Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 17-18/2023
Saudi foreign minister in first Iran visit since detente
LBCI/June 17, 2023
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived Saturday in Tehran, Iranian media reported, in his first visit to Iran since a landmark rapprochement following a seven-year rupture. During his trip, the Saudi top diplomat is expected to meet with Iranian officials including Tehran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian before a news conference, state media said. Saudi media have also reported a planned meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during Prince Faisal's first visit to the Islamic republic as foreign minister. Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia severed relations with Shiite-led Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. But the two countries agreed in March to mend ties and reopen their respective embassies, in a Chinese-brokered deal that has shifted regional relations. Iran's government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi told local media Prince Faisal was expected to "take some measures" towards reopening the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran during the visit. On June 6, the Islamic republic reopened its embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia. The Iranian Sazandegi daily reported on Saturday the Saudi embassy would reopen in a hotel in Tehran before resuming its permanent location in the Iranian capital.

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers held "positive" talks in Tehran
NNA/June 17, 2023 
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan announced that he held "positive" talks with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Amir Abdullahian, today. Bin Farhan, who is currently visiting Tehran, said that he will convey to Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi an invitation from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to visit the Kingdom. He said in a joint press conference that he discussed with Abdullahian "the implementation of the agreement signed in Beijing regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran." In turn, the Iranian Foreign Minister said: "We agree on the importance of forming joint political, economic and border committees, as well as cooperation in the field of drug control and the environment," pointing out that they will move forward towards implementation, after ratification of the consensus between the two foreign ministers, by the leaders of the two countries, as reported by "SPA" and "IRNA" news agencies.

Saudi Arabia urges improved maritime security in Gulf as ties with Iran resume
(Reuters)/Sat, June 17, 2023
Saudi Arabia wants enhanced maritime security in the crucial Gulf region as part of its rapprochement with long-time rival Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Saturday. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and reestablish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in the Gulf, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. "I would like to refer to the importance of cooperation between the two countries on regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation... and the importance of cooperation among all regional countries to ensure that it is free of weapons of mass destruction," Prince Faisal said. Speaking after talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Prince Faisal also said the Saudi king and crown prince are looking forward to Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi "accepting the invitation to visit the Kingdom soon, God willing".Amirabdollahian told a televised joint media event that security was vital for regional countries. "Iran has never equated security with militarism but sees it as a broad concept including political, cultural, social, economic and trade aspects," he said.
The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf - through which a fifth of the world's oil passes - has become the focus for a standoff between Iran and the United States, which has increased its military presence in the region in recent years. Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Gulf Arab states. Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran has left Israel largely alone as it has sought to isolate Iran diplomatically. The United Arab Emirates, which was the first Gulf Arab country to sign a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year. Bahrain and Morocco later joined the UAE in establishing ties with Israel.

Iranian hunger striker says Tehran clerics have issued fatwa against him
Steve Bird/The Telegraph/Sat, June 17, 2023 at 1:15 p.m. EDT
A man who held a 72-day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office demanding Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) be proscribed has had a fatwa ordering his death issued by one of the regime’s clerics. Vahid Beheshti claims his high profile campaign, which saw him personally deliver a letter to King Charles at Buckingham Palace, has so enraged the Iranian regime that an imam has issued the chilling proclamation. Despite the 46-year-old journalist and campaigner’s life being at risk, he has insisted he will continue his protest to try to persuade the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to outlaw the IRGC.
Mr Beheshti learned about the fatwa from sources in Iran while being treated in hospital after becoming ill during his hunger strike. “I’ve been told by counter terrorism police not to go home to Coventry,” he said on Saturday at the encampment he set up outside the Foreign Office 115 days ago. “So, here is probably the safest place in the UK for me - if I’m not safe here, I’m not safe anywhere. “I’m not going anywhere until I get this done.”For 72 days he held a hunger strike, surviving on a diet of just water, coffee, salt and sugar cubes. Last month, he was rushed to hospital after being overcome by palpitations and nausea. “It was my body telling me enough is enough,” he said, adding how he lost nearly 40lbs (18kg) - a fifth of his body weight. His wife, Mattie Heaven, a Conservative councillor in Coventry, insists her husband’s campaign is about protecting British values from the far-reaching powers of a totalitarian regime. “We are, like others, living in fear and having to watch our backs in this democratic country,” she said. “There are IRGC agents operating in the UK, so this is a domestic issue.”During the hunger strike they both attended a royal coronation tea party at Buckingham Palace.
“I met Camilla,” he said, explaining how his wife’s invitation, which preceded his campaign, gave him the opportunity to hand deliver a letter to King Charles. He has also met Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, as well Richard Ratcliffe, who held a 20-day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office to campaign for the release of his wife Nazanin Zahari-Ratcliffe. “My ultimate aim is to get rid of the Iranian regime. But, this is the first step,” he added. In February, Iran International, a TV station which is critical of the regime, suspended its London-based operations in Chiswick after being advised its journalists’ lives were under threat. The station will continue to operate from its offices in Washington DC.
Multiple plots foiled
Just hours later, British police and security services revealed they had foiled 15 plots by Iran to either kidnap or kill people in the UK it considered “enemies of the regime”. Matt Jukes, head of counter-terrorism policing at the Metropolitan Police, said the “workload in investigating threats from foreign states had quadrupled over the past two years.”He added: “Officers from counter-terrorism policing alongside local officers and other specialists from the Met continue to work in response to potential threats projected from Iran against a number of UK-based individuals.”Although the Home Office is the ministry that proscribes organisations, it is understood the Foreign Office is reluctant to back such a move amid fears it could affect its diplomatic aims in Tehran. The Home Secretary Suella Braverman can proscribe an organisation if she believes it participates, prepares or promotes terrorism and poses a threat to the UK or British nationals overseas. Anyone in the UK found to be an agent for a proscribed organisation faces up to 14 years in jail. A Home Office spokesman said: “We do not tolerate threats to life, or intimidation of any kind towards individuals in the UK and will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to protect against any such activity.” Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

Amman hosts a new round of Yemeni talks
NNA/June 17, 2023 
The Jordanian capital, Amman, is hosting a round of Yemeni talks between the government delegations and the Houthi group "Ansar Allah" regarding the file of prisoners and detainees under the auspices of the United Nations. Acording to "Agence France-Presse," the government delegation includes 5 representatives, and the same number are from the Houthis."The head of the government delegation to the prisoners’ negotiations, Brigadier General Yahya Muhammad Kazman, said via Twitter that “the round of consultations that are taking place in coordination with the office of the UN envoy to Yemen will focus on revealing the fate of all the disappeared, headed by the politician Muhammad Qahtan, as well as the rest of the detainees and forcibly disappeared persons belonging to the Houthi militias."

 President of South Africa reveals the details of the peace plan for Ukraine
NNA/June 17, 2023
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited Kiev on Friday with a delegation of African countries, disclosed the details of the peace plan for Ukraine.
According to "Russia Today" news agency, Ramaphosa announced in a statement that the African plan includes 10 main points, namely:
- Achieving peace through negotiations via diplomatic means
- Peace negotiations to begin the soonest possible
- De-escalation of the conflict on both sides
- Ensuring the sovereignty of states and peoples in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
- Providing security guarantees for all countries
- Securing the movement of grain and fertilizer exports from both countries
- Providing humanitarian support for war victims
- Settling the issue of the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of children
- Having post-war reconstruction and assistance to war victims
- Providing closer interaction with African countries
For his part, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stressed his "opposition to freezing the Ukrainian conflict," and reiterated his demand for "the withdrawal of Russian forces from lands that Kiev considers its own."
Zelensky said he "does not understand the logic of African leaders who plan to visit Russia today for negotiations."After visiting Kiev, the African delegation went to Poland, and then arrived in Petersburg.

African leaders prepare to meet Putin after Zelensky rules out talks
Agence France Presse/June 17, 2023
A high-level African delegation was preparing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, a day after its calls for talks between Moscow and Kyiv were rebuffed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. The diplomatic team had gone to Kyiv on Friday to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout of Russia's invasion -- in particular rising grain prices -- with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisting "there should be peace through negotiations." But Zelensky ruled out that possibility during a joint press conference with the delegates, telling reporters: "I clearly said several times at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering". Shortly after the African leaders' arrival, air raid sirens sounded across the country as Russian missiles were detected, forcing the delegates to take shelter in the capital. Zelensky said the strike on Kyiv during the delegation's visit showed that Putin either did not control his army, or was "irrational". Ramaphosa, however, took the barrage as evidence that both sides needed to stop fighting. "It is precisely that type of event that we saw today... that makes us call for de-escalation," Ramaphosa said, quoting Nelson Mandela several times on the need for peace. In a statement, Zelensky said he had called on the leaders to set out their views on how to stop the "crimes committed by Russia", and how to work towards food security. "But first of all, we must restore the full force of the UN Charter and stop this brutal Russian aggression and free our land," he added. The African delegation had gone first to Bucha, a town outside the capital that has become synonymous with alleged war crimes carried out by Moscow. The group includes four presidents: Ramaphosa, Senegal's Macky Sall, Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros' Azali Assoumani, who also currently heads the African Union. The leaders of Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville pulled out of the visit at the last moment and sent representatives instead. The meeting came as Ukraine announced gains in a new counteroffensive, but Putin claimed on Friday that Kyiv's forces "stand no chance" in the sectors where fighting has intensified.
'Clear message'
Following Friday's attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 12 missiles, including six hypersonic ones. There was no reported damage inside the city, but seven people including two children were wounded, the regional police said.
"With what happened today, it's very obvious also to the African leaders how sincere Putin is about stopping the conflict," said Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Ukrainian officials were also quick to call attention to the strike. "Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. The African leaders were set to meet Putin in the northwestern Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Saturday. "In our view it is important to listen very carefully to what both countries have to say, and tomorrow we are now going to listen to President Putin," Ramaphosa said. Speaking at an annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday, Putin displayed little appetite for peace talks, announcing the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus while also calling Zelensky a "disgrace to the Jewish people". Russia first announced plans to station tactical nuclear arms in its ally and neighbour in March, with Putin saying Friday that the "first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus".He said the weapons were meant as a deterrent to "those who are thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia".
Putin also told forum attendees he had "a lot of Jewish friends" who had told him "that Zelensky is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish people". Despite Zelensky's Jewish heritage, Moscow has justified its war with claims it needs to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
'Touching livelihoods'
Analysts, meanwhile, said the delegation's mediating effort could hope to win some concessions from the Kremlin ahead of a Russia-Africa summit next month. The African continent has been badly hit by rising grain and fertiliser prices as well as the wider impact on global trade since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. "This conflict is also affecting African countries negatively, touching on the livelihoods of 1.2 or 1.3 billion people on the African continent," Ramaphosa said. African nations have been divided over their response to the war, with some siding with Ukraine and others remaining neutral or gravitating towards Moscow. South Africa, for one, has drawn scrutiny for refusing to condemn the offensive launched by Moscow.

Lavrov: The role of the United Nations has not been exhausted, but it would have grown had it not been for Western violations
NNA/June 17, 2023
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov considered that the United Nations has not exhausted its role, which would have increased had it not been for the West's repeated violations of the principles of the UN body, according to "Russia Today".
Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian "Knowledge" Association on the sidelines of the Petersburg International Economic Forum: "If everyone adheres to the requirements of the United Nations Charter, the role of the world organization will be far from depleted. Rather, this role would have increased if everyone had been guided by the principles of the Charter of the organization, particularly since the fundamental principle is that the United Nations is based on the sovereign equality of states."

Putin: Russia is open to dialogue with everyone who wants peace
NNA/June 17, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is open to dialogue with everyone who wants peace, provided that the interests of all parties are taken into account. During his meeting with African leaders, the Russian President praised the position of African countries on the situation in Ukraine. He also expressed Russia's deep respect for Africa's position in favor of the peaceful settlement of disputes and the establishment of a more just world order. Putin stressed that Russia supports strengthening relations with African countries, while not interfering in internal affairs.

Ukraine announces an ammonia leak at a meat plant
NNA/June 17, 2023
The Kremenchug City Council in Poltava Province, central Ukraine, announced that an ammonia leak had occurred at a meat processing plant in the city, according to "Novosti" agency. The city council posted on its Facebook account: "Today, an ammonia leak occurred at the meatpacking plant in Kremenchug, where two employees were injured in the accident." The city authorities confirmed that the toxic substance did not leave the scope of the factory and that there were no dangers threatening the residents, and that the company's emergency team succeeded in dealing with the accident and removing its effects.

Russian defense minister says more tanks needed in Ukraine
Agence France Presse/June 17, 2023
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday called for more tanks to be manufactured "to meet the needs of Russian forces" in Ukraine after Kyiv launched a counteroffensive with Western arms. Shoigu, who visited a military factory in western Siberia, stressed the need "to maintain the increased production of tanks" and better security features in armored vehicles, the defense ministry said. Shoigu said this was necessary "to satisfy the needs of Russian forces carrying out the special military operation" launched by Moscow in Ukraine in February last year, it added. Russia claims the Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed but Kyiv says it has retaken several localities and about a 100 square kilometers of territory, mainly on the southern front.

Attack helicopters are giving Russia the edge in the skies over southern Ukraine, says UK intel
Bethany Dawson/Business Insider/Sat, June 17, 2023
The UK Ministry of Defence said Russia's attack helicopters gave Putin's forces "a temporary advantage."The helicopters employ "longer-range missiles against ground targets," it said. Of all the Russian Air Force's attack helicopters, the Ka-52 is perhaps the most widely used. A new intelligence briefing has announced that Russia's use of attack helicopters has allowed Putin's forces to gain an advantage in the long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive. According to the latest UK Ministry of Defence briefing, Russian troops have reinforced its attack helicopter forces, allowing them to gain "a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine, especially with attack helicopters employing longer-range missiles against ground targets." Per the briefing, new imagery depicts "over 20 extra Russian helicopters deployed to Berdyansk Airport, approximately 100km behind the front line." Of all the Russian Air Force's attack helicopters, the Ka-52 is perhaps the most widely used. Russia is believed to have a force of 133 as of 2022. A Royal United Services Institute report last year said Ka-52s helicopters have seen "more intensive use than the other fleets, both by day and especially at night, on all fronts in Ukraine." Featuring an unusual coaxial rotor design and a side-by-side crew seating arrangement, Insider reported that it has been on the frontline and involved in the thickest fighting more than any other Russian attack helicopter since Russia's attack began in February 2022. One of Russia's most modern helicopters, the Ka-52, entered service in 2011, and there are several variants. It has a ceiling of 18,000 feet and a top speed of 186 mph. It has ejection seats for its pilots — a rare feature for helicopters. The Ka-52 can be armed with 4,000 pounds of rockets, missiles, and a 30 mm autocannon. Some variants also have a nose-mounted forward-looking infrared camera for targeting.Moscow regularly releases footage of Ka-52 operations, including with other helicopter gunships like the Mi-28 and Mi-24/35. However, less armor means it is vulnerable to shoulder-launched missiles, like the US-made Stinger missile, and small-arms fire. Last October, the British Ministry of Defence said that at least 23 Ka-52s had been shot down.

Putin says Zelensky a 'disgrace to Jewish people'
Agence France Presse/June 17, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, is a "disgrace" to people of his faith. "I have a lot of Jewish friends," Putin told an annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg. "They say that Zelensky is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish people. "I'm not joking," he added. AFP and representatives of other countries the Kremlin deems "unfriendly" were not accredited to cover the forum. Moscow claims Ukraine's treatment of Russian speakers in the western-backed country is comparable to the actions of Nazi Germany.
These allegations have been contested by the Ukrainian government and the country's Jewish community. Putin said Moscow "must fight" neo-Nazism, adding that Russia had suffered enormous losses during the country's fight against Nazi Germany in World War II. "We will never forget it," Putin said. "Why is no one listening to us?"Putin's insult caused uproar in Ukraine. Ukraine's chief rabbi said he was proud of Zelensky. "And not only me. I think the whole world is proud of him," rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman told Ukrainian news agency UNIAN. "He did not flee and is doing everything to help the Ukrainian people," he added. The rabbi also said that there were no neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine. "There are decent people in Ukraine who are protecting their homeland," he was quoted as saying. Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk, who stressed he was of Jewish heritage himself, said: "Today Zelensky is the embodiment of the fight for freedom. And freedom is one of the main values of the Jewish people." The American Jewish Committee tweeted: "Putin's attempt to smear President Zelensky's Jewish heritage is a desperate and disgraceful move."

Sudan crisis: Five children among 17 killed in air strikes
Charlene Anne Rodrigues - BBC News/Sat, June 17, 2023
Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the conflict mid-April
Seventeen people - five children - have been killed in an air strike in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, officials say. Twenty-five homes were destroyed in Saturday's strike in the densely populated Yarmouk district. It came a day after a top army general threatened to step up attacks against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out mid-April as a result of a vicious power struggle within the country's military leadership. In early June, the RSF claimed full control of Yarmouk, an area of the capital which houses an arms manufacturing facility. Later on Saturday the warring factions agreed a 72-hour ceasefire starting at 06:00 (04:00 GMT) on Sunday. It was announced by Saudi and US mediators. Similar ceasefires in the past have not been observed. Precise figures on the number of people killed in the fighting are difficult to establish, but it is believed to be well over 1,000, including many civilians caught in the crossfire. Roughly 2.2 million people have been displaced within the country and more than half a million are sheltering in neighbouring countries, according to the UN. Several ceasefires have been announced to allow people to escape the fighting but these have not been observed. The recent attack targeted civilians in Mayo, Yarmouk, and Mandela areas, according to the RSF. The army has not commented. Since the hostilities began, tens of thousands of civilians have fled across the border into neighbouring Chad. Doctors and hospitals there have been overstretched and struggling to cope. The violence has also resurrected a two-decade-old conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region.

Parents of Syrians missing in Greece boat tragedy 'pray day and night'
Agence France Presse/June 17, 2023
In war-torn Syria, parents of teenagers missing in a shipwreck off the Greek coast are clinging onto hope their children might be alive, days after the tragedy. A fishing boat overloaded with migrants capsized and sank off Greece's Peloponnese peninsula on Wednesday, killing at least 78 people. While the exact number of passengers on the rusty trawler is unknown, hundreds are feared missing, and relatives and activists have told AFP at least 141 Syrians were aboard. Iyad from Jassem in the southern province of Daraa, the cradle of Syria's 12-year civil war, said his 19-year-old son Ali was still unaccounted for. "I have had no news of my son. I haven't spoken to him. I haven't heard his voice," said Iyad, who works at a school and declined to provide his surname. "His mother hasn't stopped crying for three days." The 47-year-old said he had heard of two Greek reports -- one listing his son among the survivors and another among the dead. "I still have hope that he will be among the survivors," Iyad told AFP by telephone on Saturday. "We are praying to God day and night."
A better life
The teenager was looking for a better life in Libya, his father said, and had travelled there by plane from Damascus. "He told us he wanted to work in a restaurant" and had planned to send money to help the family, Iyad added. "We didn't know he wanted to take a boat," he said. "If we'd known, we wouldn't have allowed him to go."Activists at the Daraa Martyrs Documentation Office told AFP on Saturday that 106 people aboard the trawler were from the country's south, mainly from Daraa province, where they said "living and security situation... is absolutely unbearable".
Only 34 so far were known to have survived, they added. A blind 15-year-old boy and his 28-year-old sister from Daraa province were also among those missing, their uncle told AFP on Friday, declining to be identified for security reasons. Daraa province was the cradle of the 2011 uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but it returned to regime control in 2018. Iyad said Ali's uncle in Germany had travelled to Greece to search for the boy, but "it's like looking for a needle in a haystack". "For us, he is missing. We have not mourned and we will not mourn until we are sure what has happened," he said. "If he is found alive, we'll bring him back to Syria. I don't want my son to be far away from me... not even for one more second. "We borrowed a large amount of money to send him to Libya to work -- not to die."
'Fleeing death, finding death'
In Kobane in Syria's Kurdish-held north, Mohammed Mohammed said he too was awaiting news of the fate of his 15-year-old son Diyar. "Every day, hope is fading of seeing my son again," Mohammed, a tyre repairman, told AFP by telephone late Friday. Diyar "left because the situation here is terrible", the 48-year-old said. Kobane became a symbol of symbol of victory over the Islamic State group, after US-backed Kurdish forces drove the jihadists out in 2015. But the city, also known as Ain al-Arab, is in the crosshairs of Ankara, which wants Kurdish forces to withdraw from frontier areas. Turkey has carried out deadly raids in the area and threatened a new ground offensive. Mohammed said the family lived less than one kilometre (little more than half a mile) from the Turkish border. Diyar's "dream was to go to Germany to be with my brother who lives there", he said. "Everyone wants to leave," he said, adding Diyar had been with four friends. At least 35 people aboard the boat were from Kurdish-held areas in Syria's north, a relative told AFP on Friday. Mohammed said his brother had travelled to Greece in the hope of finding Diyar, but was denied entry to hospitals where he had hoped to speak to survivors. "People are fleeing death, but finding death" along the way, he said.

Biden: We will not facilitate Ukraine's accession to NATO
NNA/June 17, 2023
US President Joe Biden stressed today, Saturday, that in order for Ukraine to join "NATO" it must meet the same requirements as other members of the alliance, and that Washington will not make this path easier for Kiev, according to "Novosti" agency.
"Ukraine must meet the same criteria to be part of NATO as other members," Biden said, noting that his country will not make it easy for Ukraine to join NATO.
Politico newspaper reported earlier, quoting informed sources in NATO, that there is growing support among NATO members to facilitate Ukraine's accession to NATO, and to exempt it from the procedures of the "membership plan".

Syria describes the EU policies toward it as inhuman and immoral
SANA/June 17, 2023
Damascus, SANA- The European Union chose to exclude the Syrian state from the conference held in Brussel, and was devoted mainly on Syria, so that the truth of its bankrupt goals and policies would not be revealed as a result of the inhumane and immoral coercive measures that the Syrian people face, a source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said on Saturday. The source indicated that the organizers of this meeting invited only their corrupt tools that are allied with Daesh, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations that oppose the will of the Syrian people and their vital interests, demanding that refugees not be allowed to return to their homeland and that humanitarian aid not be provided to the victims of terrorism and the earthquake.
The source noted that Syria succeeded in thwarting the objectives of the terrorist war and attempts to interfere in its internal affairs. Syria confirms that the attempts to undermine its stances have failed on battlefield, and have not succeed politically also, the source added. The source concluded “Syria, which withstood the mercenaries and terrorists, is determined today to work with its Arab brothers, friends all good forces in the world to consolidate its victories and overcome the consequences of the economic blockade on it.” ---

Shelling continues in Khartoum, with ongoing displacement from Darfur
NNA/June 17, 2023
Khartoum witnessed this morning shelling and clashes with various types of weapons, as conflict continues between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, at a time when violence in the Darfur region is pushing hundreds of its residents to cross the border into Chad, acording to AFP.

French police arrest a suspect in the attempt to assassinate Macron
NNA/June 17, 2023
Today, the French newspaper, Parisien, reported that the French police had arrested an extremist activist suspected of attempting to assassinate French President Emmanuel Macron, according to "Russia Today". The newspaper added in its article: "The extremist left-wing activist was under investigation and is currently in prison. He is accused of wanting to attempt to assassinate the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, last April."

Death toll from the school attack in western Uganda rises to 37
NNA/June 17, 2023
The death toll in the jihadist attack on a school in western Uganda has risen to 37, according to AFP, quoting the army. "Unfortunately, 37 bodies were found and transferred to the mortuary of Buera Hospital," UPDF spokesman Felix Kulayigi said in a statemen

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 17-18/2023
The Biden Administration's Secret Capitulation to Iran's Regime
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 17, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/119235/majid-rafizadeh-gatestone-institute-the-biden-administrations-secret-capitulation-to-irans-regime-%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%aa/
The Biden administration also reportedly wants to pump $17 billion dollars into the Iranian regime's treasury. These benefits will not only enable the mullahs' to finalize their nuclear weapons program, but also to send more arms to Russia to attack Ukraine, as well as to further enable the regime's ruthless expansion throughout the Middle East -- in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip -- and throughout Latin America.
The US, intriguingly, seems hell-bent on supporting a regime that its own Department of State has called the "top state sponsor of terrorism."
Based on Iran's abysmal track record of complying with its own agreements, any deal in which Iran might promise to stop enriching uranium is just a sick joke.
"I continue to believe, Biden said on July 14, "that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome."
Someone recently replied, "Neville Chamberlain believed that diplomacy was the best way, too."
The Biden administration, by keeping the American people and the Congress in the dark regarding these ongoing secret negotiations with Iran, appear to understand that is doing something malign. The countries disastrously affected by any "deal" with the Islamist regime of Iran are "only" the US, the Gulf States, Israel, Latin America and Europe. The Biden administration nevertheless appears determined to give the ruling mullahs of Iran the ultimate $17 billion gift: the deadly nuclear deal -- so that Iran will promise not to use their nuclear weapons on this administration's watch.
The Biden administration, intriguingly, seems hell-bent on supporting a regime that the State Department has called the "top state sponsor of terrorism," by rewarding Iran with a nuclear deal that will pave the way for it legally to obtain as many nuclear weapons as it likes. (Image source: iStock)
In spite of strong opposition from the Congress, the Biden administration has been holding​ ​secret talks in Oman to reward the ruling mullahs of Iran with a nuclear deal that will pave the way for Iran legally to obtain as many nuclear weapons as it likes, empower the ruling mullahs with billions of dollars, lift sanctions, allow it to rejoin the global financial system and enhance the theocratic regime's legitimacy on the global stage.
The Biden administration also reportedly wants to pump $17 billion dollars into the Iranian regime's treasury. These benefits will not only enable the mullahs' to finalize their nuclear weapons program, but also to send more arms to Russia to attack Ukraine, as well as to further enable the regime's ruthless expansion throughout the Middle East -- in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip -- and throughout Latin America.
"It is looking ever more likely that the US is stepping up talks to kick-start nuclear talks with Iran despite denials from senior diplomats," Iran International reported.
"Brett McGurk, President Biden's senior Middle East adviser, took a low-profile trip to Oman earlier this month for talks on possible diplomatic outreach to Iran, it seems this is more than 'talks'. Neither the US nor Oman made the visit public, suggesting only something as serious as Iran could have called for such secrecy."
The Biden administration is evidently planning to reward -- or bribe to slow down -- a regime that has been killing Americans and taking hostages for more than four decades. Iran's regime, while the Biden administration was offering it sanctions relief, released a video showing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps blowing up the U.S. Capitol.
Iran recently killed an American contractor with a drone strike, and injured six other US personnel deployed in Syria, and provides weapons and troops to Russia. Even the European Union acknowledged that Iran's regime was "provid[ing] military support for Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine."
"These cowardly drone strikes are an act of desperation," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also noted in a statement. "By enabling these strikes, these individuals and a manufacturer have caused the people of Ukraine untold suffering."
Based on Iran's abysmal track record of complying with its own agreements (here, here, here and here), any deal in which Iran might promise to stop enriching uranium is just a sick joke.
The US, intriguingly, seems hell-bent on supporting a regime that its own Department of State has called the "top state sponsor of terrorism."
In Latin America, for instance, the Iranian regime has been ratcheting up not only its presence there, but also and terror cells throughout Latin America, while using that continent as a sanctuary. During the Biden administration, the regime has also attempted to assassinate US officials, such as the former US National Security Advisor John Bolton and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on American soil.
The Biden Administration, however, apparently still wants to enable Iran to have a nuclear deal permitting the Iranian regime legitimately to have unlimited nuclear weapons, and continues to see "diplomacy" as the path to appeasing it.
"I continue to believe, Biden said on July 14, "that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "We continue to believe that ultimately diplomacy is the most effective way to deal with this, but that's not where the focus is."
Someone recently replied, "Neville Chamberlain believed that diplomacy was the best way, too."
Dozens of former top U.S. diplomats, May 8, formally called on President Biden to cease all appeasement of Iran:
"Today, we write to urge you and your team to stop all diplomatic overtures toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and instead reimpose the 'maximum pressure' campaign – the only effective policy to protect the American people, the Iranian people, and others in the region and around the world from the Islamic Republic's threats. The United States should never preemptively set the negotiating table with concessions, not least with an adversary with four decades of rhetoric and actions targeting the United States and the American people. The approach of preemptively offering sanctions relief and that trust in the regime is entirely misplaced and reckless given the regime's record of lying about its nuclear program."
The Biden administration, by keeping the American people and the Congress in the dark regarding these ongoing secret negotiations with Iran, appear to understand that is doing something malign. The countries disastrously affected by any "deal" with the Islamist regime of Iran are "only" the US, the Gulf States, Israel, Latin America and Europe. The Biden administration nevertheless appears determined to give the ruling mullahs of Iran the ultimate $17 billion gift: the deadly nuclear deal -- so that Iran will promise not to use their nuclear weapons on this administration's watch.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19727/capitulation-to-iran

Latin America is the EU’s new super priority
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 17, 2023
Latin America has previously been called the “lost” or “forgotten” continent, yet it is now assuming a much higher strategic importance, especially in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For decades, the region was often overlooked by some key Western powers — especially much of Europe — given that its economic growth generally was not as fast as that of Asian emerging markets, while its poverty was not as great as that in much of Africa.Yet since the war in Ukraine began, European attention has quickly turned to this vast continent, which is home to half a billion people, the world’s largest reserves of arable land, plus huge amounts of wider resources, including critical minerals and the largest share of renewables in the world.
Last month, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly gave a speech in Chile in which he argued that the “tectonic plates of world politics are shifting once again,” with “Latin America’s demographic and economic weight … giving more voice and more influence.”
Specifically, he called for Brazil to be given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and argued that the UK is the region’s “oldest friend,” some two centuries after bilateral ties were first established.
However, it is the EU that might be warming its ties with Latin America at the fastest pace. Similarly to authorities in the UK, key figures across the 27-member bloc recognize the region's huge future potential. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, even said last month that this emerging market has the potential to become the Arabian Gulf, given its critical mineral assets, such as lithium.
This growing importance of Latin America to Europe was also showcased in the EU’s new Global Gateway strategy. And also by the major, intensified push to finally secure a trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, the Southern Common Market, creating a combined market of about 720 million people.
The EU’s flagship Global Gateway strategy is mobilizing up to €300 billion ($328 billion) of investment globally for sustainable, high-quality projects between 2021 and 2027 in areas such as the green and digital transition, transport and energy infrastructure, health, education, skills and research, and sustainable finance. Examples of projects that the EU is embedding in Latin America, specifically, as part of the strategy include critical raw material value chains for lithium and copper, green hydrogen production, and the expansion of electricity transmission networks.
Building on the strategy, the EU is also making a big push for a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. This has been agreed in principle but efforts to finalize it have been frozen. The trigger for the current intensified push to get it concluded is not only that Europe knows it urgently needs to diversify its trade links and become less dependent on Russia and China for its raw material value chains. In addition, the departure of controversial Jair Bolsonaro from the Brazilian presidency at the end of last year has added to the political “window of opportunity” to get a deal over the finish line. For decades, the region was often overlooked by some key Western powers — especially much of Europe.
During her major official visit to Latin America last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged along with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez that the Mercosur deal will be concluded by the end of this year. This echoes calls from other senior European politicians, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said during a trip to Argentina last year that “the negotiations have now lasted long enough” and he and other EU partners want the agreement to be ratified in 2023.
The EU-Mercosur agreement has been in the making for more than two decades, during which two-way trade has increased even without a finalized deal, and both sides want the talks expedited ahead of a key EU-Latin America summit on July 17-18. While the agreement was officially concluded in 2019, both sides are still advocating for additional clauses.
This might sound straightforward. However, there is a danger it could result in previous, carefully negotiated economic trade-offs within the wider deal being reopened, which risks causing more delays. For instance, Lula has said: “I have faith that we will announce this Mercosur agreement soon but with better quality to ensure that Latin American countries can have an industrial policy.”
He wants to reorient the trade relationship with the EU away from the prospect of Brazil simply being a giant agricultural powerhouse for European consumers, and reopen negotiations to add provisions relating to reindustrialization, technology transfer, and wider issues such as human rights. On the European side, the two main sets of concerns center around agriculture — a key concern for France, which is Europe’s largest producer in this sector — and Brazil’s commitments to tackle deforestation.
On the latter issue, several EU countries, members of the European Parliament, and activists have expressed grave concerns about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, and the European Commission is negotiating additional text in the agreement with Mercosur that would include more sustainability commitments.
EU trade negotiators last year presented an additional document to the Mercosur countries to try to assuage concerns in Europe about these issues, especially deforestation in the Amazon. The European Commission hopes this additional instrument will avert the need to completely reopen the wider trade agreement. Taken together, this is why a window of opportunity might now exist to get the trade deal over the line before next year’s EU election campaigning begins, thereby cementing the deepening of ties between the two regional powers.
However, if an agreement cannot be concluded in the next six months, it might well get pushed out beyond next year, given that the next European Commission, which will come to power in the second half of 2024, will require time to settle in and start delivering on its priorities.
**Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Together, let us build a new and better global financial system
Ludovic Pouille/Arab News/June 17, 2023
A summit for the New Global Financial Pact will be held in Paris on June 22 and 23, attended by numerous heads of state and government including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The postwar international financial architecture is no longer sufficiently adapted to deal with the growing inequalities, climate change, biodiversity erosion and public health challenges prevalent in the 21st century. The international community’s responses are fragmented, partial and insufficient. First, concessional resources provided by development institutions are not delivering their full potential in terms of impact, co-finance and alignment with needs. Second, the expansion of finance conditions and rise in debt are slowing investment in developing countries and do not provide them with means to address the challenges they are facing. International solidarity has never been more critical amid a growing number of crises that are weakening the poorest and most vulnerable countries to an even greater extent. To help the most exposed countries exit the COVID crisis, deal with the consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine on their food and energy security, and cover the high cost of climate transition and consequences of extreme climate events, it is necessary to scale up finance.
The global financial system inherited from Bretton Woods has reached its limits at a time when we are facing two major threats to the future of our planet. The first is insufficient support for development and for the protection of our global public goods due to a lack of resources. The second, even more crucial, is the risk of geopolitical fragmentation at a time when we need effective multilateralism and enhanced cooperation more than ever.
A number of G7 and G20 countries, organizations and associations share this observation with France and wish to promote the same conviction: we have to act fast and join efforts to correct the imbalances and injustices generated by these divides. We are therefore now calling for a review of our software and for a shake-up of finance. We must together drive change in our global financial system to make it more responsive, just and inclusive, fight inequalities, finance the climate transition and biodiversity protection, and move closer to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
That is the objective of next week’s summit. It intends to be inclusive, with every country, every opinion and every proposal able to be expressed.
The summit is part of a positive momentum. The launch of reform by the World Bank, the G20 presidency of India and then Brazil, the SDG mid-term review and commitments made at COP are all reasons for hope to build on this momentum. Tangible solutions have already been initiated: the Paris Club and the G20 launched an initiative for debt treatment, and France plays a pivotal role in implementing coordinated solutions under the Common Framework. We have proposed and obtained the issuance of $100 billion in IMF special drawing rights for the most vulnerable countries. All countries in a position to do so must take part in this effort. Several multilateral development banks have begun to respond to the G20’s requests and have implemented initial measures to optimize capital to increase their lending capacity.
We do not have to choose between fighting poverty, tackling climate change and its impact, and protecting biodiversity. A just transition is the only answer.
But we must now go even further, following the example of the Bridgetown Initiative, a set of innovative solutions spearheaded by Barbados to address climate vulnerability affecting many middle-income developing countries.
We will promote a reform agenda for development banks and the IMF to provide more finance to countries in the most need. It is an agenda that aims to improve existing instruments and capital and to promote innovative approaches and instruments to support the poorest and most vulnerable countries. It also aims to mobilize more private finance using risk-sharing and guarantee mechanisms to redirect financial flows toward these countries to support the local private sector and durable infrastructure. This requires stepping up the use of our instruments and innovative and new financing mechanisms, both public and private. To be more effective, our international financial institutions must do more than they are currently doing to work better together, while better mobilizing private savings. To be more inclusive, we must above all give a greater voice to the most vulnerable countries in international forums.
Next week’s summit highlights global finance challenges, and the many leaders participating will give the impetus needed to carry out the transformations our system requires.
We do not have to choose between fighting poverty, tackling climate change and its impact, and protecting biodiversity. A just transition is the only answer.
• Ludovic Pouille is France’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The Concept of Nationhood and Looting in Libya
Jebril Elabidi/Ashark Al Awsat/June 17/2023
Libya has been devastated by chaos and looting. Communities are clashing over control of the country. Islamist factions derive their strength from foreign fighters who do not recognize the concept of nationhood (a geographically defined space that was home to ancestors) but the words of their leader, booty, and looting it abroad. These two concepts are the ABCs of political Islam, especially that of the misguided Brotherhood.
No class or community has an exclusive right to the homeland. The nation cannot be reduced to a class or community that seizes it to exploit it. The homeland is not a real estate asset or a cake. Indeed, it is the foundation of our lives. Nonetheless, we sometimes see it come second to the community first in the minds of the deluded, which could reinforce isolation. However, this view might not be representative of any more than one percent of the population, meaning that the armed factions give their ambitions precedence over the supreme national interest. Thus, they are willing to undermine the interests of the homeland and its social harmony merely to exclude their political opponents from any dialogue, project or law.
We have groups willing to split the homeland in accordance with the interests of their communities, and they could also privatize it as well. They do all of this because of their misconceptions about nationhood, citizenship and the national interest that arose as a result of the intellectual degradation in the country, the depths that political discourse has descended to, the failure of the elites, a culture of partisan loyalties, and the rise of concepts other than go against the national interest.
Meanwhile, the fact is that the homeland is the foundation of every citizen’s life, which demands that we develop a new definition that contests these narrow loyalties, chauvinism, and the prioritization of the party or community at the expense of the homeland.
Most of them are now loyal to a community or party. In fact, things have gone so far that opponents are attacked as apostates. Some of them won the votes of the people by presenting themselves as independent of any party, faction or communal affiliation, only for the facade of their independence to disappear after they weaseled their way into parliament. They then wrap themselves in partisan loyalties, violating the trust of their constituents and showing them contempt.
These chameleons do not seek coexistence and partnership with other members of the homeland. Instead, they demand singular rights that perpetuate insularity. They shed doubt on the other’s allegiance to the homeland despite the fact that differences of opinion and divergent views enrich the nation and give rise to a healthy democratic climate in which the interests of the homeland, not a class, party, or community, are furthered.
To carve a way out of this narrow and suffocating tunnel, several conditions must be met. First and foremost, partisan or factional approaches to general national entitlements must be abandoned. A new social contract should be drafted through the constitution. Partisan competition should be maintained, but within the framework of ordinary politics - without animosity - as citizens live in the homeland as citizens, not as politicians.
Coexistence in a nation that serves its citizens, without exception or discretion, where we have development, freedom, democracy, human rights, and democratic civil society, engenders a spirit of fraternity and tolerance. This is what we want for our homeland.
Libyans now need to agree on a constitution that builds on the principles of the 1951 constitution that unified Libya and brought all of its components under the same roof.
Libya needs a national project that puts an end to the havoc wreaked in the name “revolution and revolutionaries.” It must establish order and pave a path toward democracy, where all Libyans, without exception, can enjoy their rights. We must forgo collective punishment, as crimes do not create a civil state.
Libya is currently split by partisan, factional, and even tribal fault lines, after having drowned in the quagmire of ideological and doctrinal schism carved by Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. They all cost the country dearly, though the Libyan army managed to rid the country of their scourge.
Nonetheless, politicking, political disputes, and politicians’ disregard for the concerns of the homeland and its citizens have rendered Libya into a source of plunder rather than a homeland. Meanwhile, the helpless citizens of this country find themselves caught between either the crossfires of terrorist groups or conflicting governments and politicians.