English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 29/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.june29.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
Make My joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves
Letter to the Philippians 02/01-11:”If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 28-29/2022
44 Years after their Martyrdom, martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights bear witness to Lebanon’s sovereignty, freedom, independence, entity, identity and resistance/Elias Bejjani/June 28/2022
Aoun addresses Lebanese-Danish relations with Ambassador Juhl, tackles health affairs with former MP Sekkariyeh
Aoun: Judiciary must prosecute instead of evading its responsibility
Mikati continues consultations on draft government as delay extends
Mikati winds up non-binding parliamentary consultations, promises cabinet capable of carrying out duties
Mikati hopes 'national interest' will triumph in govt. formation process
Mikati has 'vision' for new government's shape
Bassil says govt. participation hinges on line-up, program; urges portfolio rotation
Bou Saab says US statement on Hochstein's talks is 'positive' sign
Kataeb urges govt. within 2 weeks as Franjieh calls on FPM to cede energy portfolio
MoPH: 458 new coronavirus infections, two deaths
UNICEF launches National consultations for its next Country Programme with stakeholders in Lebanon
Berri tackles array of issues with interlocutors
Patriarch Rahi meets British Ambassador
Lebanon to Host Arab League Meeting at Weekend, Govt Says
Iran's Plan to Foil Israeli-Arab Normalization and to Keep Expanding the Revolution/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 28, 2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 28-29/2022
Iran, US Begin EU-Led Indirect Nuclear Deal Talks in Qatar
New talks in final bid to save Iran nuclear deal
G-7 Leaders Wrap Up Summit Meant to Bolster Ukraine Support
Israel to Work with World Powers to Shape Any Iran Nuclear Deal
Israel Threatens to Target Iranian Oil Tankers Suspected of Transferring Weapons to Syria
Russia’s Putin to Meet Iran’s Raisi in Ashgabat on Wednesday
Turkey agrees to support Finland, Sweden joining NATO after ‘getting what it wanted’
Iran Says Seeking Long-term Cooperation with Turkey
Iran Says Seeking Long-term Cooperation with Turkey
US Strike Kills Al-Qaeda-Linked Commander in Syria
Russia says offensive will end when Ukraine 'surrenders'
UN Urges Libya’s Rivals to Agree on Elections This Week
Turkey Denies Contact with Syrian Regime to Discuss Refugees’ Return
AMCD Meets with Eric Marchant, Co-Founder of the Silent Majority Foundation

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 28-29/2022
Turkey: Jihad against Cyprus/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/June 28/2022
What to Expect From NATO’s New Strategic Concept/James Stavridis/Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
George Soros, Mahathir and the Legacy of 1997/Daniel Moss/Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
Russian Oil Sanctions Upended the World. Gold Bans Won’t/David Fickling//Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
What Middle East Does Biden Want?/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/June 28/2022
Without Maximum Pressure Biden Has Little Leverage Over Khamenei/Saeed Ghasseminejad/Iran International/June 28/2022
The Battle of Antioch: A Valiant Christian Victory over Islam/Raymond Ibrahim/June 28/2022
The G7, NATO and the Uncertainties of the New Cold War/Charles Elias Chartouni/Face Book/June 28/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 28-29/2022
44 Years after their Martyrdom, martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights bear witness to Lebanon’s sovereignty, freedom, independence, entity, identity and resistance
Elias Bejjani/June 28/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109688/elias-bejjani-44-years-after-their-martyrdom-martyrs-of-the-town-of-al-qaa-from-their-lofty-heights-bear-witness-to-lebanons-sovereignty-freedom-independence-entity-identity-and-resistance/
John 15-13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
The loud voices of the 26 martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights, are heard today, 44 years after their martyrdom, echoing with prayers and hymns, calling all free and sovereign Lebanese citizens, and reminding them of the heinous massacre that they suffered by the Baathist Syrian occupier, and its Trojan Lebanese tools. A bloody massacre against humanity, instigated with treachery, insolence, hatred and demonism.
The loud and resounding voices of the 26 heroic martyrs are reminding those of our people whose memories have died, and their consciences numbed, as well as, all those who live fear, Dhimmitude and surrender, that Lebanon is a country of holiness and saints, and that they, like all the other martyrs of the Land of the Cedars, have sacrificed themselves at its altar, in a bid to keep it a proud, free and independent country, and to solidity and maintain with pride, its deeply rooted history, identity, dignity and the sanctity of its blessed land, which embraces the cedars of the Lord, and at the same time is watered and soaked with the blood of the righteous martyrs. It remains that the nation whose youth are always ready to offer themselves sacrifices on its altar, is an eternal nation that will not die, will not kneel, and will not surrender to any occupier, invader, oppressor, terrorist and traitor, no matter how mighty is its military power.. and this is Lebanon..Today, our prayers go for the comfort of the souls of the martyrs of al-Qaa, and for the rest in peace of all the souls of all the martyrs of Lebanon. We pray that their their eternal rest in peace is in the heavenly dwellings, alongside the righteous and the saints, where there is no sighing, pain, or sadness, but eternal life.

Aoun addresses Lebanese-Danish relations with Ambassador Juhl, tackles health affairs with former MP Sekkariyeh
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Danish Ambassador to Lebanon, Mrs. Merete Juhl, today at Baabda Palace on a farewell visit to mark the end of her missions in Lebanon.
Ambassador Juhl was accompanied by her Deputy, Mr. Lars Soerensen.
The assistance that Denmark provided to Lebanon, especially after the Beirut port blast, and the social, health and economic conditions that Lebanon is experiencing were addressed.
In this context, President Aoun commended the efforts made by Ambassador Juhl during her stay in Lebanon to strengthen relations between both countries, wishing her success in her new tasks.
Former MP Sekkariyeh:
The President received former MP, Dr. Ismail Sekkariyeh, and discussed with him health affairs and measures to be taken to address the deterioration in health and hospital care in Lebanon as a result of the deteriorating economic conditions.
President Aoun appreciated the role played by Sekkariyeh during 25 years of work in the health and pharmaceutical sectors, and the issues that he highlighted during these years, which required treatments at various levels.
Baalbek International Festival Committee:
President Aoun met a delegation from the Baalbek International Festivals Committee.
The delegation included: Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Mrs. Joumana Debbaneh, and Mr. Jean-Louis Mangui.
The delegation invited President Aoun to attend the inaugural party on July 8, which will be revived by Mrs. Somaya Baalbaki and artist Lebnen Baalbaki.
Mrs. Debbaneh indicated that the festivals will be held this year in the courtyard of the Temple of Bacchus, and that the committee’s determination to hold them despite the circumstances that Lebanon is going through, is proof that this country is capable of overcoming difficulties and that the will of its sons is stronger than crises.
Condolences to the King of Jordan:
The President cabled Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, condoling the victims of the poisonous gas leak accident in the port of Aqaba.
Text: “With great emotion, I received the news of the leak of poisonous gas in the port of Aqaba, which led to the fall of a number of victims and wounded. This caused anxiety throughout Aqaba. I extend to Your Majesty, on my behalf and on behalf of the Lebanese people, my deepest condolences, hoping for mercy on the souls of victims. I also pray to God Almighty for the speedy recovery of the wounded. Lebanon, which is still striving to heal its wounds, can only express its full solidarity with your brotherly kingdom and its people in this delicate circumstance, raising prayers for God to protect Jordan under your wise leadership”.—Presidency Press Office

Aoun: Judiciary must prosecute instead of evading its responsibility
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
President Michel Aoun stressed Tuesday that the judiciary “must deserve its independence” instead of “begging for it.”“Alone I have taken the oath to be loyal to the constitution and laws of the Lebanese nation, and the pillars of our constitutional system include powers’ separation, balance and cooperation, not the hegemony of an authority over another,” Aoun tweeted. “The judiciary must deserve its independence, not beg for it, and it must prosecute when needed, instead of evading its responsibility out of subordination to another authority or reluctance,” the President added. He was apparently referring to Beirut Attorney General Judge Ziad Abu Haidar’s recent refusal to press charges against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh as requested in a memo sent to him by State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat. Abu Haidar instead referred the file anew to the Financial Prosecution, arguing that the jurisdiction belongs to it and that Salameh is suspected of committing offenses related to “public funds embezzlement, illicit enrichment and money laundering,” LBCI television said. The TV network also noted that the Financial Prosecution had refused to receive the file from Abu Haidar, arguing that the suspected offenses do not fall under its jurisdiction.

Mikati continues consultations on draft government as delay extends
Najia Houssari/Arab News/June 28/2022
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, who has been tasked with forming a new Lebanese government at the end of his non-binding parliamentary consultations on Tuesday, said that he “went over the opinions of the MPs and we will take most of what they said into consideration, but what matters is that national interest prevails.”Mikati said that the opinions shared by the MPs “are in the national interest, even if from different angles.” He hoped to be able to form a government “that can carry out its duty and continue what the previous government has started, especially with the IMF, the electricity plan and the file of maritime border demarcation,” hoping that things “would take shape in a proper way.”If Mikati succeeds in forming this government, it will be his second government under President Michel Aoun’s term; if not, he will remain a prime minister-designate as a caretaker.The second day of consultations saw the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, issue an ambiguous position. Bassil confirmed that “the bloc isn’t interested in participating in the new government but we didn’t meet as a bloc yet to confirm the matter.”
He opposes Mikati and the FPM did not name him in the formation of a government. He said: “We told Mikati why we don’t agree with the government formation. There’s a real problem with the credibility of the designation and we raised the issue with him, but we overcame this problem given the country’s situation.”Bassil said that the movement is “against any government stripped of its powers, and we emphasized that it’s important for the government to deal with important files, including the file of the governorship of the central bank.”
At the same time, Bassil denied that he had made a “demand or imposed a condition before Mikati.” He said that “making amendments to the current government is a wrong bet,” adding: “We are against a presidential gap and we will prevent it from happening.”
Bassil’s statement was remarkable, especially when he said that “Mikati’s designation lacks credibility” but decided to turn a blind eye given the country’s situation.
The Free Patriotic Movement bloc and the Lebanese Forces bloc did not propose Mikati to form a government during the binding parliamentary consultations held by President Aoun last week.
However, a source close to Mikati pointed out that the two Christian parties do not fully represent all Christians and that some MPs with popular representation nominated Mikati.
The source said that “the FPM is insisting on having an efficient government that isn’t stripped of its powers for the purpose of implementing a political agenda, as the president’s bloc wants to appoint people affiliated with the party to critical positions before the end of the term, including appointing a new governor for the central bank.”Head of the Kataeb party Samy Gemayel warned against “the danger of adopting a no-government logic before the presidential elections.” He believes that “wasting time in these dangerous circumstances the country is going through is deadly for the Lebanese who are suffering on all levels.”
Gemayel emphasized “the need to form an independent government as fast as possible to stop the collapse.”After meeting with Mikati, MP Oussama Saad said that “Lebanon needs a government that can safely transport the country from the current political reality to a new reality capable of facing challenges and crises.” He added: “The presidential elections are imminent. Can we elect a new president who is independent of the internal and external axes? Are the internal blocs controlling the state’s decision ready to carry out a rescue project?”
MP Jihad Al-Samad ruled out the possibility of forming a new government “as it is hard to form a government with the ongoing petulance and selfishness.” He said that he demanded “that the current government be activated, either by regranting it the parliament’s confidence to revive it, or by expanding the concept of caretaking.”MP Bilal Houshaymi said that “the decision not to participate in the government is wrong. The previous government implemented some reforms that should be completed and all blocs should cooperate to form a government. People put their trust in the parliament and we should seek to get out of the axis of hell.”The Armenian MPs bloc expressed its interest in participating in the government. MP Hagop Pakradounian said: “A new government should be formed as soon as possible and we should avoid the game of conditions and counter-conditions. We hope that Mikati will have a governmental lineup in the coming couple of days.”
Head of the Lebanese Forces Media and Communication Department Charles Jabbour ruled out the possibility of a new government formation “because the formation of governments in Lebanon usually takes between two to three months at least, noting that the new government, if formed, will have four months to be able to assume its role.”Regarding the position of MP Gebran Bassil, the political rival of the Lebanese Forces, Jabbour told Arab News: “The stated position is different from the implicit one. Bassil has said before that competent governments ended and a political government is what is needed. He refuses that the caretaker government remains until the end of the term because the FPM continues to hold on to appointments that are in its interest and wants to be part of the government in case of a presidential gap.”
Mikati is now working on a draft government expected to be submitted to the president so they can both sign the decree of its formation. The current ongoing prevention of its formation is being caused by the parliamentary blocs representing significant political forces that have decided not to participate in the government. Few expect this to change. Charles Jabbour said that “the blocs that didn’t nominate Mikati to form a government and won’t participate in the government will surely not grant it confidence in the parliament.”
He added that the matter might depend on the ministerial statement but “I think that there will be a difficulty facing the formation of the new government.”

Mikati winds up non-binding parliamentary consultations, promises cabinet capable of carrying out duties
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Upon winding up the non-binding parliamentary consultations at the House of Parliament, Prime Minister-designate, Najib Mikati, said that he had had the opportunity to listen to the opinions of MPs, “which serve the country’s best interests, albeit from different angles.”“At the end of the day, national interests will overcome everything; we will form a government that can carry out its duties and complete what our previous government has started, especially with the International Monetary Fund, the electricity plan, and the maritime border demarcation,” Mikati added.

Mikati hopes 'national interest' will triumph in govt. formation process
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati on Tuesday hoped that the “national interest” will “triumph over everything,” following the two-day, non-binding consultations that he held with MPs over the shape and program of the government that he intends to form. “I listened to the MPs and explored their opinions and we’ll take a large part of what they said into consideration,” Mikati said at a brief press conference that followed the consultations. “We all know the current situation in the country and we know that the advices and viewpoints that were given during the discussions are aimed at serving the national interest, even though they came from various perspectives,” Mikati added. “In the end, the national interest will triumph over everything, and God willing, we will form a government that can perform its duties and continue what our previous government had started, especially with the International Monetary Fund and regarding the electricity plan and the sea border demarcation file,” the PM-designate went on to say. “God willing, things will see the light in a proper way,” he added. Asked about the date on which he will meet with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace, Mikati said the visit will happen at the “appropriate time.”

Mikati has 'vision' for new government's shape
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
PM-designate Najib Mikati has a vision for the shape of the new government and it will become clear very soon, informed sources said. “Several formats are being discussed behind the scenes,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday. “Away from the protocol parliamentary consultations that Mikati started with the MPs yesterday, consultations and contacts were held over the past 24 hours, in relation to the formation process, and several political forces including the PM-designate were involved in them,” the sources added. “The contacts revolved around speeding up the government’s formation without bogging down the PM-designate’s mission with conditions and ideas that would complicate his efforts and obstruct the formation process,” the sources went on to say, noting that the parties discussed “offering all possible facilitations to expedite the government’s formation.”“There is no dispute over the government’s mission,” the sources pointed out. Al-Joumhouria added that, accordingly, “the government’s draft line-up might become ready within a few days, after which the PM-designate would present it to the President so that the decrees of the new government can be issued.”

Bassil says govt. participation hinges on line-up, program; urges portfolio rotation
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil announced Tuesday that the FPM’s participation in the new government would depend on its line-up and program, as he called for a “comprehensive or partial rotation of ministerial portfolios.”“We wished the PM-designate success and stressed to him that we want a speedy government formation,” Bassil said after meeting PM-designate Najib Mikati along with the Strong Lebanon bloc, as part of the non-binding consultations to form a new government. “We don’t support any idea about keeping the (caretaker) government as it is -- without powers or with incomplete powers,” Bassil added. “We told the PM-designate why we have not supported his designation… There is a real problem today about the designation’s non-conformity to the National Pact, which we told him about, but we also told him that we will rise above this problem because of the situation in the country,” the FPM chief went on to say, referring to the fact that only a small number of Christian MPs have endorsed Mikati’s nomination. Moreover, Bassil said that, in principle, the FPM does not have “a desire to take part in the government,” but added that “this issue will be discussed in the bloc’s meeting this afternoon.”“Participation also hinges on several issues, including the cabinet’s line-up and its program,” he noted. Bassil also mentioned pending issues, such as the investigations targeting the central bank governor and the issue of the Beirut port blast investigations. “We stressed to the PM-designate that we do not have demands or conditions, neither about numbers nor about portfolios and candidates,” the FPM chief added. “We told him that everything that is being mentioned in the media in this regard is lies and untrue claims,” he said. Bassil, however, hoped that there will be “a comprehensive or partial rotation of portfolios.”“A comprehensive one would be better, and no portfolio should remain with a certain sect or political group,” Bassil stressed. He also said that the government should not be formed on the basis that there will certainly be a presidential vacuum. “We reject presidential vacuum and we will do everything necessary from our side to avoid a presidential vacuum,” he emphasized.

Bou Saab says US statement on Hochstein's talks is 'positive' sign
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
The U.S. State Department’s statement about U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein’s talks with Israel over sea border demarcation is a “positive” sign, Lebanon’s Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said on Tuesday. “We appreciate the U.S. administration’s pledge to communicate in the coming days and we hope it will lead to the resumption of the indirect negotiations in Naqoura,” Bou Saab added. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price had announced in a statement overnight that Hochstein’s conversations last week with Israeli counterparts were “productive” and have “advanced the objective of narrowing differences between the two sides.”“The United States will remain engaged with parties in the days and weeks ahead,” Price added. Prior to his video talks with Israeli officials, Hochstein had visited Lebanon following an invitation by the Lebanese government and after Israel set up a gas rig at the Karish field. Israel says the field is part of its U.N.-recog. Hochstein later announced that President Michel Aoun presented suggestions that "will enable the negotiations to go forward."The U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel have been stalled since last year amid disagreements within Lebanon over how big the disputed area is. The two countries, which have been officially at war since Israel's creation in 1948, both claim some 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon hopes to unleash offshore oil and gas production as it grapples with the worst economic crisis in its modern history. Last year, the Lebanese delegation in the talks -- a mix of army generals and professionals -- offered a new map that pushes for an additional 1,430 square kilometers as Lebanese territory.

Kataeb urges govt. within 2 weeks as Franjieh calls on FPM to cede energy portfolio
Naharnet/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
The Kataeb parliamentary bloc on Monday called on PM-designate Najib Mikati to “submit his government line-up within two weeks,” as MP Tony Franjieh of the Independent National bloc called on the Free Patriotic Movement to allow another party to be in charge of the energy ministerial portfolio. “Waiting would be a collective crime committed by the political parties against the people… and the PM-designate must submit his government line-up within two weeks,” Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel said after meeting Mikati during the non-binding consultations. President Michel Aoun and Mikati “should shoulder their responsibilities should the obstruction continue,” Gemayel added. Warning that “the state’s disintegration cannot wait for four months,” Gemayel said his bloc told Mikati that it is “not concerned with taking part in a government that resembles the previous governments.”“We call for forming a government as soon as possible,” Gemayel added. Franjieh meanwhile said that “the energy ministry is a priority, the same as the education ministry.”“We won’t demand these two portfolios, but we hope those who will handle them will be at the level of responsibility,” Franjieh added, calling on the FPM to allow another party to be in charge of the energy portfolio. “The economic plan contains a lot of positive points… and we want a plan that protects the weak,” Franjieh went on to say, noting that his bloc’s priorities are “totally not related to taking part in the government or not.”
“We do not reject participation but we’re not also calling for it,” he added.

MoPH: 458 new coronavirus infections, two deaths
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Lebanon has recorded 458 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, as reported by the Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday.

UNICEF launches National consultations for its next Country Programme with stakeholders in Lebanon
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
UNICEF initiated the development of its new Lebanon Country Programme Document (CPD) for 2023-2025 in consultation with high level government officials and institutions, civil society and UN agencies. More than 150 key stakeholders gathered at the National Library of Lebanon to discuss and renew their commitment for children and reflect on how to best reach children and young people in Lebanon in the coming three years. The CPD sets out programme priorities and strategies over the next three years in line with the new “United Nations Framework” for 2023-2025 to strengthen and continue the work initiated under the previous UNICEF programme to improve children and young people’s access to quality services in protection, education and health, and enhanced opportunities to realize their full potential. “Lebanon has changed, and our Country Programme needs to reflect the new reality where UNICEF is operating,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon. “For the past years, UNICEF has worked to protect children’s rights when responding to the refugee situation, the economic crisis, the impact of the Beirut Blast and the COVID-19 pandemic. We are consulting with partners and communities on how to best serve children and young people’s needs and fundamental rights – which today are more at risk.”The Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. George Kallas, representing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, stressed on the importance of prioritizing youth issues and incite them to stay in Lebanon, saying: "The efforts undertaken by UNICEF are not only related to saving and protecting children, but also ensuring a secured future for the children in Lebanon. The Youth policy action plan is one of the most important documents approved by the government and have now been linked to an executive action plan.” He ended his speech by stressing his support for community rescue and giving priority to youth issues to keep them in Lebanon. The new UNICEF Country Programme, which will be finalized later this year, will focus on avoiding further regression of children’s access to basic social services. The strategic priorities emerging from the consultations will align with UNICEF’s objectives to bring a positive change and design transformative programmes to build a better future for all children across Lebanon. --UNICEF Lebanon

Berri tackles array of issues with interlocutors
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday welcomed Tunisian Ambassador to Lebanon, Boraoui Al-Imam, with whom he reviewed the general situation and bilateral relations between the two countries. Speaker Berri then discussed with Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Baris Ulusoy, fresh developments in Lebanon and the region, as well as Lebanese-Turkish bilateral relations. Berri then welcomed President of the International Assembly of Human Rights Bodies in Qatar, Mrs. Maryam Al-Attiyah, along with a Qatari delegation, in the presence of the National Human Rights Commission in Lebanon. The delegation briefed Berri on the work program of the Arab Network for Human Rights and that of the National Commission for Human Rights in Lebanon. On the other hand, Speaker Berri cabled to King Abdullah II of Jordan and his Jordanian counterpart condolences on Aqaba incident victims.

Patriarch Rahi meets British Ambassador
NNA/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi met on Tuesday with the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Ian Collard, who came to Bkerki on a farewell visit upon the end of his diplomatic mission in the country.During the meeting, the pair reportedly discussed the current general situation.

Lebanon to Host Arab League Meeting at Weekend, Govt Says
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
A delegation from Arab League countries will travel to Lebanon for a two-day gathering that includes meetings with the crisis-ridden country's top officials, Beirut's caretaker government said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said leaders including Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit would arrive in Lebanon on Friday. Bou Habib said the final list of attendees had yet to be confirmed but included ministers from several Arab countries who would meet with Lebanon's president, caretaker prime minister and the speaker of parliament.
A government source confirmed Aboul Gheit would meet with President Michel Aoun on Saturday. In his last visit to Lebanon in March, the Arab League chief had announced the body's next consultative ministerial meeting would take place in Beirut ahead of the full summit in Algeria in November.

خالد أبو طعمة/معهد جيتستون: خطة إيران لإفشال التطبيع الإسرائيلي العربي ومواصلة الثورة
Iran's Plan to Foil Israeli-Arab Normalization and to Keep Expanding the Revolution
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 28, 2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109679/khaled-abu-toameh-gatestone-institute-irans-plan-to-foil-israeli-arab-normalization-and-to-keep-expanding-the-revolution%d8%ae%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d8%b7%d8%b9%d9%85%d8%a9-%d9%85/
When Hamas and Hezbollah talk about "develop[ing] the program and axis of resistance," they are referring to terrorist attacks against Israel. The two terrorist groups have tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that are ready to be fired towards Israel at any moment from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Haniyeh's visit to Beirut has outraged many Lebanese and Arabs, who expressed concern that the Hamas-Hezbollah alliance would further destabilize Lebanon and bring it closer to a military confrontation with Israel.
It is clear that Haniyeh and Nasrallah are seeking to use Lebanon as a launching pad not only to attack Israel, but also as a base for intimidating Saudi Arabia and other Arabs into avoiding alliances with Israel against Iran.
"When will the Biden admin learn that Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Iran's regime are all the same?" — Lisa Daftari, Iranian-American investigative journalist, Twitter, June 16, 2022.
"Iran occupied Lebanon through its powerful arm, Hezbollah, which took control of Lebanon by the force of Iranian weapons. This occupation was justified by the absurd claim that these weapons aim to impose a balance of terror with the Israeli enemy and prevent its attacks, when in fact its use was purely internal to terrorize and kill." — Huda al-Husseini, Lebanese political analyst, Asharq al-Awsat, June 23, 2022.
"Iran penetrated Syria after the outbreak of the revolution against the regime in 2011 and Bashar Assad resorted to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to defend what remained of his regime. Tehran gave orders to Hezbollah to get involved, commit the most horrific massacres, terrorize opponents, and restore the [Syrian] army's control. This made the Syrian regime in the grip of Tehran. Iran completed its expansion plans through its weapons to Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen." — Huda al-Husseini, Asharq al-Awsat, June 23, 2022.
The meeting between Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon should set off alarm bells in Washington: the meeting shows that Iran is taking advantage of the perceived weakness of the Biden administration in failing to confront the mullahs' covetous schemes in the region.
It only remains to be seen whether the Biden administration's policy of appeasement toward the mullahs enables the Iranians and their proxies to redouble their efforts to spread their expansion, terrorism and bloodshed throughout the Middle East.
As part of Iran's efforts to thwart normalization between the Arab countries and Israel, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh travelled to Beirut last week for talks with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Pictured: Nasrallah (R) meets with Haniyeh in Beirut, Lebanon on June 29, 2021. (Hezbollah Media Relations Unit)
Iran and its terrorist proxies have intensified their efforts to sabotage US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to the Middle East, which is scheduled to take place in mid-July.
The effort to sabotage the visit comes amid reports that Biden will try to advance Israel-Saudi relations and broker a military alliance between Israel and a number of Arab countries to confront the threats and terror by Iran and its proxies.
According to the reports, Biden is planning to form a regional conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The coalition will include the US, Israel, and some Arab countries, including Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. "The new alliance is intended to contain Iran and, in the first stage, will be based on an air defense system against Iranian missiles and attack drones and cyber security measures," said Prof. Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israel relations.
The mullahs in Tehran and their proxies, such as the Palestinian Hamas group and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, appear especially worried about the idea of establishing an Israeli-Arab military alliance built along NATO lines.
They also appear worried that some Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, may be moving towards normalizing their relations with Israel.
As part of the efforts to thwart normalization between the Arab countries and Israel, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh travelled to Beirut last week for talks with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Haniyeh's visit to Beirut has outraged many Lebanese and Arabs, who expressed concern that the Hamas-Hezbollah alliance would further destabilize Lebanon and bring it closer to a military confrontation with Israel.
According to Hamas, Haniyeh and Nasrallah "reviewed the political developments in the region and their repercussions on the Palestinian cause, as well as the dangers of the normalization [between Israel and Arab countries]."
Haniyeh and Nasrallah emphasized the need to "develop the program and axis of resistance as the strategic option for restoring the [Palestinian] national rights," Hamas added.
When Hamas and Hezbollah talk about "develop[ing] the program and axis of resistance," they are referring to terrorist attacks against Israel. The two terrorist groups have tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that are ready to be fired towards Israel at any moment from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official, said that Haniyeh's visit to Lebanon aims at "consulting and coordinating" with Hezbollah about the situation in the region "in light of the talk about forming an Arab-American alliance to confront the axis of resistance." Barakeh added:
"It's natural for the Palestinian resistance to consult with the Lebanese resistance in order to confront the American-Zionist policy that it hostile to our nation and the Palestinian cause."
Referring to the idea of a military build-up against Iran in the region, Haniyeh warned that "what is happening in the region is very dangerous and has gone beyond normalization between Arab countries and Israel."
In a speech before the Arab-Islamic National Conference in Beirut on June 25, the Hamas leader said:
"Normalization [with Israel] is a crime because it harms Palestine and the Arabs; this is an attempt to integrate the Zionist entity into alliances in the region. This scheme targets the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon. The Palestinian people need strategic depth and the unity of the Arab and Islamic nation."
It is clear that Haniyeh and Nasrallah are seeking to use Lebanon as a launching pad not only to attack Israel, but also as a base for intimidating Saudi Arabia and other Arabs into avoiding alliances with Israel against Iran.
Some Lebanese have expressed outrage that their president, Michel Aoun, received the Hamas leader in the presidential palace in Beirut. Charles G. Hage, a Lebanese citizen, wrote:
"At a time when we are looking for ways out so that the Lebanese do not go hungry, can someone tell us how Lebanon benefits from a public meeting between President Michel Aoun and the head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh? Hamas is accused of terrorism and banned in the various countries that Lebanon requests help from. Is Lebanon required to become a new Gaza?"
Haniyeh's visit to Lebanon, according to Lebanese journalist Sawsan Mhanna, coincided with a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Egypt and Jordan:
"At a time when Egypt and Jordan received Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and at a time when Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed 14 agreements worth $7.7 billion, Beirut receives Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. What if Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plane had landed in Beirut? What if Beirut were free?"
Iran and its proxies were cooperating to prevent the establishment of an anti-Iranian military alliance in the Middle East, wrote Emirati journalist Mohamed Taqi:
"After the accelerated Arab moves to establish a Middle East alliance, the terrorist Ismail Haniyeh went to meet with the terrorist Hassan Nasrallah... The puppets of Iran are always against any Arab national and security project."
It was high time that the US take note that there is no difference between Iran's various terrorist proxies, noted Iranian-American investigative journalist Lisa Daftari. "When will the Biden admin learn that Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Iran's regime are all the same?" Daftari asked.
"Iran occupied Lebanon through its powerful arm, Hezbollah, which took control of Lebanon by the force of Iranian weapons," remarked Lebanese political commentator Huda al-Husseini.
"This occupation was justified by the absurd claim that these weapons aim to impose a balance of terror with the Israeli enemy and prevent its attacks, when in fact its use was purely internal to terrorize and kill."
Al-Husseini pointed out that Iran tightened its control over Lebanon after the US war in Iraq in 2003 by getting rid of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was subsequently slain.
"Hezbollah, which is a faction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, took control of state institutions... Iran penetrated Syria after the outbreak of the revolution against the regime in 2011 and Bashar Assad resorted to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to defend what remained of his regime. Tehran gave orders to Hezbollah to get involved, commit the most horrific massacres, terrorize opponents, and restore the [Syrian] army's control. This made the Syrian regime in the grip of Tehran. Iran completed its expansion plans through its weapons to Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen."
In a move reflecting growing concern over Iran's meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon, several Lebanese politicians and political and religious leaders urged the international community to confront Hezbollah.
They demanded that Hezbollah hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army and reminded the international community that the terrorist militia was behind the assassination of Rafik Hariri. They also requested that the Lebanese Army be deployed along the border with Israel to prevent another war.
Earlier, the same group of Lebanese warned that Nasrallah should not be responsible for making decisions on war and peace on behalf of his masters in Iran. The group also called for ending the Iranian "occupation" of Lebanon.
The Arabs are evidently aware of the dangers that Iran and its terrorist proxies pose to Lebanon and other countries, especially the Gulf states. They also seem anxious about Iran's increased efforts to meddle in the internal affairs of the Arab countries as part of the mullahs' scheme to expand their influence throughout the Middle East.
The meeting between Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon should set off alarm bells in Washington: the meeting shows that Iran is taking advantage of the perceived weakness of the Biden administration in failing to confront the mullahs' covetous schemes in the region.
Without question, this meeting took place on instructions from Tehran ahead of Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel. It only remains to be seen whether the Biden administration's policy of appeasement toward the mullahs enables the Iranians and their proxies to redouble their efforts to spread their expansion, terrorism and bloodshed throughout the Middle East.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 28-29/2022
Iran, US Begin EU-Led Indirect Nuclear Deal Talks in Qatar
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Iran and the United States began indirect talks Tuesday in Qatar aimed at finding a way to save Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, met with European Union official Enrique Mora in Doha after earlier meeting Qatari officials with Tehran's local ambassador. Mora will pass messages between the Americans and Iranians. Rob Malley, the US special representative for Iran, arrived in Qatar on Monday night ahead of the talks. The US Embassy in Qatar said Malley met with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss "joint diplomatic efforts to address issues with Iran," but declined to immediately offer any other details about his trip. Qatar's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it "welcomed" hosting the talks. It said the talks aimed to reestablish the deal "in a way that supports and enhances security, stability and peace in the region and opens new horizons for broader regional cooperation and dialogue with Iran.”
Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. Talks in Vienna about reviving the deal have been on a "pause" since March. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium. Even as negotiators convened in Doha, Iran's nuclear chief on Tuesday confirmed that Iran had begun installing a new cascade of advanced centrifuges at its underground Fordo facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency earlier reported that Iran was planning to enrich uranium through a new chain of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at the site. A cascade is a group of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. "We will follow measures according to the plans made," declared Eslami, without saying at which level the new cascade will be enriching. Earlier this month, Iran removed 27 surveillance cameras of the IAEA to pressure the West toward making a deal. The IAEA's director-general warned it could deal a "fatal blow" to the accord as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Nonproliferation experts warn Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity - a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% - to make one nuclear weapon, should it decide to do so.Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though UN experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003. Building a nuclear bomb would still take Iran more time if it pursued a weapon, analysts say, though they warn Tehran’s advances make the program more dangerous. Israel has threatened in the past that it would carry out a preemptive strike to stop Iran - and already is suspected in a series of recent killings targeting Iranian officials.

New talks in final bid to save Iran nuclear deal
Arab Nerws/June 28, 2022
JEDDAH: Iran and the US resumed indirect talks on Tuesday aimed at rescuing Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani met EU official Enrique Mora in Doha, and Mora began passing messages to Rob Malley, the US special representative for Iran. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the talks aimed to reestablish the deal “in a way that supports and enhances security, stability and peace in the region and opens new horizons for broader regional cooperation and dialogue” with Iran. Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Tehran limited its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal and began reimposing sanctions, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. Talks in Vienna about reviving the agreement have been stalled since March. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing a stockpile of enriched uranium. As the talks began in Doha on Tuesday, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed that Tehran had begun installing a new cascade of advanced centrifuges at its Fordo underground nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, said earlier that Iran was planning to enrich uranium through a new chain of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at the site. A cascade is a group of centrifuges working together to enrich uranium more quickly.

G-7 Leaders Wrap Up Summit Meant to Bolster Ukraine Support
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
The Group of Seven on Tuesday was wrapping up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine's future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change. Before the summit's close, leaders joined in condemning what they called the “abominable” Russian attack on a shopping mall in the town of Kremechuk, calling it a “war crime” and vowing that President Vladimir Putin and others involved “will be held to account.” The leaders of the US, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Canada and Japan on Monday pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Associated Press said. The summit host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he “once again very emphatically set out the situation as Ukraine currently sees it.” Zelenskyy's address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine's east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Officials have said during the summit that leaders of the major economies are preparing to unveil plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions. Agreement on some of the complexities of the oil price cap — such as whether it would apply only to Russia or to other oil producers — could be left for further discussions beyond the summit. From the secluded Schloss Elmau hotel in the Bavarian Alps, the G-7 leaders will continue straight to Madrid for a summit of NATO leaders — where fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine will again dominate the agenda. All G-7 members other than Japan are NATO members, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been invited to Madrid. Zelenskyy has openly worried that the West has become fatigued by the cost of a war that is contributing to soaring energy costs and price hikes on essential goods around the globe. The G-7 has sought to assuage those concerns. While the group's annual gathering has been dominated by Ukraine and by the war's knock-on effects, such as the challenge to food supplies in parts of the world caused by the interruption of Ukrainian grain exports, Scholz has been keen to show that the G-7 also can move ahead on pre-war priorities. The summit host has been keen to secure agreement on the creation of a “climate club” for countries that want to speed ahead when it comes to tackling global warming. After a meeting Monday with leaders of five developing nations, a joint statement issued by Germany emphasized the need to accelerate a “clean and just energy transition” that would see an end to the burning of fossil fuels without causing a sharp rise in unemployment. In the cautiously phrased statement, the leaders tentatively endorsed the global “climate club” idea.

Israel to Work with World Powers to Shape Any Iran Nuclear Deal
Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Tel Aviv- Israel will work with world powers to have an impact on any deal that may emerge from their nuclear negotiations with Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday. “With the expected or possible resumption of the nuclear talks, we will continue to work together with the United States and other countries in order to make our position clear and influence the crafting of the deal - if there is such,” Gantz told reporters. “It would be proper to make clear that Israel does not oppose a nuclear deal in itself. It opposes a bad deal,” he said. Iran and the United States are expected to return to indirect talks in the coming days amid a push by the European Union to break a months-long impasse in the negotiations to reinstate a 2015 nuclear pact. Israel is not a party to the negotiations. But its concerns about the outcome - and its long-standing threats to take unilateral military action against Iran - carry weight in Western capitals. Gantz said on Sunday that the policy on the Iranian nuclear talks was set by the government, not the security forces, after a newspaper reported that key Israeli generals favor a deal between Tehran and world powers. The chiefs of military intelligence and strategic planning believe a revival of a 2015 deal that restricted Iran's nuclear program would gain time for Israel to prepare an attack aimed at denying its arch-foe the means to make a nuclear weapon, Yedioth Ahronoth daily said on Friday. While the Israeli security forces have a say on Iran policy, “it is the government echelon that makes the decisions,” Gantz tweeted. “We will continue holding the open and deep dialogue behind closed doors only. Any other manner harms the State of Israel’s security,” Reuters quoted him as saying.Gantz’s rebuke was apparently also aimed at the Mossad spy service, which Yedioth said opposed any new Iran nuclear deal. The development comes amid political instability in Israel, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called a snap election. Gantz did not comment on the EU-Iran announcement. Nor did Bennett, despite having TV cameras on hand for what was likely his final cabinet meeting on Sunday. He is due to step down this week, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid assuming top office. Israel welcomed then US President Donald Trump's decision to quit the 2015 deal, deeming it insufficient. After Trump was succeeded by Joe Biden, Israeli leaders said they would not be bound by any new deal Washington might reach with Tehran.

Israel Threatens to Target Iranian Oil Tankers Suspected of Transferring Weapons to Syria
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Israel threatened on Sunday to target Iranian oil tankers heading to Syria if their cargo was not inspected.According to an unsourced report by Channel 12 news, Israel demanded that the United States monitor Iran’s transfer of oil to Syria and obtain the required information in this regard to ensure that only oil is being transported and not weapons. The report said three tankers are already making their way from Iran to Syria. It said the ships have previously carried weapons from Iran to Syria and to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. Israel may give its approval to a reported US-brokered deal allowing Iran to transfer oil to Syria ahead of resuming nuclear talks, the Times of Israel news website reported on Monday. The move to allow the transfer of oil was reportedly part of an easing of sanctions ahead of the expected resumption of the stalled nuclear deal talks. According to the report, Israel would back the oil transfer deal provided that it is under American supervision and Iranian transparency to ensure that the mechanism was not used to transfer weapons. Israel has admitted to carrying out hundreds of aerial surveillance over Syria in the last decade, mostly to thwart Iranian attempts to transfer weapons or establish a foothold in a country that borders Israel.

Russia’s Putin to Meet Iran’s Raisi in Ashgabat on Wednesday
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Putin is making his first known trip abroad since the start of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
He is expected to meet Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe later on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would return to Moscow on Wednesday evening.

Turkey agrees to support Finland, Sweden joining NATO after ‘getting what it wanted’
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/28 June ,2022
Finnish president Sauli Niinisto said on Tuesday that Turkey has agreed to support the NATO memberships of Finland and Sweden, and Ankara said it “got what it wanted” from the talks with the two Nordic countries. Niinisto said the decision came after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, facilitated by Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. “As a result of that meeting, our foreign ministers signed a trilateral memorandum which confirms that Turkey will at the Madrid Summit this week support the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO,” Niinisto said in a statement. “The concrete steps of our accession to NATO will be agreed by the NATO Allies during the next two days, but that decision is now imminent,” he added. The memorandum underscores the commitment by the three countries to “extend their full support against threats to each other’s security.”Sweden and Finland sought to enhance their security through NATO membership, ending decades of military nonalignment in an historic move driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey declared in May it had objections to the two countries joining NATO, accusing them of supporting Kurdish militants, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whom Ankara considers to be a terrorist organization, and failing to extradite dozens of suspected “terrorists,” specifically the followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.
The Turkish Communications Directorate said on Tuesday that Finland and Sweden agreed on full cooperation with Turkey in the fight against the PKK and its affiliates, state news agency Anadolu reported. “Turkey got what it wanted.”

Iran Says Seeking Long-term Cooperation with Turkey
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that efforts are underway to draft a document on long-term comprehensive cooperation between his country and Turkey. He made his remarks ahead of talks in Ankara on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The officials discussed cooperation between their countries and ways to bolster them in various fields. They also tackled regional and international developments of interest, including the latest in the Iran nuclear deal negotiations. The negotiations are set to resume in Doha on Tuesday. They also covered the Syrian crisis and the war on Ukraine.Diplomatic sources said Abdollahian and Cavusoglu discussed the tensions between Israel and Iran after the former had warned its citizens against travel to Istanbul at the risk of being targeted by Iranian agents. Cavusoglu said: “We must continue to work together because terrorism is our common enemy.”Abdollahian stated that his country is aware of Turkey’s security concerns, adding that Iran and Turkey’s security were indivisible. “We want nothing but good for the region and Turkey,” he stressed. He added that he agreed with Cavusoglu to set a roadmap to develop bilateral ties between Tehran and Ankara. Abdollahian later held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. They stressed the importance of bolstering bilateral ties through “comprehensive and sustainable cooperation and boosting consultations over regional and international issues of interest.”During a visit to Turkey last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid thanked authorities for foiling attacks against Israeli citizens in Istanbul.Turkey announced the arrest of a cell, comprised of five Iranians and two Turks, that was planning to attack the former Israeli ambassador, his wife and other Israelis.
Standing next to Lapid, Cavusoglu said Turkey “cannot permit these kinds of incidents taking place in our country.”“We have delivered the necessary messages,” he said.

Iran Says Seeking Long-term Cooperation with Turkey
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that efforts are underway to draft a document on long-term comprehensive cooperation between his country and Turkey. He made his remarks ahead of talks in Ankara on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The officials discussed cooperation between their countries and ways to bolster them in various fields. They also tackled regional and international developments of interest, including the latest in the Iran nuclear deal negotiations. The negotiations are set to resume in Doha on Tuesday. They also covered the Syrian crisis and the war on Ukraine. Diplomatic sources said Abdollahian and Cavusoglu discussed the tensions between Israel and Iran after the former had warned its citizens against travel to Istanbul at the risk of being targeted by Iranian agents. Cavusoglu said: “We must continue to work together because terrorism is our common enemy.”Abdollahian stated that his country is aware of Turkey’s security concerns, adding that Iran and Turkey’s security were indivisible. “We want nothing but good for the region and Turkey,” he stressed. He added that he agreed with Cavusoglu to set a roadmap to develop bilateral ties between Tehran and Ankara. Abdollahian later held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. They stressed the importance of bolstering bilateral ties through “comprehensive and sustainable cooperation and boosting consultations over regional and international issues of interest.”During a visit to Turkey last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid thanked authorities for foiling attacks against Israeli citizens in Istanbul. Turkey announced the arrest of a cell, comprised of five Iranians and two Turks, that was planning to attack the former Israeli ambassador, his wife and other Israelis. Standing next to Lapid, Cavusoglu said Turkey “cannot permit these kinds of incidents taking place in our country.”“We have delivered the necessary messages,” he said.

US Strike Kills Al-Qaeda-Linked Commander in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
A drone strike by the US-led coalition in northwestern Syria killed a senior member of an al-Qaeda-linked group, Syrian opposition activists and the US military said Tuesday. The attack on the suspected militant, who was riding a motorcycle at the time, came shortly before midnight on Monday - the latest in a series of strikes over the past years targeting al-Qaeda-linked militants in northwestern Syria. The US Central Command said its forces conducted "a kinetic strike" in Syria's Idlib province, targeting Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a senior leader of Horas al-Din group. Al Yemeni was traveling alone at the time of the strike, it said, adding that initial review indicates no civilian casualties. The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the attack occurred just south of the opposition-held city of Idlib. The White Helmets said there were no other fatalities except the man on the motorcycle, adding that they have handed over the man's body to morgue officials in Idlib. Syrian opposition activists did not identify the slain man while the US Central Command statement indicated he was a Yemeni citizen. Members of Horas al-Din, Arabic for "Guardians of Religion," are hardcore al-Qaeda elements who broke away from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the strongest insurgent group in Idlib, the last major opposition enclave in war-torn Syria. In June 2020, the US military killed Khaled Aruri, a top Jordanian commander with Horas al-Din, also in Idlib. A drone strike in December 2019 killed a senior Horas al-Din commander, the Jordanian citizen Bilal Khuraisat, also known as Abu Khadija al-Urduni. CENTCOM said in its statement that violent extremist organizations, including Al-Qaeda-aligned organizations such as Horas al-Din, "continue to present a threat to America and our allies." It added that al-Qaeda-aligned militants use Syria as a safe haven to coordinate with their external affiliates and plan operations outside of Syria. "The removal of this senior leader will disrupt al-Qaeda’s ability to carry out attacks against US citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians around the world," CENTCOM said. A US airstrike killed al-Qaeda’s second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria in 2017. In February, the US military killed the latest ISIS leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, in Idlib province near the Turkish border. The first leader of the ISIS group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was also killed in a US strike in Idlib, in 2019.

Russia says offensive will end when Ukraine 'surrenders'
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russia would halt its offensive as soon as Ukraine surrenders, urging Kyiv to order its troops to lay down their arms. "The Ukrainian side can stop everything before the end of today," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "An order for the nationalist units to lay down their arms is necessary," he said, adding Kyiv had to fulfil a list of Moscow's demands. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia's intervention by the end of the year. He also said the time had not yet come to hold talks with Russia, as Kyiv is seeking to consolidate its positions, France said. Asked to comment on Zelensky's statements, Peskov said: "We are guided by the statements of our president -- the special military operation is going according to plan and achieving its goals."

UN Urges Libya’s Rivals to Agree on Elections This Week
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
The UN political chief urged Libya’s rival factions on Monday to agree on measures governing the transition to elections during talks in Geneva later this week, expressing hope this will lead to long-awaited voting "at the earliest possible date."
Rosemary DiCarlo told the UN Security Council that during talks in Cairo from June 12-20 the rivals reached "a broad consensus on most of the contentious articles" in the proposed 2017 constitution, which she called "commendable."
The Cairo meeting was the first to see Libya’s east-based parliament, the House of Representatives, and west-based High Council of State in Tripoli engage in "a serious review" of the constitutional proposal since its adoption in 2017, DiCarlo said. "We are encouraged that the leaders of both chambers have accepted the invitation of (UN) special adviser Stephanie Williams to meet in Geneva from June 28-29 to discuss and reach agreement on the measures governing the transitional period leading to elections," she said. DiCarlo urged the Security Council’s 15 member nations and all of Libya’s international partners "to call on the leadership of the two chambers to seize the opportunity presented by the agreement reached in Cairo" and "make elections happens."Libya’s plan for elections last Dec. 24 fell through after the interim administration based in Tripoli, headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibah, failed to go ahead with the vote. The failure was a major blow to international efforts to end a decade of chaos in Libya.
Dbeibah refused to step down, raising questions over his mandate. In response, the country’s east-based lawmakers elected a rival prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, a powerful former interior minister who is now operating a separate administration out of the city of Sirte.The rival administrations are now claiming power, after tentative steps toward unity last year. DiCarlo called for national reconciliation efforts, warning that "continued political divisions are contributing to a tense security environment in and around Tripoli."
The issue of Libya’s chief executive has not been resolved and she warned that as armed group position themselves to support Debebah or Bashagha "the risk of escalation increases."After the recent Cairo meeting, Libyan media reports claimed that the main contested topic was the criteria for a presidential candidacy. According to the reports, the Tripoli-based council insisted on banning military personal from running for the country’s top post - apparently a move directed at Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar, who announced his bid to run in December's elections, while the east-based lawmakers called for allowing military personnel to run. US deputy ambassador Richard Mills called it "appalling that small cabals of men, in most cases backed by weapons rather than popular legitimacy, have spent the last six months cutting deals and crafting schemes to determine who will be in power, and who will get which spoils - while some three million Libyans are still waiting to exercise their right to vote for Libya’s leaders.""Libya has reached a critical moment," he said, "and its leaders must choose a trajectory - whether to build consensus and foster unity that can lead to free and fair elections and stability or to wallow in the status quo and consign the Libyan people to uncertainty, stagnation, and potential violence."Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky blamed "the Western aggression in 2011 which caused the Libyan state to collapse" for the ongoing political crisis. He welcomed the progress at the Cairo meeting and expressed hope that this week's Geneva talks will resolve differences between the political rivals. But he warned that "due to the persistent inter-Libyan differences and the egotism of our Western colleagues, the situation in Libya is liable to spiral out of control."

Turkey Denies Contact with Syrian Regime to Discuss Refugees’ Return
Ankara: Saeed Abdulrazzak, Idlib:Firas Karam/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
Turkey denied reports suggesting it held contacts with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the return of Syrian refugees, asserting that communications are limited to the security and intelligence services. Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, stressed that there were no political contacts between Turkey and the Assad regime. However, he acknowledged regular contacts between the Turkish and Syrian security and intelligence services for what he described as "national interest."During a television interview, Kalin said that Turkish intelligence units have regular contacts and negotiations with their Syrian counterparts for the sake of the "national interests," pointing out that there are no discussions with the Syrian regime regarding the return of refugees. He stressed that it is not easy to convince the Syrian refugees to return to their homeland and that Ankara is not discussing the matter with Damascus.
Kalin recalled that the Syrian refugees fled the war and suffered severe pain, and Turkey is trying to establish a safe area for them in Afrin, Idlib, Tal Abyad, and Ras al-Ain. He asserted that they would return eventually, but Turkey wants it done without causing a human tragedy. Meanwhile, the Turkish Red Crescent handed over 900 houses to displaced persons in Kafr Lusin north of Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria. The General Director of the Turkish Red Crescent, Ibrahim Altan, said that 2461 houses have been handed over to families so far, including 2189 in the Idlib area and 272 in the Azaz area, which is under the control of Turkish forces and the Syrian factions loyal to Ankara in Aleppo Governorate. Alongside building infrastructure and providing clean drinking water in the area, a school was opened for the children of victims of war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last May that his country plans to build 200,000 homes in northern Syria, to return one million Syrians to 13 different locations in their country, out of about 3.7 million Syrians residing in Turkey.

AMCD Meets with Eric Marchant, Co-Founder of the Silent Majority Foundation
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy/June 27, 2022
Mr. Marchant explained how he watched his country and his state (Washington) spiral out of control due to leftist policies and wanted to find a way to fight back. He decided to fight back in the courts and so co-founded the Silent Majority Foundation with Vincent Cavaleri, attorney Pete Serrano, and Rob Waites. The first suits were brought against Governor Inslee for his unconstitutional vaccine mandates – jabs for jobs. They have filed seven lawsuits to date with the latest challenging Inslee’s emergency powers due to the fact that two counties have 0 cases and 0 deaths from covid. The governor made no distinction between areas of the state with high covid rates vs. those with low covid rates and simply asserted his emergency powers over the entire state. This gives the foundation organizational standing to sue. The fear is that Governor Inslee will assert that climate change is an emergency and claim emergency power on that basis in order to continue governing as a dictator.Another case involved a Clark County resident who wished to volunteer in her daughter’s school. She had a mask exemption from the state but was kicked out of the classroom anyway. A judge admonished the school for disobeying the law on mask exemptions and then the school wrote a nice letter welcoming her back. They are also suing the state because some legislators were locked out of their offices for refusing to show proof of vaccination. So far, they have mostly filed suits in state court but desire to be the conservative ACLU and will file in federal court in the future.
Q: The governor is acting like a King with no responsibility to the voters. Why do you think this is happening in a country where elected officials work of the citizens, not the other way around.
A: I believe there is an agenda driven by money and the thirst for power and I believe they are conditioning the people to accept emergency powers on the basis of climate change. This is unprecedented tyranny.
Another case we worked on involved a disabled veteran who ran a convenience store who allowed people to shop there unmasked if they so desired. The liquor control board tried to take his liquor license on that basis which would essentially put him out of business.
Q: We had something similar with the ban on evictions and raising rents. Our costs all went up and we had to raise rents, but we explained it to our renters and had no problems – we ignored the decree as unconstitutional and just went about our business.
A: The Silent Majority Foundation speaks for people who cannot speak for themselves. We need to hire more attorneys and take these issues all the way to the supreme court if necessary.
To donate go to: www.silentmajorityfoundation.org
Q: I feel like we’re living in the Middle East. These are the kinds of things that happen there. If the government comes after you, it can bankrupt you, imprison you and basically go to any lengths to achieve submission from the population.
A: Yes, we worry that the state attorney general will come after our foundation.
Mr. Marchant exited and then there followed a discussion on Middle East issues by our members.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 28-29/2022
Turkey: Jihad against Cyprus
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/June 28/2022
Turkey is now using the distraction of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a cover to increase its likelihood of officially annexing Cyprus's north.
It is not just part of the island country of Cyprus that is being occupied and demeaned. What is being occupied, colonized, and culturally destroyed is a significant part of Western history and civilization. It is part of the "Great Replacement" predicted for Europe but ridiculed as a "conspiracy theory". One only need look back at the replacement of the Christian Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire and then Turkey, or the replacement of the indigenous Copts in Egypt. With Cyprus and Greece under attack from Turkey, where are the West's principles, strength and resolve?
It is not just part of the island country of Cyprus that is being occupied and demeaned by Turkey. What is being occupied, colonized, and culturally destroyed is a significant part of Western history and civilization. Pictured: Turkish Army soldiers and tanks on parade in the Turkish-occupied part Nicosia, Cyprus, on July 20, 2021. (Photo by Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP via Getty Images)
Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952. Twenty-two years later, in 1974, Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus, and to this day continues illegally to occupy 36% of the island. Turkey has ethnically cleansed non-Turks from the northern part of Cyprus and largely destroyed both the Christian and Jewish cultural heritage of the area they occupy.
Since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, the island has been illegally and forcibly partitioned in two. The northern part of the Republic of Cyprus -- like the rest of the country -- had been majority-Greek. Its demographic structure was changed by Turkey when approximately 170,000 Greek Cypriots were forcibly displaced by Turkish troops. This expulsion affected about one-third of the Greek Cypriot population. The occupied part of the island has since been colonized by settlers from Turkey. Approximately 40,000 Turkish soldiers are illegally stationed in the occupied area, making it, according to the UN, one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world. Around 80% of the island's wealth-producing resources lie under Turkish occupation.
Turkey is now using the distraction of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a cover to increase its likelihood of officially annexing Cyprus's north. On April 14, a protocol was signed between Turkey and the illegal Turkish de facto regime that has been ruling occupied northern Cyprus. Although Turkey has already forcibly altered the demography of Cyprus through the ethnic cleansing campaign, the new protocol gives Turkish nationals even easier access to the region.
The protocol also stipulates the strengthening of the Religious Affairs Department in the area, as well as building religious complexes, such as mosques, and restoring Turkish-Islamic heritage sites. The protocol makes no secret of Turkey's intention to annex the north. The introduction states, "the island of Cyprus has been a part of Anatolia politically and culturally since 1571." 1571 is when the Ottoman Empire began occupying Cyprus.
In 1570, Ottoman troops invaded Cyprus and plundered it, while killing thousands. The Ottoman Empire, presumably to keep the indigenous Greek population under control, transported Turks to Cyprus. In 1878, the Ottoman Empire granted Britain administrative control of Cyprus, and in 1914 Britain annexed the island. In 1923, Turkey renounced all claims to Cyprus in favor of Britain through the Treaty of Lausanne, which also established the Republic of Turkey. In 1960, Cyprus gained independence from British rule and became an independent republic. Britain, Greece, and Turkey became guarantors of "the independence, territorial integrity and security" of the Republic of Cyprus under the 1960 "Treaty of Guarantee". Fourteen years later, Turkey violated both the treaty and international law by invading Cyprus in two phases -- on July 20 and August 14, 1974.
In 1983, Turkey declared the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC) in the occupied north of Cyprus. The TRNC was unilaterally recognized only by Turkey and remains unrecognized by the international community to this day.
The regime in occupied northern Cyprus continues to be driven by neo-Ottomanism. On April 28, 2022, the "mausoleum of Martyr Pertev Pasha", one of the commanders involved in the Ottoman invasion of Cyprus, was opened in the north. "We have made this opening in accordance with the law," said Ersin Tatar, head of the illegal TRNC regime. However, the law to which he was referring is neither international law nor that of the UN Charter. Rather, it is the sharia law of the Ottoman Empire, which occupied Cyprus for nearly 300 years, from 1571 to 1878. According to a press release from the website of the Presidency of the TRNC:
"After 1571, these places were brought back to our history as properties of the foundations [Cyprus Foundations Administration/ EVKAF established by the Ottomans in 1571]. There are very deep traces of our ancestors here," Tatar said, adding that the Maraş [part of Turkish-occupied Cypriot city of Famagusta] lands, the [Ottoman] ancestral properties of the foundation [EVKAF], were [inappropriately\unjustly] given to [some people] during the British colonial rule in violation of the contract between England and the Ottoman Empire.
"Maraş is under our sovereignty. We can never accept it being placed under UN control or entering any trade-offs in the context of confidence building measures," Tatar added.
The driving forces behind Turkey's invasion and occupation of the Greek island were Islamic jihad and Turkic nationalism. With these objectives in mind, Turkey's preparations to invade Cyprus began decades before the invasion. Starting at least in the 1950s, Turkey's military provoked inter-ethnic tensions in Cyprus by sending in fighters and weapons. In 1953, the "Tactical Mobilization Group" (Seferberlik Tetkik Kurulu) was established in Turkey, according to Turkish General Sabri Yirmibesoglu, and sent weapons to Cyprus to be used against Greek Cypriots: "The Committee had three officers in Ankara. It was a new organization [established] to send weapons against the EOKA [National Organization of Cypriot Fighters]."
"Mujahideen" against Cyprus
Those who joined the 1974 invasion campaign, or its years-long preparations, are called mücahit in Turkish. The word comes from the Arabic mujahid (plural: mujahideen) and means "Muslim holy warriors, jihadists, engaged in a jihad against non-Muslims." Many Islamic armed groups, such as the Taliban, call themselves mujahideen.
One Turkish mujahideen group that illegally operated in Cyprus was TMT, or the Turkish Resistance Organization, a paramilitary group established in 1958. TMT, active for years in Cyprus, engaged in widespread violence. According to their own public statements, TMT murdered not only Greek Cypriots, but also many Turkish Cypriots (mostly "left-wingers") for "crimes" such as "being treacherous", "helping Greeks", "doing business with Greek merchants" or "not being real Turks". In 1976, TMT became the "Security Forces Command" of Cyprus's Turkish-occupied north. The website of the so-called "Security Forces Command" is mucahit.gov.ct.tr. Thus, the current military of Cyprus's occupied north is a proud extension of the mujahideen movement. Its website refers to the bloody invasion campaign as the "happy peace operation":
"In July 1974, when the Turkish Armed Forces used the guarantor state intervention right granted to them by the 1960 Constitution, Mujahideen and Mehmetçik fought side by side and succeeded in the Happy Peace Operation."
"Mehmetçik" (Little Mehmet, after a common male name) is an affectionate reference to Turkish soldiers.
The government-funded Turkish news agency, TRT, in an interview with some of those mujahideen in 2020, called Cypriot locations "sanjaks", a term from the Ottoman Empire, referring to administrative districts within which a larger district ("vilayet") was divided. The TRT reported:
"The mujahideen of Cyprus got organized years before the [1974] operation. These organizations later merged under the umbrella of the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT).
"TMT remained a secret organization for many years. Training camps were established in Ankara and Antalya. The first goal was to train and arm 5,000 mujahideen. Officers who would serve in TMT with identities such as teachers, inspectors and clergy were also trained there.
"In order [for the mujahideen] not to be noticed by the Greeks, code names were also given to the officers who would serve in the TMT.
"TMT was getting organized in such a secret manner that no one knew who was a mujahid. The names of the sanjaks established at that time were also coded so that the negotiations and the regions would not be found out by the Greeks.
"Trained officers and Turkish Cypriots sent from Turkey under other qualifications [titles] during those years were burying the weapons and ammunition sent in great secrecy under the ground."
Another Turkish government-funded news outlet, Anadolu Agency (AA), interviewed three of these mujahideen. According to the 2019 report, one "stated that he was a journalist at that time and had participated in both [military] operations in 1974." Stating that he was on duty at the Sanjak Headquarters in Nicosia during the operation, he noted that he had served in the military for 5 years before the operation and that they had called it "mujahideen":
"Then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit came to Cyprus after the operation, and he told those fighters: 'Turkey could not have made this landing if you, as the mujahideen, had not resisted until today.'"
"Atilla" against Cyprus
When the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in 1974, the operations were code named after Attila ("The Attila Plan" or "the Operation Atilla"), and in the Oxford Dictionary.
Attila was the ruler of the Huns, a nomadic people who originated from Central Asia, from 434 until his death in 453. Atilla was notorious for his brutal invasion campaigns, during which civilians were massacred and whole cities sacked or destroyed. Atilla the Hun, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "was one of the greatest of the barbarian rulers who assailed the Roman Empire, invading the southern Balkan provinces and Greece and then Gaul and Italy."
The official website of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) refers to the Hun Empire as the origin of its military tradition: "The first orderly and disciplined formation of the Turkish Army dates back to 209 BC, during the Great Hun Empire".
Attila's legacy of death and destruction is what Turkey seems to aspire to export to Cyprus. In the summer of 1974, Turkish troops carried out an ethnic cleansing in northern Cyprus against non-Muslim Cypriots through forcible mass displacement. According to a letter dated 6 December 1974 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General,
"Turkey -- in unchallenged command of the air and the sea and illegally using armaments and sophisticated weapons in her possession strictly for purposes of defense under a relevant alliance agreement -- launched a full-scale aggressive attack against Cyprus, a small non-aligned and virtually defenseless country, possessing no air force, no navy and no army except for a small national guard. Thus, Turkey's overwhelming military machine embarked upon an armed attack including napalm bombing of open towns and villages, wreaking destruction, setting forests on fire, and spreading indiscriminate death and human suffering to the civilian population of the island.
"The landing of the Turkish forces on the territory of Cyprus became from its inception no less ferocious inhumanity towards the civilian population, in violation of all principles of international law and accepted concepts of a civilized society."
The war crimes committed by Turkish forces include the cold blooded murder of civilians, the unlawful detentions of both civilians and soldiers, forced disappearances, wholesale and repeated rapes, forcible eviction of Greek Cypriots from their homes and land, looting of their houses and business premises, and seizure and distribution of their lands, houses, and other properties mostly to settlers from Turkey. These and other atrocities were documented by a two-volume report by the European Commission of Human Rights, adopted in 1976, then covered up, then leaked to Britain's Sunday Times in 1977 and eventually declassified in 1979.
The illegal regime in the occupied area -- with the support of Turkey -- has largely obliterated every trace of Greek and other non-Turkish civilizations of the area. The Greek names of cities and villages have been replaced by Turkish names.
According to the report, "The Loss of a Civilization: Destruction of cultural heritage in occupied Cyprus":
"The churches have been subject to the most violent and systematic desecration and destruction. More than 500 churches and monasteries have been looted or destroyed: more than 15,000 icons of saints, innumerable sacred liturgical vessels, gospels and other objects of great value have literally vanished. A few churches have met a different fate and have been turned into mosques, museums, places of entertainment or even hotels, like the church of Ayia Anastasia in Lapithos. At least three monasteries have been turned into barracks for the Turkish army (Ayios Chrysostomos in the Pentadactylos Mountains, Acheropoiitos in Karavas and Ayios Panteleimonas in Myrtou). Marvelous Byzantine wall-paintings and mosaics of rare artistic and historical value have been removed from church walls by Turkish smugglers and sold illegally in America, Europe and Japan. Many Byzantine churches have suffered irreparable damage."
Turks have also destroyed Greek cemeteries in an attempt to extinguish all signs of Greek culture and Christianity from the occupied area.
Antigoni Papadopoulou, a Member of the European Parliament, submitted a written question to the European Commission in 2013:
"The bones which had been taken out of the cemetery were thrown away as rubbish. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, such actions against cemeteries and lack of respect for the dead are considered a severe violation of religious human rights."
Meanwhile, the West has looked the other way and enabled Turkey's occupation of northern Cyprus.
It is not just part of the island country of Cyprus that is being occupied and demeaned. What is being occupied, colonized, and culturally destroyed is a significant part of Western history and civilization. It is part of the "Great Replacement" predicted for Europe but ridiculed as a "conspiracy theory". One only need look back at the replacement of the Christian Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire and then Turkey, or the replacement of the indigenous Copts in Egypt. With Cyprus and Greece under attack from Turkey, where are the West's principles, strength and resolve?
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
© 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.

What to Expect From NATO’s New Strategic Concept
James Stavridis/Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
As the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations prepare to meet this week in Madrid, I’m reminded of a call I received shortly after I became supreme allied commander at the alliance in 2009. It was from Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and with the directness for which he was famous, he said: “Jim, I want you to work with Madeleine Albright on our new NATO Strategic Concept. We are on a short timeline, and it must be done right. Get in touch with her and give her all your support.”
I didn’t know Albright, who had been US secretary of state from 1997 to 2001, well. But, like pretty much everyone who did, I was in awe of her energy, good humor and drive. We contacted her team and set up an introductory call, and for the next year I was privileged to be part of her team creating a long-term strategy for the alliance, the first of the 21st century.
The result, “Active Engagement, Modern Defense,” was adopted at NATO’s 2010 summit in Lisbon. I still treasure my small, blue, battered pocket copy, signed by Albright. I literally carried it with me throughout the four years I led the alliance’s military operations.
As you would expect, the strategic concept reflected the times: It was full of references to counterterrorism, Afghanistan, the Balkans, counterpiracy and the other missions of the day. There are brief mentions of climate change and cyberwarfare, and China does not appear.
Perhaps the most ironic part of the 2010 strategy are the words: “NATO poses no threat to Russia. On the contrary: we want to see a true strategic partnership between NATO and Russia.”
While it is certainly true that NATO does not pose a threat to Russia, then or now, unfortunately, Russia under President Vladimir Putin certainly poses a threat to the alliance. Wars against Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 are testament to his ambition to dominate the Western approaches to his nation.
This week, for the first time since 2010, NATO will adopt and release a new strategic concept. Appropriately, this will occur again on the Iberian Peninsula, which juts into the broad ocean bridging the 30 members of the transatlantic alliance. What will the new strategic concept discuss, and what does its adoption portend for the venerable organization?
Russia will clearly be at the top of everyone’s mind. After invasions of democratic nations and NATO partners Georgia and Ukraine (and a “soft invasion” of Moldova), the alliance has adopted an appropriately hard line toward the Russian Federation.
Look for strong words that will codify significant defense increases, exemplified by Germany’s extraordinary near-doubling of its military budget for this year. Many more nations will hit the alliance goal of 2% of GDP devoted to defense. The strategic concept will also likely outline an increase in NATO’s standing response forces. (Until now, NATO has limited itself to rotating forces in and out of its Eastern European members.)
There will also likely be an underscoring of NATO’s commitment to the Arctic. As global warming opens vast resources and shipping routes, the geopolitical tension between Russia on one side of the “Arctic Porch” and NATO on the other (the US, Canada, Denmark, Iceland and Norway) will increase. Surveillance, training and joint exercises will likewise be stepped up. And the likely addition of two Nordic nations, Finland and Sweden, adds to the importance of the “high north” and to the alliance’s strength in its waters.
Cyberwarfare will feature far more prominently than in the 2010 document. The number of devices connected to the “internet of things” has increased from around 7 billion in 2010 to well above 50 billion today. This represents both convenience (I can open my garage door from 2,000 miles away!) but also a vast threat area that can be penetrated by enemy nations and non-state actors. Recent experience blunting Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine will help inform NATO’s new approach.
Unlike in 2010, this long-term plan will describe China as a strategic competitor. NATO is not looking for conflict with Beijing, but must be capable of addressing concerns in cyberspace, human rights and territorial claims in the South China Sea — including consideration of NATO undertaking freedom of navigation patrols. The updated document will also likely emphasize cooperation globally with non-NATO democracies including Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Finally, the concept will emphasize that applications for expansion will be welcome, subject to the requirements for entry laid out in the NATO treaty. Finland and Sweden are at the front of the line, but Bosnia-Herzegovina and Georgia are still hoping for a path to membership, and so of course is Ukraine.
All these initiatives are sensible and necessary. It is worth remembering, however, how wrong our 2010 document was in the case of Russia. Dwight D. Eisenhower, NATO’s first supreme allied commander, supposedly said that “the plan is nothing, but planning is everything.” He meant, correctly, that the alliance will get some things wrong and overlook others.
We may be headed toward a more constructive relationship with China than expected. Or there may be unexpected but significant out-of-area challenges — perhaps in sub-Saharan Africa, stemming from piracy or mass migration headed toward Europe. Who, back in 2000, would have predicted a NATO mission in Afghanistan with 150,000 troops?
But the process of thinking through the potential challenges, crafting a document that lays out a broad course of action, and working together to implement it, will inherently make the alliance more prepared for whatever the next decade brings.
This 2022 strategic concept will emphasize the core strengths of NATO — a shared belief in democracy, liberty, rule of law and the other values we cherish. I just wish Madeleine Albright was here to see it.

George Soros, Mahathir and the Legacy of 1997
Daniel Moss/Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
The implosion that became known as the Asian financial crisis had several chapters. Over the better part of two years in the late 1990s, the economies of Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea crumbled, while Malaysia suffered its deepest recession and rocked the world with capital controls. To appreciate the brew of forces driving this market collapse, one moment in Hong Kong during the early days of the rout is instructive.
At the combined annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in September 1997, a conflict raged over who was to blame for the nascent financial calamity, and what kind of economic model would emerge after it. The main protagonists were Mahathir Mohamad, at the zenith of his power as prime minister of Malaysia, and George Soros, the billionaire who made bold bets against the currencies of Thailand and Malaysia in the run-up to the crisis. A few years earlier, Soros had defeated the Bank of England’s efforts to prop up the pound. Mahathir, for his part, had presided over high growth rates for much of his 16 years in office that were now at risk of being undone.
With Thailand already subject to the strictures of an IMF-led bailout and Indonesia hurtling down the path toward one, Mahathir feared Malaysia could be next. Soros was portrayed by Mahathir and other nationalists as representing global capital, in all its fickleness — and drew scrutiny (and sometimes praise) for his ability to spot countries and assets that were starting to go awry. Mahathir became a proxy for an old state-directed way of doing business that often coupled turbocharged economic growth with political centralization.
Eager to avoid blame for the coming hardship, Mahathir pointed his finger at outside forces seeking to undo Malaysia’s progress. In Soros, who was sharply critical of him, the Malaysian leader found his foil. IMF meetings are typically buttoned-up affairs, but over a weekend of drama, the two men had at it. Mahathir, who had called Soros “a moron,” accused financial titans of seeking to reverse decades of economic development that propelled tens of millions into the middle class. Soros branded Mahathir “a menace” to his country.
Despite their exchange at times resembling schoolyard taunts, the underlying questions were profound. Would Asia resume torrid rates of growth that had lifted hundreds of millions from poverty in the space of a generation? Could political frameworks built up over decades around strongman leaders survive the wrenching downturn? While Asian leaders embraced market liberalization in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a way to attract foreign direct investment and portfolio capital, the loss of control that came with it made them leery. Prior to the crisis, and into its initial phases, they sought to delay that reckoning. The Asian financial crisis began unfolding 25 years ago, on July 2, when Thailand abandoned efforts to shore up its currency, the baht. The capitulation prompted sharp declines in Asian foreign exchange markets, setting Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul on a path to bailouts from the IMF. It also lit the fuse on political upheavals that were a long time in the making.
In Indonesia, the tumult, alongside the harsh conditions sought by the IMF in a series of emergency loans that began in October 1997, hastened the end of the Suharto era, a three-decade run of impressive growth — and repression. As long as the economic expansion rolled on, much could be swept under the carpet. It ended in May 1998 amid communal violence and the deaths of student demonstrators at the hands of police. Months later, a Korean opposition candidate won the presidency for the first time. Mahathir held on, but left a legacy of fragmentation in the Malay establishment that, ultimately, culminated in the ruling party’s defeat in 2018. The region’s democratic transition has since had setbacks, though all three countries are far more open than before the bust.
This was also no local affair. The crisis migrated from Asia to Russia and then Latin America. Capital fled shaky emerging markets and piled into dollars. America was in the midst of a boom and the US propounded a “strong dollar” policy. The architects of this happy state of affairs, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, were at the IMF and World Bank gatherings in Hong Kong, but avoided theatrics, as did a young assistant secretary at Treasury by the name of Tim Geithner. US prosperity was not at risk from market tumult — yet.
Geithner became a critical player in a financial drama that beset the US from 2007 to 2009, first as New York Fed president and then as Treasury secretary. Viewed from one perspective, the subprime bust was a sequel to the emerging market crackups a decade earlier. There was the same complacency and certitude about things that would not happen: The US housing market would never implode and the government would never be forced to bail out systemically important firms, or so the thinking went. The waves of upheaval weren’t dissimilar from the ones that rocked Asia a decade earlier.
A year after Mahathir’s provocative performance in Hong Kong, which included an exhortation that currency trading ought to be banned outright, the premier pegged the ringgit to the buck and imposed capital controls. He also vanquished Anwar Ibrahim, then finance minister, who was considered sympathetic to the IMF and Wall Street. Mahathir also blamed Jews, including Soros, for the economic slump, remarks aimed at bolstering support in the Malay-Muslim heartlands. It will always be a stain on his career. (Ironically, Soros was at one point supporting the ringgit, Malaysia’s currency.) So was this just a standard emerging market drama spiced by the odd revolution and verbal grenades from cantankerous leaders? On a global scale, it looks like the first great bust of the post-Cold War era. For Asia, it marked a dividing line: Growth recovered, but never really returned to the pre-1997 levels on a sustained basis. While power can change hands, monetary regimes are more orthodox. When long-held assumptions collapse, it’s rarely limited to matters of money.

Russian Oil Sanctions Upended the World. Gold Bans Won’t
David Fickling//Bloomberg/June, 28/2022
Last month, sanctions on Russia upended the oil market, the world’s biggest commodities trade. Now, Group of Seven leaders are proposing to repeat the trick with the second-biggest trade, gold. Don’t expect the same reaction.
Between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen first proposing sanctions on crude in early May and the package being introduced a month later, prices for Brent rose about 14%, on top of the 8.4% rise they’d seen since the invasion of Ukraine began in February.
Gold has had a quieter year, down 3.9% since Russian forces rolled across the Ukrainian border. Despite Moscow’s status as the third-biggest producer of the yellow metal, the import bans set to be announced at the G-7 meeting this week in Germany aren’t likely to reverse that bout of weakness.
Partly, that’s just a function of market scale. In a normal year, Russia accounts for about 12% of the world’s crude exports. Almost every barrel that comes to the surface is used within the year, barring movements in the 90 days or so of reserves that major energy importers hold onto.
Gold, because of its price and density, is far easier to stockpile. You could easily place enough bullion to buy the 1 million barrels in a typical oil tanker onto a six-seater dining table.(1)As a result, inventories are vast, with mining adding just 3,500 metric tons a year or so to a 205,000 ton stockpile. Roughly a quarter of gold consumption in a typical year comes from selling or melting down jewelry, coins, bars and industrial metals — and those recycling numbers tend to creep up whenever a shortage of mine supplies puts upward pressure on price.
Russia is unquestionably a major player. The 300 tons it produced last year was only exceeded by China and Australia, and accounted for a crude-style 10% of the global total. What counts for global trade isn’t production, however, but net exports — and on that basis Russia is a minnow.
Its cumulative gold trade surplus over the past 10 years comes to $60.38 billion, a smaller sum than the $60.65 billion that Japan racked up by selling down its private and public holdings of the metal (the country has just a single operating gold mine, which isn’t likely to contribute significantly to this sum). Similarly, Hong Kong has been a far bigger net exporter of gold than biggest producer China, thanks to its role as a conduit for foreign capital into the mainland.
Domestic demand in Russia’s increasingly inward-looking economy has normally been more than sufficient to use up everything coming out of its mines. Exports by miners were under a de facto ban until 2020, meaning that Russia’s banks were the only entities able to sell bars overseas. What was produced was mostly hoarded by the country’s central bank, whose reserves more than doubled from 1,035 tons on the eve of the 2014 invasion of Crimea to 2,302 tons at present, in anticipation of the isolation from international financial markets.
To be sure, Russian mine supplies have been a significant new presence in the global market since the export ban was lifted two years ago. Even so, almost uniquely among commodities, the gold market isn’t really driven by flows of refined metal newly processed from ore, but by the wider macroeconomic backdrop. While there may be less Russian gold out there in future, the opportunity cost of buying yield-free metal is also vastly higher at a time when consumer prices are rising at 8.6% a year in the US, and interest rates are heading toward their highest level since 2008.
In a typical year, exchange-traded funds change their positioning in the gold market by 500 tons or so, driving the price up and down as investors’ appetites swing from optimism to pessimism. That’s going to be far more influential than whether the 300 tons produced by Russian mines end up in a G-7 vault, especially when you consider that the biggest net importers aren’t even signing up to the sanctions.
The world barely noticed Russia’s gold coming onto the international markets two years ago, and it wasn’t troubled when it was suspended from the London gold market in the immediate wake of the Ukraine invasion. We won’t notice it when it’s gone, either.

What Middle East Does Biden Want?
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/June 28/2022
Our colleague Nadim Koteich wrote about ‘two Middle Easts’ in this newspaper’s column; one of the two encompasses the countries of moderation and peace, and the second is the axis controlled by Iran. This assessment began crystalizing through meetings between the region’s heads of state and the signing of economic agreements and others in development, technology, and tourism. All of them suggest that a wind of positive change is blowing in the region, and it is hoped that these developments will become a strategic turning point to the benefit of these countries’ peoples.
In this context, hopes have been pinned on President Biden’s upcoming visit to the region. Perhaps it could crown these developments and redirect his country’s compass toward the Middle East once he sees its aspirations and apprehensions firsthand, especially on his trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and his participation in the GCC summit alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdallah II.
Biden’s visit is not only important because it will reheat Washington’s relationship with several Arab countries after it had gone cold, especially the Gulf countries and, most of all Saudi Arabia. It is also significant because making it public declares that the Democratic administration is walking back on its misguided assessments and actions that have shown to be erroneous.
Furthermore, this visit is expected to mark a sharp turn towards the Middle East after the US had failed to stand in the way of China’s expansion or prevent Russia from making headway in the region because of the short-sighted decision to abandon trusted US allies, which began with Barack Obama’s administration that was enchanted by Tehran, its diplomats, and their fake smiles.
The Ukrainian war, the global energy and food crisis, the nuclear negotiations with Iran faltering, and apprehensions about the Chinese and Russian advances in the region… All of these factors undoubtedly played a role in compelling Washington to change its policy for the region and try to rebuild its ties with traditional strategic allies- a reversal of course that is hoped to be sustainable, not exploitative.
Riyadh finds itself in a position of strength. Its gestures to partners in the region ahead of President Biden’s visit are particularly significant in this regard, especially Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trips to Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, and Saudi Arabia’s invitation to Egypt, Jordan and Iraq to attend the GCC Summit. The latter step is crucial for reinforcing solidarity among Arab countries, without which the issues facing the Arabs cannot be straightened out. Especially crucial here is Riyadh and Cairo’s relationship- not to understate the significance of an axis that includes the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, and perhaps other Arab countries in the future, they are paving a fast and safe path to confronting Iran’s excesses.
These moves send the US administration three messages. First, the Arab-US relationship is a strategic one that both sides should maintain and develop, and the Democratic administration needs to adopt clearer policies for the region. Second, the Arab states have the capacity to adopt a common stance on important issues despite all the challenges currently facing them. Third, Arab national security is a red line that Arab countries will do everything they can to protect.
The region is also witnessing a broader regional shift. Besides its crucial security and defense dimensions at this stage, it is founded on two pillars of the region’s future, peace and the economy. The free trade agreement between the Emirates and Israel signed in Egypt in the presence of President Sisi reflects the deep changes underway, as does the energy-for-water agreement between Jordan, the UAE and Israel, which was signed in Dubai.
These new configurations and the coalitions currently being established indicate that the geostrategic map of the Middle East is changing, which opens the door to questions about the fate of the countries excluded because they have become dominated by Iran, such as Lebanon, Iraq, and to some extent Gaza and its population of more than two million people. We won’t get into Syria, which has gone up in flames and turned into a battlefield of a conflict between several countries, nor Yemen, which lost its happiness once Iranian winds blew into it.
The split in our region between the “two Middle Easts” is one between a Middle East with aspirations for the future that looks to develop technologically, develop renewable energy solutions, curb desertification and water shortages, and pursue economic prosperity, and another, insular ideological Middle East that sees politics as a zero-sum game. It is a split between societies striving to make progress and facilitate civilized engagement with regional issues on the one hand and societies that refuse to open up to anyone who does not share their convictions and strive to fight the entire globe on the other.
No doubt, the situation in Lebanon differs from that in Iraq and Gaza. Each of these countries has its own particular context, but all of them have seen social schisms emerge because of the ideologization of entire segments of society.
Political disagreements are not exceptional; they are a feature of politics of all the world’s countries and societies. Liberals see it as a healthy feature, evidence of healthy politics and the peaceful transfer of power. To be objective, we will not avoid pointing to the fact that even these liberal societies have begun to struggle to manage the acrimony of their domestic political tensions, sometimes resulting in a deep division of society that has ramifications that go beyond politics. However, these schisms are fleeting and resolvable, unlike those of the countries under Iranian hegemony, where ideological forces have built statelets within their states.
Complicating matters further and rendering the situation more dangerous is the fact that these segments of society are essential components of their countries’ social fabric. That means that confronting these statelets and their repercussions for public order and society, sometimes even the polity as a whole, will need a long and complex process. Coming to political solutions reached through dialogue and consensus-building is almost impossible and always brings with it the threat of civil strife.
Moreover, becoming politically subordinate to the Iranian axis ruins these countries’ relations with their neighbors and traditional allies, undermining their economies and vital sectors like health, education, tourism and others. That is evident from the situation in Lebanon, Iraq, and Gaza, which has seen its population become socially and culturally distinct from the Palestinians in the West Bank and within Israel after fifteen years of Hamas control.
The existence of “two Middle Easts” is a reality that should not be overlooked amid global shifts, the steps required for the region, and the need to overcome divergences. Indeed, the gravity of the situation should be a major incentive for the regional shift currently underway. The hope is that this shift will be met with humility from the US, which should walk back on its mistakes and address their negative repercussions, especially for the other Middle East under Iran’s control.
Accordingly, three avenues for addressing the issues plaguing the Iranian Middle East: the first is helping the Arab alliance of moderation succeed, as it constitutes a security guarantee for the entire region. The second is safeguarding the political and economic stability of these countries, their peoples and their interests. The third is the US showing seriousness about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during Biden’s visit, seeing it as an entry point for resolving the region’s other conflicts. Without such an effort, attempts at ensuring stability would become an exercise in futility doomed to fail.

Without Maximum Pressure Biden Has Little Leverage Over Khamenei
Saeed Ghasseminejad/Iran International/June 28/2022
Data released by Tehran show the economy has grown more than 4 percent over the last year, driven by high oil prices and loose enforcement of U.S. sanctions.
This relatively strong economic growth can partially explain Tehran’s current stonewalling of nuclear negotiations with the Biden administration, as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei likely does not feel massive pressure to secure sanctions relief by striking a deal. If Washington were to reinvigorate its sanctions enforcement, however, it could reverse the Islamic Republic’s economic fortunes, stoke political instability within Iran, and pressure Khamenei to surrender.
According to Iran’s Statistics Center, the country’s GDP grew by 4.3 percent during the Persian calendar year 1400 (April 2021 to March 2022). The growth rate in the previous year was one percent. Almost all major sectors of the economy grew. Oil and gas saw the fastest growth rate, at 9.7 percent. The service sector, the largest sector of Iran’s economy, grew by 4.5 percent after having shrunk by 1.3 percent the previous year. This growth, however, does not mean that the economy is doing well. The real GDP is still below its March 2018 level, the point-to-point inflation was 52.5 percent in June, and the country faces daily protests and strikes over low wages and high inflation.
Several factors explain this higher growth. First, since taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden has abandoned his predecessor’s policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, leading to loose enforcement of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Iran exported $48 billion worth of non-oil goods during the Persian year of 1400, the most in the country’s history. This trend has continued throughout the first two months of 1401 (April and May 2022), during which time Tehran exported 40 percent more oil year-over-year.
Meanwhile, Iran’s economy has benefited from higher prices of commodities, particularly oil and oil-based goods such as petrochemicals. The Islamic Republic also managed to replace some imported goods by expanding domestic production, in turn boosting Iran’s manufacturing and mining sectors. Finally, the removal of pandemic-related restrictions, combined with public optimism about reaching a deal with the United States to end sanctions, contributed to the growth in the service sector.
Iran’s renewed economic growth likely helps explain why Khamenei is in no rush to reach a nuclear deal with Biden. Loose U.S. sanctions enforcement has allowed Khamenei to reap economic benefits while expanding his nuclear program and eroding Washington’s leverage over Tehran.
Fortunately for the United States, however, Iran’s economy — and thus Khamenei’s negotiating position — remains fragile. If oil prices remain high and U.S. sanctions enforcement remains lackluster, the Islamic Republic could probably achieve 3to 5 percent growth this year. But a U.S. return to “maximum pressure” would likely see Iran’s economy return to meager or negative growth rates.
One sign of this fragility is that Iranian economic growth decelerated toward the end of the year, with GDP growing by just 2.3 percent during the last quarter (spring of 2022) compared to 6.9 percent during the first quarter (winter of 2021). That trend held true across most economic sectors. For example, whereas the oil and gas sector grew by 27.4 percent in the first quarter, its growth rate dropped to 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Likewise, the real estate sector grew 15.3 percent in the first quarter but shrank by 3.4 percent in the last quarter.
Moreover, the Islamic Republic has suffered from high inflation since late 2018, reducing purchasing power. This means that domestic consumption and demand are fragile. If the Biden administration tightens sanctions enforcement, consumer and investor pessimism will push down investment and consumption. The result will be a slowdown in economic activity and lower or negative GDP growth.
That economic downturn could exacerbate Iran’s ongoing socio-political instability, toppling his regime or increasing Khamenei’s incentive to reach a deal with Washington. Since 2017, the country has faced two waves of massive protests. In November 2019, the regime killed at least 1,500 protesters in less than a week to survive the most widespread protests of its history. Government restrictions and self-imposed isolation during COVID-19 slowed down the protests, but as those impediments faded, protests and worker strikes began again in 2021 and gained momentum in 2022. The protests and strikes now occurring daily across Iran reflect deep societal discontent, which can both signal and create economic troubles.
If the Biden administration continues with the status quo, it can expect Tehran to continue stonewalling, eliminating any chance of reaching an acceptable nuclear deal. Conversely, reviving maximum pressure could force Khamenei to play ball. With the Islamic Republic edging closer and closer toward a nuclear weapon, Biden doesn’t have any time.
*Saeed Ghasseminejad, who contributed this opinion article is a senior advisor on Iran and financial economics at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he contributes to FDD’s Iran Program and Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). Follow Saeed on Twitter @SGhasseminejad. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, non-partisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

The Battle of Antioch: A Valiant Christian Victory over Islam
 Raymond Ibrahim/June 28/2022
Data released by Tehran show the economy has grown m
Today in history, June 28, 1098, witnessed a Crusader victory over the forces of Islam that, for those present, could only be interpreted as a miracle.
As discussed here, on June 3, 1098, the Crusaders managed to liberate the ancient Christian city of Antioch—where the very word “Christian” was first coined (Acts 11:26)—from Islamic abuse.
Before they could celebrate, however, or even recuperate, Kerbogha, the Turkish lord (or atabeg) of Mosul, arrived with a “countless and innumerable throng” of forty thousand fighters, consisting of Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Africans, and Persians. “It is quite obvious that these people are completely mad,” the atabeg observed of the hopelessly outnumbered Crusaders: “They are a presumptuous race…. Doubtless they have every confidence in their courage. But by Muhammad, it was a bad day for them when they entered Syrian territory.”
He quickly blockaded Antioch; and they who only yesterday were the besiegers became the besieged. Worse, by the time the Crusaders took Antioch, most of its stores had been depleted by the Turks during their lengthy besiegement, forcing the feral Franks to eat leather shoes and drink horse blood.
Now desperate, the Crusaders “met for deliberation, and it was decided by common consent to send a deputation” to Kerbogha, “proposing that he agree to do one of two things: either let him depart and leave the city to the Christians as a possession forever—the city which had been theirs in the first place and which now by the will of God had been restored to them—or let him prepare for battle and submit to the decision of the sword.”
This—Just War logic —was at the heart of the message delivered to the Turkish leader by the Christian delegation:
Kerbogha, the Frankish lords send the following message to you. What staggering audacity has possessed you that you should have marched against them with armed forces when in their view you and your king and your people [in a word, Muslims] are guilty of invading Christian lands with unbridled covetousness and insulting and killing them all…. If you had any kind of rule of law and wanted to act fairly towards us, we would negotiate, reserving the rights of honor, and demonstrate to you with incontrovertible arguments what ought to belong to the Christians.
Further underscoring the religious nature of the quarrel, the delegation continued by telling Kerbogha that if he were to embrace Christianity, they would surrender Antioch to him and take him for their lord. But if he still refused, then “fly immediately or prepare your necks for our swords….”
As might be expected, Kerbogha “was so transported with anger that he could barely speak,” and finally responded by saying that “we took” Christian lands “by means of our remarkable strength, from a nation [Byzantines] scarcely better than women.” He continued:
Moreover, we think that you are mad to come from the ends of the earth, threatening with all your might to drive us from our homes, when you have insufficient supplies, too few arms, and too few men. Not only do we refuse to accept the name of Christians, but we spit upon it in disgust. To respond briefly to the message you have brought: return, you who form this delegation, to your leaders swiftly and tell them that if they are willing to become [Muslims] like us and renounce the Christ upon whom you seem to rely, we shall give them not only this land, but land of greater wealth and size.
Should the Crusaders refuse this offer, however, “they will undoubtedly die horribly,” continued the atabeg, “or endure the exile of eternal imprisonment, as slaves to us and our descendants… [and] I shall save all those who are in the flower of youth of either sex, for the service of my master.”
The Christian delegation returned to Antioch. After hearing Kerbogha’s retort, the famished, exhausted, and vastly outnumbered men concluded that there was nothing left but to sally forth and meet the hordes besieging them head on.
A three day fast was ordered; the little food available was given to the horses. Then everyone in Antioch, lord and commoner, “marched through the city squares, stopping at churches and calling on God’s aid, barefoot and crying, beating their breasts, so grief stricken that father would not greet son, brother would not look at brother,” to quote Raymond of Aguilers, who was present.
Finally, on the morning of June 28, 1098, “everyone received the Eucharist and offered themselves to die for…God, if he should wish.” Then some twenty thousand Crusaders—the entire army minus two hundred left to defend the city—issued out of the Gates of Antioch to the sound of blaring horns.
Never expecting the vastly outnumbered and weakened Franks to sally forth and meet their much larger and well rested army, the Muslims were shocked—doubly so, as the desperate Christians fought with a feral fury. Contemporary accounts speak of half-starved “knights bristling like porcupines with arrows, darts, and javelins, but still moving forward and fighting ferociously.”
The Crusaders’ tight formations eventually caused the Muslim horsemen—used as they were to overwhelming their enemies with arrows—to panic and retreat. “To pursue them more effectively,” the relentless Christians “mounted the horses of those [Muslims] who were dying and left their horses—gaunt and suffering from hunger—on the battlefield.”
The Franks’ berserker-like determination eventually won the day; the Battle of Antioch became one of the First Crusade’s most astounding victories against the forces of Islam. All medieval chroniclers portrayed it as a miracle, citing angelic hosts, whom many Crusaders insisted on seeing, fighting alongside the knights. However one wishes to interpret such claims, the fact remains: “Modern military historians have attempted to come up with a more rational explanation for the Franks’ success, but the task is difficult,” observes Crusades historian Jay Rubenstein. “How did a force as spent and starved as the crusaders manage to overcome a superior, well-fed, and well-rested adversary?”
Even Islamic chroniclers marveled: “The Muslims were completely routed without striking a single blow or firing a single arrow,” disgustedly wrote Ibn al-Athir. “The only Muslims to stand firm were a detachment of warriors from the Holy Land, who fought to acquire merit in Allah’s eyes and to seek martyrdom. The Franks killed them by the thousand and stripped their camp of food and possessions, equipment, horses and arms, with which they re-equipped themselves.”
In this manner, the Battle of Antioch came to take pride of place in Crusading lore for generations.
*This article was excerpted from Raymond Ibrahim’s new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam (all quoted material is sourced therein).

The G7, NATO and the Uncertainties of the New Cold War
Charles Elias Chartouni/Face Book/June 28/2022
The latest summits of the G7 and NATO have yielded the complexities of the rising World Order and its immeasurable challenges, while addressing strategic and security issues, energy matters and their shifting tradeoffs, and the ongoing conflicts and their non linear narrative. The post WWII order and the post Cold War era are over, the imperial temptations of the Crypto-communist power players, in Russia and China (Communism as power technology), are back unto the international scene, and the ideological walls are reconstructed with a mish mash of ideological fallacies, unveiled imperial ambitions, and a determination to undo the underlying consensuses which have prevailed, so far, in the international community. The chances of turning back the clock, and bringing them back to the table are waning by the day, since they are adamant about redrawing the ideological and geopolitical faultlines and reengaging conflict dynamics.
The mapping of these new realities runs across various geopolitical spectrums and highlights colliding trajectories (Ukraine and the Russian purported vassal States, the European Orthodoxy, the erstwhile ideological orbits in Latin America and the Tropical dictatorships/ Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Taiwan and South East Asia…. ), Iran, Turkey and India piggybacking the nascent power dynamic. In parallel, the Western alliance is rediscovering its common intellectual legacy, existential threats, strategic leverages, and the need to restart a new international political dynamic which dispels the lingering ambiguities and sets the confrontational course. The solidifying of the demarcation lines is mandatory if Liberal democracies are to contain the geopolitical inroads, the arrogance of imperial mindsets and malevolent temptations, and their attempt at eroding the democratic and Liberal consensuses of Western security.
Russia should be firmly contained, China’s access to Western markets tied to strict political conditionalities, Turkey and India have to end their political jockeying (Turkey’s embrace of Sweden’s and Finland’s integration into NATO, is quite illustrative of the power of the new dynamic. Still, it should be carefully monitored), Iran ,Venezuela, Cuba and acolytes have to come to terms with their midget international stature, get defeated, while upholding the emancipatory agenda of their refractory civil societies. Our way out of these imbroglios is definitely set, when we reckon with realities and deal with them unambiguously.