English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 10/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth
Saint John 17/14-19/:"I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 09-10/2021
Israel Says Won't Allow Hizbullah to Get Game-Changing Weapons
US Mediator Threatens to Withdraw from Lebanese, Israeli Border Talks
Lebanon Faces International Pressure to Hold Elections on Time
Syria Shrapnel Hurts Lebanese Woman, Damages Homes during Israeli Raid
Arab League hopes for ‘détente’ between Lebanon, Gulf states
Report: Zaki's Visit to Lebanon was Coordinated with KSA
Mezher Temporarily Recused from Case against Bitar
Report: Kordahi Still Clinging to His Stance on Resignation
Jumblat Says His 'Patience' on Hizbullah is Running Out
Walid Joumblatt urges Gulf to re-engage with Lebanon amid diplomatic row
Druze leader says Lebanon’s current crisis is worse than Syrian occupation and Civil War
World Food Programme to double number of people receiving assistance in Lebanon
Amputating Lebanon from the Arab world grants victory to Iran/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 09/2021
The other place they call home/Dana Hourany/Now Lebanon/November 09/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 09-10/2021
Pope Condemns 'Vile' Assassination Attempt on Iraqi PM
Israeli Army 'Accelerating' Plans Targeting Iran's Nuclear Program
UAE Top Diplomat Meets Assad in Damascus
Iran says fresh talks with Saudi Arabia hinge on Riyadh’s ‘seriousness’
Iraqi officials confirm pro-Iran militias carried out attack on Kadhimi
Kuwait sends wrong messages to Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah
Qaani tries to contain repercussions from drone attack on Kadhimi, prevent blow to Hashed
Will Tensions Spike in Iraq after Drone 'Message' to PM?
Poverty a red line for Iranian media as newspaper closed, website taken offline
Flurry of diplomatic contacts as Yemen faces ‘uphill battle’
Morocco presses for unambiguous positions on Western Sahara
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP cries foul at politically-motivated banning case
Egypt, Israel Agree on More Egypt Border Forces in Sinai
Cyprus to Try Azeri 'Hitman' Allegedly Targeting Israelis
Europeans Concerned at Israel Listing of Palestinian Groups
U.S. VP Harris Arrives in Paris for 4-Day Fence-Mending Trip
Omar El Akkad Wins Canadian Literature Award
Arab League Supports Dialogue in Sudan
HRW, Amnesty Urge Sudan Army to Free Those Detained in Coup

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 09-10/2021
Turkey: Drifting Further into Russian Orbit/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/November 09/2021
The Future of Putin's War in Syria/Anna Borshchevskaya, Lester Grau, Michael McFaul/The Washington Institute/November 09/2021
Kadhimi must not become another Rafik Hariri/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/November 09/2021
Iran attempting to blackmail Iraq into submission/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/November 09/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 09-10/2021
Israel Says Won't Allow Hizbullah to Get Game-Changing Weapons
Naharnet/November 09/2021
owed that Israel will not allow advanced weaponry to reach Iran’s regional proxies, amid a recent uptick in Israeli airstrikes in Syria. “Fifteen years ago, this place burned from Hizbullah rockets,” he said at the inauguration of a new factory opened by Israeli weapons maker Rafael in the northern town of Shlomi. “On an operational level, we are acting extensively,” he said. “We won’t allow Hizbullah and other Iranian proxies in the area to be equipped with weaponry that will harm Israel’s (military) superiority in the region,” Gantz pledged. Gantz added that Israel was simultaneously "working continuously to prevent war," but that if one breaks out, it "will be prepared to carry out operations that we haven't seen in the past, with means we didn't have in the past, that will hit the heart of terror (entities) and their capabilities." On October 30, an Israeli missile strike in Syria destroyed “a Hizbullah and Iranian weapons and ammunition" convoy heading towards Lebanon, in a rare daytime attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out air strikes inside Syria, mostly targeting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hizbullah forces. The Israeli military rarely acknowledges individual strikes but has said repeatedly that it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of its arch-foe Iran.

US Mediator Threatens to Withdraw from Lebanese, Israeli Border Talks
Tel Aviv/Asharq Al Awsat/November 09/2021
The US mediator in the indirect talks on border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel threatened to withdraw from the negotiations if no real progress was achieved before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for spring 2022. Political sources in Tel Aviv quoted Amos Hochstein as saying that the two sides were not making a serious effort to advance the negotiations and were missing the opportunity to reach an agreement, Israeli Walla news site reported on Sunday. Hochstein, the US State Department’s senior advisor on energy security, who was appointed as a mediator last October, met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and other officials in Lebanon late last month. He also held recent talks with Israeli Energy Minister Karin Elharrar, as well as several officials from the ministries of energy, foreign affairs and defense. The US senior official said that he believed that the coming months leading up to the Lebanese elections in March 2022 presented an opportunity to reach an agreement, adding that he wanted the two sides to present effective suggestions that would help him formulate realistic mediation proposals. The officials quoted by Walla news confirmed that Hochstein informed both sides that he intends to conduct a limited number of tours between Beirut and Jerusalem, but that he will not resume direct or indirect negotiations, unless he receives encouraging signs that will make him put forward compromise proposals. Hochstein is an Israeli national, who also holds US citizenship. He serves as the US special envoy for energy security and is considered a close associate to President Joe Biden.

Lebanon Faces International Pressure to Hold Elections on Time
Beirut - Mohammed Choucair/Asharq Al Awsat/November 09/2021
Lebanon’s political parties have expressed contradictory positions on the fate of next year’s parliamentary elections. Th term of the current legislature ends on May 21. The Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc, headed by MP Gebran Bassil, is preparing to file an appeal before the Constitutional Council against amendments to the electoral law, including a change of date of the elections, which are set for March 27. Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi is meanwhile expected to sign a decree calling on the electoral bodies to participate in the voting process. The decree will then be signed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who in turn, will send it to President Michel Aoun for his final approval. However, speculation is rife over the possibility that the president would delay signing the decree, pending the decision of the Constitutional Council regarding the challenge submitted by Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, political sources questioned whether the required quorum would be secured for the convening of the Council, meaning the presence of eight out of ten judges, who are equally distributed between Muslims and Christians. The sources stressed in this regard that confessional and sectarian divisions could also affect the positions within the Council. According to the sources, accepting the appeal within the legal period of one month from the date of its submission would not impede the elections. They explained that such acceptance would remain within the limits of setting another date for the polls. By signing the decree pertaining to the electoral bodies, Mikati intends to pass an irrevocable message to the international community about his determination to hold the elections on time, in compliance with his government’s ministerial statement and his commitment to the pledges made in this regard. Therefore, the parliamentary elections cannot be separated - according to the same sources - from the political rift that was behind the crisis in Lebanese-Gulf relations, which requires the government to adopt a comprehensive approach to mend them. Moreover, although the elections are an opportunity for re-establishing the current ruling authority, most of the so-called “political class” has not concealed its concern over the results that may see them lose seats at parliament even though the opposition has yet to unify and organize its ranks. According to the sources, failure to hold the parliamentary elections would pit Lebanon against the international community, which has expressed its opposition to the ruling class extending the term of parliament. Should the term be extended, the international community may respond by imposing sanctions on the involved parties.

Syria Shrapnel Hurts Lebanese Woman, Damages Homes during Israeli Raid
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Parts from Syrian anti-aircraft missiles fell Monday night in the northeastern Lebanese village of Sahlat al-Maa near the Syrian border, lightly wounding a woman and damaging several homes, the National News Agency said. Syria's military said the anti-aircraft missiles were used to shoot down missiles fired by Israeli warplanes while flying over neighboring Lebanon. Israel carried out airstrikes on central and western Syrian provinces, wounding two soldiers and causing material damage. Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles, the Syrian military said. The strikes came amid an increase in reported attacks by Israel on Syria in recent weeks. Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. Israel has acknowledged, however, that it is targeting bases of Iran-allied groups, such as Hizbullah. Israel says an Iranian presence on its northern frontier is a red line, and it has repeatedly struck what it has described as Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Hizbullah.

Arab League hopes for ‘détente’ between Lebanon, Gulf states
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
BEIRUT--The Arab League on Monday pressed for an easing of tensions between Lebanon and Gulf Arab states over a Lebanese minister’s comments on the Yemen war. “We do not want this situation to continue. We want a breakthrough, a détente in this relationship,” the League’s Assistant Secretary-General, Hossam Zaki, said in a news conference from Beirut where he is on an official visit. “We hope the starting point for that will begin here,” he told reporters following a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The diplomatic rift, which threatens to plunge Lebanon deeper into meltdown, prompted Saudi Arabia and some of its allies to recall ambassadors and block imports from Lebanon. Import restrictions are a further blow to a country in financial and political ruin and where a weak government is struggling to secure international aid, namely from wealthy Arab neighbours.
The dispute was triggered by comments made by Information Minister George Kordahi in a pre-recorded interview broadcast in late October. Kordahi characterised the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen since 2015 as an “external aggression,” sparking the rebukes from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Each of those states supports the Saudi-led military coalition against Iran-backed Houthi militias fighting Yemen’s internationally-recognised government. The diplomatic rift has prompted calls for the resignation of Kordahi, but he told local press this month that is out of the question.
Zaki stopped short of calling for Kordahi to quit but suggested it was necessary. “There is a crisis that everyone can see and is aware of and the majority of people know how to solve it,” Zaki said. “But not a single step has been taken in that direction and this is necessary.”The powerful Shia Hezbollah movement, which is backed by Riyadh’s arch rival Iran, has opposed calls for Kordahi’s resignation, saying he did not do anything wrong. The office of President Michel Aoun said the president told Zaki that there should be a separation between what the government announces and statements made by individuals, especially if they have no official post. Aoun was referring to Kordahi’s comments which he made before becoming a minister. Aoun added that Lebanon is ready to take steps to improve relations with the Gulf Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, based on mutual respect of sovereignty.
Mikati’s office quoted the prime minister as also saying that Lebanon wants normal relations to be restored with Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab states, adding that the Arab League can play a role in that. Mikati also said Lebanon will remove all obstacles to restore the relations, according to his office. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this month that Hezbollah’s dominance made “dealing with Lebanon pointless for the kingdom.”

Report: Zaki's Visit to Lebanon was Coordinated with KSA
Naharnet/November 09/2021
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki’s visit to Lebanon on Monday was “fully coordinated” with Saudi Arabia, media reports said on Tuesday. “This effort was preceded by communication between the Arab League’s secretary-general and the Saudi foreign minister, who was briefed on the atmosphere of the endeavor,” sources informed on the Arab League’s move told al-Liwaa newspaper, adding that Riyadh had “welcomed” the visit. “Zaki will inform the Arab League’s secretary-general of the outcome of his talks with the Lebanese officials, and the secretary-general will discuss the issue with the Saudi foreign minister to know the possible course of things,” the sources added. Moreover, al-Liwaa said that Zaki’s mission “took place with the knowledge of the concerned countries and in full coordination with them,” adding that it was “exclusively linked to addressing the negative repercussions that resulted from Information Minister George Koordahi’s stances on the Yemen war.”Al-Liwaa added that Zaki told the Lebanese officials that he met that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries will not expel any Lebanese citizen who works in the Gulf.

Mezher Temporarily Recused from Case against Bitar
Naharnet/November 09/2021 
Court of Appeals judge Habib Mezher was notified Tuesday of his recusal in the case against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar. Al-Jadeed TV said Court of Appeals chief Judge Habib Rizkallah summoned Mezher to notify him of the decision, telling him that he “exceeded his jurisdiction.”
Another judge will now decide whether Mezher will be permanently removed from the case against Bitar. A heated exchange had earlier erupted in Mezher’s office in Rizkallah’s presence after he refused to be notified of the recusal, MTV reported. Mezher had sparked controversy after he started looking into the case against Bitar, with the Court of Appeals announcing that he had been “exclusively” tasked with handling a recusal lawsuit against Court of Appeals judge Nassib Elia. Bitar's probe into the port case was suspended on Thursday after Mezher notified him of a lawsuit filed against him by ex-minister Youssef Fenianos. Mezher also asked Bitar to hand over the details of the case to enable the court to review the lawsuit. The Beirut-based rights group Legal Agenda warned that Mezher's request to see the full content of the investigation violates the secrecy of the probe. The group also said that Mezher's known opinions critical of Bitar may constitute bias. According to media reports, Mezher is close to Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, which both have called for Bitar's removal and launched a fierce campaign against him over alleged selectivity in his summonings. A Higher Judicial Council meeting had witnessed a “sharp rift” between judges on Monday over Mezher’s move. According to al-Jadeed, many judges defended Mezher by saying that he did not err by deciding to merge the recusal file against Bitar with the recusal file against Elia. They argued that he had been officially tasked to be in charge of Chamber 12 of the Civil Court of Appeals. “Some judges consider that Mezher’s request that Bitar provide him with the complete file of the port probe to be legal, so that he can look into the case, seeing as there is no confidentiality among judges,” al-Jadeed said. The recusal request that Mezher was notified of on Tuesday had been filed by the lawyer Rami Ollaiq of the Muttahidoun activist group along with Ziad Risha.

Report: Kordahi Still Clinging to His Stance on Resignation
Naharnet/November 09/2021  
Information Minister George Kordahi is still refusing to submit his resignation in connection with the diplomatic crisis with the Gulf countries, highly informed sources said. Kordahi is saying that he will not resign over “a mistake that he did not commit while being information minister,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.“This is an extremely complicated issue and the Marada Movement and Hizbullah will not accept to sacrifice with the information minister and will not compel him to make any step, unless he voluntarily decided to resign,” the sources added. “The issue is bigger than his statements, and this is what has been confirmed by the Saudis, as well as by Arab League envoy Hossam Zaki, who openly said that the issue has become bigger than Kordahi’s statements,” the sources went on to say. Asked about reports claiming that Zaki has raised the issue of holding a Cabinet session involving a vote on Kordahi’s sacking with the ministers of the Shiite duo and Marada voting against it, the sources said: “We cannot confirm this issue, but anyhow, the issue of Minister Kordahi’s sacking or resignation is much more difficult than what some people believe.”

Jumblat Says His 'Patience' on Hizbullah is Running Out
Naharnet/November 09/2021  
Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has stressed that “the exit from the crisis with the Gulf begins by the sacking of Information Minister George Kordahi and then apologizing to the Gulf.”“The Axis of Defiance forces are demanding that Saudi Arabia apologize to Lebanon. We’re the ones who should offer an official apology,” Jumblat said in an interview with MTV. “Let Hizbullah allow us (to react). I have been very, very patient and I haven’t interfered in any debate, but tonight I’m obliged (to speak),” the PSP leader added, describing the fuel trucks that Hizbullah imported from Iran as “beggary.”“The question is what do they want? What does Hizbullah want? They want to paralyze economic life and they have nearly reached this goal. They want to paralyze the port, instead of exiting the investigation’s whirlpool and rebuilding the port. Who benefits from the port’s paralysis? (The Israeli ports of) Asdod and Haifa!” Jumblat said, while also criticizing the Free Patriotic Movement. He also accused Hizbullah of “ruining the lives” of the Lebanese who work in the Gulf in connection with the diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia.

Walid Joumblatt urges Gulf to re-engage with Lebanon amid diplomatic row
Druze leader says Lebanon’s current crisis is worse than Syrian occupation and Civil War
Gareth Browne/The National//November 09/2021  
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt has described the comments that sparked a diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as “heresy” and called on Gulf countries to re-engage with Beirut. Speaking to The National from his residence in the capital, Mr Joumblatt, 72, said Lebanon was suffering the consequences of Information Minister George Kordahi's comments about the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition. His remarks prompted the kingdom and four other Gulf states to withdraw their envoys from Beirut last month. “It’s heresy what they are claiming and saying — attacking the Gulf and using the Yemenis to attack Saudi Arabia — really its heresy. We are in the middle of this conflict, paying the price,” he said. Mr Joumblatt also called on Gulf countries to work with Lebanon through support for its institutions.
He issued a warning that Iran-backed groups stood to gain from Saudi Arabia’s withdrawal from the country, which is suffering from economic and political crises. “Abandoning” Lebanon will make Hezbollah stronger, he said. “I’m asking for them to deal with us cleverly. I’m not asking them to help politicians, but to help institutions, universities, hospitals and social institutions,” he said. “Not all the Lebanese are pro-Iranian, not all the Lebanese accept Iranian policy. Not all the Lebanese have to pay the price for the fact Hezbollah controls the main levers of the government.” The complex power-sharing arrangement that underpins Lebanon's political system — the so-called confessional system divides power between Christian and Muslim communities — means it is impossible to sack Mr Kordahi, Mr Joumblatt said. “You cannot sack him because of political reasons, because of the unwillingness of Hezbollah and others, you cannot sack him — it’s a system based on the mutual consensus of all parties,” he said. The diplomatic crisis sparked by Mr Kordahi’s comments threatens to isolate Lebanon from one of its traditional backers during a suffocating economic crisis, and as state institutions fail. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said last week that the kingdom's actions were a response to Hezbollah’s dominance of Lebanon's political system. “We have come to the conclusion that dealing with Lebanon and its current government is not productive and not helpful,” he told US broadcaster CNBC. Mr Joumblatt, who leads the Progressive Socialist Party but is no longer a member of parliament, said the country was facing the worst crisis in its history. “Lebanon, even during the time of the Civil War, was better. It was better during the time of the Syrian occupation,” he said. Syrian forces occupied Lebanon between 1976 and 2005. “Syria respected the Lebanese state, they did not abolish or weaken the Lebanese state. We were a satellite country, but we were not in this catastrophic economic situation.”

World Food Programme to double number of people receiving assistance in Lebanon
The National/November 09/2021
The UN agency said it would offer support to 1.6 million people/World Food Programme to double number of people receiving assistance in Lebanon.The UN agency said it would offer support to 1.6 million people
The UN’s World Food Programme plans to double the number of people who receive assistance in Lebanon to 1.6 million, its executive director said on Tuesday. David Beasley made the comments during his visit to the Lebanese capital after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati there, according to the Lebanese state National News Agency. “We aspire to increase our assistance in Lebanon to reach around 1.6 million people during the upcoming few months from 800,000 that we support currently,” Mr Beasley said. The assistance will be for the most vulnerable families and children, he said. On Tuesday, Belgium donated €7.5 million ($8.6m) to support the food agency’s response to rising food needs in Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Lebanon, which is going through one of the deepest economic crises on record, will receive $1.16 million “to provide food rations for more than 4,600 vulnerable Lebanese for 12 months”, the WFP statement said. Poverty in the country is estimated to have almost doubled this March, affecting three million people compared with 1.7 million in 2020. The WFP supports one in four people in Lebanon, including nearly half a million Lebanese and 1.2 million refugees. Beirut has been in talks with the International Monetary fund to reach a bailout agreement. The currency, the Lebanese pound, has lost more than 90 per cent of its value against the US dollar, leading to surging inflation, increased unemployment and poverty.

Amputating Lebanon from the Arab world grants victory to Iran
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 09/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/104014/baria-alamuddin-amputating-lebanon-from-the-arab-world-grants-victory-to-iran%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86-%d9%82%d8%b7%d8%b9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d8%a7/
The dismissive retort of Lebanon’s ridiculous Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib to GCC proposals for addressing the latest crisis was: “If they just want Hezbollah’s head on a plate, we can’t give them that.” Healso ludicrously blamed Saudi Arabia for Hezbollah flooding the Gulf states with narcotics. Such was BouHabib’s volley of abuse that he may need to serve up his own head on a plate if there is to be any hope of salvaging this shattered relationship.
The logic of abandoning Hezbollah and Lebanon to drown together, as advocated by some Arab opinion leaders, may appear seductive. However, this would be disastrously counterproductive. Gaza was abandoned to Hamas; the economy collapsed and people starved, but Hamas entrenched its monopoly. Gulf states disassociated themselves from post-2003 Iraq, surrendering it to Tehran. Arab abandonment of Syria rendered it a hellish playground for Iranian-Hezbollah-Russian interests. Lebanon would be the cherry on the cake for Iranian dominance of the Arab world. And once it is given away, wresting it back will be no easy feat.
Hezbollah is Tehran’s Trojan horse for colonizing the Arab world. We must dismantle it, not welcome it in. The Houthis in Yemen thrived thanks to Hezbollah training and support. Hezbollah waded through a river of Syrian Arab blood to maintain Tehran’s puppet in power, with Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassim now threatening to send additional Hezbollah forces back to Syria. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is the idol of thousands of bearded Hashd thugs in Iraq — and after their recent electoral wipeout, Tehran wants Hezbollah to play an even more direct role.
The international community is wrong to consider Lebanon in isolation. In the context of escalating stakes in Iran’s game of nuclear brinkmanship, Hezbollah is just one of the cards in Tehran’s efforts to dominate the region, buttressed by nuclear and ballistic weapons. If we are to abandon Lebanon, we may as well go the whole way and recognise Ayatollah Khamenei as Supreme Leader over the entire region.
Iran and Hezbollah made inroads only because of the eclipse of Arab nationalism — the belief that Arabs should stand together locally and on the world stage. From Jerusalem to Sanaa, from Baghdad to Beirut, we should treat every inch of Arab territory as sacrosanct and worth fighting for, particularly when UN institutions, international law and multilateral forums are under sustained attack. Every scrap of territory we relinquish only makes our enemies hungry for more. With the Arab world’s mighty collective resources, the challenges posed by tiny Lebanon and hostile Iranian encroachment should be well within our capabilities.
Let’s not rip our own heart out. The Arab world without Beirut — without the Lebanon of Khalil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy, Fairuz — is inconceivable. Generations of Khaleejis flocked to Lebanon and fell in love with the country and its people, which is why so many are blessed with Lebanese mothers! The largely Kuwaiti-owned town of Bhamdoun, near Beirut, is a microcosm of this seamless Lebanese-Khaleej relationship. Generations of Arabs were raised on Lebanese films and TV, art, music, poetry, and boundless creativity.
Lebanon’s cultural renaissance since the civil war was achieved thanks to vast GCC investment. Its economy thrived thanks to millions of Arab visitors every year, with tens of billions of dollars of investment in banking, telecoms, media, infrastructure, culture and the military. Diaspora remittances amount to about $7 billion a year, $2.2 billion from Saudi Arabia alone, and Lebanese assets in Saudi Arabia are worth about $100billion. Eighty percent of Lebanese fruit and vegetable exports went to Saudi Arabia until Nasrallah turned Lebanon into a narco state.
This is not about gratitude, but rather a hard-headed understanding of the foundations of Lebanon’s past and future prosperity. The transformation into an Iranian appendage was always fated to fail. Aside from lavishing funds on Hezbollah, would — or could — Tehran supply the merest fraction of Gulf investment in Lebanon? The trickle of Iranian tourists encouraged by Hezbollah have minuscule spending power compared with their Gulf predecessors.
Other than in Houthi-land, where George Kordahi is hailed a hero (his family must be so proud!) Lebanon’s hapless information minister is a nobody who once had a lucky break via a Saudi TV channel. The problem is infinitely larger than his bigoted views. Virulent anti-Gulf propaganda has been pumped out for decades by Al-Manar and dozens of other Iran-sponsored Beirut media channels. The damage is entirely to Lebanon, cutting off its nose to spite its face in gratuitous self-mutilation against Lebanon’s Arab identity.
GCC political leaders and intellectuals I speak to aren’t so much angry as puzzled and saddened. They have lifelong ties with Lebanon and instinctively desire to help. But how can you assist someone who is destroying themselves and doesn’t want to be rescued?
Lebanon’s criminal leaders are beyond redemption (not just Hezbollah – kullun!), but Lebanon’s citizens — Christian, Shiite, Druze, Sunni — are Arab to the bone. They know where their interests lie. They know what severing ties with the Arab world has cost them. They all have brothers, uncles, sons in Gulf and Arab states, and so retain intimate material and emotional connections to the Arab world.
Lebanon is drowning but it is not lost. Particularly with elections just months away and a vigorous upswell of progressive anti-sectarian independents arising from the 2019 movement, there is everything to play for. Hashd electoral losses in Iraq demonstrate how public anger can be translated into political losses for Iranian proxies. In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s political dominance is wholly reliant upon hollowed-out Christian factions whose support base has cratered.
Lebanese citizens who lost everything are desperately looking for a savior. Arab states can use the elections to toss Lebanon a lifeline. If citizens elect new and non-discredited leaders who can marginalize Hezbollah then the GCC will fully re-engage, while also encouraging international donors such as the IMF to refloat the economy.
This is a vision that every patriotic Lebanese citizen can rally around, simultaneously giving them a reason to participate in the democratic process, providing an exit route from their hellish situation, and sweeping aside these ridiculous, hated figures who have dominated Lebanese politics for decades too long.
The Lebanese Arab nation today is held hostage, with Hassan Nasrallah pointing a gun to her head. Will the Arab world hasten to Lebanon’s rescue?
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

The other place they call home
Dana Hourany/Now Lebanon/November 09/2021
With Lebanon’s constant downfall, some Lebanese Armenians choose to immigrate to Armenia in search for a new start.
Avedis Sarafian, 36-year-old web developer, moved to Armenia after the August 4, 2020 explosion that blew up his office in Armenia Street, Beirut, one of the areas most devastated by the blast.
“I’ve been through the Lebanese civil war and I thought that things couldn’t get worse after that but everything became traumatizing after the explosion,” Sarafian told NOW. Thousands of Lebanese families have left Lebanon after the August 4, 2020, Beirut port blast, which killed over 200, wounded some 7000 people and affected several neighborhoods in the Lebanese capital. Lebanese Armenians were not spared, as some of the neighborhoods the community is concentrated in are located in the area affected by the disaster. Lebanon has been home to hundreds of thousands of Armenians who took refuge in the country after 1915 after they were subjected to deportations and massacres in their native Cilicia during the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. If in the 1950 and 1960s the community had grown to an estimated 200,000, in recent years, due to emigration, it dropped to some 40,000- 60,000.
In 2021, two years after the Lebanese economy plunged and a year after the Beirut port blast, some Lebanese Armenians, faced with worsening living conditions in the country, are emigrating to nowadays Armenia – a land they can’t call their original homeland, but they are willing to call home.
“I felt as if I broke free”
Aram, a 31-year-old artist and graphic designer, felt as if his life was stuck in a motionless loop and left for Armenia last week in search of a fresh start.
“I was unemployed and it was like I was paused by a TV remote controller, it was as if I was stuck in a pond not sure what exactly was happening,” Aram told NOW. The feeling of uncertainty coupled with the fear of a bleak future made the decision to leave easy to make.
Upon arriving in Armenia, I felt as if I broke free after being locked in and kind of punished by being cut off from my basic rights like electricity, internet and a normal healthy happy daily routine. With inflation rampaging, Aram found it hard to maintain a creative vision as prices of paint bottles and canvases skyrocketed in the last year. “I lost all motivation because of the prices and even venues and galleries don’t operate the way they used to,” he said. With his creative projects on hold, the graphic designer decided that there was not much to lose either way and headed to Armenia, without securing a job first.
“Upon arriving in Armenia, I felt as if I broke free after being locked and kind of punished by being cut off from my basic rights like electricity, internet and a normal healthy happy daily routine,” Aram stated.
Low living expenses made Armenia a preferable destination for its diaspora born and raised in Lebanon. Photo: Courtesy of Harout.
“People manage”
Sarafian said that the IT business in Armenia was booming and that it offered many expats good opportunities to grow. However, salaries are often lower than what the Lebanese market used to offer before the crisis. “The minimum wage here is 200$. But people manage. Married couples can share a home with their families and that’s normal here,” he said. The rents are also affordable, with the costs ranging between $200 to $300 at the lowest for a one-bedroom apartment. Although he used to earn much more in Lebanon as a tech entrepreneur, Sarafian was able to get a good job as a senior web developer. The monthly wage covers his expenses and he can also save some. “I used to work 20 hours thinking this was the norm in order to satisfy the clients and the extra hours weren’t paid. Here everything is paid for and appreciated,” he explained.
Utilities only amount to $20 a month and Armenia’s nuclear plant provides electricity 24/7, something Lebanon has never seen. Karaberd village where Harout chose to settle in. Photo: Courtesy of Harout.
A new home for old dreams
Harout, 23, who introduces himself as a nature lover and bartender, left Lebanon in 2018, before the crisis hit. He felt the collapse was imminent. “Even back then it felt like a warzone. There were tons of checkpoints, garbage was everywhere and we barely had government electricity,” Harout said. Originally from Anjar, a historical town in the Bekaa Valley Zahle district, Harout had a dream to set up an eco-village in his hometown. But he says he had to give up his dream, at least for a few years. He left for Armenia with no money and no real plan. “I started working as a bartender making 6$ per day vs the 250$ I used to make in Lebanon so I was sad in the beginning, but things are cheap there, “ he explained. “Then Covid hit and I was unemployed.” He found himself back in survival mode when the first lockdowns occurred. When war broke down in Artsakh in the summer of 2020, he decided to volunteer. “When I was volunteering to help out some families in Artsakh, bombs would drop next to us and I wouldn’t flinch because we’re used to these things in Lebanon. But it’s not normal,” he said. He came back to Lebanon for a visit, but he says it took him two days before he felt compelled to return to Armenia. In Armenia’s growing economy, Harout said he realized he could make the dream he had for Anjar come true. “I live in a village called Karaberd and I love it. I get to be as creative as I want to be, and I have environmental projects with NGOs happening soon.” Aram, on the other hand, says he found inspiration in Armenia. He visited cultural and heritage spaces such as the Museum Of Armenia, Sergei Paradjanov Museum, Matenadaran depository of ancient manuscripts. He says he feels he has a chance as an artist.
A week after he landed in Yerevan, he said he was looking for a job in graphic design, but he also wanted to continue his music and visual arts career. He had already had exhibitions in Lebanon and had performed with an Armenian folklore band on stage. Sarafian, who called himself a workaholic, also agreed that the atmosphere in Armenia was more relaxed and allowed him to focus on his career. “My wife and I were planning to move to Canada but that is on hold because life is so relaxing here. No need to leave just yet,” he explained.
Yerevan vs. Beirut
Yerevan is where most of the diaspora coming from Lebanon is relocating to. Many Armenian Lebanese have opened shops, restaurants, coffee houses, clubs, and bars. Sarafian explained that this might be a double-edged sword because residents started to feel invaded by diaspora Armenians and some feared they would lose jobs. But the general outcome was noticeably positive, he said. “There’s a certain finesse and quality that you find in these new places that is very striking. The diaspora brought with them the Lebanese service style and etiquette which enhanced local businesses,” he stated. Hospitality, IT, and real estate are three booming industries that the Lebanese Armenians played a big role in developing in Yerevan. “When I first came to Armenia, I had no friends. Now all my close friends and cousins have moved here. The country is still growing,” Harout stated. Neither Harout nor Sarafian ever anticipated that they would move to Armenia a few years back when the Lebanese economy was still functioning. “Lebanon is also home for me but this is my motherland and I like to motivate other Armenians to move here. So that we can all have a future in Armenia, that’s how I envision the future,” Harout said.
For Sarafian, the country had changed drastically. On his yearly visits to Armenia, communication with residents was hard as accents would vary and some still spoke Russian. But the country seemed to be keeping up with the times, so he explained that cultural differences were adjustable. Armenians in Lebanon have always had community schools and they all taught classes about Armenian culture and the country in general.  “I have nothing to give Lebanon anymore. It took a lot from me and it’s not even an efficient lifestyle, you give 80 percent and receive 20 percent. I was 35 and I owned nothing, I only had a car that they stole.”“That’s not progress, I’m a hard worker. I love my work and after seeing the economic crash and all the money saved up being turned to mere numbers… I had one last breath that I saved in order to start over here in Armenia”, Sarafian added.
*Dana Hourany is a multimedia journalist with @NOW_leb. She is on Instagram @danahourany.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 09-10/2021
Pope Condemns 'Vile' Assassination Attempt on Iraqi PM
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Pope Francis condemned an assassination attempt against Iraq's prime minister as a "vile act of terrorism" and said Tuesday he is praying for peace in the country. The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent a telegram to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi expressing Francis' solidarity and prayers to al-Kadhimi's family and those injured in the Monday drone attack on the prime minister's residence. "In condemning this vile act of terrorism, His Holiness once more expresses his confidence that with the blessing of the most high God, the people of Iraq will be confirmed in wisdom and strength in pursuing the path of peace through dialogue and fraternal solidarity," the telegram said. An Iraqi army general has said indications point to Iran-backed factions as being behind the attack, though a top Iranian general visited Baghdad on Tuesday and said Tehran had nothing to do with it. Francis met with al-Kadhimi in March when he traveled to Iraq to deliver a message of peaceful coexistence in the first-ever papal visit to the country.

Israeli Army 'Accelerating' Plans Targeting Iran's Nuclear Program
Naharnet/November 09/2021
The Israeli army chief warned Tuesday that the military was ramping up its preparations for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the army “is accelerating operational planning and preparedness to deal with Iran and the military nuclear threat.”His comments came as the Israeli Air Force is expected to resume practicing for a strike on Iran’s nuclear program. In January, Kohavi announced he had instructed the military to begin drawing up fresh attack plans for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and last month the government reportedly allocated billions of shekels toward making those plans viable. In his remarks to the committee on Tuesday, Kohavi also told Knesset members that Israel faces “many security challenges” on numerous fronts. “In the past year we’ve continued to act against our enemies in missions and secret operations throughout the entire Middle East. The IDF (Israeli army) will continue to act to remove threats and will respond forcefully to any violation of sovereignty, in Gaza or in the north,” he said.

UAE Top Diplomat Meets Assad in Damascus
Agence France Presse/November 09/2021
The United Arab Emirate's top diplomat met Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus Tuesday, the first such visit by a top UAE official since the start of the war, state media said. "President Assad received UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed," and an accompanying delegation, Syria's official SANA news agency said, adding that the two discussed ways to develop bilateral ties, and economic partnerships.

Iran says fresh talks with Saudi Arabia hinge on Riyadh’s ‘seriousness’
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
TEHRAN--Iran said Monday any new talks with Saudi Arabia will depend on Riyadh’s willingness to move ahead and be more “serious” to ease tensions after a five-year rift. Shia-majority Tehran and Sunni-kingpin Riyadh cut ties in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, following Saudi’s execution of a revered Shiite cleric. The two regional powers have been engaged in talks since April with the aim of improving ties, with four rounds of discussions taking place so far. The talks were launched under Iran’s former moderate president Hassan Rohani and have continued under his ultra-conservative successor, Ebrahim Raisi. “The discussions have not been cut off, but after the fourth round, no face-to-face talks have been held,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said Monday. “Progress hinges on Riyadh showing a serious willingness to move forward and avoid media rhetoric,” he told a news conference. “If we see that the other side is serious, then a new round of talks will take place,” he added. The last round was held in September, Saudi Prince Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has said. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in October that the talks were “on the right track.” The two countries are at odds over several regional issues, including the Yemen war and the conflict in Syria and Lebanon, where they back opposing sides.

Iraqi officials confirm pro-Iran militias carried out attack on Kadhimi
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
BAGHDAD--A drone attack that targeted the Iraqi prime minister on Sunday was carried out by at least one Iran-backed militia, Iraqi security officials and militia sources said, weeks after pro-Iran groups were routed in elections they claim were rigged. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unhurt when three drones carrying explosives were launched at his residence in Baghdad. Several of his bodyguards were injured. The incident whipped up tensions in Iraq, where powerful Iran-backed paramilitaries are disputing the result of last month’s general election which dealt them a crushing defeat at the polls and greatly reduced their strength in parliament. Many Iraqis fear that tension among the main Shia Muslim groups that dominate government and most state institutions and also boast paramilitary branches, could spiral into broad civil conflict if further such incidents occur. Baghdad’s streets were emptier and quieter than usual on Monday and additional military and police checkpoints in the capital appeared intent on keeping a lid on tensions. Iraqi officials and analysts said the attack was meant as a message from militias that they are willing to resort to violence if excluded from the formation of a government, or if their grip on large areas of the state apparatus is challenged. “It was a clear message of, ‘We can create chaos in Iraq, we have the guns, we have the means’,” said Hamdi Malik, a specialist on Iraq’s Shia Muslim militias at the Washington Institute. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Iran-backed militia groups did not immediately comment and the Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment. Two regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tehran had knowledge about the attack before it was carried out, but that Iranian authorities had not ordered it. Militia sources said the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards overseas Quds Force travelled to Iraq on Sunday after the attack to meet paramilitary leaders and urge them to avoid any further escalation of violence. Two Iraqi security officials, speaking to Reuters on Monday on condition of anonymity, said the Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq groups carried out the attack in tandem. A militia source said that Kataib Hezbollah was involved and that he could not confirm the role of Asaib ahl-Haq. Neither group commented for the record.
Intra-Shia tensions
The main winner from the election, Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, is a rival of the Iran-backed groups who, unlike them, preaches Iraqi nationalism and proclaims his opposition to all foreign interference, including American and Iranian. Malik said the drone strike indicated that the Iran-backed militias are positioning themselves in opposition to Sadr, who also boasts a militia, a scenario that would hurt Iran’s influence and therefore would likely be opposed by Tehran. “I don’t think Iran wants a Shia-Shia civil war. It would weaken its position in Iraq and allow other groups to grow stronger,” he said. Many Iran-aligned militias have watched Sadr’s political rise with concern, fearing he may strike a deal with Kadhimi and moderate Shia allies and even minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds, which would freeze them out of power. The Iran-backed groups, which like Iranian patron are Shia, regard Kadhimi as both Sadr’s man and friendly towards Tehran’s arch-foe the United States. Iran-backed militias have led cries of fraud in the October 10 election but offered no evidence. Since then their supporters have staged weeks of protests near Iraqi government buildings.
Made in Iran
One of the Iraqi security officials said the drones used were of the “quadcopter” type and that each was carrying one projectile containing high explosives capable of damaging buildings and armoured vehicles. The official added that these were the same type of Iranian-made drones and explosives used in attacks this year on US forces in Iraq, which Washington blames on Iran-aligned militias including Kataib Hezbollah. The United States last month targeted Iran’s drone programme with new sanctions, saying Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards had deployed drones against US forces, Washington’s regional allies and international shipping.

Kuwait sends wrong messages to Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
KUWAIT CITY--Kuwait’s government submitted its resignation Monday to the country’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, one day after it approved a controversial draft amnesty law, which includes the mitigation of sentences for members of an armed group affiliated with the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah movement, known as the Abdali cell. The move, experts told The Arab Weekly, sent two wrong messages to Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah. Kuwait, the experts said, broke the Gulf consensus on Hezbollah’s designation as a terrorist organisation, thus shifting away from the current Gulf position which prompted a boycott of Lebanon. Kuwait has also abandoned its strict security approach to counter the threat posed by the pro-Iran Lebanese group, especially since the recent move coincided with the dismantling of another Hezbollah-affiliated cell that has been recruiting Kuwaiti youth with the aim of using them in hotbeds of tension. Critics of the recent Kuwaiti decision say that, in the draft amnesty law, the government equated members of a terrorist organisation with political dissidents who only engaged in peaceful protests. The critics also noted that the dismantling of another terrorist cell means that Hezbollah in Lebanon and its members in Kuwait still pose a serious security threat. Among those who will benefit from the amnesty, according to the draft law that was presented to the emir, are people currently living in Turkey who have been convicted of covering up the Abdali cell.
On August 13, 2015, the Kuwaiti security authorities arrested a terrorist cell affiliated with the “Kuwaiti Hezbollah,” supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah, which stored and possessed weapons on a farm in the Abdali area. The seized items included 19,000 kilograms of ammunition, 144 kilogrammes of explosives, 68 assorted weapons, 204 hand grenades, electric fuses and 56 RPG rounds. As for the defendants, they were 25 Kuwaitis and one Iranian. On September 15, 2015, the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution charged them with communicating with Iran and Hezbollah, with the intent to carry out hostile acts against the State of Kuwait. On January 12, 2016, the Kuwaiti Criminal Court sentenced a fugitive Iranian and a Kuwaiti to death on charges including espionage for Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the possession of explosives. The court also sentenced one defendant to life in prison and others to different terms that ranged between 5 and 15 years jail. Last Thursday, three days before the presenting of the draft amnesty law, the State Security Service arrested another cell collaborating with Hezbollah, on charges of recruiting young people to serve the Lebanese group in Syria and Yemen.
Security sources said that the ministry of interior had received a security report from a sister country stating that the group consisted of four people, one of whom is the son of a former MP and the other is a brother of a former MP. A third had his name mentioned in previous cases linked to the hijacking of the Jabriya plane in the 1980s and a fourth is said to be a leader of a charity. The sources indicated that “the State Security service is investigating the four, who are ‘H.G, J.S, J.J, and J.D’ on a number of other charges, including money laundering for Hezbollah in Kuwait and the funding of Kuwaiti youth to encourage them to join the ranks of Hezbollah, participate in terrorist acts and drug smuggling operations in both Syria and Yemen.”
Kuwaiti critics said the government, which managed to avoid parliamentary questioning, has preferred to submit its resignation immediately after submitting the draft amnesty law, in order to evade new questions about the grounds on which it ranked people affiliated with a terrorist organisation alongside political dissidents and whether the timing was appropriate, especially now that other Gulf states are boycotting Lebanon over Hezbollah’s hostile actions. While Kuwaitis hope for the eradication of terrorist groups that threaten national security, the amnesty for members of the Abdali cell seems to run counter to people’s expectations. Kuwaiti lawyer Fahd al-Dosari called on citizens to support the ministry of interior its efforts to “strike with an iron hand anyone who could be involved in supporting and funding terrorist groups, training their agents, defending their agenda and threatening the national security of Kuwait and other Gulf states.”The writer Youssef al-Hajji said, “The government must be fully aware that Iran is an enemy state and that the execution of every terrorist is a popular demand.”Hezbollah’s crimes in Kuwait date back to the early 1980s and include several terrorist operations against public, industrial and oil facilities, the country’s main airport and diplomatic missions. The group was also involved in an assassination attempt on late emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in 1985.

Qaani tries to contain repercussions from drone attack on Kadhimi, prevent blow to Hashed
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
BAGHDAD--Political sources in Baghdad revealed to The Arab Weekly that the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, General Ismail Qaani, visited the Iraqi capital, late on Sunday night, in an attempt to contain possible repercussions from the assassination attempt on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, especially that pro-Iranian militias are considered the prime suspects in the attack. Qaani is the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, which is mainly responsible for military and clandestine operations outside the country. Sources close to the Iraqi prime minister said, “Tehran sent Qaani to Baghdad after it learned that Kadhimi harboured serious intent to target the leaders of the Shia militias loyal to Iran, as they were the leading suspects in the assassination attempt.”Qaani’s visit to Baghdad coincided with large-scale military movements in the Iraqi capital, where the armed forces’ show of force was aimed at reassuring the population after the attempt to assassinate the country’s top official. Analysts said the assassination attempt provided Kadhimi with a unique opportunity to deal a strong blow to al Hashed al Shaaabi (the Popular Mobilisation Forces- PMF) militias.
The military movements, which included combat aircraft, helicopters, tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as thousands of soldiers, were at variance with the calm demeanour displayed by Kadhimi when he appeared, Sunday, on television to talk to Iraqis about the attack on his private residence. In his speech, the prime minister called for restraint and exhorted Iraqis not to be drawn into violence. Sources in Baghdad say it is not known what kind of retaliatory move, Kadhimi is contemplating, whether it would be political or military, and whether it could target the leaders of the PMF or the entire Hashed. The private residence of the Iraqi premier in the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad was attacked by drones at dawn on Saturday, almost killing him, also njuring seven of his bodyguards and causing great material damage. An official in Baghdad told The Arab Weekly, “Qaani met Kadhimi in Baghdad on Sunday evening and expressed to him Iran’s strong condemnation of the attempt to assassinate him”. The official added that, “the Iranian general did not try to shift blame for the assassination attempt, which proves that Shia militais are responsible for orchestrating the attack.”
The Iranian general tried, according to the official who spoke to an Arab Weekly correspondent in Baghdad, to explore the intentions of the Iraqi prime minister regarding his possible reprisals for the drone attack on his residence, hinting that Iran was not aware of this operation in advance, although the drones and explosives used in the attack were, according to many sources, Iranian-made. But two regional officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said Tehran had knowledge about the attack before it was carried out, even if Iranian authorities had not ordered it. Two Iraqi security officials also told Reuters on Monday on condition of anonymity, said the Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq groups carried out the attack in tandem.
“Criminal act ”
News of the Qaani visit to Baghdad came as an Iraqi army general said the investigation into the drone attack against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is ongoing but that indications point to Iran-backed factions. An Iraqi general said Monday the drones used in the attack took off from areas east of the capital where Iran-backed militias have influence. The drone attack was also similar to ones carried out in the past by Iran-backed factions in Iraq. In September, for example, explosives-laden drones targeted the Irbil international airport in the country’s north, where US-led coalition troops are stationed, the army general told The Associated Press. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, told the Washington-based Arabic-language Alhurra TV that the attack against Kadhimi was a “criminal act” carried out by Iranian-backed militias. During his talks in Baghdad, Qaani also delved in discussions about the outcome of Iraqi elections. Two Shia Iraqi politicians quoted the Iranian general as saying that Tehran is not opposed to any politician named by the Shia blocs in the newly elected parliament to become the next prime minister. Iran enjoys wide influence in Iraq through powerful militias it has been backing for years. The failed assassination attempt against Kadhimi has ratcheted up tensions following last month’s parliamentary elections, in which the Iran-backed militias were the biggest losers and have threatened to topple the prime minister. The militia leaders condemned the attack, but most sought to downplay it. Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV, which is run by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, said Qaani also met with Iraqi President Barham Salih and other political figures in the country. It quoted Qaani as saying during his visit that “Iraq is in urgent need for calm.” It added that Qaani also said that any act that threatens Iraq’s security should be avoided. The drone attack was a dramatic escalation in the already tense situation following the Oct. 10 vote and the surprising results in which Iran-backed militias lost about two-thirds of their seats. Despite a low turnout, the results confirmed a rising wave of discontent against Iran and its proxy militias that had been praised years before as heroes for fighting Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group. Many Iraqis hold the pro-Iran militias responsible for cracking down on the 2019 youth-led anti-government protests, and for undermining state authority. Some analysts have said that Sunday’s attack aimed to cut off the path that could lead to a second Kadhimi term by those who lost in the recent elections. On Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh condemned the assassination attempt on Kadhimi and indirectly blamed the US. Kadhimi, 54, was Iraq’s former intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in May last year. He is considered by the militias to be close to the US, and has tried to balance between Iraq’s alliances with both the US and Iran.

Will Tensions Spike in Iraq after Drone 'Message' to PM?
Agence France Presse/November 09/2021
An assassination attempt targeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi marks the latest escalation in tensions following last month's legislative polls, amid allegations of fraud from pro-Iran groups. The attack came after pro-Iran factions and their supporters had denounced the election results, which saw the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance -- political arm of the predominantly Shiite paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi -- shed a large number of seats in parliament. The attempt early Sunday also followed days of violence as hundreds of Hashed supporters protested outside -- then attempted to storm -- the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses the premier's residence, the government and diplomatic missions.The prime minister escaped unharmed after an explosive-laden drone hit his residence, although two bodyguards were reportedly wounded.
What is context?
Analysts interviewed by AFP were unanimous that the attack was closely linked to the elections and the negotiations to follow on forging parliamentary alliances ahead of selecting a new government. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the UK-based Chatham House, said pro-Iran groups, such as the Hashed, use "coercive power" to "maintain their standing, notwithstanding whether they won or lost the election". These groups refuse to be excluded from any backstage negotiations on the formation of the next government, he said. On the eve of the attack on Kadhemi's house, firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose movement gained the largest number of seats in the polls, met several Sunni and Shiite officials -- notably excluding any Fatah Alliance members. According to Lahib Higel, a senior Iraq analyst at the Belgium-based International Crisis Group, the pro-Iran factions have "sought different tactics to put pressure on government formation negotiations."These have included "claiming the election results are fraud, using street pressure and as we saw two days ago the attempted breach of the Green Zone," she said. Hundreds of supporters of the Fatah Alliance set up camp on Saturday outside the Green Zone, hours before the assassination bid, which has gone unclaimed.
Violence as political weapon?
On Friday evening, following clashes during the pro-Iran demonstrations, Qais al-Khazali, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq force -- a key component of the Hashed -- "threatened" Kadhemi, according to Hamdi Malik, an associate fellow at the Washington Institute. He has tweeted a video of Khazali seen addressing Kadhemi and vowing the premier would be put on trial for the "blood of the martyrs" -- referring to two protesters reportedly killed in the clashes. Khazali was among those who condemned the attack. Malik said that although Kadhemi's home had been targeted by drones in the past as a "message", the latest attempt in which the residence was struck went a step further. According to Mansour of Chatham House, drone attacks in Iraq have become a "common strategy of warning." Such attacks have often targeted U.S. interests in Baghdad or the Kurdish capital Arbil in northern Iraq. They remain largely unclaimed but have been blamed on groups loyal to Iran and seeking the expulsion of U.S. forces from Iraq. In recent years, anger has mounted towards the Hashed, particularly among youth who accuse it of being more loyal to Iranian interests than those of Iraqis. Pro-Iran factions have also been blamed for the targeting and killing of demonstrators in near-nationwide protests that began in October 2019.
Escalation or dialogue?
Iraq's electoral commission said Monday that a manual vote recount in some polling stations where complaints were filed by pro-Iran groups did not show any "fraud" -- an announcement likely to further anger these groups. But Lahib Higel predicted that "we might have reached the ceiling of escalation for now", expecting a move towards "dialogue". The attempt on Kadhimi's life has been widely condemned across the domestic political arena and among world governments, including rivals Washington and Tehran which have long vied for influence over Iraq. The U.N. Security Council on Monday called for "perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism" to be brought to justice. Higel said the pro-Iran groups were "losing the media war" and "not coherent in their messaging". Rather than risk losing more face, they would more likely push for positions in the government, she said. In Mansour's view, "no side, and especially the Sadrists, has the appetite for an extended period of violence that could lead to an internal Shia civil war."

Poverty a red line for Iranian media as newspaper closed, website taken offline
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
TEHRAN — Iran’s judicial authorities reportedly banned a newspaper Monday for publishing a front-page graphic that appeared to show Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hand drawing the poverty line in the Islamic Republic amid widespread anger over the nation’s cratering economy. The semiofficial Mehr news agency said Iran’s media supervisory body shut down the daily newspaper Kelid after it published a front-page article titled “Millions of Iranians Living under Poverty Line” on Saturday. Under the headline, the graphic shows a person’s left hand holding a pen and drawing a red line across the page as silhouettes of people underneath are reaching up to the line. The graphic resembled an earlier image of Khamenei writing on a piece of paper with his left hand, a prominent ring on one of his fingers. His right has been paralyzed since a 1981 bombing. The Young Journalists Club, a group associated with state television, earlier reported that censors were examining the newspaper after the publication. The state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged Kelid had been shut down, without explaining the reason for the decision. Kelid could not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Their website has been taken offline. Iran, whose state-dominated economy has long faced trouble since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has been under increased pressure since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. The Iranian rial is now about 281,500 to the dollar — compared with 32,000 rials for $1 at the time when the 2015 nuclear deal was struck. With U.S. sanctions still strangling the economy, record-breaking inflation has hit ordinary Iranians where it hurts most. Stunned shoppers are cutting meat and dairy from their diets, buying less and less each month.
While radio and television stations are all state-controlled in Iran, newspapers and magazines can be owned and published by private individuals. However, Iranian journalists face constant harassment and the threat of arrest in the country, according to press advocacy groups.

Flurry of diplomatic contacts as Yemen faces ‘uphill battle’
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
ADEN, Yemen--UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg visited the besieged city of Taez in southern Yemen on Monday where he held talks with Taez’s governor and other political leaders. In another diplomatic initiative, US Special Envoy Tom Lenderking, appointed by President Joe Biden to seek an end to the war, made his first visit to Yemen with a stop in Aden, the government’s stronghold. Lenderking, who met Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek Saeed, called for better coordination with the Southern Transitional Council who have also periodically clashed in recent years with the Saudi-backed government. Lenderking stressed “that now is the time for all Yemenis to come together to end this war and enact bold reforms to revive the economy, counter corruption and alleviate suffering”, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “Division weakens all parties and only exacerbates suffering,” said Price. Members of the Southern Transitional Council were integrated into the cabinet in December 2020 but the power-sharing arrangement remains shaky. Lenderking travelled to Aden with Cathy Westley, who is the top diplomat at the US embassy for Yemen but is based in Riyadh for security reasons.
Stalemate war
The flurry of diplomatic contacts comes at a time when Yemen is facing an “uphill battle” for peace, Grundberg said, as the Saudi-led coalition reported another 115 Houthi militiamen killed in its latest air strikes around the key northern city of Marib. In a statement, the US Department of State described the situation in Yemen as marked by “extreme economic instability as well as security threats.”The Saudi-led coalition claimed on Monday another heavy death toll among the Iran-backed Houthi militias. As well as 115 Houthis killed, 19 militia vehicles were destroyed in coalition strikes over the past 24 hours in Sirwah, west of Marib city, and Al-Jawf to the north, it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi news agency SPA. Grundberg said “military operations (are) causing significant casualties, which are exacerbating the humanitarian situation and undermining peace efforts.”“Working for peace in Yemen is an uphill battle,” he added, while holding out hope of a breakthrough. “We should never forget that there is always a way to break the cycle of violence. There are always opportunities for peaceful dialogue.”
Concerns over humanitarian situation
The Saudi-led coalition has since October 11 issued near-daily reports of bombing around Marib, saying it has since killed more than 2,500 insurgents. Marib, capital of the oil-rich province of the same name, is the internationally-recognised government’s last bastion in northern Yemen.
The Iran-backed Houthis began a major push to seize the city in February and after a lull, they renewed their offensive in September. Reporters could not independently verify the death tolls reported by the coalition and the Houthis rarely comment on their losses. Grundberg also offered his condolences after a militia mortar attack last month on Taez, Yemen’s third city, left six children dead or critically injured. “Again, as elsewhere in Yemen, it is the civilians that bear the burden of this conflict,” he said. The coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to shore up the government, a year after the Houthis seized the capital Sana’a. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have since been killed and millions displaced in what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Morocco presses for unambiguous positions on Western Sahara
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
RABAT--Morocco is pressing for international positions that cut out ambiguity and duplicity on the issue of the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara. In a speech marking the 46th anniversary of the Green March, Moroccan King Mohammed VI made economic cooperation with European partners conditional on their recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory. “I wish to tell those with ambiguous or ambivalent attitudes, that Morocco will not have any economic or commercial transaction with them in which the Moroccan Sahara is not included,” the king said. He expressed his appreciation to the countries and groupings with which Morocco has agreements or partnerships and which consider the kingdom’s southern provinces an integral part of Morocco’s national territory. “We have honest international partners who invest, alongside our private sector, in a clear, transparent environment, for the benefit of the region’s populations,” King Mohammed said.
In December last year, the United States recognised the kingdom’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco sees the former Spanish colony as its own sovereign territory while Algeria backs Western Sahara’s Polisario Front, a separatist group, in the conflict. Nawfel Bouamri, a political analyst and expert on the Western Sahara issue, believes that “it is not possible to benefit from economic partnerships in light of ambiguous political positions. The current phase requires clarity and Morocco’s partners must adhere to the American position.”The king’s speech gave Morocco’s economic partners two options: either for or against the kingdom’s Western Sahara sovereignty. This, observers see as a response to the countries which supported the European Court of Justice’s decision last September to drop the agreements concluded between Morocco and the European Union because of their inclusion of the Sahara regions. Mohamed Bouden, head of the Atlas Centre for Analysis of Political and Institutional Indicators, confirmed to The Arab Weekly that obtaining the status of a trusted partner with Morocco requires recognition of its sovereign rights, noting that Morocco wants to work on clear foundations and find solutions to crises without keeping differences under wraps. In his speech, the Moroccan king noted that “positive developments with regard to the Sahara question also reinforce the continuing development process in the southern provinces,” adding that these territories were enjoying comprehensive development, including infrastructure as well as economic and social projects. “Thanks to these projects, the Saharan regions have become an open space for development and for national and foreign investment,” said the king.
He added that the councils in the Saharan provinces and regions, which he stressed, were elected in a free, democratic and responsible manner, were the real, legitimate representatives of the region’s populations. “I hope our southern provinces will be at the forefront of the endeavour to implement advanced regionalisation, given the possibilities it affords in terms of development and genuine political participation,” King Mohammed said. Morocco on Saturday announced the launch of projects to supply the Guerguerat border crossing in the Western Sahara region with electricity and potable water. The total cost of the project, which is financed by the National Office of Electricity and Potable Water, is 77 million dirhams (about $8 million). The Western Sahara, 80 percent of which is controlled by Morocco, boasts extensive phosphate reserves and rich Atlantic fishing grounds. Algeria has long hosted and supported the Polisario Front, which seeks full independence for the territory and has demanded a UN-supervised self-determination referendum as provided for in a 1991 ceasefire deal. In November, the Polisario declared the 22-year truce “null and void” after Moroccan forces broke up a blockade on a highway into Mauritania, which Rabat said was built in violation of the ceasefire. The Polisario has since launched multiple attacks on Moroccan forces, killing six Moroccan soldiers, according to an informed Moroccan source. Tensions between Morocco and Algeria further escalated in August, when the latter broke off diplomatic ties with Rabat citing “hostile actions”, charges denied by Morocco. Last Sunday, Algeria ordered state energy firm Sonatrach to stop using a pipeline that traverses Morocco for gas exports to Spain. To stake Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over the Western Sahara, the current king’s father, Hassan II, sent 350,000 civilian volunteers on the iconic Green March into the territory in 1975.
Saturday’s speech by the king marked its 46th anniversary. It also came just over a week after the UN Security Council on October 29 called on all sides to resume negotiations towards a solution, as it renewed the UN mission in Western Sahara for one year.
The resolution calls for a goal of “self-determination of the people of Western Sahara” and also “reaffirms the need for full respect” of a ceasefire that collapsed last year. It urged the parties to resume negotiations “without preconditions and in good faith” in search of a “just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution”. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed the text, saying it “specifies the real parties to the conflict by calling for Algeria to take part responsibly and constructively. But Algeria said it would not “support” the resolution, saying it was unbalanced. The last UN-led peace talks in 2019 involved top officials from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario. They were frozen after UN envoy Horst Kohler quit the post in May 2019. He was finally replaced this month by veteran diplomat Staffan de Mistura.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP cries foul at politically-motivated banning case
The Arab Weekly/November 09/2021
ISTANBUL--An indictment which aims to ban Turkey’s Democratic Peoples’ Party (HDP) was prepared for political reasons and should be thrown out, an HDP official said on Saturday, a day after it submitted an initial defence to Turkey’s top court. Turkey’s Constitutional Court accepted the indictment against the pro-Kurdish HDP in June. The measure calls for the party to be shut down over alleged ties to militants. But the HDP denies any such links and describes the case as a “political operation.” The action, brought by prosecutors at the Court of Cassation, follows a years-long crackdown on the HDP, in which thousands of its members have been tried on mainly terrorism-related charges. The party submitted its initial defence to the Constitutional Court on Friday. Umit Dede, a deputy chair of the HDP, told reporters on Saturday the initial defence did not address each allegation individually but sought to highlight procedural issues. “This case was prepared as a result of the pressure put on the chief prosecutors of the Court of Cassation by the ruling party and its partners. Therefore, in our defence we presented this matter to the attention of the Constitutional Court with evidence,” Dede said. The party will address allegations individually after the prosecutor submits his analysis to the court, but the case should be thrown out before that, Dede said. Turkey has a long history of shutting down political parties, including those deemed pro-Kurdish. Critics say its judiciary is subject to political influence, a claim denied by the ruling AK Party and its nationalist MHP allies. Court of Cassation chief prosecutor Bekir Sahin said in the indictment that the HDP acts together with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and aims to break the unity of the state. The HDP is Turkey’s third-largest party, with 55 seats in the 600-member parliament. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union. It has fought an insurgency since 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Egypt, Israel Agree on More Egypt Border Forces in Sinai
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Egypt and Israel have said they agreed on an increase in Egyptian border forces in a restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years. The Egyptian military said a joint military committee with Israel agreed to amend a security deal between the two countries, allowing Cairo to increase the number and capabilities of border guards in the town of Rafah. The military was apparently referring to security arrangements linked to the peace treaty the neighboring countries signed in 1979. It said the new arrangements were part of the military's efforts to secure the country's northeastern borders. Israel's military said in a separate statement the amendment was signed during the committee's meeting Sunday, allowing Egypt to increase its military presence in the area. Neither country's military gave additional details. Egypt was the first Arab country to reach a peace agreement with Israel, but only after the two countries fought four wars between 1948 to 1973. The agreement put restrictions on Egypt's military presence in towns bordering Israel. The announcement comes after years of coordination between Egypt and Israel to contain the common threat posed by militant groups operating in Sinai. The Israelis are believed to have granted every request by Egypt to bring additional forces into the region, as long as all operations were closely coordinated. Egypt has battled militants in northern Sinai for years, but attacks against its military and police have expanded since the military removed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 amid mass protests against his divisive rule. Egypt's military under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has managed in recent years to prevent large-scale attacks in Sinai and elsewhere in the country.

Cyprus to Try Azeri 'Hitman' Allegedly Targeting Israelis
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Cypriot police have formally charged an Azeri man on suspicion that he planned to carry out the contract killings of Israelis living in Cyprus, a law enforcement official said on Tuesday. The official said that the 38-year-old suspect will go on trial next month on eight charges including conspiracy to commit murder, belonging to a criminal enterprise and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The suspect also faces a terrorism-related charge. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details about the case, said the Azeri's arrest last month during which a pistol was found in his possession came in the 'nick of time' as police believe he was about to carry out the killings. Police had acted on a tip-off about the suspect's activities from a "foreign agency," the official said. The alleged targets were said to be businessmen working in Cyprus. According to the official, the suspect had five other alleged cohorts he recruited on the island nation — four Pakistani fast food delivery drivers and one Lebanese man — who will also stand trial on the same charges. At least two pistols seized by police have been linked to the Azeri man. One of the weapons was handed over to police by the Lebanese suspect. The Azeri man had been living on both sides of Cyprus' ethnic divide and would often shuttle between the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south, the official said. The official said the suspect has denied any involvement in the case. Authorities have kept court proceedings under wraps, barring journalists from attending and releasing no information about the case. The trials of all six suspects will be held behind closed doors. Last month, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the Azeri's alleged actions "an act of terror that was orchestrated by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus."

Europeans Concerned at Israel Listing of Palestinian Groups
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Five European countries have expressed "serious concern" at Israel's designation of six Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist groups after a Security Council meeting and said they will be seeking more information from Israeli authorities on the reasons for their listing.
The 15-member council took no action after the closed consultations. But a statement from Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway and Albania, which will join the council in January, said the listings "have far-reaching consequences for the organizations in political, legal and financial terms."
They said they "will study carefully" information provided by Israel on the basis for the designations. "A thriving civil society and respect for fundamental freedoms are cornerstones of open democracies," said the statement read by Estonia's U.N. Ambassador Sven Jurgenson after the council discussion. "Civil society is an essential contributor to good governance, human rights, international law, democratic values and sustainable development across the world, including in Israel and Palestine.""It also contributes to peace efforts and confidence building between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement said. Last month, Israel said the six Palestinian human rights organizations were tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, leftist political movement with an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. Israel and Western countries consider the PFLP a terrorist organization. But a confidential Israeli dossier detailing alleged links between the Palestinian human rights groups and the PFLP contains little concrete evidence, and it has failed to convince European countries to stop funding the groups. The six groups, some of which have close ties to rights groups in Israel and abroad, deny the allegations. They say the terror designation is aimed at muzzling critics of Israel's half-century military occupation of territories the Palestinians want for their future state.
The designated groups are the Al-Haq human rights group, the Addameer rights group, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told reporters "it was a good thing" that Security Council members "are not buying the evidence of Israel" that the six Palestinian groups are terrorist organizations -- and it was also "a good thing" that Israel did not succeed in "creating fear" among council members that the groups are linked to terrorists. "We welcome the defense of civil society organizations among the Palestinian people," he said. The five European countries also called on the Israeli government to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and not to proceed with tenders for some 4,300 housing units in Israeli settlements. They pointed to a Security Council resolution adopted in December 2016 which states that settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to achieving a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mansour said opposition to settlements from the Europeans and others on the 15-member council is "positive" but "it is not sufficient" because what is needed is implementation of the resolution by the Security Council.

U.S. VP Harris Arrives in Paris for 4-Day Fence-Mending Trip
Associated Press/November 09/2021
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Paris on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit and charm offensive aimed at shoring up the U.S. relationship with France, America's oldest ally. Washington's relations with Paris hit a historic low this year after a U.S.-British submarine deal with Australia scuttled a French deal to sell subs to the Australian navy. Late last month, President Joe Biden told French President Emmanuel Macron the U.S. had been "clumsy" in its handling of the U.S.-British submarine deal with Australia. Harris is scheduled to tour the renowned Institut Pasteur on Tuesday to meet with American and French scientists working on COVID-19 preparedness worldwide. Officials said the visit will underscore the longstanding scientific exchanges between the US and France, and the determination to tackle global challenges, especially to to end the pandemic. But the institute also has a personal symbolism for Harris. Her late mother, who was a scientist, conducted breast cancer research with the institute's scientists in the 1980s.

Omar El Akkad Wins Canadian Literature Award
Associated Press/November 09/2021
Omar El Akkad, an Egyptian-Canadian author and journalist, the author of a story of the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child, has won Canada's richest literary award. El Akkad won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book "What Strange Paradise." The former Globe and Mail journalist received the honor at a nationally televised Toronto gala Monday night. "What Strange Paradise," published by McClelland & Stewart, is a novel about two children caught in the global refugee crisis. The story alternates between the perspectives of Amir, a Syrian boy who survives a shipwreck on an unnamed island, and Vänna, the local teenage girl who saves him. El Akkad, 39, moved to Canada when he was 16, and went to high school in Montreal before attending Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He lived in Toronto for about a decade, and did a stint in Ottawa as a Parliament Hill reporter. The Portland, Ore.-based author won critical and commercial success with his debut 2017 novel, "American War," which won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, the Oregon Book Award for fiction, and the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Monday night's black-tie affair reinstated the Giller as the bash of the fall books season after last year's celebration was held remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers slashed the usual guest list by more than half to facilitate social distancing, and attendees were required to show proof of vaccination to take part in the festivities. The Giller Prize is considered one of the most prestigious in Canadian literature. Past winners have included Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler and Alice Munro. The Giller was created in 1994 by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. It honors the best in Canadian fiction.

Arab League Supports Dialogue in Sudan
Cairo/Asharq Al Awsat/November 09/2021
The Arab League said it supports dialogue in Sudan, and calls for reducing all forms of tension in order to achieve the aspirations of Sudanese for a successful transitional process based on respect for constitutional documents and peace agreements signed over the past two years. Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki affirmed the League’s full readiness to support the steps required from Sudan to achieve the power transition into democracy. He also expressed his complete confidence in the wisdom of the Sudanese leaders and that they will succeed in overcoming all current challenges. Zaki’s positions came during a two-day visit to Khartoum where he met several Sudanese officials and figures, namely Army chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan and the deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. ِAn Arab League statement delivered a message from the League's Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit to Burhan, asserting the organization's support of the transitional process in Sudan. The Secretary-General called for continued partnership between the military and civil sides until the general elections are staged. During Zaki's meetings with officials, Burhan stressed the Armed Forces' commitment to supporting the democratic transition of power and complete openness to regional efforts to support the Sudanese dialogue to achieve stability. Burhan had announced that he would not participate in any government formed after a transitional period and denied that the army was responsible for killing protesters. "We will honor our pledge, the pledge we made to the people and the international community, that we are committed to completing the transition, holding the elections as scheduled, and respecting all political activities, as long as they remain peaceful and in line with the constitution and the active parts of the Constitutional Declaration," announced Burhan. The Arab League delegation discussed with Hamdok the challenges facing the transitional process and the ongoing efforts to support constructive dialogue between the various components. For his part, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti' Dagalo, said that the decisions Burhan made aim to rectify the course of the people's revolution and preserve the country's security and stability. Hemeti reiterated his commitment to the democratic transition in Sudan, the completion of the transition process, and preserving the country's security.

HRW, Amnesty Urge Sudan Army to Free Those Detained in Coup
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 November, 2021
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged Sudan’s military on Tuesday to release government officials, activists and others detained during the army's coup last month. In a joint statement, the international rights groups also appealed for an end to “further arbitrary arrests” and the crackdown that has been taking place on anti-coup protests.On Oct. 25, the Sudanese military seized power, dissolving the country’s transitional government and detaining more than 100 government officials and political leaders, along with a large number of protesters and activists. The army also placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest in his residence in the capital of Khartoum. Since the takeover, at least 14 anti-coup protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by the country’s security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations. On Sunday, security forces tear-gassed demonstrators and rounded up more than 100 people, most of them anti-coup teachers in Khartoum. The coup has drawn international criticism and massive protests in the streets of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. Mohamed Osman, Human Rights Watch's researcher on Sudan, said that since the coup, the Sudanese “military has resorted to its well-trodden and brutal tactics, undermining small but important progress on rights and freedoms that Sudanese from all walks of life have fought for.” Tuesday's joint statement also quoted Amnesty's deputy regional director, Sarah Jackson, as calling for a “joint, coordinated, and strong regional and international response” to rights violations in Sudan. “The Sudanese people have the rights to peaceful protest, to liberty and security, fair trial, and many more that the military cannot undermine,” she said.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 09-10/2021
Turkey: Drifting Further into Russian Orbit
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/November 09/2021
Sanctions are mandated by law for "any entity that does significant business with the Russian military or intelligence sectors" — Office of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez, Daily Sabah, September 28, 2021.
"Any new purchases by Turkey must mean new sanctions." — U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, referring to a December 2020 U.S. decision to impose CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) on Turkey for its acquisition of the S-400 missile system, Twitter, September 28, 2021.
In addition, Ankara and Moscow would discuss Russian know-how and construction of two more nuclear energy plants for Turkey, in addition to a $10 billion nuclear reactor already being built on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
All that strategic planning will further increase NATO ally Turkey's dependence on Russia, also Turkey's biggest supplier of natural gas.
"Putin and his administration are well aware of Turkey's weaknesses: a) economy goes from bad to worse; b) the Pandemic is not under control; c) gas prices on increase but Russia is ready to offer a friendly discount to Turkey; d) military acquisitions facing a hostile U.S. Senate." — Eugene Kogan, a defense and security analyst based in Tbilisi, Georgia; to Gatestone.
"The Turkish president will continue to play a spoiler role within NATO and provide Putin further opportunities to undermine the transatlantic alliance and its values." — Aykan Erdemir, former member of Turkey's parliament and now based in Washington D.C., email to Gatestone.
[Erdoğan] will not step back from.... the Russia card in his hand, unless he sees that his love affair with Russia will come with a punishing cost.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to make Turkey a unique example of political oxymoron: An "invaluable" NATO ally also in a deep strategic and military alliance with Russia. He will not step back from his horse trading with the West, the Russia card in his hand, unless he sees that his love affair with Russia will come with a punishing cost. Pictured: Erdoğan (right) with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Image source: kremlin.ru)
Turkey has been a NATO ally since 1952. On October 6, NATO's childishly naïve secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, praised Turkey as "an important ally [that] played an important role in defeating Daesh." Both of his suggestions are grossly incorrect: Turkey is becoming an important Russian ally, not a NATO ally, whose irregular militia allies in Syria are the jihadist remnants of Daesh (Islamic State).
Like a spurned lover, deeply offended by President Joe Biden's refusal to meet him on the sidelines of September's UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Turkey's Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rushed to the Black Sea town of Sochi, Russia, on September 29 for a tête-a-tête with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On his way back from New York, Erdoğan told reporters, "the signs are not good in Turkey's relations with the United States."
In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," Erdoğan said that the U.S. refusal to deliver F-35 fighter jets that Turkey agreed to purchase and Patriot missiles it wished to acquire gave Turkey no choice but to turn to Russia for its S-400 anti-aircraft missile system. This dispute has been a point of contention between Turkey and the NATO alliance during both the Trump and Biden administrations.
"In the future, nobody will be able to interfere in terms of what kind of defense systems we acquire, from which country at what level. Nobody can interfere with that. We are the only ones to make such decisions," Erdoğan said. Turkey is planning to buy a second batch of S-400 systems from Russia, and would also demand the U.S. to pay $1.4 billion for the F-35s Turkey did not receive after it was expelled from the U.S.-led multinational consortium that builds the aircraft.
The stakes are now higher. Erdoğan is gambling by using the Russia card to avoid further U.S. sanctions in his S-400 bid. Meanwhile, the office of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez has said that sanctions are mandated by law for "any entity that does significant business with the Russian military or intelligence sectors." The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote on Twitter: "Any new purchases by Turkey must mean new sanctions," referring to a December 2020 U.S. decision to impose CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) on Turkey for its acquisition of the S-400s.
In Sochi, Erdoğan met with Putin only in the presence of interpreters (without an official delegation) defying diplomatic jurisprudence. Both leaders described the meeting as "useful" while smiling to cameras. He said that Turkey and Russia agreed to cooperate on critical defense technologies, including aircraft, engines, submarines and space. In addition, Ankara and Moscow would discuss Russian know-how and construction of two more nuclear power plants for Turkey, in addition to a $10 billion nuclear reactor already being built on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
All that strategic planning will further increase NATO ally Turkey's dependence on Russia, also Turkey's biggest supplier of natural gas.
"Turkey's turn from the West at large continues uninterrupted," Eugene Kogan, a defense and security analyst based in Tbilisi, Georgia, told Gatestone Institute.
"Putin and his administration are well aware of Turkey's weaknesses: a) economy goes from bad to worse; b) the Pandemic is not under control; c) gas prices on increase but Russia is ready to offer a friendly discount to Turkey; d) military acquisitions facing a hostile U.S. Senate."
Aykan Erdemir, a former member of Turkey's parliament and now based in Washington, D.C., wrote in an email to the author, that Erdoğan's stance serves as a wake-up call to Biden administration officials. Erdemir wrote:
"Erdoğan's statements about purchasing a second batch of the S-400 air defense system from Russia should be a wakeup call for Biden administration officials, who have referred to Turkey as an 'invaluable partner' and an 'important NATO ally' in the last month.
"Erdoğan's insistence on a second S-400 batch reflects the impunity the Turkish president has been feeling since he offered in June to assist the Biden administration during and after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"Erdoğan's impunity also stems from the delay with which Trump imposed CAATSA sanctions against Ankara during the last month of his presidency only after bipartisan congressional pressure and his preference for relatively lighter sanctions that have failed to provide any meaningful deterrence.
"The Turkish president will continue to play a spoiler role within NATO and provide Putin further opportunities to undermine the transatlantic alliance and its values.
"Given the Biden administration's dependence on the Erdoğan government in Afghanistan severely restricts Washington's ability push back against Ankara's transgressions, a bipartisan congressional action is necessary to rebuild U.S. and NATO deterrence against the challenges posed by the Turkish and Russian presidents."
Erdoğan is trying to make Turkey a unique example of political oxymoron: An "invaluable" NATO ally also in a deep strategic and military alliance with Russia. He will not step back from his horse trading with the West, the Russia card in his hand, unless he sees that his love affair with Russia will come with a punishing cost.
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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The Future of Putin's War in Syria
Anna Borshchevskaya, Lester Grau, Michael McFaul/The Washington Institute/November 09/2021
A former U.S. ambassador to Russia joins two experts for a discussion on what the six-year intervention can tell us about Moscow’s broader foreign policy.
On November 4, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with Anna Borshchevskaya, Lester Grau, and Michael McFaul. Borshchevskaya is a senior fellow at the Institute and author of the new book Putin’s War in Syria: Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America’s Absence. Grau is the research director for the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and one of the Army’s leading experts on Russia. McFaul is director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and former U.S. ambassador to Russia. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks. Vladimir Putin’s current involvement in Syria is partly a natural extension of his country’s centuries-long interest in the Middle East, and the East Mediterranean specifically. Historically, Russia has worried a great deal about its southern borders, viewing them as its soft underbelly. Certain aspects of Moscow’s intervention in Syria are unique to Putin, and some are short-term and transactional, but Russian interests in the region run much deeper than just the current leader’s pet project.
To understand these interests, one must acknowledge that Russia has a vision for a polycentric world, and that this vision is inherently at odds with U.S. foreign policy objectives. As a result, Moscow has long focused on checking U.S. influence abroad. Putin inherited that viewpoint and has acted on it in new ways. From the beginning, he sought to return Russia to the Middle East, and he is more pragmatic and willing than his predecessors to cultivate relationships with all parties in the region. Even so, his anti-Western vision has led him to foster the deepest ties with like-minded leaders such as Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Hence, from the start of the Syria war, Putin was determined to keep Assad from falling. He did not want to see the United States topple another authoritarian leader, so he began protecting Assad in multiple ways even before Russia’s 2015 military intervention. Today, he has achieved his goal, and he did so without getting bogged down in a quagmire or incurring excessive costs. The rest of the region has taken note of Russia’s enhanced position in Syria—in their eyes, Putin’s commitment to protecting Assad stands in sharp contrast to Western ambivalence.
More likely than not, Syria will now turn into a frozen conflict. This may be ideal for Russia, which has substantial experience handling such conflicts and can sustain its presence in that environment. Moscow can also serve as an intermediary, talking to certain actors that others cannot. If the parties were to reach a real resolution in Syria, no one would need Putin, but everyone needs him if the conflict is merely managed. For now, the world is still unipolar and the United States retains many advantages. But it may squander these advantages if it mishandles the Middle East. China is rightfully Washington’s top priority, but Syria should not be treated as a mere distraction. The real question is not whether the United States can push back against Russian influence in Syria, but whether it will recognize the conflict’s strategic importance and invest the necessary resources to achieve its own goals there. Syria was never going to be an easy file to address no matter what approach Washington took. But Assad is one of the worst dictators of our time, so taking a stronger and more principled stance was essential from the outset, and remains so today.
Ideally, Russia will rehabilitate itself someday and turn away from its current behavior. To be sure, there are not many precedents for such a shift—although liberal voices could be found among Russia’s leadership early in Boris Yeltsin’s tenure during the 1990s, they were soon pushed out, and that window of opportunity closed. Hopefully it can reopen in the future.
Lester Grau
Far from being a quagmire, the Syrian conflict has proved an ideal arena for the Russian military to hone its edge, experiment with new combat systems, stress-test and repair old systems, and provide combat experience to entire staffs. Its losses have been very limited on balance—the only exception was its amphibious landing fleet, which was deployed extensively to support Assad, took considerable damage, and is now being rebuilt at substantial cost.
Russian forces have also used the intervention to sharpen some of their capabilities. For example, their deployment of a new pontoon bridging system along the Euphrates River was an amazing engineering feat. The military has achieved its strategic goals in support of Assad while also deriving more immediate benefits for itself. The Wagner Group and other private military companies (PMCs) aligned with the Russian government have likewise gained valuable combat experience in Syria. These organizations have enabled Moscow to engage in operations that it might not want itself directly linked to, providing plausible deniability while still advancing the Kremlin’s goals in Syria. Moscow’s involvement has not been without challenges, and various tensions simmering beneath the surface could pose issues going forward. For instance, Russia has a significant Muslim minority, and the Syria intervention could exacerbate this group’s occasionally rocky relations with the country’s Christian community. But the bottom line is that Moscow has achieved its core goal—survival of the Assad regime—without getting into the quagmire that many predicted, and with some additional benefits to its military.
Michael McFaul
Although 2015 was the year the Russian Air Force began bombing opposition elements in Syria, Moscow has had a strong diplomatic and military presence in the country for decades. During my time in government, Syria was the most salient foreign policy issue on the agenda, and the reality is that we failed there, dramatically. I think we need to be clear about that—our approach did not work. The question, then, is what could we have done differently? Putin felt very strongly about propping up dictators in the face of Western-backed revolutions. Will Russia always behave this way, or can that mindset change, perhaps under a new leader? I was in the room in March 2011 when President Dmitry Medvedev acquiesced to a UN intervention against Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi. We know Putin did not respond favorably to that. So the durability of Moscow’s anti-Western strategy is an open question.
For now, Putin has achieved his primary goal in Syria, which was keeping Assad in power. He has achieved some secondary benefits as well, particularly in testing and demonstrating new types of military power. Still, there are limits to his success. Syria remains a highly fractured conflict zone. Is he comfortable with that arrangement? Does he care about unifying the country? Washington and its partners need to establish whether he can live with that status quo. Currently, Putin seems happy with the frozen conflict so long as nobody pays serious attention to Syria. U.S. officials often believe they need to “solve” global problems like the Syria conflict, but Putin sees it differently. He is happy to let problems sit until U.S. interest wanes. He has a general strategy of waiting things out. Some of the Biden administration’s messaging indicates that they are likewise comfortable with a frozen conflict, both in Syria and with Russia more generally. Yet the White House’s strategy toward Syria remains confusing. They seem very concerned about small-picture issues such as negotiations on cross-border humanitarian aid. The fact that Washington is spending the U.S. president’s time on lobbying for a single border crossing shows that the balance of power in Syria has shifted dramatically in a direction favorable to Russia.
This summary was prepared by Calvin Wilder.

Kadhimi must not become another Rafik Hariri
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/November 09/2021
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Sunday’s attempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was deplorable, unacceptable … and entirely predictable.
Since the comprehensive defeat of Iranian-aligned militias and parties at legislative elections in October, it has been clear that the agents of Tehran would react in the way they always do — by trying to kill those they could not defeat at the ballot box.
There is no “smoking gun” yet to incriminate Iran or its stooges over the failed assassination attempt, but it was clearly a product of the template Iran has created for subversion in the region. Anyone who does not comply with its idea of “armageddon,” or who fails to kowtow to the religious mercenaries in Tehran, is marked for elimination. Before the attempt on Kadhimi’s life, several activists — Shiite as well as Sunni — who called for an end to Iranian interference in Iraq were killed.
The people of Iraq have seen through the Iranian gameplan, and understand it only too well. They know that Iran is playing politics in the region, and doing so with Iraqi blood. That is why Tehran’s consulates and missions have been being torched by ordinary Iraqis. The popular movement against Iranian influence in Iraq has gained ground in the past few years, since Iranian agents massacred at least 1,000 peaceful protesters who began demonstrating in October 2019. That further fed anti-Iran sentiment and the anti-Iran movement. This year’s election results provided the most comprehensive proof so far that Iran is now viewed by ordinary Iraqis as a foreign occupying power.
It should not surprise anyone that the attempt to assassinate Kadhimi came just a few hours after he was threatened by Qais Al-Khazali of the pro-Iranian Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq militia; threats typical of Iranian-backed militias’ behavior toward anyone who threatens their hegemony or does not bend to their whims. Kadhimi’s primary aim was — and remains — to restore genuine Iraqi sovereignty. He has appealed to national pride. During his time as prime minister he has taken a clear stand against the militias and has repeatedly talked about not permitting the development of a state within a state. He has not allowed himself to be browbeaten or blackmailed into supporting Iran’s agenda.
Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all the right things; since his murder, Lebanon has lost all hope. Kadhimi is also a good man doing the right things, and with him Iraq actually stands a chance.
Kadhimi opened channels with Iraq’s natural allies in the Arab world. He took the honorable and courageous position of seeking closer ties with Iraq’s Arab neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In return, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi gave him full support in restoring Iraq’s prominent position in the Arab world. This was, of course, a red flag for the mullahs in Tehran. They want Iraq to be mired in misery and political instability. A weak Iraq is what the mullahs want. They do not want reformers or moderates to succeed.
Kadhimi was targeted on Sunday by three explosives-laden drones. Had two of them not been intercepted, there is every possibility that he would have become another Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese prime minister blown up by Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah operatives for having the temerity to chart an independent path to success and sovereignty for his country. Look at what Iran has done to Lebanon — turned a once thriving nation into an economic basket case and an international pariah that exports drugs, drones and terrorism. Lebanon has become a country where an armed militia is holding the government and the people hostage —the very template Tehran wants to impose on all Arab states.
The international community, and especially the Biden administration in the US, must finally wake up to the sinister Iranian game plan. The world should stop appeasing this monster. What is needed is not mere verbal condemnation, but tangible and robust action. This must be a stark warning to the US president that these are not the kind of people his administration should be trying to sign a deal with.
Without effective sanctions and a clear signal that such reckless behavior will be punished, Iran and its militias will continue to destabilize the region and eliminate any possibility of peace, tolerance and moderation taking root. Now is the time to take a clear stand and let Iran know that its malign meddling stops here, and it stops now.
Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all the right things; since his murder, Lebanon has lost all hope. Kadhimi is also a good man doing the right things, and with him Iraq actually stands a chance. However, he deserves more than the world just crossing its fingers and hoping he escapes every time Tehran’s agents of evil try to end his life.
*Faisal J. Abbas is Editor in Chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas

Iran attempting to blackmail Iraq into submission
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/November 09/2021
Whenever Iran’s expansionist project in Iraq encounters obstacles, Tehran immediately starts to open old wounds, such as demanding compensation for the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and using this as a stick to beat Baghdad with. This Iranian policy has one objective: Blackmailing Iraq into submission and compliance. Over the years, Iran has also employed various other levers to bring Iraq to its knees, such as withholding the supply of water from its sources and reducing or cutting off the supply of electricity. To justify the latter, Iran has argued that Baghdad has failed to pay its bills.
Amid the domestic crises gripping the Iranian regime and multiple challenges facing its regional expansionist project, especially in Iraq, which is experiencing new developments against Iran’s increasing influence at both the official and popular level, Tehran has once again hinted that it intends to raise the issue of war compensation with Baghdad. Speaking about this matter last week, Alireza Warnaseri, a member of the Iranian parliament’s Energy Committee, called on Iraq to pay $110 billion in compensation to Tehran for the damage caused during the eight-year war between the two countries. The Iranian lawmaker also went even further, calling on Baghdad to hand over some of its oil wells to Iran.
This is not the first time that Tehran has used the war with Iraq as a lever against Baghdad to ensure its submission and compliance. The last time it did so was in 2018, when former President Hassan Rouhani’s Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar called on Iraq to pay compensation for the environmental damage caused by the war. What is truly astounding is that there are even some Iraqi officials, apparently more loyal to Iran than to their own nation, who have previously endorsed such calls. They have insisted that this controversial demand is a “fait accompli.” These include Jalal Al-Din Al-Saghir, who called on his country’s government to pay $1.1 trillion in compensation to Iran.
This latest attempt by Tehran to revive its compensation demand is clearly a response to growing tensions with Iraq over water rights, the construction of dams, and Iraqi threats to lodge a complaint against Iran with the International Court of Justice in protest against the dams already built by the Iranians on the rivers shared by the two countries. These dams have caused devastating water shortages in Iraq, which is already facing rapidly dwindling water resources because of declining rainfall and accelerated desertification.
There is also growing concern in Tehran about possible imminent changes in Iraq that could negatively impact its influence in the country, especially after the heavy losses suffered by the pro-Iran alliances in last month’s parliamentary election.
The election results indicate a growing awareness among the Iraqi electorate, particularly about the dangerous sectarian role played by Iran in Iraq via supporting armed militias — as well as a growing awareness about the vital need to prioritize Iraq’s own interests before others through rallying around cross-sectarian political forces, prioritizing Iraq’s civilization, and bringing Baghdad back to the Arab sphere.
As a result of this growing awareness, the Sadrist movement won a decisive electoral victory, capturing 73 seats, while the cross-sectarian Sunni alliance, led by the outgoing parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, came second with 37 seats. The Tehran-affiliated Shiite alliances, in contrast, witnessed sharp losses, shocking the Iranian leadership and its affiliates in Iraq. The Fatah Alliance led by Hadi Al-Amiri came in fifth place, compared to the second place it won in the 2018 election. Meanwhile, the National Wisdom Movement led by Ammar Al-Hakim and the Victory Alliance led by former Prime Minister Haider Abadi captured only four seats between them. This was in stark contrast to the 2018 parliamentary election, when the National Wisdom Movement captured 20 seats and the Victory Alliance 42.
In light of the aforementioned, Iran — by reviving calls to demand war compensation from Iraq — is seeking to place more obstacles in front of the Sadrist movement and its allies ahead of the formation of a new Iraqi government and impose severe limitations on anyone supporting any plan to reduce or end Tehran’s interventionist role. Also, by placing this compensation pressure on Iraq, Iran wants to thwart any collaboration between the different sectarian forces, resist efforts to limit weapons to the state, obstruct any efforts to dissolve its proxy militias, and thwart the Iraqi people’s desire to transition Iraq to a phase of statehood and shift it back to its natural Arab sphere.
There is growing concern in Tehran about possible imminent changes that could negatively impact its influence over Baghdad.
In conclusion, it could be said that Iran — which is fully aware of the documents archived by the UN that condemn Tehran for rejecting the Security Council’s calls to end the war with Iraq in the 1980s — is now calling on Baghdad to pay compensation for a conflict whose primary cause was the hostile policies of the Iranian regime and its threatening behavior toward its neighbors. Now, as then, Iran remains heedless and indifferent to the devastation it has brought on the region’s countries, including the destruction of major capitals and irreplaceable historical monuments, along with the hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced by its ruinous interventions.
In addition, if Iran wants compensation for its war with Iraq, then how much more might be owed to Baghdad for the incalculable losses it has suffered due to Iran’s devastating interventions in its territories since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003? And who can ever compensate the people of the Middle East for their unimaginable suffering caused by the disasters and crises unleashed by Iran’s catastrophic interferences across the region?
*Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is President of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami