English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 18/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.october18.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.
Luke 10/01-07: “After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!”And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 17-18/2021
Hezbollah Latest Devious Ploy is a war Against Lebanon & The Lebanese/Elias Bejjani/October 17/2021
Saudi Arabia advises citizens not to travel to Lebanon
Raad Says 'LF Treachery' Will Have a Price, Asks State to Investigate
Berri Mourns 7 Killed in Tayyouneh, Shiyyah as 'Truth and Justice Martyrs'
Army Says Soldier Being Questioned for 'Firing at Protesters'
The Iran touch:' Tehran is behind decline in Lebanon, Iraq - Bennett
Split appears among families of Beirut blast victims
Who is Alex Saab? Extradited businessman is son of Lebanese immigrant
Lebanon Maronite patriarch says no party should resort to violence
Lebanon Marks Two Years Since the Start of Its Popular Uprising
Lebanon’s PM Says Govt Is Keen Not to Interfere in Any File Related to Judiciary
Bassil Joins Campaign Against Geagea
Bassil Accuses Geagea and LF of 'Bloodshed, Murder' and 'Sniping People from Rooftops'
Lebanon Street Battles May Spell Even Darker Times
What Ignited Beirut?/Hazem SaghiehAsharq Al-Awsat/October, 17/ 2021
The World Sits Idly by as Iran Moves to Erase, Crush and Dislodge the Story behind the Beirut Port Cataclysm/Raghida Dergham/The National/October 17/2021
Réflexions du moment./Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 17/2021
Hier samedi. Saut à Beyrouth./Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 17/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 17-18/2021
Iran's Navy Says Repulsed Pirate Attack in Gulf of Aden
Iran to Resume Nuclear Talks on Thursday
Israel kills former security prisoner, Syrian intelligence officer sniper attack - report
Ankara Escalates North of Aleppo, Damascus Bombs Idlib Countryside
Libya: 5+5 Military Committee Discusses Disarming Militias
Swedish Foreign Minister to Visit Israel, Palestine
Morocco, Israel Discuss Cooperation in Aviation Sector
Damascus Accuses Israel of Killing Former Member of Syrian Parliament
Hamdok Announces Steps to Move Out of Political Crisis
Russian Crew Return to Earth after Filming First Movie in Space
British MP’s killing raises questions about UK’s de-radicalisation programme
US and Canadian warships sailed through Taiwan Strait last week
Cyprus and Egypt sign deal to pursue electricity hookup
International China surprises U.S. with hypersonic missile test, FT reports

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 17-18/2021
The questions around Rifaat Al Assad's return to Syria/CON COUGHLIN/The National/October 17/2021
Syria Is Boiling, Shall We Look the Other Way?/Omer Onhon/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Why Tehran is in Syria for the long haul/Arab News/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/October 17/2021
Ireland’s thorny border problem/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
Results are in and the loser is … Iran/Dalia Al-Aqidi/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
Erdogan tests the water for a Syrian attack/Yasar Yakis/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 17-18/2021
Hezbollah Latest Devious Ploy is a war Against Lebanon & The Lebanese
Elias Bejjani/October 17/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103432/elias-bejjani-hezbollah-latest-devious-ploy-is-a-war-against-lebanon-the-lebanese/
The terrorist Hezbollah evilly and boldly has declared an armed and psychological Jihad war of intimidation, exudes, humiliation, and domestication, against the Christians in occupied Lebanon, and through them, against all the peaceful, free and brave Lebanese from all religious denominations, foremost the Shiites who are refusing and resisting its barbaric Persian hegemony and occupation.
All patriotic Lebanese from all denominations and walk of life are now cornered and have no option, but to confront Hezbollah’s challenges with force, the only language that its Iranian Leadership understands.
This force confrontation with the terrorist Iranian militant proxy, Hezbollah is supposed to be the sole duty and obligation of the Lebanese Army.
Hopefully the army will execute its duties and save Lebanon and its people.
Long Live Free Lebanon

Saudi Arabia advises citizens not to travel to Lebanon
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/18 October ,2021
Saudi Arabia advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon in light of the security developments in the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry also asked Saudi citizens currently in Lebanon to take precautions and stay away from places where crowds are gathered.
Seven people were killed in a shooting on Thursday as crowds headed for a protest against the lead investigator in the Beirut blast case called by the Iran-backed Shia Hezbolla group and its Shia ally Amal. The violence is the latest development in a series of crises that have mired Lebanon which is currently suffering from an economic collapse, shortage of electricity, and an embattled government which is yet to take action to address the multitude of issues miring the public’s life.

Raad Says 'LF Treachery' Will Have a Price, Asks State to Investigate
Naharnet/October 17/2021
Head of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad warned Sunday that there will be a price for “the Lebanese Forces’ treachery that committed a massacre on Thursday,” referring to the deadly Tayyouneh clashes. “We will not rush to a civil war and we will not threaten civil peace, but we also will not accept that this blood go in vain,” Raad said. “The state must investigate and reach the culprits to hold them accountable, seeing as this is its job,” the Hizbullah lawmaker added, noting that Hizbullah will wait to see what the state will do but “will not forget the blood of the innocents from our people.”“Their entire history is full of massacres and attacks on civil peace,” Raad went on to say, referring to the LF. Apparently lashing out at LF leader Samir Geagea, the MP accused him of “planting snipers on rooftops to tell his handlers that he is the horse that they can bet on to ruin civil peace and the country.”
He warned: “Our problem with the group of snipers will have a separate price, seeing as the blood of our people is not ink. The blood of our people remains blood and we know its value, seeing as had it not been for it, no Lebanese would have possessed dignity and the Israeli’s boot would have been ruling this country.” Turning to the port blast investigation, Raad asked: “What are you afraid of?” “Those who want the truth must unveil it without cheating, falsification and lying to people and without turning the probe into something that can be exploited to incite people against each other. This is all what we are asking for regarding this matter and we will follow it up,” he added. Five Hizbullah and Amal Movement members and two civilians were killed and dozens of people were injured in Thursday’s fierce clashes in the Tayyouneh area. Hizbullah and Amal have accused the LF of deploying snipers on rooftops and opening fire on peaceful protesters. The Lebanese Forces has meanwhile denied using snipers while noting that it was Ain al-Remmaneh’s residents who “defended themselves” in the face of an “invasion” by the supporters of the two groups.

Berri Mourns 7 Killed in Tayyouneh, Shiyyah as 'Truth and Justice Martyrs'
Naharnet/October 17/2021
Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri on Sunday described the seven people killed in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh violence as “martyrs of truth and justice.”In a statement marking the Prophet’s Birthday, Berri also remembered the “martyrs of the port” while noting that those killed in Thursday’s clashes were killed by “treacherous snipers.”He also called for “drawing lessons” and working for “justice and equality among people.”Five Hizbullah and Amal Movement members, a woman and a delivery worker were killed and dozens of people were injured in Thursday's fierce clashes in the Tayyouneh area. Hizbullah and Amal have accused the Lebanese Forces party of "deploying snipers on rooftops" and opening fire on "peaceful protesters." The Lebanese Forces has meanwhile denied using snipers while noting that it was Ain al-Remmaneh’s residents who "defended themselves" in the face of an "invasion" by the supporters of the two groups.

Army Says Soldier Being Questioned for 'Firing at Protesters'
Naharnet/October 17/2021
Social media users have heavily circulated CCTV footage showing an army soldier firing at the Hizbullah-Amal protesters in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh area from a close distance during Thursday’s deadly incidents.
In an official statement issued overnight, the army acknowledged that the footage shows “a soldier opening fire at protesters during the confrontations that erupted two days ago in the Tayyouneh area,” noting that he is being “interrogated under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities.”
Al-Jadeed TV meanwhile quoted “sources close to the Lebanese Army” as saying that “the army started responding to gunfire after three people were killed by gunfire in the armed clash.” “This is what appeared in the circulated videos that show an army soldier opening fire,” the sources added.

The Iran touch:' Tehran is behind decline in Lebanon, Iraq - Bennett
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Iran is behind the bloody gunbattles in Beirut as well as the rise of the anti-Iran cleric in Iraq's election.
Jerusalem Post/October 17/2021
Iranian influence is behind recent events in Lebanon and Iraq, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned at the start of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. Bennett referred to gun battles in Beirut in recent days, amid Hezbollah-organized demonstrations against the investigation of last year's devastating port explosion, as well as the rise of the anti-Iran cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq's election last week. “We are following the developments in Lebanon and a bit east of there: Iraq,” Bennett said. “In both cases, we see a trend coming from below, of forces that are simply sick of the control and influence of Iran, whether it’s Hezbollah in Lebanon or Shi’ite militias in Iraq, which was hit hard in the election that took place there last week.” Bennett said both were a result of “the Iranian touch.”“Every place the Iranians go enters a tailspin of violence, poverty, failure and instability,” the prime minister said.
Bennett expressed hope for the Lebanese and Iraqi people that they will free themselves from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “suffocating grip” and build a better future for themselves.

Split appears among families of Beirut blast victims
The National/October 17/2021
Relatives disown campaign spokesman after he backs Hezbollah’s call for removal of investigating judge.
The investigation into the Beirut port explosion last year suffered another setback after a spokesman for victims’ relatives urged the judge leading the probe to quit. Ibrahim Hoteit appeared in a video released on Friday in which he accused the judge, Tarek Bitar, of politicising the investigation and asked him to step down after “blood was spilled”. The statements indicate a surprise reversal in Mr Hoteit’s position, prompting speculation as to whether he was under duress. On Thursday, Mr Hoteit had voiced support for the judge while calling on politicians to allow for a transparent and independent investigation. The video was released a day after seven people were killed in armed clashes in Beirut during a protest by supporters of the Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, Amal, to demand Mr Bitar’s removal.
William Noun, who lost his brother in the blast, said Mr Hoteit’s statement was not co-ordinated with the other families of victims, unlike previous occasions, and claimed the spokesman was pressured by Hezbollah to attack Mr Bitar. “Since the video appeared, I haven’t been able to reach Mr Hoteit, although he has given statements to the press,” Mr Noun told The National. Mr Noun said the video was aimed at sowing discord among the families of victims. His statement was echoed by Paul Najjar, whose daughter was the youngest person to be killed in the blast, on August 4 last year. “We urge you all to consider it as being done under pressure to divide our communities and not to spread it,” Mr Najjar said of the video.
The clashes on Thursday took place along lines that separated Christian and Muslims districts during the 15-year civil war, which ended in 1990.
Hezbollah accused the Lebanese Forces party, which is Christian, of firing at peaceful protesters to incite civil unrest. The LF leader, Samir Geagea, said the fighting was between Hezbollah loyalists and local residents after hundreds of protesters stormed the area and vandalised property.
Speaking to a local radio station Saturday, Mr Hoteit denied that he was pressured to release the video, in which he accused the US of politicising the blast inquiry and appeared to be reading nervously from a script.
“I spoke in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the families of victims. No one asked me to say what I said. My statement was out of conviction,” he said. After meeting on Saturday, the committee representing the families of blast victims said Mr Hoteit’s statements did not represent their position. It suggested he was pressured to change his stance and said it would continue to pursue truth. But Hassan Amin, whose brother was killed in the blast, said he, too, had doubts about Mr Bitar’s impartiality.
“I’m not saying this because I’m a Shiite or because I reside in Dahiyeh,” he told The National, in reference to a suburb of southern Beirut in which Hezbollah enjoys widespread support. He called on Mr Bitar to summon officials from across the political spectrum for questioning.
“Why is the judge selectively summoning officials?” he said. Mr Amin called on Mr Bitar to reveal the technical findings of his inquiry and to pursue a transparent investigation. Otherwise, the judge should be replaced, he said.
“The state and the ruling class in its entirety bear responsibility for the explosion,” he said.More than a year after the blast, it is not known what triggered the ignition of hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port for more than six years. Media reports linked the shipment to businessmen close to Syrian President Bashar Assad, a close ally of Hezbollah.
The explosion led to the resignation of then prime minister Hassan Diab and his government, plunging the country into political paralysis and compounding its economic woes. Mr Diab along with four former ministers, including two members of Amal, have been indicted of charges of criminal negligence. All five have snubbed Mr Bitar’s summons for questioning, arguing he had no authority to prosecute them under the constitution. They say they should be tried by a special body comprising senior judges and members of parliament. Last week, ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and Amal asked the Cabinet to block Mr Bitar from prosecuting senior officials. Disagreement over their demand has led to government paralysis.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday his government would not intervene in judicial affairs, noting that the judiciary has to take the appropriate measures.

من هو أليكس صعب الميلونار الذي سلمته كولومبيا إلى أميركا ليحاكم بتهم الفساد وتبيض الأموال
Who is Alex Saab? Extradited businessman is son of Lebanese immigrant
The National/October 17/2021,
Colombian diplomat has been under arrest since June 2020 over deals for Venezuelan President Maduro.
Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman of Lebanese descent, known for his multimillion-dollar deals with the Venezuelan government, was extradited to the US on Saturday. The 49-year-old diplomat, the son of a Lebanese immigrant who had settled in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, has been under arrest since June 2020 for allegedly corrupt deals for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
He was detained in Cabo Verde when his plane landed for refuelling.
Mr Saab, long considered a frontman for Mr Maduro, was reportedly on his way to Iran to negotiate obtaining various supplies for the Venezuelan regime. The Colombian government froze Mr Saab’s assets and issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018.
On Saturday, Cabo Verde's Constitutional Court approved Mr Saab’s extradition to the US where he is facing trial on corruption and money-laundering charges. The second of four brothers, Mr Saab found success in Columbia’s textile industry before expanding his activities to Venezuela. There, he won government contracts to provide supplies for prefabricated houses and the state’s food programme.
He is set to make his first court appearance on Monday for exploiting food aid destined for Venezuela and laundering money for Mr Maduro through the food programme by taking advantage of the government-controlled exchange rate. His lawyers have called the US charges "politically motivated".Last year, Mr Saab, in partnership with Venezuela's Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, who is also of Lebanese descent, reportedly helped to negotiate a deal to purchase Iranian oil in exchange for gold – in breach of US sanctions. His extradition prompted Venezuela to suspend negotiations with the opposition and to revoke the house arrest of six former executives of refiner Citgo, a US subsidiary of state oil company PDVSA. The six including five US citizens and a permanent resident, were released from jail and put under house arrest in April. The US government has repeatedly demanded their release.
Sanctions for Lebanese businessmen
Mr Saab is not the first businessman of Lebanese descent to be pursued by the US.Several Lebanese businessmen affiliated with Iran-backed Hezbollah have been subjected to sanctions for their involvement in drug and weapons trafficking across Latin America and for providing support to Mr Maduro’s regime.In 2012, the US Department of the Treasury flagged four people and three entities involved in laundering the proceeds of narcotics for Ayman Joumaa, whom he US accuses of running a network that has reach throughout the Americas and the Middle East with links to Hezbollah. Those designated included Abbas Hussein Harb, Ibrahim Chibli and Ali Mohamad Saleh. The US Treasury said at the time that Mr Harb’s businesses in Colombia and Venezuela were laundering money for the Joumaa network through the Lebanese financial sector.

Lebanon Maronite patriarch says no party should resort to violence
Reuters/October 17/2021
Thursday's spasm of violence, in which seven Shi'ite Muslims were killed, came amid rising tensions over the investigation of last's year's port blast.
Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, said on Sunday the country's judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian "activism" amid rising tensions over a probe into last year's blast at Beirut port. Rai also said that it was unacceptable for any party to resort to threats or violence after last week's deadly unrest around the investigation - which was Lebanon's worst street bloodshed in more than a decade and stirred memories of the ruinous 1975-1990 civil war. "We must free the judiciary from political interference, sectarian and partisan political activism and respect its independence according to the principle of separation of powers," he said in his sermon. "No one is above the law and judiciary." Rai, head of the Maronite church, has an influential role as religious leader of the biggest Christian community in Lebanon, where political power is divided between its main Christian, Muslim and Druze sects. The inquiry into the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Beirut, has made little headway amid pushback from powerful political factions, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah saying Judge Tarek Bitar -- the lead investigator -- is biased and politicized. Seven Shi'ite Muslims were killed on Thursday as crowds were on their way to a protest against Bitar in a demonstration called by the Iran-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah group and its Shi'ite ally Amal. The violence added to concerns over the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and grappling with an economic meltdown. "The democratic system has afforded us peaceful means for freedom of expression whether in support or opposition so it's not acceptable that any party should resort to threats or violence and setting up party checkpoints or tribal ones to get what they want through force," said Rai. "We refuse to put vengeance in the place of justice?" he said. He added that Lebanon's Council of Ministers must meet, take decisions and respect authority. Hezbollah blamed the Christian Lebanese Forces party for the deaths on Thursday, an accusation the head of that party, Samir Geagea, denied. On Thursday, the army initially said rounds were fired on at protesters as they passed through the Teyouneh traffic circle dividing Christian and Shi'ite Muslim neighborhoods. It later said there had been an "altercation and exchange of fire" as protesters were on their way to the demonstration.

Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch: 'No party should resort to violence'
Thursday's bloodshed was the worst the country has reported in a decade
The National/October 17/2021
Lebanon's top Christian cleric has said it is unacceptable for any party to resort to threats or violence after the worst street bloodshed in the country in more than a decade. Thursday's shooting, in which seven Shiite people were killed, came amid rising tension over the investigation into last year's port blast.
In his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rai said “no one is above the law and judiciary”. Thursday's incident in Beirut marked the second deadly sectarian clash in five months. Violence in June took the lives of at least four in Khalde, south of Beirut.Mr Rai said “we must free the judiciary from political interference” and “sectarian and partisan political activism". Lebanon's council of ministers must meet, take decisions and respect authority, he said. The Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah group opposes the investigation and has called for the lead investigator into the blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, to be removed. Mr Bitar's predecessor, Fadi Sawan, was removed because of political pressure after indictment of two former ministers. Global leaders expressed concern over Thursday's violence and called for an investigation. Leaders also called for the continuation of the investigation into the Beirut port blast, which killed at least 214 people. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to the violence and stressed the need for an impartial investigation into the blast.
A Lebanese Hezbollah MP said on Sunday that the shooting at the protesters amounted to a “massacre” and its perpetrators should be held to account, the state-run National News Agency reported. “What the criminals … did is a massacre and it will have important ramifications,” MP Hassan Fadallah said. “Those who incited, planned … and opened fire should be held to account all the way up to the top.”
Hezbollah had accused members of the Lebanese Forces, the country’s second biggest Christian party, of firing at demonstrators. Mr Fadlalah said the shooting was aimed at luring the party into a domestic conflict, accusing the Lebanese Forces of serving foreign agendas.
The party's leader, Samir Geagea, has accused Hezbollah of storming peaceful neighbourhoods and vandalising property, which he said prompted local residents to clash with Hezbollah loyalists and their Shiite allies in Amal, the movement led by the parliament speaker.
Mr Geagea said Hezbollah's move was reminiscent of the May 7, 2008 events when the Iran-backed group's gunmen overran parts of Beirut. Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement — the largest Christian party and the group founded by President Michel Aoun — accused Mr Geagea of inciting strife. Mr Bassil, the target of US-corruption related charges, is a staunch ally of Hezbollah and a presidential aspirant.

Lebanon Marks Two Years Since the Start of Its Popular Uprising
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Lebanon on Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of its popular uprising when demonstrators took to the streets against government corruption and austerity measures in the biggest protest movement the country has seen in years. The protests began in Beirut over the government's plan to tax WhatsApp calls amid a sharply deteriorating economic crisis. But the demonstrations quickly spread to the rest of the country, swelling into the biggest protest movement the country has seen in years. Security forces on October 17, 2019 fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to push through security barriers around the government headquarters. For the first time in the history of the country, Lebanese people of all faiths joined together, against their leaders, calling for a change of regime. According to AFP, the movement continued to grow, and in June 2020, it was further fueled by the collapse of the economy.
Two months later, on August 4, 2020, the capital was rocked by a devastating explosion that killed an estimated 217 people, injuring more than 6,500 and destroying much of the city. Two years after the popular uprising began, the country continues to grapple with medicine, food and fuel shortages, and nationwide power cuts. On October 14, the deadliest sectarian clashes in years broke out on the streets of Beirut, killing seven and leaving dozens wounded.

Lebanon’s PM Says Govt Is Keen Not to Interfere in Any File Related to Judiciary
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government is keen not to interfere in any file related to the judiciary, according to a statement from his office on Saturday. The statement came following a meeting with the justice minister and the head of the higher judicial council after seven people were killed in clashes in Beirut on Thursday. The violence began as people were gathering for a protest called by Hezbollah against Judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating last year’s Beirut port blast. "The judicial authority must take whatever measures it deems appropriate," Mikati added.
Justice Minister Henry Khoury said Bitar has full authority in the case and has the right to summon whoever he wants, Al Jadeed television reported. The higher judicial council will meet with Bitar on Tuesday to listen to his opinion on the course of the investigation, LBCI TV said in a tweet on Saturday. The investigation into the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, has made little headway amid a smear campaign against Bitar and pushback from powerful Lebanese factions. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said Bitar was biased and politicized after he attempted to question official who include allies of the party. Authorities have detained 19 people in relation to Thursday’s fighting.

Bassil Joins Campaign Against Geagea
Beirut - Nazir Rida/Asharq Al Awsat.October 17/2021
The Lebanese Army announced on Saturday that one of its soldiers was under investigation for his suspected involvement in shooting at demonstrators during their participation in a protest organized by Hezbollah and the Amal movement in the Tayouneh area of Beirut, which led to the killing of 7 people. The army’s announcement came in response to videos circulated on social media, showing a soldier firing at protesters, who were calling for the dismissal of the investigative judge in the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Meanwhile, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), MP Gebran Bassil, joined Amal and Hezbollah’s campaign against the Lebanese Forces and its head, Samir Geagea, over Thursday’s clashes in Tayouneh. In a press conference on Saturday, Bassil referred to Geagea without naming him, saying: “There is someone - who whenever attempts to get clean - ends up shedding blood, because it is in his nature… The crime of Tayouneh is the biggest proof.”Bassil went on to say: “Whoever has a bloody history should not pretend to aim for justice while killing protesters, in attempt to cause a strife.”“No one has the right to snipe the demonstrators, even if they were provocative,” the FPM head added.
He emphasized that expressing an opinion, “no matter what, does not justify a response with violence, shooting, and murder.”Hezbollah and the Amal movement reiterated their demand to punish Geagea, accusing him of being involved in the Tayouneh clashes, despite the LF denial. Hezbollah’s MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said that the victims were killed by LF snipers.

Bassil Accuses Geagea and LF of 'Bloodshed, Murder' and 'Sniping People from Rooftops'
Naharnet/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Saturday launched a vehement attack on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in connection with the deadly Tayyouneh clashes, while criticizing Hizbullah and Amal over the “provocations” of their supporters in Ain el-Remmaneh.
“Whenever he tries to clean himself he later gets dirty with shedding blood, because this is his nature, and the Tayyouneh crime is the biggest proof,” Bassil added, referring to Geagea. “A strong party is not one that carries arms and snipes people from the rooftops of buildings. A strong party is not the one that claims to be protecting its neighborhood by opening fire from among its people. A strong party spares its neighborhood strife, not through submission, but through standing strongly and wisely,” the FPM chief added, in a speech marking the October 13, 1990 anniversary. “The rights of Christians cannot be recovered through blood!” Bassil stressed. “They haven’t learned anything from the policies of treachery, sniping and murder! They kill our people -- be them Christian or Muslim, children or elderly, secular or clergymen, premiers or citizens, civilians or soldiers,” the FPM chief charged.
He added that no one has the right to “murder protesters through sniping and backstabbing” even if they make “provocations.”Without naming the LF, Bassil charged that the rival Christian party is still “prepared, trained and carrying on with the killing policy” and is willing to “make a massacre, strife or civil war when it is offered a green light.”“Justice is achieved through the judiciary, not sectarian incitement. Those whose history is black cannot claim to be fond of justice while killing protesting people and trying to stir strife in the country on former frontiers in order to gain popularity,” Bassil added.
Criticizing Hizbullah and Amal, the FPM chief said “no one has the right to impose their opinion on others nor to threaten street action.”
“Everyone has the right to have an opinion about the investigator and the (Beirut port blast) probe and everyone has the right to have doubts and suspicions, but this should happen through the judicial, legal and institutional course. But no one has the right to undermine the principle of the separation of powers by trying to impose their opinion on Cabinet contrary to the norms and laws. They must know that someone will stand in their face to say No!” Bassil added. He also criticized the Hizbullah and Amal supporters who “came to Ain al-Remmaneh to chant provocative slogans.”
“Would they have accepted for the families of the victims or members of parties to go to Dahiyeh and chant against its people? Insults, the storming of side roads and the smashing of properties are totally unacceptable. This is not peaceful protesting but the killing of people is not legitimate,” Bassil added. “Intimidation is rejected, whether it came from those who attacked without thinking or those who claimed to be defending while practicing premeditated murder,” the FPM chief went on to say. He added: “We are the guarantee of civil peace and we will prevent strife. We appreciate those who practiced self-restraint to prevent strife, we offer condolences over the victims and we call on security and judicial agencies to conduct a firm probe and a quick trial so that no one takes justice into their own hands.”

Analysis: Lebanon Street Battles May Spell Even Darker Times
Associated Press/October, 17/ 2021
The most powerful men in Lebanese politics have been in charge for decades, some since the early 1970s. They've survived civil war, assassinations, uprisings and other turmoil, hanging on to power for decades in a turbulent, unforgiving region. Now, they're in a desperate fight to cling to positions and wealth as Lebanon takes hit after hit, grappling with one of the world's worst economic meltdowns in decades and the aftermath of an explosion that ripped through the capital a year ago, killing more than 215 people. The gunbattles that raged for hours on the streets of Beirut this week were the latest manifestation of the willingness by members of the country's ruling class to fight for political survival at any cost. Unhappy with where the investigation into last year's port explosion is going, they have closed ranks to make sure they are untouched by the fallout.
On Thursday, Hizbullah, which is Lebanon's strongest political party and armed group, and the allied Amal Movement organized a protest demanding the removal of the judge leading the probe. Armed, they marched into predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Beirut's suburbs, some shouting "Shiite, Shiite!"Hizbullah and Amal, two Shiite parties that fought pitched battles against each other in the '80s but are now close allies, accused the Lebanese Forces -- a Christian party that had a powerful militia during the 1975-90 civil war -- of opening fire first. The Lebanese Forces denied it, blaming the violence on Hizbullah's incitement of its supporters against Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the port investigation.
The two sides clashed for hours, demonstrating to the nation once again that the Lebanese must choose: justice and accountability, or civil peace. For many, it exemplified why Lebanon is trapped in today's quagmire. "They instigate the people against one another, then they sit at a table together to make deals," said Hanan Raad, whose sister-in-law was killed in Thursday's fighting. A mother of five, Mariam Farhat was shot by a sniper bullet as she sat near the balcony of her second floor apartment, her family said Friday. The probe into the port explosion is at the heart of the current tensions — as is Lebanon's culture of impunity, one in which the judiciary has never gone after those in power, despite widespread corruption and crimes. That is until the August 2020 explosion at Beirut's port drew international attention to the massive corruption and negligence behind it. Within a few days of the explosion, it emerged from documents that several senior politicians and security chiefs knew of the hundreds of tons of highly combustible ammonium nitrate stored haphazardly in a port warehouse and did nothing about it. Entrenched politicians who lock horns and bicker over just about everything else, closed ranks to undermine the investigation.
Rival politicians, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Hizbullah's leader Sayyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and several religious figures launched a campaign to discredit Bitar, accusing him of bias.When the judge began summoning officials, they used parliamentary immunity and various legal challenges to avoid having to show up for questioning.
Defiantly, the 46-year-old judge issued arrest warrants, including for former ministers of finance and public works, both Amal members and close Hizbullah allies. Now Thursday's street clashes have further thrown into doubt both the future of the investigation and whether Bitar can continue leading it. "We are dealing with a new equation: either Tarek Bitar leaves, or the country will be ruined," said Youssef Diab, a political analyst. "We are in front of this new and dangerous equation."The establishment parties have collectively worked to block any serious opposition and attempts at reform that might harm them, observers say. They have hampered a forensic audit of the country's central bank, a key demand of the international community to restore confidence in the crisis-struck Mideast nation, protecting the bank's longtime governor even as he faces corruption charges in Switzerland and France and accusations of gross mismanagement at home.
Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system has proved impossible to bring down. Protests have been quashed. Warlords have cast themselves as their sect's protectors, granting favors to their followers.
A revolt against the status quo would mean breaking up the sectarian patronage network, cultivated by the ruling elite and one that many in the divided population benefit from. Many Lebanese politicians have a large — even blind — following. They are quick to blame other factions for the country's myriad problems and eagerly stoke fears among their supporters that another sect could gain power over them. Hundreds of thousands thronged streets in Beirut and across Lebanon in late 2019 in some of the largest protests the country has seen. For a few months, the demonstrations unified an often-divided public in revolt against entrenched leaders who have brought the economy to the brink of bankruptcy. The protests were met with violence, arrests and intimidation, and eventually fizzled out. Some are banking that elections next spring will bring a degree of change. But the opposition has no viable political program or candidates who can challenge the political elite. And as the economic crisis has thrown three quarters of the population into poverty, vote-buying will be much cheaper.
With pent-up anger among many Lebanese, growing sectarian tensions and a political class desperate to cling to its privileged role, a descent into further violence becomes even more possible. Michael Young, a senior editor at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, says there could be serious consequences if Hizbullah and Amal manage to derail the port investigation."The sudden escalation in violence could provoke new developments in Lebanon that lead to a cancellation of elections, and take the country into a much darker period than the one that exists today," Young wrote Friday in Diwan, Carnegie's Mideast blog.

What Ignited Beirut?
Hazem SaghiehAsharq Al-Awsat/October, 17/ 2021
Going back to 1975, our minds would spew out pages of history that the well-intended among us thought had been turned. Maarouf Saad’s assassination, the Ain al-Rummaneh bus…all were recalled to this present day. The past does not pass in Lebanon.
What leaves the past in the present, or perhaps puts it in the future, has one name: Tyranny.
Tyranny could stem from authorities or from armed groups that impose, through force of arms, what weaker counterparts cannot oppose. This Thursday, there emerged those who opposed, and so Beirut was ignited.
The background story starts with the Taif Agreement that was implemented under Syrian patronage. Hezbollah’s arsenal was thus deemed legitimate while the other armed groups were handing theirs in. The Second Republic was born with this disequilibrium and discrimination. Matters became worse after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2000. The arsenal, for which the Shebaa Farms were conjured up, remained in its owners’ hands.
Exacerbating the discrimination and disequilibrium is that a wide segment of the Lebanese had gotten involved in the war of 1975 in opposition to the arsenal. The leaders of that segment of society ended up either in exile or prisons. Opposing the arsenal came to be officially considered a form of treason. Opposition was forbidden. Those who found that Lebanon had been able to protect itself through an armistice agreement between 1949 and the late sixties were considered traitors, or in the best of cases, suspicious.
Those with the guns couldn’t absolve themselves of Rafic Hariri’s assassination in 2005. The Syrian forces’ withdrawal from Lebanon expanded their influence. In 2006, they thought it was the right time to wage a destructive war that would reel in the causes raised by Hariri’s assassination, i.e., freedom, sovereignty, and independence. We returned to the “sacred causes” that hide and disfigure every real cause.
Nonetheless, opposing that destructive war is also treacherous.
The parliamentary majority is barred from governing. The government collapses, through the withdrawal of its Shiite members, whenever it expresses the slightest opposition to that arsenal. It loses the sectarian representation it needs for its legitimacy.
When those opposed to the arsenal raised their voice, they would be fought with the occupation of the capital. That is precisely what happened on May 7, 2008. The fairytale that this arsenal had been maintained to protect Lebanon was dealt a heavy blow. Protecting the fairy tale came to require two other assurances: ministerial statements would be obliged to adopt the “army, people and resistance” formula. Opposition is also forbidden. Those who oppose are agents working for embassies. Another assurance was ensured through the intimidation of areas that could object to the arsenal: the streets of Hamra and Ashrafieh, friendly gentle visits declaring “we are your followers Nassrllah” recurred frequently.
Those with the arsenal decided to participate in suppressing the Syrian revolution and then in the Syrian civil war. Whoever disagreed with them on the Syrian conflict is either a Sunni Islamic extremist or one of the American devils’ tools. The same accusations used to target those who have a different opinion on how to protect Lebanon from Israel were repeated against those who opposed fighting in Syria.
It is against this backdrop that the economic crisis came to pose another challenge. Those who found that Lebanon’s foreign policy should be aligned with its interests and serve those interests were depicted as conspiring against those with the arsenal. To be deemed acceptable, they have to forget their ties to the Gulf, Europe, and the US and try to further them in Iran and China. The October revolution against the ruling clique and its corruption is not permissible either. It undermines the conditions most suitable for those with the arsenal. The ban has taken many forms, starting with banning Shiites from taking part, and it does not stop at youths chanting “Shiites Shiites” assaulting protesters.
The biggest calamity was with the blast at the Port of Beirut, which Christians consider to have left their areas paying the heaviest costs. Credible suspicions about the Syrian regime’s involvement through middlemen arose. Those with the guns said the investigation was politicized. The first lead investigator, Fadi Sawwan, was not fit for the task. The second investigator, Tarek Bitar, is not welcome to take it on.
The few days before the bloody events on Thursday witnessed an unhinged campaign of terror, accusations of treachery, and blackmail. It involved defamation and repeated references to May 7, 2008. With the declarations about the government falling and the threats issued during the council of ministers meeting, it was apparent the guns were being oiled.
All of this to prevent a trial!
After Rafic Hariri’s assassination, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was viciously attacked because it was international. With the investigation into the port blast, there is a desire to hinder a national court.
The stance, then, addresses investigations, all forms of investigations. The assassination of Lokman Slim, who was killed in Hezbollah’s fiefdom, has not begun to be investigated. Crime is a requisite for resistance to the same extent that resistance is a requisite for the crime.
The tyranny and intolerance for opposing it, as well as the defamation of its opponents or the enforcement of the strictest of punishments against them, have become so bitter that fairy tales about the “sacred cause” or that the “weapons are to protect Lebanon” are no longer useful. Even the homeland becomes, in this case, a pure fairy tale that most of its people don’t want to be part of, and discovering that the homeland itself is a fairy tale, very sadly, could spark many other flames.

The World Sits Idly by as Iran Moves to Erase, Crush and Dislodge the Story behind the Beirut Port Cataclysm
Raghida Dergham/The National/October 17/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103425/raghida-dergham-the-world-sits-idly-by-as-iran-moves-to-erase-crush-and-dislodge-the-story-behind-the-beirut-port-cataclysm-%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%ba%d8%a7%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%84/
It is welcome news that Iran wants to restore ties with Saudi Arabia, and that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are reaching out to Iran to enlist its help in ending the war in Yemen. But let’s hope these mark serious shifts and not just half-baked steps for temporary appeasement. The Saudi-Iranian talks taking place in Iraq must also continue beyond the recent fourth round, in the hope that a new chapter would start between Iran and its Arab neighbors in the Gulf and the Middle East. Having said all that, we must talk about the current implications of the Western powers – the US, Britain, France, and Germany – along with China and Russia agreeing to compartmentalize the Vienna talks and separate Iran’s regional activities.
From Iraq to Lebanon, these implications are clear, as Iran and its proxies behave with a combination of panic and arrogance.
The Iraqi elections produced a surprising outcome, revealing the resentment against Iran-backed militias and parties. However, this was met with threats to undo the results – risking an existential security crisis but proving that. armed with the Biden administration and European appeasement for the sake of the nuclear deal, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their proxies cannot stomach democratic elections.
In Lebanon, agreeing to exclude Iran’s regional behavior from the nuclear talks has emboldened Hezbollah. Believing there will be no international accountability, Hezbollah is explicitly stating its determination to crush justice and the judiciary, flout the principle of the separation of powers, and bury the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion. If the new Lebanese government refuses its diktats, Hezbollah is threatening to topple it and launch a street war reminiscent of the traumatizing years of the civil war.
Hezbollah and its ally Amal in the Shia Duo are preparing the gallows for Tarek Bitar, the investigative judge leading the Beirut Port inquiry, accusing him of ‘politicizing’ the investigation just because he is not submitting to their interference. The Shia Duo has also launched a similar campaign against Judge Suheil Abboud, chief justice of Lebanon, just because he dared place law and justice above politics. The panic felt by the Shia Duo over the judiciary’s revolt against the political class is clear, as is its determination to label the opposition as traitors and incite violence against it. The Hezbollah-Amal’s overconfidence belies a combination of anxiety from the investigation and its outcome on the one hand, and a bet that US and European reactions will not go beyond futile denunciations – because their priority is the nuclear deal with and not accountability for Iran.
Clearly, Hezbollah does not want the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion and the assassination of Lebanon’s capital to expand and wants to shut it down completely. The issue of the port explosion is complicated, including the story of how the ship carrying the ammonium nitrates arrived in Beirut, which appears to involve international shell companies and dodgy dealings linked to the corrupt ruling class in Lebanon, and the port under Hezbollah’s control.
There are many hypotheses. The investigation has yet to arrive at any conclusions. The countries that have satellite reconnaissance capabilities have dithered and delayed since Lebanon asked them to share images of the port on the day of the explosion – up to 17 countries. Some ignored the request, others denied having any images. According to informed sources, the United States and Turkey shared their images in official correspondence that stated nothing proves a strike from outside the port had triggered the explosion. France, which claims that Lebanon is one of its priorities, has not complied with the Lebanese request.
From the Russian captain of the ship to the Georgian owner, to the holding company registered in Britain and European companies that quickly vanished, something fishy went on, involving Lebanese, regional, and international actors, and the story goes way beyond shadowy brokers and nitrates. Indeed, according to intelligence sources, illicit imports and exports were transiting from Beirut port not just to Syria but also to Iran. And this is not exclusively about the nitrates, which were reportedly used in barrel bombs dropped by the regime in Damascus on rebels. According to the sources, the biggest concern for the Iranians thus is anything that could uncover what was passing through Beirut port to Iran, including chemicals, spare parts, chips and electronics, and sensitive materials for its missile and nuclear programs.
Establishing that sensitive materials related to Iran’s nuclear program were passing through Beirut port could threaten a setback for the Vienna talks, which could endanger the prospect for lifting US sanctions on Iran. For this reason, it is a red line for the investigations into the port explosion to reach – even unintentionally – any damning documents much of which is reported to have been incinerated after the blast. According to the sources, who are sympathetic to Iran, the destruction of evidence is crucial and there is no margin for the kind of risk that Judge Bitar’s investigation carries. “It’s better for everyone to erase the whole issue from memory,” the sources added saying “there are many details that could lead to more harm for more than one party, and no one wants to clear the fog” surrounding the matter.
Easy for the pro-Iran camp to advise ignoring what happened on 4 August 2020, on the pretext that neither Russia, Iran, Israel nor the Europeans and the United States “want to open the door to the dark room”. In other words, these sources are saying, “Eat excrement, because 40 billion flies cannot be wrong”. But four million Lebanese people have been eating nothing but excrement in the past two years thanks to the corrupt ruling class, Hezbollah’s armed tyranny, and the alliance between Hezbollah and the president’s Free Patriotic movement. Today, the FPM finds itself in a predicament – and President Michel Aoun finds himself having to choose between yielding to his ally Hezbollah and its ministers defying him, and his popular base which has had enough and does not want to ‘let bygones be bygones’ when it comes to the port investigation.
Yet President Aoun is no victim without agency. He can take advantage of the situation to act in the interest of Lebanon, first and foremost by upholding the principle of the separation of powers – political from judicial. He must show wisdom and courage based on a profound reading of the results so far of his alliance with Hezbollah, an alliance that has allowed the latter to seize all the levers of the Lebanese state, put the presidency in an awkward corner, and dictate to it what to do, while threatening to topple the new Mikati government – ultimately, the government of Hezbollah.
Stopping the investigation has therefore become an absolute priority for the Shia Duo, which has refused to allow its ministers to be questioned by Judge Bitar. To clarify, those wanted for questioning are not exclusively Amal-affiliated figures like Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, but also include Nouhad Machnouk and Yusuf Finianos.
President Aoun can take the exit ramp from his predicament and give permission to Judge Bitar to question Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, the head of the State Security agency. Prime Minister Najib Mikati can signal though the Sunni interior minister a green light to Judge Bitar to question Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the head of General Security. By doing so, the president and PM can set an example for others and prove that they are protectors of the judiciary.
The crisis is now between an independent judiciary and a political authority that considers itself above the law, and that refuses even a questioning, resorting instead to inciting the street against the court system. The international community must stop verbal denunciations and immediately support the independent judiciary in Lebanon. The judiciary is in grave danger, and international protection must be afforded to Lebanon’s judges. The United States and the European powers, led by France, can move to deploy sanctions against those mutinying against the judiciary, as the Lebanese security services fail to act fearing political recriminations.
The insistence of Hezbollah and Amal on President Aoun to remove the investigative judge by any means, and the threat to topple Mikati’s government, has been accompanied by hints at using other means because there will be no backing down from the decision to ‘liquidate’ Bitar, either politically or forcibly. Clearly, the Shia Duo is determined to foil the investigation into the port explosion, and not just Tarek Bitar. Clearly too, the Iranian leadership is strongly supporting Hezbollah’s intransigence on this issue, even if this were to cause a major upheaval in the Lebanese political structure, because for Tehran, erasing the crime at the port is a top priority.
Informed sources close to Iran have confirmed that it is Iran that has issued orders to crush and erase Bitar’s investigation. Neither Tehran nor the Shia Duo will compromise on the issue of erasing the investigation and what happened at the port of Beirut. The Beirut port case is a slippery slope to much bigger repercussions than the problems caused by the investigation controversy and the removal of Bitar per se – in the view of Hezbollah and the IRGC. Erasing the whole case may be costly today, but if it remains alive then the cost will be much more down the road, in Tehran’s view.
Tarek Bitar has become a dangerous man for them because he is uncovering the story of the port blast with evidence that will prove to be a huge problem for Tehran and the Shia Duo. He has become a problem that, in case it cannot solved, will have to be erased without hesitation! They have no fear of any local or international repercussions, because Tehran’s interpretation of the international landscape suggests it has succeeded in taming the Europeans, to the extent that they can become complicit in turning a blind eye to a crime against humanity; and has succeeded in crippling the Americans under Biden, to the extent that it is guaranteed they can act with impunity, no matter what they do to crush and erase the truth about the terrifying cataclysm of the Beirut port.

Réflexions du moment.
Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 17/2021
-Les brigades Iraniennes, Hezb et Amal sont fortes et nombreuses mais NON INVICIBLES.
-La Résistance a frappé.
-Fournir le soutien populaire le plus élargi possible.
Réfléchissons ensemble.
Vive la Résistance
Vive le Liban.
JMK

Hier samedi. Saut à Beyrouth.
Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 17/2021
J'ai croisé des convois de Aounistes. Agités , echevelés, en transe. La transe typique des sectes démoniaques. Des yeux hagards , certains haineux, machisme oblige. Pas d'armes apparentes. Mais pour être juste et objectif , ils semblaient inoffensifs, vus de l'extérieur. Délire intense par contre: ils se dirigeaient vers un rassemblement pour célebrer une défaite . Festoyer l'invasion du Liban orchestrée par leur gourou dénommé Michel Aoun: Actuellement président usurpateur du palais de Baabda et quelques hectares tout autour.
Mais à y penser : le sont-ils? Sont-ils inoffensifs ces traitres de la nation?
Si les armes sont reservées aux troupes Iraniennes faites du Hezb et de celles du chef du parlement, le rôle du Tayyar n'est point négligeable dans la trahison . Il est essentiel en fait: Le Tayyar avait signé un accord écrit avec l' envahisseur, sans vergogne , sans honte et beaucoup d'enthousiasme.
Pour ma part , ils sont à pied d'égalité , sinon pire, avec les hordes armées, avec l'Iran, et devraient être traités en conséquent.
Vive la Résistance.
Vive le Liban.
Jean-Marie Kassab

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 17-18/2021
Iran's Navy Says Repulsed Pirate Attack in Gulf of Aden
Agence France Presse/October 17/2021
An Iranian warship on Saturday repulsed an attack by pirates against two oil tankers that it was escorting in the Gulf of Aden, the country's naval chief said. "Navy commandoes were successful in repulsing this morning the attack by pirates against an Iranian commercial convoy in the Gulf of Aden," said navy commander Admiral Shahram Irani, quoted on Saturday by the official IRNA news agency. "The destroyer Alborz was escorting two oil tankers when they were attacked by five pirate ships," he said, noting that Iranian shots were fired, forcing "the attackers to leave the area."

Iran to Resume Nuclear Talks on Thursday
Agence France Presse/October 17/2021
Iran is to resume nuclear negotiations with world powers on October 21 that were suspended in June, an Iranian lawmaker said Sunday after a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The minister said that "talks with the 4+1 Group will restart on Thursday in Brussels", Ahmad Alirezabeigui told the ultra-conservative news agency Fars after a closed-door session with Amir-Abdollahian. The lawmaker was referring to four UN Security Council permanent members -- Britain, China, France and Russia -- along with Germany. Iran and these five nations opened talks in Vienna in April with the European Union (EU) also attending while the United States has taken part in indirect negotiations. The United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain struck an accord in Vienna with Iran on its nuclear program in 2015. But then-U.S. president Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. Since then, Tehran -- which insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only -- has also retreated from many of its commitments under the accord. Trump's successor Joe Biden has said he is ready to return to the agreement if the Islamic republic re-adheres to its nuclear commitments. The Vienna talks aimed at reviving the deal were suspended in June, when Iran elected ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi as president. The EU's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said Friday he was "ready" to meet Iranian leaders in Brussels as part of efforts to revive the faltering deal. Another Iranian lawmaker, Behrouz Mohebbi Najmabadi, said on Twitter on Sunday that negotiations would resume "this week."

Israel kills former security prisoner, Syrian intelligence officer sniper attack - report
Jerusalem Post/October 17/2021
Madhat al-Salah was shot few hundreds meters from the border in Eltinah; may have been involved with an attack against Israel.
A Syrian man who spent time in an Israeli prison for terrorist activities was killed in Syria at the end of last week, according to Syrian reports on Saturday evening. The man, identified as Madhat al-Salah, was killed in the town of Ain el-Tineh near the village of Hadar on the Golan Heights along the border with Israel. While initially his death was thought to have been the result of an Israeli airstrike in Syria over the weekend, a Syrian news agency reported that he was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper. Ain el-Tineh is a few hundred meters from the border. According to Maj. (res.) Tal Beeri, head of the research department at the Alma Center, Salah, who lived in Jaramana near the capital of Damascus, might have been working for the group and was in the area in order to carry out an order. “If it’s not an internal event, and he was indeed killed by Israel, then it’s likely that he was involved in an attack against Israel that was at an advanced stage,” Beeri told The Jerusalem Post. Salah lived in the Mas’ada village in the Golan before he was arrested for trying to kidnap an IDF soldier in 1985 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1998, crossed the border to Syria and was voted into the Syrian Parliament a few years later, where he dealt with Golan affairs and Syrian citizens living in the Golan, according to a report from Walla. According to N12, Salah spent four years as the representative of the Golan in the Syrian Parliament and then became head of the office that keeps track of Syrian citizens who still live in the Golan. Beeri told the Post that Salah was considered a Syrian intelligence activist who was involved in recruiting sources in Israel. The alleged assassination comes several days after Israel was accused of carrying out airstrikes in Syria as part of the IDF’s war-between-wars campaign to prevent Iran and Hezbollah from entrenching themselves on the Golan Heights in order to open an additional front against the Jewish state. Israel has in the past been accused of carrying out attacks against individuals who were involved in terrorist activity on the Golan Heights. Last week, Israel was accused of hitting several Iranian positions near the T-4 airbase in Tadmor, Syria. There was another strike on the same airbase several days earlier. Several pro-Iranian fighters were killed and at least six were wounded. The IDF doesn’t comment on foreign reports, but the Israeli military has accused the Syrian Arab Army of cooperating with Hezbollah. In May, it dropped leaflets in southern Syria that warned them to “stop cooperating with the Syrian and Lebanese personnel of Hezbollah. Otherwise, you will have no peace of mind.”Syria accused Israeli forces on Saturday of the killing, state-run television Al-Ekhbariya quoted the cabinet as saying. Syrian state news agency SANA said Salah "was martyred as the Israeli enemy targeted him with fire while returning home." The Syrian government denounced "this cowardly criminal act."*Reuters contributed to this report.

Ankara Escalates North of Aleppo, Damascus Bombs Idlib Countryside
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Ankara continued its military escalation in the countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria, while the Syrian regime forces bombed areas in Idlib countryside near the Turkish border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that three people were killed, including a policeman, and 15 others wounded in shelling by the regime forces on the border city of Sarmada with Iskenderun. SOHR said that new military reinforcements for the regime forces arrived on Saturday, consisting of dozens of buses carrying soldiers, tanks and rocket launchers, to the Maarat al-Numan area and the fighting axes in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idlib, and Saraqib, east of Idlib, on the Aleppo-Lattakia road. An opposition military commander said that two soldiers were killed and three others wounded when an explosive device targeted their car as a Turkish army convoy was passing near the town of Maarat Misrin, north of Idlib. On the other hand, the Turkish forces command in Syria asked the loyal factions to raise their readiness and be fully prepared for any escalation, in light of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s talk about an imminent battle against “terrorists” in northern Syria.
Turkey renewed artillery shelling on the areas of SDF deployment, targeting the villages of Al-Malikiyah and Qalaat Al-Shawargha, north of Aleppo. Two unnamed Turkish officials told Reuters on Friday that Turkey was making preparations for a possible attack against Kurdish fighters in the Tal Rifaat area north of Aleppo if Ankara’s talks with Russia and US fail. Meanwhile, sources in Damascus reported that the Israeli army killed the former prisoner, Medhat Saleh, while he was in the town of Ain al-Tineh in the liberated part of the Golan. Other sources said that Saleh, who moved to Damascus after his release from an Israeli prison at the end of the 1990s, was close to elements who sought to establish “armed cells in the Golan.”

Libya: 5+5 Military Committee Discusses Disarming Militias
Cairo - Khalid Mahmoud/October 17/2021
The 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission is preparing to hold a meeting next week to discuss means to implement an action plan, which was recently approved under UN and international auspices, to disarm the armed militias in the country. Khairy Al-Tamimi, Director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, and member of his delegation to the committee, said in a press statement that the meeting, which reflects the international community’s desire to end the “mercenaries” issue ahead of the elections, will also determine the conditions for reintegrating individuals who meet the specifications required to work in official security institutions. Meanwhile, a US court gave Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar - the retired National Army commander-in-chief – a deadline of two weeks to answer questions in a lawsuit brought against him for committing "war crimes." Khaled Al-Mashri, head of the Supreme Council of State in Tripoli, said in a letter to the court on Friday that Haftar “will not be subject to the death penalty in Libya,” denying a legal memorandum submitted by Haftar’s defense, stating that he may be subject to sanctions in accordance with Libyan military law. The judge of the US District Court of Virginia, Leonie Brinkema, has once more rejected the defense offered by Khalifa Haftar’s lawyer, with alleged immunity in the face of the lawsuit brought against him in the US by a number of Libyan families. According to a report by The Associated Press, the US judge, once more decided not to accept the argument presented by Haftar’s defense team, and set Oct. 28 as the deadline for submitting Haftar’s statement and reply to questions in the lawsuit taken against him on charges of committing war crimes in Libya. Meanwhile, the US State Department welcomed the Libyan authorities’ resumption of migrants’ evacuation, and the government’s assertion of their rights. In a statement on Saturday, the US State Department urged the authorities in Libya to alleviate the plight of migrants, address overcrowding in detention centers, and investigate recent death reports.

Swedish Foreign Minister to Visit Israel, Palestine
Agence France Presse/October 17/2021
Sweden's foreign minister will make the first official visit to Israel in a decade, the government said Sunday, following seven years of rocky ties after Stockholm recognized Palestine. "Foreign Minister Ann Linde will visit Israel and Palestine on October 18 and 19," the government said in a press release.
Since its recognition of the "State of Palestine" in 2014, Sweden has had a difficult relationship with Israel. Linde will on Monday meet with her counterpart Yair Lapid as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She will also visit Yad Vashem and participate in the opening of an exhibition celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. "Having a normal relationship at the level of the foreign minister itself is a new chapter in our foreign policy dialogue," the minister told Swedish news agency TT on Friday. On September 15, during a first formal telephone call with Lapid, she had emphasized "the importance of our bilateral relationship." "Both of us stressed that friendship and cooperation can and must go hand with respect for each other's convictions & differences," Linde tweeted, expressing her support for Israel's security demands. The thaw in relations does not call into question Sweden's recognition of Palestine, which the minister will also visit. "I fully support this decision. After all, it was also about wanting a two-state solution, wanting to strengthen the moderate forces and to make the parties less unequal in the peace negotiations," Linde told TT. About 140 countries have already recognized the Palestinian state, including eight in the European Union. Besides Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta and Cyprus recognized it before they joined the EU. Linde will also meet President Mahmud Abbas as well as the head of the Palestinian government and foreign minister.

Morocco, Israel Discuss Cooperation in Aviation Sector
Rabat - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
The Moroccan government announced Saturday reviewing two cooperation agreements with Israel, which were signed on August 11, 2021, in Rabat. This came during the first cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.
The first deal is on air services with a draft law approving this agreement, while the second provides for cooperation in the fields of culture and sports. “The government meeting will be devoted to the review of two cooperation agreements between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of the State of Israel, signed on August 11, 2021 in Rabat, the first concerning air services with a draft law approving this agreement while the second provides for cooperation in the fields of culture and sports,” the government said in a statement. A ministerial council, chaired by Morocco's King Mohammed VI, is expected to approve the agreements. The meeting also studied the agreement establishing the African Monetary Fund, adopted on May 28, 2007 in Abuja, as well as the bill to approve the agreement. The Council reviewed the Charter of the African Cultural Renaissance, adopted at the 6th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Khartoum on January 24, 2006, and the bill approving the said Charter.

Damascus Accuses Israel of Killing Former Member of Syrian Parliament
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Syria accused Israeli forces on Saturday of shooting dead Medhat Al-Saleh, a former member of Syrian parliament who had spent 12 years in jail in Israel, state-run television Al-Ekhbariya quoted the cabinet as saying, Reuters reported. Syrian state news agency SANA said Al-Saleh "was martyred as the Israeli enemy targeted him with fire while returning home" on Saturday in Ain al-Tineh, a village inside Syria that is near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian government denounced "this cowardly criminal act". An Israeli military spokesperson said the military does not comment on foreign reports. The government said Saleh had spent 12 years in prison in Israel after being jailed in 1985 on charges of "resistance" to Israeli authorities. He later served in the Syrian parliament.

Hamdok Announces Steps to Move Out of Political Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Sudan’s prime minister announced a series of steps for his country’s transition to democracy less than a month after a coup attempt rocked its leadership. In a speech, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok called the coup attempt an ‘alarm bell’ that should awaken people to the causes of the country’s political and economic challenges. “The serious political crisis that we are living in right now, I would not be exaggerating to say, is the worst and most dangerous crisis that not only threatens the transition, but threatens our whole country,” he said. Authorities announced the coup attempt by a group of soldiers on Sept. 22, saying that it had failed. They blamed supporters of the country’s former autocrat Omar al-Bashir for planning the takeover. It underscored the fragility of Sudan’s path to democracy, more than two years after the military’s overthrow of Bashir amid a massive public uprising against his three-decade rule. Sudan has since been ruled by an interim, joint civilian-military government. Months after al-Bashir’s toppling, the ruling generals agreed to share power with civilians representing the protest movement. But tensions between the civilians and generals in the transitional government have increased since the foiled coup attempt within the military. There is wide-scale mistrust of the military leaders among the protest movement, and tens of thousands have taken to the street in the past two years to call for an immediate handover of power to civilians. Earlier this month, the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the nationwide uprising that kicked off in December 2018, said the interim government must end its power-sharing agreement with the military council. Their call then for demonstrations brought thousands more to the streets, according to The Associated Press. Hamdok said that the root issues behind the political crisis have long been there, in an attempt to bring all parties back to the table for talks. In a speech to mark the Muslim holiday of the Prophet Muhammed’s birthday, he laid out a series of measures that he said would help speed the handover to a completely elected and civilian government. They included repeated exhortations for groups of differing opinions to work together, and for the country’s transitional constitution and judicial bodies to be respected. “This crisis was not created today, it did not descend upon us from the sky, and it did not surprise us at all,” he said of the recent political turmoil.

Russian Crew Return to Earth after Filming First Movie in Space
Agence France Presse/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
A Russian actress and a film director returned to Earth Sunday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station (ISS) shooting scenes for the first movie in orbit. Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko landed as scheduled on Kazakhstan's steppe at 0436 GMT, according to footage broadcast live by the Russian space agency. They were ferried back to terra firma by cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, who had been on the space station for the past six months. "The descent vehicle of the crewed spacecraft Soyuz MS-18 is standing upright and is secure. The crew are feeling good!" Russian space agency Roscosmos tweeted. The filmmakers had blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan earlier this month, travelling to the ISS with veteran cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov to film scenes for "The Challenge". If the project stays on track, the Russian crew will beat a Hollywood project announced last year by "Mission Impossible" star Tom Cruise together with NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX. The movie's plot, which has been mostly kept under wraps along with its budget, centers around a surgeon who is dispatched to the ISS to save a cosmonaut. Shkaplerov, 49, along with the two Russian cosmonauts who were already aboard the ISS are said to have cameo roles in the film. The mission was not without small hitches. As the film crew docked at the ISS earlier this month, Shkaplerov had to switch to manual control. And when Russian flight controllers on Friday conducted a test on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft the ship's thruster fired unexpectedly and destabilized the ISS for 30 minutes, a NASA spokesman told the Russian news agency TASS. But the spokesman confirmed their departure would go ahead as scheduled.
- 21st-century space race -
Their landing, which was documented by a film crew, will also feature in the movie, Konstantin Ernst, the head of the Kremlin-friendly Channel One TV network and a co-producer of "The Challenge", told AFP. The mission will add to a long list of firsts for Russia's space industry. The Soviets launched the first satellite Sputnik, and sent into orbit the first animal, a dog named Laika, the first man, Yuri Gagarin and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova. But compared with the Soviet era, modern Russia has struggled to innovate and its space industry is fighting to secure state funding with the Kremlin prioritising military spending. Its space agency is still reliant on Soviet-designed technology and has faced a number of setbacks, including corruption scandals and botched launches. Russia is also falling behind in the global space race, facing tough competition from the United States and China, with Beijing showing growing ambitions in the industry. Russia's Roscosmos was also dealt a blow after SpaceX last year successfully delivered astronauts to the ISS, ending Moscow's monopoly for journeys to the orbital station. In a bid to spruce up its image and diversify its revenue, Russia's space programme revealed this year that it will be reviving its tourism plan to ferry fee-paying adventurers to the ISS. After a decade-long pause, Russia will send two Japanese tourists -- including billionaire Yusaku Maezawa -- to the ISS in December, capping a year that has been a milestone for amateur space travel.

British MP’s killing raises questions about UK’s de-radicalisation programme
The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
Police and security services believe the attacker acted alone and was “self-radicalised”.
Leigh-on-Sea, United Kingdom--The attacker who fatally stabbed British lawmaker David Amess was referred to an official counter-terrorist scheme for those thought to be at risk of radicalisation, according to media reports.
The reports are likely to raise questions about Britain’s de-radicalisation programme and overall policies to combat terror and extremism. Police said late Saturday that detectives had until Friday, October 22, to question the suspect after he was detained under the Terrorism Act, which allowed them to extend his detention. Veteran Conservative MP David Amess, 69, was talking with voters at a church in the small town of Leigh-on-Sea east of London when he was stabbed to death on Friday. Police have said they are investigating “a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism”. The investigation is being led by Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command. The BBC said it had received confirmation from Whitehall officials that the man’s name is Ali Harbi Ali. Police have been granted extra time to question the suspect, who has not yet been charged. The BBC and others reported that the suspect was referred to a government programme aimed at preventing people from supporting extremism some years ago, but said he was not a formal subject of interest for security services. Police investigating the killing were searching two addresses in London Sunday.
‘Fast-paced investigation’
Police and security services believe the attacker acted alone and was “self-radicalised”, The Sunday Times reported, while he may have been inspired by Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group in Somalia.
Ali’s father Harbi Ali Kullane, a former adviser to the prime minister of Somalia, confirmed to The Sunday Times that his son was in custody, adding: “I’m feeling very traumatised”. Police said they have been carrying out searches at three addresses in the London area in a “fast-paced investigation”. The Sun tabloid reported that the attacker stabbed Amess multiple times in the presence of two women staff, before sitting down and waiting for police to arrive. The Daily Mail newspaper reported that he had booked an appointment a week ahead. On Saturday evening, hundreds of mourners attended a candle-lit vigil at a sports field near the scene of the crime, holding a minute’s silence in the MP’s memory. Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier visited the crime scene to pay his respects on Saturday, laying floral wreaths outside the church with the leader of the opposition, Labour leader Keir Starmer in a rare show of unity. Residents, including members of the Muslim community, also heaped bouquets next to the police tape. Britain’s politicians were stunned by the highly public attack, which recalled the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker ahead of the Brexit referendum.
In June 2016, Labour MP Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist, prompting demands for action against what lawmakers said was “a rising tide” of public abuse and threats against elected representatives.Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday ordered police to review security arrangements for all 650 MPs and The Sunday Times reported that every MP could be granted security protection when meeting the public.
‘Cannot be cowed’
“We will carry on… We live in an open society, a democracy. We cannot be cowed by any individual,” Patel told journalists after laying a wreath for her fellow Essex MP. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP who tried to save a stabbed police officer during a 2017 terror attack near the Houses of Parliament, on Twitter urged a temporary pause in surgeries, or face-to-face meetings with constituents, until the security review is complete. House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle in The Observer wrote that “we need to take stock” and review whether security measures introduced after Cox’s murder are “adequate to safeguard members, staff and constituents, especially during surgeries”.
Increasing threats
MPs and their staff have been attacked before, although it is rare. But their safety was thrown into sharp focus by Brexit, which stoked deep political divisions and has led to outbursts of angry, partisan rhetoric. Cox’s killer repeatedly shouted “Britain first” before shooting and stabbing the 41-year-old MP outside her constituency meeting near Leeds, northern England. A specialist police unit set up to investigate threats against MPs in the aftermath of Cox’s murder said 678 crimes against lawmakers were reported between 2016 and 2020. Amess, a Brexit backer, had written about public harassment and online abuse in his book “Ayes & Ears: A Survivor’s Guide to Westminster”, published last year. “These increasing attacks have rather spoilt the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians,” he said. MPs have had to install security cameras and only meet constituents by appointment, he added. Unlike some MPs, Amess publicised meeting times for constituents on Twitter and held them in public places, while asking people to book ahead.

US and Canadian warships sailed through Taiwan Strait last week
Reuters/AP/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
TAIPEI: A US and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait late last week, the American military said on Sunday, at a time of heightened tension between Beijing and Taipei that has sparked concern internationally. China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has mounted repeated air force missions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the past year or more, provoking anger in Taipei. China sent around 150 aircraft into the zone over a four-day period beginning on Oct. 1. The US military said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed through the narrow waterway that separates Taiwan from its giant neighbor China along with the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday. “Dewey’s and Winnipeg’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it added. American Navy ships have been transiting the strait roughly monthly, to the anger of Beijing, which has accused Washington of stoking regional tensions. US allies occasionally also send ships through the strait, including a British warship last month.
While tensions across the Taiwan Strait have risen, there has been no shooting and Chinese aircraft have not entered Taiwanese air space, concentrating their activity in the southwestern part of the ADIZ. While including Taiwanese territorial air space, the ADIZ encompasses a broader area that Taiwan monitors and patrols that acts to give it more time to respond to any threats. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Sunday that three Chinese aircraft — two J-16 fighters and an anti-submarine aircraft — flew into the ADIZ again.

Cyprus and Egypt sign deal to pursue electricity hookup
Reuters/October 17/2021
Cyprus and Egypt signed an accord on Saturday to pursue links between the electricity transmission networks of the two countries. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the energy ministers of Cyprus and Egypt, setting out a framework of cooperation from planning to implementation. "For Cyprus, this electricity interconnection with Egypt, one of our valued strategic allies in the region, has the potential to constitute a cornerstone of our efforts to transition to a green economy," Natasa Pilides, Cyprus's energy minister, said at a signing ceremony with her Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Shaker. "Fortifying our electricity grids and allowing the further integration of renewables in our respective energy mix, enhancing the security of our energy supply and enabling us to become exporters of energy, are but a few of the tangible benefits," Pilides said. Earlier in the week, Greece and Egypt signed a similar agreement, which sets the stage for an undersea cable that will transmit power produced by renewables from North Africa to Europe, the first such infrastructure in the Mediterranean.

International China surprises U.S. with hypersonic missile test, FT reports
Reuters/October 17/2021
China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, showing a capability that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise, the Financial Times reported, citing five unnamed sources. The report late on Saturday said the Chinese military launched a rocket carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space, circling the globe before cruising towards its target, which it missed by about two dozen miles. "The test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised," the report said, citing people briefed on the intelligence. China's ministry of defence did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment from Reuters on Sunday. The United States and Russia are also developing hypersonic missiles, and last month North Korea said it had test-fired a newly-developed hypersonic missile. At a 2019 parade, China showcased advancing weaponry including its hypersonic missile, known as the DF-17. Ballistic missiles fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories at higher speeds. Hypersonic weapons are difficult to defend against because they fly towards targets at lower altitudes but can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph).---

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 17-18/2021
The questions around Rifaat Al Assad's return to Syria
CON COUGHLIN/The National/October 17/2021
The arrival in Damascus of the Syrian President's uncle raises questions about the state of play of the Assad regime
The surprise return of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s disgraced uncle to his homeland following nearly four decades in exile raises some intriguing questions about the Syrian regime’s attempts to rehabilitate itself in the wake of the country’s brutal civil war.
For decades Rifaat Al Assad has lived in exile where he has, at various points, been associated with anti-regime activists.
Indeed, Rifaat’s banishment from his homeland in 1984, which I covered as a young journalist living in Beirut, was prompted by his alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow his brother Hafez Al Assad, the founder of the current Syrian dynasty and father of the current Syrian president.
Rifaat’s expulsion from Syria in June 1984 came after he was implicated in a plot to overthrow his brother, who had been incapacitated by bad health the previous winter. While Hafez, who ruled Syria from 1971-2000, recuperated at home, posters began appearing in Damascus depicting Rifaat, who had only recently been appointed one of the country’s three vice presidents.
It then transpired that Rifaat has been collaborating with six Syrian Army officers to stage a coup of his own and seize power. The plot was discovered, forcing Rifaat to flee into exile after the officers were arrested and charged with treason.
The regime’s deep-felt anger at Rifaat’s betrayal of his ailing elder brother prompted Mustafa Tlas, the serving defence minister, to declare that Rifaat would be “persona non grata forever” in Damascus, a state of affairs that has lasted until the 84-year-old Rifaat was finally allowed to return to his homeland last weekend.
More recently, Rifaat has maintained his opposition to his nephew’s regime. After Hafez died, Rifaat announced that he considered himself the rightful successor to his brother, a direct challenge to his nephew Bashar. Then, at the start of the civil war, he allowed himself to become the focal point of opposition activists seeking to overthrow Bashar, although he has distanced himself from the movement in recent years.
Consequently, he has been allowed to return to Damascus on the strict understanding that he has no involvement in Syrian politics.
According to the government-friendly Al Watan newspaper, Rifaat was allowed to return to Syria by his nephew, who succeeded his father Hafez as President in 2000, so that he could “avoid imprisonment in France”, where he had fallen foul of the French authorities over his business dealings.
The Damascus-based paper reported that Rifaat "returned on Saturday afternoon to Damascus after spending nearly 30 years in Europe as a dissident.
“President Al Assad overlooked everything that Rifaat had done and allowed him to return to Syria like any other Syrian citizen, but with strict regulations, and no political or social role."
Al Watan added that he arrived in the country "to avoid being imprisoned in France after the issuance of a court ruling and after confiscating his property and money in Spain as well".
But while Rifaat’s return is being portrayed in Damascus as an attempt to prevent a prominent member of the Assad clan from languishing in a French jail, it also raises intriguing questions about the current state of play of the Assad regime in Damascus as it seeks to consolidate its grip on power in the wake of the country’s decade-long civil war.
In recent weeks the Assad regime has been on a charm offensive as it seeks to rebuild relations with the outside world as the conflict draws to a close.
Since Bashar Al Assad won election to a fourth term in office last May, there have been signs of an Arab rapprochement with Damascus, with King Abdullah of Jordan speaking with the Syrian President for the first time in a decade earlier this month, while other moderate Arab states are seeking to revive economic and diplomatic ties.
The Arab initiative to rehabilitate Syria is not supported by Washington, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made it clear that America does not intend to support any efforts to normalise ties with the Assad regime until there is irreversible progress towards a political solution in Syria.
But after the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is a growing awareness among Arab leaders that they need to chart their own course, and they are keen to counter the influence carved out in Syria by Iran and Turkey.
There is particular concern about Turkey’s support for Islamists across the region, especially the large area of northern Syria that remains beyond the grasp of Damascus.
In such circumstances, it is essential that the Assad regime is seen to present a united front as it seeks to shore up its power base in Damascus, with the result that many observers regard Rifaat’s return to his homeland as an attempt by the Assad clan to close ranks, thereby allowing one its more notorious members to be rehabilitated.
Rifaat does, after all, have a previous track record for confronting extremists after he was implicated in the brutal repression of an uprising in the Syrian city of Hama in 1982.
Two years before his failed coup attempt, Rifaat became known as the “butcher of Hama” after he led an attack on the city that killed an estimated 20,000 citizens, one of the bloodiest massacres carried out by the Syrian regime during five decades of Assad family rule.
The prospect, therefore, of a high profile member of the Assad regime ending up in a French prison was clearly not an outcome Bashar Al Assad could tolerate, as he seeks to rebuild his country’s image.
As Fawaz Tello, a veteran figure in the opposition to Bashar Al Assad, told The National earlier this week after Rifaat’s arrival in Damascus, the prodigal’s return should benefit the regime because it shows cohesion in the Alawite minority that has ruled Syria since a coup in 1963.
“He fell out with the regime but he is ultimately one of them,” Mr Tello told The National from exile in Berlin. “It is better for the regime to take him back.”
Certainly, there was little doubt that Rifaat faced going to prison had he not left France after a French court last month confirmed a four-year prison sentence after convicting him of collecting 90 million euros worth of assets in a "fraudulent way". Now, thanks to the generosity of his nephew, Rifaat Al Assad can end his days a free man.

Syria Is Boiling, Shall We Look the Other Way?
Omer Onhon/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 17 October, 2021
Is Assad on his way to become a respectable member of the international community? Assad has gained some ground in terms of coming back into the international community. There are many who envisage that Syria could retain its seat in the Arab League by the end of the year. UAE and Jordan have been at the forefront of building bridges with Assad. Egypt has also joined in.
On the western side, the EU is silent. The USA has stated that it will not normalize with Assad and does not encourage others to do so. But then, the US does not raise objections to initiatives by regional countries in approaching Assad. That is taken as a green light. Despite all that, Syria is nowhere close to a political solution and the situation is fragile. Assad claims victory, but more than 30 percent of Syria is outside of his control. He claims political legitimacy with 95.1 percent win in the May elections, which has been disregarded by the vast majority of the international community.
Syria is in a deep economic crisis, with almost 90 percent of the population living below the poverty line. The Syrian opposition has not disappeared and will not go away, neither in Syria nor abroad. ISIS is still present, and has operational capabilities and continues to strike. The Idlib area, with a population of around 4 million now, is under the control of Hayat Tahrir Sham (HTS). The group, designated as terrorist by the UN, and other smaller groups has around 30,000 men with all kinds of weapons.
Russia and Iran are settling all over Syria and claiming their rewards for being there in times of need.
The way the US withdrew from Afghanistan raised alarm for the US allies in the region. Kurds have feared most. Now that they have been given assurances that they will not be abandoned, they are at ease and further emboldened. The Kurds will probably aim to hang on to their autonomous status under the protection umbrella of the USA.
The Kurds also enjoy cordial relations with the Russians. We should note that Russians and Americans are in contact and even coordinate on Syria issues in general and the Kurds in particular.
Since 2011 Turkey has faced one of its most serious crises. Terror attacks, territorial and political gains of YPG, ISIS, millions of Syrian refugees have been at the forefront of challenges that Turkey continues to counter. What may happen with armed militants and civilians in Idlib in case of an all out military campaign by Assad forces and Russian allies is a major concern. Syria has become a domestic policy issue and elections are only 18 or so months away, maybe even earlier.
Turkey wants an end to the Syrian crisis, but in a way that would not undermine its security and interests. The crisis in Syria has left Turkey at odds with most of its NATO allies and created another divide with the USA. The Biden administration cares little, if any, about Turkey’s concerns. On the contrary, President Biden’s justification to the Congress to prolong the national emergency status came as a result of a “military offensive conducted by Turkey into northeast Syria, undermining the campaign to defeat ISIS”. The Biden approach encourages YPG. A few days ago, there was a mortar attack on Turkish security personnel in Azaz and a car bomb explosion in Afrin.
These attacks are on YPG and Erdogan said “we will take the necessary steps to eliminate threats emanating from Syria.” This was perceived as a signal for a new military operation.
Damascus and Moscow are not uncomfortable (to say the least) with anything that puts pressure on Turkey. The USA, Russia, Assad and YPG appear to be in the same boat here.
Some of the 6.6 million Syrians who fled their homeland have established a new life in their host countries and they will not return. The rest however, may return if and when they feel safe. Assad claimed that he wishes the refugees to return. Even though his uncle Rifaat has returned after 37 years and sends messages of joy through social media, this probably will not be the case for the millions of Syrians, many of whom are opponents.
The international community wishes to see the Syrian crisis off its agenda and many countries seem to be prepared to look the other way. After all, we have lived with so many terrible leaders, dictators in various countries, so why not live with Assad? Why don't we look at it from this perspective? Even if it doesn’t secure permanent peace.
The ideal solution lies with the full implementation of UNSC 2254 which includes all necessary elements. But the ideal solution is not necessarily possible.
Assad and his allies feel that they are the winners. They neither have the motivation nor the will to implement 2254, nor are they under pressure from the international community to do so. In any case, the present situation in and around Syria is not sustainable. Tough choices and painful compromises are needed on all sides, in order to avoid renewed armed hostilities and new tragedies.

Why Tehran is in Syria for the long haul
Arab News/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/October 17/2021
The Iranian regime continues to exert a considerable amount of influence in Syria. Will the region witness any changes in Iran’s policy toward Syria under the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi? And what are the broader regional implications?
As a core hard-liner, Raisi sees Syria from the perspective of ideological and geopolitical landscapes as well as the balance of power in the Middle East, rather than from a humanitarian point of view. Ideologically speaking, one of the major pillars of Iran’s foreign policy has been anchored in exporting its revolution to other Muslim nations. This critical mission has been incorporated into the constitution of the Islamic Republic.
As a result, the Alawite sect-based state of Syria serves as a crucial instrument for advancing, empowering, and achieving this ideological foreign policy objective.
Since becoming president, Raisi has not called for an overall sweeping shift in Iran’s policy toward Syria, such as reducing Tehran’s military, intelligence, and financial support to Damascus. This is because, for Iran’s hard-liners, withdrawing support to Bashar Assad would undermine Tehran’s revolutionary principles as well as its geopolitical leverage in the region, which would ultimately endanger the regime’s hold on power.
In addition, because of the role the supreme leader plays in Iran’s foreign policy objectives, Raisi does not completely control relations with Syria; instead, Iran’s policy is closely guided by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the high generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Etela’at — Iran's intelligence service. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military aide to the supreme leader, made it clear recently that Iran would be staying in Syria, but US forces would have to leave.
Nevertheless, Raisi does have the ability to set the tone in regional and international circles for the supreme leader and the IRGC when it comes to their favored policy toward Syria.
Over the past decade, the Iranian regime has spent about $100 billion to keep the Syrian government in power. Under Raisi’s administration, the Iranian regime will continue to increase and safeguard its influence in Syria because losing Syria would be detrimental for Iran on several levels. Since the ruling clerics of Iran came to power, Syria has been a key proxy for Iran by serving as a platform from which Tehran has built formidable influence over the Levant. For example, Iran’s influence in Syria gave Iran the opportunity to establish Hezbollah and to support Hamas. Iran has used Syria to supply weapons and oil to Hezbollah. The establishment of proxy groups throughout the Levant has allowed Iran to strengthen and preserve its regional influence. Without Syria, Iran loses not just the flexibility and capability that having a friendly Syrian government brings to these proxy groups, but also regional geopolitical leverage.
In addition, from the Iranian leaders’ perspective, their interventionist policy in Syria has been successful and they have emerged as a winner there. Therefore, there is no need to change its policy toward Damascus. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian recently visited Syria and hailed the strong ties between the two countries, and he believes that the view of the international community has altered for the better toward the Syrian government. As he said at a meeting with Bashar Assad: “The diplomatic atmosphere in the recent meetings of the UN General Assembly indicated that conditions have changed in favor of Syria.”
Without the Iranian regime, it is unlikely that the Alawite state of Bashar Assad would have survived the civil war. Over the past decade, the Iranian regime has spent about $100 billion to keep the Syrian government in power. The theocratic establishment also saw the conflict as an opportunity to gradually increase its influence there. Tehran began by providing advisers to the Syrian government, and later technological, financial and intelligence assistance. Afterward, Iran engaged in assisting and training Assad’s forces militarily. Iran dispatched soldiers from the Quds Force, the elite branch of the IRGC that conducts extraterritorial operations. When the dispatched soldiers proved to be insufficient, IRGC forces were sent to fight in Syria. Tehran also sought the help of its Shiite proxies, primarily Hezbollah, to fight in major battles in favor of Assad’s forces. When the numbers of Syrian rebel groups and opposition groups increased, Tehran hired fighters from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In a nutshell, under the hard-line administration of President Raisi, the Iranian regime is more likely to ratchet up its military adventurism in Syria, which can further destabilize the region.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Ireland’s thorny border problem
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
Part of the agreement under which the UK left the EU is the Northern Ireland protocol, a measure that effectively keeps Northern Ireland inside the European single market and avoids a hard border with the Irish Republic, but erects a regulatory barrier in the Irish Sea between Britain and Northern Ireland.
The government in London and unionist politicians in Belfast believe the protocol is being implemented in such a way as to carve Northern Ireland away from the rest of the UK, and it has proved unworkable in its current form.
Lord Frost, who negotiated much of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and is now a minister, said the protocol was “not working and needs to change.” This was taken to mean that the UK government was determined to tear up the agreement whatever the cost, whatever the consequences.
Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, appeared to suggest that the US feared a collapse of the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. “Without something like the Northern Ireland protocol and with the possibility of the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, we will have a serious risk to stability and to the sanctity of the Good Friday Agreement,” he said. “That is of significant concern to the US.”
It certainly is. Peace in Northern Ireland is a major concern to American policymakers and voters. It matters especially to Joe Biden and his White House, and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But it would be wrong to suggest that if the protocol must be amended then the Good Friday Agreement is in danger, and that it is imperilled by Britain.
Although media coverage may portray Sullivan as in opposition to the UK government, he need not be. British policymakers agree with Sullivan and share America’s stated objectives. They support the Good Friday Agreement, and they will strive to get “something like the protocol” to work.
If Britain, the EU and Ireland negotiate in the good faith they express, the Good Friday Agreement is not in danger, and nor is the peace in Northern Ireland. The protocol was born of a great and thorny compromise. The British government agreed to it in no small part because of its determination to protect the Good Friday Agreement, and to never again see a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Now the protocol is causing difficulties, to Britain, to Northern Ireland, and to the Republic. Traders of all sizes have faced additional burdens. The Northern Ireland Executive estimated that, from January to March, about 20 per cent of all the EU’s customs checks were being conducted in respect of Northern Ireland – even though its population is about 0.5 per cent of the EU’s total population.Those difficulties, in their own way, challenge the political and economic stability which supports the peace established in 1998. Without amendment and change, political discord may follow economic dislocation. Whatever the implications of rhetoric, the UK government is committed to keeping the parts of the protocol which are practical, and reforming the rest on lines to which everyone will, when negotiations conclude, agree. Great common interests exist between the EU, the UK, the Irish government, and the people and political parties of Northern Ireland. They are best protected by supporting and upholding the fundamental objectives that the protocol exists to preserve. This community of interests — with the other post-Brexit arrangements now settled — provides a strong basis on which to find more productive and sustainable arrangements to deliver more effectively on those objectives, while also addressing the political, societal, and economic difficulties that have developed since the protocol was first negotiated. If Britain, the EU and the Republic of Ireland negotiate in the good faith they express, the Good Friday Agreement is not in danger, and nor is the peace in Northern Ireland. Each deserves American support to keep it so.
*Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is the Director of Special Initiatives at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington D.C. and author of “The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Genocide” (Hurst, 2017). Twitter: @AzeemIbrahim

Results are in and the loser is … Iran
Dalia Al-Aqidi/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
After a week of anticipation, threats, arguments, and accusations between the competing political parties in Iraq’s snap parliamentary election on Oct. 10, the country’s electoral commission ended the social media speculation by declaring the final results.
The Sadrist Movement, led by the populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, topped the poll with 73 of the parliament’s 329 seats. The Progress Party led by parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Al-Halbousi was insecond place with 37 seats, followed by former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition on 35.At first glance that was a creditable result for Al-Maliki, a gain of 10 seats from the last election in 2014, and he might have hoped for a return to office with the support of the usually powerful Iran-linked Fatah Alliance. However, there are two problems with that. First, Al-Maliki’s coalition is still nowhere near the 92 seats it secured in the 2014 parliamentary elections. And second, the Fatah Alliance, with candidates taken mainly from the Iran-backed Hashd Al-Shaabi armed factions, performed abysmally in last week’s poll; comprehensively rejected by Iraqi voters, their number of parliamentary seats plunged from 48 to 14. Either through their votes or through their refusal to vote, most Iraqis rejected Iranian influence in their country, which makes Tehran the biggest loser of the 2021 Iraqi election.
Predictably, the Tehran-allied political forces rejected the election results, which they described as questionable. “We declare our complete rejection of these results … which will negatively affect the democratic path and social harmony in the country,” their statement read.
These are the true colors of Iran-backed political parties with armed factions on the ground, for whom “democracy” is no more than an election slogan deployed on the assumption that the outcome will be in their favor. Their clear message to Sadr is that if democracy does not serve their purposes, then their Iranian-funded weapons will, and that no government will be formed without their participation. Behind closed doors they will continue to put maximum pressure on Sadr to prevent him from establishing the government of his choice, and instead form an alliance similar to the one led by Adil Abdul-Mahdi from 2018 to 2020.
Either through their votes or through their refusal to vote, most Iraqis rejected Iranian influence in their country,which makes Tehran the biggest loser of the 2021 Iraqi election, but that does not increase US leverage. Sadr is opposed to all foreign involvement in Iraq, whether from Tehran or Washington, and he wants the US to begin a serious dialogue about its military presence on Iraqi soil. “We are neither easterners nor westerners. We Iraqis want to live in peace, and whoever opposes that will face an appropriate response,” he said after the election.
With Sadr as the power broker, a man known for his fluctuating whims, choices and allies, the election resultdelays the construction of an institutional state in Iraq that respects international agreements and human rights. The country’s future is no brighter than it was before Oct. 10. It is on the verge of facing an Iranian retaliatory wave carried out by brutal militias, while the international community remains unable to protect adefenseless people who have lost faith in democracy. And history will repeat itself one more time.
*Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

Erdogan tests the water for a Syrian attack
Yasar Yakis/The Arab Weekly/October 17/2021
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared last week that his country’s patience was wearing thin because of various attacks originating from Syria and aimed at Turkey’s security or military personnel.
The tension began with a Russian air attack on a group of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham fighters along the M4 motorway in Idlib at a point that the Turkish army was supposed to clear of militant extremists. Seven terrorists were killed during the raid, in which Russia was apparently conveying the message that Turkey was failing to fulfill its commitment.
A second Russian air attack was carried out the same day in the northern Syrian town of Mare, after Kurdish separatist fighters from the YPG — which Turkey says is the Syrian branch of the terrorist-designated PKK — killed a Turkish soldier, and the nearby Turkish base had retaliated with massive bombing. Russia was responding to Turkey’s bombing.
The reciprocal attacks continued this time with the killing of two Turkish policemen in Mare by the YPG. There were other exchanges of fire across the border between Turkey and Syria, but without casualties.
The Turkish president’s warning came after these incidents. “We are determined to eliminate the threats originating from here, either with the active forces there or by our own means,” Erdogan said at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting. Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu followed suit by repeating what the president had said, but Defense Minister Hulusi Akar used a slightly nuanced narrative, saying: “In line with what our president said, we will take all necessary actions, when the time comes.”
Akar’s cautious version may reflect the difficulty of a military action in that part of northern Syria, where the air space is controlled by Russia. In fact, Russian deputy Defense Minister Sergei Vershinin said after Erdogan’s statement: “We are in favor of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is what we take into account in all our contacts with our partners, including Turkey.” Russia’s unease is abundantly clear in this statement and is indicative of the risks involved in such an operation.
How determined Erdogan is on carrying out such an operation may come out after the talks that he will have with US President Joe Biden at the G20 meeting to be held on Oct. 30 and 31 in Rome. Turkey-US relations involve several contradictions in Syria. Ankara enjoys Washington’s support in Idlib against Russian cooperation with the Syrian government, but it is at odds with the same US regarding almost unlimited support Washington extends to the Syrian Kurds.
Turkey has carried out three major military operations in Syria. It may now carry out a fourth.
In light of this background, Erdogan will probably refrain from launching a military operation until the Rome meeting. If he is disappointed at the outcome of his talks with Biden, he may still resort to such an action.
Turkey has carried out three major military operations in Syria. It may now carry out a fourth, or attack targets in Syria from bases in Turkey with long-range missiles, without physically entering Syrian soil.
Apart from the Russian attitude, there are other factors that may render a new military operation in Syria difficult. The international landscape now is not as suitable as it was on the previous occasions: The UN Security Council could not reach the unanimity to blame Syria. The Arab League’s approach to Syria’s return to the fold is more conciliatory. The Assad regime in Damascus says more frequently that Turkey has to withdraw from Syrian soil. Jordan re-opened its border with Syria. The UAE has reopening its embassy in Damascus. The international community is more accepting of Bashar Assad’s remaining in power.
If Turkey is unhappy with the terrorist attacks directed at its territory, there is already a framework to deal with such threats. It is the Adana Agreement, signed in 1998 between Turkey and Syria. It provides for cooperation between the two countries to fight terrorism. This agreement was recalled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Sochi summit of 2019. To use this agreement, Turkey has to cease to regard the Syrian regime as an illegitimate entity.
Turkey is likely to be more successful if such cooperation materializes. An even better solution would be to include the Kurds in this cooperation and seek a fair trilateral cooperation among Turkey, Syria and the Syrian Kurds.
We do not know whether at the recent Sochi summit Putin left any door open for a Turkish military operation in Syria. His attitude is of paramount importance for Erdogan’s ultimate decision.
Russia is testing Turkey’s performance in disarming opposition fighters in Idlib while it ignores the promises it made in Sochi in 2019 to expel the Kurdish fighters from Tell Rifaat in northern Aleppo.
When Turkey and Russia negotiate a solution they usually manage to meet on the middle ground, but if they engage in an arm twisting exercise Russia has a greater chance of emerging victorious.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar