Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 14-15/2023
Report: Hezbollah's Kahale truck was headed for Ain el-Helweh
Naharnet/August 14, 2023
The Hezbollah ammunition truck that overturned Wednesday in Kahale was headed for the clashes-hit Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh near Sidon, Palestinian sources said. The truck contained “boxes of machine-gun and anti-aircraft gun ammunition,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Monday. The truck “came from the Bekaa and was headed for the Ain el-Helweh camp south of Sidon,” the sources added, noting that “this move was aimed at shoring up the arms depots that belong to Hezbollah’s allies in the camp after they were depleted in the camp’s latest clashes.”Hezbollah had announced in a statement that the truck belonged to it without revealing what it was carrying. The truck and its cargo were eventually seized by the army and taken from Kahale to the nearby Defense Ministry. A Hezbollah member and a resident of Kahale, both of whom were armed, were killed in an exchange of gunfire after the truck flipped over on the international highway that passes through the town. The violence started after some residents learned that the truck belonged to Hezbollah. They surrounded it and demanded to know what was inside before a fistfight ensued between two individuals. Footage available online also shows Kahale residents hurling rocks at the overturned truck and its Hezbollah guards and the Hezbollah members brandishing weapons and shooting in the area. Another video shows a short-distance exchange of gunfire between Hezbollah members and Fadi Bejjani, the Kahale man who was killed in the violence. The identity of the individual who fired the first shot is still unclear.

Capital controls: IMF and BDL clash over Lebanon's financial future
LBCI/August 14, 2023
Lebanon is grappling with discussions over proposed capital control legislation, with neither the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor the Banque du Liban (BDL) satisfied with the current formulation. The BDL seeks specific amendments, including encompassing restrictions on Lebanese lira holdings. At the same time, reports suggest that the IMF is leaning towards including capital controls solely for fresh dollars in banks related to transfers rather than withdrawals. Ultimately, the fate of this issue rests with the Lebanese government. Sources closely following the matter assert that if capital controls were to encompass outbound transfers of fresh dollar deposits abroad, the account holders could still withdraw funds freely, raising concerns about such regulations' effectiveness. Notably, some deposit holders have already reacted to discussions of capital controls by initiating withdrawals from banks. These sources emphasize that the core objective of capital controls is to prevent significant outflows of US dollars from Lebanon and curb the manipulation of the exchange rate by using the Lebanese lira for speculative purposes. However, the sources suggest imposing high customs fees on domestically produced goods that Lebanon has, exceeding, for instance, 300 percent of the import price. This measure could reduce imports in light of its high costs and limit dollar outflows, concurrently generating additional revenue for the treasury. These sources propose that capital controls would not directly impact the fresh dollar holdings of Lebanese citizens; instead, the priority lies in achieving a balance in the trade balance. Lebanon annually imports around $19 billion while exporting $3.5 billion annually, with the substantial difference often covered by financial inflows, including remittances from expatriate Lebanese. It is crucial for the state to simultaneously tighten customs enforcement and border control to prevent both legitimate and illicit smuggling activities. As Lebanon grapples with economic challenges and a need for financial stability, the discussions around capital control measures underscore the complexity of finding a balanced approach to safeguarding the nation's financial well-being.

Government sessions scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday to review the 2023 budget and legislative measures
LBCI/August 14, 2023
Cabinet announced convening a government session on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at the Grand Serail to continue discussions on the 2023 budget bill. This session will also address a draft law granting the government legislative authority in the customs field, along with another draft law aimed at opening appropriations in the 2023 budget reserve for adoption. urthermore, the Cabinet will hold a second ministerial session on Thursday, August 17, 2023.

Lebanese Interior Minister has yet to decide on "Barbie" film release
LBCI/August 14, 2023
The international sensation "Barbie" remains in limbo for Lebanese theater-goers as the final decision rests with the country's Interior Minister. he Lebanese film oversight committee has given its approval for the movie's release to viewers aged 13 years and above. Yet, the definitive word is with the Interior Minister. LBCI reached out to understand the Minister's stance, only to discover he hasn't yet received the official report from the General Security. Further inquiries by LBCI to the General Security about the report's dispatch also didn't provide a clear answer. irected by Greta Gerwig and featuring stars like Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, "Barbie" has already tallied over $1 billion in global box office sales. Despite its initial July 20, 2023 release date in Lebanon, the movie has seen delays due to concerns it may not align with local cultural norms. f note, "Barbie" has been screened in several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Only Kuwait has imposed a ban, leaving Lebanon's position as an outstanding question in the region. ebanon's track record of prohibiting films, particularly those seen to challenge established societal values, is well-documented. s the nation's film enthusiasts and industry experts await, the Interior Minister's impending decision promises to be significant, possibly setting a tone for the screening of international films in Lebanon in the coming times.

Raad says Hezbollah will never be 'dragged into strife'
Naharnet/August 14, 2023
Hezbollah’s top lawmaker Mohammed Raad has stressed that his party will never be “dragged into strife” in Lebanon, in the wake of the deadly clash involving Hezbollah in the Christian town of Kahale. “The attempts to preoccupy us with a banking collapse, an economic crisis or a regional problem, such as the overturning of a truck at the Kahale curve, and the promotion of grudges, hatred, incitement and sedition are the work of dark rooms that are working for the benefit of the Israeli enemy in order to deviate our attention from it,” Raad said. He added that these “rooms” instigated cronies to “insult heroic resistance fighters, seize key roads, confront as if they are the army and they are the state, put people on trial and seek to know what that truck was carrying.”“We acted with wisdom and care in order to contain the situation with the lowest cost and preserve the country and the political atmosphere in the country,” Raad said. “Strife will not break out in Lebanon, because we do not want it, although others want it, but they are impotent and cannot drag us into it,” Raad went on to say.

Qaouq urges president who can 'protect civil peace' after Kahale unrest
Naharnet/August 14, 2023
Senior Hezbollah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq has lauded what he described as “the patriotic stance of former president General Michel Aoun” in the wake of the deadly Kahale incident. “His stance was the voice of wisdom and national awareness that rejects strife,” Qaouq said, adding that “the dialogue between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement is continuous, progressing positively and will not be affected” by the Kahale unrest. He added: “After what happened in Kahale, the certain result is that today we’re more determined and adamant on securing the election of a president who can be entrusted with protecting civil peace and national unity.”A Hezbollah member and a resident of Kahale, both of whom were armed, were killed in an exchange of gunfire Wednesday after a Hezbollah ammunition truck flipped over on the international highway that passes through the town. The incident started after some residents learned that the truck belonged to Hezbollah. They surrounded it and demanded to know what was inside before a fistfight ensued between two individuals. Footage available online also shows Kahale residents hurling rocks at the overturned truck and its guards and the Hezbollah members brandishing weapons and shooting in the area. Another video shows a short-distance exchange of gunfire between Hezbollah members and Fadi Bejjani, the Kahale man who was killed in the violence. The identity of the individual who fired the first shot is still unclear.

Bassil nominates himself anew for FPM leader post
Naharnet/August 14, 2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil announced Monday that the FPM leadership elections will be held on September 10. “It is a date on which we will emphasize our commitment to our bylaws and to our pledge to be an institution that abides by the decision and will of those who belong to it,” Bassil said in an online video. “I nominate myself so that we continue together the struggle journey that we started in 1988,” Bassil added. “I also call on any member who enjoys eligibility and ability to lead the Movement, or anyone who does not approve of my leadership of the Movement, to also run for the FPM leader post because we did not come from the culture of hereditary politics,” Bassil went on to say.

Geagea says taking up arms not an option, lauds army over Kahale
Naharnet/August 14, 2023
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday said that it is “totally out of the question” for Christians to take up arms again, lauding the army’s “performance” in the town of Kahale despite “some reservations.”In an interview with Annahar newspaper to be published Tuesday, Geagea called on Hezbollah to “interpret the (Kahale) incident well.”“The incident showed that there is a vast majority of Lebanese who now have utmost sensitivity towards Hezbollah and its practices,” Geagea said. Asked about the possibility of taking up arms anew, Geagea said: “This matter is totally out of the question, seeing as in the presence of the Lebanese Army and security forces and their permanent presence, the re-armament of Christians is out of the question.” “What the Kahale incident happened, and despite some reservations over the army’s performance, it intervened and settled the situation. Therefore there is a present and legitimate military force that is in charge of security and accordingly it is impermissible to think of any other inclination,” Geagea added. Separately, Geagea said he suspects that Hezbollah is involved in the abduction and killing of LF member Elias Hasrouni in the southern town of Ain Ebel. “We are awaiting the outcome of security agencies’ investigations, but according to the available information, the doubts point to Hezbollah’s involvement,” the LF leader added. Geagea also slammed the behavior of Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, voicing dismay that Bassil is still negotiating with Hezbollah “despite everything that has happened, from Ain Ebel to Kahale to the popular atmosphere that is rejecting Hezbollah and its practices.” “The negotiations between Bassil and Hezbollah are a major deception operation,” Geagea added, accusing the FPM chief of seeking to “trade off rightful national files for personal gains.”

The 'hidden pathways:' Syria-Lebanon border crossings defy control efforts
LBCI/August 14, 2023
At the beginning of each day, the Lebanese Army exhausts all its energy along the borders with Syria to minimize the waves of displacement into Lebanese territories as much as possible. The clandestine entry from Syria into Lebanon has not ceased since the start of the war there. Today, despite the controls, it continues intensively and from various illegal border points, especially in the overlapping plain regions that stretch from Mashari al-Qaa, al-Qaa, Hermel, all the way to Aabboudiye, and also in various areas adjacent to the Syrian borders in Akkar and Wadi Khaled. At a time when it can be said that smuggling through Ras Baalbek and its outskirts, the outskirts of Baalbek, the outskirts of Nahle, Younine, to the outskirts of Aarsal and Aarsal, all parallel to the western Qalamoun, has become more difficult. This is due to the ruggedness of the mountainous area, the complex mountain roads, and the heightened state of alert of the army with its units and three border brigades present there, equipped with the capabilities to control the borders through devices, towers, and centers. So, the soft "loin" from al-Qaa to Aabboudiye is what burdens the army and its units tasked with border control. According to information obtained by LBCI, dozens of families and individuals who secretly enter Lebanon daily are apprehended, equipped with identification papers, documents, Syrian signatures, and even forged UNHCR cards. The army succeeds in detecting many of them, apprehending them, and returning them to where they came from or handing them over to the border units of the General Security for appropriate action. In an attempt to multiply measures, the army established fixed barriers at vital intersections at Assi Bridge, at the Al-Mahatta point at the intersection of Hermel and al-Qaa, and in Harbata. These vital barriers are reinforced alongside temporary barriers, patrols, and ambushes, all to reduce the Syrian influx into Lebanon. This comes after reports suggesting the possibility that the borders would witness the flow of more Syrians entering clandestinely due to the exacerbating crises in their country and the region.

Lebanon freezes bank accounts of former central bank governor and associates
Reuters/August 14, 2023
Salameh served as central bank governor in Lebanon from 1993 until July 31
In July, the French judiciary transferred seized assets belonging to Salameh and his associates to the Lebanese state
BEIRUT: Lebanon has frozen the bank accounts of former central bank governor Riad Salameh and four of his associates, a statement by the Special Investigation Commission said on Monday. Lebanon has also lifted banking secrecy on the accounts of all five individuals, which include Salameh, his brother Raja, his son Nady, his former assistant Marianne Hoayek and Anna Kosakova, with whom Riad has a daughter, the statement said. Salameh served as central bank governor in Lebanon from 1993 until July 31. He faces arrest warrants in France and Germany following investigations into whether he and his brother took $330 million in public funds from the Lebanese central bank while he was governor. The brothers and Hoayek have all been charged in Lebanon over embezzlement and other financial crimes. The Salameh brothers deny the charges. Nady Salameh has not responded to Reuters requests for comment. Lawyers for Hoayek and Kosakova have also not responded to Reuters requests for comment. Salameh, in messages to Reuters, denied the allegations made by the three sanctioning countries and said he would challenge them. Some of his assets had already been frozen in previous investigations, he said. In March 2022, the European Union’s criminal justice cooperation organization announced the freezing of some 120 million euros($130 million) of Lebanese assets in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium, in a case in which Munich prosecutors said Salameh was a suspect. In July, the French judiciary transferred seized assets belonging to Salameh and his associates to the Lebanese state. According to Lebanese law, the Special Investigation Commission is headed by the central bank governor. In the absence of an appointed successor for Salameh, first vice governor Wassim Mansouri heads the institution as acting governor. Monday’s statement was signed by Mansouri.

Interior minister assures Lebanon that security services are ready to protect citizens
Najia Houssari/Arab News/August 14, 2023
Armed forces handled Kahale incident well, remain on alert to keep the peace says Mawlawi
Authorities break up human trafficking network in north of country
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s military and security services have increased their readiness to react and protect citizens amid a number of security developments, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Monday. The Central Security Council held a meeting on Monday attended by military, security and judicial officials after a truck belonging to Hezbollah overturned in Kahale last week. The truck was carrying ammunition and the accident led to armed clashes between Hezbollah and local residents after armed men appeared at the scene, causing the death of one Hezbollah member and a civilian from the town. A military source told Arab News the Lebanese Armed Forces was now in charge of the ammunition, adding “if the overturned truck had caught fire, it would have caused great harm.” The source said the fate of the ammunition shipment would depend on the military officials supervising the investigation into the incident. The shipment might be destroyed or remain with the army, or potentially be returned to Hezbollah based on the findings of the investigation. “Let’s leave it to the military judiciary, as through the ongoing investigation, it will determine the purpose of its use upon its transfer,” said the source. Three days after the Kahale incident, pro-Hezbollah social media activists published a video taken in Bekaa, featuring an armored convoy supposedly belonging to Hezbollah in a sign of strength. Close-up pictures showed the armored vehicles parked inside metal tents, including Russian and American troop carriers, tanks, heavy machinery and machine cannons. Addressing a press conference that followed the meeting of the Central Security Council, Mawlawi said that the security personnel handled the Kahale incident in a way that protected the citizens and kept the peace. He emphasized the pivotal role played by the security and judicial apparatuses in achieving stability in the country. The Kahale incident is not the only event to have stirred trouble in Lebanon in recent weeks. A few days ago, a Lebanese Forces supporter was killed by unknown assailants in Ain Ebel, with Hezbollah suspected of being behind the crime, which was caught on CCTV. The investigation into the death is ongoing, said Malawi.
The Central Security Council’s meeting also discussed the violent clashes in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Al-Helweh, south Lebanon, two weeks ago between Fatah and extremist groups. Mawlawi said the General Security Forces, the Lebanese Armed Forces and the follow-up committee were pursuing investigations and endeavors to control the matter and de-escalate tensions. “We will not allow camps, especially the Ain Al-Helweh camp, to be a source of security disruption in any Lebanese region,” he added. Mawlawi did not mention whether the council meeting discussed attempts to smuggle people across the border with Syria into Lebanon and from there onwards across the Mediterranean, though. The army is currently intensifying measures to prevent such illegal operations, with smuggling set to increase until November due to favorable weather conditions. The security source told Arab News: “Thirty Syrians were arrested last weekend while they were trying to enter Lebanon illegally and travel by sea through traffickers.” The source added all those making the journey were Syrian residents and not refugees staying in Lebanon, and that more Syrians were seeking asylum in Europe through illegal smuggling networks. In addition, the source revealed army intelligence recently shut down a major smuggling operation and arrested the Lebanese kingpin behind it, based in the northern town of Bebnine. The operation included confiscating fishing boats in the northern border village of Al-Arida, used to take people to a larger transport vessel already at sea. Smuggling operations were also taking place through Beirut International Airport, said the source. On Sunday, Spanish police revealed that trafficking operations had been carried out by a criminal organization smuggling Syrian migrants from Lebanon to Spain, Germany and Norway in a scheme spanning three continents. Commenting on the case, the security source said: “These Syrians leave Beirut airport legally and we don’t know what happens after that. The problem isn’t caused by us.”

Libya asks Lebanon to release Gadhafi's detained son who is on hunger strike, officials say
BEIRUT (AP)/Mon, August 14, 2023
Libya’s judicial authorities have formally asked Lebanon to release one of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, held without charges in Lebanon since 2015 because of his deteriorating health, officials said Monday.
The health of Hannibal Gadhafi has been deteriorating since he went on hunger strike on June 3, to protest his detention without trial. He was taken to hospital at least twice since then and has been only drinking small amounts of water.
According to two Lebanese judicial officials, Libya’s prosecutor general Al-Sediq al-Sour, sent a request earlier this month to his Lebanese counterpart, Ghassan Oueidat, regarding Hannibal Gadhafi. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The note stated that Lebanon’s cooperation in this matter could help reveal the truth regarding the fate of a prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric, Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing in Libya in 1978. It questioned why Gadhafi was being held and asked that he be either handed over to Libya or be allowed to return to Syria, where he had been living in exile with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and children until he was abducted and brought to Lebanon eight years ago. The Lebanese prosecutor then referred the case to Zaher Hamadeh, the investigative judge in the missing cleric's case, who is studying the Libyan request and would respond in time. Hannibal Gadhafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 after he was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information on the whereabouts of the cleric. Lebanese police later announced it had picked up Gadhafi from the city of Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon, where he was being held. He has since been held in a Beirut jail. The disappearance of al-Sadr in 1978 has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr is dead. He would be 94 years old. He was the founder of the Amal group, Arabic for “hope,” and an acronym for the militia’s Arabic name, the Lebanese Resistance Brigades. The group later fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Lebanon’s powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads the group. Most of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric and his two traveling companions left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome and suggested he was a victim of a power struggle among Shiites. Moammar Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters during Libya's 2011 uprising turned civil war, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country. Hannibal Gadhafi, who was born two years before al-Sadr disappeared, fled to Algeria after his father was toppled and Tripoli fell to opposition fighters, along with his mother and several other relatives. He later made it to Syria where he was given political asylum and stayed there until he was abducted. Syrian authorities at the time blasted Hannibal Gadhafi’s seizure “by an armed gang” and have been demanding he be returned to Syria. The late Moammar Gadhafi had eight children from two marriages. Most of them played significant roles in his regime. His son Muatassim was killed at the same time as Gadhafi was captured and slain. Two other sons, Seif al-Arab and Khamis, were killed earlier on in the uprising. Seif al-Islam, the one-time heir apparent to his father, has been in Libya since his release from detention there in 2017. Gadhafi's son Mohammed and daughter Aisha live in Oman. Al-Saadi, a former soccer player, was released from prison in Libya in 2021 after being jailed following repatriation from Niger in 2014.

Sayyed Nasrallah: If War Erupts, ‘Israel’ Will Be Returned to Stone Age
Batoul Wehbe/Al-Manar English Website/August 14/2023
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Nasrallah delivers a speech on the 17th anniversary of July victoryHezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Nasrallah delivers a speech on the 17th anniversary of July victory. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah affirmed that should a battle with the Israeli enemy escalate into a war with the entire Axis of Resistance, ‘Israel’ will cease to exist and will be returned to the Stone Age.
In a speech delivered on Monday evening, marking the seventeenth anniversary of the victory in the July 2006 war, Sayyed Nasrallah warned that if war erupts between the Israeli enemy and Lebanon, “there will be no such thing as Israel.” His eminence assured that Israel’s military has gradually “weakened” since the defeat it suffered in 2006.
“I say to the enemy: According to all evidence, you will be returned to the Stone Age if you go to war,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “We do not deny that ‘Israel’ can return Lebanon to the Stone Age due to its air force, but also ‘Israel’ will be returned to the Stone Age.
In addition to threatening the Israeli enemy, Hezbollah’s leader tackled several local and regional issues during his speech.
On July Victory, Its Repercussions
Sayyed Nasrallah reaffirmed that the swift and resolute return of the populace following the triumph in the July 2006 conflict unmistakably underscored the military victory. He emphasized that the sight of car convoys streaming through all thoroughfares “vividly manifested people’s unwavering resolve in their stance and their unyielding attachment to the land, coupled with an unequivocal commitment to the path of resistance, irrespective of the enormity of the sacrifices endured.” Sayyed Nasrallah articulated his standpoint. He noted the alignment of this year’s victory anniversary with the month of Muharram, a month that bears historical significance due to the pivotal Battle of Karbala, witnessed on its tenth day.
Turning his attention to international affairs, Sayyed Nasrallah expounded on the need to extend condolences to the victims of recent attacks in Pakistan, the Syrian desert, and the Iranian city of Shiraz. He observed a discernible trajectory suggesting a potential resurgence of the terrorist organization “ISIL” across various theaters, seemingly driven by an American decision. “It seems that there is an American decision to unleash ISIL again in many arenas,” he said. Sayyed Nasrallah contended that the subsequent victories would not have materialized had it not been for the strategic foundation laid in the aftermath of the July 2006 war. He classified this victory as a pivotal moment in history, shaping a trajectory for the future. “Over the course of 33 days, we witnessed how Allah defends believers and fulfills the divine promise of victory,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, extending his thanks to all those who contributed to the making of this epic and legend throughout the 33 days.
“Gratitude must be extended,” according to Sayyed Nasrallah, “to a multiplicity of parties for their instrumental contributions. This encompasses gratitude directed towards the martyrs; the populace; the resistance environment; the valiant fighters; the military and security institutions; the injured warriors; the official and popular support rendered to Iran and Syria; and the solidarity extended by the broader Islamic world.” The blend of these elements forged the epic and legendary narrative that unfolded over the span of 33 days, he said.
Reflecting upon the war, Sayyed Nasrallah marveled at the divine providence witnessed over those 33 days, highlighting how the divine promise of victory was fulfilled in defense of the faithful. He underscored the resolute demeanor of masses of people, a scene etched in courage and unwavering trust in the path of resistance, as the defining motif on August 14.
The territorial delineation of maritime boundaries and the commencement of exploration, Sayyed Nasrallah noted, hinged on the bedrock laid by the outcomes of the 2006 war. “The July 2006 victory is a historic victory for the future, too. The demarcation of the maritime borders and the start of oil exploration would not have been possible without building on the results of the 2006 July victory,” His eminence pointed out. Regarding domestic issues, Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted the pressing need for a sovereign fund in Lebanon, ensuring that the nation’s oil wealth becomes an asset for all Lebanese citizens, benefitting generations to come. He appealed to lawmakers to approach this matter with a sense of national and sovereign responsibility, citing the impending parliamentary session’s agenda that includes the proposed Sovereign Fund Law, the result of months of deliberation within pertinent parliamentary committees. “We hope that MPs will approach the issue of the sovereign fund, a proposal set on the agenda of the parliamentary session on Thursday, with a national and sovereign approach. The Sovereign Fund is an urgent need for Lebanon, so that the oil wealth will be secured to all the Lebanese and the future generation, as well.”
To the Stone Age
The enemy, Hezbollah’s leader affirmed, refrains from infringing on Lebanon’s rights due to their understanding that such attempts would elicit a robust response, thereby invoking regret.
“The enemy’s reluctance to undermine Lebanon’s entitlement to its natural resources stems from Lebanon’s formidable strength. Preserving Lebanon’s rights and safeguarding its oil wealth hinges on retaining the entirety of its power elements, most notably the potency of the resistance movement,” his eminence said. “The genuine guarantee to preserving Lebanon’s rights and its oil wealth is Lebanon’s preservation of all its power elements, foremost of which is the resistance,” Sayyed Nasrallah indicated, pointing that what prevents the enemy from diminishing Lebanon’s rights is that it knows well that any violation attempt will be met with a strong reaction that will make them regretful. Recalling the Israeli home front before 2006, His eminence said it was mostly spared from all wars, but the resistance in 2006 forced it to be part of the war. “After 2006, the Israelis added a fourth element to their ‘security doctrine’, that is defense and protection. After the 2006 war, Israelis were forced to look for missile interception systems and made a great effort and spent enormously. The most important thing on the ‘home front’ is the unwillingness of settlers and occupiers of this land to endure sacrifice and bear the consequences.”Hezbollah’s S.G. assured that since 2006, the Zionist army has started to decline and weaken, transitioning from aggression and initiation to a defensive posture. “Today, the Israeli army is in its worst condition compared to any time before. The enemy has switched from offensive mode to defensive mode.”
Affirming the ascendancy of the resistance axis, Sayyed Nasrallah remarked that “Israel” presently cloaks itself behind fortifications. He pointed to the lack of tangible ground gains, the fiasco of the attempted incursion into Gaza, and the assembly of combat units as testaments to this dynamic. He mused over the possibility of the Israeli army’s revival in the face of extensive years of rehabilitation and maneuvers. “Such a resurgence remains elusive, as attested by statements from retired and active Israeli generals and officials acknowledging the army’s challenging predicament.”“Since 2006, the Zionist military apparatus has steadily regressed, its vigor and potency waning. The enemy’s maneuvers to assess its home front’s readiness have yielded reports indicating inadequacy,” he went on to say.
Sayyed Nasrallah categorically stated that the Israeli present state is considerably weaker compared to the past, while the resistance and its axis have grown stronger. The battle’s evolution into an engagement involving the resistance axis, he asserted, would eliminate the viability of “Israel.” Sayyed Nasrallah conveyed the message that the Israeli leadership must acknowledge the gravity of the arena they inhabit, warning that any hostile actions towards Lebanon would thrust them into a regressive epoch akin to the Stone Age.
On Kahaleh Attack
Reverting to domestic affairs, Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the Kahaleh incident.
He clarified that the incident was ordinary, as trucks pass through there and accidents may occur, until one of the well-known TV channels incited people by saying that the truck was carrying arms intended for Hezbollah.
His eminence pointed that the vehicle’s overturning was due to a technical malfunction, a common occurrence on that route, where trucks routinely traverse.
Tensions ran high in Lebanon last week after an attack on Hezbollah servicemen who were securing a truck belonging to the resistance party on Kahaleh freeway that links between Bekaa and Beirut. “Over three hours, servicemen aided the driver and summoned a crane to rectify the situation,” he indicated. The contentious portrayal of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Kahaleh incident, Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed, stemmed from incitement rather than reality. He attributed the issue to those present at the accident site, indicating that the problem lay with them rather than the Kahaleh residents. “Some people presented the issue that Hezbollah attacked people of Kahaleh, while within 3 hours the servicemen were only dealing with the overturning of the truck accident, and nothing happened until after this TV channel instigated it,” His eminence said. “From the beginning, we thrived to deal with the issue with high level of wisdom, our problem is with attackers and not Kahaleh residents,” he added, calling on the judiciary to take full responsibility in its investigations towards the attack. “We have informed authorities of our readiness to fully cooperate,” he said, assuring that the investigation will reveal who attacked whom. Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the judiciary, saying: Had it not been for the media incitement carried out by this well-known malicious channel, Kahaleh attack would not have taken place. “The army’s arrival at the scene contributed to pacification but the incitement continued. Kahaleh incident reaffirmed that the army institution is the guarantor of security, peace and stability in this country, despite the fact that some people want to take over the army.”
However, Sayyed Nasrallah acknowledged the responsible positions adopted by various segments of society, particularly within the Christian community, to foster calm. He singled out President Michel Aoun’s stance, as well as that of other political forces.
“We laud the responsible positions issued, especially from some within the Christian community, calling for calm, including that of President Michel Aoun. We appreciate some political forces for defending the resistance, and thanks to those who called for calm and prudence,” he said. Turning to the martyrdom of Hezbollah serviceman Ahmad Qassas, who fell while defending the truck in Kahaleh, Sayyed Nasrallah said Martyr Qassas fell while defending the resistance, praising the “insightful and responsible” stance of his family.
Sayyed Nasrallah wondered why some parties are after fuming the fuel of civil war. “They are working on mobilization and incitement in more than one arena. Is it in the prime interest of Christians to go to civil war?” “In a civil war everyone loses, even the strong ones, because it drains everyone. Should it erupt in Lebanon, many countries will seek to stoke it, including ‘Israel’,” his eminence said. “Do you think that anyone in the world would intervene to stop civil war in Lebanon? Who are you betting on if you want to make a civil war? Are you betting on Israel, which is different than the Israel of 1982?” he wondered.
They aim to convince the Lebanese public that the solution in Lebanon is partition, however, this will not happen, Sayyed Nasrallah said.
Final Word
Also, on the local level, Sayyed Nasrallah said the dialogue with the Free Patriotic Movement is serious and positive, but added that it needs some time, as it needs consultations with some political forces. He regretted how some political forces do not want any dialogue between the Lebanese. “Rather, they want entrenchment, lineups and incitements,” he emphasized. Sayyed Nasrallah touched upon the step by the family of Mahdi Scouts member, who died in a car accident, to donate some of his organs, hailing it and calling on people to follow their step to save other people’s lives. “The family of Ali Sharafeddine embodied the culture of life and sacrifice, we are proud of them,” he said. He ended up saying, during his July victory’s 17th anniversary speech: Today, we find ourselves on an ascending trajectory, guided by a promising and expansive horizon. With resolute steps, we stride unwaveringly toward the ultimate triumph.

Hezbollah chief lashes back at Israel ‘stone age’ war threats
AFP/August 14, 2023
In a televised speech on Monday to mark the anniversary of the latest war in 2006 between Israel and the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said: “You too will be returned back to the stone age... if you go to war with Lebanon”
BEIRUT: The leader of Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said Monday his group could send Israel “back to the stone age,” in tit-for-tat threats following similar Israeli remarks as border tensions brew. During a tour of the Lebanese-Israeli border last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had threatened to send Lebanon “back to the stone age” should Hezbollah escalate tensions at the border. In a televised speech on Monday to mark the anniversary of the latest war in 2006 between Israel and the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said: “You too will be returned back to the stone age... if you go to war with Lebanon.”The comments come amid increased tensions along the border area between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war. South Lebanon, near the Israeli border, is a Hezbollah stronghold and the site of sporadic incidents and skirmishes.
Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction that kept its weapons after the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. It is considered a “terrorist” organization by many Western governments. Nasrallah said it would take “a few high-precision missiles” for his group to destroy targets including “civilian and military airports, air bases, power stations... and the Dimona (nuclear) power station.” If a future conflict “draws in the resistance axis... there will be no such thing called Israel anymore,” he said, referring to Hezbollah’s regional allies including some Palestinian factions and other Iran-backed groups. Nasrallah also urged calm days after a Hezbollah ammunition truck overturned in a town near Beirut, triggering deadly clashes between Christian residents and members of the Shiite Muslim group. One resident of Kahale and one Hezbollah member were killed by gunfire. Nasrallah blamed unnamed politicians for stoking intercommunal tensions and “driving the country toward civil war.” “Today my call is a call for reason,” he said addressing Lebanon’s Christian community. “The interest of Lebanon, the Lebanese people and the resistance is for calm to prevail in Lebanon.”The Lebanese army said it had seized the munitions from the truck after the incident in Kahale, a town in the mountains east of the Lebanese capital, on the road linking it to the Bekaa Valley bordering Syria.

Nasrallah blames MTV for Kahale clash, says some want civil war or partition
Naharnet/August 14/2023
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday blamed MTV, without naming it, for the deadly clash in the town of Kahale, as he warned that some political leaders and forces are “pushing the country to explosion and civil war.”“A known TV station sounded the alarm and incited the people after which a number of young men arrived and some brought weapons,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking the end of the 2006 war with Israel. “The investigation will reveal who attacked whom,” Nasrallah added, noting that Hezbollah is “fully ready” to cooperate with investigators. Nasrallah also called on the judiciary to address MTV’s coverage of the Kahale incident, apparently referring to the breaking news alerts sent by the channel’s mobile phone application. “Had it not been for the incitement of this known and malicious TV channel, the incidents at the Kahale curve would not have happened. The party to primarily blame for the possible repercussions of what could have happened in the country and the bloodshed is this malicious TV channel,” Nasrallah charged. He also said that there are political leaders, figures and forces in addition to some media outlets and “electronic armies” who are pushing the country to “explosion and civil war.”“These forces might be seeking to convince the Lebanese public opinion that the solution is partitioning (the country), but the Lebanese people will not allow partition,” Nasrallah added. “Who are you betting on if you want to make a civil war? Are you betting on Israel, which is different than the Israel of 1982?” Nasrallah asked. “Is it in the interest of Lebanon and Christians to go to civil war?” he wondered. Nasrallah also denied a media report claiming that the Kahale arms truck had been headed for the unrest-hit Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh. “The South is full of ammunition and we don't have to send ammunition to Ain el-Helweh from the Bekaa or Syria,” he said sarcastically. A Hezbollah member and a resident of Kahale, both of whom were armed, were killed in an exchange of gunfire after the truck flipped over on the international highway that passes through the town. The violence started after some residents learned that the truck belonged to Hezbollah. They surrounded it and demanded to know what was inside before a fistfight ensued between two individuals. Footage available online also shows Kahale residents hurling rocks at the overturned truck and its Hezbollah guards and the Hezbollah members brandishing weapons and shooting in the area. Another video shows a short-distance exchange of gunfire between Hezbollah members and Fadi Bejjani, the Kahale man who was killed in the violence. The identity of the individual who fired the first shot is still unclear.
Separately, Nasrallah said Hezbollah could send Israel "back to the stone age," in tit-for-tat threats following similar Israeli remarks. During a tour of the Lebanese-Israeli border last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had threatened to send Lebanon "back to the stone age" should Hezbollah escalate tensions at the border. Nasrallah said Monday: "You too will be returned back to the stone age... if you go to war with Lebanon." The comments come amid increased tensions along the border area between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war. Nasrallah said it would take "a few high-precision missiles" for his group to destroy targets including "civilian and military airports, airbases, power stations... and the Dimona (nuclear) power station." If a future conflict "draws in the resistance axis... there will be no such thing called Israel anymore," he said, referring to Hezbollah's regional allies including some Palestinian factions and other Iran-backed groups.

Hezbollah and the Rhetorical Coup in Lebanon
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 14/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/121203/121203/
There have always been, all over the world, political and ideological forces that give the magical connotation of words precedence over their conceptual connotation. For example, instead of saying: “Twenty people seized a military site,” they say: “The masses seized a military site,” and instead of saying: “Shots were fired at the demonstrators,” they say: “The demonstrators were massacred by gunfire.”Magical connotations, which are difficult to measure and impossible to prove, have a greater capacity to incite and mobilize crowds than truths and facts. They do so through natural or supernatural images that spark the collective imagination and keep the flame burning. The false narrative thus becomes enshrined, after having been enchanted, into the consciousness of those who are ready to believe it. And from this influx of false and enshrined rhetoric arises a charged and tense atmosphere that leaves lies treated as certain facts and then generalizes and circulates these “certainties.”The Lebanese who abide by reason and give the conceptual precedence over the magical, have memorized an entire list of terms whose meaning has been altered, either through exaggeration or total reversal, in order to achieve a mobilizational objective and create “certainty” around falsehoods. For example, in the fifties, President Camille Chamoun was called an “isolationist,” meaning that he wanted to isolate Lebanon from the Arab and Islamic worlds surrounding it. However, Chamoun had a close friendship with Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan..., while his animosity was directed only to Nasserite Egypt and its loyalist officers in Damascus.
The same argument was used against those who supported Iraq in its war with Iran in the 1980s. They were called “isolationists,” bearing in mind that the Syrian regime was the only Arab player to support Iran. The late politician Kamal Jumblatt named himself - and then others did so as well - the leader of the “Progressive Socialists,” despite being among the most conservative and traditional politicians in Lebanon. When he was Interior Minister in 1963, he banned the “twist,” which was very popular at the time, and ordered the French singer Johnny Hallyday’s expulsion from Lebanon. As for his “socialism,” it was rhetorical cover for extremely medieval and Sufi ideas and practices. Since the idea of federalism was put forward in Lebanon, the rhetorical mobilization machine presented it as a proposal tantamount to secession although the term literally means “union.”
Advocating federalism, as every political science student knows, means advocating the transition from a simple, centralized union into a complex and decentralized one. In any case, Hezbollah took this approach to language to an unprecedented peak. Like religious organizations in other countries, Hezbollah managed to claim the status of a party representing nothing less than God Himself. This bestows only humility on predecessors, parties that claimed to represent the working class or those that claimed to speak for the nation and the people...
Hezbollah also imported the Arab military and security regimes’ renowned narratives that transform defeats and calamities into shining victories.
Although it is both a religious and sectarian party, and although its top brass is limited to religious clerics, Hezbollah presents itself (and has found others present it) as the guarantor of national unity and a pivotal actor in the fight against sectarianism. On top of this, whenever it uses its arms domestically, the party stresses that its weapons are not for domestic use, and as it displaces Syrians and pushes them into Lebanon, it emphasizes that it is standing up to “takfiri terrorism” coming from Syria. Although the state’s monopoly on the means of violence is part of any definition of the modern state, Hezbollah presents itself (and found others to present it) as a pivotal partner of the state and an ally of its army.
However, the most significant thing Hezbollah did to destroy meaning is appoint itself the protector and liberator of Lebanon, as well as the guarantor of its dignity and civil peace. The fact is that Lebanon had not seen, at any point in its modern history, the kind of oppression, poverty, and humiliation that pervade across the country under the shadow of the resistance today. This state of affairs is supplemented by the breakdown of relations among its people and between its sects - a breakdown that renders civil war a hallmark of Lebanese life, from Ain Ebel in the South, to Kahhala in the mountains, to extremely tense points of friction in the rural Jbeil and the far North.
The misery is exacerbated by the fact that, especially in our region, this is a time in which public opinion and people who think are totally disregarded. Thus, for example, the Secretary General of “Asaib Ahl al-Haq” in Iraq, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, can declare that the Israeli Mossad was behind the killing of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, a statement made three days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claimed that his father Hafez did not have a hand in his accession to the presidency, a position he claimed to have reached through his own work within the party and personal effort alone.
The corpses of the communists who established notorious despotic regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and called them “people’s democracies” are probably rolling in their graves in envy of the pioneers of this linguistic coup in our region, at the forefront of which is Hezbollah.

In Lebanon, ‘Love of Life’ Reinforces a Culture of Death
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/August 14/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/121199/121199/
The third anniversary of the Beirut port blast was uneventful and failed to rise to the occasion. This was evident in both the turnout and the speeches and testimonies that were delivered. Most of them were mundane and monotonous, rehashing the same talking points, providing an assessment of the crisis, and denouncing the regime. This is not to belittle the relentless efforts that the victims’ families have exerted over the past three years, through the media, their persistent demands for justice, and their unyielding drive to uncover the truth and prosecute those responsible.
Another striking negative aspect of the occasion was that it reflected waning public enthusiasm for doing their duty to the victims’ families, especially since the investigation has been stalled for three years now. This is largely reflective of the way in which the Lebanese have typically responded to the series of crimes the country has witnessed over the years, all of which remain unsolved.
The reactions to the series of assassinations that rocked the country over the past few decades, from the killing of Marouf Saad in Sidon just a month before the civil war broke, to Lokman Slim’s assassination last year, are all infuriating. Indeed, the responses to these crimes seem to suggest that the citizens of Lebanon have become accustomed to disregarding accountability, allowing the perpetrator to remain free, and settling for mere complaints, condemnation, and insults hurled at officials.
It’s said that wars, especially civil wars, hinder accountability for assassinations and facilitate impunity. This argument could explain the impunity for crimes committed during the civil war, including the assassinations of a President, Prime Minister, a Grand Mufti, and several other religious and political figures. But what about the crimes committed after the war ended, especially those committed since 2005? These include the earthshaking assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and those with him on his convoy, and the subsequent series of killings that culminated in the port blast, the largest non-nuclear explosion in the world that hit a third of the capital. The answer is simple: the Lebanese have been domesticated and are now conditioned to accept ignorance of who was responsible.
We can add to what our colleague Hazem Saghieh wrote on these pages about the binary choice between “either justice or resistance,” that the Lebanese have come to prefer the illusion of stability over justice and accountability. This inclination is justified by resilience, adaptability at times, and a love for life that contrast with a culture of death and personal and sectarian interests at others. The endurance of this approach or mindset might help explain the persistence of the war, be it active or latent, for over four decades, allowing all kinds of killers and criminals to go on committing their crimes time and again.
The anniversary of the port explosion opens both old and new wounds. It reflects the fact that the majority of Lebanon’s citizens have given up on accountability in favor of fleeing stability and short-term interests. This mindset was glaringly obvious over the summer, as the tourism sector was visibly reinvigorated as thousands of expatriates and Lebanese working overseas flocked to parties and concerts. While these events are meant to showcase the joys of life, they come off as provocative and tone-deaf.
The media also did its part to push in this direction. To observers both near and far, the impression it conveyed was that the country was thriving. The entire country seemed to be reduced to the coastal city of Batroun, the mountainous Faqra, and a few streets in the capital. A woman, perhaps a political activist, summed up this state of affairs very nicely as she spoke to a television broadcaster about the reconstruction of some areas in the capital after the blast. She stated that revitalizing these neighborhoods after their restoration, which allowed for the reopening of their cafes, restaurants, and hotel, allows Lebanese youths to remain in their homeland and creates a bulwark against migration.
No sane person could deny the importance of these spaces, especially in a country like Lebanon, where both domestic and international tourism plays a role in the economy. They also help portray an image of a Lebanon that is open to the world and a global tourist hub. Nonetheless, this sentiment also reflects a detachment from the grim reality of the country’s bankruptcy, the evisceration of citizens’ bank depositors, and the lack of infrastructure, electricity, and water, as well as the fealty of Lebanon’s industrial and agricultural sectors, and the decline in education, healthcare, and other services, which at the very least, are now lagging behind those of our Arab neighbors. This does not even touch upon the deterioration of the political situation, the hegemony of militias, foreign influence over decision-making, constitutional and public institutions collapsing one after another, the country’s rampant corruption, and the systematic obstruction of justice.
Our objective is not to promote the culture of Hezbollah, which is relentlessly pushing for a major shift in Lebanon; indeed, Mohammed Raad, the head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, once openly called for changing the image of Lebanon from that of a country of hotels and nightclubs to a “Lebanon of resistance.” However, it’s not tenable or prudent to sweep the dirt under the rug either. We cannot ignore the crisis, especially its political and security implications. We cannot keep papering over it with seasonal and temporary festivities and nightlife, which could easily collapse at the slightest local or regional security or political incident.
The infighting in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp and its aftermath, which included Gulf countries calling on their citizens to leave Lebanon and prohibiting them from traveling to it, and the events that followed the accident of a Hezbollah-owned truck loaded with weapons and ammunition in the town of Kahaleh near Beirut, which cost the lives of two citizens, are two cases in point.
The Gulf stance could be interpreted in many ways. However, it is probably a political message to all Lebanese political factions. “Enough.” The Gulf will only return to Lebanon if it witnesses genuine political changes.
The Lebanese tragedy that has been ongoing since the 70s goes beyond the country’s rulers and officials to encompass individuals and communities. Despite their gravity, the events that we have witnessed have not prompted the Lebanese to change the equation, as the public has not pressured the political factions and those in power to do so.
The problem now is that the Lebanese have become accustomed to impunity because of their prioritization of personal interests, swift gains, selfishness, individualism, sectarianism, and regionalism. The prevailing atmosphere is one of fragmentation, schisms, denial, and lies. One of its manifestations, which has become repugnant, is the claim that Lebanese are clinging to their love of life, when in reality, they are actually promoting a culture of death.

Understandings of "Hezbollah" and the Israeli army
Sawsan Al-Shaer/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 14/2023 (google Translation)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/121208/121208/
The event in the “Kahala” region claimed the lives of young men from the region, and then resulted in an attempt to assassinate the Lebanese Minister of Defense, which indicates that the understandings between “Hezbollah” and the Lebanese army are on the brink of a hole, and that there is no appreciation for any Lebanese national symbol. On the contrary, there is appreciation and respect. Between "Hezbollah" and the Israeli army, which led to the stability and respect of the agreements!! When a Hezbollah truck loaded with weapons and explosives overturned, and the people of the area intervened to help the passengers, clashes broke out between them and Hezbollah men to prevent them from interfering, so the army intervened, cordoned off the area and confiscated the shipment!
I wish the demarcation of the borders between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army would guarantee safety for the Lebanese people as it guaranteed it for the Israeli people, instead of threatening them with weapons around their necks, threatening them with assassinations at times, and with explosions that would take dozens, or even hundreds, at other times.
The understandings between “Hezbollah” and the Israeli army are very clear and public, at least on the Israeli side, the latest of which was the statement of the army’s spokesperson, Daniel Hijri, in an interview with Army Radio, saying that he does not want the citizens to enter into a state of pressure, because the army is making extraordinary efforts to protect their security. He said that not every provocation of "Hezbollah" drags the army. He gave an example of the tent set up by Hezbollah on the border, and said: "Yes, this is a provocation, but not to the point of starting a war because of it." Rather, he counted it as a marginal threat! Then he added that the Israeli army "is doing everything in its power to prevent war."
There is no guarantee for “Hezbollah” more than this guarantee, especially since there is an agreement demarcating the maritime borders to share the Karish field, in which “Hezbollah” recognized Israel as a counterpart to the Lebanese side, after it had been claiming all along that it did not and would not recognize the Israeli entity. And here is Israel, on the other hand, confirming that it does not want war and will not be dragged into war! This means that the "provocations" carried out by "Hezbollah" do not constitute a real threat, but rather a marginal one, as described by the official spokesman of the Israeli army, which means that Israel views the "Lebanese resistance" as a marginal threat.
And since there is calm and declared guarantees from the Israeli side on the Lebanese-Israeli borders between the two sides of the equation; “Hezbollah” on the one hand, and the Israeli army on the other, because this could not have happened, had it not been for the “mutual” guarantees, that is, a corresponding guarantee from “Hezbollah” that it would not start a war with Israel, and there is no evidence of these guarantees more than avoiding Hezbollah has clearly accused Israel of the Beirut port explosion, which is the most logical and popular theory, because it knows that direct accusation of Israel will require consequences and a reaction, which it does not want.
All the statements made by the party’s officials were devoid of direct accusation, including that statement in August 2020 in which he hinted from afar of Israel’s responsibility, but he left a line of return when a “if” condition was set for him, so the Secretary-General of “Hezbollah” said. Hassan Nasrallah, to talk about the hypothesis that Israel was behind the explosion, vowing to hold it accountable “if” its involvement in the explosion is proven, and warning that political forces are putting Lebanon on the brink of civil war. How will this condition be proven, while it is still interfering with the progress of the investigation into the port bombing, even after two years have passed?!!
The difference between the calmness of the Israeli front and Hezbollah, and between the Hezbollah front and the Lebanese people is very large, which reflects Hezbollah's respect for its agreements with the Israeli army, and the opposite with the Lebanese army. Who is resisting Hezbollah? !!

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 14-15/2023
Gunman in southern Iran kills 1, wounds 8 at prominent Shiite shrine
Associated Press/August 14, 2023
A gunman has opened fire at a prominent shrine in southern Iran, killing one person and wounding eight others in an attack that followed another assault there months earlier, authorities said. fficials offered no immediate motive for the attack in the city of Shiraz at Shah Cheragh, which draws Shiite pilgrims to its domed mosque and the tomb of a prominent member of the faith from its earliest days. owever, Iran has faced attacks in the past from the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group, who view Shiites as heretics. Iran also faces lingering unrest and economic turmoil amid tensions with the West. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ismail Qezelsofla, a deputy governor for security in the country's Fars province, as offering the casualty toll. Fars province Gov. Mohammad Hadi Imanieh told Iranian state television that a single gunman carried out the attack and later was detained by security forces. He did not offer any motive for the attack in his brief comments. Footage after the attack showed security forces surround one entrance to the then-deserted courtyard of Shah Cheragh at sunset. Ambulances later took away the wounded as security forces and government officials reached the shrine. Shah Cheragh is one of Iran's top five Shiite shrines. It draws pilgrims to Shiraz, which is some 675 kilometers (420 miles) south of Iran's capital, Tehran. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack Sunday night comes after an October 2022 attack on the same shrine killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others. The Islamic State group claimed the assault, which Iran said had been carried out by a man from Tajikistan, who later died in a hospital after succumbing to injuries he suffered while being detained by security forces. Iran has backed Syria's embattled Bashar Assad during his country's civil war. It also fought Islamic State fighters both there and in Iraq. The worst assault from Islamic State militants in Iran came in a June 2017 attack that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50 in Tehran as its gunmen stormed parliament and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's mausoleum. Khomeini led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah to become Iran's first supreme leader until his death in 1989.

Cairo summit: Arab nations engage in high-stakes talks on Syrian issue
LBCI/August 14, 2023
In a significant development, foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, along with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, will come together in Cairo, marking the first such gathering since May 2022. This meeting aims to discuss the pressing issue of the ongoing Syrian crisis. This Arab committee was formed after the consultative meeting in Amman regarding Syria and its return to the Arab League. The committee's primary objective is to establish direct communication with the Syrian government in order to seek a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis, addressing its humanitarian, security, and political ramifications. The approach follows the principle of step-by-step progress, aligned with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, which supports a Syrian-led, UN-facilitated political process, fair elections, and the formulation of a new constitution. Diplomatic sources have hinted to LBCI that the normalization of relations between Arab countries and Syria might not be proceeding as smoothly as anticipated, an Arab diplomatic source in Cairo, speaking to the Syrian government-affiliated newspaper Al-Watan, refuted rumors surrounding challenges in Syrian-Saudi relations. The source emphasized that Riyadh remains committed to ensuring Syria's return to the Arab League is substantial, not just symbolic and that the Arab countries play a pivotal role in supporting Syria. urthermore, the source affirmed a positive atmosphere leading to the Arab committee meeting on Syria. ccording to LBCI's sources, senior officials and permanent representatives to the Arab League met on Monday at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. This meeting took place before the ministerial-level Arab committee gathering and was also preceded by a separate meeting of the Arab committee without Syria.Ultimately, will this ministerial committee meeting invigorate discussions on the Syrian crisis, addressing its humanitarian, security, and political dimensions?

Three leaders blast Israel over chaos and violence in West Bank
Arab News/August 14, 2023
CAIRO: The leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine accused Israel on Monday of fueling chaos and violence in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. The condemnation came at the end of a summit in the northern Egyptian city of Alamein that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The three accused Israel of a number offenses against Palestinians, including incursions by Israeli soldiers in Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and illegally withholding Palestinian money. They rejected any attempts to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally or spatially, and they intend to continue their efforts with the main international powers and parties interested in peace to revive a serious peace process. They also condemned the violation of the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem. In the final communique of the meeting, the two presidents and the king said a “just and comprehensive solution” to the Palestinian cause was the key to stability in the region. The past months have been one of the deadliest periods for years in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel’s new far-right extremist government, formed last December, has adopted a hard-line approach to the Palestinians. In January it withheld $39 million from the Palestinian Authority and transferred the funds instead to a compensation program for the families of Israeli victims of Palestinian militant attacks. Egypt hosted Monday’s summit to discuss the Palestinian cause in light of developments in the occupied Palestinian Territory and the related regional and international conditions. The three leaders said resolving the Palestinian issue and achieving a just and comprehensive peace was a strategic choice, a regional and international necessity, and a matter of international peace and security.

Israel's Netanyahu cools censure of protesting reservists as judicial crisis simmers
Dan Williams/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/Mon, August 14, 2023
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered Israeli military reservists protesting against his judicial overhaul plan a nominal olive branch, cooling his earlier censure of them as concerns for the country's war-readiness mount. Protest leaders say thousands of reservists have stopped reporting for duty. Among them are hundreds of air force pilots or navigators whose absence from weekly refresher flights means that by next month they may no longer qualify for combat. As Israel faces potential flare-ups with Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinians, Netanyahu raged, in a cabinet recording leaked to a TV station on July 12, against what he deemed "insubordination" that threatened military capabilities. The protesters have bristled at the term, noting that many of the reservists are designated as volunteers and arguing that their no-shows were a last resort to defend Israeli democracy. Convening the top brass for consultations on the crisis late on Sunday, Netanyahu changed his language somewhat, saying in a statement he "utterly rejected the phenomenon of conditional reserve duty". "Brothers in Arms", a reservist protester group, seemed unmoved by the gesture, accusing Netanyahu of playing down risks to military readiness. The seeping of the reform furore into the armed forces, which Israelis long viewed as an apolitical melting pot, could be exacerbated by an unprecedented showdown among branches of government next month. The Supreme Court will on Sept. 12 hear arguments against a bill limiting some of its powers to void government decisions, which was ratified in a parliament controlled by Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition.
'LIMITED' IMPACT
Netanyahu has been hazy on whether he would heed a ruling against the law. He has argued that the court meddles in his mandate and reminded the military that, in a democracy, it is subordinate to the elected government. Such debating was akin to "dancing on the deck of the Titanic", Amos Gilad, a retired Israeli military intelligence general and regional analyst, told Army Radio on Monday, referring to perceptions of the country as vulnerable to its foes. The military has so far acknowledged a "limited" impact from the reservist protest, citing the loss of some veteran instructors from the air force's flight school. It has also said more than half of crews that take part in bombing runs in Syria and elsewhere are reservists, signalling the possible impact of the protest on ongoing combat operations. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi declined to expand on Israel's military readiness in an Army Radio interview. "There are matters to which our enemies' ears should not be exposed. As of now, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) can handle its missions and the goal is to put this matter behind us," he said.

Palestinian gunmen say they're fighting for Jenin, not foreign backers
Ali Sawafta, James Mackenzie and Suleiman Al-Khalidi/JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) /Mon, August 14, 2023/Sitting in a bullet-scarred building in the city of Jenin, two fighters from Islamic Jihad - a militant group funded by Iran - celebrated what they said was a victory for Palestinians over the biggest Israeli operation in the West Bank in decades. Israeli commanders said the two-day incursion in Jenin last month succeeded in seizing weapons and smashing infrastructure used by fighters funded by Iran, who use a crowded refugee camp - where thousands live packed into an area of less than half a square kilometre - as a base to attack and kill Israelis. Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Aug. 7 that Iran was trying to "draw a ring around our neck" through militant groups like Islamic Jihad and Hamas in the West Bank and its proxy Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. While the fighters make no secret of the fact money comes from Iran, for them, the battle is a local one, fuelled by anger over the Israeli occupation, and they show no interest in the broader geopolitical issues, according to dozens of conversations with fighters and sympathisers in Jenin. "We are sons of Jenin," said one of the Islamic Jihad fighters, who identified himself as Abu Salah. A thin, bearded 36-year-old, dressed in black athletic gear and trainers, he said fighters felt they had no alternative. "We are surrounded and we are under siege. We have no choice but to fight." "It's true that Islamic Jihad is the main faction but the more important thing is that we are sons of Jenin," he said, sitting amid chunks of masonry and burned-out cooking gas canisters used as improvised bombs during the Israeli incursion. Islamic Jihad is a Palestinian faction sworn to destroying Israel and replacing it with an Islamic state. "Our goal is close to Islamic Jihad but the motivation is from Jenin," the fighter said. For over a year, there has been turmoil in the West Bank, a kidney shaped area about 100 km (60 miles) long and 50 km wide that has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since it was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Hundreds of Palestinians, mostly fighters but many civilians as well, have been killed in Israeli raids since the latest wave of violence erupted in early 2022. In the same period, dozens of Israelis have been killed in shootings, stabbings or car-ramming attacks by Palestinians. Israeli officials repeatedly accuse Iran of funding militant groups in the West Bank as one element in a multipronged campaign that includes attacks against Israelis abroad, funding for Hezbollah and a programme to build a nuclear weapon. Many Palestinians see the charge as a means of shifting the focus from Israel's occupation of the West Bank, and the expansion of settlement building, which most of the world considers to be illegal, especially since the election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.
'HIT AND MISS'
Jenin, a traditional hub of Palestinian resistance to Israel, has provided a fertile arena for the interests of Iranian security officials, shadowy financiers and competing Palestinian factions to meet. Nominally under the control of the Palestinian Authority, the body set up some 30 years ago under the Oslo peace accords, Jenin is an increasingly lawless space where PA officials sit behind the high walls of the governor's compound, unable to do much more than protest Israeli raids. "This is an area without a government," said Mahmoud Al-Saadi, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin, who has worked there for decades. According to the Israeli military, about 25% of families there are affiliated with Islamic Jihad, which receives about 90% of its funding came from Iran, amounting to "several tens of millions of dollars" a year, an Israeli official said. Many of the Palestinian attackers who have killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank came from the area. Tamir Hayman, managing director of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, and a former head of Israel's military intelligence directorate, said Iran was unable to exert much direct control over what happens to its money. "Iran is spending a lot of money in the West Bank but they aren't able to target it precisely or get terror operatives to do exactly what they want so it's a bit hit and miss," he said. "They send in money by encouraging smugglers and smuggling through criminal gangs or whatever and have to hope that a large enough amount gets through to the Jenin camp and other places to make a difference." Asked if Iran trains and provides monetary and other support to Islamic Jihad, Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York said in an email: "Our assistance to Palestinian resistance groups is provided upon their request. It is the international obligation of all states to empower and defend these groups against occupation and resist Israeli occupying forces." Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said it was no secret the movement received Iranian support but that there was "no direct connection between Iran and what's happening in Jenin or elsewhere".
'ALWAYS WAYS'
Surveys show overwhelming public support among Palestinians for armed groups as raids have stepped up and Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian villages have become more brazen. "If we didn't have the support of the families here, we wouldn't survive an hour," said Abu Salah. According to a survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 71% of Palestinians support armed groups such as the Jenin Brigade, an umbrella group that includes factions like Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and the "Den of Lions" in the nearby city of Nablus. But as Israel's relations have improved with the wealthy Gulf states that have traditionally funded the Palestinian cause, an important source of money for the militant groups has dried up. That's the gap Iran has sought to fill. Israel's intelligence services make moving funds difficult but criminal gangs and unscrupulous businessmen - "who gain from high commissions and do not want to know why they are being paid triple" - provide an opening, said a senior Islamist official based outside the Palestinian Territories who has first hand knowledge of the mechanisms used to move money. "There are always ways to get in support even if it can appear near impossible - they even get it from Israeli smugglers," he said. While security officials say they have seen a recent increase in smuggling of weapons and drugs, Israeli officials and militant groups say Iranian support also comes from more sophisticated money transfers. Sometimes the transfers involve criminals and sometimes legitimate or semi-legitimate businesses help to move funds to the West Bank, the militant sources said.
NO QUESTIONS ASKED
Typically, transfers involve legitimate foreign currency letters of credit, or orders for a variety of imported goods, usually at inflated valuations, from garments to toys to shoes and household items mainly from China, four sources familiar with the mechanism said. "They don't ask questions but the deal is that they hand over part of that money to a respected businessman whom we deal with and who passes it over to our military operative," a senior Islamic Jihad source said. Anywhere between a quarter to a third of the value of these transactions is passed in cash to businessmen Islamic Jihad trust and who get the money to the militant group, often using family ties to help keep the transfers covert, the source said. Automatic rifles, such as M16s, can cost $30,000 and, in an area of chronic unemployment, regular fighters say they can earn $300 to $700 a month from the Iranian-backed group.
Much of the weaponry used by the Jenin fighters comes from Israel itself, stolen and sold on through criminal gangs, Israeli officials say. Some is smuggled across the Jordanian border, and some is improvised in local workshops. For the young men in the camps, inspired by the posters of martyred fighters that plaster public spaces, the origin of the money that pays for the weapons is of little concern. "It's well known that outside funds come from Islamic Jihad," said another fighter, from the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, the faction founded in the 1950s by Yasser Arafat, which now runs the Palestinian Authority. "We don't care who brings the funds to us."

Chinese Defense Minister to visit Russia despite West's objections
Associated Press/August 14, 2023
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu is visiting Russia and Belarus in a show of support for those nations which the West has sought to isolate over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Li departed Monday on the six-day trip, during which he will deliver an address at the Moscow Conference on International Security and meet with defense leaders from Russia and other nations, the Defense Ministry said on its social media account, citing spokesperson Col. Wu Qian. Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov is due to speak at the conference on the topic of the "Majority World countries' search for ways to development outside Western mechanisms, including strengthening multilateral associations of a new type," Russia's official TASS news agency reported. It said representatives from about 100 countries and eight international organizations had been invited to attend. The would "discuss various aspects of security in the conditions of the establishment of a multipolar world order, ways to restore constructive international cooperation in the context of aggressive claims by Euro-Atlantic elites for world domination," it said, quoting the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying. Li's attendance underscores the drive by China and Russia to align their foreign policies in a bid to undermine the Western-led liberal-democratic world order, despite their economic and reputational costs. That will be followed by a visit to close Russian ally Belarus, whose territory was partly used to stage last year's invasion. While there, he will hold meetings and talks with Belarussian state and military leaders and visit military facilities, the ministry said. China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but has accused the U.S. and its allies of provoking Russia and has maintained robust economic, diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow. China has reliably backed Russia in opposing U.S. condemnation of the Ukraine invasion in international forums, but says it won't provide arms to either side in the war. Li, who is barred from visiting the U.S. over arms sales he oversaw with Russia, visited Russia just last month to reaffirm military relations in the first formal military talks between the friendly neighbors since a short-lived mutiny by Russian mercenary group Wagner. Last month also saw a pair of Russian navy ships visit China and hold a series of joint drills. In contrast to his close ties with Russia, Li has shunned all contact with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, turning down a meeting with him at a recent forum in Singapore and refusing to take his phone call following the recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has crossed the continental U.S. That's believed to be an outcome of the U.S. sanctions against him, the balloon incident, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan that China claims as its own territory, disputes over China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea and an ongoing row over over trade and technology.

Ukraine says ousted Russian forces near Bakhmut, south
Agence France Presse/August 14, 2023
The Ukrainian military on Monday said it had pushed Russian forces out of pockets of territory along front lines in the east and south of the country, building on a gruelling counter-offensive launched two months ago. The gains -- announced by Ukraine's deputy defense minister -- came as Russia claimed its forces had progressed in the eastern Kharkiv region, undermining Kyiv's highly anticipated campaign. Ukraine kicked off its counter-offensive against Russian forces in June after building up assault battalions and stockpiling Western-donated weapons. But Kyiv has acknowledged that movement against heavily fortified Russian positions has been slow and said it had gained only a clutch of land around the war-battered city of Bakhmut last week.
"In the Bakhmut sector, three square kilometers (1.2 square miles) were liberated last week," Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar told state television, adding that Ukrainian forces had clawed back 40 square kilometres there since June. She explained that Ukrainian forces had been diverted from offensive operations around the town -- captured by Russian forces in May -- citing building Russian pressure in the Kharkiv region. "It was important for the enemy to divert our forces in other directions, so we could not concentrate our forces for the offensive in the Bakhmut sector," Malyar said.
Crossing the Dnipro
Ukrainian forces have also been pressing against deeply entrenched Russian forces in the south of the country, in two regions the Kremlin said it had annexed last year. Malyar said Kyiv's army had made gains in two villages on the southern front but also confirmed Ukrainian troops had conducted "certain tasks" on the left bank of the Dnipro river in the Kherson region. The river was rendered the de facto front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the region after Kyiv recaptured the territory's main city, also called Kherson, in November. Ukraine has urged its Western allies to ramp up arms deliveries, including long-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets to speed up its offensive. That was the message Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said he took to his meeting with Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who arrived in Kyiv on Monday. "I emphasised that Ukraine is in dire need of the necessary armaments. These are air defense systems and long-range weapons," Klitschko wrote on social media. Ukraine's claims of advances in the east came after its air force said it downed several waves of Russian missiles and drones targeting Odesa, the latest in a string of attacks in the southern region on the Black Sea coast.
'Endangering' Black Sea shipping -
Air defense forces repelled all the attacks but falling debris damaged a student dormitory and a supermarket in Odesa's city centre, wounding three workers, the army said. "The blast wave damaged windows and balconies in several buildings and damaged cars parked nearby", it said, adding that firefighters were battling two blazes. Images shared by the army showed firefighters trying to extinguish flames engulfing a multi-storey supermarket, with a large plume of smoke rising into the air. Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in the Black Sea since Moscow exited a deal last month that had granted Kyiv's grain exports safe passage during the conflict. Since withdrawing from the agreement, Moscow has pounded ports in the Odesa region that were key for Ukrainian grain exports under the deal. The overnight missile and drone attacks come a day after Moscow said warning shots were fired from a Russian warship at a cargo vessel heading towards Izmail, a city on the Danube river in Odesa. The Russian ship spotted the Sukru Okan cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Palau and fired the shots after its captain did not respond to demands to stop. After inspection, the cargo ship was allowed to continue its journey. "These actions exemplified Russia's deliberate policy of endangering the freedom of navigation and safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea," Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Monday, accusing Moscow of breaching United Nations accords and norms of international law. Russia struck port infrastructure in Izmail, one of the main export routes for Ukrainian agricultural products to neighboring Romania.

Russia loses 40th Ka-52 Alligator, which the Kremlin calls the world's 'best helicopter gunship'
Rebecca Rommen/ Insider/August 14, 2023
Russia has lost 40 of its best attack helicopters.
The Kremlin bills the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator as the "world's best helicopter gunship." Russia's total confirmed helicopter losses are now at 101. The independent monitoring group Oryx, which only counts combat losses confirmed through open sources, says that Russia has lost 40 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator helicopters. These mounting losses come despite the Kremlin billing the Alligator as the "world's best helicopter gunship," the Kyiv Post reports. The outlet also reported that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Kyiv's forces took out a 40th Alligator helicopter near Robotyne on Monday, August 7. It brings the total confirmed helicopter losses to 101. Oryx figures indicate that 88 were destroyed, 12 were damaged, and one was captured. Ukraine claims it has destroyed over 300 Russian helicopters. The Alligator's 30mm cannon, anti-tank missiles, counter-rotating rotors, and "smart" targeting systems have significantly disrupted Ukraine's ground forces and helped hamper the summer counteroffensive's progress. In June, Insider's Ryan Pickrell wrote that the Ka-52 Alligators were "emerging as a threat to Ukraine's ground forces that must be quickly engaged with air-defense missiles before they can eliminate its heavy armor, such as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles." While some military experts say the US Apache helicopter is superior to the Ka-52, the Russian weapon is without a doubt highly rated. In its review of the top nine attack helicopters, Military-Today.com wrote: "The Ka-52 is one of the fastest and most maneuverable attack helicopters due to its two coaxial contra-rotating main rotors. Armor of this gunship withstands hits from 23 mm projectiles. Pilots are seated in ejection seats."Each attack helicopter has a crew of two and costs upwards of $16 million. Man-portable air-defense systems, including American-made Stingers, have been among the most effective weapons at killing Ka-52 crews, Forbes reported. Stocks of the Stinger, a hand-held antiaircraft missile, are reportedly at critically low levels following limited production in the US and over a year of deliveries to Ukraine.

Russia Downs 20 Drones Over Crimea Following a Spate of Attacks on Moscow
KYIV, UkraineAP/ August 14, 2023/Russia thwarted an attack by 20 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. Fourteen drones were shot down by Russian air defenses and a further six were jammed electronically, the ministry said in a Telegram post. No casualties or damage were reported. Kyiv officials neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine’s involvement in the attacks. As videos circulated on Russian social media Saturday appearing to show smoke rising above a bridge linking Russia to Crimea, the annexed peninsula’s Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov, reported that Russian air defense had also prevented an attack there by shooting down two Ukrainian missiles. The bridge was not damaged, he said, although traffic was briefly halted. An adviser to Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, claimed that “a smoke screen was put up by special services.”Russia's Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the attempted attack on the Crimean bridge. The ministry said in a statement that such “barbaric actions” by the Armed Forces of Ukraine “will not go unanswered.”Shortly after reporting the downing of the two Ukrainian missiles, Aksyonov said Russian air defense had shot down another missile over the Kerch Strait. The bridge connecting Crimea and Russia across the Kerch Strait carries heavy significance for Moscow, both logistically and psychologically, as a key artery for military and civilian supplies and as an assertion of Kremlin control of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014. Last week, a Ukrainian sea drone hit a Russian tanker near the bridge, while an attack on the bridge last month killed a couple and seriously wounded their daughter, leaving a span of the roadway hanging perilously. The damage appeared to be less severe than that caused by an assault in October, but it again highlighted the bridge’s vulnerability. The attempted drone and missile attacks follow three consecutive days of drone attacks on the Russian capital, Moscow. Firing drones at Russia, after more than 17 months of war, has little apparent military value for Ukraine but the strategy has served to unsettle Russians and bring home to them the conflict’s consequences. Drone attacks have increased in recent weeks both on Moscow and on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — a move that most of the world considered illegal. Elsewhere, Russia claimed Saturday it had regained control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s easternmost Luhansk region in an overnight counterattack. A 73-year-old woman was killed early Saturday morning in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, according to regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. Ukrainian internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko said a police officer was killed and 12 people wounded when a guided Russian aerial bomb hit the city of Orikhiv in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region. Four of the wounded were also police officers, he said. In the neighboring Kherson province, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said that two people were wounded in Russian attacks on Saturday. A 70-year-old was wounded when a shell hit a residential building in the village of Ponyativka, while a man, 72, was hurt when a drone dropped explosives on the village of Odradokamyanka. A 70-year-old man was wounded when a shell hit a residential building in the village of Ponyativka, while a 72-Local officials said explosions rang out Saturday morning in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, but that there were no known casualties. On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, the city of Odesa opened several beaches for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said that six beaches were open, but he stressed that accessing beaches during air raid alerts was forbidden. The strategic port and key hub for exporting grain has been subject to repeated missile and drone attacks — particularly since Moscow canceled a landmark grain deal last month amid Kyiv’s grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories — while Russian mines have regularly washed up on the city’s beaches.

UAE denies sending weapons to Sudan war
Agence France Presse/August 14, 2023
The United Arab Emirates has denied a report claiming weapons were found in its aid shipments to refugees of the Sudan war, arguing it "does not take sides" in the conflict. Fighting since April 15 between the forces of rival Sudanese generals vying for power has killed at least 3,900 people, according to conservative estimates by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Observers say that both army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are supported by foreign powers, with neighbouring Egypt backing Burhan and the UAE providing support for Daglo. In a statement on Sunday, UAE foreign ministry communications director Afra Al Hameli said "the UAE has not supplied arms and ammunition to any of the warring parties in Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict". A report on Thursday by US publication the Wall Street Journal cited officials in Uganda who said they had discovered weapons on an Emirati aid flight to Sudanese refugees in Chad on June 2. Hameli "expressed the UAE's categorical refutation of the claims and allegations in the story", the statement said. "The UAE does not take sides in the current conflict engulfing Sudan, and seeks an end to the conflict and calls for respecting Sudan's sovereignty." According to the Wall Street Journal, "instead of the food and medical supplies listed on the aircraft's manifest, Ugandan officials said they found dozens of green plastic crates in the plane's cargo hold filled with ammunition, assault rifles and other small arms". The Ugandan officials told the newspaper the Emirati plane, stopping in Entebbe on the way to its final destination, "was allowed to continue its trip to Amdjarass International Airport in eastern Chad". The officials later "received orders from their superiors to stop inspecting flights stopping over from the UAE", according to the report. The four-month conflict in Sudan has displaced nearly four million people, according to UN figures. Since the fighting erupted, the oil-rich UAE has sent aid including medications and has also helped to evacuate foreigners, official news agency WAM noted.

New battles in Khartoum and Darfur, Sudan
AFP/August 14, 2023
Battles erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday, a conflict that has been ongoing for four months in various areas of Khartoum and the Darfur region, according to residents. These residents reported hearing "intense airstrikes and powerful explosions" in the capital. In southern Darfur, witnesses informed Agence France-Presse that residents awoke to "the sounds of artillery and continued fleeing from the city," which is under attack by the RSF forces. A medical source from Nyala, the second-largest city in Sudan, stated to Agence France-Presse, "Despite difficulties in reaching Nyala Hospital due to the shelling, we received 66 injured on Sunday, six of whom have since died." Darfur, a region that witnessed a civil war in the early years of this century, is considered a stronghold of the Rapid Support Forces. The battles have been concentrated in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, where "crimes against humanity" are believed to have occurred, according to the United Nations. Multiple sources have reported massacres against civilians and ethnically motivated assassinations, which are suspected to be carried out by the Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias. On the other side of the border, in the town of Adré in eastern Chad, "more than 358,000 refugees have arrived" since the conflict began on April 15, according to Médecins Sans Frontières. The non-governmental organization expressed concern about these camps, which "are not equipped to receive all the people being transported there. Consequently, they are exposed to the sun and rain, lack sufficient food and water, and even cooking equipment. The needs are immense, while resources are extremely limited," explained Susanna Burgess, Emergency Coordinator at Médecins Sans Frontières in Chad. The conflict in Sudan has claimed the lives of at least 3,900 people in the past four months. Sudanese army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, appeared on state television on Monday in a rare video denouncing "the biggest conspiracy in modern history" against Sudan. He promised to soon celebrate the "decisive victory over this rebellious uprising," led by his rival Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Experts, however, anticipate that the war will continue for an extended period.

Sudan army chief accuses paramilitary forces of committing war crimes
AP/August 14, 2023
Amnesty International has blamed both warring parties for committing deliberate killings of civilians as violence intensifies
WAD MADANI, Sudan: In a rare televised speech on Monday, the head of Sudan’s military accused the rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as all-out civil war threatens to engulf the northeast African country. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere. In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV, Gen. Al-Burhan accused the RSF and Dagalo of committing violations under the falsehood of promising to restore democracy. “How can you bring about democracy by committing war crimes?” he said, in a speech celebrating Sudan’s annual armed forces day. The rights organization Amnesty International has accused both warring parties of committing extensive war crimes, including deliberate killings of civilians and mass sexual assault. In its 56-page report, the group said almost all rape cases were blamed on the RSF and its allied Arab militias. In Darfur, the scene of genocidal war in the early 2000s, the conflict has morphed into ethnic violence, with the RSF and allied Arab militias targeting African communities in the western region, UN officials say. Last week the violence intensified in South Darfur province, killing dozens. The Darfur Bar Association, a Sudanese legal group focusing on human rights in the western Darfur region, said at least five civilians died in crossfire during intense clashes between the military and the RSF in Nyala, South Darfur’s capital, on Friday. Some 50 km west of Nyala, Arab tribesmen riding RSF vehicles raided the Kubum area of South Darfur last week, burning down the local market and sacking a police station, the legal group said in a separate statement. At least 24 people were killed during the attack, it said. Last Month, Karim Khan, a prosecutor from the International Criminal Court, told the UN that he would be investigating alleged new war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. The near four-month conflict has also reduced the capital, Khartoum, to an urban battlefield. Across the city, RSF forces have commandeered homes and turned them into operational bases, residents and doctors groups say.  The army, in turn, has struck residential areas from the air and with artillery fire. Over 2.15 million people have since fled Khartoum state, according to UN data. Meanwhile, Meta confirmed that it had suspended the RSF’s account and the account belonging to Dagalo. Meta told the AP in an email that the group had violated its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy but did not provide any further details.On its website, Meta says the policy aims to clamp down on “organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence.”The RSF did not respond to AP’s request for comment. The paramilitary and Dagalo still have active accounts on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Clashes hit Libyan capital, residents say
Reuters/August 14, 2023
TRIPOLI: Clashes broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli late on Monday, residents said, after the reported seizure of a powerful armed faction commander by a rival force. “We have heard gunfire for almost two hours now and we do not know what will happen. We fear for our safety,” said one of the residents in Furnaj district. Mahmoud Hamza, head of the 444 brigade that controls much of Tripoli, was detained at Mitiga airport by the Special Deterrence Force, local media and a source in the 444 brigade said. Any sustained fighting between the two factions, the most powerful in the capital after a period of military consolidation, could pose significant risks. Monday’s clashes are already the worst to hit Tripoli for months, though there has been sporadic violence between armed factions in some other parts of northwest Libya in recent weeks. Libya has had little peace or security since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising and it split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. Major warfare has been paused since a 2020 cease-fire, but there is no sign of a lasting political solution. A video shared online, that a witness to the clashes said was authentic, showed tracer fire streaming past an apartment building as the sound of gunshots rattled out. A Reuters journalist in the Ain Zara district, near where the clashes were taking place, said armed men had closed a major road in the area.

African Union hosts Niger talks as regime sends mixed signals
AFP/August 15, 2023
NIAMEY, Niger: The African Union (AU) on Monday held talks on the Niger crisis as the country’s post-coup rulers sounded defiance yet also pointed to diplomacy for a potential solution. But talks at the AU’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa coincided with a flare-up over threats by the regime to prosecute Niger’s deposed president. “AU’s Peace & Security Council meets to receive an update on the evolution of the situation in Niger and the efforts to address it,” the pan-African body said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Those attending included AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat as well as representatives from Niger and the West African bloc ECOWAS, it said. President Mohamed Bazoum, whose election in 2021 was a landmark in the country’s troubled history, was toppled on July 26 by members of his presidential guard. His ousting unleashed a shockwave around West Africa, where Mali and Burkina Faso — likewise battered by a jihadist insurgency — have also suffered military takeovers. Seeking to stop the cascade of coups, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) slapped sanctions on Niger and last week approved deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order.”But uncertainties hang over any intervention — from operational feasibility to internal divisions within ECOWAS — and the bloc also says it wants a peaceful outcome. On July 30, it issued a seven-day ultimatum to restore Bazoum or face the potential use of force, but the deadline expired without action. Mixed signals have emerged from the regime as the crisis nears the end of its third week. At the weekend, the coup leaders said they were open to a diplomatic push after their chief, General Abdourahamane Tiani, met with Nigerian religious mediators. Those talks came after a scheduled meeting of ECOWAS military chiefs in Ghana was postponed for “technical reasons.” But on Sunday night, Niger’s rulers declared they had gathered sufficient evidence to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason and undermining internal and external security.”
The legal threat was angrily condemned by ECOWAS. In a statement, the bloc said it had learned of the threats “with stupefaction.” “It represents yet another form of provocation and contradicts the (regime’s) reported willingness... to restore constitutional order through peaceful means.”
Washington said it was “incredibly dismayed” by the plan to try the detained president. Bazoum’s foreign minister said on Monday that there were “pogroms” in the capital Niamey, but did not specify against whom they were directed.
“Currently in Niamey... there are pogroms with hordes of young people excited by racial and ethnic hatred,” Hassoumi Massaoudou, the foreign minister in the ousted civilian government, told RFI and France 24. “That is why there is an urgent need to stop this and put Niger back on a path of peace, stability and economic progress.” Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official residence since the coup, with international concern mounting over his conditions in detention. On Monday, the military-appointed prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, declared Niger would thwart ECOWAS’s sanctions threat. “We think that even though it is an unfair challenge that has been imposed on us, we should be able to overcome it. And we will overcome it,” he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.The bloc has severed financial transactions and electricity supplies and closed borders with landlocked Niger, blocking much-needed imports to one of the world’s poorest countries. The military leaders on Sunday said the sanctions make it hard for people to access medicines, food and electricity and described the punishment as “illegal, inhumane and humiliating.” But Zeine also stressed the importance of Niger’s ties with neighboring Nigeria as well as the West African bloc. “We have a great interest in preserving this important and historical relationship and also in having ECOWAS work on purely economic issues first,” he said. A landlocked nation in the heart of the arid Sahel, Niger is one of the world’s poorest and most turbulent countries. It frequently ranks at the bottom of the Human Development Index, a UN benchmark of prosperity. Bazoum’s election in 2021 marked the first time that the country had experienced a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence from France in 1960. He survived two attempted coups before being ousted, in the fifth putsch in the country’s history. His ousting deals a huge blow to French and US strategy in the Sahel. France refocused its anti-jihadist operations on Niger after withdrawing from Mali and Burkina Faso last year following a bust-up with their juntas.
It has around 1,500 troops in Niger, many of them at an air base near Niamey, while the Pentagon has around a thousand military personnel.

Niger’s Coup Leaders Say They Will Prosecute Deposed President Bazoum for ‘High Treason’
AFP/14 August 2023
Niger’s mutinous soldiers said they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security, in an announcement hours after the junta said they were open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the mounting regional crisis.
If found guilty, Bazoum could face the death penalty, according to Niger’s penal code.
Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television Sunday night that the military regime had “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and for undermining the internal and external security of Niger.” The announcement said high-ranking West African politicians and “their international mentors” have made false allegations and attempted to derail a peaceful solution to the crisis in order to justify a military intervention. It said Bazoum was being charged following his exchanges with these people. The statement did not identify specific Western countries and did not specify a date for the trial. Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, was ousted by members of his presidential guard on July 26 and has since been under house arrest with his wife and son in the presidential compound in the capital, Niamey. People close to the president as well as those in his ruling party say the family's electricity and water have been cut off and they’re running out of food. The junta dismissed these reports Sunday night and accused West African politicians and international partners of fueling a disinformation campaign to discredit the junta. International pressure is growing on the junta to release and reinstate Bazoum. Immediately after the coup, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS gave the regime seven days to return him to power and threatened military force if it did not happen, but that deadline came and went with no action from either side. Last week, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby” force, but it’s still unclear when or if it would enter the country. The African Union Peace and Security Council is meeting on Monday to discuss Niger's crisis and could overrule the decision if it felt that wider peace and security on the continent was threatened by an intervention. But as time drags on there's growing uncertainty and mixed messages are mounting. On Sunday evening, before the military accused Bazoum of treason, a member of the junta’s communication team told journalists that the regime had approved talks with ECOWAS, which would take place in the coming days. That same day, a mediation team of Islamic scholars from neighboring Nigeria who had met with the junta on the weekend, said the regime was open to dialogue with ECOWAS.
Previous attempts by ECOWAS to speak with the junta have foundered, with its delegations being barred from entering the country. The newfound openness to talks could be a result of ECOWAS pressure, including severe economic and travel sanctions that are already taking a toll on the impoverished country’s some 25 million people, but it doesn’t mean they’ll go anywhere, say Sahel experts. “Let’s see what these negotiations actually look like, because it’s also in the junta's benefit to in the least entertain talks. That doesn’t mean they’ll be serious about them,” said Aneliese Bernard, a former US State Department official who specialized in African affairs and is now director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a risk advisory group. But while talk of dialogue ensues, so does military mobilization.
In a memo from Senegal's security forces dated Aug. 11, seen by The Associated Press, it ordered the “regroupment” from bases in Senegal on Monday as part of its contribution to the ECOWAS mission in Niger. It was unclear what exactly was ordered to move, or where it was going. In the weeks since the coup, the junta has entrenched itself in power, appointing a new government and leveraging anti-French sentiment against its former colonial ruler to shore up support among the population, creating a tense environment for locals who oppose the junta as well as many foreigners and journalists. In a statement Sunday, the board of directors for the Press House, an independent Nigerien organization that protects journalists, said local and international media were being threatened, and intimidated by Nigerien activists who support the junta and it was deeply concerned about the “very difficult climate” they were operating in. Since the coup, extremist violence is also rising. Niger was seen by Western nations as one of the last democratic countries in the Sahel region it could partner with to beat back growing extremist violence linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIS group.
France and the United States and other European countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up Niger’s military. Since the coup, France and the United States have suspended military operations. On Sunday, Nigerien security forces were ambushed by fighters believed to be with the ISIS group who attacked them on a dozen motorcycles, according to a security report for aid groups seen by AP.
This combined with another attack last week claimed by the al-Qaeda linked group known as JNIM, signify a new phase of the conflict where groups are trying to consolidate power, and it's largely a consequence of the suspended military operations, said Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told The Associated Press.  “This is due to the halting of cooperation and the military being busy with consolidating their coup in Niamey,” he said. It's also a result of cutting communication and dialogue attempts with some extremist groups, which had been established under Bazoum, he said. A former extremist, Boubacar Moussa, told AP that since the coup he's received multiple phone calls from active extremists saying they have been celebrating the chaos and greater freedom of movement. Moussa is part of a nationwide program that encourages extremist fighters to defect and reintegrate into society, however, it's unclear if that program will continue under the military regime. As the situation evolves, he believes extremists will take advantage of the security gap and launch new attacks.

Caretaker PM takes oath on Pakistan’s 77th Independence Day
AFP/August 14, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Little-known senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in Monday as Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister to see the country through to an election due in months. Kakar, 52, takes charge of a country that has been wracked by political and economic instability for months, with Imran Khan – Pakistan’s most popular politician – in jail and disqualified from elections for five years. Kakar was sworn in by President Arif Alvi on Pakistan’s Independence Day in a ceremony carried live on TV, having resigned from his post as senator on Sunday. “I Anwaar-ul-Haq, do swear solemnly... that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan,” he said. Kakar’s first task will be to choose a cabinet to run the country as it heads into an election period that could last for months. Parliament was officially dissolved last week, with elections due within 90 days according to the constitution. But data from the latest census was finally published earlier this month, and the outgoing government said the election commission needed time to redraw constituency boundaries. There has been speculation for months that a vote would be delayed as the establishment struggles to stabilize a country facing overlapping security, economic and political crises. “I am relinquishing heavy responsibility after 16 months... We came constitutionally and leave as per the direction of the constitution,” outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif said in a farewell address to the nation on Sunday. “I have confidence in the caretaker prime minister’s ability to conduct free and fair elections.” Pakistan has been in political turmoil since Khan was dismissed as premier by a no-confidence vote in April 2022, culminating in him being jailed last weekend for three years for graft. He has been disqualified from standing for office for five years, but is appealing against his sentence and conviction. Authorities have cracked down hard against Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in recent months, crushing his grassroots power by rounding up thousands of his supporters and officials. Political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi told AFP at the weekend that Kakar “has a limited political career and not much weight in Pakistani politics,” but that could work in his favor. “This can be an advantage because he has no strong affiliation with the major political parties,” he said. “But the disadvantage is that being a lightweight politician, he may find it difficult to cope with the problems he’s going to face without the active support of the military establishment.” Analyst Ayesha Siddiqa noted that Kakar had done courses at the National Defense University – formerly the military’s war college – and said he would be close to the establishment. “It seems that the establishment has struck and they have found somebody who will be watching over their interests rather than that of politicians,” she said. Last month, parliament rushed through legislation that gives the caretaker government more power to negotiate with global bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, another clue it may be around for a while. Some analysts think the delay could give time for the main coalition partners – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – to figure out how to address the challenge of Khan’s PTI. “But in reality, delaying the election could simply anger the public more and galvanize an opposition that has already suffered through months of crackdowns,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. The United States said last week it was watching with concern the prospect of election violence. Behind any election in Pakistan lurks the military, which has staged at least three successful coups since the country was forged from the partition of India in 1947. Khan enjoyed genuine widespread support when he came to power in 2018, but analysts say it was only with the blessing of the country’s powerful generals – with whom he reportedly fell out in the months before his ousting.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 13-14/2023
Spotlight on Iran
Editor: Dr. Raz Zimmt/The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center/July 31-August 14, 2023
At the end of July, the Syrian foreign minister arrived in Tehran for an official visit, during which he met with senior Iranian officials, including the Iranian president, foreign minister, and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Concurrently with the foreign minister’s visit, the joint economic committee of the two countries convened in Tehran. During the committee’s deliberations, senior officials from both countries discussed the implementation of the cooperation agreements signed during President Raisi’s visit to Syria in May 2023.
IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Esmail Qaani recently visited Syria and Lebanon. During his visit to Syria, he declared that the enemies of Iran and Syria know that the initiative in the region rests in the hands of the Axis of Resistance.
Syrian sources reported ongoing activity by the IRGC and pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria, possibly in view of preparations for a possible confrontation between the United States and Iranian-backed militias in the region.
An Iranian parliamentary delegation headed by the chairman of the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee visited Syria and Lebanon and met with senior officials from both countries as well as representatives of Palestinian organizations.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman expressed Iran’s concern over the recent violent incidents in the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of Sidon in southern Lebanon. He stressed the need for unity among the Palestinians so that all resources could be devoted to continuing the struggle against Israel.
The interior ministers of Iran and Iraq met at the end of July at the border crossing between the two countries as part of preparations for pilgrimage ceremonies to Shi’ite holy sites in Iraq expected in September.
Iranian involvement in Syria and Lebanon
At the end of July, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Tehran at the head of a political-economic delegation. On July 31, the minister met with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, to discuss regional and international developments, along with bilateral relations between the two countries. At a joint press conference, the Iranian foreign minister condemned Israel’s repeated attacks against Syria. The minister also said that the sole purpose of the American forces in Syria was to undermine security in Syria and support the terrorists and that their immediate withdrawal would significantly contribute to regional stability and security. The Syrian foreign minister also called for the withdrawal of American forces from Syria and condemned the Israeli “war crimes” against the Palestinians as well as the Israeli attacks against Syria (ISNA, July 31, 2023).
During his visit to Tehran, on August 1, 2023, the Syrian foreign minister met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. The meeting with the president was also attended by the Syrian ministers of economy, trade, and communications. President Raisi stressed the need to implement the agreements signed during his visit to Syria. At the Syrian foreign minister’s meeting with Ahmadian, the two discussed relations between the two countries and the latest developments in the region. Ahmadian expressed condolences for those killed in the terrorist attacks carried out at the end of July in the Shi’ite area of Damascus, saying that Syria’s enemies, who had failed to implement their policy during the civil war, are trying to undermine the country’s security and stability both through these attacks and by exerting political and economic pressure on Syria. The senior Iranian official commended the improvement in diplomatic relations between Syria and other regional countries, saying that this process would increase regional stability and security and reduce foreign intervention. He stressed Iran’s desire to expand cooperation between the countries, especially in the economic sphere. The Syrian foreign minister said at the meeting that Syria was interested in expanding its relations with Iran in all areas (Tasnim, August 1, 2023).
Concurrently with the Syrian foreign minister’s visit, the joint economic committee of the two countries, headed by Syrian Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Mohammad Samer al-Khalil and Iranian Transportation Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, convened in Tehran. During the committee’s discussions, the Iranian minister provided updates on progress in implementing the agreements signed following President Raisi’s visit to Damascus in May 2023 to expand cooperation between the countries in the fields of transport, banking, trade, and tourism. He noted that during the upcoming week, an Iranian bank would begin operating in Syria and that an agreement had been reached on removing tariffs on trade between the countries, significantly increasing the volume of flights between them, and establishing two factories for the manufacture of Iranian vehicles in Syria (Fars, July 31, 2023).
As part of the discussions of the joint Iranian-Syrian economic committee, Syrian Minister of Communications Iyad al-Khatib met with Iranian Minister of Communications Issa Zarepour and senior Iranian communications sector officials to discuss expanding communications and technological cooperation between the two countries (ISNA, August 1, 2023). In addition, a meeting was held as part of the Joint Economic Committee between Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki, secretary of the Iranian Supreme Council for Free Trade Zones, and the Syrian minister of economy and foreign trade. The two sides discussed the possibility of establishing free trade zones between the two countries in Latakia, Albukamal, and Hisyah in Syria (Tasnim, August 2, 2023).
IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Esmail Qaani recently visited Syria to assess the situation on the ground. During his visit, the exact date of which was not disclosed, Qaani inspected several military posts to evaluate their combat readiness and declared that the enemies of Iran and Syria are well aware that the initiative in the region rests in the hands of the Axis of Resistance (Al-Alam, August 3, 2023).On August 9, Arab sources reported that following his trip to Syria, Qaani had proceeded to Beirut, where he met with Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah (Al-Hadath, August 9, 2023).
The Syrian news channel Ayn al-Furat reported (August 1, 2023) that the IRGC had appointed a new commander for the pro-Iranian militias in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria. According to the report, the Iranian Al-Hajj Mousavi al-Mousavi was appointed commander of the militias in the area instead of Al-Hajj Kamil, who is still in Deir ez-Zor and whose next position is still unknown. According to the report, Al-Mousavi was a close associate of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force, participated in several battles in Syria, and served as a military commander in Damascus.
On August 3, 2023, Ayn al-Furat reported on a secret meeting held between Iranian commanders and local Syrian leaders in Deir ez-Zor, during which they discussed military tensions in the region and reports regarding the intention of the US-led Global Coalition to launch military action against the pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria. According to the report, local Syrian officials told Iranian commanders that no military action against the militias is expected soon.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on August 3, 2023, that on August 2, 2023, pro-Iranian militias carried out a test launch of drones at an IRGC center in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria. According to the report, the test was intended to train suicide drone operators (www.syriahr.com, August 3, 2023). On August 7, 2023, an Iranian parliamentary delegation headed by Vahid Jalalzadeh, chairman of the Majles National Security Committee, arrived in Syria for a visit. Several members of the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee participated in the delegation (Fars, August 7, 2023). During their visit to Syria, the members of the delegation met with the Syrian prime minister, the speaker of the Syrian parliament, and the Syrian foreign minister and discussed relations between the countries and regional developments. The delegation also met with representatives of the Palestinian factions in Syria and discussed ways to support the “resistance” in Palestine (Fars, August 10, 2023). Following its visit to Syria, the parliamentary delegation continued to Lebanon, where it met with senior Lebanese government officials, including the speaker of parliament, the foreign minister, and Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as with Palestinian representatives (IRNA, August 11, 2023; Al-Nour Radio, August 12, 2023).
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani expressed Iran’s concern over the violent incidents and exchanges of fire that have been taking place since the end of July 2023 in the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of Sidon in southern Lebanon. Kanani emphasized the dire need for unity among the Palestinians during this time, urging for a complete cessation of the clashes in the camp. He added that the Palestinian groups and factions must devote all their capabilities to the struggle against the “Zionist enemy,” the source of all the problems of the Palestinian people and the instability in the region, in order to prepare the ground for the elimination of the occupation, the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland, and the establishment of an independent and united Palestinian state on the entire historic land of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital (Fars, August 3, 2023). More than ten people were killed and dozens were wounded in clashes between Usbat al-Ansar, a Palestinian organization with Salafist-Islamist ideology, and Fatah operatives.
Middle Eastern security sources assessed that the Hezbollah truck that overturned on August 9, 2023, in the Christian town of Kahaleh while making its way from the Bekaa Valley to Beirut was delivering Iranian weapons bound for Hezbollah. According to the assessment, the cargo consisted of anti-tank weaponry transferred from Iran to Hezbollah through the organization’s Unit 4400 under the command of Hajj Fadi, a key figure in the route of arms transfers to Hezbollah via Syria (Israeli TV Channel Kan 11, August 12, 2023). When the truck overturned, exchanges of fire ensued in the center of the Christian town between local Christian residents who surrounded the truck and Hezbollah operatives who tried to drive the locals away (Al-Jazeera, August 9, 2023).
A delegation of Iranian clerics met in Beirut with Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. The delegation included Hassan Ameli, the Iranian Supreme Leader’s representative in Ardabil Province, and several members of the Iranian Assembly of Experts. The meeting was also attended by Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Beirut (Tasnim, August 5, 2023). In a conversation with a reporter for Tasnim News Agency, Ameli said that he had spoken with Nasrallah about issues related to the region and the Axis of Resistance and that Hezbollah’s secretary general had conveyed a message to Azeri speakers in Iran, calling on them to obey the instructions of the Iranian Supreme Leader (Tasnim, August 6, 2023).
Iranian involvement in Iraq
On July 31, 2023, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi met with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Amir al-Shammari, at the border crossing between Iran and Iraq, to discuss security preparations for the pilgrimage ceremonies to the Shi’ite holy sites in Iraq (Arbaeen). Also participating in the meeting were the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, the governor of Kermanshah Province, the commander of the Iranian border police, and senior security officials from both countries (IRNA, July 31, 2023).
On August 3, 2023, Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadegh, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, met with the UN secretary-general’s envoy to Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, to discuss political and security developments in Iraq. At the meeting, the Iranian ambassador stressed the need to dismantle the Kurdish separatist groups operating in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq and asked the UN representative to act on this issue. Hennis-Plasschaert, who visited Tehran at the end of July and met with senior Iranian officials headed by Foreign Minister Abdollahian, called for continued security cooperation between Iran and Iraq (IRNA, August 3, 2023).

Jihad in Austria: 'Christians Must Die'
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/August 14, 2023
Two young Muslims [ages 15 and 16] living in Austria recently confessed that they would like to "kill Christians" and "restore the caliphate."
"Killing Christians takes us to paradise." — The boys' reply in court.
As in other European nations, sex crimes — including against young boys — have skyrocketed in Austria.
Along with generic Muslim criminality in Austria seems to be, sadly, an ideologically-driven hatred for "disbelievers" and especially Christians and Jews.
Possibly most significant is that all of this hostility and violence is taking place in a backdrop where the Muslim population continues to burgeon in Austria — to the point that there are now more Muslim students than Catholics in the schools of Austrian cities, including Vienna, the capital, and Linz.
"Their parents came to Austria to work as skilled workers. The second generation doesn't have any qualification, and unskilled workers are no longer needed in the job market. Unlike their parents, they speak neither German nor their mother tongue very well. And, according to OECD, they achieve lower results in school than those who were born outside of Austria. In addition, there are not enough "role models", successful migrants who are present in the public sphere. — Die Presse, October 17, 2009.
"What can politicians do to make better integration Possible?" "There are many proposals from experts. One example calls for children to be integrated early, as soon as they enter kindergarten. In the future, immigrants should be chosen not according to family relationships, but according to their job qualifications." — Die Presse, October 17, 2009.
In May 2023, a report found that mosques in Austria were actively teaching Muslim youths not to befriend native Austrians or any other non-Muslims..... While some politicians... expressed shock and outrage at this teaching, it is, in fact, a mainstream Muslim doctrine. "Those who believe should not take unbelievers as their friends in preference to those who believe—and whoever does so should have no [expectations] of God—unless to safeguard [taqaa, from taqiyya] yourselves against them." — Koran 3:28.
"Antisemitic crimes hit record high in Austria." — Headline in dw.com, April 26, 2021.
Today, Muslims are, in the name of "multiculturalism," making the sorts of inroads in Austria, and all throughout Europe, that their ancestors could never have dreamed were possible. But this might be less a reflection of Islam — which is today significantly weaker than in its Ottoman heyday, although still apparently filling a major role in the hearts of its adherents — and more a reflection of a swiftly dying, less-religious Europe.
Two Muslim boys living in Austria, aged 15 and 16, recently confessed in the Leoben Regional Court that they would like to "kill Christians" and "restore the caliphate." They had made plans to massacre as many people as possible during an attack on the middle school attended by the 15-year-old.
Two young Muslims living in Austria recently confessed that they would like to "kill Christians" and "restore the caliphate."
The boys, aged 15 and 16, were put on trial at the Leoben Regional Court on July 16, 2023. They had made plans to massacre as many people as possible during an attack on the middle school attended by the 15-year-old, in Bruck an der Mur, where they both lived.
When confronted in court, the boys — who both have a history of violence and criminality— admitted that "We wanted to shoot all the Christians in the class!" Asked how they would have responded if police had intervened, they said, "We would have surrendered" — adding that "Allah would have forgiven" them in prison, since "Killing Christians takes us to paradise."
Reflecting on the two would-be mass murderers, one article notes:
"They seem completely inconspicuous—a 16-year-old automotive apprentice and his 15-year-old friend from Bruck. But something dark was brewing in their heads. Although they were born in Austria and integrated into society, they have radicalized themselves severely. Their goal: to make Austria a caliphate. For this they also accepted to walk over corpses.... All Christians should be killed."
Authorities first learned of their plans after they began asking for terrorist related material on radical chat groups.
The court sentenced them to two years' imprisonment—although they will probably serve only eight months. (The maximum penalty for juveniles is five years.) The court also ordered that they undergo "anti-aggression training and a de-radicalization program" -- which, unfortunately, have repeatedly been proven ineffective.
"Incidentally, the 15-year-old set fire to the closed University of Education in Bruck in May 2022," the article concludes.
The entire incident is a reminder that Austria appears to be sitting on a time bomb. Even though authorities managed to thwart what could have been a tragic massacre of schoolchildren — as they thwarted an earlier one in 2020 — Muslim hostility in Austria continues to grow, suggesting that it might only be a matter of time before a severe terrorist attack or worse overwhelms that nation.
As far back as 2017, an article, "Austrians living in fear as violent migrant gangs carry out DAILY attacks in Vienna," related that:
"Muggings and beatings are becoming commonplace in the historic capital city, with passersby being attacked on almost a daily basis.... The Praterstern area, just outside central Vienna, is now controlled by North Africans and is considered the worst area in the city for crime. Despite police increasing their presence in the area it has become riddled with crime. On the other side of the city, the area surrounding the West Railway Station has been taken over by Afghans who have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.... Crimes carried out by migrants in Austria have risen rapidly over the past year as more arrive in the country. Last year [2016], there were a total 22,000 criminal complaints against migrants, up from 14,000 in 2015, the Austrian Interior Ministry revealed. Sex attacks carried out by asylum seekers has become a serious problem in Austria, with a 133 per cent increase in migrant sex attacks in the past year since the migrant crisis erupted. Swimming pools and other public venues have become some of the most prevalent areas for attacks to take place."
As in other European nations, sex crimes — including against young boys — have skyrocketed in Austria. According to one item, "Hardly a day goes by without reports of sex attacks" at the hands of migrants. In one incident, a 17-year-old Muslim asylum seeker raped a grandmother, aged 72, after she helped him out of a canal, and the victim has now reportedly lost her "will to live."
Police have evidently been less than responsive — effectively blaming the victims. After a 20-year-old Austrian woman waiting at a bus stop in Vienna was attacked, beaten, and robbed by four Muslim men — including one who "started [by] putting his hands through my hair and made it clear that in his cultural background there were hardly any blonde women" — police responded by telling the victim to dye her hair:
"At first I was scared, but now I'm more angry than anything. After the attack they told me that women shouldn't be alone on the streets after 8pm. And they also gave me other advice, telling me I should dye my hair dark and also not dress in such a provocative way. Indirectly that means I was partly to blame for what happened to me. That is a massive insult."
Along with generic Muslim criminality in Austria seems to be, sadly, an ideologically-driven hatred for "disbelievers" and especially Christians and Jews. Just as, above, the two boys were tried for their desire to "kill Christians," and "go to paradise," so have there been a number of other instances of other Muslims expressing their hostility for, Austria's historic faith:
November 2020: A Muslim terror attack targeting a Catholic youth group was thwarted at the last minute. According to the report, "[The] killer wanted to cause a bloodbath of the Catholic youth group... during a prayer evening in Vienna. The Islamist failed, however, because of a door that was locked by a timer... 17 children and young people belonging to a Catholic youth group escaped a catastrophe by a hair!"
December 2016: A 22-year-old Muslim asylum seeker from Afghanistan stabbed a 50-year-old Christian woman with a knife for reading from the Bible. The man "had taken offence to the fact that the woman had been invited by Christian residents of the property to discuss the Bible. When he found out what she was doing, he stormed into the kitchen where the woman was standing and tried to plunge the knife into her upper body."
April 2022 A Muslim man chased, beat, and kicked a Christian man for distributing Bibles in the streets of Vienna-Meidling.
May 2017: What was described as a "dark skinned immigrant" was videotaped by a bystander throwing things and striking at the large cross in front of the St. Marein parish with a long pole and causing 15,000 euros' worth of general damage to the property.
March 2014: After reportedly listening to Muslim chants, a man went on a spree vandalizing churches and desecrated four of them by overturning or destroying statues, crosses, and altars.
October 2020: A Muslim mob consisting of some 50 people rioted around the baptismal font and confessionals inside a church in Vienna, while shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is the greatest!"]
April 2020: Above the Traisen-Markt train station, passengers encountered graffiti — "Christians must die" and "Allahu Akbar" — that "caused a lot of agitation."
January 2021: Approximately 40 Muslim migrants rioted and burned down a Christmas tree in Favoriten. Upon coming to extinguish the blaze, the fire brigade heard one of the migrants yelling: "A Christmas tree has no place in a Muslim district," while the raging mob pelted the emergency service officials with projectiles and screams of "Allahu Akbar!"
A quick search finds other recent incidents, including the beheading of Jesus and Mary statues in a beloved Viennese prayer garden in July 2023.
Possibly most significant is that all of this hostility and violence is taking place in a backdrop where the Muslim population continues to burgeon in Austria — to the point that there are now more Muslim students than Catholics in the schools of Austrian cities, including Vienna, the capital, and Linz.
As of 2021, Muslims reportedly accounted for 8.3% of Austria's population. According to a 2017 PEW report, by 2050, Muslims might account for as much as 19.9% of Austria's population.
The importance of these numbers is exacerbated by the fact that Muslims seem not to be assimilating all that well in Austria, particularly the second generation. According to the Austrian newspaper Die Presse:
"Their parents came to Austria to work as skilled workers. The second generation doesn't have any qualification, and unskilled workers are no longer needed in the job market. Unlike their parents, they speak neither German nor their mother tongue very well. And, according to OECD, they achieve lower results in school than those who were born outside of Austria. In addition, there are not enough 'role models', successful migrants who are present in the public sphere.
"What can politicians do to make better integration possible?
"There are many proposals from experts. One example calls for children to be integrated early, as soon as they enter kindergarten. In the future, immigrants should be chosen not according to family relationships, but according to their job qualifications."
In May 2023, a report found that mosques in Austria were actively teaching Muslim youths not to befriend native Austrians or any other non-Muslims. While some politicians — such as Manfred Haimbuchner of Austria's conservative Freedom Party — expressed shock and outrage at this teaching, it is, in fact, a mainstream Muslim doctrine. According to Koran 3:28:
"Those who believe should not take unbelievers as their friends in preference to those who believe—and whoever does so should have no [expectations] of God—unless to safeguard [taqaa, from taqiyya] yourselves against them."
Koran 5:51 is even more explicit, and names names:
"O believers, do not hold Jews and Christians as your allies. They are allies of one another; and anyone who makes them his friends is surely one of them."
Little wonder, then, that the miniscule Jewish population of Austria is also under attack — in 1981, Muslim terrorists stormed and opened fire in a Viennese synagogue, killing two and wounding 18.
More recently, in 2021, according to Deutsche Welle, "Antisemitic crimes hit record high in Austria."
Historically, in 1683, hundreds of thousands of Muslim jihadists, led by the Ottoman Turks, encircled and laid siege to Vienna. There was a reason they chose that city. For centuries, it had been the capital of the Holy Roman Empire — which itself had long been, as the "Defender of the Faith," the chief nemesis of Islamic jihad. At the final moment, the Europeans defeated the Muslims and lifted the siege, thereby saving not just Vienna but all of Europe.
Clearly, much has since changed. Today, Muslims are, in the name of "multiculturalism," making the sorts of inroads in Austria, and all throughout Europe, that their ancestors could never have dreamed were possible. But this might be less a reflection of Islam — which is today significantly weaker than in its Ottoman heyday, although apparently still filling a major role in the hearts of its adherents — and more a reflection of a swiftly dying, less-religious Europe.
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and Scimitar, Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader, is the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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Is the Hostages’ Release a Rehearsal?
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/August 14/2023
The shock of "hostage diplomacy" between the United States and Iran, involving a $6 billion disbursement from Washington to Tehran in exchange for the release of five US hostages, continue to echo, not only within our region but also across Europe and the United States.
The debate is based on a basic question: and exchange them for the seized money?
The crux of the debate revolves around a fundamental question: Would this deal, or the ransom, encourage Iran to take more hostages and use them as bargaining chips for the released funds?
The situation, however, is considerably more intricate.
The danger of this “hostage diplomacy” lies in the timing, the approach, and the role of the allies in the nuclear agreement. This deal came as a result of a clear scenario warning us of what awaits us in the nuclear file... Why?
The reason is that Washington has entered the electoral mood, or the season of madness, as it is called there. Therefore, the US Administration has currently no intention of negotiating with Iran over the nuclear file, while Tehran has taken important steps that enable it to build nuclear weapons.
What happened, according to several sources, is that Washington decided to freeze the nuclear negotiations until after the elections, and now decided to achieve electoral gains with Tehran, translated into the release of the hostages, while warning Iran that any continuation of the nuclear project might be met with Israeli military action.
The deal was completed, and money was provided to free the hostages - who had not arrived in their country as of writing the article - but without full transparency with the parties involved in the nuclear negotiations, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
If the international parties involved in the nuclear file were not aware of the “hostage diplomacy” agreement, how will they be informed of the course of negotiations, if those are resumed after the elections?
How can the American negotiator be trusted when the world does not know what happened to the special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley? Why was he questioned? For what reasons was he ousted? No one knows about his successor, who in turn is not much aware of the nuclear talks? What is the reason behind this democratic lenience, since Obama’s tenure, with Iran, whether by freeing up funds or rushing to negotiate according to Tehran’s conditions, despite its continuous procrastination?
Therefore, the fear now is that the process of liberating the American hostages, through this “hostage diplomacy” deal, is just a rehearsal for any US post-election negotiations with Iran, especially if President Biden wins another presidential term.
Democratic leniency towards Iran is expected to increase, since the president is in a second term, and has anything to lose. This would affect the future of the region, and even its reality and stability, because it would mean proliferation of nuclear weapons – a true disaster.
Someone might argue that if a Republican president came to power, the negotiations could falter, and Iran would rush to develop nuclear arms. This could be possible. Therefore, there are no easy solutions. But what’s more complicated is Washington’s dealing with Tehran with ease and impulsiveness, without the full knowledge of the international allies.
Consequently, we are potentially witnessing a rehearsal to the dynamics that could unfold between Washington and Tehran following the presidential elections.

How China can make a difference in Israel-Palestine conflict
Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/August 14, 2023
It is feasible that China will play an important role in mediating Middle Eastern conflicts. In fact, it already has. In the case of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, however, mediation is hardly the issue. Even before Beijing successfully managed to achieve reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in April, Chinese diplomacy had shown exceptional maturity. For many years, China was perceived to be an outsider to global affairs, supposedly contenting itself with economic expansion or regional economic integration.
Former US President Donald Trump forced, or rather accelerated, China’s global outreach when, in 2018, he launched an unprecedented trade war on the powerful Asian country. Trump’s plan backfired. Not only did Washington fail to make Beijing bow to American diktats, it also inspired what became known as China’s wolf diplomacy — a self-assertive Chinese approach to foreign policy.
From an American — or Western — viewpoint, the new tactic was perceived to be hostile and aggressive. But from a Chinese perspective, the policy was necessitated by the relentless war launched against China by successive US administrations, along with their Western allies.
The Russia-Ukraine war has accentuated China’s role in international conflicts and diplomacy. Though Beijing’s 12-point peace proposal, announced in March, failed to impress the West and was only superficially welcomed by Moscow, it highlighted an important shift. The fact that China found it necessary to develop an elaborate political position as a potential mediator conveyed that it was no longer content with playing the role of supporting actor in international forums. China’s diplomacy was dismissed by many, especially in Western media and politics, as a nonstarter, if at all serious or even well-intentioned. China is no longer content with playing the role of supporting actor in international forums. However, merely three weeks later, the Chinese-brokered Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement was unveiled. Major political actors in the region, including Washington, appeared to be taken by surprise. The Chinese success story was juxtaposed by many journalists in the Global South with Washington’s conflict-prone, dead-end diplomacy in the Middle East.
Buoyed by its success, China ventured further into new diplomatic territories, offering to mediate between Israel and Palestine. The Palestinians welcomed a Chinese role; the Israelis were disinterested. The Chinese government is aware of the near-impossibility of engaging both Palestinians and Israelis in genuine peace talks. Though Palestinians are desperate to escape or at least balance out Washington’s hegemony, it is not in Israel’s interest to abandon the US — its greatest political benefactor, financier and military backer.
Though China and Israel have developed relatively strong economic and, for China, strategic ties in recent years, Beijing’s geopolitical worth for Tel Aviv is simply incomparable to that of Washington. It would also make little sense for Israel to grant Beijing any political leverage at a time of geopolitical transitions, especially because China has historically supported the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom.
For decades, China served as a key supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization and, later, the state of Palestine at the UN, insisting on the respect and implementation of international laws relevant to ending the Israeli occupation. Unsurprisingly, China recognized the PLO’s political status in 1965 and the state of Palestine in 1988. Now, it is pushing for full Palestinian membership in the international body.
The Chinese position was fundamental to Beijing’s strategic alliances in the Global South in previous decades. But the economic growth of China and its integration into a Western-centric economic system, starting in 1978, progressively weakened China’s trade and political relevance in the Global South.
This process is, however, being reversed, not only because of Washington’s trade war and the hesitance of Western countries to join Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, but because of the US-led Western sanctions on Moscow. The Western economic war on Russia is an urgent reminder to China that it cannot fully rely on Western markets and financial systems.
Palestinians must present their cause as one united front, not as political fragments and factions. China’s slow drift from a Western-centric economic system is being coupled with a whole new approach to foreign policy — wolf diplomacy in the West and a gentler, kinder approach in the Global South.
Even before then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang phoned his Palestinian and Israeli counterparts in April to offer mediation, China had already introduced a peace initiative known as the four-point proposal. This proposal highlighted China’s readiness to move past its role as a trade partner into one of a political actor on the global stage.
For China, this is not only a matter of prestige. Various Muslim and Arab countries, along with Israel, are critical parties in the ambitious BRI project.
In recent months, China’s interest in being a peace mediator has increased exponentially, especially amid the near-total absence of Washington, the self-proclaimed “honest peace broker.”China has also shown a willingness to mediate between rival Palestinian groups. That, too, ushers in an evolution in China’s approach to Palestinian politics. However, it will not be easy. The Palestinian Authority’s financial well-being — and political future — is largely linked to Washington and other Western capitals. Though Palestinian officials, including the likes of Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, have threatened to “turn to China” due to the PA’s “disappointment” in Washington, such a shift will not be permitted, if not by Washington then by Tel Aviv itself. The visit in June by President Mahmoud Abbas to Beijing, although touted by the PA-run media as an earth-shattering event, will not be a game changer. True, it highlighted China’s growing interest in Palestine, but it is unlikely to be followed by substantive action on the part of the Palestinian leadership.
Palestinians need China, as they need other powerful players in the Global South, but it is not mediation that they desperately require. Mediation does not end military occupations or dismantle apartheid regimes. Instead, Palestinians need solidarity.
The major changes underway in the world’s geopolitical map and the rising importance of the Global South present Palestinians with unique opportunities to break away from US-Western hegemony and to reconnect with Palestine’s true strategic depth in Asia, Africa, South America and the rest of the world. For this to occur, Palestinians must present their cause as one united front, not as political fragments and factions. Only then can emerging powers view Palestine as a serious geopolitical asset in a vastly changing world.
*Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. Twitter: @RamzyBaroud
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Iran’s flawed strategy of promoting Latin American ties
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/August 14, 2023
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited three Latin American countries in mid-June. This trip was an opportunity to visit three revolutionary countries that are under US sanctions, namely Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. These countries are also ideologically close to the revolutionary Iranian state, as they oppose the US-led international order and Washington’s foreign policies.
One of the trip’s objectives was to publish diplomatic statements outlining Iran’s convergence with the revolutionary Latin American countries against US pressures and policies and to present a common agenda. Raisi explained that Latin America is no longer “the backyard of the Americans” because of the search for independence of each of the Latin American countries.
Despite the ideological convergence between Iran and the revolutionary Latin American countries, they do not complement one another from an economic standpoint. For example, even though Iran and Venezuela proclaimed during Raisi’s visit that they aimed to reach a trade volume of $10 billion and eventually $20 billion, official trade reached only $3 billion in 2022. Also, Iran’s relationship with Nicaragua is now focused more on developing military cooperation in order to counter US influence in Latin America, rather than on economic matters, and Cuba has been a historical partner of Iran since the 1979 Iranian revolution. Overall, it can be said that the Iranian strategy in Latin America is based on exporting and reinforcing the revolutionary ideals that are specific to the populist ideology of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Raisi tapped into the populist orientation of the revolutionary Latin American states. All three of these countries embrace anti-US sentiments and these feelings are predominant in their societies. Paradoxically, even if anti-US feelings are predominant in some segments of the Latin American population, it is clear that, in Iran, the majority of public opinion was indifferent to the conservative Iranian president’s diplomatic tour.
By addressing the peoples of Latin America, who are, according to Iran, subjected to “US arrogance,” Raisi sought to restore his revolutionary image on the international scene, but this diplomatic rhetoric is no longer appealing within Iran. Indeed, Raisi’s search for revolutionary legitimacy is part of ongoing efforts to restore the credibility and support base of the Iranian leadership, both of which diminished greatly following the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and the ensuing national protests.
In addition, Iran’s long-lasting and continuous economic woes have compounded the legitimacy crisis facing the country’s leadership, with it struggling to craft effective policies and solutions to remedy the economic crisis. The tough sanctions regime on Iran has not helped the leadership in reviving the fortunes of the economy. The majority of public opinion in Iran was indifferent to the conservative president’s diplomatic tour.
While the economic situation is very difficult inside Iran, this trip to Latin America allowed Raisi to strengthen the anti-US consensus inside the Iranian establishment. This remains one of the ideological tenets of the Khomeinist state and perhaps one of the tenets that continues to gel the establishment together.
Because of the lack of popular interest in his Latin America trip, Raisi asked the Iranian media to provide more coverage of his foreign diplomatic visits. This request was apparent during his meeting with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on Aug. 7. Indeed, the majority of Iranian public opinion is not interested in the Iranian state’s diplomatic activism in distant parts of the world, such as Latin America. The Iranian people want the economic problems of the country to be taken seriously and for governance to improve, not for the president to spend vast sums on long diplomatic visits for the sake of improving the standing of the Iranian state and the implementation of its ideological projects and schemes.
Besides the Iranian internal political context, Raisi’s trip was also part of the ongoing showdown between Iran and the US over the Iranian nuclear issue. This distant trip allowed Raisi to maintain valuable diplomatic support to limit Iran’s international isolation and marginalization within international organizations. It also stemmed from Iran’s desire to appear as a world power at a time when Tehran is encountering difficulties on the regional scene. This Latin American escape also reflected an Iranian diplomatic illusion of having the capacity to influence geopolitical developments in the backyard of the US. Despite this grand Iranian illusion, the symbolic dimension of Raisi’s trip and his meetings should not be neglected because they reflected hostility and convergence against Washington’s foreign policies. However, at the same time, the economic reality of the cooperation between Iran and the revolutionary Latin American countries should not be overestimated, despite the signing of numerous memorandums of understanding.
Iran’s interest is in finding ways to circumvent the economic sanctions that are impacting the capacity of Iranian leaders to transform the country’s economy into a real emerging one. However, the economic significance of Raisi’s trip was somewhat diminished as he did not go to Brazil, the main economic power in the region, which hosted former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.
President Raisi turned to Latin America because of the economic difficulties facing Iran and because of its deteriorating relations with neighboring countries, as shown by the tensions with Azerbaijan and the Taliban government. Geographical distance is certainly a limitation to deepening bilateral relations on the economic and strategic levels, but it constitutes an advantage in terms of improving the image and standing of the Islamic Republic.
The ignorance in Iran’s understanding of Latin America and the anti-US ideological orientation in the region allow Raisi’s trip and others to happen, but they are not enough to produce economic complementarity and deep economic relations between Iran and the revolutionary Latin American countries.
• Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is the founder and president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah).
Twitter: @mohalsulami