English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 28/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field
Matthew 13/24-30: “Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?”But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 27-28/2021
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field
Saudi Arabia designates Lebanon’s Al-Qard al-Hassan terrorist entity, freezes assets
Kosovo sanctions 7 people, 1 company for links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah
Aoun discusses existing contacts to solve electricity crisis with MP Bou Saab, meets Constitutional Council Head
Miqati Meets Aoun, Hopes Cabinet Will Resume Sessions Soon
Father of Five Dies of Wounds 15 Months after Port Blast
Intelligence Directorate Probe 'Closed' after Geagea Dodges Summons
Amal MP Says Bassil Wants to Topple al-Rahi-Led 'Consensus'
Bassil Says LF, Amal 'Colluding' at Expense of Port, Tayyouneh Victims
Saudi Foreign Ministry: Ambassador of Lebanon summoned, handed official protest note over Minister of Information's statements
GCC condemns Lebanese information minister’s comments on Saudi Arabia, UAE
Kordahi Says No One Should ‘Dictate’ on Lebanon a Minister’s Resignation
Minister of Information: I am fully committed to the ministerial statement and the government's foreign policy
Lebanon Scrambles to Contain Fallout after Kordahi Remarks Anger Gulf
Diab Sues State over His Port Blast Prosecution
U.N. Human Rights Expert to Visit Lebanon to Assess Poverty
LF Supporters Rally on Maarab Road as Geagea Dodges Court Summons
Army: Six tons of food donated to LAF by Czech Republic
Berri chairs “Development and Liberation” bloc meeting in Ein El-Tineh
Maronite Patriarch reveals settlement to resolve Lebanon’s political crisis
Defense Says American Charged in Ghosn Pay Case not Involved
WCCR Delivers Memorandum to Members of the US Congress & US Administration/
Bending the narrative/Nicholas Frakes/Now Lebanon/October 27/2021
Vive la Résistance Libanaise/Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 27/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 27-28/2021
US tells Iran ‘window will not remain open forever’ to revive nuclear deal
Iran agrees to restart nuclear deal talks in November: Chief negotiator
Domestic opposition, foreign pressure unrelenting against Sudan coup
Sudan's Prime Minister, Detained after Coup, Returns Home
US denounces Israeli settlements as obstacle to two-state solution
Turkey extends mandate for military incursions into Syria, Iraq
Congressional group opposes sale of F-16s to Turkey over security concerns
In new escalation, Algeria to stop supplying gas to Morocco
Emir of Qatar wary tribal tensions could spill over into Shura Council much as in Kuwait
Canada/Friends of Sudan Statement
Canada/Statement on International Religious Freedom Day

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 27-28/2021
Why Hamas fights Israel/A new book sheds light on the wars with Gaza's rulers/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/October 27/2021
Erdogan’s Belligerence Has U.S., Greece Expanding Ties/Bradley Bowman and Aykan Erdemir/Foreign Policy/October 27/2021
Landmark Iran Sanctions Ruling Against Turkish Public Lender Builds U.S. Deterrence/Aykan Erdemir/Insight-FDD/October 27/2021
The Future Of Iran-EU Trade Is Not Bright/Saeed Ghasseminejad/ Iran International-FDD/October 27/2021
In Sudan, the Masks Come Off After a Military Coup/Alberto Fernandez/The Washington Insitute/October 27/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 27-28/2021
Ministry of Health: 751 new infections, 7 deaths
NNA/October 27/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced 751 new coronavirus infection cases, which raises the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 639,332. 7 deaths have been recorded over the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia designates Lebanon’s Al-Qard al-Hassan terrorist entity, freezes assets
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/Updated: 27 October ,2021
Saudi Arabia designated Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH) association as a terrorist organization for financing Lebanon’s Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, state news agency SPA reported on Wednesday. The State Security Presidency also froze all of AQAH’s assets inside the Kingdom and prohibited any direct or indirect transactions with the association by financial institutions, businesses and people. “[AQAH] is linked to activities supporting Hezbollah’s terrorist organization, as it works to manage Hezbollah’s finances and its funding, including supporting its military purposes,” the statement said.
The US has designated Al-Qard al-Hassan finance firm in Beirut as a terrorist organization in 2007 for providing financial support to Hezbollah. According to the US Treasury, AQAH “masquerades as a non-governmental organization (NGO) under the cover of a Ministry of Interior-granted NGO license, providing services characteristic of a bank in support of Hezbollah while evading proper licensing and regulatory supervision.” “By hoarding hard currency that is desperately needed by the Lebanese economy, AQAH allows Hezbollah to build its own support base and compromise the stability of the Lebanese state. AQAH has taken on a more prominent role in Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure over the years, and designated Hezbollah-linked entities and individuals have evaded sanctions and maintained bank accounts by re-registering them in the names of senior AQAH officials,” the Treasury said.
Saudi Arabia’s designation of Al-Qard al-Hassan as a terrorist organization comes days after tensions were sparked with Lebanon over comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s involvement in the Yemen war.
Kordahi had said that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis were defending themselves and described the war in Yemen as “futile”. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait summoned on Wednesday their Lebanese envoys in protest over Kordahi’s comments.

Kosovo sanctions 7 people, 1 company for links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah
The Associated Press/Published: 28 October ,2021
Kosovo on Wednesday sanctioned seven local businessmen and a company for links with Lebanon’s military group Hezbollah. The decision was in line with sanctions the US imposed on Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite faction that holds seats in Lebanon’s Parliament. A statement said that seven people and the AID Properties company had their assets frozen. The seven can neither leave the country nor receive money from other individuals or companies from Kosovo. Neither Lebanon nor Palestine recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence. Kosovo established diplomatic ties with Israel earlier this year following a Kosovo-Serbia summit held at the White House in Sept. 2020. A month later it opened its embassy in Jerusalem, the first European country and a Muslim-majority one to do that, following the US and Guatemala. Most international embassies are in Tel Aviv.

Aoun discusses existing contacts to solve electricity crisis with MP Bou Saab, meets Constitutional Council Head
NNA/October 27/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel received MP Elias Bou Saab, today at Baabda Palace. The general situation and the new political, economic and security developments were discussed. MP Bou Saab stated that the meeting also tackled the existing contacts to solve the electricity crisis, especially after agreeing to import gas and electricity from Egypt and Jordan through Syria in light of the US decision not to apply the effects of “Caesar’s Law” to this extraction, knowing that a meeting will be held in the coming hours with concerned countries to establish a mechanism for implementing the agreement.
The issue of Iraq increasing the quantities of oil sent to Lebanon to secure an increase in the hours of electrical production, provided that this is done at a faster pace, according to the deliberations that took place during Prime Minister Najib Mikati's visit to Iraq two days ago, was also tackled.
MP Bou Saab also pointed out that the mission carried out by the US envoy, Amos Hochstein, in the matter of indirect negotiations on the demarcation of the southern maritime borders, is proceeding at a high pace, with the desire on the American side not to prolong the time to achieve progress in this file.
President of the Constitutional Council:
President Aoun met the President of the Constitutional Council, Judge Tannous Mechleb, and discussed with him the work of the Council after the completion of its contract, following the appointment of two new members by the Council of Ministers, who are expected to swear the legal oath before the President of the Republic within days.
Judge Mehleb thanked President Aoun for reactivating the work of the Constitutional Council during the next stage.
Father Ziad Al-Haddad:
The President received the head of the Lazarus Fathers in Lebanon and the Middle East, Father Ziad Al-Haddad, in the presence of the Vice President of “Caritas” in Lebanon, Dr. Nicolas Hajjar.
The work of monasticism in Lebanon and abroad and its role in the current circumstances that Lebanon is going through were discussed.
Al-Haddad indicated that the national and spiritual message of the Lazarus Fathers’ Order since its inception has been and will continue to serve man and the church, thanking the President’s initiative in allocating 200 billion Lebanese pounds from the appropriations he motivates according to the constitution, to compensate for those affected by the explosion of the port of Beirut.
For his part, President Aoun commended the work of the Lazarus Congregation in Lebanon and the Middle East through its monasteries and social and educational institutions located in Lebanon and a number of countries in the region. -- Presidency Press Office

Miqati Meets Aoun, Hopes Cabinet Will Resume Sessions Soon
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Wednesday held a meeting with President Michel Aoun over the current developments, including Information Minister Georges Kordhai’s remarks and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s initiative for resolving the controversy over the port blast probe. “We tackled several issues, especially the patriarch’s initiative,” Miqati said after the talks, hoping the initiative will materialize soon and will lead to a resumption of Cabinet sessions. “What’s important is to purify the atmosphere and for the judicial course to be fully rectified according to the applicable laws and the constitution’s stipulations,” the premier added. Responding to a question, he said: “We’re seeking through contacts to resume Cabinet’s meetings at the judiciary performs its role without any political interference.” “As for the Tayyouneh incidents, let the investigation take its course,” Miqati added. According to media reports, al-Rahi’s initiative calls for parliament to refer ex-PM Hassan Diab and three ex-ministers to the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers and for Beirut blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar to continue his investigations without questioning politicians.

Father of Five Dies of Wounds 15 Months after Port Blast
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Abbas Ahmed Mazloum, 38, on Wednesday died of wounds sustained in the Beirut port blast, 15 months after the catastrophic explosion. The National News Agency said Mazloum, a father of five, was at his job at the port at the moment of the blast. He was hit by a shrapnel in the back which resulted in his complete paralysis. Al-Jadeed TV said he died on Wednesday morning “after lengthy suffering that lasted a year and three months.”He was buried in his hometown Hawrtaala at 3:00 pm. Mazloum’s death raises the fatality toll to at least 216. Around 6,000 people were injured in the monster 2020 explosion and parts of Beirut were destroyed.

Intelligence Directorate Probe 'Closed' after Geagea Dodges Summons
Naharnet/October 27/2021
The army’s Intelligence Directorate on Wednesday communicated with State Commissioner to Military Court Judge Fadi Akiki to inquire about the next step after Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea failed to attend a testimony session, MTV reported. Akiki asked the Directorate to “close the investigation file” without requesting any other step, the TV network added. LBCI television for its part reported that “Geagea’s file has been closed at the Intelligence Directorate.”“It has been referred to the military prosecution without the issuance of a subpoena or a search and investigation warrant,” LBCI added. “The military prosecution will continue the legal measures according to the file’s content,” the TV network said. Geagea had warned last week he would ignore the summons if Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was not called in for questioning too. Seven people were killed in street fighting two weeks ago, following a rally organized by Hizbullah and its ally Amal Movement against the judge investigating last year's deadly blast at Beirut port. Hizbullah and Amal accused the LF of firing the first shots in the October 14 violence. Geagea denied any involvement and claimed that his summons had no legal grounding.

Amal MP Says Bassil Wants to Topple al-Rahi-Led 'Consensus'
Naharnet/October 27/2021
MP Ali Bazzi of Amal Movement’s Development and Liberation bloc on Wednesday hit back at Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil over a tweet. “The aim of all your tweets is topple the consensus that was reached between the presidents and His Eminence Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and to ruin the country,” Bazzi said. Bassil had earlier lashed out at Amal and the Lebanese Forces and accused them of “collusion.”“We saw this collusion on the streets over the blood of the people and we saw it in parliament over the electoral law and the rights of expats,” Bassil noted. He added: “Tomorrow we will see it in parliament and in the judiciary over the victims of both the port and Tayyouneh.”“No to burying the truth of the biggest explosion that Lebanon and the world have witnessed in return for securing the acquittal of the criminal,” Bassil went on to say, apparently suggesting that LF leader Samir Geagea was responsible for the Tayyouneh incidents. On Tuesday, al-Rahi proposed an initiative to resolve the standoff over the port investigations. According to media reports, the initiative calls for parliament to refer ex-PM Hassan Diab three ex-ministers to the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers and for Judge Tarek Bitar to continue his investigations without questioning politicians.

Bassil Says LF, Amal 'Colluding' at Expense of Port, Tayyouneh Victims
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Wednesday lashed out at the Lebanese Forces and the Amal Movement and accused them of “collusion.”“When I talked about the collusion of the ‘Tayyouneh duo’, a major uproar happened,” Bassil tweeted. “We saw this collusion on the streets over the blood of the people and we saw it in parliament over the electoral law and the rights of expats,” Bassil noted. He added: “Tomorrow we will see it in parliament and in the judiciary over the victims of both the port and Tayyouneh.”“No to burying the truth of the biggest explosion that Lebanon and the world have witnessed in return for securing the acquittal of the criminal,” Bassil went on to say, apparently suggesting that LF leader Samir Geagea was responsible for the Tayyouneh incidents. Bassil’s remarks come after Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi proposed an initiative to resolve the standoff over the port investigations. According to media reports, the initiative calls for parliament to refer ex-PM Hassan Diab three ex-ministers to the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers and for Judge Tarek Bitar to continue his investigations without questioning politicians.

Saudi Foreign Ministry: Ambassador of Lebanon summoned, handed official protest note over Minister of Information's statements
NNA/October 27/2021
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced via Twitter that it had "summoned the Lebanese ambassador to the Kingdom and handed him an official protest note after the abusive statements issued by the Lebanese Minister of Information regarding the efforts of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen."
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored "the abusive statements issued by the Lebanese Minister of Information regarding the efforts of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the insults contained in those statements towards the Kingdom and the countries of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, which consists a clear bias to the militia of the terrorist Houthi movement that threatens the security and stability of the region.""These statements are inconsistent with the simplest political norms, as well as with the historic relations between the two brotherly peoples," the ministry said declaring that "in view of the repercussions that these offensive statements may have on the relations between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned today the ambassador of the Lebanese Republic to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who was handed an official protest note in this regard."

GCC condemns Lebanese information minister’s comments on Saudi Arabia, UAE
NNA/October 27/2021
The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday said in a statement that he rejected Kordahi’s comments, adding that they reflected little understanding and a superficial reading of the events in Yemen. “The Lebanese Information Minister's remarks reflect an inadequate understanding and a rejected superficial reading,” the GCC said in a statement released on Twitter. The statement also added that Kordahi “ignored” the Houthi’s attempts at obstructing proposed solutions to the war in Yemen. “Lebanon's Minister of Information should apologize, and Lebanese state should clarify its position,” the Council added in its statement.

Kordahi Says No One Should ‘Dictate’ on Lebanon a Minister’s Resignation
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Minister of Information George Kordahi announced Wednesday that he cannot decide to resign "on his own" and said it's unacceptable for anyone “to dictate on us whether a minister should resign or not.”“I am part of a cohesive government, and I cannot take a decision on my own,” he said in a press conference after an uproar over controversial statements he had made about the Yemen war. He went on to say that “no one can dictate on us who should resign from the government and who shouldn’t.”“Aren’t we a sovereign country?” He added that “Lebanon shouldn’t remain subject to blackmail from any country, ambassador or individual.” Kordahi had raised controversy by accusing Saudi Arabia and the UAE of “aggression against Yemen” in a recorded interview with al-Jazeera Online in August, a month before he was appointed as a minister in the government of Prime Minister Najib Miqati. The statements angered the Gulf countries. The Yemeni, Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors to Lebanon condemned the minister’s statements and a Saudi source told MTV “the way out of the diplomatic crisis is to sack Kordahi.”President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, the Minister of Interior and the Foreign Ministry all made statements stressing on the “brotherly ties” between Lebanon, UAE and KSA. Moreover, Kordahi said his words in the interview were “a personal opinion” and not the government’s position. He added that he is now “committed to the ministerial statement,” as a minister. Kordahi did not apologize, rejecting the accusation. “I did not attack KSA,” he said, adding that he is against inter-Arab wars, “out of love and friendship, not enmity.”

Minister of Information: I am fully committed to the ministerial statement and the government's foreign policy
NNA/October 27/2021
Minister of Information George Kordahi issued the following statement: "I would like to reiterate what I said in my press conference today, that I am fully committed to the government's ministerial statement, which I contributed to preparing, and to the government's foreign policy, especially in terms of maintaining the best relations with the brotherly Arab countries, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, and Yemen, for which peoples I have a special affection.""Al Jazeera Online's interview with me in Istanbul, which was broadcast two days ago, dates back to the fifth of August, that is, weeks before the formation of the government," he clarified, noting that his statement was made from a personal, unofficial standpoint. "As for the apology, I have the moral courage to apologize for a mistake I made in my official capacity as minister," Kordahi added.

Lebanon Scrambles to Contain Fallout after Kordahi Remarks Anger Gulf
Naharnet/October 27/2021
The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned Wednesday the statements made by Minister of Information George Kordahi about the Yemen war, saying it reflects “a limited knowledge and a shallow understanding” that are not acceptable. Saudi sources told MTV media station that “we are facing a severe diplomatic crisis due to Kordahi's offensive statements to Arab countries, regardless of the timing of the interview.”Kordahi had raised controversy by accusing Saudi Arabia and the UAE of “aggression against Yemen” in a recorded interview with al-Jazeera Online in August, a month before he was appointed as a minister in the government of Prime Minister Najib Miqati. “The Yemeni war is absurd and it should stop,” he said, adding that “the Huthis are defending themselves against an external aggression.”After the interview surfaced late Tuesday on social media, Kordahi tweeted that he “did not intend, in any way, to offend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the Emirates,” and expressed his love and loyalty to the leaders and people of the two countries. “What I said about the war in Yemen, I said it with conviction, not in defense of Yemen, but also out of love for Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” he said. The Yemeni Ambassador to Lebanon said he will present a protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and responded to the latter’s recent tweets by saying that “it added insult to injury, as he did not apologize, but rather confirmed what he had said.”Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani, for his part, tweeted about Kordahi saying “it reflects a flagrant ignorance of the Yemeni issue, blind bias towards the terrorist Huthi militia, and disregard for the role of the Iranian regime and its expansionist agenda in Yemen and the region,” asking the Lebanese government for a “clear position.”Prime Minsiter Najib Miqati said that Kordahi’s statements do not reflect the government’s position and stressed the brotherly ties between Lebanon, KSA and UAE. He reiterated Wednesday after meeting President Michel Aoun in Baabda that “we are keen on having the best relations with the Arab countries and the Gulf, and President Aoun has asked me to confirm this position.”Earlier this year, former foreign minister Charbel Wehbe made comments in a televised interview blaming Gulf states for the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He resigned over the comments in May.

Diab Sues State over His Port Blast Prosecution
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Former Prime Minister Hassan Diab filed Wednesday a lawsuit against the state, over his prosecution by lead investigator in the Beirut port blast, Judge Tarek Bitar. Judicial sources told al-Jadeed TV that once Bitar is officially notified of the suit by Diab’s defense lawyers, the ex-PM’s prosecution will be paused until a decision is made. The lawsuit was filed one day before Bitar’s scheduled session to interrogate Diab. Diab, along with three ex-ministers and incumbent MPs Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zoaiter and Nohad al-Mashnouq had been charged by Bitar in the port case with negligence. Khalil and Zoaiter on Wednesday also filed a lawsuit before the Court of Cassation to specify the competent authority for Bitar’s dismissal, media outlets said.

U.N. Human Rights Expert to Visit Lebanon to Assess Poverty
Naharnet/October 27/2021
“Lebanon is going through one of the worst economic crises in world history,” said De Schutter, an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to monitor, report, and advise on poverty and its intersection with human rights. “According to one estimate, in just two years, multidimensional poverty has doubled from 42% to 82%, with nearly four million people facing deprivation in education, healthcare, public utilities, housing, assets, or employment and income,” he said. “Poverty is intertwined with the compounding monetary, debt, energy, and political crises Lebanon is facing, and I will be looking closely at how the Government is addressing the impact on people’s lives.”De Schutter said he plans to examine how the Lebanese government is tracking poverty, and the adequacy of the social protection system, as well as the role of international donors and organizations.
This is only the second visit by a Special Rapporteur to Lebanon in the past decade and it represents an important step in the Government’s engagement with the U.N. human rights system. The U.N. poverty expert will travel to Beirut, Tripoli, rural communities in Akkar, and the Bekaa Valley. He will meet government officials at the national and local levels and individuals and communities affected by poverty, as well as international organizations, activists, academics, donors, and civil society organizations. He has published a preliminary schedule of his visit, including information on events open to press.
The visit of the Special Rapporteur is grounded in extensive input and research in advance of the mission, including a review of publicly available information, more than 30 advance consultations, and some 20 written submissions from people affected by poverty, civil society, international organizations, and others. The Special Rapporteur will share his preliminary conclusions and recommendations at a press conference at the end of his mission on 12 November 2021 at 11:30 am local time. The press conference will be held in person and livestreamed. Details will be sent in advance to journalists and available on the Special Rapporteur’s website. His final report on Lebanon will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2022.

LF Supporters Rally on Maarab Road as Geagea Dodges Court Summons
Naharnet/October 27/2021
Members and supporters of the Lebanese Forces party on Wednesday flocked to Maarab in their cars in solidarity with LF leader Samir Geagea. The move comes after Geagea was summoned to appear before the army’s Intelligence Directorate as a witness in connection with the deadly Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh clashes. The summoning had been scheduled for 9am Wednesday and the LF leader did not show up. The National News Agency said the roads leading to Maarab were completely filled by Geagea’s supporters and the vehicles that carried them. “The atmosphere is calm and has not been marred by any incident,” NNA added, noting that the protesters carried Lebanese and LF flags, chanted patriotic anthems and shouted slogans supportive of Geagea. LF lawmaker Chawki Daccache and ex-MP Elie Keyrouz were meanwhile taking part in the demo.
Geagea has stressed that he will not testify in the case if Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is not also summoned. The clashes on October 14 left seven people dead, mainly Hizbullah and Amal Movement members. Hizbullah and Amal accused the LF of being responsible for sniper fire against unarmed protesters that ignited armed clashes. Geagea has denied responsibility for the deaths, saying that residents of Ain al-Remmaneh had "defended" themselves against "Hizbullah militiamen who tried to enter their homes." He also said that a protester fired handgun shots and injured four people in Ain al-Remmaneh before any rounds were fired from the neighborhood. The LF official in charge of Maarab security, Simon Musallem, two Amal Movement members, two Syrians and a Lebanese Army soldier were among 68 suspects who were charged Tuesday over the clashes by Judge Fadi Akiki, the State Commissioner to the Military Court. The rest of the charged suspects are residents of Ain al-Remmaneh and LF members and supporters according to media reports.

Army: Six tons of food donated to LAF by Czech Republic
NNA/October 27/2021
The Army Command announced via Twitter that it had "received about six tons of foodstuffs deposited at the Rafic Hariri International Airport, as a gift to the Lebanese Army from the Czech Republic."

Berri chairs “Development and Liberation” bloc meeting in Ein El-Tineh
NNA/October 27/2021
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday chaired a regular meeting for the "Development and Liberation" bloc, at the second presidency headquarters in Ein El-Tineh. The meeting was devoted to discussing the current general situation and legislative affairs. In a statement issued by the bloc and read out by the Bloc’s Secretary General MP Anwar El-Khalil, the bloc called on the concerned judiciary to expedite the completion of the investigation into the Tayouneh events and severely penalize those who fired at the martyrs and innocent civilians. At the same time, the Bloc also urged all political forces and public opinion institutions not to be dragged into sectarian, confessional and regional sensitivities. On the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Bloc affirmed its adherence and readiness to hold these elections within the deadlines and dates to be agreed upon by the various parties, stressing that the bloc will confront any attempt, under any pretext, to postpone the elections or extend the Parliament’s mandate.

Maronite Patriarch reveals settlement to resolve Lebanon’s political crisis
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
BEIRUT--Lebanon’s top Christian cleric on Tuesday said the country’s three leading politicians had agreed to a “solution” to political tensions and government paralysis tied to high-profile judicial investigations. “There is a constitutional and legal solution to the current crisis,” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai said during a news conference after a day spent shuttling between the prime minister, the parliament speaker and president. An official source said the solution involved prosecuting former ministers charged over the August 2020 Beirut port explosion at a special court made up of MPs and judges while allowing blast investigator Tarek Bitar to continue with the cases of lower-level officials. The special court, formed by a parliamentary vote, has never held any official to account.
Bitar has sought to question top officials including former ministers affiliated with the Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement and the Marada Movement, both allies of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has responded with a smear campaign accusing Bitar of politicising the probe. Rai had earlier said after a meeting with Berri that issues had to be resolved “because Lebanon is dying, the people are dying and the state is disintegrating.”Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has not convened a cabinet meeting since October 12, pending a solution to the stand-off that has paralysed government for over two weeks.
The dispute spilt over into the cabinet when ministers allied to Hezbollah and Amal called for Bitar’s removal in a heated discussion during the last session. Rai also said he was “slightly upset” about the summoning of Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea by army intelligence for a hearing over fatal clashes in Beirut’s Ain al-Remmaneh neighborhood this month. On October 14, seven people, all followers of Hezbollah and Amal, were shot dead during a Beirut protest the parties organised against Bitar, the worst street violence in more than a decade. The parties said the seven were killed by supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces party headed by Samir Geagea, who has backed the blast investigation. Geagea has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Geagea was summoned for a hearing on Wednesday by army intelligence. No other top politician has received such a summons.
On Tuesday, Geagea’s lawyers filed a motion claiming the summons was unlawful, while attorneys representing a number of detainees submitted a motion requesting that Judge Fadi Akiki recuse himself from the case. A group of Ain al-Remmaneh residents this week filed a lawsuit against Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, claiming fighters under his command involved in the clashes had undermined “national unity” and committed terrorist acts. President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally who has said Bitar’s probe should continue, on Tuesday urged the government to resume cabinet meetings in order to reach a funding agreement with the International Monetary Fund, widely seen as the only way for Lebanon to access desperately needed international aid. Rima Zahed, the sister of port blast victim Amin Zahed and a member of a committee representing the families of victims, warned against “any kind of settlement or deal” that infringed upon the reach of the investigation. “No-one can threaten us with sectarian tensions or the difficult situation the Lebanese people are in. Politicians need to know this,” she said. “There will be no deals made over the blood of our martyrs.”

Defense Says American Charged in Ghosn Pay Case not Involved
Associated Press/October 27/2021
The defense for former Nissan executive Greg Kelly said Wednesday there was no evidence or motives linking him to alleged under-reporting of his ex-boss Carlos Ghosn's compensation. Kelly's chief defense lawyer, Yoichi Kitamura, said in wrapping up the defense's arguments that Kelly is innocent and he had no knowledge of the complex calculations over Ghosn's unpaid remuneration, tabulated and updated by Nissan Motor Co. secretariat official Toshiaki Ohnuma. Kitamura told the Tokyo District Court prosecutors had presented no evidence of exchanges about Ghosn's compensation between Kelly and Ohnuma. "Kelly was not involved at all," Kitamura said. Kelly, who sat quietly with the defense lawyers wearing his usual red tie and dark suit, pleaded innocent at the opening of the trial a year ago.
Kitamura also stressed Kelly had been just trying to find legal ways to pay Ghosn after Ghosn's retirement.
"Greg Kelly is a lawyer. Even if he had wanted to prevent Carlos Ghosn from leaving, would he have committed a crime?" said Kitamura, who is famous in Japan for winning acquittals in a nation with a conviction rate higher than 99%. "There is no motive at all for Kelly to carry out such an illegal act." Kelly, an American, was in semi-retirement in the U.S. when Nissan lured him back to Japan, on the pretext of attending a meeting. He was arrested in November 2018, at the same time as Ghosn. But Ghosn jumped bail and fled to Lebanon in late 2019. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.
At the center of the case is a 1 billion yen ($9 million) a year pay cut Ghosn voluntarily took, starting in 2009, when disclosure of big executive salaries became legally required in Japan. Ghosn was worried about a public backlash as hefty executive pay packages are not common in Japan. Prosecutors say that money, totaling about 9 billion yen ($80 million) should have been reported as compensation even though it was never paid or stipulated in a formal contract. In wrapping up their arguments last month, prosecutors demanded two years in prison for Kelly. A verdict is not expected until March.
Critics of Japan's judicial system have blasted the cases against Ghosn and Kelly as "hostage justice."
Ghosn told The Associated Press in a recent interview he believes there was a conspiracy, concocted by officials at Nissan who feared greater control by French alliance partner Renault.
"Greg is paying the price of his honesty and his being straightforward," Ghosn said of Kelly. "He is the only person who isn't lying in the process."In a sign that Kelly is gaining support back home, Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago mayor, President Joe Biden's nominee for ambassador to Japan, told a Senate committee confirmation hearing last week that looking into Kelly's case was "a top priority.""The No. 1 responsibility of an embassy and an ambassador is to make sure the safety, and ensure the safety, of a U.S. citizen on foreign soil," he said in response to a question from Republic Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, the state where Kelly lived before his arrest. "You have my word," Emanuel said. Hagerty, ambassador to Japan until mid-2019, said Kelly's human rights were violated, and his name should be cleared. Nissan, the automaker behind the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models, did not fight charges in the same trial as a corporate entity. Separately, two Americans extradited from the U.S. on charges of helping Ghosn escape Japan were convicted in July. Michael Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison. His son Peter Taylor was sentenced to a year and eight months.

تم أمس واليوم تسليم مذكرة إلى المسؤولين الأميركيين عن الملف اللبناني في وزارة الخارجية وإلى أعضاء في الكونغرس. المذكرة وضعتها مجموعة عمل لبنانية اميركية بخصوص تطبيق خطة امنية مرحلية في لبنان لاقامة منطقة للاستقرار الامني من ييروت الادارية الى عكار
WCCR Delivers Memorandum to Members of the US Congress & US Administration/
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WCCR Delivers Memorandum to Members of the US Congress & US Administration
On October 27 & 28, members of the World Council on the Cedars Revolution and AMCD delivered the following memorandum to members of the US Congress & US administration.
WCCR Delivers Memorandum to Members of the US Congress & US Administration
October 27/2021
On October 27 & 28, members of the World Council on the Cedars Revolution and AMCD delivered the following memorandum to members of the US Congress & US administration.
An interim plan to stabilize Lebanon
In view of the current political, economic and security circumstances engulfing Lebanon, we Lebanese and Middle East American NGOs urge the US Congress and Administration to adopt the following interim plan to stabilize Lebanon in the following ways:
1. Politically
a. Urge the UN Security Council to implement the remaining stipulations of UNSCR 1559 of 2004 via the formation of a special task force to implement the said resolution.
b. Urge the formation of a new interim Government in Lebanon with the participation of civil society and Lebanese Army high command as an emergency measure to stop the complete collapse of the country.
c. The interim Government would oversee the various measures to stop the collapse.
2. Economically
Ask the international monetary and financial authorities to oversee the work and the management of the central bank of Lebanon.
3. The Judiciary
After the invasion of Ain El Rammaneh by Hezbollah in October, several Christian Lebanese Citizens were arrested after defending their homes and have not been seen or heard from since. Judicial reforms are necessary to be fair to all parties.
Prior to the acts of intimidation in Ain El Rammaneh on October 14, military intelligence arrested twenty plus persons from Arab Khalde who took revenge for the killing of a minor in 2020 by a Hezbollah operative who was then killed in a revenge attack by the victim’s family after fruitlessly awaiting justice for over a year. In both incidents no Hezbollah agents have been arrested despite being the provocateurs. These are just two examples of a two tiered justice system where Lebanese not affiliated with Hezbollah are subjected to brutality, terrorism and humiliation but partisans of Hezbollah are always above the law.
There are unconfirmed reports that today twenty Hezbollah operatives have been arrested for the incidents of October 14. In all likelihood they will be treated as scapegoats to placate an enraged Lebanese citizenry. In all likelihood they will be given a slap on the wrist and released in short order.
Lastly, all those arrested from Ain El Rommaneh and Arab Khalde have been detained by military intelligence bypassing the Interior Ministry and their security forces thereby denying them their due process rights under Lebanese law.
4. Implement an Interim Security plan
a. Ask the Lebanese Army, with the assistance of the US, to create an exclusive security zone to include the capital Beirut and all territories north of the city, up to the northern border with Syria from which areas Hezbollah should withdraw.
b. Implement UNSC 1559 in these areas where the only armed forces present would be the Lebanese armed forces under the auspices of the UN.
c. All militias and armed groups should be barred access to this area.
d. The Lebanese government institutions, including the office of the prime minister, internal security, the ministry of defense, the office of the president, the ministry of foreign affairs, the central bank and other institutions would be enabled to work freely.
e. This secure area will have access to three ports, two airports, main economic outlets – and would be secure enough for a US, Western, Arab and international presence therein.
f. Such a plan would not target Hezbollah’s controlled zones but the areas outside its traditional control, leaving the fate of its militia to future talks.g. Last this security plan will put an end to smuggling of subsidized products by Lebanese tax payers and drugs to the Arab world, via Syria
Looking forward to coordinate on above plan.
Tom Harb/Co-Chair
John Hajjar/Co-Chair
Endorsed by: The American Middle East Coalition For Democracy
www.Americanmideast.com

Bending the narrative
Nicholas Frakes/Now Lebanon/October 27/2021
As the attacks on Beirut blast investigator Tarek Bitar continue analysts say that Hezbollah is attempting at changing the narrative so that it can coopt Lebanon’s judiciary. Supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal movement burn a portrait of US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea near the Justice Palace in the capital Beirut on October 14, 2021, during a gathering to demand the dismissal of the Beirut blast lead investigator. Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP. The seven faces stood out, smiling on the image in the pro-Hezbollah Telegram group. Next to them was the face of the lead investigator of the August 4 Beirut port explosion Tarek Bitar with one phrase written over his face: “Their blood is on his hands.”This was one of many images and posts that targeted Bitar in the wake of the October 14 shootout that left seven dead and over 30 injured. All of the posts put the bloodshed on Bitar, claiming that he was responsible for what happened. It is not just social media, though, that has targeted Bitar. Hezbollah politicians and Shiite sheikhs with ties to Hezbollah are also urging Bitar to resign or for the government to replace him.
Their reasoning?
He has polarized the nation, leading to a rise in sectarian tensions and his stepping down would help to ease these tensions. According to Bachar el-Halabi, a Middle East analyst, this is all part of a coordinated effort by Hezbollah to manipulate the public perception of Bitar from a man investigating a crime that killed over 200 people and injured thousands more, to a man that is causing violence in the streets of Beirut and is “leading the country down a dark and treacherous path”. Changing the narrative around the judge will help justify his removal for the sake of the country. “When the society is deeply polarized, you will see the likes of Walid Joumblatt, Saad Hariri and all of those people saying ‘Well you know what? The peace and security in the country is more important sometimes than finding justice,” Halabi told NOW.
Lighting the fuse
Tensions in Lebanon have been high since the fighting in Tayouneh with the Shiite Hezbollah and the Christian Lebanese Forces embroiled in a war of words. Hezbollah accuses the Lebanese Forces of wanting to start a civil war while Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces, says that if he needs to appear before a court to give testimony about the events of October 14, the Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, should do the same. However, for Hezbollah, this is all part of a strategy towards shutting down the port explosion investigation with little public protest. “Basically, I think the organization is building a parallel narrative around the Tayouneh clashes, in which we have a crime versus another,” Mohanad Hage Ali, director of communications at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, told NOW.
“They need to push this grievance forward to pre-empt the Bitar-led investigation from going any further. Hezbollah has no interest in seeing this investigation go forward, as it seems committed to protecting its allies, Ali Hassan Khalil, [Yousef] Fenianos and Hassan Diab.”
In addition to this, Hezbollah views Bitar’s investigation as a challenge to its growing authority in Lebanon. Should Bitar be able to continue and complete his investigation, it presents an independent judiciary that is able to confront the group and stand up to the political class, something that Hezbollah cannot allow. “They want to revive the old system and reshape it their way. Hezbollah setting the agenda in the country and having an independent judiciary don’t work together,” Hage Ali stated.
“While Hezbollah was out of the game [during the civil war], they re-entered later and caught up with the militia order, taking the lead. They have accumulated quite a bit, from assassinations to intimidation and government misconduct, and an independent judicial investigation seems like a step in the wrong direction to them.”They want to revive the old system and reshape it their way. Hezbollah setting the agenda in the country and having an independent judiciary don’t work together.
Halabi agreed with Hage Ali and added that if they are able to force the removal of Bitar and steer the investigation in the direction that they desire, then it would prove to be another notch in their belt of state institutions that they can influence. “If Bitar is sidelined, this is where Hezbollah would have coopted the judiciary and then we are left with the army’s commander who enjoys Arab and US support,” he said. “And I think it would only be a matter of time until Hezbollah coopts him, if Bitar is sidelined or kicked out.”When it comes to sidelining Bitar and ending the investigation, the fighting that took place in Tayouneh gives Hezbollah the perfect opportunity to cash in on the fears of an escalating conflict, especially between two opposing sectarian parties. The fact that several people were killed in the four-hour firefight only adds to their narrative that if Bitar is going to continue his investigation, the violence will escalate.
“For Hezbollah, driving up sectarian tension, which resulted in bloodshed, is also an initiation tactic because, at the end of the day, Hezbollah’s plan, or one of its strategies, has been let’s exacerbate tension and this is when everyone else caves out of fear from bloodshed and civil strife,” Halabi explained. While in the past this might have worked in stirring up public fears, Halabi argues that their efforts this time have been less effective in lieu of the hundreds that were killed in the August 4 explosion and half the city being reduced to rubble.
“People have less to lose this time and this is why invoking civil war is not as threatening as it might have been probably a year or two ago,” he added. “This is why Hezbollah’s strategy is not working. And this is why Bitar is still, up until this moment, working and trying to do his job.”
That has not stopped the armed group from continuing to put pressure on the political class to take action against Bitar. In order to do this, they utilize a combination of politicians, sheikhs, media outlets and, especially, countless accounts on social media stoking the flames.
A unified front
Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and Marada Movement’s refusal to take part in government meetings until a solution is found has forced Prime Minister Najib Mikati to indefinitely postpone the meetings until an agreement is made on how to handle Bitar. With Amal and Hezbollah threatening to resign from the government, a move that would topple the newly formed government, Mikati has to take these threats seriously whether or not the parties truly intend to pull out.
“They are holding the government of Najib Mikati hostage in the current situation and they are threatening to resign from the government and to delegitimize the government in case they don’t get what they want,” Halabi stated. “Everyone kn0ws how high the stakes are for this government in order to negotiate with the World Bank in order to tap into donor money and humanitarian aid.”It is not just the politicians who are putting pressure on the government. Sheikhs affiliated with Hezbollah have also been vocal about the removal of Bitar and have issued statements attacking the judge. Following the shootout, Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan stated that Bitar was to blame – a line that became utilized by Hezbollah’s cyber army not long after – and linked him with the US embassy.
“Every bloodshed, sedition, a threat to civil peace and security chaos that has occurred today on the defenseless protesters, is because of the American embassy and Judge Tarek Bitar, who must be dismissed, arrested and questioned severely,” Qabalan stated.
Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general and spiritual leader Naim Qassem has also called on Bitar to step down, describing the judge a “real problem in Lebanon”. “We wanted a real investigator to reveal what happened at the port so that justice can prevail,” the spiritual leader said.
These continued attacks against Bitar are all one part of a unified strategy to delegitimize the judge and present him as the bigger threat to the country. “The first [part of the strategy] is continuing to up their rhetoric against Bitar, continuing to threaten with civil strife, continuing to say that Bitar’s existence and him basically doing his job is something that is dictated by embassies and he’s an agent, he’s a threat and a menace to society,” Halabi stated.
“And we are seeing this across the board from the senior leadership to their propaganda mouthpieces that they unleash in Al-Akhbar, in written media or audio-visual media.”Social media has also been widely employed not only to attack Bitar, but to add to the rising tensions and put blame on Geagea for what happened on October 14.
Pro-Hezbollah journalist Hosein Mortada tweeted a picture of a prison jumpsuit, saying that it was ready for Geagea to wear. An anonymous account tweeted something similar, saying that it was time to put Geagea back in prison. This is all part of Hezbollah’s network to push the narrative further, something that has been utilized by the group against the slain publisher and activist Lokman Slim and even the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi. These attacks on Geagea and the Lebanese Forces are another part of their strategy to neutralize LF opposition – especially since some of the families of the Beirut blast victims are supporters of the Christian party.
“Samir Geagea was trying to position himself as the statesman who wants to support the judiciary, who wants to support the Republic, who’s standing for state institutions and this is a narrative that plays well with the Maronite constituency in the country,” Halabi explained.
“So, by going after Geagea through the military court, summoning him, issuing a subpoena for him and him not showing up, this kind of backfires at Geagea in a way and it allows them to accuse him of double-standards. And this kind of weakens Geagea’s hand a bit in the process of fighting back against Hezbollah.”Hage Ali believes that it is only a matter of time before Hezbollah’s strategy pays off and Bitar is removed, despite the fact that he enjoys support from a majority of the Lebanese public, many civil society organizations, as well as the international community. But there is little support from any faction in the political establishment for Bitar and his investigation. Furthermore, by pushing this conflict between Muslims and Christians and by continuing to fuel tensions, Hezbollah is raising the cost of removing Bitar including making things more difficult for their ally, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, since they would have to justify their support for Bitar’s removal with elections just months away. “They will succeed but I think they’re raising the cost significantly with every blunt move like Thursday’s and the preceding Nasrallah speech,” Hage Ali stated.
“Now, many are asking questions about a potential hidden agenda here, basically whether the organization wants to bury the investigation to hide something. It makes little sense to people that Hezbollah, which is not implicated or pursued yet in the investigation, is merely pushing Bitar out to protect allies. This is not very convincing.”
*Nicholas Frakes is a multimedia journalist with @NOW_leb. He tweets @nicfrakesjourno.

Vive la Résistance Libanaise
Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 27/2021
Dérangeants ces sentiments , ces souvenirs qui m'envahissent comme une marée qui monte , implacable , inéxorable, comme une destinée qui s'impose toute seule.
Le bus remplis de Palestiniens en 75. 2021, Ain Remmaneh encore une fois. L'armée accusée de subjectivité. Cette fois les Forces Libanaises dans le collimateur. En 75 c'était les Kataeb. Cette marche vers Meerab pour soutenir Geagea. Quelques mois avant la guerre de 75 c'était une manifestation énormissime pour contrer ceux qui voulaient isoler l'armée après l'attentat contre Maarouf Saad . Mes premiers pas dans le militantisme pour le pays. Au fait, qui avait tué Saad? Saura-t-on jamais. Un sniper ?!
Que de similitudes. Peu de différence presqu' un demi-siècle après. Toujours ce même appétit pour dévorer le Liban. Justice dans un pays occupé et corrompu jusqu'aux os? Quelle blague de mauvais goùt ...
Porter les armes une fois de plus? A t-on d'autres choix une fois le chemin de la politique bouché? Y a t-il d'autres moyens?
Et ensuite? Et l'économie désastreuse? Et le président collabo ?
Que d'interrogations! Que de questions qui demeureront sans réponse.
Une seule certitude: Ne pas baisser les bras. Ne pas se mettre à genoux. Pour le reste on verra ...
Vive la Résistance Libanaise
Vive le Liban

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 27-28/2021
US tells Iran ‘window will not remain open forever’ to revive nuclear deal
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/27 October ,2021
The US urged Iran on Wednesday to show “good faith” after it agreed to return to negotiations over the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal and warned that the window of opportunity to revive the accord would not last forever. “We are prepared to return to Vienna, and we believe that it remains possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to mutual full compliance [with the 2015 nuclear deal],” a State Department spokesperson told AFP. The US and EU have been trying for months to restart negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal which was abandoned after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018. The negotiations, in Vienna, have stalled since the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in June. Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani announced on Wednesday that Tehran agreed to restart nuclear talks in November. It was the first time Iranian officials set a date for talks since negotiations came to a halt in June. The State Department spokesperson said the talks should focus on “closing the small number of issues that remained outstanding at the end of the sixth round of talks in June.”“As we have also been clear, this window will not remain open forever as Iran continues to take provocative nuclear steps, so we hope that they come to Vienna to negotiate quickly and in good faith.”Washington has repeatedly expressed that its patience was wearing thin and threatened an ambiguous “Plan B” should diplomacy fail.

Iran agrees to restart nuclear deal talks in November: Chief negotiator
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/27 October ,2021
Iran agreed to restart talks to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear dear in November, Tehran’s lead nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri said on Wednesday. “We agree to start negotiations before the end of November. Exact date will be announced in the course of the next week,” Bagheri, who is also the deputy Foreign Minister said, according to state news agency IRNA. The EU, which acts as a coordinator for the deal, has been trying to restart negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal which was abandoned after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018. Negotiations over reviving the nuclear accord have stalled since the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in June.Since taking office, Raisi appointed several other hardline officials to his cabinet in a move experts say is intended to pressure the US into making concession in the nuclear talks. US Secretary of State Antony Blink said in September that time was running out for Iran to return to the nuclear deal. And Washington has warned of a “Plan B” in case diplomacy failed with Iran, without specifying details of said plan.

Domestic opposition, foreign pressure unrelenting against Sudan coup
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
Sudanese security forces arrested three prominent pro-democracy figures, according to their relatives and other activists on Wednesday, as internal and international pressure mounted on the country’s military to walk back its coup. The overnight arrests came as protests denouncing Monday’s takeover continued in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere, and many businesses shut in response to calls for strikes. Security forces kept up their heavy-handed response, chasing demonstrators in several neighbourhoods late Tuesday, according to activists who said some were shot and wounded. At least six people have been killed in protests so far, according to doctors. The coup threatens to halt Sudan’s fitful transition to democracy, which began after the 2019 ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in a popular uprising. It came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of that process.
International pressure
Following widespread international condemnation, the military allowed deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife to return home on Tuesday night. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Hamdok Tuesday, the State Department said, welcoming the prime minister’s return home from custody but expressing “deep concern” about the takeover and reiterating US support for a civilian-led democracy. Washington, a key backer of the transition, has suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in aid as it strongly condemned the transition. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the military’s takeover was a “catastrophic development,” warning that it would have “severe consequences” for Sudan’s recent efforts to reintegrate into the international community after nearly three decades of isolation under al-Bashir. “It is putting the country in a perilous situation and is calling the Sudan’s democratic and peaceful future … into question,” he said in a statement Tuesday. The European Union has also threatened “serious consequences” for Sudan’s rulers, including suspension of financial support. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting late Tuesday to discuss the crisis. But before it began UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned “geopolitical divides” were preventing it from taking strong measures.
Before the meeting, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, said the council “should appeal to stop the violence from all sides”. Analysts warned that the putsch may risk leaving the country “shunned” and imperil the hard-won international backing to Sudan, which is already struggling amid a dire economic crisis. Hamdok’s government had this year unlocked international financial assistance, after it was frozen for years under Bashir. The troika of countries previously involved in mediating Sudanese conflicts — the US, UK and Norway — said “the actions of the military represent a betrayal of the revolution”.The African Union and Arab League also expressed concern. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said “it would be disastrous if Sudan goes backwards after finally bringing an end to decades of repressive dictatorship”.
In a joint statement, the embassies of the European Union, the US, the UK, France and several other European countries called for the release of other detained officials and for talks between the military and the pro-democracy movement. The new strongman, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, has pledged to hold elections, as planned, in July 2023, and to appoint a technocratic government in the meantime. But critics doubt the military is serious about eventually ceding control, noting that the coup came just weeks before Burhan was supposed to hand over the leadership of the top ruling body, the Sovereign Council, to a civilian. The council is made up of both civilian and military leaders but led by a general. Separately, Hamdok’s transitional government ran day-to-day affairs.
Domestic opposition
The activists taken overnight were Ismail al-Taj, a leader of the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, the group at the forefront of the protests that brought down al-Bashir; Sediq al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leader in Sudan’s largest political party, known as Umma and brother of Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi; and Khalid al-Silaik, a former media adviser to the prime minister. The three have been outspoken critics of the military takeover — and have called for protests against the move. Already, tens of thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets, and activists are planning a mass demonstration on Saturday.
Security forces confronting protesters have killed at least six people since Monday and wounded over 140 others, many in critical condition, according to physicians with the Sudan Doctors’ Committee. Silaik was detained moments after he gave an interview to broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to his wife, Marwa Kamel. In the interview, he criticised the military’s takeover, calling Hamdok and his government the legitimate administration of Sudan. “What Gen. Burhan did is a complete coup. … People will respond to this in the coming days,” Silaik said. On Monday, Burhan, the head of the military, dissolved the Sovereign Council and the transitional government, and declared a state of emergency. He said the military was forced to step in to prevent the country from sliding into civil war — but he had repeatedly warned he wanted to delay the transition to civilian leadership of the council. Sudan’s ambassadors to Washington, Belgium, France and Switzerland on Tuesday said they backed the civilian leaders, declaring their diplomatic missions as “embassies of the Sudanese people and their revolution”, according to the Information Ministry.
Civil disobedience
State oil company workers and doctors in Sudan said on Wednesday they were joining protests against the military coup. A group of neighbourhood committees in the capital Khartoum has announced plans for further protests leading to what it said would be a “march of millions” on Saturday. Workers at state oil company Sudapet on Wednesday came out in support of the ousted government.“We announce joining the civil disobedience in support of the people’s decision backing the civil democratic transformation and until this demand is achieved,” Sudapet said in a statement carried by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an activist alliance.
Doctors also said they would go on strike. “As we promised and previously announced we would enter a general strike across Sudan in the event of a coup, we are keeping to our word and timing completely,” the Unified Doctors’ Office, which is made up of different unions, said. Events in Sudan – Africa’s third largest country – mirror those in several other Arab states where the military tightened its grip following uprisings. Willow Berridge, a Sudan expert at Newcastle University, said it would be difficult for Burhan and the army to suppress street mobilisation against the takeover because of the presence of resistance committees in many neighbourhoods. “My greatest fear is that he will fall back even further on the only legitimacy he can depend on violence. It is a very serious risk,” Berridge said.

Sudan's Prime Minister, Detained after Coup, Returns Home
Associated Press/October 27/2021
Sudan's deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.
The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday. The statement by Hamdok's office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under "heavy security" at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.
Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets. The military seized power in a move that was widely denounced abroad. On Tuesday, pro-democracy demonstrators blocked roads in the capital with makeshift barricades and burning tires. Troops fired on crowds a day earlier, killing four protesters, according to doctors. In his second public appearance since seizing power, Burhan said the military was forced to step in to resolve a growing political crisis. "There were people who were talking about discriminating against others, and that was driving this country to reach a civil war that would lead to the fragmentation of this country, tearing apart its unity, its fabric and society. These dangers were in front of us," Burhan told a televised news conference. But the coup came less than a month before Burhan was supposed to hand the leadership of the Sovereign Council that runs the country to a civilian — a step that would have decreased the military's hold on power.
"The whole country was deadlocked due to political rivalries," Burhan said. "The experience during the past two years has proven that the participation of political forces in the transitional period is flawed and stirs up strife."Hamdok had been held at Burhan's home, the general said, and was in good health. But of the many other senior government officials detained Monday, Burhan alleged that some tried to incite a rebellion within the armed forces, saying they would face trial. Others who are found "innocent" would be freed, he added. The takeover came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of Sudan's transition to democracy. It threatened to derail that process, which has progressed in fits and starts since the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago. At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world powers to unite to confront a recent "epidemic of coups d'état." But the U.N.'s most powerful body took no action during the closed-door consultations about Sudan, a nation in Africa linked by language and culture to the Arab world. Hamdok's office had voiced concern for his safety and for the other detained officials. In a statement, the office accused military leaders of acting in concert with Islamists, who have argued for a military government, and other politicians linked to the now-dissolved National Congress Party, which dominated Sudan during al-Bashir's Islamist-backed rule.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration announced the halt of $700 million in emergency assistance to Sudan and said Tuesday it was looking at sending stronger signals to the generals. "They should first and foremost cease any violence against innocent civilians, and ... they should release those who have been detained and they should get back on a democratic path," said Jake Sullivan, the administration's national security adviser. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that he spoke with Hamdok on Tuesday, the first high-level contact the U.S. has had with Sudan since the coup and the suspension of in U.S. aid. Blinken welcomed Hamdok's release and emphasized that the U.S. supports a civilian-led transition to democracy in Sudan, a State Department statement said. Mariam al-Mahdi, the foreign minister in the dissolved government, declared Tuesday that she and other members of Hamdok's administration remained the legitimate authority in Sudan.
"We are still in our positions. We reject such coup and such unconstitutional measures," she told The Associated Press by phone from her home in Khartoum. "We will continue our peaceful disobedience and resistance." The Ministry of Culture and Information, still loyal to the deposed government, said in a Facebook post that Sudanese ambassadors in Belgium, Switzerland and France have defected. Nureldin Satti, the Sudanese envoy to the U.S., said he was working with those diplomats to "resist the military coup in support of the heroic struggle of the Sudanese people" to achieve the aims of the uprising against al-Bashir. But he did not specify whether he, too, had defected.
Al-Mahdi, meanwhile, spoke to the wife of one of the officials detained, Minister of Cabinet Affairs Khalid Omar, and said he was humiliated and mistreated during his arrest. Military forces "took Khalid barefoot, wearing only his nightclothes," she said. Hours after the arrests, Sudanese flooded the streets of Khartoum and other cities in protest. At least four people were killed and over 80 wounded when security forces opened fire, according to the Sudan Doctors' Committee. Human Rights Watch said forces used live ammunition against the demonstrators.
Sudan saw a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019, and there were fears about whether there would be another crackdown. A bigger test of how the military will respond to the resistance could come Saturday when protesters plan a mass march to demand a return to civilian rule. The Sudanese Professionals' Association, a group of unions that was behind the uprising against al-Bashir, also urged people to go on strike and engage in civil disobedience. Separately, the Sudan Popular Liberation Movement–North, the country's main rebel group, denounced the coup and called for people to take to the streets.
In a sign of the divisions among the civilian leaders in Sudan, a group known as the Justice and Equality Movement blamed the deposed government for the military takeover. It said a few officials had monopolized decision-making and refused to engage in dialogue.
The group, headed by Finance Minister Gibreil Ibrahim, is the first to publicly voice support for the military but also urged it to end the state of emergency, release the detainees and appoint a civilian government to run day-to-day activities. Earlier this month, the group had taken part in a pro-military sit-in in Khartoum. Another pro-military group that splintered from the protest movement that ousted al-Bashir also welcomed the takeover, saying it would end a sit-in it had organized outside the presidential palace to support the generals earlier this month.
The military has sent mixed signals about Sudan's future. Burhan promised to gradually restore internet and communications services that were disrupted in the coup. But the Civil Aviation Authority said it was suspending all flights to and from Khartoum's airport until Oct. 30.
Following the coup, Burhan now heads a military council that he said would rule Sudan until elections in July 2023.

US denounces Israeli settlements as obstacle to two-state solution
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
WASHINGTON--The United States on Tuesday said it strongly opposed Israel’s plans for Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank as damaging for peace prospects between Israelis and Palestinians, in the Biden administration’s harshest public criticism of Israeli settlement policy to date. “We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units tomorrow, Wednesday, many of them deep in the West Bank,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told a briefing. “We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution,” Price said. Israel on Sunday published tenders for about 1,300 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank and authorities are also expected to discuss proposals for another 3,000 homes. Washington was continuing to raise its views on the issue directly with senior Israeli officials, Price said. US-backed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014. Most countries regard Israel’s West Bank settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this. Israeli settlement activity is a source of disagreement between Israel and Washington, together with US efforts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran, Israel’s arch foe. Since President Joe Biden took office in January, US officials have emphasised that they oppose further expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land the Palestinians want for a future state. A senior Biden administration official said earlier this month that Israel was aware of the administration’s view of the need to refrain from actions that could be seen as “provocative” and undermine efforts to achieve a long-elusive two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had, until Sunday, mostly held off announcing new settlement construction since taking office in June, as he sought to ease tensions with Washington.

Turkey extends mandate for military incursions into Syria, Iraq
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
ANKARA--Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday extended the military’s mandate to launch cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq by two more years. The motion was first approved in 2013 to support the international campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) group, and has since been renewed annually. But this marked the first time that the motion was extended by two years, giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a longer mandate to pursue campaigns against Kurdish militias in the restive region. It also marked the first time the main opposition CHP party voted against the measure, setting it on a more isolationist course ahead of a general election due by June 2023. “You don’t tell us what it’s about. You say (it will be valid) for two years and tell us to vote for it. Why?” CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu asked Erdogan in an address to his party members in parliament. The CHP party voted against the deployment of Turkish forces in Iraq in 2003, but had otherwise backed Erdogan in his various international campaigns. The new motion allows the military to carry out cross-border operations against ISIS jihadists and other groups deemed by Ankara as terrorist organisations. “The risks and threats to national security posed by ongoing conflicts in regions near Turkey’s southern border are continuing to increase,” the motion presented to parliament by Erdogan’s ruling AKP says. Early this month, Erdogan said Turkey was preparing to step up operations in Syria, where its forces came under attack from a Kurdish militia group supported by Washington in the fight against the IS group. Turkey and its proxies have seized control of territory inside Syria over four military operations launched since 2016, focusing heavily on various Kurdish militias. The militants also use their hideouts in northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks aimed at Turkish soil. The Turkish army often bombs their bases in the mountainous regions. Ankara says it uses its right under international law to self-defence, although the operations cause strains in ties with Baghdad.

Congressional group opposes sale of F-16s to Turkey over security concerns
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
WASHINGTON--Democratic and Republican US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden’s administration not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and said they were confident Congress would block any such exports. In a letter to Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 11 members of the House of Representatives cited “a profound sense of concern” about recent reports that Turkey may purchase 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16s and 80 F-16 modernisation kits. The letter was dated October 25. “Following President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s September announcement that Turkey will purchase an additional tranche of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, we cannot afford to compromise our national security by sending US-manufactured aircraft to a treaty ally which continues to behave like an adversary,” the lawmakers wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on correspondence with Congress. Earlier reports said that Turkey had made a request to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernisation kits for its existing warplanes. Ankara had also previously ordered more than 100 Lockheed Martin F-35s, but the United States removed Turkey from the programme in 2019 after it acquired the Russian S-400s. The letter was led by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis and Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney.
“While we are confident that Congress will stand together to block any such exports should these plans progress, the United States cannot afford to transfer any advanced military equipment to the government of Turkey at this time,” the letter said. The partnership between the NATO allies has gone through tumult in the past five years over disagreements on Syria, Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow, its naval ambitions in the Mediterranean, US charges against a state-owned Turkish bank and erosion of rights and freedoms in Turkey.

In new escalation, Algeria to stop supplying gas to Morocco
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
ALGIERS--Algeria, which has cut off diplomatic ties with Morocco, will stop supplying natural gas to the country through the Maghreb-Europe pipeline from November 1, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The 13.5 billion cubic-metre (bcm) Maghreb-Europe pipeline links Algeria to Spain. Algeria will keep supplying Spain using the Medgaz undersea pipeline with an annual capacity of 8 bcm, which does not go through Morocco, the sources said. Analysts say technical issues relating to Algeria’s plans to expand the capacity of the Medgaz pipeline could step up the energy crisis in Spain at a time of soaring gas bills across Europe. Algeria in August hinted at the possibility of ending by October natural gas exports to Morocco of 1 billion cubic bcm, used to produce around 10% of the kingdom’s electricity. One source at state-owned state oil and gas firm Sonatrach and two Algerian government sources said the supply agreement with Morocco would not be renewed. Algerian and Moroccan energy ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Earlier this month, a senior Moroccan official said his country is discussing with Spain the possibility of reversing the flow of a gas pipeline in case Algeria does not renew the supply deal. Algeria is Spain’s largest gas supplier, covering almost half of its gas demand through the Maghreb-Europe pipeline.
A fourth source, a senior Algerian government official, told Reuters that in the event of any disruptions, the North African country will use ships to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Spain. Analysts say that would mean Sonatrach having to charter more vessels, fuelling further LNG price rises due to shipping rates having more than doubled from earlier this month. LNG prices have soared in recent months due to structural shortages in Europe and expectations of a cold winter and high demand. In September, Sonatrach said it would increase the capacity of the Medgaz gas pipeline to Spain to 10.5 bcm a year by the end of November. Algeria’s supplies to Spain will rise after the completion of a fourth gas pressure unit at Sonatrach’s Medgaz facilities in the western town of Beni Saf, Sonatrach said in a statement earlier this year. Sonatrach said the process could be completed by the end of November. Spain’s gas system operator, Enagas, has sold extra space for liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries this winter in a bid to stabilise supply as voracious global demand forces up energy prices.

Emir of Qatar wary tribal tensions could spill over into Shura Council much as in Kuwait
The Arab Weekly/October 27/2021
DOHA--Gulf analysts see the speech of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Tuesday at the opening session of the first elected Shura Council, as reflecting real concern that tribal tensions in the country could spill over into the new council and turn it into a contentious venue much like that in Kuwait. The analysts added that Qatar wants to show that it is trying to bring its fledgling legislative experience to the level of a full parliament. However, the sharp controversy that erupted on social media, after members of the Al-Murrah tribe were blocked from running for office, has caused serious fears among Qatari official. Their concern is that the new council could spin out of control as a result of disagreements over tribally-sensitive issues and turn into a disruptive force challenging the emir and his policies. Sheikh Tamim warned against the “negative manifestations” of tribalism in the country, which, he said, could jeopardise national unity.He said he instructed the cabinet to prepare legal amendments aimed at promoting “equal Qatari citizenship” and send them to the Council for approval. Qatari affairs experts say Doha wants to promote the image of an emirate that manages its internal affairs calmly by holding orderly early elections. But the controversy before the elections brought to mind the experience of the Kuwaiti parliament, and how it turned into a defiant branch of government for the ruling family. The Kuwaiti parliament even succeeded in triggering legal cases against more than one prominent face in the royal family and caused some top figures to be jailed for corruption.
It is clear that the opening speech of the Shura session was aimed at defusing the widespread popular anger and reassuring alienated groups that that laws will change in order to correct past mistakes and begin a new phase that puts national unity above everything else. The country’s current electoral law, which distinguishes between born and naturalised Qatari citizens and bars the latter from electoral participation, has drawn criticism from rights groups. The polls have stirred tribal sensitivities after some members of Al-Murrah tribe, a major tribe in Qatar, were deemed ineligible to vote under a law restricting voting to Qataris whose family was present in the country before 1930. Law No. 6 regulating elections for the Shura Council divided Qatari citizens into three categories. The first includes the “original” Qataris (descendants of Qataris who were citizens in 1930) who are entitled to both run for office and vote. The second group is that of naturalised Qataris born in Qatar and whose grandfathers were Qatari. These have the right to vote but are not entitled to run for office and then there are the naturalised Qataris who are neither eligible to run for office nor to vote.
Al-Murrah tribe, whose members are said to exceed forty percent of the population holding Qatari citizenship, fell in the second category, being not entitled to run for office. Members of the tribe felt the law was specifically designed to exclude it from sitting in the Shura Council.
The electoral law caused unprecedented protests about a month before the October 2 elections, during which at least 15 people were arrested. Criticism of the law extended to media outlets considered to be close to the ruling family. Some media professionals said that “the law poisoned the atmosphere of social harmony that Qatar has enjoyed for a long time.” They also raised questions about the future impact of the Shura on political life in the country. Despite the end of protests, Sheikh Tamim said that “we cannot ignore the disease just because its symptoms disappear,” indicating that that steps will be taken to prevent a return to the contentious situation. “Citizenship is not purely a legal issue, but is primarily civilisational and an issue of loyalty, belonging and duty, and not just rights,” he said, adding that tribal intolerance was a “disease”.
“Hateful intolerance, whether tribal or otherwise, could be manipulated and used to subvert and destroy national unity,” he added.
Sheikh Tamim said the event would enhance Qatar’s global status and “demonstrate the openness and tolerance of the hospitable Qatari people”. On Tuesday, members of the Qatari Shura Council chose Hassan bin Abdullah Al-Ghanim as the country’s first elected speaker of parliament. Al-Ghanim received 37 votes, compared to 8 for Mubarak bin Matar al-Kuwari, out of the total votes of the 45 members of the Shura Council. The Council consists of 45 members, 30 of whom were elected by direct ballot, while the remaining 15 were appointed by the emir. The opening of the Shura Council session was attended by the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa and a number of sheikhs, ministers and dignitaries. The task of the Shura Council is to advise the Emir of Qatar on draft laws, but it does not set its own legislation. Among its tasks is to approve the budget and withdraw confidence from the ministers, but all its decisions can be overturned by an emiri decree.

Canada/Friends of Sudan Statement
October 27, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
“Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, as members of the Friends of Sudan Group, strongly condemn the ongoing military takeover in Sudan. We call for the immediate release of officials who have been unlawfully detained.
“The Friends of Sudan call for the restoration of all transitional arrangements and institutions as defined in the Constitutional Document. Any attempts by the military to unilaterally modify these provisions and upend the critical civilian-military partnership are unacceptable.
“The actions of the security forces deeply jeopardize Sudan’s hard-won political, economic and legal gains made over the past two years and put Sudan’s security, stability and reintegration into the international community at risk.
“The aspirations of the Sudanese people for democracy, human rights, peace and prosperity are clear and were reiterated once again last week through protests across the country. They must be respected. Free and inclusive dialogue is the only way forward.
“The Friends of Sudan reaffirm their commitment to supporting the political transition and the realization of the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”

Canada/Statement on International Religious Freedom Day
October 27, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Today, Global Affairs Canada issued the following statement:
“Worldwide, the right to practise, choose and change one’s religion or belief is increasingly under attack. With a surge in religiously motivated crimes and persecution, International Religious Freedom Day, gives us an opportunity to reaffirm this universal human right.
“The Government of Canada is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, both at home and around the world. This past July, Canada hosted 2 national Summits, on Islamophobia and Antisemitism, to hear the concerns of policymakers and community leaders, discuss ongoing challenges and commit to next steps.
“As part of Canada’s broader effort to promote and defend pluralism, inclusion and human rights, Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, has been working with partners both in Canada and internationally to advance collective efforts to address resurgent forms of antisemitism.
“Canada is deeply concerned by the global rise of intolerance against individuals of all faiths and beliefs. This includes the persecution of religious minorities in Afghanistan, the systematic repression of Uyghur and other Muslim ethnic minorities in China, the crimes committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and the alarming situation for Bahá’ís in Iran and Yemen. Canada condemns religious hatred, discrimination and xenophobia in all their forms.
“In 2015, Canada established the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief to deepen global collaboration. To date, more than 30 countries and organizations have worked together in this forum in support of this important human right.
“As a multicultural, multi-faith and multi-ethnic society, Canada stands in solidarity with all faith and belief communities against all hatred and intolerance and shares their desire to build a more just and inclusive world.”

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 27-28/2021
Why Hamas fights Israel/A new book sheds light on the wars with Gaza's rulers
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/October 27/2021
In 2005, Israelis conducted a bold experiment. Prevailing wisdom held that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was due to Israel’s “occupation” of two “Palestinian territories.” If that was true, shouldn’t giving Palestinians one of those territories, Gaza, mitigate the conflict?
Negotiations over the other “occupied territory,” the West Bank, could follow, leading to the resolution of the conflict.
Fast forward to last May when Hamas, which rules Gaza, initiated a war with Israel – for the fourth time. Obviously, Israel’s experiment failed.
Equally obvious: Israelis cannot withdraw from the West Bank until they have security guarantees from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs that territory. And if that means the Jews of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem will be denied Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, so be it.
Will you let me take you on a slightly deeper dive? When Israelis withdrew from Gaza – every soldier, every farmer, every grave – they expected the PA to take control. But Hamas waged and won a civil war against the PA. Since 2007, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has not dared set foot in Gaza.
Turning Gaza into a Mediterranean Singapore was never on Hamas’ to-do list. What has been: digging terrorist tunnels into Israel, sending incendiary balloons to burn Israeli fields and forests, and firing missiles at Israeli villages, towns, and cities. In 2008, 2012, 2014, and again this year, the salvos were large enough to ignite wars.
Israelis try to limit the weapons that Hamas receives. Israel’s enemies call that a “blockade” and pretend it’s the cause – not the result – of Hamas’ terrorism. But food, medicine, and other non-military goods move into Gaza daily from both Israel and Egypt.
Often misunderstood: Although the Israelis gave Gaza to the Palestinians, the Israelis never took Gaza from the Palestinians. The territory was an Ottoman possession until that empire collapsed. It was a British possession until that empire exited. In 1947, the UN proposed the partition of Palestine into two countries: a very small one for Jewish Palestinians, a larger one for Arab Palestinians (who did not yet insist that only they could be called “Palestinians.”)
The Jews agreed. The Arabs did not. In 1948, the Arab states surrounding Palestine launched a war to drive the Jews into the sea.
The Jews fought for their lives and won an independent state in part of their ancient homeland. But Egypt conquered Gaza. And Jordan conquered Judea and Samaria, territories it renamed the West Bank, and from which all Jews were expelled. Neither nation attempted to transform these territories into a Palestinian state.
In 1967, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations launched what became known as the Six-Day War. Its aim was Israel’s extermination. Its failure left Gaza and the West Bank in Israeli hands.
Suppose this brief and factual history is unfamiliar to you. In that case, that’s likely due to the persistent propagation of misinformation and disinformation about Israel – in the media, on campuses, and from such organizations like the UN and Human Rights Watch.
With that in mind, Jonathan Schanzer, my colleague at FDD, has quickly but carefully written the first book on this year’s war. “Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War” takes on the task of “explaining that war, with the benefit of hindsight, better than it was explained at the time.”
He examines what really motivated Hamas to attack Israel at this particular juncture and the role of other actors, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran, which provides Hamas with “financial assistance, as well as training and weapons,” and regards Gaza as part of its expanding empire.
He provides historical context that does not conform with the narratives promulgated by anti-Zionists and antisemites (but I repeat myself).
Mr. Schanzer also tells some good war stories, none better than how, on May 13, the Israeli Defense Forces tweeted a statement indicating that ground troops had invaded Gaza. Western reporters ran with it. The Israeli media, by contrast, sought corroboration.
“Hamas scrambled its commando fighters — many of whom had been trained in Iran — to file into what the Israelis nicknamed the ‘Hamas Metro,’” Mr. Schanzer writes. “The Metro was a labyrinth of tunnels that Hamas had spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars digging. The terrorist group hoped to surprise Israeli troops entering Gaza, with commandos popping up and quickly disappearing back into the Metro’s many openings. Their goal was to kidnap or kill IDF soldiers.”
Israeli ground troops never arrived. Instead, “160 aircraft dropped 450 missiles on 150 targets in northern Gaza during an intense operation. Although the exact number is still debated, the Metro sustained significant damage, and many commando fighters were killed. Israeli tanks, artillery, and infantry units near the Gaza border targeted Hamas rocket teams that emerged to strike Israel.”
Is there a diplomatic solution to Hamas’ conflict with Israel? Mr. Schanzer is doubtful. “Hamas exists to fight Israel,” he concludes. Hamas’ patrons – Qatar and Turkey in addition to the Islamic Republic – “provide funds and assistance for exactly that reason.” He predicts: “War will, unfortunately, come again.”
Might Israelis one day decisively defeat Hamas? It’s possible, but what happens the day after? Most Israelis don’t want the burden of occupying and ruling Gaza. Nor do they want to become the expeditionary force of the PA, which has refused to seriously negotiate with them for years.
Mr. Schanzer concludes that Israelis have no choice but to fight endless wars and endless “wars between wars” against Hamas, against Lebanon-based Hezbollah (which has 150,000 missiles aimed at Israel), and against the Iranian patrons of both. That will change when the lion lies down with the lamb.
• Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times.

Erdogan’s Belligerence Has U.S., Greece Expanding Ties
Bradley Bowman and Aykan Erdemir/Foreign Policy/October 27/2021
Growing military cooperation offers Washington a hedge against Ankara and Moscow.
The Biden administration just inked a defense cooperation agreement with one NATO ally—Greece—that is trying to bolster its military deterrence against another NATO ally: Turkey.
The renewed and expanded defense protocol the United States and Greece signed on Oct. 14 amends their previously established Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement. Both Washington and Athens are concerned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly belligerent actions, underscored by his threat Saturday—since watered down—to expel 10 Western ambassadors. For the U.S. side, the deal extends and expands U.S. military access to Greek military bases, providing Washington a hedge against Moscow and Ankara as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to have Turkey play a spoiler role within the NATO alliance. The Greeks, for their part, hope stronger cooperation with the United States will help them deter Turkey.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias signed the defense deal in Washington following the third round of the U.S.-Greek Strategic Dialogue. The Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement represents a new phase in U.S.-Greek security cooperation. It enables, as Blinken said, “U.S. forces in Greece to train and operate from additional locations.” That will strengthen U.S. military power projection and readiness in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. Initially in effect for five years, the agreement will afterward “remain in force indefinitely” unless either government terminates it, Blinken said.
Similar to Greece’s recent deal with France, the protocol strengthens Athens’s position in light of the Erdogan government’s growing gunboat diplomacy and irredentist rhetoric aimed at revoking borders fixed by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 following a bitter Greco-Turkish war. In all of this, Erdogan is motivated by a toxic mix of Islamist, ultranationalist, and anti-Western ideologies. Erdogan’s embrace of ultranationalist and pro-Russian factions at home for political survival in the aftermath of Turkey’s failed coup attempt in 2016 put Athens and Ankara on a collision course. The Turkish president’s abandonment of conventional Turkish foreign-policy positions and his expansionist maritime claims in the Aegean and elsewhere, developed by a number of pro-Russian officers in the Turkish military, triggered European Union sanctions in 2019 and threats of further sanctions last year.
The deal could also offer Athens a much-needed hedge against Moscow and Beijing. Greece has traditionally been friendly to Russia, not least because of strong cultural and religious ties. But the two countries had a falling out in 2018, when Athens banned four Russian diplomats over attempts by Moscow to bribe Greek officials in order to derail reconciliation talks between Athens and Skopje that paved the way for North Macedonia’s NATO membership. Furthermore, in the wake of its 2010 debt and financial crisis, Greece turned to investments from China, providing Beijing coercive economic leverage to elicit political concessions from Athens. In 2017, the Greek government under then-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras blocked the EU from condemning China’s human rights record at the United Nations, earning Athens justified criticism. While the current Greek government has reaffirmed Greece’s orientation toward the West, greater U.S. interest—especially investment in strategic infrastructure projects such as ports, shipyards, and cellular networks—could help reduce Athens’s reliance on Chinese capital.
For the United States, the new agreement provides valuable additional basing and training opportunities to help hedge against Russian activities in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean regions, facilitating greater U.S. military operational agility and flexibility. Increased U.S. military capabilities near the entrance to the Black Sea could present Russian military planners with fresh dilemmas, boosting NATO deterrence.
Erdogan’s increasing belligerence is one reason Greece has taken a significant turn toward the United States, NATO, and the EU.
The agreement provides the U.S. military with access to a base at Alexandroupolis, a port city on the Thracian coast near the Turkish border. That bolsters NATO’s southeastern flank and provides an alternative means to transport military forces to NATO allies Bulgaria and Romania. These ground lines of communication augment the existing sea connection through the Bosphorus and could potentially replace it in a crisis if the United States were deprived of access to the Black Sea by either Turkey or Russia.
The Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement’s extended duration will incentivize additional investment in Alexandroupolis’s port. That, in turn, could increase the port’s capacity and military utility. For Russia, the Black Sea provides a crucial naval pathway to the Mediterranean and beyond. Additional U.S. access to the Black Sea region via Greece—and an enhanced U.S. military presence near the Turkish Straits—will be unwelcome news in Moscow.
It is essential that Washington work with Athens to ensure that U.S. or European companies expand and run the Alexandroupolis port. It should not surprise anyone if Russian or Chinese companies apply for the job. Already, a Chinese state-backed company owns a majority share of the Piraeus Port Authority, the fourth-largest container port in Europe.
While Alexandroupolis is significant, the protocol’s extended duration will also be very valuable in providing U.S. forces more predictable and longer-term access to the naval port and air base at Souda Bay on Crete. That will incentivize Pentagon infrastructure investment there, which in turn could strengthen U.S. power projection in the Eastern Mediterranean, where China and Russia are increasingly coordinating military activities.
Terrorist threats to the Eastern Mediterranean’s expanding offshore energy infrastructure are growing as well. Hamas attempted to target gas installations off the Israeli coast during the Gaza conflict in May. Perhaps that is one reason why Blinken and Dendias’s joint statement reiterated a desire to “bolster cooperation through the 3+1 format (Greece, Cyprus, Israel, plus the United States) on energy issues, economic development, counterterrorism, and the climate crisis and associated humanitarian challenges which recently affected the region.”
The deal also reflects Washington’s concerns about Ankara’s drift toward Moscow. In December 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system as required by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which targets significant transactions with the Russian defense or intelligence sectors. Ankara’s recent threats to purchase a second batch of S-400s in addition to advanced Russian Su-35 and Su-57 combat jets would trigger further sanctions and create a significant new crisis with Ankara for the Biden administration and NATO to manage.
Just like Turkey, Greece used to stand out among NATO members for its strong anti-American sentiment—among both the political elite and the general public. Erdogan’s increasing belligerence and drift away from the West and its values are one reason Athens has taken a significant turn toward the United States, NATO, and the EU while also deepening regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. Athens’s shift has offered Washington an attractive way to mitigate the damage associated with Erdogan’s actions while simultaneously hedging against Moscow and Beijing. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department is still trying to maintain its long-term balancing act between Greece and Turkey, which last year drew a sharp rebuke from U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who is known for his vocal criticism of the Erdogan government. While there is a bipartisan consensus in Washington regarding the problematic nature of Erdogan’s policies, there is a genuine debate whether he is an anomaly or a sign of Turkey’s long-term shift.
In remarks at the joint press conference, Blinken described Greece as a “reliable ally” and a “pillar of stability.” Greece is also becoming more capable militarily, undertaking a major military modernization effort and purchasing lots of U.S.-made military hardware. That builds Greek and NATO military readiness and capability, strengthens the U.S. defense industrial base, and increases the ability of U.S. and Greek forces to operate together.
In fact, Greece now spends a higher percent of its GDP on defense than any other NATO member, according to a report by the alliance. In 2014, Greece spent slightly above NATO’s 2 percent of GDP defense spending guideline. This year, Greece will spend an estimated 3.8 percent of its GDP on defense, the highest share in the alliance. Athens is also spending a significant portion of those expenditures on real military capability, allocating nearly 40 percent of defense spending on equipment. That compares favorably to NATO’s most capable militaries. Athens, however, will need to get military personnel costs under control and spend more on military operations and maintenance if it hopes to employ its new capabilities effectively and maintain readiness.
All things considered, Greece’s search for a hedge against Turkey also offers the United States a unique opportunity to better deter Moscow’s revisionist ambitions and raise the costs for Erdogan’s drift away from the NATO alliance. The defense agreement with Greece is a step in the right direction, but the U.S. Congress will need to monitor its implementation closely.
*Bradley Bowman is the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former advisor to members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Twitter: @Brad_L_Bowman. Aykan Erdemir is the senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former member of the Turkish parliament for the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Twitter: @aykan_erdemir. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Landmark Iran Sanctions Ruling Against Turkish Public Lender Builds U.S. Deterrence
Aykan Erdemir/Insight-FDD/October 27/2021
A U.S. appeals court ruled on October 22 that Halkbank, a public lender majority-owned by Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, cannot claim sovereign immunity under U.S. law to scuttle a federal criminal case for the bank’s alleged role in helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions. This landmark decision, which sets an important legal precedent, will build American deterrence against foreign financial institutions that facilitate Tehran’s evasion of U.S. sanctions.
In a six-count indictment in October 2019, U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New York charged Halkbank with fraud, money laundering, and sanctions offenses related to the bank’s alleged participation “in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran.” The prosecutors accused the Turkish public lender of helping Tehran transfer $20 billion worth of restricted funds, with at least $1 billion laundered through the U.S. financial system.
The previous year, Halkbank’s deputy general manager, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, was sentenced to 32 months in prison when a federal jury found him guilty on five counts related to that scheme, including sanctions evasion, bank fraud, and obstructing the actions of the U.S. Treasury Department. In the run-up to Atilla’s conviction, Reza Zarrab, the ringleader of Tehran’s Turkey-based sanctions-evasion schemes, pleaded guilty and turned state’s witness, confessing to having bribed senior Turkish ministers and top Halkbank executives. Zarrab even implicated Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that the then-prime minister had approved the sanctions-busting efforts.
Since October 2019, Halkbank has taken numerous actions to scuttle the case and delay a jury trial. At first, Halkbank and its lawyers refused to acknowledge the indictment or a legal summons to appear in court. After U.S. prosecutors in January 2020 asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to impose escalating fines that could total up to $1.8 billion after eight weeks if the bank failed to respond to criminal charges, Halkbank reversed course and pleaded not guilty two months later. The bank’s stalling tactics also included a June 2020 bid pressing Berman to recuse himself, which he refused in August 2020.
Halkbank then claimed that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) shielded the public lender from prosecution in the United States. In response, federal prosecutors warned that granting Halkbank immunity under FSIA would constitute an extension of sovereign immunity from civil to criminal cases. In a 16-page opinion issued in October 2020, Berman stated, “The court clearly has personal jurisdiction over Halkbank.” He ruled that FSIA “does not appear to grant immunity in criminal proceedings.” Halkbank immediately appealed the ruling.
Last week, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stated in its ruling that even if the court were to assume that FSIA confers immunity in the criminal context, the offense with which Halkbank is charged “would fall under the commercial activity exception to FSIA.” The court also rejected Halkbank’s “contention that it was entitled to immunity from prosecution under the common law.”
Following that ruling, Halkbank issued a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange, saying that the bank will use all its legal rights to appeal the court’s decision. This is a sign that the Turkish public lender will continue its stalling tactics to delay a potentially embarrassing jury trial, which could further expose Erdogan’s and his close aides’ complicity in Iran’s sanctions-evasion schemes.
Since Zarrab and Atilla were arrested in 2016 and 2017, respectively, Erdogan has employed devious tactics to derail the U.S. prosecution of Turkey-linked sanctions-evasion schemes. The Turkish leader held U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson hostage for two years, hoping to exchange him for Zarrab and Atilla. In 2017, Erdogan also asked former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was one of President Donald Trump’s surrogates during the 2016 presidential campaign, to press the Trump White House for a Brunson-Zarrab swap. Ankara’s interference in the Halkbank prosecution became the subject of a probe launched by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). Giuliani, as Bloomberg reported in June, has since become “the subject of a Justice Department inquiry into possible foreign lobbying for Turkish interests.”
Erdogan not only has attempted to cover up the Halkbank scandal but has also rewarded individuals who facilitated Tehran’s sanctions-evasion schemes, by offering them cushy appointments. In 2019, three months after Atilla’s return to Turkey after serving his U.S. prison sentence, and only a few days after U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Halkbank, then-Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law, named Atilla as CEO of the Istanbul stock exchange. Nine days later, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which had opposed Atilla’s appointment, announced that it would sell its 10 percent stake in the Istanbul stock exchange, a transaction the international bank finalized later that year.
Erdogan also appointed former Minister for European Union Affairs Egemen Bagis as Turkey’s ambassador to Prague. Bagis had resigned from the ministry after a 2013 corruption scandal implicated him in accepting bribes related to the scheme run through Halkbank.
The Erdogan government’s attempts to evade justice have been disastrous for Halkbank and, by extension, for the Turkish economy. Since the December 2013 graft probe that exposed the public lender’s role in Iran’s sanctions-evasion schemes, the bank’s shares have lost over 95 percent of their value in U.S. dollars, falling from an all-time high of $10.63 per share in 2013 to $0.45 as of October 25, 2021.
Halkbank also faces a civil lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Eight hundred and seventy-six victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism, to whom Iran collectively owes $10 billion, took the bank to court, claiming the Turkish public lender helped Tehran avoid the financial consequences of its support for terrorist attacks. The court ruled in February 2021 that the plaintiffs, who are U.S. citizens or foreign employees of the U.S. government targeted during their service to the United States, should pursue their case before a Turkish court instead. In doing so, the court ignored substantial evidence that the plaintiffs cannot receive a fair hearing before a Turkish court, because Ankara is covering up the bank’s complicity in Iranian sanctions-busting schemes. The plaintiffs have appealed the court’s dismissal.
A ruling by a U.S. court of appeals that FSIA does not grant public lenders or other instrumentalities of foreign sovereigns any immunity from U.S. prosecution will strengthen Washington’s deterrence against sanctions evasion by Iran and other rogue regimes. This will also discourage banks from pursuing costly delaying tactics and incentivize deferred prosecution and/or non-prosecution agreements with U.S. authorities. Last year, for example, the Industrial Bank of Korea, a state-owned bank, settled U.S. and New York state criminal and civil charges for allowing an illegal transfer of more than $1 billion to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. U.S. courts’ denial of impunity to accomplices of Tehran would also serve as a wakeup call for international financial institutions. The American justice system’s commitment to prosecute sanctions busters and money launderers to the full extent of the law would prompt banks to improve their anti-money laundering controls, while also deterring them from colluding with Iran or other state sponsors of terrorism.
*Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). For more analysis from Aykan, the Turkey Program, and CEFP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Aykan on Twitter @aykan_erdemir. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

The Future Of Iran-EU Trade Is Not Bright
Saeed Ghasseminejad/ Iran International-FDD/October 27/2021
Enrique Mora, the EU envoy coordinating the Iran nuclear talks traveled to Tehran recently in an attempt to convince the regime to return to the Vienna process.
The EU invested considerable political and diplomatic capital in the long process that led to the 2015 accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). EU leaders had tried hard to convince former President Donald Trump not to abrogate the deal, and they have again invested considerable effort, since Joe Biden’s election, to serve as a middleman between Tehran and Washington. All of this diplomacy invites an economic question: What can the EU expect to gain if trade and investment become possible in Iran with the lifting of US sanctions?
The history of Iran-EU trade over the last 15 years shows a downward trend, with a high degree of correlation with the severity of sanctions. When US-initiated secondary sanctions are in place, whether multilateral or unilateral, they quickly affect Iran-EU trade. EU states opposed the Trump administration’s unilateral maximum pressure strategy, but Trump’s sanctions had the same impact on Iran-EU trade as multilateral sanctions did prior to the JCPOA.
In no small part, Iran-EU trade is so sensitive to sanctions because the EU can quickly replace Iran with other trade partners, while Iran can not do likewise. In 2013, at the height of the Obama administration’s sanctions campaign against Iran, EU imports from Iran dropped to 751 million euros from their zenith of 17 billion euros in 2011.
In 2019, the first full year that Trump’s maximum pressure strategy was in place, EU imports from Iran slid to 680 million euros, down from 9 billion euros in 2018. EU exports, while reduced due to US sanctions, have shown less volatility. The EU’s 2013 exports plummeted to 5.3 billion euros from their high of 11 billion euros in 2010. These exports went back up to 11 billion euros in 2017 while the JCPOA was in effect, but in 2020 descended to 3.7 billion euros. Non-Iranian trade partners filled the gaps.
By contrast, trade between the EU and Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s chief rival in the Persian Gulf, benefits from diplomatic stability. Since 2005, EU-Saudi trade has enjoyed a general upward trajectory, even though it is sensitive to volatile markets for oil. However, the Saudis have managed to expand their non-crude exports to the EU. In 2020, 7.2 billion euros — 46 percent of Riyadh’s exports to the EU — were from non-crude oil, up from 3.84 billion euro in 2005.
The greater volatility of EU imports from Iran stems from the impact of sanctions on the import of crude oil. Iran’s non-crude exports to the EU are neither considerable nor growing. They still have not returned to their 2007 level of 1.7 billion euros, and in 2020 were slightly above 600 million euros.
European governments opposed Trump’s unilateral sanctions and tried to convince European companies to trade with Iran. However, the private sector defied Brussels and complied with Washington’s sanctions. Despite loose enforcement of US sanctions by the Biden administration, the data for the first seven months of 2021 show no significant increase in trade between the EU countries and Iran. During this time period, EU’s imports from Iran rose to 480 million euros, slightly higher than 440 million euros during the same period last year, while its exports dropped from 2.21 billion euros to 2.11 billion.
*Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior advisor on Iran and financial economics at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Follow Saeed on Twitter @SGhasseminejad. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, non-partisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

البيرتو فرنندس/معهد واشنطن: الأقنعة سقطت في السودان عقب الإنقلاب العسكري
In Sudan, the Masks Come Off After a Military Coup
Alberto Fernandez/The Washington Insitute/October 27/2021
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After months of nebulous plotting, the domestic and foreign actors who drove opposition to Hamdok’s reformist government will become more discernible as the generals look for ways to solidify their hold on power.
Two-and-a-half years after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir, Sudan has witnessed another military coup. The generals struck less than forty-eight hours after a visit by U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman, commencing a power grab that seems to have succeeded for now. Military authorities have arrested cabinet ministers and members of the transitional civilian government, dismissed governors, placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest, cut internet access, seized state media, and decreed a state of emergency.
In an address to the nation on October 25, coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan justified his actions and reiterated his commitment to “the constitutional path” and the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement with various rebel groups. On the latter front, he called on the last two rebel holdouts—Abdel Wahid al-Nur of the Darfur-based Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Abdelaziz al-Hilu of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), based in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan—to fully join the peace process and help usher in “a new Sudan...of freedom, peace and justice.” Burhan, who was previously the country’s de facto head of state before spearheading the coup, sought to portray the military’s action as a “correction” to the transitional process, emphasizing that the revolution was in danger and pledging to appoint a technocratic government that will guide the country to democratic elections in July 2023. Yet the essential question to be decided on the streets of Sudan in the coming days is clear: will the military solidify its rule enough to make and unmake governments for the long term, or will its power decrease in accordance with the framework guiding the post-Bashir democratic transition?
Just last week, Sudan witnessed massive popular demonstrations supporting the civilian government and marking the anniversary of the 1964 uprising, which overthrew the country’s first dictator, Ibrahim Abboud. As news of the current coup circulated, scattered protests broke out with promises of more to come. Mohamed Nagy Alassam—a key leader of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which took part in the demonstrations that ousted Bashir’s Islamist regime—called for peaceful opposition to the military’s action. The country’s well-developed civil society movement has proven to be resilient and creative in the face of brutal regime repression in the past, though it now faces its biggest challenge since early 2019.
What Led to the Coup?
The warning lights for Sudan’s fragile transition have been flashing red for some time now. On September 21, the government announced it had foiled a coup attempt by another army general, Abdul Baqi al-Bakrawi, who was supposedly working in sync with pro-Bashir elements. Meanwhile, a series of suspiciously timed and murkily led demonstrations broke out in the coastal region, with notables from the Beja people and other factions praising the military and calling for change in the civilian government while disrupting commerce and port access. Small crowds in Khartoum called for the same thing. The sense of walls closing in and hidden hands moving was palpable.
Further evidence of burgeoning conspiracies emerged on October 19, when Facebook announced that it was disrupting two large social media networks targeting users inside Sudan. One was connected to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by ambitious general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka “Hemeti”), who serves as Burhan’s deputy and is seen as the real strongman of the military faction. The other network was connected to Bashir loyalists and comprised more than a hundred accounts with around 1.8 million followers. Such activity points to a longstanding plot by military elements and Islamist subversives to undermine Hamdok’s reformist government.
Indeed, by ousting the prime minister, the coup plotters removed a respected international civil servant who had made visible progress in reversing Sudan’s isolation after three decades of Islamist dictatorship. The country had finally secured its removal from Washington’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List and taken important steps toward economic reform endorsed by the World Bank and IMF. Hamdok also removed Bashir-era laws against blasphemy and “public order” decrees that regulated how women dress, cover their hair, and travel in public. And last year, he publicly attended the yearly memorial for the late liberal Islamic reformer Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, who was executed for apostasy in 1985 by a previous Islamist regime. These details are important because one of the narratives being promoted by pro-military elements is that the generals intervened to somehow “save” Sudan from pro-Bashir loyalists. Such Islamist loyalists certainly exist, but Hamdok was not one of them.
Policy Implications
Because the coup happened shortly after the U.S. special envoy had seemingly calmed tensions between civilian officials and the military, it constitutes a direct challenge to Washington. The plotters must feel quite emboldened by regional allies, who appear to have convinced them that the fallout is manageable and that their “technocratic civilian government” plan will eventually win over enough of the international community to keep them in power and garner sufficient foreign assistance. To facilitate this outcome, the military or its civilian front men may try to take high-profile diplomatic steps, such as finally sending Bashir to the International Criminal Court in The Hague or openly making peace with Israel (Hamdok’s government was already cautiously exploring both of these paths).
Assuming they weather popular anger, the generals will also need to put together a credible civilian government. This presents them with a dilemma: if governance and economic figures continue to lag or worsen, they will no longer be able to blame the civilians they just overthrew. The junta will be hard-pressed to do better than Hamdok on those issues, and its leaders have little public legitimacy despite their efforts to appropriate the language of Sudan’s youths and revolutionaries.
Consequently, the regional Arab governments and Sudanese politicians who support the new military rule will be unmasked in the coming weeks, and as they are, Washington and other parties need to make clear that there are consequences for supporting a rogue regime. Initial public comments from Cairo, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh have been muted. But all of these states will need to balance between their individual agendas for Sudan and their complicated relations with the West.
One thing is certain: Sudan will be inherently unstable if its leaders ignore the stated interests of Western governments and the demonstrators who massed on the streets just a week ago. Twice in the country’s recent political history, concerns about such instability have driven unpopular ruling generals to embrace political Islam as a vehicle for some sort of legitimacy. The current military leadership is divided—Burhan may not be in full control, or may have acted in competition with military rivals, while Hemeti has been maintaining a suspiciously low profile since the coup.
In the immediate term, Hamdok’s ouster sets up an open clash with a U.S. administration that did try to help Sudan—though the Biden team could have done much more and sooner to back up its vocal declarations of support for human rights and democracy. Many in the region now see the administration as precipitously heading for the exit on many fronts, despite its protestations to the contrary.
In any case, the brewing clash will likely follow the model of escalation often practiced by the Bashir regime, of which Burhan and Hemeti were a part before they helped remove it. That is, Khartoum would make some outrageous decision, and the international community would engage it in an effort to make the decision less bad. The usual result was a focus on “process” over actual results, thereby giving the regime vital breathing space time and time again. The Biden administration may face the same potential trap in the next few weeks if the generals dangle the prospect of a substitute civilian puppet government.
Prior to the coup, Sudan’s democratic transition was important not only for Africa, which has seen several military coups in 2021, but also for the Middle East, which has been plagued by disappointing democratic transitions in Algeria, Tunisia, and Iraq and outright disasters in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen. In that sense, the crisis for the Sudanese people is also a crisis for American diplomacy. Whatever the Biden administration pushed in Sudan two days before the coup either backfired or, more likely, proved irrelevant to a plot that was already in play while Feltman met with the generals.
Washington’s best course of action now is not to waver, but to openly take a hard and clear line against the rule of Sudanese military strongmen (and their civilian enablers once their identity becomes known). Initial steps in that direction have been taken, with the Biden administration suspending bilateral aid and publicly condemning the military. In addition, the generals need to be quietly warned that things could get worse for them if the situation on the ground deteriorates further. The moral way forward—full defense of Sudan’s 2019 democratic revolution and besieged transition—is also the best one for U.S. policy.
*Alberto Fernandez is vice president of the Middle East Media Research Institute and former U.S. chief of mission in Sudan.