Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 30-31/2023
Postponing the extension session for UNIFIL
Al-Hadath.net/Wednesday 30 August 2023
Al-Hadath TV reported that the Security Council session, which was scheduled to extend theterm of the international forces “UNIFIL” in southern Lebanon, was postponed.

The UAE and America reject the Lebanese-French formula: postponing the vote for "UNIFIL"
Al-Modon/30 August/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/121803/121803/
Reuters quoted diplomats as saying that the vote that was supposed to take place on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at the United Nations to renew approval of the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been postponed. The postponement came due to a dispute between France, the United States and the UAE over the freedom of movement of the international organization's forces. According to Reuters, France has drafted a draft UN Security Council resolution to extend the peacekeeping mission for another year, but the United States and the UAE say that "the resolution is weaker than the wording related to the ability of the United Nations forces to move freely."
Emirati militancy
"UNIFIL's freedom of movement is of paramount importance at a time when tensions in the region are escalating to dangerous levels," an Emirati diplomat told Reuters, on condition of anonymity. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was established in 1978, carries out patrols on Lebanon's southern border with Israel. Its mandate is renewed annually. Its current mandate expires on Thursday. According to the draft, France added wording stating that peacekeepers should coordinate with the Lebanese government, and deleted the text in last year's Security Council resolution, which required all parties to allow "announced and unannounced patrols" of UN forces. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that talks are continuing and that the United States wants a resolution that "strengthens UNIFIL and provides it with what it needs to continue to function effectively." In turn, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the Israeli Army Radio that "Lebanon's demands to limit the freedom of UNIFIL members to supervise and monitor what is happening in southern Lebanon are unacceptable." For his part, the Lebanese Foreign Minister in the caretaker government, Abdullah Bou Habib, considered that "the new Security Council resolution must stipulate that UNIFIL forces coordinate with the Lebanese army."
American position
In the context, a spokeswoman for the US State Department said, "Hezbollah's refusal to authorize (UNIFIL) is the latest in a series of events proving that Hezbollah is more interested in its interests and those of its sponsor Iran than its interest in the safety and well-being of the Lebanese people." "The United States remains committed to the mission of UNIFIL and to the safety and security of the United Nations peacekeeping forces," the State Department spokeswoman stressed. She pointed out that "UNIFIL's independence and freedom of movement are two very crucial elements in its ability to accomplish its mission, and this is stipulated in the Status of Forces Agreement between UNIFIL and Lebanon, which has been in force since 1995." "While the language added in the 2022 mandate did not give UNIFIL any additional powers, it did confirm the international community's commitment to UNIFIL's freedom of movement and access to key areas of concern," said the spokeswoman, who preferred to remain anonymous. To mitigate instability along the Blue Line." The spokeswoman renewed "the Lebanese authorities' call to ensure UNIFIL's freedom of movement and access, and to hold accountable those responsible for obstructing the implementation of its mandate and threatening the safety of United Nations peacekeepers."

Berri broaches general situation with US Envoy Hochstein, meets Canadian Ambassador
NNA/August 30/2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday received at the Second Presidency in Ain El-Tineh, US envoy Amos Hochstein, and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation. The meeting lasted for one hour, after which Hochstein described his meeting with Speaker Berri as excellent and constructive. In turn, Speaker Berri renewed his thanks for the efforts made by Hochstein that resulted in the start of the exploration process in Block No. 9, stressing that “the efforts of the Parliament will remain focused on electing a new president of the republic, and completing the required legislations in the oil field, most notably the sovereign fund, as well as the legislations required to complete the agreement with the International Monetary Fund." Speaker Berri stressed before the American envoy, "the need to stop the Israeli violations of International Resolution 1701,” highlighting “the depth of the relationship with the international peacekeeping forces “UNIFIL” since 1978 until now.” Berri also stressed Lebanon’s keenness on preserving stability as well as its keenness on its sovereignty over the entire Lebanese soil.
On the other hand, Berri received Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, Stefanie McCollum, with whom he discussed the latest political developments and the country's general situation.

Mikati meets Hochstein at Grand Serail in presence of US Ambassador
NNA/August 30/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday received at the Grand Serail, US envoy Amos Hochstein, in the presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea. The meeting also took place in the presence of Premier Mikati’s Diplomatic aAdvisor, Ambassador Boutros Asaker, and the Lebanese government's coordinator to the United Nations forces, Brigadier General Mounir.

US Senior Advisor Amos Hochstein and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Discuss Security Partnership
LBCI/August 30/2023
Senior advisor to US President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, recently held a working dinner with Joseph Aoun, the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The US Embassy in Beirut confirmed the meeting via X, emphasizing both parties' commitment to enhancing the security partnership between the United States and Lebanon. "The dedication of highly professional soldiers is critical to Lebanon's security and stability," the embassy's X statement read. "Committed to continue the US-Lebanon security partnership," it added.

Manoushe' before talks: Hochstein in Beirut to follow up on border deal
Naharnet/August 30/2023
Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden Amos Hochstein arrived Wednesday in Lebanon on a two-day visit to follow-up on the October 2022 maritime boundary agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Before meeting Speaker Nabih Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Hochstein had a quick coffee & a Lebanese manoushe with U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea. "Great to be back in Beirut," Hochstein wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. "Quick coffee & manoushe at Falamanki with the beautiful iconic view overlooking Raouche," he added. Hochstein will also reportedly meet with caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. He will discuss areas of mutual and regional concern, the U.S. embassy in Beirut said. Hochstein will talk with the Lebanese officials about the land border with Israel and will likely visit the South to inspect UNIFIL peacekeepers and the gas drilling rig in Block 9, media reports said. Pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported Wednesday that Hochstein will propose a new mediation aimed at finalizing the file of the land border between Lebanon and Israel and that "he wants to get it done quickly."The daily added that Mikati would tell Hochstein that Lebanon would not be engaging in land border demarcation talks but rather in negotiations to highlight the already-demarcated international border between Lebanon and Palestine as it was before Israel's creation. Mikati would also urge the United States to pressure Israel to withdraw from all the Lebanese territories that remain under occupation. During Hochstein's meeting with Berri, the latter called for a halt of Israeli violations of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the full cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the Blue Line.

Lebanon-Israel border talks: US senior advisor initiates efforts to address remaining border reservations
LBCI/August 30/2023
Amos Hochstein, the senior American advisor for energy security, has embarked on a new mission between Lebanon and Israel concerning the conclusion of remaining reservations along the Blue Line, totaling six. This follows tripartite meetings involving Lebanese, Israeli, and international officials, resulting in an agreement on seven out of thirteen points.Starting his day with a cup of coffee and a man'oushe alongside the US Ambassador in a cafe in Raouche, Hochstein expressed his strong commitment to the success of this mission after his successful involvement in delineating the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel. Consequently, after the meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the American side made a direct request to maintain confidentiality regarding the details of addressing the reservations to ensure their success. Hochstein conveyed his satisfaction to Berri about commencing the drilling process in Block 9 and the potential benefits for Lebanon if significant commercial quantities of oil and gas are discovered. Moreover, the discussion also delved into the importance of electing a President for the Republic and the role of the Parliament in passing reformative laws. Within the Serail, the focus is addressing the remaining reservations along the Blue Line. The presence of Brigadier General Mounir Chehade, who is responsible for this file and participates in the tripartite meetings in Naqoura, was noteworthy. According to sources, Hochstein's task in this matter does not conclude with the end of his visit to Lebanon on Thursday. Nonetheless, continued communication between him and the Israeli side is expected in order to expedite the conclusion of reservations and reach an agreement as soon as possible. This agreement would finalize the land border issue similarly to the maritime border file. The Americans consider securing such agreements contributes to increased stability and reduces the role of Hezbollah.

Lebanon relieved after Paris introduces amendments to UNIFIL resolution
Naharnet/August 30/2023
Relative relief engulfed Beirut overnight after Paris introduced amendments to the draft resolution that will renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), media reports said. The draft “was written in blue ink, which means that it will be referred to the Security Council for a vote in the coming hours,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday. “The resolution that is expected to be issued by the Security Council tomorrow does not drop the paragraph that grants the U.N. force freedom of movement in its deployment areas, but it includes a settlement with Lebanon by emphasizing on ‘coordination’ between the U.N. forces and the Lebanese government, although for the sake of clarity it should have directly mentioned that the movement should be coordinated in advance with the Lebanese Army,” informed sources told the daily. The draft also expresses the U.N. Security Council’s concern over Israel’s continued occupation of the northern part of the Ghajar village and the outskirts of the town of al-Mari and calls on Israel to speed up the withdrawal of its army from that region.

Mikati meets Caretaker Industry Minister, discusses developmental affairs with Akkar deputies
NNA/August 30/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday met at the Grand Serail with Caretaker Industry Minister, Georges Boujikian, with whom he discussed relevant Ministry affairs. On the other hand, Premier Mikati received North Lebanon and Akkar MPs Walid Baarini, Muhammad Suleiman, Abdul Aziz Samad, and Ahmed Al-Khair. Discussions reportedly touched on developmental affairs related to the northern district and Akhar.

Security issues: UN expected to renew UNIFIL's mandate amidst complex negotiations
LBCI/August 30/2023
In the upcoming hours, the United Nations is anticipated to renew the United Nations Interim Force mandate in Lebanon (UNIFIL) operating in the southern region.
The government engaged in challenging negotiations through an official delegation led by the Foreign Minister in New York, which addressed two vital points: the movement of international forces and the situation in the Ghajar village.
The movement of international forces issue, or Article 16, proved particularly contentious. In 2022, this article was amended to grant UNIFIL the autonomy to carry out its designated tasks independently without prior authorization from the Lebanese side. The Lebanese side initially contested this phrase, but was eventually modified to include "continue coordinating with the Government of Lebanon, as per the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)," while maintaining the independence of implementing UNIFIL's tasks. The addition of “continue coordinating” was to strike a compromise that satisfied all parties, which several countries, including the United States, the UAE, and the UK, held discretion on Wednesday. The matter postponed the session, at a time when we can say that the diplomatic preparations, including the Lebanese diplomats, are working non-stop in New York.
The second point focused on the situation in the village of Ghajar. Looking back at the renewal decision 2022, Ghajar was mentioned only once when the Security Council urged the Israeli government to expedite its withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar in coordination with UNIFIL.
However, this year's resolution marked significant progress favoring Lebanon. Firstly, the issue of Ghajar was addressed twice: once in the justifications for the renewal and again in the resolution text.
The renewal emphasized Lebanon's right to its land in the Ghajar area, recognizing that Ghajar is originally a Lebanese village, not Syrian, as Lebanon refrains from using the phrase "the outskirts of Al-Mari."
Moreover, where Lebanon's previous attempts fell short, this year's resolution clearly considered Israel's presence in the north of Al-Mari as an ongoing occupation. The text of the resolution read as follows:
"The Security Council expresses concern over the ongoing Israeli presence in the northern part of the village of Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line on the outskirts of the town of Al-Mari, constituting a continuous violation of resolution 1701. The Security Council affirms that the continued construction activities in the area are inconsistent with the necessary withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces."
While the resolution urged Israel to promptly withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line, in the outskirts of Al-Mari, with no delay and in coordination with UNIFIL, another security matter drew attention:
"The Security Council expresses concern over the installation of tents south of the Blue Line in the occupied Chebaa Farms, with individuals crossing from north of the Blue Line to reach the tents, an action viewed by the Secretary-General as a violation of resolution 1701."
These were the core points of contention. Despite the delegation's attempts to prevent the inclusion of political provisions within the resolution, international insistence prevailed.
Hence, the resolution also:
- Called upon political leaders to elect a new president without further delay.
- Expressed the Security Council's concerns regarding the delay in implementing necessary reforms to swiftly reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Encouraged the resumption of discussions to achieve a national defensive strategy through national dialogue after the election of a new president, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the Taif Agreement.
- Called for an independent, impartial, comprehensive, and transparent investigation, particularly about the Beirut port explosion.
- Urged increased international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces.
This summary provides a glimpse into the extensive resolution over 11 pages. The complete text is available for reference on the LBCI website:
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/lebanon-news/720527/lbci-exclusively-receives-final-draft-for-unifils/en

Report: Presidential file not on Abdollahian's visit agenda
Naharnet/August 30/2023
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrives Wednesday in Beirut after a recent visit to Saudi Arabia. Abdollahian, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had reportedly discussed the Lebanese file during their meetings in Riyadh. "The Lebanese file was discussed in detail during the talks, especially the presidential file and Iran's role in it," al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Wednesday. Abdollahian had also discussed the Lebanese file with his Qatari counterpart last month, the daily said, adding that Abdollahian's visit to Beirut would be of great importance, yet it will not tackle the presidential file or break the presidential impasse. Also on Wednesday, Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden Amos Hochstein arrived in Lebanon to follow-up on the October 2022 maritime boundary agreement between Lebanon and Israel. He will reportedly discuss with Lebanese officials the land border with Israel and will visit the gas drilling rig in Block 9.

US, Iranian envoys in Lebanon as UNIFIL renewal vote falters
Najia Houssari/Arab News/August 30, 2023
BEIRUT: Lebanon is committed to maintaining internal security, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told US energy security envoy Amos Hochstein on Wednesday, hours before a UN vote on peacekeeping missions in the south of the country was delayed. Berri highlighted “the depth of the relationship with UNIFIL since 1978, and Lebanon’s keenness to maintain stability and its sovereignty over all of Lebanese territory.”The US envoy began a two-day visit to Lebanon to follow up on the historic maritime boundary agreement reached last October, and discuss areas of mutual and regional interest. Hochstein oversaw the demarcation of maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel through indirect negotiations mediated by the US, and Lebanon is awaiting the results of exploration in Block 9, which was initiated by TotalEnergies. It is expected to take 60 days to discover the viability of commercial gas operations in the block. The US energy envoy was accompanied by US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, who described the meeting with Berri as “excellent and constructive.”On the first day of his visit, Hochstein also met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Energy Minister Walid Fayad. Hochstein’s visit comes at the invitation of the tripartite consortium of oil and gas exploration in Lebanese waters, which includes TotalEnergies of France, Eni of Italy and Qatar Energy. It comes days after Total began exploring for oil in Block 9, and as preparations are underway for a mission related to exploration surveys in Block 8.
The US envoy, accompanied by Fayad and Total officials, is set to visit an oil platform during his trip. Hours after Hochstein’s arrival, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Lebanon on an unscheduled visit. His visit to the country comes after his latest trip to Riyadh, which involved talks with the Saudi leadership. The Iranian minister’s itinerary includes meetings with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as the Hezbollah leadership. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani said on X (formerly Twitter) that Abdollahian’s agenda involves “talks and meetings with Lebanese officials on topics of common interest.” He added: “This visit reflects Iran’s policy and its constructive role in supporting Lebanon’s stability and prosperity.”

UNRWA Calls for $15.5 Million for Aftermath of Clashes in Lebanon's Ain el-Hilweh
Asharq Al Awsat/30 August 2023
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees appealed Wednesday for $15.5 million to respond to the fallout of clashes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp earlier this month. The agency, known as UNRWA, said the money is needed to repair infrastructure damaged in the clashes in the Ain el-Hilweh camp, provide alternate schooling locations for children who will now be unable to use the schools in the camp, and hand cash assistance to people who have been displaced from their homes. Several days of street battles broke out in the camp between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement and Islamist groups in the camp after Fatah accused the Islamists of gunning down one of their military generals on July 30. While an uneasy truce has prevailed since Aug. 3, clashes could resume if the Islamist groups do not hand over the accused killers of the Fatah general, Mohammad “Abu Ashraf” al-Armoushi to the Lebanese judiciary as demanded by a committee of Palestinian factions earlier this month. The bulk of the funds requested by UNRWA, about $11 million, would go to provide one-time $1,200 cash aid payments to families whose homes have “become uninhabitable due to the conflict,” the agency said in its appeal, as well as smaller aid payments to other vulnerable families in the camp. Another $1.65 million would go to setting up a “double shift system” at schools outside of the camp to accommodate about 5,900 students, as the schools inside the camp were damaged in the clashes and “remain occupied by armed actors and inaccessible to UNRWA,” the appeal said. The requested amount does not include the cost of reconstruction, The Associated Press said. There are nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Lebanon, although the actual number is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWA’s roster.

Salameh probe suspended after he files lawsuits against state
Naharnet/August 30/2023
Former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has filed lawsuits against the state, alleging that judges have committed errors in handling his file. The lawsuits force the judges looking into his case to suspend their work pending a decision from the general commission of the Court of Cassation, which is currently inactive due to a dispute over the sectarian balance in the appointment of its members. Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, who is loyal to Speaker Nabih Berri, had refused to sign the decree of appointments, arguing that the addition of a chamber to the court had raised the number of Christian judges from five to six wheres it still comprises only five Muslim judges. The Court’s paralysis has also forced the suspension of the probe into the 2020 Beirut port blast catastrophe. Informed sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that Berri has overlooked a draft law submitted by a number of MPs for amending a legal article allowing the suspension of legal cases upon the filing of lawsuits against the state by the plaintiffs. “Had it been approved, this law would have guaranteed the resumption of several cases, including the investigations into the port crime and the financial crimes,” the sources said. Once lauded for reviving Lebanon's economy, Salameh left office on July 31 after three decades in the job, wanted abroad and reviled at home after years of financial meltdown. The 73-year-old French-Lebanese national is widely viewed as a key culprit in the country's dramatic economic crash, which the World Bank called one of the worst in recent history. Salameh is also wanted by authorities in France and Germany for alleged financial crimes, with Interpol issuing Red Notices targeting him. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. One of the world's longest-serving central bank governors, he faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad. Salameh has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and defended his legacy. European delegations have made several trips this year to Beirut to question Salameh, his brother and others in his close circle. In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth $130 million in a move linked to a French probe into Salameh's personal wealth. Earlier this year, Lebanon charged him with embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion. The domestic probe was opened following a request for assistance from Switzerland's public prosecutor, who is investigating more than $300 million in fund movements by Salameh and his brother. In February, Swiss media reported that 12 banks in the country had received up to $500 million in money Salameh is alleged to have embezzled.

Hezbollah-FPM dialogue reportedly facing difficulties
Naharnet/August 30/2023
The dialogue between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement is progressing slowly and is facing some difficulties, a media report said on Wednesday. One of the main difficulties is the issue of “financial decentralization, whereas administrative decentralization will be agreed on soon,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported. The issue of the trust fund, which is also an FPM demand, is “facing numerous obstacles, most notably that the fund would take a lot of powers from the Finance Ministry, something that the Shiite Duo rejects,” the daily added.

New Syrian refugee movements: Illicit border crossings trigger refugee crisis
LBCI/August 30/2023
In the border region of Bqaiaa, two individuals are seen crossing the vast river from Syria into Lebanon, shedding light on how hundreds or even thousands of Syrian refugees can easily traverse from one side to the other. This area has not witnessed such illicit movement since our presence, portraying an ongoing challenge for the authorities. At the Bqaiaa point, a Lebanese army checkpoint stands by the river's bridge. However, kilometers of dirt roads within the dividing barriers, upstream and downstream from the bridge, offer an effortless passage from one side to the other.
Residents in the Wadi Khaled Valley claim that human trafficking operations are absent due to geographical constraints. Moreover, the local population prevents unauthorized movement toward the United Nations-demarcated area on the petroleum line.
Here, human trafficking activities thrive in plain sight. Approaching the illegal crossing point at the Abu al-Jahhash and Aabeidat crossings, operatives from smuggling networks are seen dispersing, firing warning shots into the air to deter further approaches.
Our observations capture motorcycles and vans ferrying passengers across the river to the Wadi Khaled area. We closely followed a motorcycle transporting unauthorized migrants to a garage in Wadi Khaled. They get off the bikes and on vans, delving further into Lebanese territory. The ceaseless activity of these smuggler motorcycles and vans is evident. These vans, transporting Lebanese and Syrian passengers, undergo thorough inspections at the Lebanese army checkpoint in Chadra. Recent surges in the refugee movement have compelled the army to tighten controls, resulting in the apprehension of around a thousand Syrians who had entered clandestinely in the past and subsequently repatriated to Syria. This strict approach has unveiled smuggling networks' cunning tactics to infiltrate refugees into deeper Lebanese territory.
A seized truck appears outwardly empty, yet its roof conceals several Syrians, males, and females, to smuggle them past military barriers. Notably, the new influx of refugees is not limited to families; it includes young men arriving independently from their families.

Lebanese Comedian Nour Hajjar Issues Apology Amid Controversy
LBCI/August 30/2023
Prominent Lebanese comedian Nour Hajjar has released a statement apologizing for any offense caused by a joke from a five-year-old performance, which recently resurfaced on social media. In his statement, Hajjar expressed his unwavering respect for all religious beliefs and apologized to anyone hurt by the viral video clip. He clarified that the joke, originally presented on a Beirut stage, centered on a humorous, fictional conversation with his mother. Hajjar insisted he never intended any disrespect towards the Holy Quran, emphasizing that he never imagined that a joke from five years ago could be misinterpreted to the extent of receiving death threats against himself and his family. Due to the threats, Hajjar was forced to temporarily leave his home and switch off his phone. Legal complications arose as he was not available to acknowledge a court summons, leading to his arrest for the alleged offense of "mocking religious rituals." Hajjar emphasized his commitment to the law, pointing out that he remains under the jurisdiction of the judiciary and respects its decisions. He also expressed regret that his family was caught in this situation and hoped that the high Islamic authorities in Lebanon wouldn't condone the threats against them.
"The values of tolerance are fundamental to Islam," Hajjar said, urging religious leaders to remind believers of this central principle. He concluded by reiterating his commitment to bringing joy to his country, which is often marred by tragedies. "It pains me to see my name associated with such anger and harm," he said, "when I have always sought to bring laughter and alleviate people's worries." The controversy around the comedian escalated on Tuesday when he was arrested due to a lawsuit filed by Dar Al-Fatwa. However, he was released on bail the same evening upon an order from Judge Ghassan Oueidat of the Cassation Court. Hajjar’s attorney, Diala Chehade, indicated that the maximum detention period is 48 hours, which can be renewed once. She further confirmed that Hajjar had testified, clarifying the context of the joke and insisting that no religious contempt was intended.

Ministry of Information, al-Makassed sign donation agreement in support of sign language
NNA/August 30/2023
Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, and President of Islamic Al-Makassed Organization, Faysal Senno, on Wednesday signed a donation agreement to fund the translation of Tele Liban's news bulleting into the sign language.
"There are thousands of people who cannot hear; they are deprived of television, radio an all the media means in Lebanon," said Makary. "Al-Makassed needs the state; all Lebanon needs a strong, steadfast, just and secular state," he added. "The Lebanese citizen can only live under the (rule) of law and under a fair state that does not discriminate between citizens," he said.

Foreign Ministry calls Lebanese in Gabon for caution
NNA/August 30/2023
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement on Wednesday, that it is following up on the developments in Gabon, calling upon the Lebanese in the African nation to keep cautious and safe. It added that in case of emergency, the Lebanese in Gabon are called to contact the Lebanese Embassy in Libreville on the following number 241 66 40 13 52.

Majority of Lebanese hospitals still report overdose cases to police in contravention with MoPH’s directives
NNA/August 30/2023
To mark the International Overdose Awareness Day that takes place on 31 August of every year, Skoun releases its map of “safe hospitals” listing hospitals that do not report cases of overdoses to the police as per the Ministry of Public Health’s circulars of 2016 and 2019. The map’s aim is to allow people who use drugs to safely access hospitals in cases of emergency in order to safeguard their right to life and health. The mapping shows that only 40 hospitals in Lebanon abide by the directives of the Ministry of Public Health. Skoun calls on the Ministry of Public Health to reiterate the content of its circulars to ensure that all hospitals are aware of the circulars’ content, and to monitor their implementation by all hospitals in order to ensure the right to life and health of all patients, including those who use drugs.  Skoun calls on the administration of private and public hospitals across Lebanon to refrain from reporting drug-related emergencies to the police in commitment to the circulars issued by the MOPH, and to inform concerned staff of their duty of care towards patients who use drugs, and include the restriction to inform the police of overdose cases in their internal policies.
Although there are two circulars from 2016 and 2019 (attached) issued by the MOPH that remind the hospitals to protect patient's lives and refrain from calling the police when receiving cases of overdose or drug-related emergencies, the vast majority of hospitals across Lebanon still report overdose cases to the police; a practice that puts people's lives at risk by delaying or hindering their recourse to emergency medical care because of fear of arrest, therefore increasing the risk of death.
- Of the 91 hospitals that answered the survey, only 40 hospitals have confirmed that they do not report overdose cases to the ISF: 8 governmental hospitals and 32 private hospitals.
- 7 of the hospitals previously marked as “safe” or non-reporting in 2022 are now out of the “safe hospitals” list: They were either unreachable or answered by saying that they report overdose cases to the police.
-20 hospitals that were previously marked as reporting hospitals have now joined the “safe hospitals” list.
- The staff of 57 hospitals reported having no knowledge of the circulars, 12 of which are governmental hospitals.
- As a result of repeated mappings, the number of safe hospitals has increased from 27 in 2022 to 40 in 2023, showcasing the importance and impact of reminding hospitals of the circulars and their content.
During the months of July and August, Skoun contacted all hospitals listed on the Ministry of Public Health’s website to inquire about their practices when receiving overdose cases in the emergency room.
A total of 91 hospitals across Lebanon responded: 15 governmental hospitals and 76 private hospitals.
The calls targeted ER Doctors or the ER Head Nurses who were asked whether:
1-The hospital reports overdose cases to the Internal Security Forces (ISF) upon their reception or not
2- The hospital is aware of the Ministry of Public Health’s circulars of 2016 and 2019 which inform hospitals that they should not report overdose cases to the police and remind them of their duty of care towards patients.
Hospitals that responded that they do not report cases of overdose to the police were marked as “safe hospitals” whether they don't report as a result of the MOPH circulars or as a result of their own policy.
Background
- An overdose is the consumption of doses of a substance (legal or illegal) beyond the recommended dosage or beyond the body’s tolerance. Overdose can lead to death if not treated in a timely manner. Overdose deaths are preventable.
- The practice of informing the police of such cases discourages individuals who are suffering from symptoms of overdose or their family/friends from seeking urgent medical care due to fear of arrest. Delaying emergency medical care in cases of overdose puts the person at risk of death.
- In 2006, the Ministry of Interior issued circular 55/1 requiring hospitals to inform the ISF of incidents they receive in the Emergency Room that result from harms caused by others. This circular created confusion and led to hospitals reporting incidents that resulted from any illegal activity such as the use of drugs.
- In 2016, the Ministry of Public Health issued circular 44/2016 in view of protecting persons suffering from overdoses, from arrests while seeking medical assistance. The circular clarifies that circular 55/1 does not apply to overdose cases, as they do not result from harms caused by others, and that these cases should therefore not be reported to the ISF. The circular further links directly the practice of reporting overdose cases to the police with an increased risk of death in cases of overdose.
- Despite the circular 44/2016, the vast majority of hospitals continue to report overdose cases to the police.
- In 2019, and as a result of Skoun's efforts, the MOPH reiterated in circular 76/2019 that hospitals should refrain from reporting overdose cases to the police.
- In 2019, The Ministry of Interior also issued its own circular addressed to ISF officers reiterating the right of people who use drugs to seek medical care and reminding them of the text of the MoPH’s circular.
- Globally, more than 100,000 people die every year from overdoses.
About the international Campaign
International Overdose Awareness Day is a global campaign held on 31 August each year to raise awareness about overdose and call for evidence -based policies and overdose prevention measures. The campaign remembers without stigma those who have died or had permanent injuries as a result of drug overdose and acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends left behind. The campaign spreads the message that drug overdose is preventable. Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Center is a harm reduction center that provides outpatient treatment services for people with substance use disorders as well as a full range of protection and prevention services for people who use drugs and communities at risk, and advocates for drug policy reform in line with health and human rights principles.

‘Ghosts of Beirut’ gets Hezbollah’s most wanted all wrong
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Research Fellow/Asia Times/August 30/2023
Showtime miniseries is thrilling but its portrayal of Hezbollah’s American-killing Imad Mughniyeh is wide off the historical mark
The creators of the Netflix hit series “Fauda” are back. In May, Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz released “Ghosts of Beirut,” a Showtime miniseries that narrates the life and assassination of Hezbollah’s former military leader Imad Mughniyeh, who – until the 9/11 attacks – had killed more Americans than any other non-state actor.
While Showtime’s quasi-documentary is entertaining, perhaps even thrilling for those who don’t know Mughniyeh’s story, the show misrepresents Mughniyeh’s ties to both the late Lebanese ayatollah, Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The show opens with IRGC officers approaching Mughniyeh, then working as a car mechanic, and plucking him out of obscurity. This is incorrect. If anything, it was Mughniyeh who helped found the IRGC.
After Israel defeated Egypt in the 1967 war, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser encouraged asymmetric warfare against the Jewish state. Palestinian militias flourished in Jordan and Lebanon, launching cross-border attacks into Israel, inviting retribution, and threatening the sovereignty of both nations.
In 1970, Jordan expelled Palestinian militias, then under the command of Yasser Arafat. They relocated to Lebanon, where Nasser had pushed Beirut to accept the 1969 Cairo Agreement, which allowed Palestinian armed factions to roam the country freely. Arafat thus became Lebanon’s strong militiaman and de facto ruler, just like Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah today.
In his tug and pull with the Lebanese state, Arafat instructed his second-in-command, Khalil Al Wazir, better known by his nom du guerre Abu Jihad, to form an elite unit, Force 17, designed to counter Lebanon’s Police Force 16.
Ali Dheeb, a Shia from south Lebanon, joined Force 17 and climbed the ranks. He became so reliable that in 1979, when Israel killed Arafat’s top commander, Ali Hassan Salameh (Abu Hassan), Ali Dheeb replaced him and took the same nom de guerre. To avoid his successor’s fate, the new Abu Hassan recruited Shia bodyguards he could trust. One of them was 17-year-old Mughniyeh.
“Ghosts of Beirut” doesn’t mention Abu Jihad or Force 17 and only says that Mughniyeh was known as Arafat’s bodyguard.
In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David Peace Accord. The same year, a revolution in Iran toppled Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and an Islamist regime emerged on top.
Because the Shah had been Israel’s ally, Arafat had sponsored and trained the Iranian opposition that would seize power in the revolution. Among them was Iranian physicist Mostafa Chamran, who became Islamic Iran’s first defense minister.
While in Lebanon, Chamran befriended Dheeb, Mughniyeh, and Anis Naqqash, the second-in-command during the 1975 operation that saw Carlos the Jackal take OPEC oil ministers hostage at a meeting in Vienna.
Naqqash, a Sunni, was slated to become IRGC’s man in Lebanon. But first he had to help the Iranians settle scores with the Shah’s last prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar, who had taken refuge in Paris. Naqqash’s plan to assassinate Bakhtiar went awry. French police arrested him, and he served 10 years in French prison.
With Naqqash gone, Dheeb and Mughniyeh rose in his stead. Meanwhile, Mughniyeh had been gravitating toward a group of Shia clerics whom Iraq’s Saddam Hussein had chased out of Najaf’s religious seminary.
These included Fadlallah, whose maternal cousins were part of the prominent Iraqi Hakim religious dynasty. Fadlallah was affiliated with the Iraqi Islamic Dawa Party, whose founder, Muhammad Baqir Al Sadr, was executed in 1980 – the year war broke out between Iraq and Iran.
Younger clerics who left Iraq included Abbas Al Musawi and Hassan Nasrallah, the first and third secretary generals of Hezbollah. Using his connections with Fatah and the IRGC, Mughniyeh extended protection to this group of clerics, hunted down Saddam’s Baath militia in Lebanon, and, in 1981, bombed the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut – a gruesome act that is also missing from “Ghosts of Beirut.”
While the bombing was attributed to the Dawa party, it was in fact Mughniyeh’s first of five signature bombings in which a bomb-laden truck was detonated by a suicide militant who drove into the building.
Over his lifetime, Mughniyeh launched suicide truck attacks in Lebanon, targeting the US Embassy in Beirut (killing 17 Americans), the US Peacekeeping Marine Force (killing 241 American servicemen), and the headquarters of the French Peacekeepers. All these bombings happened in 1983.
The last of Mughniyeh’s truck bombings killed Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Mughniyeh’s name wasn’t among the six Hezbollah militants that a UN tribunal found guilty of the assassination, but included was Mughniyeh’s longtime associate, maternal cousin, and his wife’s brother, Mustafa Badreddine.
Outside Lebanon, Mughniyeh’s explosive attacks hit the US Embassy in Kuwait in 1983, and the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, killing 19 US Air Force personnel.
After America went to war in Iraq in 2003, Mughniyeh planned attacks that killed American troops. While “Ghosts of Beirut” covered these attacks well, it incorrectly implied that some of them were ordered by Mughniyeh without IRGC knowledge.
Perhaps it was the CIA’s 1985 attempt to kill Fadlallah that knocked “Ghosts of Beirut” off balance. Because Washington incorrectly blamed Fadlallah for Mughniyeh’s attacks, the Showtime miniseries depicted Mughniyeh as the mentee of Fadlallah, and therefore independent of Tehran. This was never the case.
In 2005, Naqqash told Al Jazeera that, together with a senior Iranian official, he met with a top Hariri aide shortly before the Lebanese leader was killed. Naqqash said that they tried to convey to Hariri Tehran’s view of regional events. When that failed, the Baghdad bureau of the Saudi channel Al Arabiya was bombed. It was part of a larger split fueled by America’s war in Iraq.
The Saudis originally opposed the Iraq war, but fearing Iran would swallow post-Saddam Iraq, they took America’s side and helped recruit Iraq’s Sunni tribes that, together with American troops, managed to eject Al Qaeda from the country. But Riyadh’s cooperation with Washington wasn’t welcome in Tehran.
That’s what prompted Iran to orchestrate the bombing of Al Arabiya in Baghdad. Iran also took out Riyadh’s ally in Beirut – Hariri. Mughniyeh essentially pulled the trigger on these and other attacks, helping Iran kill 603 of the 4,431 Americans who died in Iraq.
To depict Mughniyeh as anything other than a Tehran pawn goes against everything that is known about this IRGC ace. A well-done miniseries shouldn’t have committed such a faux pas.
*Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. X: @hahussain
https://asiatimes.com/2023/08/ghosts-of-beirut-gets-hezbollahs-most-wanted-all-wrong/?fbclid=IwAR2wZx4vwms5enjbCb6zu-NamlpC2CWvP9rdRY-P_DSDIogiVZT_cLn_4A8

Arafat Chose to Fight for 6 Months... Moscow’s Position Was his Greatest Disappointment
London: Ghassan Charbel//Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
Asharq Al-Awsat publishes recollections of influential players during 1982 Israeli invasion of Beirut.
)On this day in 1982, Beirut was besieged by the Israeli army and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat boarded a ship that took him to his new exile in Tunisia. The Palestinian Liberation Organization’s loss of its last front with Israel would leave its mark on the Palestinians and Lebanon. As Israel tightened its siege of Beirut, Arafat took a secret decision to carry on fighting for six months until regional and international stances emerged. He was forced to leave Lebanon after 88 days, marking an end of what he described as the “longest Arab-Israeli war.” The greatest disappointment to the Palestinian resistance and its allies in the Lebanese National Movement came from their Soviet ally. Moscow had refused to deliver a serious warning or send a destroyer off the Lebanese coast or a ship to evacuate the wounded.
Arafat’s insistence that he leave Lebanon by sea, not through Damascus, reflected the extent of the differences between him and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) Ahmed Jibril recalled that Arafat had bluntly told him that the Syrian leadership will not be credited for him holding out for three months in Beirut. Asharq Al-Awsat will publish a series of features highlighting the significant developments and recollections of influential players during that heated summer of 1982.
From a building in east Beirut, Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon observed Arafat as he boarded the ship that would take him to Tunisia. He wrongly believed that had broken the Palestinian resistance and that it would fade away in exile. The invasion failed in luring Lebanon to strike a peace deal with Israel. The current Lebanon has an even more hardline position towards Israel. Against the backdrop of the war, Syria and Iran will lay the foundation of their alliance. Hezbollah would be born in Lebanon. Syria, which had withdrawn its troops from Beirut in wake of the invasion, would redeploy them years later, before again being forced to pull them out in 2005 after the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
In the besieged city, I was determined to record the testimonials of influential political and security figures. I tried to obtain Arafat’s testimony, but he turned down the offer, saying he didn’t want the Palestinian people to be punished “because of his memories.”
In Tunisia, Arafat told me: “What do you want me to recount? To tell you about Sabri al-Banna (Abou Nidal), who was hosted by three Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus and Tripoli, and who was obsessed with assassinating Palestinians, not Israelis?”
“Do you want me to tell you about the so-called intifada in Fatah that was backed by Syria and funded by Libya? Or do you want me to complain about the practices of Palestinian groups that tarnished our image of resistance or led to our labeling as terrorists? I’m not saying that Fatah was faultless. We all made mistakes, but we always tried not to lose our way and lose our cause.”“The Palestinian people have been punished a lot. They were punished for clinging on to their cause and for firing the first shot. (...) The PLO was punished for adopting a hard line and punished when it adopted a moderate approach. Do you want the Palestinian people to be punished because of my memoirs? I don’t want to open old wounds.”“As I was leaving Beirut, a journalist asked me: ‘Where to?’ I replied: ‘To Jerusalem. We are preparing for our date in Palestine and Jerusalem. We don’t have any other place to be.’”
The KGB general and Iran
In 1980, Palestinian ambassador to Tehran and Fatah central committee member Hani al-Hassan received an urgent call to head to Beirut. Upon his arrival, Arafat told him they were headed to a meeting at the Soviet embassy. Hassan understood that he needed to voice Arafat’s views. He knew how influential the Soviets were in the Palestinian revolution. He knew of the consequences of refusing delicate Soviet proposals.
Other Fatah members at the meeting included Salah Khalaf (Abou Ayad) and Khalil al-Wazir (Abou Jihad). The Soviets were represented by General “Alexander” who was the KGB official overseeing operations in the Middle East. The insistence that Palestinian leaders, not their representatives, be present at the meeting meant that Moscow expected the talks to yield a decision. General “Alexander” spoke about the situation in the region, especially Iran, in wake of the Soviet military invasion of Afghanistan. He said the time had come for the Palestinians to cooperate with the Soviets to facilitate the Communist Party’s control of Iran. The Soviet Union wanted to expand its power in the region and Iran was a significant prize given its geographic location and resources.
Hassan was surprised with the proposal and asked to be excused from the meeting, but Arafat refused. Hassan said he would not stand against the Iranian revolution that had “offered us several major services,” referring to its severing of Iranian-Israeli relations that were forged under the shah. Tensions soon erupted and the Soviet general declared that the Palestinians “won’t be able to do anything without us.” Hassan replied: “If the Soviets enter Iran, then Israel’s strategic value will grow a million-fold to the West. So, don’t even think about it. For our part, we will ensure that every effort is made to form good Iranian-Soviet relations.” Hassan believed that the meeting exposed how the Soviets dealt with the situations in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and future conflicts in these countries.
Meeting in a Soviet forest
Another significant meeting was held years earlier. In the early 1970s, head of the PFLP’s External Operations Wadie Haddad met with KGB chief Yuri Andropov in a forest on the outskirts of Moscow. The meeting was held in utmost secrecy because Haddad at the time had been planning plane hijacking operations for years. Haddad asked for weapons from the Soviets, and they were smuggled to him off the coast of Aden, Yemen. The first high-level contacts between Moscow and the Palestinian revolution took place in 1968 at the suggestion of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser and Arafat traveled to Moscow together on a secret visit. Two years later, a Soviet envoy met with Arafat in Jordan and the relations between the Palestinians and Soviets came out to the open. Moscow realized the importance of relations with the Palestinians so it forged ties that allowed it in a few years to wield influence in Palestinian political and security decisions. Moscow formed close ties with the Palestinian left, including the PFLP, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and leftists in the Fatah movement. These relations led the Palestinian resistance and allied parties in Lebanon to rule out the possibility of Israel invading Beirut. It had already launched its invasion on June 6, 1982, and was advancing on the capital. On the day of the invasion, the Fatah and Lebanese National Movement met in Beirut. Present were Abou Ammar, Abou Jihad, Abou Ayad, Abou al-Walid, Secretary General of the Lebanese Communist Party George Hawi and Secretary General of the Communist Action Organization in Lebanon Mohsen Ibrahim. They discussed the possibility that the invasion could go beyond southern Lebanon, especially with Sharon as defense minister. They never predicted, however, that the Israeli forces would advance on Beirut and reach its outskirts because Syrian troops were in the capital and any clash with the Israelis could lead to a full-scale war between them. They believed that Israel would not provoke Syria, an ally of Moscow. They were proven wrong when the Israeli army was met with little resistance and eventually besieged Beirut. It was later revealed that the Soviets and their allies did not have information about the Israeli plans. The Syrians were also in the dark.
Meeting with Bashir Gemayel
When the Israeli forces reached the Chouf area in Mount Lebanon and appeared intent on Beirut, a secret meeting was held between Abou Ammar al-Hassan, head of the Lebanese Forces Bashir al-Gemayel and Lebanese military intelligence chief Johnny Abdo. Gemayel wanted to hold the meeting to deliver a message to Arafat that the Palestinians must lay down their arms and leave Lebanon. “I am ready to secure a safe and dignified exit. I want an immediate answer before the Israelis reach Beirut,” he said. Hassan suggested that they take their conversation to the balcony because they feared Abdo’s house would be wiretapped.
Hassan noticed how worried Gemayel appeared. He told him: “Let me speak to you frankly. I follow you and it is my duty to follow you. I know you have presidential ambitions, but you won’t achieve them this way. You were the one who paved the way for the Syrians so that they could strike the Palestinians. Now, you have brought in the Israelis so that they can strike them both.”“At the end of this game, we will both be struck, and you will be finished. Lebanon is enticing. Neither the Israelis, nor the Syrians will pull out. You are opposed to both of them. Let me repeat, you are mistaken in thinking this is the way that will lead you to the presidency. Your odds will be better if you decide to side with us and the Lebanese National Movement.”
“Who will agree to hosting the Palestinian fighters? Jordan, Syria or others? He vowed that he will ensure that a small number of fighters would remain and they would answer to the Lebanese army. The game slipped from his hands when the Israelis reached Beirut.”
Hassan later informed Mohsen about the meeting. Mohsen then met with Arafat and Hawi. They were primarily concerned with determining whether Moscow could stop the invasion. Hawi, with his close ties to the Soviets, believed that striking the Palestinian revolution was a red line for both sides the Soviets and Communists. After a month or so, he realized that everything was permissible, and nothing was off limits. Arab countries had no way of influencing international powers.
Hawi was hoping Moscow would threaten Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. He hoped they would send a naval vessel off the coast of Beirut or at least evacuate the wounded. Soviet ambassador to Beirut Alexander Soldatov could promise nothing of the sort. Hawi kept relaying these disappointing stances to Arafat. Hawi and others could not believe that the Soviets would stand idly by as Israel invaded Lebanon.
Arafat was dealt a crushing blow during a meeting with Soldatov. The ambassador told Arafat to leave Beirut, even if he had to board an American destroyer. Arafat was incredulous and refused to leave. He would eventually relent when it appeared that the Soviets would not support him or stand against the Israelis.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 30-31/2023
White House Mum on Hostages-for-Criminals Swap
FDD/August 30/ 2023
Latest Developments
The Biden administration remains silent regarding Tehran’s claims that the United States plans to release five Iranian criminals held in U.S. prisons as part of a recent hostage deal with Iran. An August 24 Voice of America (VOA) report, however, identifies 11 Iranians who are facing, or have been convicted of, U.S. charges and may be considered for release. Their crimes include, among others, plotting assassinations, violating U.S. sanctions, working as an unregistered agent of Iran, and conspiring to sell weapons to Tehran. In addition to releasing Iranians in the United States, the deal would also provide Iran with at least $6 billion in sanctions relief.
Expert Analysis
“The Biden administration may release Iranian illicit procurement agents as part of a prisoner swap with Tehran. This would be a mistake and send a devastating message to U.S. law enforcement, particularly after the Obama administration released prisoners responsible for similar crimes. Washington should instead attempt to use coercive means to free prisoners held by Iran, refuse to pay a ransom, and demand a cessation of further hostage-taking.” — Andrea Stricker, FDD Research Fellow and Deputy Director of FDD’s Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program
“The regime in Tehran is already getting a financial bailout for the five American hostages. Now, we wait to see how many of the regime’s illicit procurement agents get bailed out too.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
Held in American Prison
The VOA report identified the following Iranians who may be candidates for release or clemency by the United States.
Dual U.S.-Iranian dual nationals Kambiz Attar Kashani and Behrouz Mokhtari, U.S. permanent resident Amin Hasanzadeh, and non-residents Mehrdad Ansari and Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani were convicted or are awaiting trial for violating U.S. or international sanctions.
Manssor Arbabsiar, a U.S.-Iranian dual national, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in 2013 for conspiring to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States.
Niloufar “Nellie” Bahadorifar, a U.S.-Iranian dual national, is on supervised post-sentence release for planned medical treatment after receiving a four-year sentence in April 2023 for providing funds to Iranian intelligence assets plotting to assassinate Iranian dissident journalist Masih Alinejad.
Reza Olangian, a U.S.-Iranian dual national, received a 25-year sentence and five years of supervised release in 2018 for conspiring to sell surface-to-air missiles and military aircraft parts to the Iranian government.
Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, a U.S. permanent resident, is on pre-trial release after being charged with working as an unregistered agent of Iran. He had previously pitched himself to policymakers and media as a neutral Iran expert while secretly being on the Iranian government’s payroll.
Malek Mohammad Balouchzehi, who has no legal status in the United States, is currently in federal detention awaiting sentencing in October. He had been convicted on international drug trafficking charges for conspiring to sell hundreds of kilograms of heroin in the United States.
Erfan Salmanzadeh, a U.S.-Iranian dual national, is currently in post-sentencing detention awaiting transfer to a federal prison. The Department of Justice convicted Salmanzadeh for setting off a bomb in his backyard, stashing a suicide vest, and plotting to blow up a local high school. On July 18, he was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. Two of the prisoners are nearing the conclusion of their prison terms: Ansari, whose sentence ends in December 2023, and Kashani, whose sentence ends in February 2024.

Iran Steps up Crackdown Ahead of Amini Anniversary, Say Activists
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
Iran is ratcheting up a crackdown ahead of the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, arresting prominent personalities, campaigners and relatives of those killed by security forces in protests last year, activists say. The death in custody on September 16, 2022 of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women, sparked months of protests that included calls for an end to Iran's regime. The protests have now largely subsided, despite some sporadic outbursts, after a crackdown which saw thousands detained, according to the UN, and hundreds shot dead by security forces, according to activists. But campaigners outside Iran say the authorities are acutely aware of the risk that the anniversary could spark more protests and say security forces have stepped up repression to prevent a repeat of the events of last autumn. Those arrested this month have included the prominent singer Mehdi Yarrahi after he released a song urging women to remove their headscarves in defiance of the law. Eleven women's rights activists were detained in Gilan province, one of the flashpoint areas for protests last year, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Meanwhile, Amnesty International has said families of those killed in the crackdown on the movement have been subjected to "arbitrary arrest and detention" in a bid to enforce "silence and impunity" over the fate of their loved ones. "These arrests are a blatant attempt by Iranian authorities to instlil fear within the population ahead of the upcoming anniversary (and) to deter more protests," Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New-York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), told AFP.
'Knows no bounds'
In a report, Amnesty said families of victims killed in the crackdown across the country have been subjected to abusive interrogations, arbitrary arrest and detention and or unjust prosecution and sentencing in recent months. "The cruelty of the Iranian authorities knows no bounds," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, accusing the Iranian authorities of a "sinister attempt to cover up their crimes". In a new example, security forces on Sunday arrested three close family members, including the mother, of Hananeh Kia, a woman in her early 20s shot dead by security forces in September 2022 during the initial phase of the protests, HRANA and the Hengaw rights group said. The CHRI said in just eight days this month, 21 family members of victims were either summoned to court or detained in Iran. Roya Boroumand, executive director of the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, said "victims' family members have been targeted pretty systematically". "They have been arrested, summoned repeatedly and interrogated, or their houses are raided," she said, adding pressure was being put on them not to post anything on social media, gather for commemorations or speak out. The protests broke taboos that have prevailed in the republic since the fall of the shah in 1979, with women taking off their headscarves and slogans chanted against Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in street protests. Amnesty has in a separate report said Iran has renewed its crackdown against unveiled women, with stepped-up patrols backed by surveillance cameras that can even identify women inside their cars. Images shared on social media indicate some women are however continuing to show defiance.
'Killing machine'
Meanwhile, Norway-based Iran Human Rights says 486 people have been executed in Iran this year, with the use of capital punishment aimed at "creating fear in society and to prevent more protests". While seven men have been executed in cases related to the protests, causing an international outcry, most of those hanged are convicted on drug and murder charges and are "low-cost victims of the republic's killing machine", it added. According to the CHRI, Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, who was hanged in January, was detained by security agents in Tehran on August 22. There have also been reports of arrests in the Kurdish-populated area of western Iran from where Amini originated and which were the scene of the earliest protests. Kurdish-focused Hengaw, based outside Iran, said Saro Mostajer -- the brother of one of its board members, Jila Mostajer -- had been arrested in Amini's hometown of Saqez and taken to an unknown location. Boroumand said the "coordinated" repression "aims at preventing the dissemination of news, videos and images of victims, commemorations, and other gatherings and avoid a renewed public mobilization inside and outside Iran". Ghaemi warned the "silence of the international community" in the face of the crackdown risked giving a "green light to the state security apparatus to continue muzzling civil society."

Raisi says revival of nuclear deal not Iran's priority
Al Monitor/August 30/ 2023
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with the United States was not his priority, claiming that under his administration, Tehran has managed to overcome Western sanctions. Addressing reporters at a televised press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Raisi said the accord — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — was "only one among many files" to be handled by his government. "We pursued relations with neighbors, and we succeeded," he added, praising his government for ascending into such non-Western bodies as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS group of nations. Membership in those entities, according to Raisi, is an indication of "Iran's progress and the failure of the enemies in isolating it." Despite the initial tendency expressed by the administration of President Joe Biden to reverse the American departure from the JCPOA under his predecessor, Donald Trump, US-Iran diplomacy to resurrect the accord has stalled since May 2022. Unlike Raisi, who hails from the uncompromising, hard-line camp, former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sought reconciliation with Western nations through the JCPOA, which he needed for sanctions relief and to pull Iran out of isolation. "Some find solutions in the smiles of America and a few European countries," Raisi said in apparent criticism of his predecessor. "But we do not wait for those smiles and do not hinge public livelihood upon the will of those states." Yet during Raisi's two years in office, Iran's economy has made little tangible progress toward sanctions relief. While the lifeline oil exports have gradually grown, prices across multiple sectors continue to hit all-time highs. The country's national currency has also been dipping sharply as foreign currency reserves are squeezed, mostly due to funds that are blocked abroad.  The issue was raised at the Tehran press conference, with Raisi specifically asked about his position on assets reportedly held in Japan. "Our advice for the Japanese government is to live independently from the Americans," he declared. "If we have some funds left there, Japan should not make decisions under the influence of others."  Raisi later appeared to modify his own comments by asserting that South Korea is the sole country where Iranian funds — an estimated $6 billion — are frozen. Earlier this month, Washington and Tehran both confirmed having reached a prisoner swap deal in principle, under which those funds are expected to be unfrozen in exchange for the release of five Americans imprisoned by the Islamic Republic.  The battered economy and soaring inflation, which Raisi said have been tackled by his government, have over the past year brought into the streets a growing number of Iranians from varying walks of life.  And in mid-September, Iran will see the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in hijab police custody. The unrest triggered by the young woman's tragedy engulfed Iran for months and drew a heavy-handed government response that left some 530 protesters dead, according to rights activists. Ahead of the anniversary, Iran's intelligence community is ramping up its arrest spree that has hit the families of the crackdown victims as well as activists nationwide. "There is no turbulence in Iran," Raisi said in response to a reporter at the press conference, denying that the Islamic Republic's policies had polarized the nation.

Mutinous soldiers in Gabon say they've ousted president, seized power
Associated Press/August 30/ 2023
Mutinous soldiers in Gabon said Wednesday they were seizing power to overturn the results of a presidential election, seeking to remove a president whose family has held power for 55 years, and crowds took to the streets to celebrate.
The coup attempt came hours after the central African country's President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, was declared winner of an election marred by fears of violence. Within minutes of the announcement, gunfire was heard in the center of the capital, Libreville. Later, a dozen uniformed soldiers appeared on state television and announced that they had seized power. Crowds in the city took to the city's streets to celebrate the end of Bongo's reign, singing the national anthem with soldiers. "Thank you, army. Finally, we've been waiting a long time for this moment," said Yollande Okomo, standing in front of soldiers from Gabon's elite republican guard. Shopkeeper Viviane Mbou offered the soldiers juice, which they declined.
"Long live our army," said Jordy Dikaba, a young man walking with his friends on a street lined with armored policemen. There was no word from the president, and his whereabout were not immediately clear. The soldiers intended to "dissolve all institutions of the republic," said a spokesman for the group, whose members were drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and other elements of the security forces. French mining company Eramet said it was ceasing all operations in Gabon, and that it has begun procedures to ensure the safety of its staff and facilities. The company's subsidiaries in Gabon operate the world's largest manganese mine, and a rail transport company. The private intelligence firm Ambrey said all operations at the country's main port in Libreville had been halted, with authorities refusing to grant permission for vessels to leave. One morning flight at Libreville's Léon-Mba International Airport already had been delayed early Wednesday morning. A man who answered a number listed for the airport told The Associated Press that flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
The coup attempt came about one month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France, the region's former colonizer. Gabon's coup, if successful would bring the number of coups in West and Central Africa to eight since 2020. In his annual Independence Day speech Aug. 17, Bongo said "While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country Gabon to be hostages to attempts at destabilization. Never."
Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn't been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable. But nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.
Bongo acknowledged the widespread frustration over rising costs of living in his Aug. 17 speech, and listed measures his government was making to contain fuel prices, make education more affordable, and stabilize the price of baguettes.
Gabon is a member of the OPEC oil cartel, with a production of some 181,000 barrels of crude a day, making it the eighth-largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa. It is home to over 2 million people, and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Colorado.
At a time when anti-France sentiment is spreading in many former colonies, the French-educated Bongo met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in late June and shared photos of them shaking hands. France has 400 soldiers in Gabon leading a regional military training operation. They've not changed their normal operations today, according to the French military.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday: "We are following the situation in Gabon closely."The mutinous officers vowed to respect "Gabon's commitments to the national and international community."When asked about Gabon Wednesday, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell said it would be discussed by EU ministers this week. Defense ministers from the 27-nation bloc are meeting in Spain on Wednesday, and foreign ministers on Thursday. Borrell will chair both meetings, and Niger will also be a focus. "If this is confirmed, it's another military coup, which increases instability in the whole region," he said. Bongo's family has long-standing ties to former colonial ruler France, dating to the four-decade presidency of his late father Omar Bongo. These have come under legal scrutiny in recent years. Several members of the Bongo family are under investigation in France, and some have been given preliminary charges of embezzlement, money laundering and other forms of corruption, according to French media reports, driven in part by a broader push for justice by non-governmental organizations that have long accused multiple African heads of state of embezzling public funds and hiding them in France.
Bongo was seeking a third term in elections this weekend. He served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father who ruled the country for 41 years. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in January 2019, while Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, but they were quickly overpowered. In the election, Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose surprise nomination came a week before the vote. Every vote held in Gabon since the country's return to a multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence. Clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed four people, according to official figures. The opposition said the death toll was far higher. Fearing violence, many people in the capital went to visit family in other parts of the country before the election or left Gabon altogether. Others stockpiled food or bolstered security in their homes. After last week's vote, the Central African nation's Communications Minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, announced a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and said internet access was being restricted indefinitely to quell disinformation and calls for violence. NetBlocks, an organization tracking internet access worldwide, said internet service saw a "partial restoration" in Gabon after the coup.

EgyptAir will resume direct flights from Egypt to conflict-stricken Sudan
Associated Press/August 30/ 2023
Egyptian authorities said the national carrier will resume direct flights to Sudan this week following high profile talks between the Egyptian president and Sudan's military chief. Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation said Tuesday that EgyptAir would launch a weekly flight route from Cairo to the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan starting Friday. No further details were given. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when simmering tensions between the military, led by Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere. The flight announcement came hours after Burhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi concluded talks in Cairo. The visit marks the Sudanese general's first trip abroad since fighting erupted on April 15. Sudanese authorities reopened the airspace in the east of the country earlier this month, according to local media. Port Sudan on the Red Sea has seen limited fighting since the conflict broke out and is controlled by the military. The port has becoming the main entry point for humanitarian flights and aid shipments for Sudan. Both leaders said they spoke about ways to end the conflict but gave few details. Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq, who traveled to Cairo with Burhan, said that among several "urgent issues" discussed was the flow of people and goods across the Sudanese-Egyptian border. More than 4.6 million people have been displaced, according to the U.N. migration agency. Those include over 3.6 million who fled to safer areas inside Sudan and more than 1 million others who crossed into neighboring countries. More than 285,300 people have fled to Egypt. Egypt has longstanding ties with the Sudanese army and its top generals. In July, el-Sissi hosted a meeting of Sudan's neighbors and announced a plan for a cease-fire. A series of fragile truces, brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, have failed. According to Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council, Burhan returned to Port Sudan late Tuesday.

Kremlin Says Prigozhin Plane Crash May Have Been Caused Deliberately
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the investigation into the plane crash which killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin included the possibility that it was caused deliberately, its first explicit acknowledgement that he may have been assassinated. "It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version - you know what we are talking about – let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Let's wait for the results of our Russian investigation." The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, his four bodyguards and a crew of three. The cause is still unclear, but villagers near the scene told Reuters they heard a bang and then saw the jet plummet to the ground. The plane crashed exactly two months since Prigozhin took control of the southern city of Rostov in late June, the opening salvo of a mutiny which shook the foundations of President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Russia has informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet under international rules "at the moment", the Brazilian agency told Reuters. Asked about that report, Peskov said: "First of all, the investigation is underway, the Investigative Committee is engaged in this.""In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect," Peskov said.

Russia accuses Ukraine of biggest drone attack since start of war
Associated Press/August 30/2023
Russian officials on Wednesday accused Ukraine of launching what appeared to be the biggest nighttime drone attack on Russian soil since the war began 18 months ago. The Kremlin's forces also hit Kyiv during the night with what Ukrainian officials called a "massive, combined attack" that killed two people. Drones struck hit an airport in western Russia's Pskov region near the border with Estonia and Latvia, damaging four Il-76 transport aircraft that can carry heavy machinery, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. The airport strike, which was first reported minutes before midnight, started a massive fire, the regional governor and local media reported. Unconfirmed media reports said up to 20 drones may have targeted the airport. More drones were shot down over the Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan and Kaluga regions, as well as the region surrounding the Russian capital, according to the Defense Ministry. Three main Moscow region airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo — temporarily halted incoming and outgoing flights. Aerial attacks on Russian soil have escalated in recent months as Ukraine pursues a counteroffensive to drive the invading forces out of its territory. Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia's military assets behind the front lines in the country's east and south. The Kremlin has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of also launching drones toward Moscow. Russia, meanwhile, used drones and missiles in its biggest bombardment of Ukraine's capital in months, Ukrainian authorities said. Two people were killed and another person was injured by falling debris, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, wrote on Telegram.
Russia launched Shahed exploding drones at the city from various directions and then followed with missiles from Tu-95MS strategic aircraft, Popko said. It was unclear how many were launched, but Popko called the attack the biggest on the capital since the spring. In the aftermath, Kyiv resident Iryna Oblat pointed to debris in the street and shattered windows in surrounding buildings.
"Look where it hit, look what happened to the house," she told The Associated Press. "Garages are on fire. We don't know how many cars and garages were destroyed because firefighters and police won't let us in." In Russia, Pskov regional Gov. Mikhail Vedernikov ordered all flights to and from the airport in the region's namesake capital canceled for the day so the damage could be assessed during daylight. Footage and images posted on social media showed smoke billowing over the city of Pskov and a large blaze. Vedernikov said there were no casualties, and the fire has been contained. Pskov was the only region reporting substantial damage. In Kaluga, one drone was brought down and another hit an empty oil reservoir, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha reported. Residential windows were shattered, Shapsha said.
In the Bryansk region, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said six drones were downed overnight. One of them damaged an administrative building, he said, prompting a brief fire. Two were targeting a television tower, but were brought down. Russian media earlier on Wednesday cited local residents as saying they heard a loud explosion. Two drones were downed over the Oryol region, Gov. Andrei Klychkov said. Two more were downed over the Ryazan region and one over the Moscow region, officials said. The Oryol and Kaluga regions border Bryansk, and the Moscow region sits on top of Kaluga. Pskov, however, is about 700 kilometers (434 miles) north of Russia's border with Ukraine, and was described by Russian media and military bloggers as an unlikely target. Also early Wednesday, Russian-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, reported repelling an attack of drones targeting the harbor of the port city of Sevastopol. Fuel depots and airfields have been hit in drone attacks on Crimea or Russian-held regions that Moscow officials have blamed on Kyiv. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, who usually refuse to take responsibility for any attacks on Russian soil. Explosions in Ukraine were also reported in the southern city of Odesa and the Cherkasy region. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 28 cruise missiles and 15 of 16 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones targeting the capital and multiple regions across the country overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in its daily Telegram update on Wednesday. It said 43 weapons were downed in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south of the country. The statement did not say what happened to the other drone.

Ukraine breaches Russia’s heavily fortified defensive line
Joe Barnes/Telegraph/August 30, 2023
The Ukrainian military has breached a section of Russia’s main defensive line on the southern front, video footage suggests. Troops from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade were geolocated on the western outskirts of the Russian-held village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. This would mean that they had pushed through the “Surovikin line”, a nexus of mines, barriers and trenches put in place by the former commander of Russia’s invasion to thwart Ukraine’s counter-offensive. A minute-long clip shared by Russian sources appeared to show members of the elite brigade, armed and trained by Britain, coming under Russian artillery fire while operating in a nearby tree line on foot. It was circulated on social media as Ukraine said its counter-offensive had “made progress” in two directions on the Zaporizhzhia front line. Emil Kastehelmi, an open source intelligence analyst with the Blackbird Group, said the progress was local and did not herald a “rapid collapse of Russian defences” but added that “this isn’t looking good for the Russians”. Ukrainian forces have slowly been advancing to the south and west of Robotyne, a village that was recaptured from Russian control this week in a sign that Kyiv is attempting to deepen and widen its salient in the area. To reach the outskirts of Verbove, Ukrainian forces had to overcome a series of dragons’ teeth anti-tank obstacles and trenches that make up the first line of Moscow’s defences in the Zaporizhzhia region. Western analysts have suggested the breach could be limited to infantry units operating a reconnaissance mission beyond the extensive defences. It was reported on Tuesday that fighting had reached the initial stages of the Surovikin line outside of Verbove. The village emerged as a potential target in Ukraine’s push towards the Sea of Azov because it is an integrated part of those defences.
Ukraine’s generals want to breach the line to reach the coastal city of Melitopol, thereby cutting Russia’s land bridge and splitting the lines of communications between its forces in the east and south of the country. It is unclear if Ukrainian forces will attempt to capture the village or continue moving around it to widen its flanks. Comparisons of satellite imagery taken at the beginning and end of August appeared to show that Russia had made little effort to bolster its defences around Verbove. But the village could become a considerable obstacle itself because it sits in a valley where Russian forces control the surrounding high points. Ukraine’s 82nd Air Assault Brigade was recently introduced to the counter-offensive as part of a second echelon of forces brought in to help breach Russia’s heavily fortified defences. The brigade, which was formed from experienced front-line units to carry out the offensive, was trained by Britain and is known to be equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks. Its fleet of Western tanks and Stryker infantry fighting vehicles did not appear in any of the latest footage shared on social media. Separate advances by Ukrainian forces to the east of Novoprokopivka were also reported as part of the push. “They have made progress in the Novodanilivka-Novoprokopivka and Mala Tokmachka-Verbove fronts, consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on the identified enemy targets and carrying out counter-battery measures,” Ukraine’s general staff said in a statement on Wednesday..

Air Attack Kills 2 in Kyiv While Russia Accuses Ukraine of Biggest Drone Attack of the War
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
Russian officials on Wednesday accused Ukraine of launching what appeared to be the biggest nighttime drone attack on Russian soil since the war began 18 months ago. The Kremlin’s forces also hit Kyiv during the night with what Ukrainian officials called a “massive, combined attack” that killed two people. Drones struck hit an airport in western Russia’s Pskov region near the border with Estonia and Latvia, damaging four Il-76 transport aircraft that can carry heavy machinery, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. The airport strike, which was first reported minutes before midnight, started a massive fire, the regional governor and local media reported. Unconfirmed media reports said up to 20 drones may have targeted the airport. More drones were shot down over the Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan and Kaluga regions, as well as the region surrounding the Russian capital, according to the Defense Ministry. Three main Moscow region airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo — temporarily halted incoming and outgoing flights. Aerial attacks on Russian soil have escalated in recent months as Ukraine pursues a counteroffensive to drive the invading forces out of its territory. Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia's military assets behind the front lines in the country's east and south. The Kremlin has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of also launching drones toward Moscow. Russia, meanwhile, used drones and missiles in its biggest bombardment of Ukraine's capital in months, Ukrainian authorities said. Two people were killed and another person was injured by falling debris, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, wrote on Telegram. Russia launched Shahed exploding drones at the city from various directions and then followed with missiles from Tu-95MS strategic aircraft, Popko said. It was unclear how many were launched, but Popko called the attack the biggest on the capital since the spring. In the aftermath, Kyiv resident Iryna Oblat pointed to debris in the street and shattered windows in surrounding buildings. “Look where it hit, look what happened to the house,” she told The Associated Press. “Garages are on fire. We don’t know how many cars and garages were destroyed because firefighters and police won’t let us in.”
In Russia, Pskov regional Gov. Mikhail Vedernikov ordered all flights to and from the airport in the region’s namesake capital canceled for the day so the damage could be assessed during daylight. Footage and images posted on social media showed smoke billowing over the city of Pskov and a large blaze. Vedernikov said there were no casualties, and the fire has been contained. Pskov was the only region reporting substantial damage. In Kaluga, one drone was brought down and another hit an empty oil reservoir, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha reported. Residential windows were shattered, Shapsha said. In the Bryansk region, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said six drones were downed overnight. One of them damaged an administrative building, he said, prompting a brief fire. Two were targeting a television tower, but were brought down. Russian media earlier on Wednesday cited local residents as saying they heard a loud explosion.
Two drones were downed over the Oryol region, Gov. Andrei Klychkov said. Two more were downed over the Ryazan region and one over the Moscow region, officials said. The Oryol and Kaluga regions border Bryansk, and the Moscow region sits on top of Kaluga. Pskov, however, is about 700 kilometers (434 miles) north of Russia’s border with Ukraine, and was described by Russian media and military bloggers as an unlikely target. Also early Wednesday, Russian-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, reported repelling an attack of drones targeting the harbor of the port city of Sevastopol. Fuel depots and airfields have been hit in drone attacks on Crimea or Russian-held regions that Moscow officials have blamed on Kyiv. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, who usually refuse to take responsibility for any attacks on Russian soil. Explosions in Ukraine were also reported in the southern city of Odesa and the Cherkasy region. Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 28 cruise missiles and 15 of 16 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones targeting the capital and multiple regions across the country overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in its daily Telegram update on Wednesday. It said 43 weapons were downed in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south of the country. The statement did not say what happened to the other drone.
US Republican lawmakers are calling on the State Department to investigate how the Tehran Times newspaper, close to Ali Khamenei's office, obtained a purported memo informing US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley that his security clearance was suspended. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul said Monday in a statement that Foggy Bottom “needs to do a top-to-bottom security review because I am concerned they have a leak.”McCaul also voiced concerns that the Tehran Times has again obtained information that has eluded lawmakers who have demanded to know more about an ongoing investigation into Malley, which involves questions about whether he should be allowed to handle classified information. Last month, McCaul threatened to subpoena the State Department for details of the case. “If this memo is authentic, it is extremely concerning, especially since this is not the first time the Iranian regime’s mouthpiece has appeared to have sensitive US government information recently while Congress is kept in the dark,” McCaul said. The media outlet reported Sunday — based on what it claimed was an April 21 memo from a top State Department diplomatic security official to Malley — that Malley’s top secret clearance was suspended over “serious security concerns” related to his “personal conduct,” “handling of protected information” and “use of information technology.”A person familiar with the investigation into Malley who has seen the original memo told POLITICO that the Tehran Times’ version appeared to match that original. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration both for temporarily allowing Malley to continue to work in the department after his security clearance was suspended over the investigation and for keeping them in the dark about the probe for several weeks. The FBI is involved in the probe, according to a person familiar with the case. “I have requested transparency from the State Department on the ongoing Robert Malley saga and will continue to demand answers,” McCaul said. “Regarding this latest chapter, I am very concerned about how the regime got this potentially authentic document and what other sensitive or classified information they may have.”Sen. Bill Hagerty of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday called on the State Department Inspector General to probe how the Tehran Times obtained a memorandum that informed Malley of his security clearance.
“It is shocking and, to my knowledge, unprecedented that a propaganda arm of Iran’s terrorist regime got its hands on what appears to be a ‘Sensitive But Unclassified’ April 2023 memo related to the suspension of Special Envoy Rob Malley’s security clearance,” Hagerty said in a statement. The inspector general’s office should probe “whether any State Department officials have violated any laws or regulations in what appears to be an unauthorized disclosure of this [sensitive] communication related to Malley and national security.” Hagerty, who also shared his criticism on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, questioned whether the memo was genuine. He was reposting a message from a former State Department adviser on Iran during the Trump administration, Gabriel Noronha, who said it “looks authentic to me.”

Netanyahu Considers Gas Pipeline to Europe Via Türkiye
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed an inter-ministerial team to examine alternatives to Israel's current gas exports. One of the options being considered is the construction of an underwater pipeline from Türkiye to Israel's largest offshore natural gas field, Leviathan. Under the plan, gas will be directed to Türkiye and subsequently to southern European nations aiming to decrease their reliance on the Russian pipeline. The proposed pipeline aims to link the key Turkish-European pipeline with the abundant gas reserves in Israel and neighboring areas such as Egypt and the UAE. The initiative seeks to establish a viable alternative gas supply for Europe, as the region looks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Sources in Tel Aviv said that the order to establish the team was given in a meeting attended by the Prime Minister together with Energy Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi. It comes amid a push by the companies owning the reservoir to increase its gas exports. Last week, Katz approved the increase of gas exports from the Tamar reservoir to Egypt. For years, Türkiye has pressured Israel to build the pipeline, but the latter feared the move could harm its relations with Türkiye's neighbors Cyprus and Greece and with the project planned to run through their waters in the eastern Mediterranean. Netanyahu is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming weeks amid the latest warming of ties between the two nations. The meeting, originally planned for July 28 was postponed after Netanyahu was forced to undergo an operation to implant a pacemaker last month. Observers in Tel Aviv saw a link between the visit and Netanyahu's instruction to form a team. Political sources said that Netanyahu knows that Erdogan wants this pipeline to pass through Türkiye to Europe. They added that Netanyahu should expect Türkiye to demand tangible steps in this regard.

One killed in rare clash between Palestinian security forces and gunmen
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters)/August 30, 2023
A man was killed on Wednesday in a clash in a town in the occupied West Bank that broke out after Palestinian security forces tried to remove barricades set up by gunmen. The rare internal violence followed months of intensifying Israeli military raids on West Bank areas where Palestinian fighters have been increasingly assertive, in a challenge to the internationally backed Palestinian Authority (PA). Witnesses said PA security personnel came to Tulkarm to free up roads to its refugee camp, which gunmen had blocked as a precaution against Israeli incursions. The PA said residents had complained that the obstacles endangered passersby and a school. In the ensuing gunfight, a Palestinian man, described by locals as unaffiliated with the PA or armed groups, was shot dead. Further details on the circumstances were not immediately clear. Several gunmen posted a video accusing the PA of his killing. "We will not keep silent at this act, which aids the occupation forces in arresting and chasing the youths and those (on Israel's) wanted list," one of the gunmen said. The PA, contacted by Reuters, had no immediate response to the militants' accusations. Talal Dweikat, spokesperson for PA security services, said gunmen had opened fire at the Tulkarm governorate, "prompting security forces to intervene, taking necessary measures to restore order". The security services launched an investigation into the incident and have requested an autopsy, the official WAFA news agency reported. The Islamist Hamas movement, which governs blockaded Gaza and in recent months has stepped up its challenge to PA rule in the West Bank, condemned the killing of the 25-year-old and said accountability was necessary "to preserve internal peace in the face of the occupation". Hundreds of Palestinians 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. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has also surged. In the latest incident, the Israeli military said its troops shot a Palestinian motorist who rammed into them near the city of Hebron on Wednesday, injuring a soldier. The Palestinian's condition was not immediately published. The PA, set up following the Oslo peace accords three decades ago, exercises limited governance over parts of the West Bank. Accused by Israel of being lax against Palestinian gunmen, it says Israeli policies have weakened its sway.

What's behind rare intra-Palestinian clashes in West Bank
Adam Lucente/Al Monitor/August 30/ 2023
A Palestinian man was killed in a gunfight with Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in the West Bank on Wednesday, a rare instance of violence between the PA and local Palestinians. PA security personnel arrived at Tulkarm near the Israeli border to clear roads leading to the refugee camp in the town. The roads had been blocked by unidentified gunmen to prevent Israeli incursions, but the PA said locals complained that the obstacles posed a threat to passersby. A gunfight ensued and a Palestinian man was killed. Locals said the deceased was not a member of any armed groups, Reuters reported. Further details were not immediately clear. Reuters reported that gunmen blamed the Palestinian Authority for the death, while a PA security official said they responded to gunfire toward the Tulkarm governorate. The PA did not otherwise comment on the incident via its official channels. The Gaza-based Hamas movement condemned the PA for the death, referring to it as a “dangerous crime against security and civil peace in the West Bank,” according to a statement. Hamas identified the deceased as 25-year-old Abd al-Qader Nidal Zaqdah and referred to him as a “martyr” but did not mention any affiliations.
Civilians were also injured in the incident, including the son of deceased Hamas fighter Ramzi al-Aridha, according to Hamas. Violence between the PA and Palestinians is relatively rare. This week's incident is the first since September of last year when a Palestinian man was killed in clashes between the PA and locals during a protest in Nablus against the PA, Al Jazeera reported at the time. Palestinian security forces also fired tear gas at protesters during a Hamas member's funeral in Nablus in March, according to The Associated Press. Why it matters: The incident occurred at a time of growing tensions in the West Bank involving Israel, the PA, Hamas and other armed groups. Israel has significantly increased its security raids in the occupied territory this year in response to attacks against Israelis both in Israel and West Bank settlements. Last week, unknown perpetrators killed an Israeli woman settler in a drive-by shooting close to Hebron, while Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager during a raid and ensuing clashes near Jenin, according to Agence France-Presse. Israeli settler violence against Palestinians is also increasing. The United States notably used the word “terror” to describe settlers fatally shooting a Palestinian near Ramallah earlier this month. There are also concerns in the United States and Israel that the PA is at risk of collapsing. In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet said it would take steps to prevent the PA's collapse, though it did not elaborate on what that means. "We have seen a crumbling of the Palestinian Authority’s level of control over the West Bank. The PA is seen by many Palestinians as a corrupt organization that no longer represents their interests," read a May report from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. The Palestinian territories have not had elections since 2005. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled elections that were scheduled to take place in 2021. Abbas and the PA are further vulnerable due to the PA’s declining popularity in the West Bank, as well as growing support for Hamas. A March opinion poll administered by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 52% of Palestinians think the dissolution of the PA serves the Palestinian people’s interests. The PA’s increasingly authoritarian rule is contributing to its falling popularity, Khaled Elgindy of the Middle East Institute told Al-Monitor earlier this month.
Other Palestinian armed groups have emerged amid the stagnation in the West Bank. The most notable is the Nablus-based Lions’ Den, which formed in 2022 and has carried out attacks against Israel since.

Israel’s Netanyahu thanks Saudi Arabia for plane landing amid normalization push
Adam Lucente/Al Monitor/August 30/ 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his thanks to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a plane carrying Israelis made an emergency landing in the kingdom, constituting another sign of warming relations between the two countries.  A Tel Aviv-bound Air Seychelles flight carrying 128 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing in Jeddah due to an electrical malfunction. The passengers spent the night at an airport hotel in the Red Sea city and then flew home via a different Air Seychelles plane on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. Saudi security forces escorted the passengers to their hotel and treated them warmly, passengers told The AP. Netanyahu thanked Saudi Arabia in a Hebrew-language video message on Tuesday, saying “I greatly appreciate the warm attitude of the Saudi authorities to the Israeli passengers.”The Israeli government tweeted the video with both English and Arabic subtitles in separate posts. Why it matters: Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic relations. Covert ties have strengthened in recent years, though, in part due to shared concerns regarding Iran. Speculation that Saudi Arabia might establish formal relations with Israel has accelerated following the signing of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in the summer of 2020 in which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized relations with Tel Aviv. Netanyahu actually visited the kingdom in late 2020, Israeli media reported at the time, though the trip was never publicized by either side.
Last year, the kingdom said it would open its airspace to all air carriers — an indication that Israeli flights can now fly over Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration has been pushing for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel recently. Top White House officials visited the kingdom in July to discuss normalization with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia has long said there needs to be a Palestinian state before they can establish relations with Israel. In June, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said normalization has “limited benefits” without a two-state solution.
Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Palestinian statehood have been dormant for years. Know more: Netanyahu said in July that Israel’s planned north-south rail line will link the country to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula.

Canada to Deny Temporary Residency to Ex-Iran Minister
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
Canada will deny temporary residency to Iran's former health minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on Monday, citing Tehran's human rights record, after Hashemi was reportedly seen in Montreal. "Based on an assessment of the relevant facts recently brought to my attention, I have exercised my authority under s. 22.1 of the IRPA to prevent Mr. Seyed Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi from becoming a temporary resident of Canada for the maximum period of 36 months," Miller said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Section 22 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives the Canadian immigration minister the authority to deny temporary residency to a foreign national for up to three years. "The decision itself, as communicated to the individual, is tied to Iran's disregard for human rights," Miller added, without disclosing Hashemi's location, whether he had sought residency, or how the information was conveyed. Hashemi served as the minister of health for the Iranian government from 2013 to 2019 under former President Hassan Rouhani. He submitted his resignation to Rouhani who accepted it. He was widely seen as the key official behind the 2014 launch of a plan for universal medical insurance. Iran International, a US-based news outlet focused on the Iranian diaspora, reported earlier in August that Hashemi was spotted in Montreal. It cited screenshots from a promotional video for the Quebec province's tourism industry. “Foreign Interference by the Islamic regime in Canada is a real and present danger. This is only one of the many signs, “Iranian social activist Hamed Esmaeilion said in a post on X. Esmaeilion was the spokesman of The Association of Victims' Families of Flight PS752, the Ukrainian plane that was downed by an IRGC missile in southern Tehran in 2020. In the incident, he lost his wife and daughter. Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 and listed the country as a supporter of extremism. It also recently imposed sanctions on Iran over alleged human rights abuses and the killing of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in the custody of Iran's morality police that enforced strict dress codes. This is not the first time that the presence of a former Iranian official in Canada has sparked debate in Iran. In Feb., footage of Tehran police chief General Morteza Talaei exercising in a fitness club in Canada sparked anger among Iranians. Some human rights organizations demanded that the Canadian government investigate Talaei over his role in the establishment of the morality police and the crackdown on protests that occurred as he was assigned his post. Talaei said that he was on a business visit.
Tehran has been demanding for years that Canada arrest and deport Mahmoud Khavari, the former director of Bank Melli Iran, Iran’s largest bank that is facing accusations of being involved in the biggest embezzlement in the country.

Egypt imposes new restrictions on Canadian travellers
CBC/August 30, 2023
Canadian passport holders soon will no longer be able to obtain visas upon arrival in Egypt — a new rule that could mean additional headaches for thousands of travellers. As of Sunday, Canadians travelling to Egypt will have to visit Egypt's embassy or a consulate in Canada to apply for a visa before they leave the country, according to Global Affairs Canada's travel page for Egypt. Previously, travellers could get their visas upon arrival at the airport in Cairo, or obtain an e-visa before departure through the online portal. As of Oct. 1, Canadians with proof of Egyptian citizenship also will have to apply for visas to enter the country. Prior to this rule change, Canadians could enter the country without visas if they had Egyptian passports, national ID cards or birth certificates. An email from the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa laid out the visa application process for Egyptian nationals. The announcement, sent to Egyptian-Canadians on Monday, cited the "principle of reciprocity" and claimed the rule change is a response to Canadian measures that deny visas to Egyptian citizens. It claims those measures are "offensive in nature to the dignity of the Egyptian state."Officials at the Egyptian embassy declined to comment when reached by CBC News. CBC has also reached out to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's office for comment.
'It's insane'
Adel Boulos, president of the Egyptian Canadian Business Network, says it's not easy for Egyptians to get a visa to come to Canada. "It's getting more difficult for Egyptians to come to Canada," he said. "I have cases, unbelievable stuff like parents wanting to see their children, people are getting married here and they want their parents and family to come and they can't … It's insane." But Boulos said the Egyptian government had other options to deal with the situation. "I would have liked the Egyptian government to take another route by convening a meeting with the Canadian officials to discuss how to help them out in issuing visas faster," he said. And unanswered questions remain about the visa application process for Egyptian nationals in Canada, he said. "We have about 300,000 Egyptians living in Canada and most of them travel with their Canadian passports because they didn't renew their Egyptian passports or don't have the national ID," Boulos said. "People travelling with their Canadian passport because their Egyptian passport is expired, they don't have one, whatever the issue is, they will also be required to get a visa."Egypt has tried to encourage tourism in recent years. Tourist numbers plummeted following the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations in 2011. Egypt is on track to welcome a record-breaking 15 million tourists this year, the country's tourism minister said in April. The country aims to attract 30 million tourists annually by 2028. Some Egyptian media outlets claimed the news of the stricter visa rules was untrue. A story in the Egypt Independent, a Cairo-based online newspaper, claimed that the Egyptian cabinet media centre "denied these rumours and added that the centre communicated with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to confirm the matter was false."But a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada confirmed the new rules for Canadian passport holders will take effect on Sept. 3.

Smuggler with ISIS Ties Helped Refugees Cross US-Mexico Border
Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
A smuggler with ties to a foreign extremist group helped Uzbek migrants enter the US from Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday, raising questions about a potential security threat. The smuggler was based in Türkiye and had links to ISIS, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. CNN first reported the incident. Record numbers of migrants have crossed the US-Mexico border illegally since President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021, including many from distant nations. Republicans say Biden encouraged crossings by reversing tougher policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican. The Biden administration argues that it has instituted more humane policies as migration has challenged countries across the Western Hemisphere. Of the nearly 2 million migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border between October 2022 and July 2023, 216 were on US watchlists for potential links to terrorism, according to US government statistics. US intelligence officials discovered a smuggling network to bring Uzbeks into the country and a smuggler with ties to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. US authorities have no indication that migrants aided by the smuggling network were tied to extremist groups or plotting terrorist attacks, Watson said. Watson did not confirm links to ISIS specifically or that the smuggler was based in Türkiye. Migrants who "fit the profile" of those assisted by the smugglers are being placed in rapid deportation proceedings and "thoroughly vetted," Watson said. The US official said the FBI is trying to locate about 15 of roughly 120 Uzbek migrants who entered the US through legal border crossings via the network.
According to Reuters, an FBI spokesperson said the agency "has not identified a specific terrorism plot associated with foreign nationals who recently entered the United States at the southern border," and declined to comment on specifics. US Customs and Border Protection encountered some 3,200 Uzbeks at US borders in fiscal year 2022, up from fewer than 700 a year earlier.

Saudi man receives death penalty for posts online, latest case in wide-ranging crackdown on dissent
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/August 30, 2023
A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death over his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and his activity on YouTube, the latest in a widening crackdown on dissent in the kingdom that has drawn international criticism. The judgement against Mohammed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, seen Wednesday by The Associated Press, comes against the backdrop of doctoral student Salma al-Shehab and others facing decadeslong prison sentences over their comments online. The sentences appear part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's wider effort to stamp out any defiance in the kingdom as he pursues massive building projects and other diplomatic deals to raise his profile globally. “Al-Ghamdi’s death sentence over tweets is extremely horrific but stands in line with the Saudi authorities’ escalating crackdown," said Lina Alhathloul, the head of monitoring and advocacy at the London-based advocacy group ALQST. “Lengthy prison sentences issued for free speech, such as 27 years against Salma al-Shehab, have not received sufficient outcry, and the authorities have taken this as a green light to double down on their repression,” Alhathloul said. “They are sending a clear and sinister message — that nobody is safe and even a tweet can get you killed.”Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the sentence handed down by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court, which was established to hear terror cases but now also weighs charges against activists. According to court documents, the charges levied against al-Ghamdi include “betraying his religion,” “disturbing the security of society," “conspiring against the government” and “impugning the kingdom and the crown prince” — all for his activity online that involved re-sharing critics' posts. Saudi officials offered no reason for why they specifically targeted al-Ghamdi, a retired school teacher living in the city of Mecca. However, his brother, Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, is a well-known critic of the Saudi government living in the United Kingdom. “This false ruling aims to spite me personally after failed attempts by the investigators to have me return to the country,” the brother tweeted last Thursday. Saudi Arabia has used arrests of family members in the past as a means to pressure those abroad into returning home, activists and those targeted in the past say. The sentence drew immediate criticism from international rights groups. “Repression in Saudi Arabia has reached a terrifying new stage when a court can hand down the death penalty for nothing more than peaceful tweets,” said Joey Shea, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's top executioners, behind only China and Iran in 2022, according to Amnesty International. The number of people Saudi Arabia executed last year — 196 inmates — was the highest recorded by Amnesty in 30 years. In one day alone last March, the kingdom executed 81 people, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history. However, al-Ghamdi's case appears to be the first in the current crackdown to level the death penalty against someone for their online behavior.
*Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 30-31/2023
Ten Reasons Why the Hostage Deal with Tehran Is a Disaster/The hostage deal warrants reassessment in light of these significant shortcomings.
Saeed Ghasseminejad/Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor/ The National Interest/August 30/2023
The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran have brokered an ill-advised deal: Tehran has pledged to free American hostages in exchange for $6 billion of its frozen funds in South Korea and an undisclosed number of Iranians currently incarcerated in the United States. Additionally, evidence suggests that a previous release of $10 billion of Tehran’s funds in Iraq might be tied to this arrangement. Here are ten reasons why the deal is calamitous:
1. Encouragement of further hostage-taking. Tehran’s regime interprets the success of the hostage-for-cash scheme as validation of its strategy. Prominent officials, such as Mosen Rezaei, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader and the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been championing hostage-taking as a tactic to replenish the regime’s finances.
2. Contradicting successful precedent. The Trump administration secured prisoner releases without ransom payments, relying instead on just swaps. While exchanging people who have been guilty of nefarious activities such as sanctions-busting and proliferation with innocent American hostages is not ideal, it is still a better option than paying ransom. The new deal reverts to the Obama administration’s approach, which included a $1.7 billion payment alongside an exchange of prisoners.
3. Skyrocketing per capita ransom costs. The Biden administration’s $6 billion offer for five prisoners equates to $1.2 billion per hostage. If the entire financial package totals $16 billion, the ransom soars to $3.2 billion per hostage. This alarming rise from the Obama administration’s $340 million per hostage, already exorbitant at the time, underscores a worrisome pattern.
4. Incomplete hostage release. Despite the substantial financial concession, some hostages, such as Shahab Dalili, a U.S. permanent resident, and Jamshid Sharmahd, a long-time resident of California, remain unreleased. Responding to a question about why Dalili was not part of the deal, a State Department spokesperson said that Dalili had not been designated as a “wrongfully detained” person. Dalili, who has been in prison for seven years, was convicted by Tehran for the trumped-up charge of “aiding and abetting a hostile nation,” likely referring to the United States.
5. Reduced U.S. financial leverage. By offering Tehran $16 billion, the United States undermines its financial leverage over Iran. Rewarding the Iranian regime with hard currency and dismantling U.S. sanctions leave Washington with nothing but a military option as leverage to dissuade Tehran from going nuclear.
6. Strengthening of repression in Iran. The influx of funds would fortify the regime’s repression machine, which has weathered three extensive waves of protests over five years, leading to the murder, injuries, and imprisonment of tens of thousands. Tehran will use the newly found resources to reward its loyalists and security and intelligence forces, as it did after the sanctions relief provided by the 2013 interim nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
7. Demoralization of the pro-democracy movement. The Iranian opposition has called for demonstrations in Iran and across the globe on September 16, the anniversary of twenty-two-year-old Mahsa Amini’s murder by the morality police. The new deal—coming just a month before the anniversary—seemingly aligns the Biden administration with the regime, potentially deflating the opposition’s spirit.
8. Emboldening other hostile forces. Currently, Russia holds Americans hostage and China has shown its willingness to follow suit. Seen as a sign of weakness, the agreement may encourage adversarial nations and entities to capture Americans in order to exert influence over Washington.
9. Funding of terrorism and regional aggression. After the JCPOA’s finalization, Tehran increased funding for organizations such as the Ministry of Intelligence, the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, and the IRGC, all of which perpetrate Tehran’s terrorism and regional aggression. This precedent shows that the regime leverages sanctions relief to escalate its malign conduct throughout the Middle East.
10. Reliance on Qatar’s oversight. Qatar has been a key supporter of the Taliban, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and other radical groups across the Muslim world. The U.S. reliance on Doha to supervise the deal, which purportedly requires Tehran to spend its newfound largesse only on non-sanctioned goods, thus raises concern, particularly given Tehran’s past finesse in bypassing sanctions.
The hostage deal warrants reassessment in light of these significant shortcomings. Should the Biden administration decline to reverse its policy, Congress must act and block the executive branch from using financial incentives to facilitate the release of American hostages globally.
*Dr. Saeed Ghasseminejad is senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X @SGhasseminejad. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

‘Kiss My Feet or Else!’ Islam’s Growing Demands
Raymond Ibrahim/August 30/2023
An August 17, 2023 video from Belgium shows a throng of “migrant youth” surrounding a trembling Belgian boy. They force him on his knees and make him kiss their feet while beating him on the head. The post adds, “In Brussels, the country’s capital, Muslims already make up 25% of the population.”
A few days later in Finland, on August 20, 2023, another video captured another Muslim gang forcing a hapless Finnish girl onto her knees to “apologize” to them (for what is unclear). These two back-to-back incidents are hardly an aberration. On December 1, 2022, two Palestinian teenagers accosted, threatened, and ordered a Jewish (Haredi) man to kiss their feet in Jerusalem’s Old City. They videotaped and posted the incident to the audio of an Arabic rapper who, among other vulgarities, employs the notorious Arabic insult kuss umak (“your mama’s vagina”), which was presumably directed at the Jew in question, as he kissed the hand and foot of one of the Muslims.
Nor was this the first incident of its kind in the Holy Land. According to a later report discussing this late 2022 incident,
The phenomenon of Palestinians filming themselves assaulting or humiliating ultra-Orthodox residents sparked outrage and clashes last year, leading to several arrests. In one particularly viral video, a Palestinian was filmed pouring hot coffee on an Orthodox man, leading to a two-year prison sentence.
Then there was this 2019 report from Australia:
A 12-year-old Jewish student was forced to kneel down and kiss the shoes of a Muslim classmate, while a five-year-old boy was allegedly called a “Jewish cockroach” and repeatedly hounded in the school toilets by his young classmates.… The older boy’s act of kissing another student’s shoes, under threat of being swarmed by several other boys, was filmed, photographed and shared on social media [image below] …. One of the boys who watched on was later suspended for five days for assaulting the Jewish student in the school locker room.
Some might argue that Muslim “grievances,” in the above cases, the Arab-Israeli conflict, is the driving force behind Muslims trying to degrade and humiliate Jews. In reality, however, this form of abject “obeisance” was always expected of non-Muslims—as the more recent Belgian and Finnish examples show—and for no more of a “grievance” than that they were non-Muslims—infidels.
For example, in The Adventures of Thomas Pellow, an Englishman (d.1747) who wrote of his experiences as an abducted slave in Morocco, references to European slaves being compelled to kiss their Muslim master’s feet are not uncommon.
Sultan Muley Ismail—who enforced sharia and regularly prayed—went one step further, according to Pellow: Abducted Europeans were required to “pull off their shoes, put on a particular habit they have to denote a slave, and when they approach him fall down and kiss the ground at his horse’s feet.” Those not conforming to such abject behavior—the “lucky” ones—instantly lost their heads. The rest were slowly tortured in ways that beggar belief. Perhaps this is the only “good news” regarding the more recent spate of foot kissing. As vile as they may be, they help underscore an important fact: few things are as reliably consistent as Muslim behavior—particularly the sort we are regularly assured has “nothing to do with Islam.” Otherwise, why does one keep finding the same “disquieting” behavior in regions that widely differ in both time and space, such as contemporary Israel, Australia, Belgium, and Finland—and premodern Morocco?
Incidentally, and as another parallel, Pellow and other European slaves in Africa were regularly and consistently called “Christian dogs”—including before they were beheaded by scimitars. This characterization of subhuman infidels as animals remains a fixture today, and for the same reason. For instance, another persecuted Jewish pupil, age 5, at the same aforementioned Australian school, was called a “Jewish cockroach.”
Such is the great irony: even in the minutest of details, and whether in word or deed, the negative behavior that Muslims exhibit today has a long and unwavering paper trail, one that crosses centuries and continents. The only difference—the only discontinuity—between now and then is how the West responds.
In all of the modern incidents, authorities refuse to admit that an ideological factor—Islamic supremacism—motivated “migrant youth” to force “infidels” on their knees to kiss Muslim feet. The disconnect is evident in another, especially ignoble manner: whereas Muslims have long forced non-Muslims under their power to kiss their feet, both figuratively and literally, today the man who holds an office that for centuries sponsored the West’s staunch resistance to Islam—the Catholic pope—enthusiastically prostrates himself before and literally kisses Muslim feet, further reinforcing this abject relationship to Muslims who do not understand acts of humility. In short, Muslims demanding that lowly infidels kiss their feet is normative. The only thing to change is how the West responds—in a word, capitulation.

Slavery: The Ostentatious Hypocrisy of BRICS towards Black Africans
Paul Trewhela/Gatestone Institute/August 30, 2023
In a garish example of anti-democratic, anti-West, collective state hypocrisy, leaders from the BRICS bloc -- representing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- meeting in South Africa over three days last week invited four Muslim states and two others to join the bloc, while keeping total silence over the racist and Islamist massacre by heavily armed Arab militias of black African civilians being carried out in West Darfur in Sudan over the preceding weeks. "[A]trocities pile up in Darfur after 100 days of Sudan fighting", in which "Arab militias are accused of killing lawyers, human rights monitors, doctors and non-Arab tribal leaders". — Al Jazeera, July 24, 2023.
" [The city of Al-Geneina in West Darfur] has been ethnically cleansed." — Humanitarian worker, Sky News, broadcasting scenes of thousands of desperate Sudanese refugees displaced in neighbouring Chad, August 17, 2023.
The Africa Defense Forum disclosed on May 16 that Russia's Wagner group was supervising gold-mining in Darfur, and smuggling nearly $2 billion in gold out of the country.
Yet the "great and the good" -- China's President Xi Jinping, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, with Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the congregation by video to endorse Russia's war in Ukraine -- made no mention of this genocidal massacre.
Instead, the BRICS leaders invited states with the world's longest history of enslaving black Africans to join them.
China's Xinhua news agency reported how Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who attended the BRICS conference, hailed it as a "commendable step that will facilitate worldwide development while upholding principles of justice."
Justice? Raisi was deputy prosecutor general in a four-member committee codenamed the "death commission" in Iran in 1988, which was responsible for the executions of thousands of political prisoners who were loyal to a banned opposition movement, "on orders issued by Raisi and his three colleagues."
Worse, although slavery continued legally in Iran until 1929, "It never went away". — iranwire.com, April 30, 2020.
The article showed a series of photos of black African slaves in Iran, such as this one from the 1880s. — Denise Hassanzade Ajiri, "The face of African slavery in Qajar Iran – in pictures," The Guardian, January 14, 2016.
The issue of the enslavement and oppression of black Africans -- continuing to this day in Darfur and elsewhere -- is an issue suppressed by BRICS.
Pictured from L to R: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 24, 2023. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images)
In a garish example of anti-democratic, anti-West, collective state hypocrisy, leaders from the BRICS bloc -- representing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- meeting in South Africa over three days last week invited four Muslim states and two others to join the bloc, while keeping total silence over the racist and Islamist massacre by heavily armed Arab militias of black African civilians being carried out in West Darfur in Sudan over the preceding weeks.
Global news sources were clear about the racist character of the massacre, which resulted in black African survivors flooding across the border for refuge in neighbouring Chad.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported on July 24 that "atrocities pile up in Darfur after 100 days of Sudan fighting", in which "Arab militias are accused of killing lawyers, human rights monitors, doctors and non-Arab tribal leaders".
A week earlier, Al Jazeera had reported "Fears of ethnic cleansing mount in Sudan's West Darfur".
The Sunday Times in London reported on June 25, under the headline "Escape from Sudan", that "Twenty years after their previous genocide, rampaging 'devils on horseback' return":
"The fighting began in the capital, Khartoum, but perhaps the most catastrophic human cost has been 500 miles away in Darfur, where, in 2003, Arab militias known as the Janjaweed — 'devils on horseback' — carried out the first genocide of the new century. An estimated 300,000 black Africans were killed and about two million people displaced."
Immediately ahead of the BRICS conference between August 22 and 24 in Sandton, Johannesburg, showing scenes on TV of thousands of desperate refugees displaced in neighbouring Chad, , Sky News reported on August 17 that a "humanitarian worker who has a long history of work" in al-Geneina in West Darfur believed that "the city has been ethnically cleansed."
"Shot at while they drowned. Executed in the desert," CNN reported on August 16, in what it described as "Darfur's genocide-scarred history."
Le Monde, on August 3, featured Amnesty International's 56-page report on the massacre, noting that black African women had been raped by Arab militias, "with some of them held in conditions 'amounting to sexual slavery.'"
The racist Arab Janjaweed militias were "bolstered" by arms supplies from the "Russian mercenary group Wagner," thus "unleashing a brutal assault on local tribes that has exacted a heavy death toll," CNN reported.
The Africa Defense Forum disclosed on May 16 that Russia's Wagner Group was supervising gold-mining in Darfur, and smuggling nearly $2 billion in gold out of the country. "Continued authoritarian rule facilitates profits from Sudanese gold mines and the construction of a Russian Red Sea naval base in Port Sudan," Samuel Ramani wrote for the Middle East Institute.
Yet the "great and the good" -- China's President Xi Jinping, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, with Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the congregation by video to endorse Russia's war in Ukraine -- made no mention of this genocidal massacre.
Instead, the BRICS leaders invited states with the world's longest history of enslaving black Africans to join them. Among these states were Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where black Africans were slaves for hundreds of years. Saudi Arabia abolished slavery only in 1962, and in the UAE in 1971. According to Nigerian writer Ayomide Akinbode:
"The Arab slave trade in East Africa is one of the oldest, stretching back 700 years before the European transatlantic slave trade. Male slaves were frequently employed by their masters as servants, soldiers, or labourers, whilst female slaves, notably those from Africa, were long transported to the Middle Eastern countries and kingdoms as concubines and maids by Arab and Oriental dealers...
"Between 650 and 1900, historians estimate that 10 to 18 million Africans were enslaved by Arab slave traders and transported over the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Sahara. Many of the 'Arab' slave dealers, such as Tippu Tip and others, were physically indistinguishable from the 'Africans' they enslaved and sold. Hence, the name 'Arab' was commonly employed as an ethnic designation in historical sources. It is impossible to be specific about actual numbers because of the nature of the Arab slave trade...
"The Arab Slave Trade predates Islam and lasted for over a millennium. Arab slave traders transported Africans from present-day Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and other parts of East Africa to Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Somalia, Turkey, and other parts of the Middle East and South Asia across the Indian Ocean (mainly Pakistan and India). Unlike the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Arab slave traders supplied African slaves to the Muslim world, which, at its apex, spanned three continents from the Atlantic to the Far East."
China's Xinhua news agency reported how Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who attended the BRICS conference, hailed it as a "commendable step that will facilitate worldwide development while upholding principles of justice."
Justice? Raisi was deputy prosecutor general in a four-member committee codenamed the "death commission" in Iran in 1988, which was responsible for the executions of thousands of political prisoners who were loyal to a banned opposition movement, "on orders issued by Raisi and his three colleagues."
The massacre ordered by Raisi and his three colleagues on Iran's 1988 "death commission" were, in the words of Geoffrey Robertson, president of the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone, "a crime against humanity," and a "genocide," wrote political scientist Hamid Enayat. "However, strong international reaction to the massacre has never materialized."
Worse, though slavery continued legally in Iran until 1929, "It never went away." IranWire notes:
"In every country in the world, slavery is illegal. And yet it continues to thrive — and Iran has one of the highest numbers of victims.
"Modern slavery includes forced labor, child labor, forced marriage, and human trafficking. Iranians, and particularly Iranian women and children, are vulnerable to these dangers inside the country, especially among poor communities where opportunities for work and education are scarce. Iranians who decide to leave the country for whatever reason — because of economic hardship or persecution — are also at risk of human trafficking and other slavery crimes.
"'Slavery never ended,' says Terry FitzPatrick, the Communications and Advocacy Director at Free the Slaves, an international non-governmental organization and a lobby group that works to eradicate slavery around the world. 'It was never abolished; it was actually outlawed. It was never really eradicated.'"
"When we speak of slavery in the Muslim world," the journalist Hugh Fitzgerald related, "we think of Mauritania (with 600,000 slaves)... Niger (600,000 slaves), Mali (200,000 slaves), and Libya (where slave markets have opened in nine sites during the last two years). Most of us assume that in Saudi Arabia, slavery is no longer tolerated. But most of us are wrong."
Until 2019 and apparently longer, slave markets could be found on Instagram:
"Google and Apple said they were working with app developers to prevent illegal activity.
"The illegal sales are a clear breach of the US tech firms' rules for app developers and users.
"However, the BBC has found there are many related listings still active on Instagram, and other apps available via Apple and Google."
The history of black African slaves in Iran was reported in a major 2016 article by Denise Hassanzade Ajiri in The Guardian, under the title "The face of African slavery in Qajar, Iran," in which she wrote:
"The African slave trade in the Persian Gulf began well before the Islamic period. Mediaeval accounts refer sporadically to slaves working as household servants, bodyguards, militiamen and sailors in the Persian Gulf including what is today southern Iran. The practice lasted, and evolved, through many centuries. In Iran's modern history, Africans were integral to elite households. Black men were mostly eunuchs working inside the king's harem and houses, while black women were servants to Iranian women.
"Despite its ancient roots, the topic of African slavery is rarely discussed or even acknowledged in Iran. This is partly because there has not been comprehensive research on either African slavery of the subsequent use of African domestic servants."
The article featured a series of photos of black African slaves in Iran, such as this one from the 1880s:
*Gholam Hoseyn Mirza Masoud, one of Zell-e-Soltan's sons, with his personal African slave, Julfa, Isfahan, 1880s. (Image source: Thooni Johannes/Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies, Tehran/The Guardian/Wikimedia Commons)
"Rarely discussed or even acknowledged in Iran," wrote The Guardian, the issue of the enslavement and oppression of black Africans -- continuing to this day in Darfur and elsewhere -- is an issue suppressed by BRICS.
*Paul Trewhela was a political prisoner in South Africa between 1964 and 1967, and a co-founder and co-editor of a banned exile journal, Searchlight South Africa (1988-95).
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Are We Headed to Post-Nation-State in the Arab Levant?
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
It is widely believed that freedom, rights, and interests are the Arab Levant’s vehicle to national democratic change, that is, toward refounding its homelands. Here, citizens head to public squares and bring down a regime with absolutely no legitimacy that is contaminated by nasty interests; a new legitimate regime created by the population emerges and represents their interests. As for ramping up civic and peaceful resistance, it accelerates this noble and meaningful exercise.
This is indeed a noble process defended by noble people. However, its Achilles heel is that it treats the currently existing countries as a fait accompli. The worry is that this might not be the case, and that all the poison injected into our societies has poisoned them as single societies in which the population is unanimous about their unity. Rather, the worry is that we have reached a stage in which those societies’ capacity to degenerate revolutions is far greater than revolutions’ capacity to unity societies. This perhaps calls for taking a step back, away from the “classical theory” that we have inherited, paving the way for us to take two steps forward in how we conceive of our democratic future and building it.
Today, a brave uprising that brings to mind some of the features of the 2011 revolution, as well as showcasing the role of women and the vigor and determination of the local community, is underway in Southern Syria. Nonetheless, there remains a legitimate question whose answer the course taken by the uprising will determine: Will the rest of Syria rise up and come to its aid, turning it from a regional insurgency largely associated with a particular community, the Druze, into a cross-sectarian national revolution?
There is nothing novel in stating that the size and peripheral location of As-Suwayda, do not allow for asking it to carry more than it can bear with regard to Syria at large.
Nonetheless, we have seen contradictory indications so far: there are pockets of protest across Syria, including the Alwaite-majority coastal region. However, these pockets are far too weak to allow for providing the kind of support that is needed. The insurgent movement in As-Suwayda has raised national Syrian slogans, and, on the other hand, it has highlighted local Durz symbols. As for how this significant development was received outside the area and by those belonging to different sectarian communities, it is also two-sided: some have met it with enthusiasm and support, engaging with it as a prelude to a bigger national push, and others have been more reserved and skeptical, seeing the movement as unrepresentative of the Sunni majority, to say nothing about the state propaganda machine distorting and slandering it. If the slogan of decentralization raised by some of the protesters is indicative, then the difficulties hindering collective national action are far from few: from the defeat of the revolution a decade ago, to the scattering and fragmentation of the Syrian people following their mass displacement, and finally the many foreign occupations the country is now subjected to.
It would not be wrong to assume that the regime's atrophy does not necessarily imply its collapse. It could also be true that the targeted blows it is receiving, which are encouraged by its atrophy coupled with a total failure to do anything to improve the economic or living standards, might not come together or accumulate to become a knockout blow that hits in the center.
Syria might end up in a situation where it is neither ruled nor changed as a unified entity. We are thus left with a simultaneously painful and scandalous truth, which is that the victory against the revolution of 2011 was a victory against Syria as a united country. For their part, those looking for other achievements, and victories are supposed to be a prelude to accomplishments by the victor, they search in vain.
Moreover, the Durzism of insurgency is neither a reason to criticize nor to glorify it. Rather, it is an image of a reality that some have likened to the image of the northern regions on the Turkish border. The Kurdish community there has not hidden its desire for autonomy within the framework of a federal system. And while the Syrian Kurds are aspiring to attain what federalism has guaranteed the Iraqi Kurds, the rest of the Arab Levant is seeking the same end through different paths, albeit more circuitously and less expressively.
We are all well aware of the setbacks suffered by the new brand of Lebanese patriotism with the two failed attempts to reform and renew it, first after March 14, 2005 and then after October 17, 2019. We also know that the Iraqi uprising in 2019 only encompassed the Shiites, who faced up against a Shiite regime that, despite all the claims to the contrary, is Shiite. Outside the Arab Levant, some voices in Sudan, Yemen and Libya are also now calling for decentralized form of governance.
Our political imagination might be required to draw some inspiration from the city-state model, in the hope that this could help us find a way out of the turbulence facing the nation-state and the prospects of open-ended conflicts, decline, and perpetual oppressive domination.
The region had already resisted the mood of the times, when nation-states were established after World War I ended and the Ottoman Empire collapsed. At the time, the global mood was rejected, in the name of a larger homeland and nation under the pretext that the emerging nation-states were produced by “fragmentation” and reflected a “colonial project”. It would be better to avoid going against the mood of the times again, after the regimes that emerged, with the support of a dead culture, succeeded in emptying our nation-states of any usefulness or potential, while fragmenting and destroying the smaller homelands

The Peace of Flight
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/August 30/2023
No one can believe the claim that Libya’s Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush decided to meet her Israeli counterpart in Rome by herself, without coordinating with the leaders of the country. The “Rome meeting” was not an “individual initiative” made because of her “lack of diplomatic experience.”
No matter how hard the government of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah tries to push this narrative now, it is not credible. The question, here, is bigger than the meeting. Why do interim governments (or those who lead them) in divided and turbulent countries seek to engage with Israel before genuinely reaching out to other domestic communities and blocs? Why would the Dbeibah government contact Israel at a time when communication with domestic partners is so much more necessary? Indeed, there is a pressing need to defuse the crisis threatening what remains of Libya - that is, if there is anything left of statehood as a concept after it was destroyed by Moammar al-Gaddafi’s regime for decades. Today, Libya moans under the weight of division, arms, and foreign meddling. Indeed, at a time when Libya has become a body with several heads making a claim to their right to rule and the country is falling apart, what is more important: Libyan-Libyan peace, or Libyan-Israeli peace? This situation is not exclusive to Libya. Before it, Sudan concluded an agreement, agreed to make peace, normalized - call it what you wish - with Israel. Soon after that, a conflict broke out between its two major military groups, and there had been a real political struggle between civil society and the military in the first place.
How did Sudan benefit from its relationship with Israel? Some may say that Sudan benefited through the lifting of international and US sanctions, and because the mere fact of making the deal with Israel allowed it to return to the international community’s fold.
Well, that is true. However, the Sudanese are now losing what remains of their country, which had previously been devastated under Omar al-Bashir. His reign was its worst without a doubt, as it mixed the bad with the worse. It combined military rule with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and there is no cocktail worse than that. Sudan’s deal was like a cosmetic operation. It managed to leverage its relationship with Israel to open the door to ties with the United States, but the country is now embroiled in a conflict on the brink of destroying everything.
The same thing is happening now in Libya, which is close to boiling point. These outcomes demonstrate that in both Sudan and Libya, domestic peace is more consequential than relations or peace that leave to the foreign minister fleeing the country, as seen in Libya, or are followed by military fighting as was the case in Sudan. As for the Israelis, their decision to leak the news about the “Rome meeting” is a clear testament not only to their recklessness, but also an indication of the gravity of the crisis currently facing the extremist Netanyahu government, which is desperate for any good news that could polish its internal image amid domestic divisions over its judicial reforms. And, after the peace of the brave, land for peace, and the Abraham Accords, we are now facing the peace of the flight. Everyone wants to find a way out of their domestic crises through external peace, from Sudan to Libya, to even Israel, which wants peace without consequences and concessions, just free pictures.
One thing is for sure, when real peace comes, this Israeli government will fall, as it is not up to the task.

What does the ‘Aleppo model’ mean for Assad?
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/August 30, 2023
In a recent article, the Turkish pro-government media outlet Daily Sabah introduced the concept of the “Aleppo model” — a scheme to make areas in northern Syria safe, secure and livable in order to encourage the repatriation of Syrian refugees. This follows a survey by the UN refugee agency UNHCR that showed 70 percent of those displaced are unwilling to return for at least five years despite the difficult conditions and discrimination they face in host countries. Refugees cited security concerns, as well as lack of basic services and work opportunities. What does the Aleppo model mean for Syrian President Bashar Assad?
The refugee question was a main point of contention in the recent Turkish elections. The opposition focused on the issue, accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of maintaining an open-door policy, and proposed normalizing relations with Assad as a solution to the problem. However, Erdogan’s efforts in this regard have yielded little, mainly due to the rigidity of the Syrian regime, which has based talks with Turkiye on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the northwest of the country, a totally unrealistic demand since it would leave opponents to the regime at the mercy of Assad.
Turkiye also cannot leave its borders unprotected and vulnerable to terrorist attacks and drug trafficking. Here, Erdogan faces a dilemma. He wants to ensure the return of refugees, one of his main campaign promises. However, returning them is almost impossible while Assad is in power. Ahmet Uysal, head of ORSAM, a Turkish research center focusing on Arab countries, recently published an article in which he said that Assad is unwilling and incapable of securing the refugees’ return, adding that those who have returned have been subject to arbitrary arrest, torture and rape. Assad does not want to see the people who opposed him come back home.
Even areas loyal to Assad are witnessing protests demanding his departure due to the dire state of the economy
Assad is also incapable of providing them with their basic needs. Even areas loyal to Assad are witnessing protests demanding his departure due to the dire state of the country’s economy. Hence, the most logical step to take is to bypass Assad and negotiate with his patrons. Daily Sabah mentioned that Turkiye is in discussions with Syria and Russia. With talks between Turkiye and Syria at a standstill, Erdogan is probably banking on Russia to make the “Aleppo model” a reality. It is inconceivable that Assad will willingly cede territory to Turkiye, having asked the latter to withdraw before starting any discussion.
Any joint administration or the presence of Assad forces will also deter refugees from going back. As Uysal detailed, experience has shown that despite an amnesty and promises of safety, opponents of the regime who returned were subject to arrest and punishment. Also, Assad has not acted in line with Russian interests, which are to end the war and begin reconstruction. On the contrary, he has refused to make any concessions to the opposition. In this respect, he has skillfully played the Russians against the Iranians, positioning himself as the reference between the two.
Despite promises of safety, opponents of the regime who returned have been subject to arrest and punishment
However, due to the Ukraine war, Turkiye is proving to be of more importance to Russia. Meanwhile, all Turkish incursions have been approved either by Russia or the US. If Turkiye acts to put Aleppo under its control, it will be a fatal blow to Assad. Aleppo is the commercial heart of Syria. Losing the city will strengthen the protest movement across the country and, ultimately, force Iran and Assad to compromise. Hence, in addition to creating a suitable environment for a safe, voluntary and dignified return for refugees in accordance with UN resolution 2254, the Aleppo model can help break the status quo and force a solution on Syria.
If the Aleppo model succeeds — with Russia and Turkiye bringing stability, Qatar financing reconstruction, and refugees returning in large numbers — it will be a game changer. It could set an example for other arrangements. Why not have a Daraa model, whereby Russia enters into a similar agreement with Jordan? Despite normalization with Assad, Jordan has not seen any real improvement in the regime’s behavior, and is still vulnerable to illegal drug and weapons smuggling.
The Aleppo model is likely to garner Arab acquiescence, if not endorsement, since normalization with Assad led to nowhere. At the Arab League Summit in May, the Syrian leader was supposed to show some goodwill, but instead displayed only defiance. In a nutshell, the success of the Aleppo model will show that Assad is a burden for Arab countries as well as for his allies, and is very much dispensable.
*Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is president of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.