English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 05/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14/15-20:”‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 04-05/2022
The Lebanese army command mourned the martyr corporal Zine El Abidine Shamas
Announcing the beatification of the two Capuchin monks, Malaki and Saleh, in a festive mass in the presence of the representative of Pope Francis
Lebanon: Armed Clashes Erupt between the Army and Drug Dealers in Baalbek
President Aoun thanks Supreme Pontiff for beatification of martyred young Fathers, Leonard and Thomas of Baabdat
Presidency Press Office calls on media outlets to refer to it regarding positions of the President of the Republic
Berri urges govt. that has support of 'all parties'
Can Miqati be re-appointed as PM?
UNEP, Sweden Embassy celebrate Swedish National Day in Byblos on June 6
Beirut Port victims' families to Finance Minister: If you do not sign the judicial formations decree, we will resort to other action
El-Khalil declares solidarity with Beirut port victims, says solution will be found to facilitate signing of decree to appoint judges of Cassation...
Change Deputies' to officially announce their nominations to the parliamentary committees on Monday
Al-Bukhari: Man is too cowardly to face the facts
Bou Saab after meeting Berri: Very keen on starting work as soon as possible on all matters
Kallas represents Mikati in Lebanese Monks' Beatification Mass: Lebanon will remain a beacon of holiness, an altar of martyrdom, and a homeland for...

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 04-05/2022
Khamenei Says ‘Enemies’ Triggering Unrest in Iran to Overthrow Govt
Iran warns of 'immediate' response to 'political' action by IAEA
Iranian resistance disrupts state apparatus on anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s death
Iran’s supreme leader says oil taken from Greek tankers
Reza Pahlavi: Unity of Iran's Popular Forces More Important than Unity of the Opposition
Ukraine claims Russian forces pushed back in east in fierce fighting
Ukraine Says It Pushes Back Russian Troops in Battlefield City
NATO Chief Speaks with Erdogan about Finland, Sweden Joining
Biden Faces Cloud on Summit to Reset Latin America Ties
Israel Briefly Detains 4 Palestinian Fishermen off Gaza Coast
Bomb Kills Two Peacekeepers in Mali, UN Says
Greece's Ambassador to Turkey Summoned over PKK Concerns
S.Korea, US Stage Rare Drills with Air Carrier
More than 700 monkeypox cases globally, 21 in US

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 04-05/2022
To Biden Administration on Iran: Do Not Leave Americans, Allies, in the Dark/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute./June 4, 2022
Russia’s Syria withdrawal a boon for Iran’s regional project/Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/June 04/2022
Politicians and business leaders will not save the world, concerned citizens will/Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/June 04, 2022
Iran’s growing protests are a thorn in regime’s side/Luke Coffey/Arab News/June 04, 2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 04-05/2022
The Lebanese army command mourned the martyr corporal Zine El Abidine Shamas
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The army command and the people of the town of Bouday - Baalbek buried the martyr corporal Zine El Abidine Shamas, who was martyred on 3/6/2022 after being shot at while carrying out a raid mission in the Al-Sharawneh area - Baalbek. The funeral began with a ceremony honoring the martyr in front of Al Abdullah Hospital - Rayak, where a group of military police and army music saluted him and the necessary honours. . Brigadier General Mahboub Aoun, representing Minister of National Defense Maurice Selim and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, delivered a speech in which he praised the martyr's morality and dedication in performing his military duty, and it was stated: And we pledge to our dear martyr that we will continue the march, determined to pursue criminals and security violators wherever they are, and that the hand of justice will undoubtedly reach them sooner or later."

إعلان (فيديو القداس التطويبي) تطويب الأبوين الكبوشيين ملكي وصالح في قداس احتفالي بحضور ممثل البابا فرنسيس
Announcing the beatification of the two Capuchin monks, Malaki and Saleh, in a festive mass in the presence of the representative of Pope Francis
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109143/%d8%a5%d8%b9%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%aa%d8%b7%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b4%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%84%d9%83%d9%8a-%d9%88%d8%b5/
وطنية/04 حزيران/2022NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
A solemn ceremonial mass was held in the outer courtyard of the Monastery of the Cross - Jal El Dib - Qenaya, during which the canonization of the honorable martyrs Leonard Owais Malaki and Touma Saleh Al Kabushites from the town of Baabdat Al Matnya was announced, in the presence of the President of the Republic represented by the Minister of Tourism in the caretaker government Walid Nassar, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nabih Berri, represented by Representative Hagop Pakradounian, and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, represented by Caretaker Minister of Youth and Sports George Kallas.
Retired Major General George Shreim, representing Caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Selim, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, MP Elias Hankash representing the head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel, MP Razi Al-Hajj, Major Rana Asfour representing the Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim also attended. Former MP Ghassan Moukheiber, political, official, partisan and spiritual figures and a crowd of believers from different Lebanese regions.
The Eucharist was celebrated by the representative of Pope Francis, President of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, with the participation of the Papal Ambassador, Monsignor Joseph Spitteri, General President of the Capuchin Order in the world, Roberto Genuine, Apostolic Vicar of the Latin Congregation, Archbishop Cesar Assayan, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grek, and in the presence of the Maronite Patriarch. Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan, representatives of the heads of the Christian denominations, a group of metropolitans, the general superiors and chiefs general of the congregations, priests, monks and nuns, and a crowd of believers from different Lebanese regions. The mass was served by the choir of Our Lady of Louaize, led by Father Khalil Rahma.
In the courtyard of the Monastery of the Cross and on the roads leading to it, pictures of the venerable, papal and Lebanese flags, and banners that carried expressions of congratulations and faith were raised.
apostolic message
At the beginning of the liturgy, the Apostolic Vicar of the Latin Community, Archbishop Cesar Essaian, recited the apostolic message, which included the decree declaring the beatification signed by Pope Francis on April 18, and it said: After taking the advice of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, by our apostolic authority, we certify that the two venerable servants of God, Leonard Melki and Thomas Saleh, the two martyrs, the two recognized priests of the Capuchin Order of the Friars Minor, the two heroic apostles of the Gospel of Jesus until their blood was shed, to be called from now on to be blessed, to celebrate Distancing them in places and according to the rules specified by law, on the tenth of June of each year.
About the lives of the Blessed
The person in charge of the Capuchin monastic order in the Vatican circles to pursue the lawsuits of the saints, the Capuchin monk Carlo Caloni in French, and his deputy, the Capuchin monk Tony Haddad in Arabic, read an overview of the lives of the Blessed King and Saleh, and then lifted the curtain on the two images adopted by the Church for them to the applause.
cimmerar
After reciting the Holy Gospel, Cardinal Semeraro delivered a sermon entitled: “Seeking justice for the poor and the weak, this is holiness,” in which he said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me” (John 7:37). These are the first words of Jesus that we have just heard revealed in the Holy Gospel, and they are already enough to touch and comfort us. He said: "to come to me," but to whom is he saying that? Who are the best? Who are without sin? For those who are in harmony with the law, even the canon, and ultimately with the law of God? no ! Jesus simply says: Who is thirsty! That's why he's headed!"
He added: "The feeling of thirst means many things. The Bible, for example, speaks of a 'thirst for justice' and this is the thirst that man has always felt. Even today and in many parts of the world, injustice wounds humanity and causes great suffering. In the Beatitudes, Jesus praises this thirst, but - as Pope Francis explains - it is necessary to understand that the justice he speaks of begins to become a reality in each person's life when one is just in one's decisions, and then manifests itself when one seeks justice for the poor and the weak, and this is holiness.
He continued: "But in our human language, the word thirst expresses something else. It expresses, for example, a desire. We are all born of a desire: God's desire for sure, and this is why each of us is filled with desires and in all of them an expression of our history: joys and pains, successes And failures, hopes and disappointments. We still need to discern them, these desires, because none of us are transparent enough to know where our heart is."
And he said, "This is what Jesus calls: Come to me! St. Thomas Aquinas comments: He says it in the impletione desideriorum, that is, to fulfill every good desire. To help us understand all this, the Evangelist explains that Jesus was speaking of the soul. So in this context, this Evening, we also want to think about the figure of the Lebanese Capuchin friars, Father Leonard Melki and Father Thomas Saleh who have just been canonized as martyrs.
He asked: “Who are the martyrs? To answer this question, St. Ambrose considered that every time the Church announces the death of her Savior (and this is what we do when we celebrate the Eucharist), she receives a wound of love. Then he explained: “Not everyone can say He is wounded by this love, but the martyrs may say that, those who have been wounded because of Christ, and precisely because they were wounded for his name, love him more. Let us consider, then, the earthly life of our blessed ones.
He said: “Humanly, they are victims. Victims of a wave of hatred that repeatedly swept the end of the Ottoman Empire and mixed with the tragic events of the persecution of the entire Armenian people and against the Christian faith. Indeed, when our Blessed chose to launch the message, it was precisely in those years. We heard at the beginning of the liturgy

Lebanon: Armed Clashes Erupt between the Army and Drug Dealers in Baalbek
Beirut - Bekaa - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
A Lebanese soldier was killed and five others were injured on Friday in armed clashes with drug dealers in the Hay El-Sharawneh neighborhood in Lebanon's eastern town of Baalbek. The military conducted a raid that went on for hours in the area to chase drug cells and was able to grasp control of the northern part of the neighborhood mostly dominated by wanted fugitive of Al-Zoaiter. An exchange of fire between the dealers and army members left one soldier killed and five others injured. Several insurgents were arrested, an army statement said. A security source told Asharq AL-Awsat on condition of anonymity, that the army had planned to make that raid early before but postponed it until after the parliamentary elections. He said that kidnappings, assaults, thefts, and drug dealings were flourishing among the youth mainly in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahieh through suspects linked to major insurgents in Hay El-Sharawneh. Heavy artillery, drones, and an army helicopter were used during the operation. The army cordoned off the neighborhood and made house-to-house searches for drug dealers. According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the army cordoned off the house of drug kingpin Ali Zoaiter and his two associates of Lebanese and Syrian nationalities. Hours after the raid, a drug dealer nicknamed “Abu Salleh” managed to flee in spite of sustaining bullet injuries to his leg and abdomen. The military arrested three wanted persons, one of whom is a major associate of "Abu Salleh". Another suspect was killed and three others were injured, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

President Aoun thanks Supreme Pontiff for beatification of martyred young Fathers, Leonard and Thomas of Baabdat
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, thanked His Holiness, Pope Francis, for fulfilling a dear wish for the Lebanese, by declaring the two martyred parents, from the town of Baabdat, Leonard Awais Melki and Thomas Saleh, as blessed at the altars of the Church, in a solemn ceremony to be held this afternoon for this purpose. President Aoun said: "With great gratitude and on behalf of all the Lebanese, I cannot but thank His Holiness Pope Francis, because through this celebration, he assures the whole world that Lebanon is still at the center of the Church's concerns, and it will remain the homeland of holiness whose peaks embrace the sky, and whose blessed and saints are encrusted”. The President addressed the Supreme Pontiff with prayers for health, wishing to fulfill his desire to visit our country, so that the Lebanese would show him the extent of their love and attachment to it.
President Aoun also welcomed the presence of Cardinal Semeraro to Lebanon, representing Pope Francis, and wished to convey to His Holiness a clear picture of the values ​​of faith and living together that he adheres to. In addition, President Aoun addressed the Capuchin Order to which the two new saints belong, and to the town of Baabdat, their birthplace, with a hearty congratulations, and said: “Between your monastic orders and the town of Baabdat (the House of Worship) there is a procession of prayer and a union of faith culminated in testimonies of giving and even martyrdom for the sake of faith. In the name of this march, and in the hope of the continuity of its pulse, we ask for the intercession of the two new blessed, for Lebanon to carry it to the paths of resurrection, the two who experienced pain and blood until their lives became identifiable with its history, and to be a living example for the youth of Lebanon today, of attachment to the homeland - the message and testimony to its values ​​to the ends of the earth. --- {Presidency Information Office}

Presidency Press Office calls on media outlets to refer to it regarding positions of the President of the Republic
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The Presidency Press Office issued the following statement:
“Audio, visual and written media outlets tend to publish false positions attributed to the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on various issues...The Presidency Press Office calls on all media outlets to refer to it regarding everything related to the positions of the President of the Republic for verification before publishing.

Berri urges govt. that has support of 'all parties'
Naharnet/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for the formation of a new government that would enjoy the support of "all parties.""We have a chance that we should seize and not waste. Let us form a government that would enjoy the support of all parties," Berri has told Arab, foreign and U.N. ambassadors who have visited him, according to al-Joumhouria newspaper."We can turn parliament with all its components into a work cell that would provide the government with every assistance to enable it to make quick achievements," Berri added. He also called on the Lebanese to "show solidarity and unite in this period" and to "turn the page on the elections-related differences."

Can Miqati be re-appointed as PM?
Naharnet/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The Shiite Duo and the Progressive Socialist Party lean toward re-appointing Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, media reports said Friday. On the other hand, the Lebanese Forces party has stressed the need to name a sovereign PM, who guarantees that only the state take the war and peace decisions. The LF might suggest former President of the U.N. Security Council Nawwaf Salam, while the reformist MPs reportedly prefer not to name an LF-backed candidate and might name MP Halima Qaaqour. The PSP MPs have said that the government must be led by the majority and its PM must be sovereign. They stressed that it should be a political not a technocrat government. Yet, media reports have said that the PSP also leans towards re-appointing Miqati, a choice backed by France and Washington, according to al-Akhbar newspaper. The Free Patriotic Movement is reportedly against re-appointing Miqati who according to the FPM has been protecting the Central Bank governor. It called for a government that represents all parties, suggesting the name of Jawad Adra. Miqati had expressed in an interview his unwillingness to be re-appointed, suggesting other names like MPs Abdel Rahman Bizri, Ashraf Rifi and economist Amer Bsat. The binding Parliamentary consultations are expected to start at the middle of next week following the election of the parliamentary committees' members.

UNEP, Sweden Embassy celebrate Swedish National Day in Byblos on June 6
Naharnet/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Sweden has chosen “Sustainable Sweden” as a theme for the Swedish National Day celebrations on June 6th. The event will take place in the historic citadel in Byblos in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Byblos Municipality, Volvo Cars and others. "The aim is to showcase sustainable solutions from different sectors, and to demonstrate that you can host an event with zero plastic waste, recycling and no food waste," UNEP Representative Sami Dimassi and Sweden Ambassador to Lebanon Ann Dismorr said Friday in a joint statement. Dimassi and Dismorr went on to say that the "Municipality of Byblos has been working hard since 2018 to reduce plastic waste and installing solar panels in the old town.""Volvo cars has a clear goal to be a climate neutral company by 2040 with a circular economy model. They also abide by the Paris Agreement principles," the statement added," they added. "In Lebanon, many civil society initiatives working for a greener future gives us hope," the statement said. "In Lebanon, Sweden supports renewable energy applications in Lebanese rural areas in the North together with ESCWA and the preparation of local wastewater treatment and reuse plans in Zahle and Ablah with International Water Management Institute. Sweden is also funding Berytech’s sustainable agriculture program, Water and Energy for Food, to stimulate innovation in this sector. This year, Sweden has also worked with FabricAID to promote more sustainable fashion consumption in Lebanon."The statement concluded that "this is an example of how we can all contribute. Our lifestyles are associated with two thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions. We can start with ourselves, change our behavior, and inspire others. It is time for bold choices and urgent action to secure a better future on a healthy planet."

Beirut Port victims' families to Finance Minister: If you do not sign the judicial formations decree, we will resort to other action
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion organized a stand this evening in front of the Lebanese emigrant statue, where Shadi Doughan (brother of the victim, Mohammad Doughan) read out a statement on behalf of the “Association of Families of the Victims of the Beirut Port Explosion,” in which he said: "Nearly two years have passed since the third largest explosion in the world occurred, while we still remain in same place because of the injustice and corruption of the ruling system that has destroyed our children with its criminality and is still continuing to abuse and criminalize those who survived."In this context, Doughan regretted that the victms' families' repeated calls to the Minister of Finance to expedite the signing of the judicial formations decree were to no avail. "Today, we ask you to stop the farcical and inhumane behavior, and to excercise your conscience for the sake of the souls of the victims, and sign the decree which you, and those behind you, have been obstructing," Doughan underlined in his statement on behalf of the victims' families, pledging to resort to other moves in case the Finance Minister fails to sign.

El-Khalil declares solidarity with Beirut port victims, says solution will be found to facilitate signing of decree to appoint judges of Cassation...
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Caretaker Minister of Finance, Youssef El-Khalil's media office issued a statement this evening, indicating that "in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and those involved in the intertwining of files, a solution will be found to facilitate the signing of the decree to appoint judges of the Courts of Cassation in the coming days." "I take the opportunity to affirm my solidarity with all the victims of the August 4 explosion and all those affected by it, and my insistence that justice restores its normal course in all dossiers after eliminating the obstacles in its way," Minister El-Khalil confirmed.

Change Deputies' to officially announce their nominations to the parliamentary committees on Monday
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The representatives of the “Forces of Change” announced, in an issued statement today, that “based on our parliamentary responsibilities and the confidence and role entrusted in us by the people since October 17, and in confirmation of the principles that we raise and pressure to become part of the parliamentary work, we announce the nomination of the representatives of the 'Forces of Change' in the parliamentary committees, according to the principle of priority of specialization, and the ability to present a new model in parliamentary work based on transparency and the legislative interest of citizens over all other partisan or factional interests." The statement deemed the parliamentary committees as the “kitchen” of legislation and not the “kitchen” of quotas and appeasement of this group or that..."Accordingly, we want our presence in these committees to defend people’s rights and enhance transparency within said committees," it added. In line with the above, the "Forces of Change" met and discussed the election session of the Parliament’s committees, whereby they "unanimously emphasized the importance of participating in all committees for their pivotal role," and agreed to "nominate the change deputies to the main parliamentary committees by consensus among members according to their competence, specialty and expertise.""Based on their adherence to frankness and transparency in their parliamentary work, the deputies of change decided to officially announce their candidacies through the General Secretariat of the Parliament Council on Monday," the statement concluded.

Al-Bukhari: Man is too cowardly to face the facts
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari, said today on Twitter: “Voltaire ridiculed the human mind, which cannot bear the results of the bitter truth so it creates an illusion to live in...and the goal of his mockery we perceive in his philosophical dictionary, where he says: Man is always looking for illusions, because he is too cowardly to confront the facts."

Bou Saab after meeting Berri: Very keen on starting work as soon as possible on all matters
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
House Speaker Nabih Berri reviewed today the country's general situation, political developments and legislative affairs with Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, who affirmed after the meeting that, "Speaker Berri is very keen on starting work as soon as possible on all matters of concern," adding that they agreed "to work together with the President of the Republic to address all pending issues.""I sensed every positivity from His Excellency the Speaker of Parliament regarding all topics raised during our talks, and I will convey this to His Excellency the President of the Republic, who was also an initiator, and asked me to carry a specific message to Speaker Berri," Bou Saab said. He concluded: "God willing, in the coming days, we can show the Lebanese that there are things that are going in a positive way and will have an impact on other matters." Speaker Berri also received today at Ain El-Tineh Palace former ambassador George Khoury, and the Director of the Office of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in Lebanon, Hamid al-Khafaf. He also met with MP Jihad Al-Samad, with whom he discussed latest hour issues.

Kallas represents Mikati in Lebanese Monks' Beatification Mass: Lebanon will remain a beacon of holiness, an altar of martyrdom, and a homeland for...
NNA/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Caretaker Minister of Youth and Sports, George Kallas, wrote on his Facebook page: "The faith martyrdom blessing! The two martyr monks, Leonard Melki and Thomas Saleh, are declared beatified today. The incense of our prayers we raise today, as an intercession for all of Lebanon, and a hope of faith that will keep us away from evil and enter us into the age of light..! Lebanon the Mount of Olives, and the hopeful resurrection, will remain a beacon of holiness, an altar of martyrdom, and the homeland of the saints...! I partake today in the Beatification Mass, representing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and I pray for the intercession of the Blessed for all of Lebanon..!"

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 04-05/2022
Khamenei Says ‘Enemies’ Triggering Unrest in Iran to Overthrow Govt
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed recent protests in Iran on foreign "enemies" seeking to overthrow the government. Also, he said, enemies were waging a "psychological war" against Iran by accusing it of piracy for seizing two Greek ships after the United States confiscated Iranian oil from a tanker. "Today, the enemies’ most important hope for striking a blow at the country is based on popular protests," Khamenei said, referring to week-long protests over the collapse of a building in southwestern Iran last month that killed 37 people. "But the enemies’ calculation is as wrong as many earlier ones," he said in a televised speech on the 33rd anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution, Khomeini. Authorities have blamed the collapse of the 10-storey residential and commercial building in Abadan on local corruption and lax safety and say 13 people, including mayors and other officials, have so far been arrested for construction violations. Protesters, however, say the disaster stemmed from government negligence and entrenched graft and have chanted slogans against officials, including Khamenei. Iran residents have reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organize rallies and disseminate videos. Authorities have warned people to follow just official media and eschew "rumors" from social media. The United States, which has imposed tough sanctions on Iran, confiscated the Iranian oil cargo on the Iranian-flagged Pegas that Greece impounded off its coast in April. Tehran retaliated by seizing two Greek ships on May 27. But, Khamenei said, world media accuse Iran of piracy. "Who is the pirate here? You stole our oil. We took it back from you. Taking back a stolen good is no theft."

Iran warns of 'immediate' response to 'political' action by IAEA
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Iran has said it will respond immediately to any "political" action at a looming meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, after the U.S. vowed to join Europeans in urging Tehran's cooperation. Iran's warning comes as talks to revive a hobbled 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and world powers have been stalled since March and ahead of a pivotal meeting next week of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors. The U.S. said on Thursday that it will join Britain, France and Germany in seeking an IAEA resolution at that meeting, after the nuclear watchdog said Iran had not clarified questions about the presence of nuclear material found at three undeclared sites. "Any political action by the United States and the three European countries in the IAEA would provoke without any doubt a proportional, effective and immediate response," Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.
He was quoted in a statement by his ministry, and made the comments in a telephone call with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the coordinator of talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran and the IAEA had previously said that resolving the issue of the three sites is necessary for efforts to revive the deal. The 2015 agreement gave Iran relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities, measures aimed at preventing it from developing an atomic bomb. Iran has always denied seeking such a weapon.
- Iran warns Israel -
The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then President Donald Trump and reimposed biting sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to roll back its nuclear commitments and leaving the agreement hanging by a thread. Amir-Abdollahian said the move by Washington and the three European states in favour of a resolution is "an act contrary to diplomatic practice, hasty and unconstructive."It will "make the process of negotiation more difficult and complicated," the statement added. Efforts to restore the 2015 deal were already mired by the U.S.' designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation -- Tehran insists that the designation must be removed, but the U.S. says the blacklisting will remain. Iran had warned Wednesday against "unconstructive action" at the IAEA and said that it would respond "firmly and appropriately."On Thursday U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed that Washington planned to join its three allies "in seeking a resolution focused on the need for Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA."He said that the latest IAEA report raised "very serious concerns that Iran has failed to credibly respond" to the Vienna-based body's questions.
Amir-Abdollahian spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, his ministry said. He told his Russian counterpart "parties that obstruct the diplomatic path will be held responsible for the consequences of adopting any anti-Iranian resolution at the IAEA meeting.".l Russia, along with China, are also parties to Iran's 2015 agreement.
On Friday Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned the head of the IAEA that Israel was prepared to use its "right to self-defense" to stop Iran's nuclear program. He spoke after the nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi met Bennett on Friday morning during a whirlwind visit that Amir-Abdollahian said contravened the IAEA's principle of neutrality. Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri meanwhile issued his own warning to Israel. "The Zionists may only be able to dream of striking Iran - and if that happens, it will be a dream from which they will never wake up!", he said on Twitter.
Israel and Iran are arch foes and the Jewish state is staunchly opposed to the 2015 nuclear agreement, perceiving it as a threat to its security.Tehran blames Israel for killing several of its nuclear scientists, most recently Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in late 2020.

Iranian resistance disrupts state apparatus on anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s death
Ray Hanania/Arab News/June 04, 2022
CHICAGO: Resistance activists in Iran disrupted parts of the nation’s security apparatus, senior figures told Arab News, as the country prepared to mark the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of one of the world’s most repressive states.Regime opponents took control of security systems in several cities, including camera networks and servers, and used them to send text messages to more than 585,000 phones across the country, calling for “regime change” and saying “a frustrated nation is sick and tired of the destructive state policies.”Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, told Arab News: “Taking over more than 5,000 security cameras and hundreds of their servers, which are exclusively installed to identify and detain those taking part in uprisings, is the latest in a series of similar offensive measures resistance units affiliated with the principal Iranian opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq inside Iran, have undertaken since late January. “These daring operations undermine the regime’s efforts to project an aura of invincibility and omnipresence everywhere. More importantly, they encourage Iranians that an organized opposition movement exists that can easily penetrate and damage the most secret and tightly controlled regime agencies, and emboldens them to defy and resist the ruling theocracy.”Safavi said the security systems monitor Khomeini’s tomb, government offices, and different locations of significance in Tehran, and are used for surveillance by the offices of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the State Security Force Command. More than 150 sites belonging to Tehran’s largest municipalities were also seized, and slogans such as “Hail to Rajavi, death to Khamenei” were broadcast, along with pictures of Iran’s resistance leadership. Also seized were 168 computer servers controlled by the Iran Security Directorates, and cameras used to monitor the daily lives of Iranian citizens.
The MEK and NCRI accuse Raisi, who became president last year, of being responsible for the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners in 1988. With the backing of 25 Nobel laureates, the resistance has urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct an International Commission of Inquiry into the massacre. The NCRI has the support of hundreds of members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, and has boasted that the resistance in Iran has engaged in continued disruptions, and has damaged the oppressive regime. Ayatollah Khomeini took control of Iran in February 1979, weeks after the nation’s ruler, Shah Reza Pahlavi, fled the country in the face of nationwide protests. Khomeini then declared himself leader for life, creating a new religious dictatorship. His followers stormed the US embassy on Nov. 4, 1979, and took 52 Americans hostage, imprisoning them for 444 days. Khomeini died on June 3, 1989 and was succeeded by Khamenei, who has overseen a regime that has executed more than 10,000 dissidents, assassinated hundreds of opponents in more than 40 countries, and killed thousands more citizens during protests.

Iran’s supreme leader says oil taken from Greek tankers
AP/June 04, 2022
Confiscations in retaliation to Greece’s role in US seizure of Iranian crude oil
TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that Iran took the oil from two Greek tankers last month in helicopter-launched raids in the Arabian Gulf. The confiscations were in retaliation to Greece’s role in the US seizure of crude oil from an Iranian-flagged tanker the same week in the Mediterranean Sea over violating Washington’s harsh sanctions on the Islamic Republic. “They steal Iranian oil off the Greek coast, then our brave men who don’t fear death respond and seize the enemy’s oil tanker,” Khamenei said during an 80-minute speech on the anniversary of the death of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The seizures ratcheted up tensions between Iran and the West already simmering over Iran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran has been enriching more uranium, closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before, causing concern that negotiators won’t find a way back to the accord and raising the risk of a wider war. Iran’s seizure of the tankers was the latest in a string of hijackings and explosions to roil a region that includes the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil passes. The incidents began after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The US Navy blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021. Iran also briefly captured a Panama-flagged asphalt tanker off the UAE last year and briefly seized and held a Vietnamese tanker in November. Tehran denies carrying out the attacks but a wider shadow war between Iran and the West has played out in the region’s volatile waters. Tanker seizures have been a part of it since 2019, when Iran seized the British-flagged Stena Impero after the UK detained an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar. Tehran released the tanker months later as London also released the Iranian vessel. Iran last year also seized and held a South Korean-flagged tanker for months amid a dispute over billions of dollars of frozen assets Seoul holds. Satellite images analyzed by AP on Wednesday confirmed that one of the two tankers remained off the coast of the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Planet Labs PBC images from Tuesday showed the Prudent Warrior between Bandar Abbas and Iran’s Qeshm Island near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which a fifth of all the world’s oil traded passes. It remained unclear where the second ship, the Delta Poseidon, was. However, the shipping monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said on Saturday that it located Delta Poseidon on the northeast coast of Qeshm Island. The tanker was reportedly moved from its previous location on Larak island, which has been one of Iran's major oil export points since 1987.

Reza Pahlavi: Unity of Iran's Popular Forces More Important than Unity of the Opposition
Independent Persian/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s Crown Prince, delivered an address to the Iranian people from Washington DC on June 3. The biggest alternative to the Islamic Republic are the Iranian people who continue their protests despite oppressive measures of the Iranian regime and shutting down of the internet, Pahlavi said at the press conference that was attended by reporters and political activists. Asking the military and armed forces to stand by the Iranian people, he stressed that the Iranians abroad should be a voice for the people of Iran. They should subtitle the videos coming from Iran in the language of the countries they reside in and ask the politicians in their countries to support the protests of Iranian people, Pahlavi added. Pahlavi’s message was being broadcast live from social media and also Persian-language media based abroad. He also responded to questions by reporters. Camelia Entekhabifard, Independent Persian’s Editor-in-Chief, was among the attendees and asked: “As you know, in gatherings and protests, many groups speak of you and the Pahlavi dynasty. Given the popularity and influence you have amongst the people, why have you not been able to form a coherent organization consisting of anti-regime political opponents? You spoke of effective strategies inside the country. Please tell us what effective international strategies do you suggest for other countries and the world to recognize the protest movement of Iranian people for overthrowing of the regime? Finally, what’s your prediction of Iranian conditions in the coming year?”
“I believe the most useful thing I can do with my credibility and with the trust my fellow Iranians put in me is to support their demands, give voice to them and strengthen their forces,” Pahlavi replied. “I don’t claim to be a political leader and give them a blueprint. I have tried for years to bring more coordination to the opposition. Although, the opposition was different in the past than today. My definition of the opposition then is also different from my definition today. As I have said before, today, the real opposition are people inside Iran.”
“The opposition’s previous factionalizing is not the main concern of people of Iran,” Pahlavi remarked. “Thus, more important than the opposition is the unity of national and popular forces. The opposition that has failed to unite so far is of no use to the Iranian people. An opposition is useful when it knows that, for political competition in the future, it should first create common ground for a political system and popular sovereignty; a rule of law that they could politically compete under.”“If everybody just does their own things and follows their own demands in a totalitarian way, it will never get anywhere. It won’t be constructive or useful but will bring sabotage.”Speaking of today’s changed conditions, Pahlavi said: “Most of the people who will help run the country politically and administratively are currently inside Iran. Many of them are even inside the system. Their heart is not with the system and they don’t have an ideological belief in it. But they have come to the conclusion that that the regime is not the answer. Yesterday’s reformists are no longer seeking to reform the system; they must be able to join the secular-democratic forces.”Continuing his answer to the Independent Persian, Pahlavi spoke of the need for “national solidarity and national reconciliation.”“Those who seek a better tomorrow must not be separated from one another. We shouldn’t let people be left behind,” he urged. “But those who have been partners in crime of this regime and have had a hand in crimes of the regime, whether politically or militarily, must be accountable before the Iranian people,” Iran’s heir to the throne demanded. To reach a better future, events of the past should not be a “basis for enmity and opposition,” Pahlavi declared. “The concern of youth who are losing their lives on the street is not focused on the decades-old differences of this or that political current. This is not their bread and butter. This won’t be an answer to them or a solution for their future.”“I won’t waste a second of my time on people who are still part of the problem,” Pahlavi said. “I will dedicate all my time to those who want to be part of the solution. Even those who were revolutionaries yesterday. Everybody has the right to change their opinions. This is among the fundamental principles of freedom and human rights.”
Pahlavi continued: “The freedom we seek today will be reached if we seek the full potential of the Iranian people. There can be no basis for this other than unity and collaboration.”“A win-win scenario would be to align the majority of society with this vision. A society will never ever be one hundred percent united. This hasn’t happened anywhere. But I believe that what is happening in Iran today and the demands of the Iranian people is the voice of a majority; So I don’t see why this solution won’t work.” According to Pahlavi, the only people standing against the demands of the majority of the Iranian people for change are those “who seek to keep power for themselves the bitter end” and “their numbers is increasingly dwindling.”He said the society itself had recognized “that the regime is scared” and this is why despite the oppression and killing, people today have less fear compared to the 2017 and 2019 movements. He said this was due to “the struggle waged every day by the Iranian people; a struggle in which we all have a role.”Pahlavi said he had tried to play his own role in all the previous years: “I have always been a voice for my fellow Iranians. By giving advice and suggestions for joint work; By having relations with all political and civic currents in the country.”“Most importantly, I have tried to do more listening from the people than talking to them. Whatever I’ve said has been based on my understanding from the demands of my fellow Iranians, especially the young generation. This is the future generation that will inherit the country.”“I have tried to keep this torch burning for 40 years. We should pass it on to the next generation so that they won’t be without shelter, purpose and future. Iran will one day be ruled by this youth. They must know that they are not alone and have hope that the future is theirs; the cost they are bearing won’t be in vain.”

Ukraine claims Russian forces pushed back in east in fierce fighting
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Russian artillery slammed Ukraine's eastern Donbas region with fierce fighting over the city of Severodonetsk, but the local governor said there was some progress in pushing back invading forces. More than 100 days since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine, thousands of people have been killed, millions sent fleeing and towns turned into rubble. The advance of Russian forces has been slowed by stiff Ukrainian resistance, repelling them from around the capital Kyiv and forcing Moscow to focus on capturing the east, including the Donbas. Some of the fiercest fighting has been centred on Severodonetsk, where Ukrainian troops are resisting a complete takeover. "They (Russians) didn't seize it fully," Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said Friday, saying the invading forces had been pushed back "20 percent". "As soon as we get a big amount of Western long-range weapons, we will push their artillery back... and then Russian infantry will run." Ukrainian troops were still holding an industrial zone in Severodonetsk, Gaiday had said, a scenario reminiscent of Mariupol, where a steelworks was the port city's last holdout. The situation in Lysychansk -- Severodonetsk's twin city, which sits just across a river -- looked increasingly dire. About 60 percent of infrastructure and housing had been destroyed, while internet, mobile networks and gas services had been knocked out, said its mayor Oleksandr Zaika. In the city of Sloviansk, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Severodonetsk, the mayor has urged residents to evacuate in the face of intense bombardment, with water and electricity cut off. "The situation is getting worse," student Gulnara Evgaripova told AFP as she boarded a minibus to leave the city.
Ekaterina Perednenko, a paramedic, said: "I am scared that there will be nothing to come back to."
'Shame and hatred' -
Russian troops now occupy a fifth of Ukraine's territory and Moscow has imposed a blockade on its Black Sea ports. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was defiant on Friday. "Victory will be ours," he said in a video speech. Later, in his nightly address, he dismissed the Russian army. "At first it looked threatening. Then dangerous... And now probably just a bitter smile," he said. "Because what's left of it? ... War crimes, shame and hatred." But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "certain results have been achieved", pointing to the "liberation" of some areas from what he called the "pro-Nazi armed forces of Ukraine."The West has sent ever-more potent weapons to Ukraine and piled on ever more stringent sanctions against Moscow, with the European Union on Friday formally adopting a ban on most Russian oil imports. Putin's alleged girlfriend, former gymnast Alina Kabaeva, was also added to an assets freeze and visa-ban blacklist.
Food crisis -
The war has sparked fears of a global food crisis -- Ukraine and Russia are among the top wheat exporters in the world. The United Nations said it was leading intense negotiations with Russia to allow Ukraine's grain harvest to leave the country. Putin in a televised interview Friday said there was "no problem" to export grain from Ukraine, via Kyiv- or Moscow-controlled ports or even through central Europe. The U.N. has warned that African countries, which imported more than half of their wheat consumption from Ukraine and Russia, face an "unprecedented" crisis. Food prices in Africa have already exceeded those in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and the 2008 food riots. On Friday, Putin met the head of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall, at his Black Sea residence in Sochi. After the meeting, Sall said he was "very reassured", adding that Putin was "committed and aware that the crisis and sanctions create serious problems for weak economies."French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said Putin had made a "historic" error in starting the war. But he said the Russian leader should not be "humiliated", and to leave room for diplomacy.
Media driver killed -
A driver transporting two Reuters journalists in eastern Ukraine was killed and the two reporters were lightly wounded, a spokesman for the international news agency said. A French volunteer fighter in Ukraine was also killed in combat, the French foreign ministry said Friday. In areas around the capital Kyiv, which Russian troops retreated from at the end of March, some residents remain in desperate need of assistance. At an aid distribution point in Horenka, northwest of Kyiv, a tearful Hanna Viniychuk, 67, said she had come for some basic necessities after losing her home to Russian bombardment.
"I'm grateful for this help," she said.

Ukraine Says It Pushes Back Russian Troops in Battlefield City
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Ukraine said on Saturday it had recaptured a swathe of the battlefield city of Sievierodonetsk, in a rare counter-offensive against Russia's main assault force that had been steadily advancing in the east. The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified and Moscow said its own forces were making gains there. But it was the first time Kyiv has claimed to have launched a big counter-attack in Sieverodonetsk after days of yielding ground there. Russia has concentrated its forces on Sievierodonetsk in recent weeks for one of the biggest ground battles of the war, with Moscow appearing to bet its campaign on capturing one of two eastern provinces it claims on behalf of separatist proxies. Both sides have claimed to have inflicted huge casualties in the fighting for the small industrial city, a battle that military experts say could determine which side has the momentum for a prolonged war of attrition in coming months. In the diplomatic sphere, Kyiv rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron for saying it was important not to "humiliate" Moscow. "We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means," Macron said in an interview with regional newspapers published on Saturday, adding he was "convinced that it is France's role to be a mediating power." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted in response: "Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it.
"Because it is Russia that humiliates itself. We all better focus on how to put Russia in its place. This will bring peace and save lives."Ukraine now says its aim is to push Russian forces back as far as possible on the battlefield, counting on advanced missile systems pledged in recent days by the United States and Britain to swing the war in their favor. Asked about Macron's mediation offer on national television, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: "Until we receive weapons in their full amount, until we strengthen our positions, until we push them (Russia's forces) back as far as possible to the borders of Ukraine, there is no point in holding negotiations."Moscow has said the Western weapons will pour "fuel on the fire," but will not change the course of what it calls a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it of nationalists. Intense fighting in Sievierodonetsk .Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk province which includes Sievierodonetsk, said overnight that Ukrainian forces previously in control of just 30% of the city had mounted a counter-attack, recapturing another 20% of it. Russia's defense ministry said its troops were forcing the Ukrainians to withdraw across the Siverskiy Donets river to Lysychansk on the opposite bank. Gaidai said the Russians were blowing up bridges across the river to prevent Ukraine bringing in military reinforcements and delivering aid to civilians in Sievierodonetsk. "Right now, our soldiers have pushed them back, they (the Russians) are suffering huge casualties," Gaidai said in a live TV broadcast. "The Russian army, as we understand, is throwing all its efforts, all its reserves in that direction."Tens of thousands are believed to have died, millions have been uprooted from their homes and the global economy disrupted in a war that marked its 100th day on Friday. The war has had a devastating impact on the global economy, especially for poor food-importing countries. Ukraine is one of the world's leading sources of grain and cooking oil, but those supplies were largely cut off by Russia's closure of its Black Sea ports, with more than 20 million tons of grain stuck in silos.

NATO Chief Speaks with Erdogan about Finland, Sweden Joining
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed "the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward" with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications. Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists. Stoltenberg said he had a "constructive phone call" with Erdogan, calling Turkey a "valued ally" and praising Turkish efforts to broker a deal to ensure the safe transportation of grain supplies from Ukraine amid global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion. Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without elaborating. The NATO chief’s diplomatic efforts came before a gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where NATO is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.

Biden Faces Cloud on Summit to Reset Latin America Ties
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
President Joe Biden is hoping to show a new era of US engagement with Latin America at a long-heralded summit next week, but the meeting has been clouded by boycott threats and charges of an unambitious agenda. Regional leaders will descend on Los Angeles starting Monday for the weeklong Summit of the Americas at a time when China, seen by the United States as a fast-emerging rival, has been making inroads in a zone Washington has historically considered its turf, AFP said. Days ahead of the summit, the White House was still finalizing the invitation list in a bid to please Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has threatened not to come unless all nations are included. Biden, vowing to champion democracy, had planned to exclude the leftist governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela on the grounds that they are autocratic, and instead to welcome representatives of civil society from the three countries. Juan Gonzalez, the top White House adviser on Latin America, told reporters that Biden plans to "advance a vision of a region that is secure, middle class and democratic," which is "fundamentally in the national security interest of the United States."
Biden is expected to make announcements at the summit on economic cooperation and fighting both the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, Gonzalez said. Biden also hopes to secure an agreement on regional cooperation on an issue over which he has faced domestic attacks from the rival Republican Party -- migration.The number of Central Americans and Haitians seeking to enter the United States has been surging as they flee poverty and violence in their homelands.
'Unfortunate subplot' -
Biden has secured the attendance of other key presidents including Argentina's left-leaning Alberto Fernandez, whom Biden also invited to Washington, and Brazil's far-right Jair Bolsonaro, despite his questioning of the legitimacy of October elections. Benjamin Gedan, who heads the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said that Lopez Obrador's absence would mark a "significant void" and said the Mexican leader seemed more focused on domestic political gain. The boycott threat has been "a really unfortunate subplot in the run-up to the summit because it has drained an enormous amount of US diplomatic energy for a bizarre cause celebre," Gedan said. He said that Biden has crafted a positive agenda, avoiding simply summoning Latin American leaders to lecture them on democracy, corruption and China. But he said it was unclear whether Biden will bring substantial resources to the table, in contrast to China's lavish infrastructure spending and trade privileges. "The real barometer for this summit will be whether the United States offers meaningful new market access, lending and foreign assistance to support economic recovery and infrastructure in the region," Gedan said. " And there I think, inevitably, the United States will disappoint."
- 'Progressively less ambitious' -
The Summit of the Americas is the first held by the United States since the inaugural meeting in 1994 in Miami, where then US president Bill Clinton sought the creation of a trade area to cover the whole continent except communist Cuba. The United States has since soured on free trade, with Biden following the lead of his predecessor Donald Trump, who said such pacts hurt US workers. Trump championed a hard line on Venezuela and Cuba, reversing his predecessor Barack Obama's opening to the island, and did not attend the last Summit of the Americas, in Peru in 2018. Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, recently told a congressional hearing that each summit has become "progressively less ambitious" with a shift "from a shared vision for democracy, trade and prosperity to a venue for taking a stand."The Los Angeles summit, he said, "offers the perfect opportunity for Washington to announce a commitment to regional growth and recovery."Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, said that the drama over summit attendance showed the waning hold of the United States over the region. China has emerged as a leading partner, he said, and Latin American leaders are keenly aware of Biden's political woes including the possibility that Republicans will retake control of Congress in November. The United States "still has a lot of soft power," Shifter said. "As for political and diplomatic influence, it is diminishing by the day."

Israel Briefly Detains 4 Palestinian Fishermen off Gaza Coast
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Israel briefly detained four Palestinian fishermen off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The Israeli military said it apprehended four suspects after two Palestinian vessels strayed from the designated fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip, "violating security restrictions". The navy fired at the boats when they failed to respond to instructions to halt, it added. The secretary of the Gaza fishermen's syndicate, Nizar Ayyash, told Reuters there were at least three Israeli attacks on Gaza fishermen on Saturday -- all within the permitted fishing area. In one of the incidents, he said, Israeli forces fired rubber bullets at a boat, wounding two of the four people aboard who were later hospitalized. In another, they seized a small boat after detaining the two fishermen on board, he added. "We have recorded several violations against fishermen within the permitted fishing zone in the past weeks," said Ayyash. Fishing is one of the biggest industries in the coastal enclave, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.Citing security concerns, Israel maintains a land, air and sea blockade of Gaza, which is governed by the Hamas movement. Boats are not allowed to stray beyond a fixed limit to the north towards Israel.

Bomb Kills Two Peacekeepers in Mali, UN Says
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Two UN peacekeepers were killed and one wounded on Friday after an improvised bomb exploded in central Mali, a spokesman for the MINUSMA mission tweeted.
They were just the latest deaths in the center of the country, which has since 2012 been wracked by a deadly jihadist insurgency, AFP said. In a separate incident, six civilians were killed when a cart hit another explosive device a day earlier, a military official and two councilors said. The soldiers were part of the Egyptian contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission, a security official said. "The head of MINUSMA condemned the attack," mission spokesman Olivier Salgado said on social media. He said two blue helmets were killed and one wounded, correcting an earlier toll. Salgado said the incident took place near the town of Douentza, on the road to Timbuktu. The UN Security Council said it "condemned in the strongest terms the attack perpetrated against MINUSMA". In a statement, the Security Council also urged the Malian authorities "to swiftly investigate the attack against peacekeepers and bring the perpetrators to justice".They were the second and third UN peacekeepers to be killed in three days. On Wednesday, a Jordanian blue helmet was killed in an attack on his convoy in Kidal, in northern Mali. "A hard, hard week for us. We cannot say enough about the difficulty of our task and the extreme dedication of our peacekeepers," tweeted MINUSMA chief El-Ghassim Wane. With 13,000 members, MINUSMA -- the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali -- is one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations, and one of its most dangerous. It says 174 troops have died from hostile acts since its creation in 2013. "This is the sixth incident in which a UN peacekeeping convoy was hit since May 22," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York, condemning the latest attack. But, despite the difficulties, the UN peacekeepers continue their work in accordance with their Security Council mandate, he added, citing MINUSMA's involvement in the recent restoration of two bridges destroyed in the same region. Improvised explosive devices are a weapon of choice for jihadists attacking MINUSMA and Malian forces. They also kill many civilians. In Thursday's incident, a cart returning from market hit a small bomb near Waya, killing five civilians and gravely wounding a sixth who died on Friday, the military official and councilors said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of jihadist retaliation.
Hotbed of violence -
On Friday, the Egyptian peacekeepers were in an escort of a dozen UN vehicles accompanying a convoy of civilian trucks carrying fuel, Salgado said. Such convoys can stretch for miles. A mine exploded as the convoy passed, Salgado said. Mines can be detonated on contact or remotely. Central Mali is a hotbed of violence and jihadist activity that has spread from the north to the center of the country, and on to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of civilians and combatants have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Two reports published this week -- one from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and another from the human rights division of MINUSMA -- expressed alarm at the intensification of the violence in central Mali. Meanwhile, a Mali-based coalition of Al-Qaeda-aligned militants claimed responsibility for an attack in Togo last month, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group said Friday. The Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) has been threatening northern parts of coastal Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo. Togo's government had confirmed a "terrorist attack" on May 11 in the northern town of Kpekankandi, near the border with Burkina Faso, where the insurgents are also present. Officials said eight Togolese soldiers were killed and 13 wounded.

Greece's Ambassador to Turkey Summoned over PKK Concerns
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
Greece's ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the Foreign Ministry over concerns about the activities of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party in his country, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Turkish officials complained to Ambassador Christodoulos Lazaris about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, carrying out propaganda, financing and recruitment in Greece, Anadolu reported late Friday, citing diplomatic sources. They also raised concerns about a recent demonstration near the Turkish Embassy in Athens by alleged PKK supporters and the safety of Turkish nationals in Greece, The Associated Press said. The PKK has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead. It is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S and the European Union. The activities of groups in Sweden and Finland that Turkey considers to be terrorists is one of the main objections by Turkey to the Nordic states joining NATO. Ankara’s concerns threaten to hold up their bid to join the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey and Greece are divided over a number of issues such as maritime borders in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had broken off from high-level talks with Athens. The mechanism for resolving disputes between the traditional rivals was resumed last year after a five-year break.

S.Korea, US Stage Rare Drills with Air Carrier
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
South Korea and the United States staged their first combined military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier in more than four years, Seoul's military said on Saturday, amid reports that North Korea was preparing for a nuclear test. The three-day drills took place in international waters off the Japanese island of Okinawa until Saturday, including air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and maritime interdiction operations, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The exercises came amid signs that North Korea is gearing up to conduct a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. Seoul officials have said Pyongyang has conducted multiple experiments with a detonation device in preparation for its seventh underground explosion. The USS Ronald Reagan, a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, joined the drills, alongside the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam, the Aegis-equipped USS Benfold destroyer, and the Fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn, the JCS said. South Korea also sent the 14,500-ton Marado amphibious landing ship, the 7,600-ton Sejong the Great destroyer, and the 4,400-ton Munmu the Great destroyer, among others. It was the allies' first joint military exercise since South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol took office last month, and their first bilateral exercises involving an aircraft carrier since November 2017. "The exercise consolidated the two countries' determination to sternly respond to any North Korean provocations, while demonstrating the US commitment to provide extended deterrence," the JCS said in a statement. At a recent summit with Yoon, US President Joe Biden promised to deploy "strategic assets" - which typically include aircraft carriers, long-range bomber aircraft or missile submarines - if necessary to deter North Korea as part of efforts to bolster the extended deterrence. On Friday, nuclear envoys from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul to brace for "all contingencies." The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, led US military exercises in the Yellow Sea in March, after North Korea conducted a full test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 2017. The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group also operated in waters off the Korean peninsula in April. During the last major flurry of North Korea's ICBM and nuclear tests in 2017, carriers USS Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz, and their multi-ship strike groups, deployed near the peninsula in a show of force. North Korea has long criticized the US-South Korea joint military drills as a rehearsal for war.

More than 700 monkeypox cases globally, 21 in US
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 4 June, 2022
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that it is aware of more than 700 global cases of monkeypox, including 21 in the United States, with investigations now suggesting it is spreading inside the country. Sixteen of the first 17 cases were among people who identify as men who have sex with men, according to a new CDC report, and 14 were thought to be travel associated. All patients are in recovery or have recovered, and no cases have been fatal. "There have also been some cases in the United States that we know are linked to known cases," Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, told reporters on a call. "We also have at least one case in the United States that does not have a travel link or know how they acquired their infection."Monkeypox is a rare disease that is related to but less severe than smallpox, causing a rash that spreads, fever, chills, and aches, among other symptoms. Generally confined to western and central Africa, cases have been reported in Europe since May and the number of countries affected has grown since.Canada also released new figures Friday, counting 77 confirmed cases -- almost all of them detected in Quebec province, where vaccines have been delivered. Though its new spread may be linked to particular gay festivals in Europe, monkeypox is not thought to be a sexually transmitted disease, with the main risk factor being close skin-to-skin contact with someone who has monkey pox sores. A person is contagious until all the sores have scabbed and new skin is formed.
'More than enough vaccine' -
Raj Panjabi, senior director for the White House's global health security and biodefense division, added that 1,200 vaccines and 100 treatment courses had been delivered to US states, where they were offered to close contacts of those infected.
There are currently two authorized vaccines: ACAM2000 and JYNNEOS, which were originally developed against smallpox. Though smallpox has been eliminated, the United States retains the vaccines in a strategic national reserve in case it is deployed as a biological weapon. JYNNEOS is the more modern of the two vaccines, with fewer side effects. "We continue to have more than enough vaccine available," Dawn O'Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response in the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters. In late May, the CDC said it had 100 million doses of ACAM200 and 1,000 doses of JYNNEOS available, but O'Connell said Friday the figures had shifted, though she could not divulge precise numbers for strategic reasons. The CDC has also authorized two antivirals used to treat smallpox, TPOXX and Cidofovir, to be repurposed to treat monkeypox. "Anyone can get monkeypox and we are carefully monitoring for monkeypox that may be spreading in any population, including those who are not identifying as men who have sex with men," said McQuiston. That being said, the CDC is undertaking special outreach in the LGBT community, she added. A suspected case "should be anyone with a new characteristic rash," or anyone who meets the criteria for high suspicion such as relevant travel, close contact, or being a man who has sex with men.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 04-05/2022
ماجد رفي زاده/معهد جيتستون: بما يعلق بإيران مطلوب من أدارة الرئيس بايدن أن لا تترك الأميركيين والحلفاء في الظلام
To Biden Administration on Iran: Do Not Leave Americans, Allies, in the Dark
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute./June 4, 2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109140/majid-rafizadeh-gatestone-institute-to-biden-administration-on-iran-do-not-leave-americans-allies-in-the-dark-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%b9/
"By every indication, the Biden Administration appears to have given away the store. The administration appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuses of human rights. The nuclear limitations in this new deal appear to be significantly less restrictive than the 2015 nuclear deal, which was itself too weak, and will sharply undermine U.S. leverage to secure an actually 'longer and stronger' deal. What is more, the deal appears likely to deepen Iran's financial and security relationship with Moscow and Beijing, including through arms sales." — 49 U.S. Senators, press release, March 14, 2022.
Now, Iran's negotiating team -- with which U.S. interests are being negotiated by the same Russia currently trying to crush the Western-backed democracy, Ukraine -- has excluded not only the U.S., but also those countries directly impacted by the Iran's nuclear breakout and terrorism: the latest countries it is devouring: Syria and Iraq.
The Biden administration must not exclude the U.S. regional allies and the American people from the ongoing negotiations with the Iranian regime and keep them in the dark: they are the ones directly affected by any "deal." Pictured: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani (R) and his delegation leave a negotiating session at Coburg Palais in Vienna, Austria on December 3, 2021. (Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration must not exclude the U.S. regional allies and the American people from the ongoing negotiations with the Iranian regime and keep them in the dark: they are the ones directly affected by any "deal."
How could America allow Israel -- not to mention itself -- to be excluded from the negotiations to lift sanctions on the Iranian regime when the ruling mullahs have made it clear that their top ideological priority is to eradicate the Jewish state and "wipe Israel off the map"? Recently, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, known as the "butcher of Tehran" after reportedly being involved in the 1988 massacre of nearly 30,000 political prisoners, openly called again for the destruction of Israel:
"This great movement that we are witnessing today in the form of protests is a symbol of the solidarity of the Muslim people that will lead to the destruction of the Zionist regime."
In addition, General Esmail Ghaani, the head of the Quds Force, vowed his backing to any group that attacked Israel:
"We support any front that is formed against this criminal regime," he proclaimed, "and we will support any community that is ready to fight this criminal regime".
The Iranian regime has for decades been using its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, repeatedly to attack Israel. Lately, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, praised the deadly rocket attacks from Gaza and Lebanon against Israel.
Furthermore, how could the Gulf states, the repeated target of Iran's terror groups, have been excluded from the negotiations to remove sanctions against Iran's regime? A few days after the Biden administration removed Yemen's Houthis from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in February 2021, the U.S. State Department had to call on the Houthis to "immediately cease attacks impacting civilian areas inside Saudi Arabia and to halt any new military offensives inside Yemen." Nevertheless, on January 17, 2022, the Houthis attacked the United Arab Emirates, blew up three oil tanker trucks in Abu Dhabi, and killed three people.
The leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, also recently threatened that Iran would attack Arab nations if they allowed Israel to use their territory as a military base.
When it comes to the U.S., the Iranian regime, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has plenty of blood on its hands. Attacks that the IRGC was involved in include 9/11, for which a U.S. federal court ordered Iran to pay $7.5 billion to the victims' families; the 1983 bombing in Lebanon of the U.S. Marines barracks, in which 241 Marines were killed; the 1984 United States Embassy annex bombing in Beirut and the USS Cole bombing.
Iran's regime has been killing Americans and taking hostages for over four decades. This is a regime that, while the Biden administration was offering it sanctions reliefs, released a video showing the IRGC blowing up the U.S. Capitol. "Last week, Iran's chief diplomat allegedly admitted the IRGC calls the shots in Tehran," US Senator Pat Toomey tweeted in response to the footage. "Now, Iran releases a fake video of the [IRGC] blowing up our Capitol."
As 49 U.S. senators recently warned the Biden administration in a joint statement:
"By every indication, the Biden Administration appears to have given away the store. The administration appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuses of human rights. The nuclear limitations in this new deal appear to be significantly less restrictive than the 2015 nuclear deal, which was itself too weak, and will sharply undermine U.S. leverage to secure an actually 'longer and stronger' deal. What is more, the deal appears likely to deepen Iran's financial and security relationship with Moscow and Beijing, including through arms sales."
Now, Iran's negotiating team -- with which U.S. interests are being negotiated by the same Russia currently trying to crush the Western-backed democracy, Ukraine -- has excluded not only the U.S., but also those countries directly impacted by Iran's nuclear breakout and terrorism: the latest countries it is devouring: Syria and Iraq.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 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.

Russia’s Syria withdrawal a boon for Iran’s regional project
Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/June 04/2022
The echoes of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which is less than four months old, have reached our region. Our talk is not about units or militias affiliated with Tehran joining the fight there. Rather, we are talking about geopolitics, as well as the void we have begun to notice as a result of the gradual military retreat and withdrawal of Russia from Syria, with the Iranian presence filling this void.
Russia moved into the region in the shadow of the American withdrawal as it sought to achieve its interests. This led to Moscow improving its trade and investment balance, besides using the port of Tartus and playing an important role in the Middle East.
Russia’s military presence in Syria — to support the Damascus regime — was considered a counterbalance and check on Iran, even though it is an ally of the Iranians there. Its presence has also become a reason for the regional acceptance of the spread of Iran’s militias in Syria.
However, the theory of the foreign balance inside Syria is on the verge of disruption. In recent weeks, there have been reports of Russian troops leaving, possibly to the front line in Ukraine. We will likely see further Russian withdrawals, creating more space for the Iranians. The Russian withdrawal from Syria could end up as a repeat of America’s withdrawal from Iraq. This might mean the Iraqi scenario — with its sectarian war, demographic changes, armed terrorist militias, killings and displacement — is replicated in Syria.
Things may even go further than that because Tehran has a terrorist project and hidden agendas. The outbreak of the Syrian revolution gave Iran’s Quds Force justification to intervene in Iraq and Syria by working with Shiite militias in Iraq, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah, which doubled its influence. Since 2014, Iran has taken a series of steps to strengthen its position in Syria and Lebanon, especially its military presence, as well as the status of its proxies like Hezbollah.
Therefore, Iran has adopted a policy of building strategic axes, including working to build a land corridor linking Tehran with Syria and Lebanon via Iraq. To give itself a foothold on the Mediterranean coast, Iran sought to use the Syrian sea port in Latakia. This corridor strengthens the Shiite environment, as well as allowing Iran to supply Hezbollah’s military. It allows Tehran to appear before the Sunni world as an extended Shiite power in the region. It controls more than one Arab country and has combat experience it can transfer to any area of influence that is of interest.
Iran has adopted a policy of building strategic axes, including working to build a land corridor linking Tehran with Syria and Lebanon via Iraq.
Iran’s construction of a land route to facilitate the movement of military forces and weapons through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon will, of course, be under Iranian control and influence via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and armed Shiite militias. The aim is to diversify its methods of moving forces and weapons depending on the conditions on the ground.
Tehran has never announced its intention to build this corridor, as it realizes that the use of this land route has advantages and disadvantages related to its exposure to attacks by the US, Israel and the Sunni elements opposed to it. But the Al-Qaim-Al-Bukamal border crossing between Syria and Iraq has been opened.Several reports indicate that convoys of the IRGC and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units entered Syrian territory through the city of Al-Bukamal and headed to Deir Ezzor governorate in the east. This means that Iran is already targeting the land link to Damascus for military purposes, which enhances its ability to maintain its military presence in Syria. Certainly, US President Donald Trump’s December 2018 decision to withdraw troops from Syria reinforced Iran’s ambitions to complete its land corridor.
Tehran wants to strengthen its long-term position in Syria, whether it is ruled by Bashar Assad or someone else. The Iranian project in Syria is not linked to the duration of the civil war, but rather to the consolidation of its own long-term interests in the region. The Russian withdrawal will give Tehran the greatest motivation to hurriedly implement its projects to control the region and occupy the largest geographical area in it. As usual, it will use its terrorist militias and will play functional roles for global powers in the region.
Thus, the strategic importance of this route lies in it being a corridor of influence, a corridor of arms trafficking and weapons smuggling to its proxies, and part of a trade route that brings together the various militias supported by Iran, as well as being an outlet for them to the Mediterranean.
Beyond this, we see the terrorist militias affiliated with Tehran, led by Hezbollah, making successive and repeated attempts to smuggle drugs into Jordan. There was a clash between Hezbollah-linked smugglers and the Jordanian army recently, which resulted in four of the smugglers being killed.
The purpose of this is to destabilize Amman and work to weaken it, with the ultimate goal of making it the fifth Arab capital occupied by Tehran. This would make it easier for Iran and its militias to threaten Saudi Arabia from the north.
Arab national security is needed today, not only to stop the expansion of the Iranian terrorist project, but to counter and confront it and liberate the occupied Arab countries. This is the only way to stop the terrorism of Tehran and its militias and to block their way forward.
*Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri is a political analyst and international relations scholar. Twitter: @drhamsher7

Politicians and business leaders will not save the world, concerned citizens will
Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/June 04, 2022
The theme for 2022 — set by Sweden, the official host of the event this year on behalf of the UN Environment Program — is Only One Earth, with the focus on “living sustainably in harmony with nature.” Tens of thousands of individual activities are scheduled to take place around the globe to raise awareness of the environment and the critical state in which it is, largely as a result of human greed and mindless activities.
Over the years, World Environment Day has come to be recognized as an important event globally and these days there is much greater awareness, especially among the young, about the critical importance, not only of conservation but also the restoration of the Earth and its environment. It has been pillaged for the past four centuries in an unprecedented manner and the rate of the damage has only been accelerating year after year.
The world is feeling the effects of this damage more frequently in the form of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, flash floods and droughts that seem to spare no part of the planet. As people, especially the young, increasingly feel these effects and fear for their futures, it is encouraging to see more of them, in large numbers, joining the crusade against global warming and climate change. And every year, the ages of the youngest activists seems to be getting lower.
In 2018, when 15-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg dropped out of school to protest against environmental degradation, she was by far the youngest person to speak up in public and take action to save the environment. Now, it is less surprising to see young people, even pre-teen children as young as seven or eight, speak out on this vital issue.
This increasing involvement of the younger generation is definitely very welcome and it shows heightened awareness of the issue. However, there is little that the young activists can do besides speak up and lobby on behalf of the environment and their generation, for they wield neither political nor economic power. This limits what they are able to achieve, at least for the next decade or two.
For politicians and business leaders around the world, the protection of the environment and reducing carbon emissions are simply PR exercises, or even just another platform from which they can seek to increase their power, whether electoral or monetary. Yes, it is a given that no company worth its salt, or no politician who cares about his future prospects, can dismiss climate change or global warming as hoaxes anymore, and so they all duly pay lip service to it.
Most indicators set 2030 as the cut-off year, if not the make-or-break year, for saving the planet.
This was evident during the recently concluded annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where politicians and billionaires from around the globe spent hours “deliberating” on the state of the environment and thereafter issued resultant reams of press releases and public statements promising more and urgent action.
Yet it seems that what happens in Davos, stays in Davos. The same could be said of any other such environmental gathering, including the meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The statements and commitments are forgotten or ignored the moment those making them leave the event and return to their normal routines.
At long last, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has started to speak out about the lies and falsehoods spread by business and political leaders about their commitment to climate issues; the facts on the ground are contrary to their statements and the data about the state of the environment grows more alarming with every successive report.
Take carbon emissions, for instance. There was a brief blip due to the lockdowns that were imposed around the world in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which emissions declined. At that time there was a lot of talk about how, when the world began to pick up the pieces and normal life resumed, the post-pandemic era would experience a significant shift toward sustainable development and businesses would invest heavily in greener, cleaner facilities to continue the progress that began during the lockdown.
Yes, the lockdown-induced reduction in carbon emissions was an opportunity for the world to really begin to turn green — but neither the politicians nor the billionaire business leaders had the will, or even felt the need, to follow through on their commitments.
So it was little surprise that emissions bounced back significantly, and in fact to the highest-ever levels, in 2021. And given the current global situation, including high crude oil prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the demand for coal has increased dramatically this year and is bound to set carbon emissions soaring to even higher levels than last year.
Carbon emissions are not the only problem. By every single count or parameter related to environmental protection, humans have failed and their failures are increasing. The amount of solid waste that is generated worldwide, currently about 11.2 billion tons a year according to the UNEP, continues to increase every year as consumption grows relentlessly. The story is similar in terms of plastic waste, water pollution, deforestation and everything else that adversely affects the environment.
Yes, the younger generation will be more empowered in the next couple of decades and, yes, they might then be in positions to change the direction, or at least the pace, of this unstoppable rush toward destruction. But most indicators set 2030 as the cut-off year, if not the make-or-break year, for saving the planet.Therefore, if we wait for political and economic power to pass on to the next generation, it might be too late. But if the tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of concerned citizens of all ages were to get together and start a concerted and united effort to name, shame and even boycott the companies and politicians that are playing games with the environment, it might make a dent or slow the pace at which we are heading toward total destruction and earn the world some sort of reprieve.
*Ranvir S. Nayar is managing editor of Media India Group.

لوك كوفي/عرب نيوز: الاحتجاجات الإيرانية المتزايدة هي شوكة في خاصرة نظام الملالي
Iran’s growing protests are a thorn in regime’s side
Luke Coffey/Arab News/June 04, 2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109140/majid-rafizadeh-gatestone-institute-to-biden-administration-on-iran-do-not-leave-americans-allies-in-the-dark-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%b9/
Protests in Iran’s southwest province of Khuzestan over the rising price of basic commodities have grown in frequency and size after a 10-story building collapsed in the city of Abadan, killing least 37 people. Protesters blame government corruption and shoddy construction work, and there is no sign that the protests will end in the near future.
So far, these protests are not on the same scale as the nationwide demonstrations in 2019. And while thelatest protests cause problems for the regime in Tehran — the Supreme Leader’s personal emissary was shouted down and silenced when he tried to address an angry crowd in Abadan last week — they are not existential. Many of the protesters are drawn from Iran’s small Arab Ahwaz minority, who resent the regime for treating them as second-class citizens, moving Persians and other non-Arab ethnic groups into their homeland.
Even though the spark that ignited the most recent flame in Khuzestan was the rise in food prices, what is playing out on the streets is longstanding resentment by the Ahwaz people toward Tehran. The region has been the focal point for anti-regime protests since last July when Tehran was accused of diverting scarce water resources to other regions.
Iran’s Ahwazis number about five million. While their plight may seem like a local issue, the international community should pay close attention. They live in two strategically important locations: Khuzestan province,which is home to Iran’s primary oil and natural gas production and major ports, and the Arabian Gulf region between Busher and Bandar Abbas, where there is significant maritime traffic. If these regions face disruption, the global economy could be negatively affected.
The situation in Khuzestan and the plight of the Ahwazis are a reminder that modern Iran is a collection of minority groups, each with its own history, culture, and language. Persians have dominated the ruling elite since the 1920s, so unless you speak Persian or have a Persian-sounding name, job prospects are limited in a country that suffers from high unemployment.
The repressive and ruthless regime in Tehran has violently suppressed many minority groups in recent years, with Persian elites displaying a willingness to wield a heavy hand against them. In 2019, for example, the regime even went so far as to deploy foreign Arab militias from Iraq and Lebanon, in addition to Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia, in response to popular unrest over Tehran’s neglectful handling of widespread flooding in Khuzestan.
The protests appear to be localized in Khuzestan, but there is a possibility that they could spread to other regions. According to social media reports, protests in solidarity with the Ahwaz community are planned for the ethnic Azeri cities in the north. The same thing happened last year when Ahwazis were protesting over water.
What is playing out on the streets is longstanding resentment by the Ahwaz people toward Tehran
Some estimates claim that Azeris make up the second largest ethnic group in Iran, after Persians. There is a constant low-level push among the Azeri minority for self-determination and increased autonomy in northern Iran. If major protests were to break out in the north they would quickly become a major headache for the regime.
It is also important to see how Iran’s economic situation and social unrest may be linked to the talks in Viennaaimed at reviving the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions. Until now, US President Joe Biden has wanted a deal more than Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Knowing this, Raisi has been dragging out the talks to extract maximum concessions from the US. Now, however, that maybe changing.
European diplomats have described the talks as being at a “dead end.” The US does not trust Russia, a key player in the negotiations, because of the war in Ukraine. The US Congress has passed a bipartisan resolution warning the White House against agreeing to a nuclear deal weaker than the 2015 original. Important US midterm elections are coming up in November. Even though Biden made agreeing on a new nuclear deal with Iran a cornerstone of his foreign policy, he may now assess that an agreement on the terms Raisi would not be worth the domestic political price. All of this could mean a shift in the dynamics in Vienna, leading to Raisi wanting a deal more than Biden.
However, the Biden administration would be foolish to agree on a deal right now. Raisi is in a difficult spot domestically, and the US should walk away from the talks in Vienna until it is certain that it can achieve a deal stronger than the agreement it replaces.
While the protests in Iran may affect the dynamics of the talks in Vienna, they are unlikely to threaten the regime itself. Raisi, and those before him, have shown tremendous resilience in the face of popular unrest. The Green Movement protests more than a decade ago, and the nationwide protests in 2019, are good examples of this.
However, the situation for Raisi remains difficult. Since he came to power last August the economic situation remains bleak, with little hope of improvement in the short term.
Major protests across the country organized along ethnic lines are the last thing Raisi needs or wants.
• Luke Coffey is the director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Twitter: @LukeDCoffey