English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 04/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”
Luke 10/38-42: “Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 03-04/2022
France Renews Caution against Further Collapse in Lebanon
Lebanon arrests five agents suspected of torturing Syrian detainee to death
Lebanon arrests four security officers after Daesh suspect dies in custody
"Forces of Change" MPs launch presidential rescue initiative
Change MPs launch presidential initiative, threaten protests
Khalaf says those responsible for death of detainee at State Security must be held accountable at once
MoPH: 454 new Corona cases, 2 deaths
Abdallah commissioned to chair friendship committee between Lebanon & Indonesia
Frem during a "Project Watan" seminar on health card: We will not allow collapse to occur
Democratic Party Secretary-General visits House Speaker: We are open to everyone for the interest of Lebanon & its people
Agriculture Ministry: To take necessary precautions for public safety in wake of increasing heat wave
Al-Makari says return of homeland's sons, dignified return of displaced to their country denote next battle's headlines
Army: 11 Syrians, Lebanese arrested for possession of weapons, ammunition in Akkar's Zouk al-Habalsa town
Makhzoumi, Sandri review prevailing conditions in Lebanon and the world

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 03-04/2022
If Israel fails to stop Iran nuclear deal, military means only way to prevent atomic bomb
Tehran Defends Its Second Response to EU Draft Proposal
US Congress Intensifies Criticism of Possible Nuclear Agreement with Iran
Iran Equips 51 Cities with Civil Defense Systems, Says Defense Official
Israeli Attacks Squeeze Iranian Aerial Supplies to Syria, Sources Say
Report: Assad Has Been Barring Iran from Retaliating to Israeli Raids on Syria for 3 Years
Russia Keeps Pipeline Shut as Gazprom, Siemens Energy Wrangle
Ukraine’s Nuclear Plant Partly Goes Offline amid Fighting
Türkiye Can Be Facilitator on Ukraine Nuclear Plant, Erdogan Tells Putin
Ukraine-Bound Grain Ship’s Engine Fails in Bosphorus, 2nd Incident This Week
Russia's Gazprom Expected to Resume Pipeline Supplies
Russia Says US Yet to Issue Visas for Delegation to UN Summit
Egypt, Russia Discuss Nuclear Science Research Cooperation
Erdogan Accuses Greece of ‘Occupying’ Demilitarized Islands
US Says Sending Envoy to Ethiopia, Condemns Eritrea Return to War
Gorbachev Buried in Moscow in Funeral Snubbed by Putin
US Approves $1.1 Billion in Arms for Taiwan, Angering China
Former Kyrgyzstan President Named UN Envoy to Afghanistan

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 03-04/2022
Skanderbeg: Scourge of Islam/Raymond Ibrahim/September 03/2022
The Israeli call for action against Iran is coming from inside the house/Lahav Harkov/Jerusalem Post/September 03/2022
Phase three of the war in Ukraine has begun/Joanathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/September 03/2022
Should Biden Call MAGA Supporters Semi-Fascist?/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2022
The Biden Administration's Nuclear Deal Is the Biggest Gift to the World's 'Top State Sponsor of Terrorism'/Majid Rafizadeh/ Gatestone Institute./September 03/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 03-04/2022
France Renews Caution against Further Collapse in Lebanon
Paris - Michel Abu Najem/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna warned on Friday that crisis-hit Lebanon will continue its collapse if Lebanese officials do not get up to save their country, as she reiterated France's support for the Lebanese people.
Speaking at the annual meeting of France’s ambassadors throughout the world, after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister said that Lebanon “is going through an unprecedented economic crisis,” warning that “its collapse will carry on if Lebanese officials do not wake up to save their country.” Colonna confirmed that France “has the responsibility to provide support for the exhausted Lebanese people and that Paris must use its influence in Lebanon to put an end to neglect and abuse” the Lebanese are enduring. During the meeting, Colonna highlighted the regional crises including the Middle East issues, the Iranian nuclear file, Iraq and Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the situation in Lebanon. Colonna’s comments uphold French President Emmanuel Macron’s position towards Lebanon. He repeatedly expressed support for Lebanon, and in August he pledged that he will not let Lebanon “collapse and vanish.” In the past two years, Paris has vowed to impose “sanctions” on Lebanese politicians and other Lebanese figures it believes constitute an obstacle preventing Lebanon from steering out of its crisis and obstructing democracy and reform. The two French officials have not touched on the main issue, the presidential elections, troubling the political class and Lebanese at present. President Michel Aoun’s term ends on October 31. France wants Lebanon to avoid an institutional vacuum in the executive authority if a new president is not elected within the constitutional deadline. The government then gets set for a caretaker capacity. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's attempts to form a government and end political deadlock have failed.

Lebanon arrests five agents suspected of torturing Syrian detainee to death
AFP, Beirut/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Lebanon arrested five State Security agents Saturday on suspicion of torturing to death a Syrian detainee, in the latest abuse allegation against the security services, a judicial source told AFP. The arrests came on the orders of the government’s commissioner to the military courts, Fadi Akiki, who had ordered an investigation into last month’s death in custody, the source said. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. The young Syrian “died within three hours of his arrest after being subjected to severe torture and beatings that triggered a heart attack,” the source said, adding that the detainee was pronounced dead on arrival in hospital. The State Security agents arrested Bashar Abdel Saud on August 31 and took him to an agency facility in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon for questioning with other detainees. The agents wanted to “obtain a confession from the deceased suspect that he was the leader of a cell” linked to ISIS but he “persisted in denying the allegation,” according to the source. In pictures seen by AFP, the body of the deceased was covered in cuts and bruises. The bodies of fellow detainees who survived their ordeal also bore signs of torture. The State Security agency, which has faced multiple allegations of torture in the past, said Abdel Saud’s death had been referred to the “competent authorities.”Lebanon passed a law banning the use of torture in September 2017, but in March last year human rights group Amnesty International published a report detailing the alleged use of torture against 26 Syrian refugees “arbitrarily detained on counter-terror charges.”

Lebanon arrests four security officers after Daesh suspect dies in custody

Najia Houssari/Arabic News/September 03/2022
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities arrested four State Security officers on Saturday on suspicion of torturing a Syrian detainee to death. The arrests came on the orders of the government's commissioner to the military courts, Fadi Akiki, who ordered an investigation into last month's death of Bashar Abdel-Saud in custody. The killing in southern Lebanon provoked anger, and activists shared photos of his body, which showed signs of torture. State Security earlier announced that it had arrested a cell affiliated with Daesh in the Bint Jbeil region. The cell had reportedly committed murders in Syria. Abdel-Saud had a leadership position in Daesh and tried to attack the investigator, according to State Security officials.
BACKGROUND
The killing in southern Lebanon provoked anger, and activists shared photos of the detainee’s body, which showed signs of torture.
They said security officers detained him to calm him down, but he suffered a heart attack and was transferred to hospital where he died.
An investigation was opened into the incident, and Akiki decided to arrest the officer and three State Security members investigating the network.
The forensic doctor who examined the body issued a report refuting claims that Abdel-Saud had died of a heart attack. The victim had suffered bruises, severe wounds, burns, and physical abuse, the report added. Politicians condemned his death on social media, prompting a source in the General Directorate of State Security to announce that investigations were underway to uncover the circumstances behind his death.
The source added that the victim and other detainees were affiliated with Daesh.
Under judicial orders, the directorate will publish their documented confessions about their affiliation with the terrorist group, according to the source.
Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said it was time to approve the National Human Rights Commission’s regulations, which stipulate prohibiting torture and punishing perpetrators.
He said what had happened with the Syrian was a crime that violated human rights.
He added that the Public Prosecution was required to conduct a serious investigation by the civil judiciary, not the military judiciary, and to respect the principles of an investigation into crimes of torture.
The head of parliament’s Human Rights Committee, MP Michel Moussa, said: “This is a heinous crime against a human being, regardless of his nationality or affiliation.”
Moussa called for holding accountable all those who had abused their powers and violated the law. He said that Lebanon had ratified the Convention against Torture adopted by the UN General Assembly, and later the Optional Protocol, and approved Law 65 of 2017 relating to the punishment of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Moussa said Lebanon had also set up the National Human Rights Commission, which includes a committee against torture.
But Moussa said the authorities were failing to provide everything that would allow the commission to start its work.
MP Melhem Khalaf, former head of the Lawyers Syndicate, said: “We have strived to amend Article 47 of the Code of Criminal Procedures and made it mandatory for a lawyer to be present during the preliminary investigation. One of our objectives was to prevent any torture during the investigations.”
MP Michel Douaihy said the case could not be ignored without holding those responsible accountable and addressing the issue of torture.
The MP urged the head of the committee to invite the interior minister and the director general of State Security to its next meeting to investigate and take the necessary measures against the perpetrators.
The legal department for the Justice Pioneers Group, a human rights activist body, said the victim did not die from a heart attack.
The group said it had information to believe the detainee was tortured and his neck was broken, adding there was a criminal intent to kill.
It alleged that the officer and members of State Security had shown what it termed "brutal behavior" when they were supposed to respect legal principles in conducting preliminary investigations and looking for clues.
The Justice Pioneers Group also claimed the investigators had violated the law and their obligations, especially those stipulated in Article 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
These state that an officer may question the suspect provided the latter makes his statement of his own free will in full knowledge of the facts and without being subjected to coercion. If he decides to remain silent, he may not be forced to speak.

"Forces of Change" MPs launch presidential rescue initiative

NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
The "Forces of Change" bloc of deputies launched Saturday the "Presidential Rescue Initiative" regarding the election of the next President of the Republic, during a press conference held this afternoon at "Beit Beirut" in Sodeco. MPs Melhem Khalaf and Michel Douaihy announced the initiative document, in the name of the bloc and in presence of Change Deputies Ibrahim Mneimneh, Elias Jaradi, Paula Yacoubian, Halima Kaakour, Rami Feng, Cynthia Zarazir, Firas Hamdan, Mark Daou, Najat Aoun, Wadah Al-Saddek and Yassin Yassin. The initiative document constitutes four parts including the vision, approach, criteria, and steps for the upcoming presidential elections. The deputies of change considered said elections as a pivotal point for the country's future, by ensuring the election of a new president in line with the hopes and aspirations of the Lebanese. "The path of change starts from here, and with the new president we begin a new page and proceed towards restoring the state in its broad concepts. This entitlement imposes on us - as change force representatives - a huge responsibility to actively keep pace with its details and stages," the deputies underlined. As for the approach, they stressed the need for “the upcoming presidential elections to turn from being a moment of compromise between the parties in power, into an occasion to think about the country we asprire to have and a junture for protecting the republic and restoring the state."They deemed the upcoming elections as an occasion for the members of parliament to choose a president based on the will of the people and to reduce the role of regional powers. Moreover, the change deputies highlighted the need to abide by the constitution in choosing Lebanon's future president, saying: "The Lebanese Constitution defines the President of the Lebanese Republic as - head of the state and symbol of the nation's unity - one who ensures respect for the Constitution and the preservation of Lebanon’s independence, unity and territorial integrity in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution." They also outlined in their initiative document the future president's selection criteria and characteristics, noting that several meetings and seminars will held to discuss this initiative in the coming days prior to the elections' deadline.

Change MPs launch presidential initiative, threaten protests
Naharnet/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
The 13 MPs of the so-called change bloc on Saturday launched their long-awaited presidential initiative, which calls for the election of a reformist president who is not part of the polarization between the traditional political forces in the country. At a press conference, the bloc said it will hold a series of popular and political consultations with the October 17 forces and with all political parties to secure the election of a president who meets the bloc's "standards for the presidency." The bloc also warned that it will resort to popular protests if no president is elected before October 20 -- or 10 days prior to the expiry of President Michel Aoun's term. The bloc stressed that the new president must not be part of the political "divisions" in the country and must "preserve Lebanon's sovereignty domestically and externally." The new president must also "establish the state of citizenship and justice" and must "preserve the state's assets," the bloc added. "No side should impose hegemony on Lebanon... and to prevent any vacuum, the (presidential) juncture must be a Lebanese one," the bloc urged. It also said that the new president must take into consideration "the transformations that happened after October 17 (2019)." "This matter needs the unification of efforts and returning to the constitution and implementing it, which is the only solution for Lebanon," the bloc added.

Khalaf says those responsible for death of detainee at State Security must be held accountable at once
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
MP Melhem Khalaf said on Twitter: "On the day we strived to amend Article 47 of the Criminal Code and impose the mandatory presence of a lawyer during the preliminary investigation, one of the goals was to prevent any torture during said investigations...What a shame that some security services have refrained from implementing this article! How disgraceful it is for Lebanon to be transformed from a state participating in drafting the Bill of Human Rights into a police-security state that violates all kinds of human rights and carries out all sorts of humiliation, intimidation and torture! Let everyone who caused the death of the detainee at the State Security be held accountable immediately!"

MoPH: 454 new Corona cases, 2 deaths
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
In its daily report on COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Saturday the registration of 454 new Corona virus infections, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 1,210,566.
Two deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours, the report added.

Abdallah commissioned to chair friendship committee between Lebanon & Indonesia
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
"Democratic Gathering" Member, MP Bilal Abdallah, has been commissioned to head the "Parliamentary Friendship Committee" between Lebanon and Indonesia, and to be Lebanon's Section member in the Arab Parliamentary Union.

Frem during a "Project Watan" seminar on health card: We will not allow collapse to occur
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
MP Neemat Frem considered that poor governance in the Lebanese economy, waste and random subsidies are the black hole that swallowed up all sectors, particularly the education and hospital sectors, i.e. Lebanon's DNA. "If they are not rescued, we will reach a genetic mutation," he said, stressing that "we will be on the lookout and will not allow collapse to happen." Frem's words came during a seminar organized by "Project Watan" at its headquarters in Dbayeh, to which stakeholders in the hospital and nursing sectors were invited in preparation for presenting the last phase of its health card project. "Any rescue plan we will implement in the government or parliament must be based on restoring the financial balance that includes all state institutions such as telecommunications, electricity and others, in order to avoid further wasting what is left in the reserves of the Banque du Liban and to avoid any additional loss incurred by the Lebanese citizen," he said. Frem added that the state, in return, has to put in place a social and health protection system, so that the citizen obtains sustainable services that would ensure his resilience and support his steadfastness. He stressed "the need to restructure the priority scale in citizen's rights, and therefore in the targeted support required," referring to a draft law that will be submitted to Parliament to approve the health card.

Democratic Party Secretary-General visits House Speaker: We are open to everyone for the interest of Lebanon & its people
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
Lebanese Democratic Party's Secretary-General, Professor Wissam Sharrouf, visited Saturday House Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh Palace, where talks centered on current political developments and the situation in southern Lebanon.
Sharrouf stressed that "the historical relationship between Party Chief Talal Arslan and Speaker Berri is based on mutual respect and devotion," and denotes a "strategic relationship for the interest of Lebanon and its people." He added: "We will pursue this relationship with the directives of the Democratic Party leader, with ongoing coordination and openness to all Lebanese components and parties."In turn, Speaker Berri congratulated Sharrouf on assuming his new position, wishing him all success.

Agriculture Ministry: To take necessary precautions for public safety in wake of increasing heat wave
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
In an issued statement today, the Ministry of Agriculture called on citizens to "take the necessary precautions for public safety while commuting or hiking in the woods and forests with the intensifying heat wave."The Ministry underlined the need to inform the relevant apparatuses of any firefighting operations on all Lebanese territories. It also announced that "cooperation with municipalities and NGOs will take place to maintain maximum readiness in order to keep pace with early warnings and organize the intervention of citizen volunteers."The Ministry called on citizens and farmers to "follow up on the guidance bulletins it issues, alongside its affiliated institutions.

Al-Makari says return of homeland's sons, dignified return of displaced to their country denote next battle's headlines
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Minister of Information, Ziad Al-Makari, considered that seeing Lebanon's expatriates back in their homeland and ensuring the return of the displaced Syrians to their country with dignity and humanity are the headlines of the next battle. 'We all know that the country is not in good condition and this affects all ministries, departments and the state as a whole, but we are trying with our available means to reflect a beautiful image of our country through the presence of rich Lebanese capabilities despite the immigration of our children on the one hand and the impact of displacement on our land on the other hand," Makari said. Therefore, he stressed that the next battle in Lebanon should be to work on having the homeland's sons back in their mother country and ensuring the return of the displaced to their state with dignity and humanity. "The current stage is very difficult and delicate as we await several successive entitlements...and Lebanon is open to all possibilities," he added, stressing that "we have to be believers, with all our affiliations, that we are able to get our country out of this ordeal."Al-Makari considered that each has a role to play to achieve this goal of saving Lebanon from the clutches of collapse, particularly those working in the media sector. The Minister's words came during a luncheon banquet held in his honor by the founder of the "Batroun Times" Website, Stephan Assal, in presence of various media professionals and prominent figures. Al-Makari expressed his great fondness for the region of Batroun, recalling his old times as a student working on a university project about the city. "Perhaps my choice fell on the city of Batroun at that time as the subject of my project because I had a vision of the most beautiful Lebanon as we desire it to be...an environmental Lebanon and a Lebanon of coexistence and openness," he said. He hailed the people of Batroun for their devotion to their city and their continuous strive to render it in its current attractive image as a touristic and cultural landmark, "thanks to its sons who belong to their homeland and city alone, far from sectarianism, politics and narrow sensitivities," he said.

Army: 11 Syrians, Lebanese arrested for possession of weapons, ammunition in Akkar's Zouk al-Habalsa town
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022 
Lebanese Army Command - Orientation Directorate issued a statement today, indicating that an army force raided a building in the town of Zouk al-Habalsa in Akkar, arrested 11 Syrians and Lebanese individuals and seized various weapons and ammunition that were in their possession. An investigation was launched with the detainees under the supervision of the competent judiciary, the statement added.

Makhzoumi, Sandri review prevailing conditions in Lebanon and the world
NNA/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Head of the "National Dialogue" Party, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, met in Rome with the Dean of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, with talks touching on developments in the world and the region, and the prevailing situation in Lebanon. During the meeting, Makhzoumi highlighted "the importance of supporting Lebanon in international forums, especially at the economic level, and maintaining its stability and security by all means." He expressed his confidence that "Lebanon's support means a lot to the Vatican, with its Christian presence and the diverse Lebanese fabric, culture and civilization."He also emphasized the need to hold the presidential elections on time without delay, underlining the importance of uniting all national, reformist and sovereign forces to secure the election of a new salvation president of the republic. He added that "overcoming the prevailing crisis requires concerted efforts to stop the deterioration, save the country financially and economically, and launch a workshop to reform institutions." Moreover, Makhzoumi stressed on preventing the system of weapons and corruption from imposing a president who is an extension of the current approach, especially that the upcoming presidential elections will not only shape Lebanon's future for the next six years, but will change the image of Lebanon forever...Finally, Makhzoumi reiterated that "Lebanon is a model of coexistence, and the approach of exclusivity and imposing decisions adopted by the current system is not acceptable to most Lebanese because it contradicts with the Lebanese uniqueness in democracy and openness to the world."

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 03-04/2022
If Israel fails to stop Iran nuclear deal, military means only way to prevent atomic bomb
T
he Media Line,Ynet|/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Analysis: Former Israeli general says Jewish state should play any possible card in order to convince the Americans not to revive agreement with Tehran, which would reshape Mideast if it gets capability to produce a nuclear weapon
The Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea will visit Washington next week as part of Israel’s attempts to dissuade the U.S. and other Western powers from signing the nuclear deal with Iran.
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Barnea will be the third senior Israeli official to do so in recent days after both Defense Minister Benny Gantz and National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata also visited Washington in the last week. Ashley Perry, a global communications strategist and a former senior adviser to Israeli government ministers, said it is clear that Israel is extremely worried about a return to the The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because of what it believes the agreement to be. Israel also has other ways of staying abreast of what is in the yet unannounced deal, he said. Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, former director-general of the Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry, and head of the Research Division of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, said Israel will keep making efforts and play any possible card in order to convince the Americans to not return to the deal. “As long as the deal is not concluded we shall make an effort, definitely the Mossad chief’s visit is a main card, it’s one of our aces,” Kuperwasser said, adding that Prime Minister Yair Lapid is trying to speak personally with U.S. President Joe Biden. “There’s never a last card to play, as long as they have not concluded the deal, Israel will play any possible card in order to convince the Americans” not to sign a new JCPOA.
Kuperwasser explained that Israel is directing its message to every corner of the U.S. administration and that the head of the Mossad likely will meet with the chiefs of the intelligence community.
If Israel fails to stop Iran nuclear deal, military means only way to prevent atomic bomb
Analysis: Former Israeli general says Jewish state should play any possible card in order to convince the Americans not to revive agreement with Tehran, which would reshape Mideast if it gets capability to produce a nuclear weapon
The Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea will visit Washington next week as part of Israel’s attempts to dissuade the U.S. and other Western powers from signing the nuclear deal with Iran.
Barnea will be the third senior Israeli official to do so in recent days after both Defense Minister Benny Gantz and National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata also visited Washington in the last week.
Ashley Perry, a global communications strategist and a former senior adviser to Israeli government ministers, said it is clear that Israel is extremely worried about a return to the The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because of what it believes the agreement to be. Israel also has other ways of staying abreast of what is in the yet unannounced deal, he said.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, former director-general of the Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry, and head of the Research Division of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, said Israel will keep making efforts and play any possible card in order to convince the Americans to not return to the deal.
“As long as the deal is not concluded we shall make an effort, definitely the Mossad chief’s visit is a main card, it’s one of our aces,” Kuperwasser said, adding that Prime Minister Yair Lapid is trying to speak personally with U.S. President Joe Biden. “There’s never a last card to play, as long as they have not concluded the deal, Israel will play any possible card in order to convince the Americans” not to sign a new JCPOA.
Kuperwasser explained that Israel is directing its message to every corner of the U.S. administration and that the head of the Mossad likely will meet with the chiefs of the intelligence community.
Perry added that Israel’s intelligence agencies will be presenting a large amount of information that it has on how Iran has abrogated the deal in the past and how it will not honor the deal in the future, in addition to facts to which the U.S. and its allies should be paying special attention. He added that Israel is concerned about the nuclear deal because it believes that it is not a pathway to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability and that Israel has been successful in changing U.S. views on some of the major issues ahead of a return to the deal. For example, he said, “when the U.S. was considering taking off the Revolutionary Guard Corps from the terrorist watchlist, Israel brought a lot of information to show how that would be dangerous, also the Guard's involvement in attempted assassinations around the world, their attempts to destabilize the region, and their involvement in Iranian proxy wars whether they’re in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, or elsewhere.” Kuperwasser says that even though Israel is invested in making the best effort possible to convince the U.S. that rejoining the deal would be a mistake, it appears that the Americans are extremely determined to go back to the agreement because they want to avoid any need to confront Iran at this point. “They have some commitment to the Obama administration and that is why they want to go back to this agreement regardless of the dangers that are embedded in it,” he said. "In 2015, when Israel had a lot of criticism of the deal and shared their concerns with the U.S., the Americans said that they appreciated how important the comments were, and then omitted and ignored them when the deal was concluded," Kuperwasser said. “I don’t think that this time, too, we can expect a different attitude from the Americans, I think that they are going to listen, and then do what they want to do,” he added. Perry said that “Israel is telling the Americans and other Western powers that it has that military capability that is not bound by this agreement and if it feels that Iran is moving even closer to nuclear weapons capability, that could be for some in Israel a casus belli to take some of those actions that it is preparing for.” He added that Iran doesn’t necessarily have to procure an actual bomb, just the capability to produce one could change the shape of the region. Kuperwasser noted that, technically, Israel may have the ability to hold Iran back from reaching the capability to produce nuclear weapons but taking such a decision is not going to be easy since it will mean some sort of confrontation between Israel and the United States. “We think these kinds of strategic relations that we have with the United States are extremely important for our security,” he added. “I think that Israel is going to continue to develop capabilities to keep the Iranians away from having the capability to produce nuclear weapons. It’s not easy and it’s becoming even more difficult with the agreement,” he said.
*The story is written by Debbie Mohnblatt and reprinted with permission from The Media Line

Tehran Defends Its Second Response to EU Draft Proposal
London – Tehran /Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Tehran, for the second time since the EU presented its draft for reviving the Iran nuclear deal, has given a response to Western parties. Iranian officials are defending the context of Iran’s response at a time when supporters of a deal warn that the diplomatic window that has been open since 2021 could close. Iran had sent a second response through the EU Coordinator Enrique Mora, following the US introducing amendments to the EU proposed draft. Iranian state media said the response was “in writing,” and that “the text sent has a positive approach with the aim of completing the negotiations.”
In a Friday statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that the country’s top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, had reviewed the latest developments in negotiations with his Omani counterpart, Badr al Busaidi. Abdollahian emphasized Iran’s will to achieve a good, strong, and sustainable agreement. “In the process of preparing the response of Iran, speeding up and facilitating the conclusion of negotiations has been considered,” the Iranian chief diplomat said. The state-run ISNA news agency had quoted the last statement made by Abdollahian hours earlier, during a brief comment on Tehran's response to Washington. “I openly announced that Iran is ready to hold a ministerial meeting to announce the final agreement next week, if the final agreement is reached and the few demands put forward by Iran are met,” said the foreign minister. Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statements on hopes for reaching an agreement within the coming days, ISNA said that Macron’s statements “come in continuation of Western countries’ efforts to increase pressure on public opinion against Iran to accept an agreement in the Vienna negotiations, without presenting reliable guarantees from other signatories.”

US Congress Intensifies Criticism of Possible Nuclear Agreement with Iran
Washington - Heba El Koudsy/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Democratic and Republican legislators have stepped up their attacks on a possible nuclear agreement being reached with Iran. Many members of Congress have expressed increasing concern about the path taken by the Biden administration, and its attempt to marginalize Congress in ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 deal. Partisan frustration coincided with many questions arising about the terms of the agreement and its final text, the extent of Iran's commitment to it, and the extent to which it limits Tehran’s ability to possess a nuclear weapon or finance terrorism.
American legislators expressed their fears about the agreement being a “victory for Iran.” Without an extension for the sunset clause, which expires in 2025, Iran will no longer face restrictions on developing advanced centrifuges. In 2031, the agreement will expire, lifting all obstacles that disrupt the Iranian nuclear program and allowing Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon with impunity. “Their foreign policy has been an utter embarrassment and made us less safe,” tweeted Senator Bill Hagerty about the Biden administration’s conduct. Hagerty blamed the Biden administration for “attempting to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal that enriches and assists the world’s largest state-sponsor of terrorism.” Republican Senator Jim Risch said that the Biden administration is pressing for a nuclear agreement that is incompatible with US national security interests.
“Lifting sanctions will increase Iran's ability to finance terrorism, and will lead to further instability in the region,” he tweeted. Republican lawmakers noted that the deal that Biden is close to signing is “worse than the one negotiated by Obama and provides Iran with hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen assets.” Moreover, legislators argued that the deal pursued by the Biden administration changes non-secondary terrorist designations and lifts other secondary sanctions. In less than six months, the deal would lift sanctions and arms embargoes imposed on Iran. This means that Iran would be able to obtain conventional weapons.

Iran Equips 51 Cities with Civil Defense Systems, Says Defense Official
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Iran has equipped 51 of its cities and towns with civil defense systems to thwart any possible foreign attack, a senior defense official said on Saturday, amid an escalation of tensions with Israel and the United States. The civil defense equipment enable Iran’s armed forces to “identify and monitor threats by using round-the-clock software according to the type of the threat and risk,” deputy defense minister General Mehdi Farahi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. "These days, depending on the strength of countries, the form of battles has become more complicated,” said Farahi, adding that hybrid forms of warfare including cyber, biological and radioactive attacks, have replaced classical wars. He did not name the countries that could threaten Iran. Iran has accused Israel and the United States of cyber-attacks in recent years that have impaired the country's infrastructure. Iran has also accused Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, of sabotaging its nuclear facilities. US-Iran military tensions have also long dogged the region. In the latest incident, Iran seized US military sail drones in the Red Sea earlier this week - even as both countries pursue nuclear talks. On Tuesday, the US Navy said it foiled an attempt by Iran's Revolutionary Guards naval forces to capture an unmanned surface vessel operated by the US 5th Fleet in the Gulf. Iran said the drone was a danger to maritime traffic.

Israeli Attacks Squeeze Iranian Aerial Supplies to Syria, Sources Say
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Israel has intensified strikes on Syrian airports to disrupt Tehran's increasing use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to allies in Syria and Lebanon including Hezbollah, regional diplomatic and intelligence sources told Reuters. Tehran has adopted air transport as a more reliable means of ferrying military equipment to its forces and allied fighters in Syria, following disruptions to ground transfers. Israel has long seen its foe Iran's deepening entrenchment in Syria as a national security threat and is widening the scope of its strikes to hit at this new transport method, the diplomatic and intelligence sources said. The latest strikes on Wednesday night damaged Aleppo airport just before the arrival of a plane from Iran, a commander in an Iran-backed regional alliance who was familiar with the incident told Reuters. Israel also carried out a strike on Damascus airport, damaging equipment, the government said, the second such attack airport since June when Israeli air strikes on the runway knocked it out of service for two weeks. A Western intelligence source said that strike had also aimed to prevent the arrival of a cargo plane. A spokesperson for the Israeli military declined to comment on the reports. Israel has been mounting attacks in Syria for years against what it has described as Iranian and Iran-backed forces that have deployed there during the 11-year war. Ram Ben-Barak, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that Israel's goal in Syria is to prevent Iran's plan "to establish another front against Israel in Syria and strengthen Hezbollah's capabilities in Lebanon."In an interview with Tel Aviv 102 FM, he added that Israel has "managed to foil this plan in various ways."
'Playing with fire'
Syria's foreign minister responded to Wednesday's air strikes by saying Israel was "playing with fire" and threatening regional security. A regional diplomatic source told Reuters the strikes marked a shift in Israeli targeting. "They started to hit infrastructure used by the Iranians for ammunition supplies to Lebanon," the source said. "In the past it was only the supplies but not the airport. Now, they hit the runway," the source added. That shift has been prompted by Iran's increasing use of commercial airliners instead of ground transfers to shuttle weaponry into Syria’s two major airports, according to a Western intelligence source based in the region and a Syrian military defector familiar with the strikes’ targets. The intelligence source said Israel’s intelligence-gathering had indicated "more flights were being used" to transport weapons and small military hardware that "can be smuggled in the regular civilian flights from Tehran." In 2019, the United States sanctioned Mahan Air for transporting weapons and personnel to Iranian forces in Syria. The Syrian military defector said such hardware typically included small UAV drone components, parts for precision-guided missiles and night vision equipment that are easy to "put in a carton in a civilian plane." Ground transfers through Iraq, Syria and into Lebanon have been less appealing since local rivalries and turf wars along the Iraqi-Syrian border – where pro-Iran Iraqi militias are based – had been disrupting stock flows, the defector said. When the Damascus airport was hit in June, Iran and allies began to increasingly use the Aleppo airport for transfers, he added – prompting the strikes there about two months later. The strikes also provide clues as to where Iran is now deepening is entrenchment, said Nawar Shaaban, an analyst at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, which focuses on Syria. While the strikes years ago concentrated on areas around Damascus and military zones in the northwest, their spread to Aleppo and even coastal zones highlight locations from which Israel perceives a strategic threat to emanate, he said. "The dangerous thing is that when we look at these areas that are being hit, it tells us that Iran has spread out more," Shaban said. "Every time we see a strike hit a new area, the reaction is, 'whoah, Israel hit there'. But what we should be saying is, 'whoah, Iran is there'."

Report: Assad Has Been Barring Iran from Retaliating to Israeli Raids on Syria for 3 Years
Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been barring Iran for three years now from retaliating to Israeli raids on Syria to avert an escalation, reported Israel’s Haaretz. Assad reportedly made the order directly to Iran’s slain Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and it has largely held. Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria to prevent Iran’s entrenchment there. Tehran has not retaliated, both directly or indirectly, through its armed factions in the unoccupied parts of the Golan Heights. The New York Times had last week confirmed that Assad has been barring Iran from responding to Israeli attacks. Haaretz elaborated, saying the Syrians do not want an attack against Israel to be launched from its territories because they fear the eruption of a widescale war that would further weaken a country that is already suffering from years of conflict. Iranian militias have consequently opted to target American bases in Syria with the hope that that would prompt Washington to pressure Israel to stop its raids. After Soleiman’s killing, Assad issued the same instruction to his successor Esmail Qaani, said Haaretz. The report was released two days after a purported Israeli strike on Aleppo airport in northern Syria. The attack Wednesday night on Aleppo International Airport came as an Israeli strike only months earlier took out the runway at the country's main airport in the capital, Damascus, over Iranian weapons transfers to the country. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad said Thursday Israel was “playing with fire” and risking igniting a widescale military conflict. Israel does not usually comment on its strikes on Syria, but it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of attacks on Iran-backed groups there. It has also struck arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Russia Keeps Pipeline Shut as Gazprom, Siemens Energy Wrangle
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Russia kept one of its main gas supply routes to Europe shut on Saturday, stoking fears of winter fuel shortages and spotlighting differences between Gazprom and Germany's Siemens Energy over repair work on the pipeline. Already struggling to tame soaring gas prices, European governments had expected the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to resume flows after a short maintenance this week but Russia abruptly cancelled the restart, citing an oil leak in a turbine. Europe has accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies in what Moscow has called an "economic war" with the West over the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow blames Western sanctions and technical issues for supply disruptions. The latest Nord Stream shutdown, which Russia says will last for as long as it takes to carry out repairs, added to fears of winter gas shortages that could help tip major economies into recession and energy rationing. The discovery of the oil leak on Friday coincided with the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies proceeding with plans to impose a price gap on Russian oil, intending to shrink President Vladimir Putin's resources to fight the war in Ukraine.
Gas shortages also prompted European Union member Sweden on Saturday to unveil a financial support package for energy firms. "If we do not act, there is a serious risk of disruptions in the financial system, which in the worst case could lead to a financial crisis," said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. "Putin wants to create division, but our message is clear: you will not succeed," she said.
Gas price rally expected
Gazprom said Siemens Energy was ready to carry out repairs on the pipeline but that there was nowhere available to carry out the work, a suggestion Siemens Energy denied, saying it had not been asked to do the job. Siemens Energy has also said that sanctions do not prohibit maintenance. Before the latest round of maintenance, Gazprom had already cut flows to just 20% of the pipeline's capacity. "Siemens is taking part in repair work in accordance with the current contract, is detecting malfunctions ... and is ready to fix the oil leaks. Only there is nowhere to do the repair," Gazprom said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Saturday. Siemens Energy said it had not been commissioned to carry out the work but was available, adding that the Gazprom-reported leak would not usually affect the operation of a turbine and could be sealed on site. "Irrespective of this, we have already pointed out several times that there are enough additional turbines available in the Portovaya compressor station for Nord Stream 1 to operate," a spokesperson for the company said. Flows through Nord Stream 1 were due to resume early on Saturday morning. But hours before it was set to start pumping gas, Gazprom published a photo on Friday of what it said was an oil leak on a piece of equipment. Siemens Energy, which supplies and maintains equipment at Nord Stream 1's Portovaya compressor station said on Friday the leak did not constitute a technical reason to stop gas flows.
"Global natural gas prices will likely rally hard on Monday as markets readjust to this latest #Gazprom development," Tom Marzec-Manser, Head of Gas Analytics at ICIS, said on twitter. "The closure of #NordStream1 reduces overall Russian pipeline flows yet further and will make balancing supply & demand this winter all the more difficult."
Asked about the halt on Saturday, Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said that the European Union expects Russia to respect its agreed energy contracts but is prepared to meet the challenge if Moscow fails to do so. The German network regulator said that the country's gas supply was currently guaranteed but the situation was fragile and further deterioration could not be ruled out. "The defects alleged by the Russian side are not a technical reason for the halt of operations," it said. Wholesale gas prices have rocketed more than 400% since August 2021, squeezing households already gripped by a cost-of-living crisis and forcing some energy hungry industries, such as fertilizer and aluminum makers, to scale back production. The European Commission has said a full cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Europe, if combined with a cold winter, could reduce average EU gross domestic product by up to 1.5% if countries did not prepare in advance.

Ukraine’s Nuclear Plant Partly Goes Offline amid Fighting
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Saturday that the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine was disconnected to its last external power line but was still able to run electricity through a reserve line amid sustained shelling in the area. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that the agency's experts, who arrived at Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, were told by senior Ukrainian staff that the fourth and last operational line was down. The three others were lost earlier during the conflict. But the IAEA experts learned that the reserve line linking the facility to a nearby thermal power plant was delivering the electricity the plant generates to the external grid, the statement said. The same reserve line can also provide backup power to the plant if needed, it added. “We already have a better understanding of the functionality of the reserve power line in connecting the facility to the grid,” Grossi said. “This is crucial information in assessing the overall situation there.” In addition, the plant's management informed the IAEA that one reactor was disconnected Saturday afternoon because of grid restrictions. Another reactor is still operating and producing electricity both for cooling and other essential safety functions at the site and for households, factories and others through the grid, the statement said. The Zaporizhzhia facility, which is Europe's largest nuclear plant, has been held by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff are continuing to operate it.
The Russian-appointed city administration in Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia plant is located, blamed an alleged Ukrainian shelling attack on Saturday morning for destroying a key power line.“The provision of electricity to the territories controlled by Ukraine has been suspended due to technical difficulties,” the municipal administration said in a post on its official Telegram channel. It wasn't clear whether electricity from the plant was still reaching Russian-held areas.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Kremlin-appointed regional administration said on Telegram that a shell had struck an area between two reactors. His claims couldn't be immediately verified. Over the past several weeks, Ukraine and Russia have traded blame over shelling at and near the plant, while also accusing each other of attempts to derail the visit by IAEA experts, whose mission is meant to help secure the site. Grossi said their presence at the site is “a game changer.” Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops launched another attempt to seize the plant late Friday, despite the presence of the IAEA monitors, sending 42 boats with 250 special forces personnel and foreign “mercenaries” to attempt a landing on the bank of the nearby Kakhovka reservoir. The ministry said that four Russian fighter jets and two helicopter gunships destroyed about 20 boats and the others turned back. It added that the Russian artillery struck the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnieper River to target the retreating landing party. The ministry claimed that the Russian military killed 47 troops, including 10 “mercenaries” and wounded 23. The Russian claims couldn’t be independently verified. The plant has repeatedly suffered complete disconnection from Ukraine’s power grid since last week, with the country’s nuclear energy operator Enerhoatom blaming mortar shelling and fires near the site.
Local Ukrainian authorities accused Moscow of pounding two cities that overlook the plant across the Dnieper River with rockets, also an accusation they have made repeatedly over the past weeks. In Zorya, a small village about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Zaporizhzhia plant, residents on Friday could hear the sound of explosions in the area. It’s not the shelling that scared them the most, but the risk of a radioactive leak in the plant. “The power plant, yes, this is the scariest,” said Natalia Stokoz, a mother of three. "Because the kids and adults will be affected, and it’s scary if the nuclear power plant is blown up.”Oleksandr Pasko, a 31-year-old farmer, said “there is anxiety because we are quite close.” Pasko said that the Russian shelling has intensified in recent weeks.
During the first weeks of the war, authorities gave iodine tablets and masks to people living near the plant in case of radiation exposure. Recently, they’ve also distributed iodine pills in Zaporizhzhia city, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the plant.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to take the role of “facilitator” on the issue of the Zaporizhzhia plant, in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
The Ukrainian military on Saturday morning reported that Russian forces overnight pressed their stalled advance in the country’s industrial east, while also trying to hold on to areas captured in Ukraine’s northeast and south, including in the Kherson region cited as the target of Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive.
It added that Ukrainian forces repelled around a half-dozen Russian attacks across the Donetsk region, including near two cities singled out as key targets of Moscow’s grinding effort to capture the rest of the province. The Donetsk region is one of two that make up Ukraine’s industrial heartland of the Donbas, alongside Luhansk, which was overrun by Russian troops in early July. Separately, the British military confirmed in its regular update Saturday morning that Ukrainian forces were conducting “renewed offensive operations” in the south of Ukraine, advancing along a broad front west of the Dnieper and focusing on three axes within the Russian-occupied Kherson region. “The operation has limited immediate objectives, but Ukraine’s forces have likely achieved a degree of tactical surprise; exploiting poor logistics, administration and leadership in the Russian armed forces,” the UK defense ministry tweeted. Russian shelling killed an 8-year-old child and wounded at least four others in a southern Ukrainian town close to the Kherson region, Ukrainian officials said.

Türkiye Can Be Facilitator on Ukraine Nuclear Plant, Erdogan Tells Putin
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that his country can play a facilitator role regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, his office said on Saturday. The two leaders also discussed developments regarding Ukrainian grain exports and expressed their determination to continue the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear plant in Türkiye according to plans, the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan and Putin agreed to discuss the issues in detail when they meet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for a summit on Sept. 15-16, it added.

Ukraine-Bound Grain Ship’s Engine Fails in Bosphorus, 2nd Incident This Week
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
A cargo ship bound for Ukraine to pick up grains under a UN-brokered deal had a brief engine failure as it was transiting Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait overnight, a shipping company said on Saturday, marking a second incident this week. The Briza's engine failed around 2330 GMT on Friday and it anchored near Istanbul's Kandilli region, Tribeca Shipping said. The ship lifted anchor at 0120 GMT on Saturday and was to proceed to an anchorage area in the southern Bosphorus by tug boats, it said. Traffic in the Bosphorus was halted and southbound traffic was to continue at 0530 GMT, Tribeca added. Refinitiv Eikon data showed the Briza was anchored to the south of the Bosphorus at 0628 GMT. Lady Zehma, a cargo ship carrying more than 3,000 tons of corn from Ukraine, was towed to anchorage in Istanbul after briefly running aground due to a rudder failure on Thursday night. Such incidents are rare on the picturesque Bosphorus, which divides Türkiye’s largest city and connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and beyond to the Mediterranean. The Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) - which oversees the agreement and includes United Nations, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials - said on Friday the Briza was inspected and cleared to sail to Ukraine along with seven other ships. As of Friday, some 1.77 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs had been exported from Ukraine under the deal, while 160 inbound and outbound voyages had been enabled, the JCC said. Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Three ports were unblocked under the deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv, and brokered by the UN and Ankara.

Russia's Gazprom Expected to Resume Pipeline Supplies
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Russia's Gazprom looked set to resume gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 this weekend, data from the pipeline operator showed Friday, after a halt that fueled an energy crisis. The resumption Saturday of deliveries after the three-day stoppage -- which Gazprom said was needed for repairs -- would bring some short-term relief, AFP said. But it will do little to ease fears about further supply disruptions as winter approaches. Delivery orders, published on the Nord Stream website, indicated that supplies should resume at 2:00 am Saturday (0000 GMT) at 20 percent of their usual capacity -- the same level as before the latest maintenance works. The stoppage began on Wednesday, and reduced gas deliveries via the key pipeline that runs from Russia to northern Germany to zero. Gazprom had said the work on a compressor unit was necessary but Germany's Federal Network Agency said the decision was "technically incomprehensible". Details of the expected volumes can still change and need to be confirmed by actual deliveries. A German economy ministry spokeswoman said while the pipeline operator had confirmed some initial orders, "we must nevertheless advise caution, and observe the situation closely".
Europe is facing soaring energy prices after Russia slashed gas deliveries to the region amid soaring tensions following its February invasion of Ukraine. Germany, which is particularly dependent on Russian gas, has accused Moscow of using energy as a "weapon". As winter approaches, European consumers are bracing for huge power bills, with some countries like France warning that rationing is a possibility. The Russian energy giant had already carried out 10 days of long-scheduled maintenance works in July. While it restored gas flows following the works, it drastically reduced supplies just days later, claiming a technical issue on a turbine. The Kremlin warned Friday that Nord Stream may face future technical difficulties after the ongoing maintenance work, blaming sanctions for a shortage of spare parts. "There are no technical reserves, only one turbine is working," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"So the reliability of the operation, of the whole system, is at risk," he said, adding that it was "not through the fault" of Gazprom.

Russia Says US Yet to Issue Visas for Delegation to UN Summit

Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Russia has expressed "alarm" to the UN's secretary-general that the US has yet to issue visas for its delegation to attend a General Assembly session later this month, according to a letter seen Friday by AFP. "None of the 56 Russian representatives from the main team and advance group have received entry visas to the United States" as of Thursday, wrote Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Nebenzia added that a "similar situation exists with the accompanying journalists and crew members" on the flight of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov is set to lead Russia's delegation to the UN General Assembly from September 20 to 26. "This is even more alarming since for the last several months the authorities of the United States have been constantly refusing to grant entry visas to a number of Russian delegates assigned to take part in the official United Nations events," added Nebenzia. "Visa issuance is the legal duty of the Host country, not a right or a privilege."According to a 1947 agreement, the United States is not allowed to prevent representatives of member states from traveling to the UN headquarters in New York.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the United States announced sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov, which included a ban on entering the country. "The United States takes seriously its obligations as host country of the UN," a State Department spokesperson told AFP in a statement, adding that he would not comment on individual cases as "visa records are confidential under US law.""To ensure timely processing, we repeatedly remind the Russian mission to the UN, as we do all other UN missions, that the United States needs applications as early as possible," the spokesperson said, blaming the long visa delays on Moscow's "forced termination of local and third country national staff" at the US embassy in Russia. A spokeswoman for UN chief Guterres told AFP that he was "in close contact" with the United States regarding the rules under the 1947 agreement. "We proactively engage with the US mission on visas for delegations to upcoming UN meetings at headquarters and liaise with the mission on specific cases that are brought to our attention," she said. "We are doing so in this case."

Egypt, Russia Discuss Nuclear Science Research Cooperation
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Egyptian Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Ayman Ashour held talks on Friday with head of the International Cooperation Department of Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Russia Dmitry Kamanin. The talks focused on means to activate a cooperation agreement signed with Moscow on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy through training programs for students and researchers. Ashour stressed the Egyptian government's keenness on holding cooperation with friendly countries in scientific research to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a press statement said. He hailed the distinguished ties binding Egypt and Russia, especially in scientific research and fields related to nuclear research and its peaceful applications. The minister further underlined the importance of building the capabilities of young researchers through intense training. “The Egyptian government places youth at the forefront of its priorities,” Ashour declared. The Minister also lauded the ongoing cooperation between Egypt's Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and Russia's JINR in this respect. The meeting covered the procedures for dispatching this month, the second group of 15- and 16-year-old students excelling in physics to JINR, as part of an integrated plan adopted by ASRT to advance basic sciences, especially physics and mathematics, and support geniuses. The meeting also pointed out to the JINR's decision to raise the status of Egypt up to a full-fledged JINR Member State. At the end of the meeting, Ashour received an invitation from Kamanin to attend along with a high-level Egyptian delegation the proceedings of the training, which is organized by the JINR for a number of experts, politicians and decision-makers from the member states. Cooperation between Moscow and Cairo in the field of nuclear energy includes the construction of the Egyptian El-Dabaa Nuclear Plant. The construction by Russia's state-owned energy corporation Rosatom, began last month. The 4.8-gigawatt plant is located 300 kilometers west of Cairo in the Matrouh province on the Mediterranean.

Erdogan Accuses Greece of ‘Occupying’ Demilitarized Islands
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece on Saturday of occupying islands in the Aegean Sea that have a demilitarized status, and said Türkiye was prepared to "do what is necessary" when the time comes. Historic rivals, Türkiye and Greece have been at odds over issues ranging from overflights and the status of Aegean islands to maritime boundaries and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, as well as ethnically split Cyprus. Ankara has recently accused Athens of arming the demilitarized Aegean islands - something Athens rejects, but Erdogan had not previously accused Greece of occupying them. "Your occupying the islands does not bind us. When the time, the hour, comes, we will do what is necessary," Erdogan said, speaking in the northern province of Samsun. Türkiye has recently been angered by what it said is harassment of its jets by Greek forces. Ankara has said that S-300 air defense systems used by Greece had locked on to Turkish jets during a routine flight. Türkiye celebrated Victory Day on Aug. 30, a national holiday commemorating Turkish forces driving out Greek forces in 1922. On Saturday, Erdogan also called on Greece to "not forget Izmir", referring to the Turkish victory. As Erdogan prepares for what is shaping up to be the biggest electoral challenge of his nearly 20-year rule in 2023, the president has played up achievements in the global stage. He has also stepped up his rhetoric on foreign policy. Ankara says the Aegean islands were given to Greece under the 1923 and 1947 treaties on condition that it does not arm them. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has repeatedly said Türkiye would start questioning Greek sovereignty over the islands if Athens persisted in arming them. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said Türkiye’s position of questioning Greece's sovereignty over the islands is "absurd"

US Says Sending Envoy to Ethiopia, Condemns Eritrea Return to War
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
The United States on Friday dispatched an envoy to Ethiopia to seek an end to renewed fighting, and condemned neighboring Eritrea for re-entering the conflict in the northern region of Tigray. Mike Hammer, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will head this weekend to Ethiopia and "convey that all parties should halt military operations and engage in peace talks," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "We condemn Eritrea's re-entry into the conflict, the continuing TPLF offensive outside of Tigray and the Ethiopian government's air strikes," she told reporters, referring to the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front, AFP said. Fighting resumed last week in the northern region after a five-month lull, dashing hopes of peacefully resolving the nearly two-year war and of ending a humanitarian crisis in which Tigray has suffered widespread hunger. "There is no military solution to the conflict," Jean-Pierre said. "All parties should exercise restraint and we urge de-escalation by all actors, particularly so that there can be a resumption of humanitarian relief and basic services to all parties in need." The State Department said Hammer, a veteran diplomat whose assignment also covers troubled Sudan and Somalia, would travel from Sunday through September 15 in the Horn of Africa. He will meet both Ethiopian and African Union officials as well as political players from elsewhere in the country, it said. Hammer took on the role in June and the following month visited Ethiopia in a bid to help launch peace talks, which never began due to disputes between the government and TPLF even while the ceasefire was holding. The two sides have traded blame for starting the latest round of hostilities. The TPLF, once Ethiopia's dominant force, has said that historic rival Eritrea again sent in forces as part of a major offensive with Ethiopian troops. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed nations with one of its most authoritarian governments, has been accused of heinous violence in the conflict. Amnesty International said that Eritrean forces at the start of the conflict in November 2020 massacred hundreds of civilians in the ancient city of Axum. After months of denial that Eritrean troops had crossed the border, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in March 2021 admitted to their presence and promptly announced their departure.
 US distance from Ethiopia -
Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation with Eritrea but has fallen out of favor with the United States, a longtime Ethiopian ally which voiced revulsion over the violence in Tigray, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken of "ethnic cleansing." President Joe Biden's administration as of January 1 booted Ethiopia out of a key trade agreement that allowed duty-free access, outraging segments of the growing Ethiopian-American community which said the United States was ceding influence to rival powers such as China. Ethiopia's ambassador in Washington, Seleshi Bekele, met Thursday with senior officials including Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and called on the United States to condemn the TPLF, which he said was to blame for breaking the ceasefire. Access to northern Ethiopia is severely restricted and Tigray has been under a communications blackout for over a year. TPLF spokesman Kindeya Gebrehiwot earlier told AFP that a major offensive was coming from Eritrea. Combat had been concentrated around the southeastern border of Tigray, with the rebels pushing into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, sending residents fleeing. The fighting so far has not terminated relief efforts, with UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying that 17 trucks distributed fertilizer in Tigray this week for farmers in their planting season. Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF in November 2020 in response to what he said were rebel attacks on federal army camps.

Gorbachev Buried in Moscow in Funeral Snubbed by Putin
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
Russians who came for a last look at former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday mourned both the man and his policies that gave them hope. President Vladimir Putin claimed to be too busy to attend. Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at age 91, launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War. But he also precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, which Putin had called the 20th century's “greatest geopolitical catastrophe.” The farewell viewing of his body in an ostentatious hall near the Kremlin was shadowed by the awareness that the openness Gorbachev championed has been stifled under Putin.
“I want to thank him for my childhood of freedom, which we don’t have today,” said mourner Ilya, a financial services worker in his early 30s who declined to give his last name. “I am a son of perestroika,” he said, using the Russian word for Gorbachev’s reform, or reconstruction, initiatives.
“I’d like us to have more people like him in our history,” said another mourner, Yulia Prividennaya. “We need such politicians to settle the situation in the world when it’s on the verge of World War III.” After the viewing, Gorbachev's body was buried next to his wife Raisa in Novodevichy cemetery, where many prominent Russians lie, including the post-Soviet country's first president, Boris Yeltsin, whose struggle for power with Gorbachev sped up the collapse of the Soviet Union. The procession that carried the coffin into the cemetery was led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, editor of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Russia's last major Kremlin-critical news outlet before it suspended operations in March. Gorbachev used funds from his own Nobel prize to help start the paper. The Kremlin refusal to formally declare a state funeral reflected its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by ma
Asked what specific business would keep Putin busy on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the president was scheduled to have a series of working meetings, an international phone call and needs to prepare for a business forum in Russia’s Far East that he's due to attend next week.
Gorbachev's body was displayed for public viewing at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an opulent 18th-century mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.
Mourners passed by Gorbachev's open casket flanked by honorary guards, laying flowers as solemn music played. Gorbachev's daughter, Irina, and his two granddaughters sat beside the coffin. The grand, chandeliered hall lined by columns hosted balls for the nobility under the czars and served as a venue for high-level meetings and congresses along with state funerals during Soviet times. Upon entering the building, mourners saw honor guards flanking a large photo of Gorbachev standing with a broad smile, a reminder of the cheerful vigor he brought to the Soviet leadership after a series of dour, ailing predecessors.
The turnout was large enough that the viewing was extended for two more hours beyond the stated two hours. Despite the choice of the prestigious site for the farewell ceremony, the Kremlin stopped short of calling it a state funeral, with Peskov saying the ceremony will have “elements” of one, such as honorary guards, and the government’s assistance in organizing it. He wouldn’t describe how it will differ from a full-fledged state funeral.
Saturday's ceremony had all the trappings befitting a state funeral except the name, including the national flag draping Gorbachev's coffin. with goose-stepping guards firing shots in the air and a small band playing the Russian anthem, which uses the same melody as the Soviet anthem.
But officially declaring a state funeral for Gorbachev would have obliged Putin to attend it and would have required Moscow to invite foreign leaders, something that it was apparently reluctant to do amid soaring tensions with the West after Russia sent troops to Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin who served as Russia's president in 2008-2012, showed up at the farewell ceremony. He then released a post on a messaging app channel, referring to the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and accusing the US and its allies of trying to engineer Russia’s breakup, a policy he described as a “chess game with Death.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who often has been critical of the Western sanctions against Russia, was the only foreign leader who attended the farewell on Saturday. The US, British, German and other Western ambassadors also attended.
The relatively modest ceremony contrasted with a lavish 2007 state funeral given to Yeltsin, who anointed Putin as his preferred successor and set the stage for him to win the presidency by stepping down. Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party who worked on economic reform plans under Gorbachev, hailed him for “offering people an opportunity to say what they thought – something that Russia never had before.” Putin has avoided explicit personal criticism of Gorbachev, but has repeatedly blamed him for failing to secure written commitments from the West that would rule out NATO’s expansion eastward. The issue has marred Russia-West relations for decades and fomented tensions that exploded when the Russian leader sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. In a carefully phrased letter of condolence released Wednesday avoiding explicit praise or criticism, Putin described Gorbachev as a man who left “an enormous impact on the course of world history.” “He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid large-scale foreign policy, economic and society challenges,” Putin said. “He deeply realized that reforms were necessary and tried to offer his solutions for the acute problems.”
The Kremlin’s ambivalence about Gorbachev was reflected in state television broadcasts, which described his worldwide acclaim and grand expectations generated by his reforms, but held him responsible for plunging the country into political turmoil and economic woes and failing to properly defend the country’s interests in talks with the West.

US Approves $1.1 Billion in Arms for Taiwan, Angering China
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
The United States on Friday announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, vowing to keep boosting the island's defenses as tensions soar with Beijing, which warned Washington of "counter-measures." The sale comes a month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defiantly visited the self-governing democracy, prompting mainland China to launch a show of force that could be a trial run for a future invasion, AFP said. The package -- the largest for Taiwan approved under President Joe Biden's administration -- includes $665 million for contractor support to maintain and upgrade a Raytheon early radar warning system in operation since 2013 that would warn Taiwan about an incoming attack. Taiwan will also spend $355 million on 60 Harpoon Block II missiles, which can track and sink incoming vessels if China launches an assault by water. The deal also includes $85.6 million for more than 100 Sidewinder missiles, a mainstay of Western militaries for their air-to-air firepower. Taiwanese Presidential Office spokesman Chang Tun-han in a statement thanked the United States for its continued support for the island's security and defense. "This arms sale will not only help our soldiers fight against grey zone coercion, it will also enhance the island's early warning capabilities against long range ballistic missiles," he said. The announcement of the sale comes one day after Taiwanese forces shot down an unidentified commercial drone amid a sudden spate of mysterious incursions that have unnerved the island following the earlier show of force by Beijing, which said it fired ballistic missiles over the capital Taipei. China, calling Taiwan an "inalienable" part of its territory, urged the United States to "immediately revoke" the arms sales. "It sends wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and severely jeopardizes China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington.
"China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary counter-measures in light of the development of the situation," he added.
'Essential' for Taiwan
A spokesperson for the State Department, which approved the sale, said the package was "essential for Taiwan's security" and stressed that the United States still recognized only Beijing and not Taipei. "We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan," the spokesperson said in a statement. The sales "are routine cases to support Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability," the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity in line with protocol.
"The United States will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan." The sale needs the approval of the US Congress, which is virtually assured as Taiwan enjoys strong support across party lines.
Ahead of the visit by Pelosi, who is second in line to the White House, Biden officials quietly made the case to China that she did not represent the administration's policy, as Congress is a separate and equal branch of government. The weapons approval, by contrast, clearly comes from the Biden administration, although it is consistent with sales since 1979 when the United States switched recognition to Beijing but agreed to maintain Taiwan's capacity for self-defense. Biden, on a trip to Tokyo in May, appeared to break with decades of US policy by saying the United States would defend Taiwan directly if it was attacked although his aides later walked back his remarks, insisting that US policy remained deliberately ambiguous. China considers Taiwan a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. China's nationalists set up a rival government in Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war on the mainland, although the island has since blossomed into a vibrant democracy and major technological hub. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised growing questions on whether China may follow suit in Taiwan and whether the island is equipped to defend itself. In a July appearance, CIA chief Bill Burns said that Chinese President Xi Jinping was still determined to assert control over Taiwan but that Russia's woes in Ukraine may have prompted Beijing to wait and make sure it would have an overwhelming military advantage.

Former Kyrgyzstan President Named UN Envoy to Afghanistan
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 3 September, 2022
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named former Kyrgyzstan president Roza Otunbayeva as the UN's new special representative for Afghanistan, his office announced Friday. Otunbayeva became interim president of Kyrgyzstan in April 2010 after a bloody uprising forced then-leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev into exile. She relinquished power the following year after new elections were organized, AFP said. A former parliamentarian and government minister, she was also a deputy special representative of the former UN mission to Georgia. She is currently a member of a high-level UN council dealing with the mediation and prevention of conflicts. She is replacing another woman, Canadian Deborah Lyons, as head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, where the rights of women and girls have been drastically curtailed since the Taliban's return to power last year. Separately, Guterres appointed Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the UN's envoy to Libya following a recent outbreak of fighting between rival governments. The former Senegalese minister was previously the UN's representative in Central Africa, special adviser to the secretary-general for Madagascar and deputy special representative for the UN mission in Mali. The UN's efforts to hold peace talks and pave the way for elections has come under renewed pressure after violence shook Tripoli in late July.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 03-04/2022
Skanderbeg: Scourge of Islam
Raymond Ibrahim/September 03/2022
A monument to Skanderbeg, one of many in Europe
Today in history witnessed one of the most stalwart defenses against the Islamic spear-thrust into Europe—the Battle of Albulena in Albania, 1457.
To appreciate the significance of this epic clash, one must first appreciate the leader of the Albanian forces, George Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg (“Lord Alexander”). Today, he is as little known in the West as he was once widely celebrated all throughout Europe. His life, which is featured in the new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, certainly validates the saying that “truth is stranger than fiction.”
Born of Albanian royalty, he was taken captive as a child by the Ottoman Turks, and trained to be a janissary, a Christian slave turned Muslim soldier. Excelling at war, he quickly rose among the Ottoman ranks until he became a renowned general, with thousands of Turks under his command. Despite all the honors showered on him, once the opportunity appeared, he showed where his true allegiance lie: he broke free of the Ottomans and fled to his native and continuously harried Albania. There, after openly reclaiming his Christian faith, he “abjured the prophet and the sultan, and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country,” to quote Edward Gibbon.
Thereafter, from 1443 to 1468—a quarter of a century—Skanderbeg committed his life to the successful defense of his tiny homeland against the world’s most powerful empire. In so doing, he renounced a life of wealth, prestige, and untold pleasures among the Ottomans and willingly embraced a life of nonstop war among and on behalf of his own people—not infrequently living in mountains and caves as a fugitive, though always living in freedom.
His “ingratitude” naturally provoked the Turks to no end and prompted wave after wave of jihadist invasions, each larger and crueler than its predecessor. Yet, in a total of twenty-four battles and sieges, he beat them all back, always while being vastly outnumbered by his Muslim foes. Little wonder he is known as the Albanian Braveheart.
The Battle of Albulena, which occurred on today’s date, arguably represents the pinnacle of his career. In late May 1457, eighty thousand Turks under the command of Skanderbeg’s own nephew, Hamza—whose jealousy had caused him to betray his uncle—marched through and devastated the Mat River valley in north central Albania. Because Hamza was well acquainted with his uncle’s guerilla tactics, Skanderbeg had to improvise. Instead of hiding his vastly outnumbered army—barely one-tenth the size of the Muslim army—in the mountains and awaiting the opportune moment to strike, as he had done so many times before, he divided them into many smaller units and dispersed them in the valleys and woods. For three months, all the Turks saw were tiny roving bands of Albanians, none of which dared leave the mountains and engage them. As a result, nearly three months later, by late August, the Ottomans concluded that Skanderbeg had become a moot point—that he was “done up with,” that his men had “deserted” him, and that he himself had quit to “the mountain fastness in order to save his skin,” to quote from the sources.
But just when the Turks were most convinced that the Albanians had lost both their leader and their nerve, on September 2, 1457, Skanderbeg, having reunited his eight thousand men, launched a lightning swift strike. Under Mount Tumenishta, to loud cries and the braying instruments of war, he and his cavalry and guerilla fighters suddenly burst into the Muslim camp in a frenzy of war. The trapped Turks were terrified—despite assurances from Hamza that the Albanian army was much smaller than it seemed. Panic spread, and the Muslim army was routed on the plains of Albulena. In what became one of the Ottomans’ worst defeats, as many as thirty thousand Turks were either butchered or captured in the bloody onslaught.
Not only Albania but all of Europe benefited from Skanderbeg’s stalwart defense and perseverance, which continued until the moment of his death some years later. Had the Ottomans managed to transform Albania into a launching pad into Italy in 1450 instead of when they did, in 1480, Muhammad II, the Conqueror—modern day Turkey’s hero—would have had thirty years, not just one, to pursue his long cherished goal of conquering Rome and, from there, inundating Western Europe with his Eastern hordes.
That Skanderbeg was a quintessential Defender of the West was even acknowledged by the United States Congress, in a 2005 resolution titled, “Honoring the 600th anniversary of the birth of Gjergj Kastrioti (Scanderbeg), statesman, diplomat, and military genius, for his role in saving Western Europe from Ottoman occupation.”
In the centuries following his death, more than one thousand books in over twenty different languages, and any number of operas and plays, were written about him. In a letter dated 1756, Major General James Wolfe of Britain wrote that Skanderbeg “excels all the officers, ancient and modern, in the conduct of a small defensive army.” In 1905, historian William J. Armstrong went so far as to write that “the exploits even of the renowned paladins of the crusades, whether Godfrey or Tancred or Richard or Raymond, pale to insignificance by similar comparison. Only the legendary feats of King Arthur and his knights…suggest a parallel of wondrous achievement.”
For the full story of Skanderbeg—as well as several other Christian heroes who stood against Islamic jihad—see Defenders of the West, from which the above account was excerpted.

The Israeli call for action against Iran is coming from inside the house
Lahav Harkov/Jerusalem Post/September 03/2022
DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Jerusalem has been playing nice with Washington over Iran talks for a year now, starting with when Naftali Bennett was prime minister and Lapid was foreign minister.
Jerusalem has been playing nice with Washington over Iran talks for a year now, starting with when Naftali Bennett was prime minister and Lapid was foreign minister.
The idea was not to launch a public campaign against the Biden administration’s effort to return to a nuclear deal with Iran, even though there is consensus in the government and among the leaders of Israel’s defense establishment that the deal is bad. Rather, they would try to work with the White House behind the scenes to try to mitigate the damage or even convince the administration to change tack, without damaging the US-Israel relationship.
That idea has faced criticism throughout the past year, but with Washington and Tehran seemingly very close to sealing a deal and a congressional vote on lifting Iran sanctions likely on the way – even if the chance of getting a veto-proof two-thirds majority is extremely slim – the calls to do more to push back against the Biden administration have only grown.
In a surprising turn of events, the call for more aggressive action against an Iran deal is coming from inside the house, or at least the Prime Minister’s Office.
Lapid briefed foreign journalists last Thursday that Israel successfully convinced the US to insist on certain points in the Iran deal, contributing to Washington’s “no” response to much of Tehran’s latest demands.
But hours later, several Israeli outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, reported on Mossad chief David Barnea’s remarks in meetings with Lapid and other figures in the government, and the Mossad chief sounded far more circumspect about the latest developments.
Contrary to Lapid, Barnea said: “Maybe [the US] toughened certain stances, but how does that help us?”
The deal will still be bad, even if the US insists on certain details, and Barnea expressed hope it will not be reached at all.
Barnea said the US was accepting a deal “that will be based on lies,” which will “increase the danger” for Israel.
“The US can get up and leave [the Middle East] one day; we cannot leave,” Barnea said, in what can be seen as a hint at one of the Biden administration’s greatest blunders in Afghanistan.
A source close to Lapid pushed back against the narrative that Barnea contradicted him or was more extreme than the prime minister knew he would be. The two spoke on the phone after that narrative reverberated in several newspapers and other outlets, the source said, and they laughed about it and tried to figure out how they got that idea.
Maybe Lapid was totally fine with what Barnea said. Maybe they even planned it that way, for Barnea to go farther than Lapid would. But the prime minister doth protest too much, methinks, in acting as though Barnea’s remarks are no different from his. Lapid has not criticized the US directly, only the deal itself, and the closest he’s gotten was to say that the latest draft of the Iran deal contradicts what the US president promised to Israel.
Netanyahu chimes in
FOUR DAYS later, on Monday, the criticism came from a much less surprising source, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
The former prime minister considers his battle against the original Iran deal, in 2015, as a crowning achievement of his foreign policy – even if it didn’t actually stop the deal from being signed. Netanyahu’s speech before both houses of Congress, and Israel’s broader political and public relations campaign against an Iran deal, helped turn US public opinion against the deal and bring Gulf states that view Iran as an adversary closer to Israel, as he tells it.
And sustaining that criticism in the ensuing years, along with the daring Mossad operation to smuggle Iran’s nuclear archive to Israel, brought former US president Donald Trump to leave the deal in 2018, Netanyahu says. Though Iran’s nuclear advances came in the aftermath of that decision, they mostly came after Trump lost the election and Joe Biden, who promised to try to return to the deal and abandon Trump’s “maximum sanctions” policy, won.
The opposition leader already laid out this argument last week, with a classic Netanyahu PowerPoint presentation aired live on his Facebook page.
On Monday, Netanyahu went to the Prime Minister’s Office for a briefing from Lapid and his military secretary, Maj.-Gen. Avi Gil, about the latest developments in Iran nuclear talks.
“On matters of national security, there is no opposition and coalition in Israel,” Lapid said in a statement released as their meeting began, along with a photo of him and Netanyahu staring intently at each other across a desk. “Israel is strong and will act together to protect its security interests from those who try to harm us.”
That was at 5 p.m. About an hour later, Netanyahu held court outside the Prime Minister’s Office, in front of a press gaggle that his spokesman had invited.
“Unfortunately, I left more concerned than when I entered,” Netanyahu said. “We will support every public, assertive stance against the nuclear deal, but I don’t see such a public approach. It’s the opposite; I think that Lapid and [Defense Minister Benny] Gantz fell asleep on the job.”
Netanyahu paraphrased some of Barnea’s remarks, referring specifically to the Mossad chief when saying that “the deal is even worse than its predecessor and is a strategic disaster for the State of Israel.”
Lapid and his emissaries “should meet dozens of senators, hundreds of members of Congress right now in the US to pressure the Biden administration not to do this,” Netanyahu lamented. “Every hour spent not doing that is an hour wasted.”
Then Netanyahu ended with “a clear message to the ayatollahs in Iran,” which serves double duty as a message to Israeli voters.
“On November 1, we will establish a strong, assertive leadership here that, with or without an agreement, will ensure that you will never have a nuclear weapon. That is our commitment,” he said.
The following hour, Lapid waved Netanyahu off.
“I will not get into this melee, because it harms Israel’s security. There is a great importance to a united Israeli stance against the Iranians’ attempt to attain nuclear weapons. I call on the opposition leader and everyone not to let political considerations harm our national security,” he said.
Netanyahu did not continue the back-and-forth at that point, but he would have likely argued that his consideration is national security, not politics.
The unusual results of the latest polling on Israelis’ priority issues in the upcoming election would support that. Contrary to most past elections, in which security was a top concern for voters, an Israel Democracy Institute survey from early August found that only 11% of Israelis said foreign policy and security strongly influence their party preference. The economy and cost of living (44%), identity of the party leader (24%) and religion and state matters (14%) came before that.
In addition, Lapid actually criticized Netanyahu in a similar fashion in 2015. Contrary to what Netanyahu has been saying, Lapid did not support the Iran deal back then. However, Lapid was vocally critical of Netanyahu’s speech before Congress that was not coordinated with then-president Barack Obama, as the prime minister continues to be, arguing that it caused lasting damage to the US-Israel relationship.
Putting things in perspective
IT’S EASY for Lapid to dismiss Netanyahu’s remarks as political when it’s two months before an election. What is less easy is to get people to disregard how much farther Barnea went in his remarks.
Two weeks after National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata went to Washington to meet with American counterpart Jake Sullivan and, according to Lapid, convince him to take up a firmer stance with Iran, the Mossad chief will be on Capitol Hill to address the House and Senate Intelligence committees.
Diplomatic sources in Washington said this week that the White House is aware of Barnea’s trip, and therefore it is not comparable to Netanyahu speaking before Congress.
But if, when talking to journalists, Barnea couldn’t hold back his ire over the Biden administration’s likely acceptance of a “fraudulent” agreement that will “increase the danger” to Israel, chances are that he will have some choice words in Washington, as well.

Phase three of the war in Ukraine has begun
Joanathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/September 03/2022
The Ukrainian armed forces this week launched an offensive in the Kherson region, located in the southeast of Ukraine. Ukrainian media is reporting that Kyiv’s forces have broken through the first line of Russian defenses outside of the city of Kherson. The Russian state-owned RIA news agency is also reporting the Ukrainian push, which it claims has already “failed miserably.”
Amid the fog of war, and the claims and counterclaims, it is too soon for any clear assessment. But the events in Kherson appear to constitute the beginning of a major Ukrainian effort to retake territory in the south, earlier than had been predicted by much analysis. This operation in turn marks the opening of a new phase in this grueling war, which has already passed through two distinctive stages.
The war in Ukraine is the largest scale and most consequential conflict to take place on European soil since 1945. Six months since the dramatic opening of hostilities by the Russians in the early hours of February 24, and with a new chapter perhaps in its opening stages, it is an opportune moment to take stock of the war’s progress, and to assess where events may be heading.
In the first, mobile phase of the war, Moscow sought to make rapid territorial gains along four identifiable fronts. In the northern front/Kyiv area, Moscow launched an attack from Belarus toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, after its initial attempt to swiftly seize the city using airborne assault forces failed.
Attack on Kharkiv
In the northeast, the Russians began an attack in the direction of the city of Kharkiv. In the south, attacks were launched from Crimea, with the intention of rolling up Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline in the direction of Mariupol, Mykolaiv, and ultimately Odesa and the border with Moldova. Kherson, the only regional capital to fall to the Russians, was taken on March 2 as part of this offensive. In the southeast, attacks were launched from Luhansk and Donetsk, with the goal of completing the conquest of the Donbas, which had commenced in 2014.
In this dramatic opening phase, many observers feared that independent Ukraine would rapidly be overrun. Some analyses recalled the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, when Moscow’s forces took over its neighbor in 48 hours, having first seized control of Prague’s international airport. Others pointed to the crushing intervention by Moscow in 1956 against the armed anti-Communist revolt in Hungary, an invasion that secured control of that country within a month.
Many journalists, this author included, made for beleaguered Kyiv at that moment. I had witnessed the city in revolution in 2013, in the events at the Maidan, which began the process that eventually led to the Russian invasion. Like many others, I assumed that the Russian attempt at encirclement of the Ukrainian capital must surely succeed. I wanted to witness the city in what I assumed would be the last days of its existence as Ukraine’s sovereign capital.
Kyiv in March
THE ATMOSPHERE in Kyiv in the first days of March was one of grim determination. The streets were empty. Air raid sirens sounded at regular intervals. There was still food in the shops, but shortages were beginning. Across the city, in schools and office blocks and hospitals, soldiers and volunteers were frenetically preparing for the defense of the city.
But as it turned out, of course, the Russians never entered Kyiv. Extended and chaotic supply lines, poor leadership, shortages of manpower, and determined Ukrainian resistance all ensured that the push for the city would falter. The assault on Kyiv was abandoned by mid-March.
A Ukrainian counterattack from March 16 pushed the Russian forces back from the city, recapturing the entire area north and east of Kyiv, including Hostomel, site of the Antonov Airport – where Russian airborne forces in the early hours of February 24 had sought to repeat their forefathers’ success in Prague in 1968, in seizing an airport to ferry in the invasion forces – and had failed.
The first, mobile phase of the war was over by early April. The Russians had enjoyed some success on the southern front. The port city of Mariupol was taken on April 3, following a bitter and bloody siege. Russian shelling of Odesa and Mykolaiv continued. But the anticipated push up Ukraine’s coastline failed to materialize.
On the northeastern front, the Russians made little progress, trying and failing to capture the city of Kharkiv.
In the east, Russian forces tried to advance from their existing pre-2022 areas of control in Luhansk and Donetsk. A Russian attempt to push westward from Severiodonetsk at this time was repulsed, however.
The result was that by early April, when the main mobile phase of the war ended, a Ukrainian salient extending roughly 40 km. into the main body of Russian-held territory had been created in this area. This salient was also roughly 40km. wide.
This salient formed the central focus of the fighting in the period April to July. With its efforts at a rapid conquest of Ukraine thwarted, Russia now sought to grind forward slowly, using a relentless artillery barrage to reduce areas to rubble, before occupying them. Yet this Donbas-centered second phase of the war, in which the other frontlines were static, also garnered Moscow only the most modest achievements.
Relentless shelling
I ENTERED the eastern salient in June, reporting from the towns of Lysychansk, Slovyansk, Bakhmut and Kramatorsk. In Lysychansk, the shelling was relentless, the remaining civilians reduced to life on the most primitive level by the destruction of infrastructure. People in Lysychansk, in the eye of the Russian storm, prepared food on improvised wood burners and buried their dead in graves hurriedly dug in the waste ground between rounds of shelling. The town fell to the Russians on July 2. The Russians inherited rubble.
But the conquests of Severiodonetsk and Lysychansk were the sole meager fruits of the grinding, artillery-led Russian effort in the Donbas over summer. And as Ukraine began to integrate western military systems, such as the M142 Himars, the balance of destruction was rendered more even, and a long, static, artillery-led semi-frozen conflict seemed to be in the offing.
This second, holding phase of the war now appears to be over. Many thought that the Ukrainians would not manage to carry out a counteroffensive before the onset of winter. Kyiv is evidently mindful of the possibility that Russia may engineer a gas crisis in Europe over the winter months, creating chaos and seeking to undermine Western support for Ukraine. This, in turn, may lead to pressure on Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire in place, leaving Russia with around 20% of Ukraine in its hands. The counteroffensive toward Kherson currently underway is evidently an attempt to preempt any such moves, and to change the dynamic of the war.
Ukraine has in the last six months prevented an attempt to destroy it as an independent state, and has successfully held in place a Russian effort at a slow and grinding advance through attrition. An attempt is now underway to break the resulting deadlock. It remains to be seen if Kyiv’s forces can sustain the momentum and move toward real territorial gains in the period ahead. The third phase of the Ukraine war has begun.

Should Biden Call MAGA Supporters Semi-Fascist?
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2022
President Joe Biden would have been correct had he accused some MAGA supporters of a totalitarian mindset that could lead to tyranny. But he was dead wrong in limiting this mind-set to the hard right. It is at least equally applicable to many on the hard left. These so-called "progressives" are as opposed to freedom of speech and due process for thee, as are the extremists on the hard right. And it is the special obligation of liberals – like Biden and me – to focus at least as much attention on the dangers emanating from the hard left as those from the hard right.
Indeed, in some ways the totalitarian mindsets of many on the hard left are more dangerous than those of the hard right. The reason is that the hard left today is extremely influential on college and university campuses. Many hard left faculty members propagandize their students as to what to think instead of teaching them how to think for themselves.
These current students include our future leaders. In ten years, some will be in Congress, on editorial boards of major newspapers, in investment banks, and in other areas of enormous influence. In 20 years, one of them may be U.S. president or another world leader, which is what the extremist leaders are counting on to achieve their goals.
We must be prepared for a future that is less tolerant of dissenting views and due process and more demanding that their "noble" ends justify ignoble means — a future with less free speech, presumption of innocence, due process and respect for constitutional norms. To prevent that "brave new world," we must take action now to protect our heritage of civil liberties from those who regard them as patriarchal, white supremacist or "unwoke."
So the next time Biden decides to condemn what he calls semi-fascists of the hard right, he should spend at least as much time calling out the intolerant mindset of many of his own voters.
The next time President Joe Biden decides to condemn what he calls semi-fascists of the hard right, he should spend at least as much time calling out the intolerant mindset of many of his own voters. Pictured: Biden delivers a speech at Independence National Historical Park, on September 1, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden recently said the following about Trump MAGA supporters, according to Politico:
"'What we're seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of extreme MAGA philosophy,' Biden told Democratic donors in the Washington suburb of Rockville. Calling out those he labeled as 'extreme' Republicans, Biden said: 'It's not just Trump, it's the entire philosophy that underpins the — I'm going to say something, it's like semi-fascism.'"
I generally disapprove of analogies between American politics and European Fascism: the latter connotes Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Thankfully we are a long way from such tyrannies. Our constitutional system of checks and balances is designed to prevent any one branch of government from assuming dictatorial powers. It has worked for a quarter of a millennium and there is every reason to believe that it will continue to prevent the rise of dictators.
A better term would be "totalitarian mindset." It is certainly true that there are some extremists on both the "right" and the "left" who reflect an intolerant approach under which opposing views are seen to be unnecessary. Those who believe that they have the ultimate Truth on their side see no reason for allowing dissent from that truth, or for requiring due process before a person who they know to be guilty is convicted. Certainty is the essence of tyranny and skepticism is the enemy of tyranny.
So, Biden would have been correct had he accused some MAGA supporters of a totalitarian mindset that could lead to tyranny. But he was dead wrong in limiting this mind-set to the hard right. It is at least equally applicable to many on the hard left. These so-called "progressives" are as opposed to freedom of speech and due process for thee, as are the extremists on the hard right. And it is the special obligation of liberals – like Biden and me – to focus at least as much attention on the dangers emanating from the hard left as those from the hard right.
Indeed, in some ways the totalitarian mindsets of many on the hard left are more dangerous than those of the hard right. The reason is that the hard left today is extremely influential on college and university campuses. Many hard left faculty members propagandize their students as to what to think instead of teaching them how to think for themselves.
These current students include our future leaders. In ten years, some will be in Congress, on editorial boards of major newspapers, in investment banks, and in other areas of enormous influence. In 20 years, one of them may be U.S. president or another world leader, which is what the extremist leaders are counting on to achieve their goals. Many college students grow up after they leave school and change the one-sided views they were exposed to on campus. But others remain influenced by the hard left totalitarian mindset in which they were indoctrinated.
We must be prepared for a future that is less tolerant of dissenting views and due process and more demanding that their "noble" ends justify ignoble means — a future with less free speech, presumption of innocence, due process and respect for constitutional norms. To prevent that "brave new world," we must take action now to protect our heritage of civil liberties from those who regard them as patriarchal, white supremacist or "unwoke." We are losing the battle, especially on university campuses. We must change the trajectory. As Martin Luther King Jr. observed: "Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I respectfully disagree. We must take control of the arc if we are to preserve justice and the rule of law.
So the next time Biden decides to condemn what he calls semi-fascists of the hard right, he should spend at least as much time calling out the intolerant mindset of many of his own voters. His condemnation of extremism on the right is unlikely to have much impact on those who voted against him. But calling out hard left radicals who voted for him might change some minds.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of The Price of Principles: Why Integrity Is Worth Its Consequences. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute, and is also the host of "The Dershow," podcast.
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ماجد رفي زاده/معهد جيتستون: الصفقة النووية لإدارة بايدن مع إيران هي أكبر هدية لدولة الملالي الراعية الأولي للإرهاب في العالم ''
The Biden Administration's Nuclear Deal Is the Biggest Gift to the World's 'Top State Sponsor of Terrorism'

Majid Rafizadeh/ Gatestone Institute./September 03/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/111641/111641/
The main beneficiaries of the increased revenues will most likely be the office of Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and more importantly the IRGC's elite branch the Quds Force, which carries out extraterritorial operations to advance the revolutionary principles of the Islamic Republic abroad.
A considerable part of the economy and Iran's financial systems are owned and controlled by the IRGC and the Office of the Supreme Leader.... This economic haven means that state and non-state actors, such as the Houthis, Hezbollah, the Shiite militias in Iraq and Bashar Assad's Syria, will be the next major beneficiaries of Biden's sanctions relief and new nuclear deal.
The Biden administration will more likely contribute to more tensions between Iran and other countries in the region, and lead to further regional insecurity, destabilization, humanitarian tragedies, and most likely a major war.
Biden's new nuclear deal is the biggest gift that one could give to the world's "top state sponsor of terrorism": unlimited nuclear weapons, no inspections past present or future, the missiles to deliver them, enriched uranium to be held by Russia and returned to Iran or wherever they both decide, "$100 billion per year to spread terror around the globe" -- in short, assured expansion of the "Revolution" not only throughout the Middle East but further, straight into America's soft underbelly, Venezuela.
The main beneficiaries of increased revenues from a renewed nuclear deal will most likely be the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and more importantly the IRGC's elite branch the Quds Force, which carries out extraterritorial operations to advance the revolutionary principles of the Islamic Republic abroad. Pictured: IRGC members on parade, marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, on September 22, 2018, in Tehran. (Photo by Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration's new nuclear deal with the ruling clerics will lift economic sanctions against the Iranian regime the moment the deal enters into effect.
At that moment, the Iranian regime will receive approximately $90 billion. The Biden administration will also instantly be lifting sanctions on the Iranian regime's energy sector, which will also significantly boost the regime's oil and gas revenues.
The ruling mullahs will be able to ramp up their oil exports to pre-sanctions levels, roughly quadrupling their oil sales, thereby bringing billions of dollars in additional revenues to the theocratic establishment. For example, after the implementation the 2015 nuclear agreement (known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - JCPOA) under the Obama administration, crippling sanctions were lifted and Iran rejoined the global financial system. Iran's oil and gas industries had a fresh start, the regime increased its oil exports from 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to approximately 4 million bpd.
Oil and gas revenues, as is no secret, are crucial for the ruling mullahs: Iran reportedly has the second-largest natural gas reserves and the fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, Canada and Venezuela. The sale of oil accounts for nearly 60% of the regime's total revenues and more than 80% of its export revenues. Several Iranian leaders have spoken about the country's major dependence on oil exports. Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, for instance, acknowledged in 2019 that "Although we have some other incomes, the only revenue that can keep the country going is the oil money."
The Biden administration's removal of sanctions will, in addition, help the ruling mullahs increase their revenues by attracting foreign investments in their energy sector and other industries. After the 2015 nuclear agreement under the Obama administration, for example, Tehran succeeded in signing major agreements with some of the world's largest aviation, oil and gas corporations. The energy producer Total signed an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) "for the development of phase 11 of South Pars, the world's largest gasfield". Another agreement was sealed with Royal Dutch Shell, which signed a provisional agreement with NIOC "to further explore areas of potential cooperation". The Iranian regime also signed a deal with Boeing -- the first business deal Tehran concluded with an American aviation corporation since the 1970s. Iran also began negotiating to purchase planes from the European company Airbus.
Not only will the Biden administration help the Islamist mullahs to become vastly wealthier, but it will also help the Iranian regime to gain global legitimacy as it rejoins the international financial system. The main beneficiaries of the increased revenues will most likely be the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and more importantly the IRGC's elite branch the Quds Force, which carries out extraterritorial operations to advance the revolutionary principles of the Islamic Republic abroad.
A considerable part of the economy and Iran's financial systems are owned and controlled by the IRGC and the Office of the Supreme Leader. The IRGC alone controls between a third and half of Iran's gross domestic product. The IRGC owns several major economic powerhouses and religious endowments, such as Astan Quds Razavi in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
This economic haven means that state and non-state actors, such as the Yemeni Houthis, Lebanese Hezbollah, the Shiite militias in Iraq and Bashar Assad's Syria, will be the next major beneficiaries of Biden's sanctions relief and new nuclear deal.
The Biden administration's nuclear deal will also help the IRGC and Quds Force to more powerfully interfere in other countries, support terror and militia groups that target Americans and their allies, and attempt to kill Americans on US soil. The Biden administration will more likely contribute to increasing tensions between Iran and other countries in the region, and lead to further regional insecurity, destabilization, humanitarian tragedies, and most likely a major war.
Biden's new nuclear deal is the biggest gift that one could give to the world's "top state sponsor of terrorism": unlimited nuclear weapons, no inspections past present or future, the missiles to deliver them, enriched uranium to be held by Russia and returned to Iran or wherever they both decide, "$100 billion per year to spread terror around the globe" -- in short, assured expansion of the "Revolution" not only throughout the Middle East but further, straight into America's soft underbelly, Venezuela.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.