204 Street
The Langley bus loop at Logan Avenue and Glover Road

Iran Parliament to Discuss Belgium Prisoner Swap Treaty
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Iran's parliament is to debate a prisoner exchange deal with Belgium, state media said on Monday, after Brussels approved the deal that may lead to the release of an Iranian diplomat jailed for planning to bomb a rally of an exiled opposition group. The official Iranian news agency IRNA said the cabinet approved the prisoner exchange treaty bill and sent it to parliament. If passed by parliament, the bill needs to be approved by a clerical council before it becomes law. Belgian lawmakers gave approval on July 20 to the treaty which might secure the release of a Belgian aid worker who was detained in Iran in February and could help Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who has taught in Belgium and been sentenced to death in Iran. Iran has called for the release of Assadollah Assadi, sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 after being convicted over a foiled 2018 bomb plot. His was the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution. It is not clear when a prisoner exchange might happen. Several Belgian lawmakers have voiced concern that the treaty might lead to "hostage diplomacy" and put other Belgians at risk of detention. The exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), whose 2018 rally near Paris had been the bomb plot's target, called the treaty "shameful" and said Assadi should remain in jail. Tehran has dismissed all terrorism accusations, calling the Paris attack allegations a "false flag" stunt by the NCRI, which it in turn considers a terrorist group.

Iran Will Keep IAEA Cameras Turned off until Nuclear Deal is Restored
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Iran will keep the UN nuclear watchdog's cameras turned off until a 2015 nuclear deal is restored, the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization said on Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) it had removed IAEA equipment, including 27 cameras installed under the 2015 pact, after the agency passed a resolution criticizing Tehran in June, said Reuters. "We will not turn on the IAEA cameras until the other side returns to the nuclear deal," Mohammad Eslami said. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani accused IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi of having "unprofessional, unfair and unconstructive views" on Tehran's nuclear program. He also added that Tehran hopes a return to the nuclear deal can be reached soon should the United States show goodwill. The 2015 nuclear pact imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions. Then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, reimposing tough economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran's ruling clerics responded by breaching the pact's nuclear restrictions.

Iran Announces Thwarting Attack on ‘Sensitive’ Center in Isfahan
London - Adel al-Salmi/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 25/2022
An arrested Israeli spy network had plans to explode one of the “sensitive” centers in Iran's central Isfahan province, revealed Iran’s Supreme National Security Council a few hours after a similar statement by the cleric-led country’s Intelligence Ministry. In a short statement on Saturday night, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that it had arrested elements of a spy network that entered Iran months ago under the guidance of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, through the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The spies allegedly identified one of the country’s “sensitive” centers in Isfahan province with plans to destroy it.
“This network's members were in contact with (Israel's) Mossad spy agency through a neighboring country and entered Iran from (Iraq's) Kurdistan region with advanced equipment and strong explosives,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state media. “Members of the network employed cutting edge operational and communications equipment and powerful explosives and wanted to conduct an unprecedented sabotage and terrorist operation in some pre-determined sensitive areas and targets,” it added. The ministry did not give further details. On Sunday, Nournews, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the arrested group was on its way to blow up an unspecified “sensitive center” in Isfahan, which among other things houses the country’s main nuclear facilities. The Natanz nuclear facilities in Isfahan were targeted by two major sabotage attacks in 2020 and 2021. “The blow to this network was realized as a result of one of the most complicated operations of Iran’s intelligence apparatus inside or outside the country,” the outlet said. According to Nournews, the group had trained in an unnamed African country for months, where its members simulated the operation.
They had already planted high-impact explosives and were only hours away from carrying out the final operation when they were arrested, it said. The intelligence ministry’s announcement came two days after the London-based ‘Iran International’ released an exclusive report. The July 21 report said that Israel’s Mossad had captured a senior Revolutionary Guard official on Iranian soil and interrogated him about weapons shipments to Iran’s proxies in the region. After the interrogation the man was released. Iran International had obtained video of the interrogation showing a man introducing himself as Yadollah Khedmati, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) Logistics, says he regrets his involvement in shipping weapons to Iran’s proxy groups in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen and urges other IRGC officials to avoid engagement in such activities. Iranian government media on Saturday confirmed the report, saying that criminal elements had indeed detained the IRGC officer. Since mid-2020 a series of high-profile mysterious attacks hit Iran’s nuclear and military installations around the country, widely believed to have been Israeli sabotage operations. In November 2020, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in Iran’s controversial nuclear program was assassinated in a complex operation on the outskirts of Tehran. In May, several IRGC officials were killed or died in suspicious circumstances, prompting Tehran to blame Israel, which has never officially taken credit for these operations.

Iran says it won’t be rushed into ‘quick’ nuclear deal
AFP/July 25, 2022
TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it will not be rushed into a “quick” deal reviving its faltering 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, as negotiations remain deadlocked. “They demand that Iran makes a quick decision, (insisting that) time is limited and Iran must respond quickly,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at his weekly news conference, referring to Western parties to the nuclear deal. Kanani said the Islamic republic will “not sacrifice the country’s fundamental interests... with a rushed process.”It was being put under “psychological pressure and unilateral expectations,” he said.
But “if the US acts constructively and positively, an agreement is close,” Kanani said. The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic program to guarantee that it could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied seeking.
But the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and Washington’s reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments. Talks in Vienna that started in April 2021 to restore the deal have stalled since March amid differences between Tehran and Washington on several issues. The two sides negotiated indirectly through the European Union coordinator. Qatar hosted indirect talks last month between the United States and Iran in a bid to get the Vienna process back on track, but those discussions broke up after two days without any breakthrough. On Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Iran “doesn’t seem to have made the political decision — or decisions, I should say — necessary to achieve a mutual return to compliance” with the deal. France’s envoy to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, in June urged Iran to “seize without further delay the offer on the table.”French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday told his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi that reviving the landmark deal was “still possible” but must happen “as soon as possible.”Macron’s comments came after Britain’s spy chief voiced doubt that the deal can be revived, saying Iran’s supreme leader and ultimate decision-maker Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained opposed. “I don’t think the supreme leader... wants to cut a deal. The Iranians won’t want to end the talks either so they could run on for a bit,” MI6 chief Richard Moore said late last week.

War in Ukraine: latest developments
Agence France Presse/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
- Grain deliveries to start 'this week' -
Ukraine expects the first grain shipments under a UN-Turkey brokered deal to leave its ports "this week", its infrastructure minister says, despite Russian strikes on the Black Sea port of Odessa, which is crucial for grain exports. "We are preparing for everything to start this week," says Oleksandr Kubrakov, who led the Ukrainian delegation that reached a deal last week with Russia on unblocking Ukraine's grain exports. The future of the agreement, seen as crucial to relieving a global food crisis, had appeared in jeopardy after Russian forces launched strikes on Odessa a day after the agreement was signed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the missile strikes "should not affect the start of shipment".
- Odessa strike destroyed warship: Moscow -
Russia says its strikes on Odessa destroyed a Ukrainian warship and weapons supplied by the United States. "High-precision, long-range missiles launched from the sea destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles delivered by the United States to the Kyiv regime," the Russian defence ministry says, adding that a Ukrainian army repair plant had also "been put out of order".Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the strikes on Odessa show Moscow cannot be trusted to keep its promises.
- Ukraine eyes Kherson recapture -
A Ukrainian official predicts that Kyiv's forces, which have launched a counteroffensive in the south, will have recaptured the region of Kherson by September. Emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery, the Ukrainian army has been clawing back territory in the region in recent weeks. The city of Kherson was one of the first to fall to Russian forces in the early days of the invasion. "We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September," Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, says in an interview with Ukrainian TV.
- UK to host 2023 Eurovision -
Britain agrees to take Ukraine's place as hosts of next year's Eurovision song contest after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ruled out Ukraine hosting it itself. Ukraine won this year's contest, held in Italy, ahead of Britain's entry in second place. The winner traditionally organizes the next year's show. But the EBU ruled that out in view of the war, and Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC acquiesced to a UK-hosted event infused with "Ukrainian spirit". "The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine," UA:PBC chief Mykola Chernotytskyi says in a joint statement with the EBU and BBC.

Sudanese Minister Accuses Bashir’s Regime of ‘Fueling Tribal Conflicts’
Khartoum - Mohammed Amin Yassin/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
The Minister of Federal Government in Sudan, Buthaina Dinar, accused the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir of fueling bloody conflicts between civil societies in the country’s states.In a Sunday press conference in Khartoum, Dinar said that the government and security services should conduct a transparent investigation into all statements of “known personalities who contributed to fueling the conflict in the Blue Nile and hold them legally accountable.”She pointed out that none of those involved in the bloody events in the region were arrested, which left dozens dead and wounded and thousands of displaced people. Dinar belongs to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by Malik Agar, a member of the Sovereignty Council. Blue Nile parties had accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement of involvement in the bloody tribal conflicts in the region. Dinar said that there will be no stability in the states of Darfur, East and Blue Nile, unless the “Juba Peace Agreement” is implemented. Other conditions to stability include disarming militias and integrating armed movements into Sudan’s armed forces, said Dinar.
The minister also called for the formation of commissions, including a commission on land ownership. In other news, a new political alliance “Forces for Radical Change (FRC)” led by the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) and comprising several civil and trade union groups was announced in Khartoum on Sunday. The FRC includes a number of labor movements and civil society groups such as the Sudanese Professionals Association, the Union of Farmers in Al-Jazirah and Managuel, and the Sudanese Women’s Union.
The goals of the new umbrella aimed at bringing down the coup and achieving a radical revolutionary change, said SCP Political Secretary Mohamed Mokhtar al-Khatib.

Jordan’s King Abdullah, Palestine’s Abbas Discuss Joint Action ahead of UN Meetings
Amman - Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Jordan’s King Abdullah II held talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman on Sunday. Both sides discussed the “available options,” in the absence of a concrete political horizon to advance a political process in the region and after US President Joe Biden’s failure in this regard. King Abdullah underscored the importance of the joint Jordanian-Palestinian action at various levels to build on diplomatic activity in the region ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September. He said Amman is keen to underline the significance of the Palestinian cause before the international community. Discussions touched on the developments in the region, especially the upcoming Israeli elections and their impact on the chances of resuming peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The two officials agreed to continue coordination to overcome the obstacles put by Israel on the King Hussein Bridge, causing traffic jams.
A well-informed Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the two leaders have long been coordinating and evaluating the situation, exchanging views, and agreeing on work mechanisms, noting that this also took place during Sunday’s meeting.
The two officials have met ahead of Biden’s visit and agreed to propose a joint stance, according to the source. However, due to Biden’s failure to advance a political horizon, both leaders decided to discuss the outcomes of his visit and the steps that should be taken.
The source pointed out that Biden didn’t want to pressure Israel, even in terms of the US promises to the Palestinians, including the opening of a consulate in Jerusalem.
The source said that coordination with Jordan is crucial, given its influential role in the region and with the Americans as well. According to a statement by the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, Abbas briefed King Abdullah on the latest developments on the Palestinian cause, as well as the challenges facing Palestinians as a result of the Israeli occupation’s ongoing crimes. “The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and common issues between the two brotherly countries, as well as the latest political developments in the region,” the agency said.

Saied Supporters Welcome Vote on Tunisia Constitution
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
Its detractors say Tunisia's draft constitution will give President Kais Saied unchecked powers, but for voter Baya, that's a welcome break from the country's old political elite. "They were in power for 10 years and did nothing. Let this man do his job!" the 54-year-old said after voting in a referendum on the charter on Monday. "We believe in him and we'll support him until the end."Monday marks a year since Saied sacked the government and froze parliament in a dramatic move against a system hobbled by chronic crises and corruption. He has since tightened his grip on power and pushed to replace the North African country's 2014 constitution with a document that would lock in his virtually unchecked powers. Many of those voting were in their 40s and 50s, but student Aya, 23, was also in favor. She hopes it will be "the starting point for real change, as the president will be able to implement the policy he sees as the most appropriate for the country's interests", she said. Tunisians are facing growing poverty, surging inflation and high joblessness particularly among the young. But Aya said she was "optimistic" that Saied could change things. Many of those casting votes in Tunis were happy to tell journalists that they had voted "yes" -- despite rules on electoral discretion. Chokri, who was helping his aged father reach a polling booth at a school in Tunis, said he agreed. "We approve of all these measures and that's why we came today to give a big 'Yes' to Saied and his decisions," the 45-year-old said. Despite Tunisians having had just weeks to read or discuss the new constitution, few doubted the yes vote would win. But observers also said voter turnout was key and would reflect Saied's popularity. Saied's opponents, including the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party that had dominated Tunisian politics since 2011, called for a boycott. Despite that, the ISIE electoral commission said almost 12 percent of registered voters had cast ballots by 1:00 pm (1200 GMT). "The rate of participation isn't bad at all, said Raouf Ben Moussa, deputy head of a polling station in the heart of Tunis, with 428 out of over 9,000 voters having cast their ballots by 9:30. Saied came under fire for giving a speech on Monday urging a yes vote for "a new republic based on genuine freedom, justice and national dignity", despite his own electoral law stipulating campaign silence until the polls closed. One "no" voter, who asked not to be named, said those telling journalists they had voted in favor were "trying to intimidate others who reject this constitution". But for Majrya Hajja, 60, voting "yes" was "a duty". "Anyone who loves Tunisia must come and vote yes," she said.

Grundberg Condemns Attack on Taiz, Presidential Leadership Council Calls for Punishing Houthis
Aden - Ali Rabih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 25 July, 2022
The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has vowed to continue engaging the parties to the conflict in Yemen to renew and expand the truce. He issued a statement on Sunday condemning the attack on Zaid al-Moshki residential neighborhood in Taiz that injured 11 boys and girls, mostly under the age of 10. “The warring parties have obligations under international law to protect civilians. The killing and injuring of children is particularly reprehensible,” he stressed. Grundberg said he was also especially alarmed that this attack, among other attacks elsewhere in Yemen, took place during the truce.
“The people of Taiz have suffered immensely through seven years of war, and they, too, need the truce to deliver for them in all its aspects,” the statement read. Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council underscored the importance of holding the Houthi militias accountable, stressing that the impunity the insurgents have been enjoying encouraged them to commit more crimes. These remarks were made during a meeting in Aden on Sunday following the Taiz attack and in line with the visit of the UN envoy’s security advisor to the besieged city. Official Yemeni sources said the meeting was chaired by Rashad al-Alimi and attended by all Council members. It was briefed on its previous decisions and orders, as well as the measures taken in coordination with the relevant authorities. It was also briefed on additional assessment of the implementation process of the humanitarian truce, the militias’ violations of the truce, as well as their continued human rights violations, the last of which was the attack on the residential neighborhood in Taiz. The Council denounced the attack, noting that it is added to the militias’ bleak record of violations over the past years. It called on the international community to take a firm stance to end the state of impunity that encouraged the militias to commit more killings and limit their intransigence towards all efforts to stop the bloodshed and end the world’s worst human suffering.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 25-26/2022
Confucius Institutes 2.0: Chinese Government Money Speaks Loudly
Peter Schweizer/Gatestone Institute./July 25/2022
A new, detailed, and thorough report by the National Association of Scholars confirms that not a single one of these [Confucius] "institutes" disappeared; they were just re-branded under a "sister university" arrangement with universities in China, given a different name, or moved to a different sponsor school. And the money continues to flow.
Jamie P. Horsley, senior fellow of the Tsai Center and its former executive director, defends the purpose of Confucius Institutes on American campuses. He argues that they are needed to teach students Mandarin, a language increasingly necessary for business success. She has also written articles minimizing the effects of China's social credit system and supporting its Belt And Road Initiative.
This is exactly what many Americans fear about placing Chinese government funded institutes, whatever they are called, on American campuses. It is what led the US State Department to classify them as diplomatic missions.
Peterson asked the Chinese director [of a Confucius Institute at an American university] how she would respond if a student asked her about Tiananmen Square. The director answered that she "would show a photograph [of it] and point out the beautiful architecture. That's the most important thing about that square."
Communist China's money does not need to speak loudly to co-opt foreign institutions. Sometimes a whisper will do. The US State Department has warned college and university governing boards that Confucius Institutes "exert malign influence on U.S. campuses and disseminate [Chinese Communist Party] propaganda." Pictured: The Confucius Institute building on the campus of Troy University, in Troy, Alabama, on March 16, 2018.
In the book Red Handed, we meet a remarkable young man named Nathan Law, the Chinese-born, Hong Kong-raised leader of a pro-democracy effort called the "Umbrella Movement," which protested Beijing's crackdowns on freedom in Hong Kong. His efforts were brutally crushed by the Chinese government and Nathan Law went to prison for eight months. TIME Magazine named him one of "the 100 Most Influential People of 2020."
Once freed from Chinese prison, he decided to attend graduate school at Yale University, an institution whose history of educating Chinese students goes back to 1850, when the first Chinese student to graduate from an American university took his degree from there.
Times are different now. Nathan Law's welcome at Yale was anything but warm. Most Chinese students there today owe their education to the Beijing regime, but when Nathan Law tried to speak out on campus, they subjected him to sustained harassment based on his firsthand experience against China's repression of democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. Even Yale's administration remained deaf to the harassment he endured. Why? Because Chinese government money spoke too loudly.
Nathan Law's story highlights a decades-long effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to co-opt America's most gleaming ivory towers by funding "Confucius Institutes" at leading US colleges and universities. It has been going on since about 2005. By 2020, more than 118 such "Institutes" had sprung up, offering innocent-sounding language and cultural education, directly funded by Hanban, an arm of the Communist Chinese government's ministry of education.
The Trump administration and Congress recognized the perniciousness of the influence campaign. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo flagged Confucius Institutes as "part of the Chinese Communist Party's global influence and propaganda apparatus" in a 2020 statement that officially designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the People's Republic of China. The State Department warned college and university governing boards that Confucius Institutes "exert malign influence on U.S. campuses and disseminate CCP propaganda."
Even more, FBI Director Chris Wray told the US Senate in 2018 that the Bureau was investigating Confucius Institutes because it detected that China uses "nontraditional collectors, especially in the academic setting" to engage in espionage.
Under such pressure, universities moved to shutter these arrangements, and 104 of the 118 Confucius Institutes that once existed in the United States have closed or are being closed. But as I have learned from my own study of China's influence on American institutions, Chinese money does not need to speak loudly to co-opt foreign institutions. Sometimes a whisper will do.
A new, detailed, and thorough report by the National Association of Scholars confirms that not a single one of these "institutes" disappeared; they were just re-branded under a "sister university" arrangement with universities in China, given a different name, or moved to a different sponsor school. And the money continues to flow.
The Chinese government renamed Hanban to the Ministry of Education Center for Language Exchange and Cooperation (CLEC). It spun off a separate organization, called the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), that continues to fund and oversee Confucius Institutes and many of their replacements, the NAS report tells us.
The NAS report traced the fate of each of 109 Confucius Institutes and did deep case study investigations of several of them. One case study that stood out was the Confucius Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle, which was spun off to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. The Confucius Institute at Western Kentucky University wound up partnering with the county K-12 school system in Simpson County, where it continues to be run by the same people.
The tendency in academia is to treat these institutes as they do other donor gifts, but there are disclosure laws concerning foreign funds that go to American schools. Yale was caught looking the other way at precisely this when it accepted $30 million from billionaire entrepreneur and Yale graduate Joe Tsai (Alibaba) to the China Center of Yale Law School, which was renamed the Paul Tsai China Center for his father. The Tsai Center, which studies Chinese law, might have been a good place for a man with Nathan Law's experience to have spoken, given his deep knowledge of the subject. But the Tsai Center apparently was not interested in hearing his perspective. He was never invited.
Jamie P. Horsley, senior fellow of the Tsai Center and its former executive director, defends the purpose of Confucius Institutes on American campuses. He argues that they are needed to teach students Mandarin, a language increasingly necessary for business success. She has also written articles minimizing the effects of China's social credit system and supporting its Belt And Road Initiative.
This is exactly what many Americans fear about placing China's government-funded institutes, whatever they are called, on American campuses. It is what led the US State Department to classify them as diplomatic missions.
After the study's author, Rachelle Peterson, concluded her prepared remarks about the NAS research before an audience at the Heritage Foundation recently, she shared a conversation she had with the Chinese director of one Confucius Institute at an American university, which she declined to name. Peterson asked the Chinese director how she would respond if a student asked her about Tiananmen Square. The director answered that she "would show a photograph [of it] and point out the beautiful architecture. That's the most important thing about that square."
*Peter Schweizer, President of the Governmental Accountability Institute, is a Gatestone Institute Distinguished Senior Fellow and author of the new book, Red Handed: How American Elites are Helping China Win.
© 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.

The Levant’s Dilemma: Destructive Terror or Constructive Fear
Raghida Dergham/The National/July 25/2022
In their meeting last week in Tehran, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he is categorically opposed to and would never accept the Kremlin’s bid to outsource its Syrian mission to Iran, according to sources familiar with the talks at the Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit convened under the pretext of reviving the Astana Peace Process for Syria.
To the Iranians, Mr Erdogan softened his warning that Ankara would not accept Tehran’s designs for overwhelming dominance in Syria and the expansion of its support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying these designs are mere wishes with no real prospects. But when he wanted to clarify further, Mr Erdogan stressed any attempt by Iran to dominate Syria is in direct contradiction with Turkey’s national interests – and Turkey is very serious about its national interests.
For its part, the Iranian leadership told Mr Putin it is ready and able to take control of Syria and of propping up Assad’s regime. Mr Putin acknowledged that Russia’s power in Syria is declining because of the preoccupation with Ukraine, and that Moscow is not keen now to expand its influence in Syria. Mr Putin begrudgingly accepted Mr Erdogan’s warning on Iran, as the Turkish president has confidently played his cards in NATO and presented himself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Russian president told the Iranian leadership that Russia remains a strategic ally to the Islamic Republic, and that the Kremlin grants Iran’s leaders a full mandate in Syria to replace Russia at this juncture, regardless of Mr Erdogan’s views and threats. Mr Putin went further, accepting that Lebanon is one hundred percent subject to the Iranian decision, where the Kremlin understands Iran’s interests in that country and that its future cannot be separated from the designs of the Islamic Republic.
The summit in Tehran did not come in response to the Jeddah summit, as some believe. It was designed to try to reach a trilateral division of roles in Syria, but no agreement was found. The only positive outcome of the summit was an agreement to continue the dialogue, but there was no breakthrough in terms of finding common ground or demarcating the boundaries of the influence of the three powers in Syria. There was no backing down either in the military or strategic plans of any of the three powers in Syria.
Mr Erdogan clung to his positions and showed no appetite for cooperation with Russia in Syria, reaffirming that Turkey’s assessment of its interests there has not changed, and that Turkey will not back down from carrying out military operations in Syria when needed. He asked his Russian counterpart not to pressure Turkey, insisting there is no room to take a step back.
Mr Erdogan affirmed to Mr Putin that he hoped there would be no confrontation between their two countries in Syria, telling him he was keen to find a common language to avoid confrontation, according to the sources familiar with the meeting. But Iran’s role in Syria is a different matter for Turkey, which believes that Tehran’s attempts to seize control of Syria are in full contradiction with its national interests.
Mr Putin’s idea to make Iran the strongest player in Syria and the guarantor of the regime in Damascus was met with categorical rejection by Mr Erdogan, exacerbating Turkish doubts about Iran’s schemes. The idea is also anathema to the United States and Israel, but Iran considers it vital for its regional project and wants to gain this ‘gift’ resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine very strongly.
Installing Iran as the de-facto ruling power in Syria could be a project to implicate Iran, but the Iranian leadership considers it a strategic prize on the shores of the Mediterranean. Extending Iran’s direct frontline with Israel from Lebanon to Syria is something that Iran wants in peacetime as well as wartime, because it gives it leverage as well as opening up fronts for its confrontations. This suits Iran today, especially as its leaders feel very confident militarily and otherwise vis-à-vis Israel. Moreover, Iran is not just thinking about today, but is building up its role brick by brick in the context of the tripartite alliance with China and Russia.
During the meeting between the Russian and Iranian presidents in Tehran, President Ebrahim Raisi requested Russia step up pressures in the Vienna nuclear talks seeking to revive the 2015 JCPOA deal signed between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Germany, Britain, and France. However, Mr Raisi stressed to Mr Putin that Iran would not make any concessions that would make it appear weak in the eyes of the United States and the world. He said Tehran was willing to make compromises but not on its demand for the US de-listing the IRGC as a terrorist group, nor on Iran’s absolute determination to disallow the United States and the West to dictate the future of Iran’s nuclear industry. In other words, hopes for a breakthrough are receding and the light at the end of the nuclear tunnel is faint indeed.
The two leaders spoke passionately about the comprehensive bilateral pact between Russia and Iran currently being developed. For the two sides and for many reasons, concluding this pact quickly is of the utmost importance. According to the informed sources, the two leaders discussed a visit by President Putin to Iran later this year to sign the pact, which resembles another one signed between Iran and China.
The Russian and Iranian assessment of the future development of axes in the Middle East indicates the United States is in retreat as the China-Russia-Iran troika is advancing pragmatically, meticulously, and resolutely. President Biden’s tour of the Middle East failed to reverse the trend for autonomy in the relations of the Arab Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia, following their bad experience with former President Obama and his then VP Biden. As long as Saudi Arabia has not returned to the US orbit in the traditional way, the prospects for a US-led axis in the region remain weak. President Biden’s visit did not make a breakthrough in this regard, and for this reason, Moscow and Tehran are not worried much by US moves, neither at the security nor at the energy levels. Still, Moscow is anxious about the future of OPEC+ which directly impacts Russia and is anticipating eagerly the upcoming meetings of OPEC in September.
Back to Turkey, Russia is anxious about Mr Erdogan’s project as a whole, and not just in Syria. Russia understands that Mr Erdogan is determined more than ever before to consolidate his buffer zone in Syria, seeing a ripe opportunity to do so now given Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine and the US preoccupation with Russia, Ukraine, and Iran. Furthermore, Mr Erdogan has regained his influence and position in NATO, which needs Turkey anew.
This does not mean that the Turkish president is immune and fully approved of inside NATO or among his neighbors, especially when Turkey makes grave mistakes as a result of Mr Erdogan’s arrogance. This is what happened with the bombing of a resort in Kurdistan during the current Turkish incursion in Iraq, killing many civilians. While Baghdad has held Ankara responsible for the bombing, Ankara has denied responsibility. Beyond this, the bigger problem is that Mr Erdogan is acting with impunity as Turkey pursues what it terms Kurdish terrorists in Iraq and Syria, after pacifying European states like Sweden on this issue, having had blocked their NATO membership bid until they took measures demanded by Ankara against Kurdish elements.
One final word about the Tehran summit, which had an ‘absent attendee’ in Hezbollah, Iran’s strongest proxy in Syria and Lebanon: The Turkish president has not traditionally tackled the issue of Hezbollah, but he could be forced to do so in Syria when Iran starts implementing Mr Putin’s project there. Hezbollah is moving to position itself either alongside Iran’s forces or on their behalf, as circumstances dictate. It de-escalates when Tehran needs de-escalation, and escalates when Iran’s leadership decides the time for it has come. In Lebanon, its agenda is not for the benefit of the country, and for this reason, it has turned the future of the oil and gas wealth into ammunition for its ‘resistance’, instead of a lifeline for rescuing the Lebanese from economic collapse.
Reading Hezbollah’s ‘barometer’ indicates that it may obstruct the demarcation of maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, not only because it is still anticipating the outcome of the nuclear talks with Iran and its implications, but also because it is seeking two other key objectives: First, securing its share of the wealth, instead of considering it a sovereign wealth because it does not recognize the sovereignty of the Lebanese state or even homeland. And second, Hezbollah is opposed to any demarcation of the border between Lebanon and Syria, and for this reason, it fears the idea of demarcating the maritime border of Lebanon as this could hinder its movements by land and sea, especially the smuggling required by the Russian-backed Iranian project in Syria, with the personal blessings of Vladimir Putin.
It is ironic that a US-Iranian-Israeli deal on nuclear and security issues and de-escalation is a much better choice for countries like Syria and Lebanon, despite the free rein it gives to Iran and Israel, than the choice of military confrontation. It is clear that Russia and Iran have decided to commandeer Lebanon and Syria for their own interests and calculations related to containment of Israel when needed. As for the Biden administration, it is still caught between wishing for a deal with Iran, hesitating about pressuring Iran and Hezbollah out of fear of their retaliation, threatening to restore maximum pressure sanctions on Iran from the Trump era, and/or blaming everything on Trump for having withdrawn from the deal with Iran.
In the meantime, the realignment continues, amid a global political chaos, coupled with a lot of terror and little hope and constructive fear. Perhaps the best scenario in the Arab region and the Levant at this juncture is the continuation of the status quo with all its flaws.

Laughter Is a Weapon Putin Can’t Fire Back
Clara Ferreira Marques/Bloomberg/July 25/2022
Dictators are rarely funny. Even ones who cultivate bare-chested, bear-hugging personas and have a penchant for extra-long tables. In more than 20 years of watching Russian President Vladimir Putin, I can’t recall him laughing spontaneously, or cracking a joke — certainly not a memorable one. Perhaps because there’s nothing amusing about repression, violence or war waged on a peaceful neighbor.
And yet, it’s no accident that a misfit with a crop top, an oval head and a foul mouth, the irreverent Masyanya, has become an irritant for the Kremlin. In the first post-invasion online episode of the cartoon in March, she travels to Moscow to encourage Putin to fall on his sword. In another, she attempts to explain the invasion and post-Soviet history to her children and ends up with tied-up, fake-blood-spattered, dismembered toys. In the latest, viewed more than 4 million times, China invades Russia to “cleanse the country of fascism,” reclaiming territory, claiming Russian culture doesn’t exist and the language is “just garbled Ukrainian” — a parallel lost on no one.
At a time when reality ceases to make sense, whispered jokes, satire and ridicule fill the gaps. In the best tradition of dark Soviet anekdoty, gallows humor is a coping mechanism, one that allows millions of Russians to deal with the cognitive dissonance of everyday life. But humor also has the power to highlight the tragic absurdity of Putin’s regime and of his war of conquest in Ukraine, making it far harder to ignore, even in a country where propaganda is overwhelming. It has the power to enable quiet resistance and, just maybe, to keep defiance alive. No wonder regulators stepped in after Masyanya’s March episode, demanding its removal.
Laughter and caricature are effective political weapons — consider the number of comedians who have risen to prominence in politics. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy famously starred in a television comedy as a history teacher who unexpectedly ends up winning a presidential election, before going on to do so in real life. Icelandic standup Jon Gnarr ran for mayor in Reykjavik after the financial crisis, partly tongue-in-cheek, and won. Italian comedian Beppe Grillo led a populist movement and in Britain, where joke parties have long been a fixture, Boris Johnson has made a career out of a buffoonish image. Just because something is funny, as Gnarr put it after his victory, doesn’t mean it isn’t serious.
Even Moscow has tried humor in its official memes, with decidedly mixed success.
Can comedy change minds in an autocracy? That’s less clear, especially when it’s produced outside the country, and largely preaches to the converted.
There’s certainly a rich Soviet tradition of laughing at the system, which both Russia and Ukraine draw from. While there was officially sanctioned jibing — with magazines like “Krokodil”, which targeted capitalism and approved foes — there were countless kitchen-table jokes in dark times (sometimes made at steep cost), and even more in the chaos of perestroika and Mikhail Gorbachev’s infamous anti-alcohol campaign. One favorite, listed in declassified CIA papers, had a worker standing in a liquor line, then despairing and heading off to shoot Gorbachev. The man then returns a little while later. “Did you get him?,” the others ask. “No,” he replies. “The line there is even longer than this one.”
But those gags were rarely challenging to the political construct, and instead helped it endure. They acted as a pressure valve, like ancient Rome’s saturnalia or medieval carnivals, not fuel for rebellion. That’s the spirit in many of the old Soviet jokes repurposed for the current day, though it’s harder to poke fun at a hollow system that believes in nothing. In one old-school Twitter favorite, a man stands at the Polish border: “Nationality?” “Russian.” “Occupation?” “Oh no, just visiting.”
If it were to come, the greater challenge would emerge from satire and caricature, when used to draw out the absurdity of the current calamity — and to force viewers or readers to confront the brutality of the regime. Which is where Masyanya’s illustrator, Oleg Kuvaev, comes in.
For English-speaking audiences, Masyanya is often compared to the characters in “South Park” and similar adult cartoons. She’s perhaps more similar in spirit to Argentine cartoonist Maitena’s disheveled figures in “Mujeres Alteradas” — certainly before the war when subjects were exclusively apolitical — or to Mafalda, a comic-strip schoolgirl whose outward innocence helped her creator Quino tackle issues silenced by the dictatorship. “I don’t think my cartoons are the sort that make people laugh their heads off,” he once said. “I tend to use a scalpel rather than tickle the ribs.”
So, too, with Masyanya, now tinged with pain. Her partner bitterly points out in the first post-invasion snippet that apolitical people like her — the cartoon, two decades old, has never really waded into politics before — are part of the reason for Russia’s problems, enabling Putin. They both struggle to explain the situation to the children. “It’s an all-out war, like the 1940s,” he says to her at one point. “Except apparently now we’re the fascists.”
Israel-based Kuvaev explains the episode on China invading Russia was born of frustration, and of his inability to comprehend people’s acceptance. The point was not to criticize Beijing, but to bring out the incongruity and the tragedy, though he ultimately decided against killing his cartoon family. “What distinguishes humans from animals is empathy, compassion and understanding… but sometimes empathy is blunted,” Masyanya says in an epilogue. “So now you are watching this.”
There’s certainly a perceived threat there. Jokes empower the powerless. Long before Masyanya was a challenge, the Kremlin silenced the independent channel that among other things aired “Kukly,” Russia’s version of satirical puppet show “Spitting Image,” with its brutal depiction of Putin as an evil infant gnome. Without that autocrat’s thin skin, he might be far more dangerous, points out Mirco Göpfert, a professor of social and cultural anthropology at Goethe University, Frankfurt, who has written on humor in non-democratic systems. Happily, one cannot imagine Putin as the sort of man to make a joke, for example, out of being kept waiting, alone and fidgeting, for Turkey’s president.
Masyanya will no doubt be watched mostly by liberals and those already opposing the war. It’s hard to think of a regime toppled by comedy — even Charlie Chaplin couldn’t do it. But there’s always weakness in those too inflexible to laugh.

Iraq's ‘Powerful’ and the Slain Lebanese
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 25/2022
Haven’t the Lebanese people the right to denounce the lack of respect for the constitutional deadlines? Aren’t they allowed to be surprised that a new president has not been elected at the end of the reign of the occupant of the palace, and to dread the much-hoped for election results, which suddenly portend a new problem? Aren’t they permitted to condemn attempts to turn the government formation process into a test of strength that awakens all kinds of sectarianism and quotas?
Do the Lebanese have the right to be shocked by the failure of the existing institutions to assume their role to preserve the interests of the country and people, and by solutions imposed from outside, by force of the street or arms?
Aren’t they allowed to be surprised when seeing politicians putting their personal interests above all other considerations? Is it normal for them to witness their economy collapse under a thoughtless ruling authority? Is it strange to see the country’s main players unconcerned with the numbers on soaring unemployment, hunger, and the tragedies of those jumping on the “death boats”?
The Lebanese people certainly do not have the right to condemn or to be shocked, as their country has been afflicted with a national and institutional immunodeficiency disease.
Lebanon has been subjected to a systematic process of destruction, which struck its institutions, spirit, meaning and role. Some hoped that the colossal devastation of this Arab state would be a deterrent lesson to all countries groping their way between a difficult legacy and a very complex present. The Iraqi politician was adhering to hope, betting on the young people who took to the squares to expose the corrupt and the losers.
But this time, I sensed some despair in his words.
“They say that Russia can only be ruled by a strong man,” he said. “Iraq is the same; but we tried the strongman republic and it took us to utter ruin. Today we no longer have a strong man in power. The powerful reside outside the offices and the institutions, which weakens the state at home and in the face of external interventions. I wish we were like Russia. The strongman there arranged a democracy on his own terms and in thoughtful architecture. But here he is sending his army to Ukraine in a more dangerous adventure than Saddam Hussein sending the army to Kuwait.”
The Iraqi politician expressed his deep concern over the coming days, warning of an endless struggle between Nouri al-Maliki and Muqtada al-Sadr, stressing that Iraq would accommodate two strong men, in the absence of a culture of respect for institutions and the dominance of the mentality of elimination of the other. Is it true that we do not learn from our history and the heavy prices our countries have paid? Is it true that we pretend to preach, then repeat the tragedies under different titles and new slogans? Iraq cannot house two strong men. It is said by more than one politician, as if it is doomed to live on the tunes of a single musician. Otherwise, the country will drown in fear and remain threatened with bloodshed, waiting for something resembling a civil war. The experiences are stark. Abdel-Salam Aref was a full partner in the revolution alongside Abdel-Karim Qasim. Friendship did not last long, for power kills friendships and affection.
The leader did not hesitate to marginalize Aref and humiliate him. In 1963, in the radio house to which Qasim was taken, Aref did not agree to the losing leader’s traveling abroad, nor to his survival, so the country fell again in the hands of the only musician.
Iraq experienced a strongman republic in the absence of any institutions that delineate borders, rights, and powers. Terror was the only partner of the powerful ruler.
The country’s president, in turn, was afraid of the strong man whose nickname was the deputy, Mr. Saddam Hussein. Minister Hamid al-Jubouri told me that he got angry one day and went to the office of President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and informed him of his intention to submit his resignation. Al-Bakr’s response was strange, as he said: “And who will accept my resignation?” Al-Jubouri concluded that he should disregard the resignation as long as the president does not dare to make such a step. Let’s leave the past and its lessons. Would Turkey have attacked targets on Iraqi soil if Iraqi institutions were allowed to assume their role, and the Iraqi decision was permitted to be made when needed? The answer is known. The current crisis between Baghdad and Ankara reminds us of the geographical fate, which means that Iraq is the weakest side in the Iraqi-Turkish-Iranian triangle. We should of course bear in mind that Tehran and Ankara did not experience the inability to form a government.
In the last two years, Iraq has sent promising signals of an exit from a time of failure, violence and destruction. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s government gave the impression that it had listened to the voice of the young people, who called for the fight against corruption, poverty and unemployment, and for an end to the militias. The government managed to invent a role that qualifies the country to be a player, rather than an arena. Baghdad hosted a number of regional meetings, including the Saudi-Iranian dialogue. Al-Kadhimi walked a tightrope in internal balances and regional and international files. However, the winds that blew in the aftermath of the elections threaten to squander the gains that have been achieved internally and at the international level.
It is not simple at all for Iraq, ten months after the legislative elections, to be unable to elect a president and form a new government. The disruption of institutions comes in a very difficult situation internationally, regionally and internally.
It is enough to look at the crises: The Russian war in Ukraine, the decline in the prestige of international law, and the return of the language of force as a means of communication between states; as well as the Iranian file, with the nuclear agreement and the policy of destabilization.
Those come in addition to Iraq’s accumulated problems, including unemployment, poverty, food prices, desertification, drought, and the faltering of development efforts due to battles between the powerful, and as a result of interventions, all of which restore tension to the Iraqi structure, and awaken the specter of a crisis of components. There is no solution for Iraq but to fortify and work under an institutional structure. The country has no interest in dissolving its institutions in a sea of militias, missiles and drones. Chaos will only produce more despair and blood. I hope the Iraqi forces would carefully understand the story of the slain Lebanese people.

What lies behind Iran’s drones deal with Russia?
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/July 25/2022
CIA intelligence reports have revealed that Russia plans to purchase hundreds of drones from Iran, including those capable of carrying weapons. According to the reports, Iran also intends to train Russian forces on how to use them.
It’s unlikely that Russia would have sought drones from Iran if it was not for the indirect war it is fighting against the US and the West in Ukraine. Given the fierce Russian battles against Ukrainian forces, the Kremlin realizes that it’s facing a severe problem particularly when it comes to the supply of weapons.
Since October 2020, when the arms embargo imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 expired, Russia and China have been attempting to strike arms deals with Tehran. Both of these global powers, however, are still concerned about the possible US sanctions resulting from these attempts.
The latest drone deal falls within the framework of strengthening the Iran-Russia alliance in the face of the US-led Middle East alliance — as part of the strategic competition between the global powers that appears to be shifting to the Middle East where it was recently capped by two summits, one in Jeddah and one in Tehran. These alliances also include increased military cooperation, as evidenced by this latest weapons pact.
The embargo on Iranian arms sales is a top priority for the US. In anticipation of the potential export of arms to Russia following the lifting of the arms embargo in October 2020, the US enacted a package of unilateral laws and measures to punish any party violating its additional sanctions on Iran. Following the drone deal, however, the US may impose further sanctions on both Russia and Iran.
In reality, however, given the massive sanctions already imposed on Russia — and its desire to defy the US — which seeks to break Moscow’s will through the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin has become uninterested in the prospect of further sanctions more severe than those currently imposed on it.
It should be noted, however, that the Russia-Iran deal will certainly worry and concern the Europeans, who now see Iran as a threat to their own security and stability, especially since Tehran is overtly supplying military aid to Putin, bolstering his position, at a time when Europe is putting pressure on Russia and imposing harsh sanctions as a result of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
As a result, the Europeans may change their position on the nuclear talks with Tehran or impose conditions on the resumption of the deal itself. Since the issue now directly threatens their own security, European states may be able to usher in sanctions against Iran.
In conflict zones in the Middle East, meanwhile, Iranian drones, already given to Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and sold to other countries without constraints, provide a realistic and alarming example of the gravity of the threat posed by these weapons to the security and stability of regional countries. This is turning them into battlegrounds or intensifying existing conflicts in a way that raises major concerns and threats to regional and international security and peace.
The latest drone deal falls within the framework of strengthening the Iran-Russia alliance in the face of the US-led Middle East alliance
There is a simple reason for such concerns: These armed militias and terror outfits, which lack the authority or legitimacy of nation-states, violate international laws governing the use of force in internal disputes or international relations. Given the lack of oversight or control imposed on them, Iran’s military cooperation with Russia could lead to militias being strengthened and given more drones, escalating global concerns about the possibility of wider use of these dangerous weapons, and causing the situation in conflict zones to spiral out of control.
The low cost of assembling, arming, shipping, and smuggling drones prompts countries to rely more on them in proxy wars, increasing their use and the global danger that they pose. This, in addition to the unrivaled ability of drones to evade Western, particularly American, air defenses deployed around the world, particularly in the Middle East, makes them exceptionally dangerous. The sum effect is that it increases the risk of proxy wars between different regional countries, ultimately exacerbating global security threats.
Drones threaten more than just the security and peace of countries where armed militias and terror outfits are deployed. They also endanger the security of neighboring countries, threatening targets from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. The Iran-backed Houthis, for example, have used drones to launch attacks on oil installations in the Gulf in general and Saudi Arabia in particular, targeting oil tankers in waterways, such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Bab Al-Mandab, and the Arabian Gulf, posing a direct threat to energy security, energy shipping supplies, and global supply chains.
Drones become even more dangerous when used in internal disputes, such as those deployed in the recent attack on Iraq’s prime minister, who was merely attempting to assert his country’s sovereignty and independence, as well as underlining the nation’s affiliation to the Arab sphere. When it comes to militias’ use of drones, the Syrian, Yemeni, and Lebanese arenas provide realistic examples of such weapons being deployed to cause significant destruction and mayhem.
The Iranian drone deal with Russia appears to be a show of strategic symbolism, rather than a significant arms transaction that could possibly shift the balance of power in favor of either party. It sends a message to the region’s countries that Iran is not alone, as well as giving notice to Washington that Russia may expand the two global powers’ disputes and rivalry to other arenas.
Furthermore, this move also demonstrates that Moscow has very deliberately crossed Washington’s red lines in terms of the embargo on arms transactions with Iran, progressing to the point of importing weapons from the rogue state. There is no doubt that this step will encourage other countries to cut arms deals with Iran that aims to circumvent US restrictions. This could lead to Washington imposing additional curbs, controls, and sanctions on Iran’s military industries.
• Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami