English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 22/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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15 آذار/2023

Bible Quotations For today
Waking the Widow’s Only son from death: Jesus touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’The dead man sat up and began to speak
Luke 07/11-17: “Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep. ’Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us! ’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.””

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 21-22/2023
UNIFIL marks 45th anniversary, expressing hope for eventual lasting peace
Report: Possible new round of Saudi-French talks over Lebanon
Lira recovers as Salameh announces new Sayrafa scheme
Report: Not much expected from Bkirki's Christian gathering
Israeli troops injured in landmine blast on Lebanon border
Jumblat rejects presidential 'bargain', warns of vacuum
Roads blocked, pharmacies shut amid dizzying dollar surge
Lebanon to construct new terminal at Beirut airport
Omani team 'met with Hezbollah', Qatari delegation expected in Lebanon
Lebanon central bank announces 'open' sale of dollars at rate of 90,000/Measure is latest attempt to curb devaluation of freefalling national currency
Lebanese currency collapsing at record speed
Hezbollah terrorists who killed Israelis in Bulgaria bus blast get life in prison
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem Post/March 21/2023

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 21-22/2023
US announces sanctions on Iran drone procurement network
Israel repeals 2005 act on West Bank settlement pullout
Iran Expects its Rial to Improve after ‘Financial Understandings’ with Iraq, UAE
Putin's health may be disintegrating and it should terrify us all
Russia summons Canadian diplomat to protest "regime change" statement
US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone
Kremlin Caught Stealth Editing Awkward Putin Video
Russia faces an 'exodus' of troops as prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine start to be pardoned and return home, says UK intel
Xi calls Russia ties priority on Moscow trip
NATO to hold Ukraine meeting despite Hungary's objections
Only Seven NATO Allies Meet Spending Goal Despite Russia’s War
West Bank settlers win Israel parliament vote
Orthodox Church accused by Kyiv of Moscow links faces eviction
North Korea is nearing a terrifying nuclear reality

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 21-22/2023
The UAE is more than just the 'Switzerland of the Middle East'/Nadim Koteich/The National/March 21/2023
Obstacles Hindering the Turkish-Syrian Summit/Omer Onhon/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
2023… The Interior Is Back to Making Politics/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
A Confident Saudi Arabia and the Peace Being Promised/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
A Mideast/North Africa Update with Elie Abouaoun, US Institute of Peace/17 March 2023
Could the Saudi-Iranian deal lead to peace with Israel?/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Jerusalem Post/March 21/2023
Longtime Israel backers in U.S. turn outraged critics — but Biden administration remains distant/Tracy Wilkinson/Los Angeles Times/March 21/ 2023
Iraqi Christians are threatened with extinction 20 years after the US-led invasion/Metro Detroit/The National/March 21/2023
Egyptian Court Abandons Child to Forced Conversion, Denies Him Loving (Christian) Parents/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/March 21/2023
Biden Administration Pushing Arabs Towards Iran/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 21, 2023
Advocating caution after the Saudi-Iranian Beijing agreement/James J. Zogby/The Arab Weekly/March 21/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 21-22/2023
UNIFIL marks 45th anniversary, expressing hope for eventual lasting peace
Naharnets/March 21/2023
Marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro reflected on the mission’s origins and his hope, one day, for a lasting peace in the region. Speaking to an audience gathered at UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura for the occasion, Major General Lázaro said that “the ultimate success of Resolution 1701 will be found in a permanent ceasefire and a sustainable peace. That needs a political agreement, and it is not something that we, as peacekeepers, can accomplish only ourselves. Our role is to create the conditions for this process to take place.”Turning to recent tensions along the Blue Line, he noted that, “our peacekeepers have been on the ground to defuse potential incidents and maintain calm. Thanks to their efforts, and with the strong commitment of the parties, the situation has not escalated. I continue to urge all parties to refrain from any action that could lead to misunderstanding, reaction, and cause a break in the cessation of hostilities.”Lázaro recognized the contribution and dedication of the mission’s civilian and military peacekeepers who have served UNIFIL since 1978. He paid tribute to the sacrifice of 328 fallen military peacekeepers, including Irish Private Seán Rooney, who was tragically killed on 14 December 2022. “Over these 45 years, the commitment of our peacekeepers has never wavered,” he said. “It’s why our uniform members, hailing from 47 different countries, and supported by civilian peacekeepers from dozens more, undertake more than 450 operational activities each day – working together to implement UNIFIL’s mandate on land, at sea, and in the air.”On 19 March 1978, the U.N. Security Council adopted resolutions 425 and 426, establishing UNIFIL to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area. Following the 2006 war, the Council significantly enhanced UNIFIL’s mandate under resolution 1701, assigning it additional tasks together with the Lebanese Armed Forces in south Lebanon. Today, UNIFIL has about 10,000 military personnel from 47 countries and over 800 national and international civilian staff. At Monday’s ceremony, a total of 33 peacekeepers were awarded U.N. medals for their service in furthering peace in south Lebanon.

Report: Possible new round of Saudi-French talks over Lebanon
Naharnets/March 21/2023
A new round of consultations might be held between the French and the Saudis, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Tuesday. The daily said it has learned from Diplomatic sources in Paris that France and KSA are committed to helping Lebanon and that the consultations won't necessarly be held in Paris. Other political sources told al-Joumhouria that although they haven't sensed positive signs regarding the Paris meeting, it is possible to see in the coming days a Saudi and French drive by Saudi and French Ambassadors to Lebanon Walid Boukhari and Anne Grillo. Representatives of France, KSA, Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt had met in Paris in February to urge Lebanese leaders elect a president, end months of political wrangling and stem the financial meltdown. Lebanon's divided lawmakers have made 11 unsuccessful attempts to name a new president and have not convened since January 19. On Tuesday, the black market dollar exchange rate hit LBP 143,000, prompting protests and pushing pharmacies to shut their doors, as gas stations threatened to go on strike.

Lira recovers as Salameh announces new Sayrafa scheme
Naharnets/March 21/2023
The Lebanese pound recovered by around LBP 30,000 on the black market on Tuesday, after Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh announced a new Sayrafa platform scheme. Setting the Sayrafa exchange rate at LBP 90,000, Salameh said in a statement that the public can now purchase U.S. dollars at the Sayrafa rate from any ‘Class A’ money changer or operating bank. Salameh explained that buyers would deposit their Lebanese pounds with money changers or banks and would receive their equivalent in U.S. dollars within three days. Noting that “banks that suspend their strike can take part in this process,” Salameh clarified that his move is aimed at “curbing the surge of the dollar exchange rate on the parallel market and preserving the value of ‘Lebanese dollar’ (Lollar) deposits.”The unofficial dollar exchange rate had hit the unprecedented mark of LBP 143,000 earlier in the day, prompting pharmacies and some gas stations to close and citizens to block major roads across the country.

Report: Not much expected from Bkirki's Christian gathering
Naharnets/March 21/2023
Christian lawmakers who will take part in Bkirki’s upcoming “spiritual retreat” are not betting on achieving any progress regarding the presidential file, amid major disagreements over the vision, stances and solution mechanisms, a media report said on Tuesday. “The Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party and the independents have stressed that there is no chance to meet with the Free Patrotic Movement over a president, noting that the only intersection point lies in rejecting Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported. As for the new president’s agenda and platform, they consider that “the disagreement is huge and cannot be resolved, not even with a miracle.” FPM sources meanwhile told the daily that Bkirki’s initiative “opens a window for dialogue.”

Israeli troops injured in landmine blast on Lebanon border
Naharnets/March 21/2023
Several Israeli soldiers were wounded Tuesday when a landmine exploded under a military Humvee vehicle on the border with the Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab, al-Manar TV reported. The blast went off as Israeli vehicles were carrying out bulldozing works in the Herj al-Raheb area, al-Manar added. “One of the soldiers was heard screaming after his leg was amputated by the explosion,” the TV network added, noting that the Israeli vehicles withdrew from the area after the incident. A security source meanwhile told al-Mayadeen TV that the blast occurred on the Israeli side of the Blue Line. The incident comes days after Israel announced killing a man who had allegedly crossed from Lebanon and planted a bomb that went off in northern Israel.

Jumblat rejects presidential 'bargain', warns of vacuum
Naharnets/March 21/2023
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has described the calls for a bargain involving the presidency and the PM post as a “heresy,” stressing that there should be “a harmonious team.”Asked about the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation and its possible impact on Lebanon, Jumblat told al-Akhbar newspaper that “some top leaders in Lebanon” must “understand these changes and head to an acceptable settlement, instead of betting on intransigence and vacuum.”“Vacuum rekindles my partitioning concerns,” Jumblat warned. Noting that both Suleiman Franjieh and Michel Mouawad are “confrontation candidates,” the PSP leader said “it’s about time we sought a consensual formula.” “When I read a statement by (Lebanese Forces leader) Samir Geagea, I get surprised how he says that he prefers vacuum while the lira witnesses a dramatic deterioration every day,” Jumblat added. “At least this essential matter must be taken into consideration,” the PSP leader said. Geagea responsed to Jumblat’s accusation later on Tuesday, saying that he has “never preferred vacuum” and that he wants to “keep the chance to fill the presidential post with a real and serious president.” Asked whether “Hezbollah’s concerns” should be taken into consideration in choosing the president, Jumblat told al-Akhbar: “What concerns? No one can stab the resistance, and I had mentioned that those clinging to so-called international resolutions such as 1559 are living in another world.”

Roads blocked, pharmacies shut amid dizzying dollar surge
Naharnets/March 21/2023
The Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon on Tuesday called on pharmacies to "close as of this moment," after the black market dollar exchange rate hit the LBP 143,000 mark. “In the face of the collapse that is taking place without any care from officials, and after companies and warehouses stopped delivering medicines to pharmacies in a near-complete fashion since more than two weeks, and after pharmacies were emptied of medicines, the Order’s council calls on pharmacies in Lebanon to close as of this moment, until medicines are delivered to pharmacies under any format or mechanism on which the relevant parties might agree on,” the council said in a statement. MTV meanwhile reported that fuel stations and gas distributors are also inclined to go on strike unless they are allowed to sell fuel and gas to customers in U.S. dollars. The developments prompted protesters to take to the streets in several regions. In Tripoli, protesters blocked a road with trash bins and rocks, chanting slogans demanding “the departure of the ruling authorities and the finding of quick solutions before it’s too late.”Protesters also blocked the al-Beddawi and the al-Abdeh roads in the North, the Corniche al-Mazraa road in Beirut, the Brital road in the Bekaa and the Tyre-Naqoura road in the South. The head of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers, Beshara al-Asmar, meanwhile told the al-Markazia news agency that “an inclusive and comprehensive strike is necessary,” revealing that he has started contacts in this regard. “We are noticing any measure to rein in the dollar and we have not seen any financial meeting that indicates that someone cares about people’s affairs,” Asmar said. “We might start an open-ended strike, because a strike for one day is no longer sufficient or effective, especially with the major surges that are happening every day,” Asmar added.

Lebanon to construct new terminal at Beirut airport
Associated Press/March 21/2023
Lebanon will construct a $122 million terminal at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport to be operated by a leading Irish airport company when it's completed in four years, officials said. Lebanon's only international airport had a major facelift after the country's 1975-90 civil war and has been working at full capacity for years. The airport has not undergone an expansion since 1998. Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh said Terminal 2 will bring in private sector investments worth $122 million and will handle 3.5 million passengers annually when operations begin in 2027. It will add six docking stands as well as remote ones, he said in a ceremony at government headquarters to announce the launch of the new terminal. Terminal 2 will be built where the airport's old cargo building used to stand, according to Hamieh. The project comes as Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country's political class. "The project opens more horizons for air aviation between Lebanon and the world," caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. He added that it will help in solving several problems, including crowding at the current terminal. The project will create 500 direct jobs and 2,000 related jobs, Hamieh said, adding that Terminal 2 will be for chartered and low-cost flights. Hamieh said once Terminal 2 is ready it will be operated by leading European company daa International, an airport company in Ireland.
Ireland's Minister of State James Browne attended Monday's ceremony in Beirut and was quoted in a statement released by the Lebanese prime minister's office as saying that the contract signed will deepen business relations between the two countries. The airport currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20 million in 2030, according to the website of national carrier Middle East Airlines. Lebanon's economic crisis that began in October 2019 has left three quarters of the country's 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees, in poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 95% of its value.

Omani team 'met with Hezbollah', Qatari delegation expected in Lebanon
Naharnet/March 21/2023
A delegation from Oman visited Beirut in the past two weeks and met with a number of officials, especially from Hezbollah, a media report said. The meeting with Hezbollah “focused on the need for the party to withdraw from Yemen and not to interfere there,” Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper reported. “The issue of Hezbollah’s forces redeployment in Syria in return for withdrawals from several regions was also discussed,” the daily added. Al-Jarida also reported that a Qatari delegation led by a diplomat from the office of the country’s deputy foreign minister has also visited Lebanon and met with several officials and parliamentary blocs to “discuss means to exit the Lebanese crisis and offer the necessary assistance to end the presidential vacuum.”“This visit was exploratory and aimed at preparing for an official and public visit that might be carried out by a Qatari delegation to Beirut in coordination with Saudi Arabia,” the newspaper said.

Lebanon central bank announces 'open' sale of dollars at rate of 90,000/Measure is latest attempt to curb devaluation of freefalling national currency
Nada Homsi/The National/March 21/2023
Lebanon's central bank on Tuesday said it would sell unlimited US dollars at a discounted rate of 90,000 liras on its Sayrafa platform, in yet another attempt by the embattled financial institution to prop up the spiralling currency.
“The Banque du Liban (BDL) announces an open and continuous process to buy Lebanese banknotes and sell dollars for cash at an exchange rate of 90,000 [pounds] for every dollar,” Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said.
Following the central bank's announcement, the Lebanese pound recouped some value, trading at 115,000 to the dollar by late afternoon.
By midday on Tuesday, the currency had plummeted to an unprecedented 140,000 pounds to the greenback on the black market, having devalued by 20,000 since the morning.
Lebanese lira bounces back as regulator improves Sayrafa exchange rate
The public can exchange Lebanese pounds through banks or licensed “category A” money exchangers and will receive dollars within three days. Lebanon's commercial banks began an open-ended strike in February to protest against a number of legal actions taken against them. “Banks that return from their strike can participate in this process,” the statement added. Financial experts who spoke to The National warned that BDL's move to provide unlimited dollars would in fact be limited by the banks' refusal to reopen and would lead to a rush on money exchangers in the interim. BDL's move is “completely absurd”, Jean Riachi, a senior banker and chairman of FFA Private Bank Dubai Limited, told The National. “It’s very futile. It will stop the acceleration for a while but each time, this move works less and less,” he said. “It won’t last. These are not real solutions.” The crumbling financial institution has attempted similar measures in the past, all of which have proven to be temporary stopgaps. Less than a month ago, on March 1, the central bank had set the rate for Sayrafa — the institution's exchange platform — at 70,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. But the move was not enough to stop the currency's rapid devaluation. The updated Sayrafa rate “is yet another measure to play on the psychology of the market but in fact, technically, it worsens things”, said Mr Riachi, who added that it also “has an adverse effect on the dollar-lira parity”. Lebanon's currency has lost more than 98 per cent of its value since the pound — pegged at 1,500 to the dollar for nearly 30 years — first unpegged from the greenback and began its descent, heralding the onset of the country's economic crisis in 2019.

Lebanese currency collapsing at record speed
Najia Houssari/Arab News/March 21, 2023
Exchange rate has dropped around 300 percent since the beginning of the year
BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound depreciated at record speed, reaching 143,000 pounds to the US dollar on Tuesday afternoon, after dropping 20,000 pounds in under 24 hours. Hundreds of people took to the streets to protest in Beirut, Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley, blocking roads and burning tires.
Several gas stations, supermarkets, and pharmacies suspended their services for the day while protesters forcibly shut down shops in the capital’s popular Mazraa Corniche area. One protester near the Jamal Abdel Nasser Mosque in Beirut spoke out against the country’s politicians and people manipulating the exchange rate on the black market, asking “is this how they want us to welcome the month of Ramadan? Where are the MPs? What are they doing about this? What did we do to deserve their corruption?”The angry protests came a day after Lebanon was ranked the second-least happy country in the world behind Afghanistan,in the World Happiness Report 2023. The report, issued annually under the supervision of the UN, includes six main factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and low corruption. The Lebanese pound’s exchange rate to the dollar has so far dropped by about 300 percent since the beginning of this year.
The latest drop resulted in unprecedented chaos in the markets, in a country where all products are priced in dollars, purchasing power is degrading and the average public sector monthly wage now equates to around $150 a month.
Economic analyst Mounir Younes said: “The exchange rate dropped 30 percent in just 10 days. There is no way to curb this collapse without curbing imports since the gap between the money allocated for imports and the quantities available in the local market has become deep in light of the Central Bank’s reluctance to back it up using its depleting reserves.”As the local currency continued to drop on the black markets, while banks resumed their strike and political stalemate prevailed, citizens have been randomly taking to the streets to protest anything and everything.
A security source feared that the situation could implode at any moment.
Fuel distributors decided to give the state until Wednesday morning to make a decision to dollarize fuel prices. Their representative, Fadi Abu Shakra, told Arab News: “The distributor or station owner cannot bear the difference between the price list set by the Ministry of Energy — even though it is adjusted over three times a day — and the ever-changing exchange rate. If no decision is taken, we will dollarize our prices by ourselves.”On Tuesday, the price of a 20-liter canister of gasoline reached 2,390,000 Lebanese pounds, an increase of 168,000 pounds over Monday’s price.
The Lebanese Pharmacists Syndicate decided to close pharmacies since pharmaceutical companies and warehouses stopped delivering medicines to them more than two weeks ago. “We are in a comprehensive collapse. The health sector is affected the most, which directly affects patients,” said the head of the Pharmacists Syndicate, Joe Salloum. MP Michel Daher accused the Banque du Liban of intervening in the market whenever it wants to cover the state’s expenses. “The people are hungry and are no longer able to bear the disastrous results of financing your patchwork approach.”
MP Ashraf Rifi said: “We are quickly slipping into more dangerous stages, while the mafia, the alliance of arms and corruption, is reassured of the illusion that the Lebanese have been domesticated. The volcano will eventually erupt. We can no longer afford to keep corrupt in charge; statemen must be chosen to bear the responsibility of the rescue plan.”The head of the General Labor Union, Beshara Al-Asmar, stated: “We need to organize a comprehensive strike since officials have shown no intention to address the insane drop in the exchange rate and the resulting price hikes of commodities, foodstuffs, fuel, etc.”Al-Asmar added: “The situation is unbearable. Officials must open up to each other. The entire region, including Tukiye and Iran, has turned into a region of dialogue, openness, and political solutions.”
Later on Tuesday, the BdL announced that it will be conducting an “open and continuous process to buy Lebanese banknotes and sell dollars for cash based on Sayrafa’s exchange rate,” which was set at 90,000 pounds to the dollar as of Tuesday. Following the central bank’s announcement, the local currency regained some value on the black market as the exchange rate rose back to 100,000 pounds to the dollar, settling at 116,000 pounds to the dollar as of 5:30 p.m. local time.

بنيامين وينثال/جيروزاليم بوست: إرهابيو حزب الله الذين قتلوا إسرائيليين في انفجار حافلة ببلغاريا يُسجنون مدى الحياة
وزير داخلية بلغاري سابق يحث بلاده على تصنيف حزب الله ككيان إرهابي
Hezbollah terrorists who killed Israelis in Bulgaria bus blast get life in prison
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem Post/March 21/2023
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-734936
Ex-Interior ministry of Bulgaria urges Sofia to classify Hezbollah a terrorist entity
The Supreme Court of Bulgaria has confirmed the life prison sentences in absentia for two Hezbollah terrorists for their role in blowing up an Israeli tour bus in the seaside resort town of Burgas, killing five Israelis and their Bulgarian Muslim bus driver in 2012.
According to the Bulgarian news outlet Sofia Globe, Bulgarian Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev said on March 7 that the sentences had been confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation.
The two convicted Hezbollah terrorists – Meliad Farah, a Lebanese-Australian citizen, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Lebanese-Canadian citizen – fled to Lebanon after the bombing. The Jerusalem Post previously reported that Bulgaria urged Lebanon to extradite the terrorists but Lebanon’s government, where Hezbollah plays a dominant role, rebuffed the Bulgarian authorities.
Toby Dershowitz, senior vice president for government relations and strategy at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Post, “The court’s affirmation of the guilty verdict and sentence is noteworthy but must be followed by enforcement of the Interpol red notices for the two to ensure they serve their sentences. Moreover, the initial findings of Hezbollah’s role in the bombing led Europe to designate Hezbollah’s so-called military wing [as a terrorist entity]. It’s time for both the EU and Bulgaria itself to designate Hezbollah in its entirety, joining the 20 or so countries that have already done so.”
France is currently the main impediment to a European Union proscription of Hezbollah’s entire movement as a foreign terrorist organization.
The International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, issued red notices to secure the arrests of the two Hezbollah terrorists. A third Hezbollah terrorist, the French-Lebanese bomb-carrier Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, died during the terrorist attack. It is unclear if it was a suicide bombing or if the device was externally activated, resulting in El-Husseini’s death.
Who did the Hezbollah terrorists murder?
The Hezbollah operatives murdered Yitzhak Kolangi, 28, of Petah Tikva; Maor Harush, 26, of Acre; Amir Menashe, 27, of Petah Tikva; Elior Preis, 26, of Acre; and Kochava Shriki, 44, of Rishon Lezion. The bus driver was Mustafa Kyosov, 36, a Muslim from the village of Yurukovo in southwestern Bulgaria, who died in the hospital two hours after the bombing.
Bulgaria’s Specialized Criminal Court ordered the convicted Hezbollah operatives to pay 100 million lev ($62.3m.) in compensation to the relatives of the Israelis and the Bulgarian who were murdered in the bombing in 2020.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported on its website last year, “On the tenth anniversary of the July 18, 2012 suicide attack on a bus of Israeli tourists at Burgas Airport in Bulgaria, in which six Israelis were killed and several dozen wounded, Hezbollah supporters posted a photo on social media of the perpetrator, Muhammad Hassan Al-Husseini, which depicts him as a boy, as a member of Hezbollah’s Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts Association.”
Former Bulgarian interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who was responsible for determining that Hezbollah was behind the 2012 attack, urged Bulgaria to classify Hezbollah’s entire organization as a terrorist entity.
“Today, 11 years later, the Bulgarian court confirmed that Hezbollah is responsible for the Burgas bombing in 2012. I hope Bulgaria will join Germany and the Czech Republic and recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”
Germany, the UK, Austria,Estonia, the United States, Canada, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia, the Arab League, and scores of Latin American, Asian and European countries have designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 21-22/2023
US announces sanctions on Iran drone procurement network
WASHINGTON (AP)/Tue, March 21, 2023
The United States said Tuesday it is imposing a new round of sanctions on Iranian firms and people accused of procuring equipment used for Iranian drones. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control coordinated with the FBI to designate four firms and three people in Iran and Turkey for allegedly buying equipment, including European-made engines, to be used for Iran’s drone and weapons programs. Those targeted for sanctions include the Iran-based Defense Technology and Science Research Center, its procurement firm Farazan Industrial Engineering Inc. and two other firms along with purchasing agents from the companies. “Iran’s well-documented proliferation of UAVs and conventional weapons to its proxies continues to undermine both regional security and global stability,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Nelson was referring to unmanned aerial vehicles. “The United States will continue to expose foreign procurement networks in any jurisdiction that supports Iran’s military industrial complex," he said. American defense officials say Iran is supplying Russia with unmanned drones to use on civilians as the Kremlin presses its invasion of Ukraine, which has entered its second year. Among other things, sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the United States and prevent American firms and companies from doing business with them.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have worsened after months of antigovernment protests.

Israel repeals 2005 act on West Bank settlement pullout
JERUSALEM (AP)/Tue, March 21, 2023
Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday repealed a 2005 act that saw four Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank dismantled at the same time as Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip. The development could pave the way for an official return to the abandoned West Bank areas in another setback to Palestinian hopes for statehood. It was the latest move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by settler leaders and allies, to promote settlement activity in the territory. The international community, including Israel’s closest ally, the United States, considers settlements illegal and opposes construction on occupied territories claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state.
Israel evacuated the four settlements and unilaterally pulled out of Gaza under the 2005 legislation. The prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, argued that Israel would not be able to keep the settlements under a future agreement with the Palestinians. Since then, Israeli citizens have been officially banned from returning to those locations, though the Israeli military has allowed activists to visit and pray there — a ban that has now been revoked.
Netanyahu’s government has put settlement expansion at the top of its agenda and has already advanced thousands of new settlement housing units and retroactively authorized nine wildcat outposts in the West Bank.
This week, Israel pledged to put a temporary freeze on further settlement approvals, including authorization of outposts, as part of a series of measures meant to ease tensions ahead of the sensitive period that includes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish festival of Passover.
Still, ultranationalist members of Netanyahu’s coalition pushed for a repeal of the ban on the northern West Bank settlements. The legislation passed in an overnight vote 31-18 in the 120-seat Knesset. The remaining lawmakers did not vote.
The vote came as Netanyahu’s government is pushing ahead with a separate plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system. Netanyahu’s allies claim the courts have too much power in the legislative process and that the Supreme Court is biased against settlers. Critics say the overhaul would upend the country’s delicate system of checks and balances and push Israel toward authoritarianism. They also say Netanyahu could find an escape route from his corruption trial through the overhaul.
A prominent Israeli think-tank, the Institute for National Security Studies, joined a growing chorus of opponents to the judicial overhaul. It said in a “strategic alert” that the "changes in their current form will seriously harm” Israel’s military operations, endanger ties with the U.S. and harm the economy.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist West Bank settler now serving as minister in charge of police, said on Tuesday that the repeal of the ban on was “the beginning of correcting a historic injustice” and pledged to continue settlement expansion.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an independent state, with east Jerusalem as its capital. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war.
Since then, more than 700,000 Israelis have moved into dozens of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Most of the international community says the settlements are an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
Two years after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the Hamas militant group seized control of the territory from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the territory, but Hamas, which opposes Israel’s existence and has fought four wars against Israel, remains firmly in control. Tuesday's repeal comes against the backdrop of the worst Israeli-Palestinian fighting in recent years and as concerns grow of intensified violence during Ramadan, which will start this week.
Israeli forces have carried out almost nightly arrest raids across the occupied West Bank over the past year. The incursions began after a string of deadly attacks in Israel last spring and have provoked a fierce response from Palestinians.
So far this year, 85 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, and Palestinian attackers have killed 15 Israelis, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Israel says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed. All but one of the Israeli deaths were civilians.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined mounting condemnation of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remarks earlier this week that there was no such thing as a Palestinian nation.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language,” Smotrich said in a speech in Paris.
The ultranationalist politician's comments drew rebuke from the Palestinians, Israel's neighbors Jordan and Egypt, and the European Union.
Saudi Arabia denounced what it called Smotrich’s “offensive and racist statements,” saying the comments “are contrary to the truth, which contribute to spreading hate speech and violence and undermine efforts for dialogue and international peace.”
The kingdom does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel.
The UAE, which established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, said it stressed "the need to confront hate speech and violence.”
*Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed from Dubai.

Iran Expects its Rial to Improve after ‘Financial Understandings’ with Iraq, UAE
London, Tehran – Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 21 March, 2023
Iran has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate trade movement between their countries using the Emirati currency, the dirham. In another deal with Baghdad, Tehran agreed to a new mechanism for the settlement of payments related to Iraqi energy arrears to Iran. Agreements with the UAE and Iraq will likely have a positive impact on Iran’s currency, the rial, and foreign currency market, said Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani. In statements upon his return to Tehran, Shamkhani said his trips to China and the UAE achieved important results and, therefore, it was decided that this process should continue with the trip to Iraq. Shamkhani explained that the results of his recent visits to Baghdad, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, had followed his return from Beijing with an agreement with Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations.
On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they were re-establishing ties - severed since 2016 - following surprise negotiations hosted by China over a period of four days. The Kingdom and Iran agreed to restart diplomatic ties within two months.
Regarding the new agreement with Iraq, Shamkhani said new mechanisms will allow Iran to use its arrears, currently frozen in Iraqi banks due to the US sanctions, to purchase essential goods. Shamkhani was accompanied on his visits by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran and officials from the economic, political and security sectors. “We were able to reach common and effective solutions regarding removing some of the obstacles in the way of comprehensive cooperation,” he said about intensive talks with Iraqi officials.

Putin's health may be disintegrating and it should terrify us all
Colonel Richard Kemp/The Telegraph/Tue, March 21, 2023
Images of Putin gripping his chair and squirming next to President Xi in Moscow have again fuelled speculation about his health. He was filmed limping during a visit to Crimea a few days ago and during a February meeting with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko his leg was shaking uncontrollably. Since Putin invaded Ukraine last year, rumours of his physical well-being have been rife, with a range of theories from cancer to Parkinson’s. This may amount to little more than wishful thinking that the man whose actions have led directly to the deaths of tens of thousands may be falling apart, and CIA Director William Burns said last year: “As far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy”. But if we imagine, for a moment, that he is suffering from some serious affliction, then that would have big ramifications. For one, the immense stress that must press upon him could rapidly exacerbate his illness and directly affect his mental processes and judgement. Even if Burns is right, the demands of running a country in any circumstances are huge, and we’ve all seen the way many national leaders appear to age prematurely over their time in office.
The pressure cooker inside 70-year-old Putin’s head must sometimes reach bursting point after leading Russia for a quarter of a century, presiding over a war which has been going catastrophically wrong for the last year. Such a crushing burden would be tough enough for the leader of a democracy, but as ruler of the Russian autocracy Putin is well aware that his end could come in a violent death. Short of that, he will also know that he could face jail time following the arrest warrant for war crimes issued last week by the ICC. If he is deposed, it is possible a new regime in Moscow might hand him over as happened to Slobodan Milosevic in 2021.All this will be playing on Putin’s mind, although his troubles could have been eased by a lifeline from Xi during his visit, perhaps with promises of money, weapons and sanctions busting. That will have been his hope, but it might also have gone the other way depending on Xi’s calculations of where his interests lie. China stands to gain from this war, whichever side prevails.
Whatever the truth about Putin’s state of mind, we should be prepared for him to behave with growing irrationality unless he is able to dramatically improve his fortunes on the battlefield. That is far from certain, with Kyiv reportedly gearing up for a major offensive next month.
Those around him know far better than we do about Putin’s mental state and if they perceive a dangerous deterioration, or if he becomes physically or mentally incapable, it’s possible they could seek to bring him down. That is a more likely scenario than the much-discussed possibility of a coup inspired by disaffection over the way he is running the war. Any attempt to depose Putin, especially if he resists as is likely, could lead to a violent power struggle, instability and chaos across the country and potentially even civil war with untold consequences for Russia and the world.
Another possible impact of a Putin breakdown may be even more apocalyptic. His sabre-rattling over nuclear weapons earlier in the conflict was an attempt to cow the West. But those who argue that he will never use battlefield or strategic nuclear weapons based on the logic that it could lead to retaliation that will do much greater damage to Russia than Ukraine or the West should remember we could be dealing with a man fighting for his life and increasingly devoid of logical thinking.
While the circumstances today are different, it’s worth remembering that Hitler, who had become increasingly deranged as he contemplated the collapse of his Reich, ordered the destruction of all economic, industrial, transport, military and communication facilities in Germany. As Hitler’s diabolical orders were refused, we must hope that those in Putin’s nuclear chain of command would also refuse to press the button if they were told to do so. Hope, though, is not a strategy and as we seem to be witnessing a deterioration in Putin’s condition, it becomes increasingly urgent that Western leaders prepare for the possible consequences. Much of the burden for that falls on US and British intelligence agencies, who will already have been doing what they can to covertly influence Putin’s key nuclear players and preparing – as far as possible – to shape events in the wake of a collapse in the Kremlin, including early engagement with whatever regime emerges. That will involve a race with Beijing’s Ministry of State Security.

Russia summons Canadian diplomat to protest "regime change" statement
Reuters/Tue, March 21, 2023
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it had protested to Canada's top diplomat in Moscow over comments by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly about "regime change" in Russia. The ministry said it summoned Canadian charge d'affaires Brian Ebel on Monday and told him Joly's comments were unacceptable. Canadian media quoted Joly as saying at a news conference on March 10: "We're able to see how much we're isolating the Russian regime right now — because we need to do so economically, politically and diplomatically — and what are the impacts also on society and how much we're seeing potential regime change in Russia."The Russian statement condemned the "Russophobic attack" and said it would have serious consequences for relations. Russia reserved the right to take "appropriate countermeasures" depending on Ottawa's further steps. Canada, a member of NATO and the Group of Seven (G7) leading economies, has joined its Western allies in imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. On Friday it welcomed the International Criminal Court's move to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's commissioner over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone
WASHINGTON (AP)/Tue, March 21, 2023
The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone in eight to 10 months, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. But officials said the decision was made to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from Army stocks and could be there before the end of the year. Officials said the M1A1 also will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain as they fight Russia's invasion. The officials spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been publicly announced. Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement Tuesday.
The Biden administration announced in January that it would send the tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair. The decision was part of a broader political maneuver that opened the door for Germany to announce it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Poland and other allies to do the same. It's unclear how soon the U.S. would begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use, maintain and repair the tanks. The intention would be to have the training of the troops coincide with the refurbishment of the tanks, so that both would be ready for battle at the same time later this year. The Pentagon will also have to ensure that Ukrainian forces have an adequate supply chain for all the parts needed to keep the tanks running. Any delivery of the tanks would not likely happen in the spring months, when both Russia and Ukraine are expected to launch more intensive offensives. The two sides have been largely in a stalemate, trading small slices of land over the winter. The fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense. Local Gov. Petro Kyrylenko on Tuesday said on Ukrainian TV that Russian shelling there over the previous day killed one civilian and wounded another. During a visit to the Lima, Ohio, tank plant in February, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth met with officials there at length to determine the best options for getting the tanks to Ukraine. “Part of it is figuring out — among the different options — what’s the best one that can allow us to get the Ukrainians tanks in as timely a fashion as we can,” without disrupting foreign military sales, Wormuth said at the time.
Officials at the plant, which is owned by the Army and operated by Reston, Virginia-based General Dynamics, said production totals can vary, based on contract demands. And while they are currently building 15-20 armored vehicles per month, including tanks, they can easily boost that to 33 a month and could add another shift of workers and build even more if needed. Development of tanks for Ukraine would have to be squeezed in between the current contracts for foreign sales, which include 250 of the newest versions for Poland and about 75 for Australia. During Wormuth’s tour of the facility, workers were preparing to build an updated version of the vehicle for Poland. Ukrainian leaders have persistently pressed for the Abrams, which first deployed to war in 1991 and has thick armor, a 120 mm main gun, armor-piercing capabilities and advanced targeting systems. It runs on thick tracked wheels and has a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine with a top speed of about 42 miles per hour (68 kilometers per hour).

Kremlin Caught Stealth Editing Awkward Putin Video
Allison Quinn/The Daily Beast./March 21, 2023
The Kremlin has shifted to damage control mode after Vladimir Putin’s latest PR stunt was derailed by a public show of disgust for him. The Russian leader made a show of his alleged visit to Ukraine’s Mariupol over the weekend, in which people identified by the Kremlin as local residents treated him as their savior, thanking him for Russia’s “help” and calling their new home a “little piece of heaven.” In a brief part of the video that had apparently been overlooked by Putin’s team, however, a woman was heard shouting, “It’s all untrue, it’s all for show!” just as the Russian leader began reading his lines. Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin could be seen grinning uncomfortably as Putin’s security team set off to track down the lone protester. Two days after the off-script comments were noticed in the video released by the Kremlin, that version was replaced on the official Kremlin website with a version in which the party crasher had been edited out, the independent outlet Mozhem Obyasnit noted Tuesday. Putin’s alleged visit to the city—his first trip to Ukrainian territory since the start of his war—was the closest to the frontline he’d ever set foot. And despite the glowing testimonials from supposed local residents broadcast by Russian state television, many locals apparently saw right through the propaganda. “Nobody fucking needs us here. Everything is done for a picture on TV, so that people in Russia will watch,” one resident wrote in a Telegram channel devoted to local news. Others questioned why Putin didn’t visit the parts of the city decimated by his own military. “And why take him there, he was only taken to places that were preserved and new buildings. Nobody will show him the empty pits under the foundations of destroyed houses.”Anton Gerashchenko, a senior adviser to the Ukrainian government, seemed to suggest on Monday that Putin may have sent a body double to Mariupol.

Russia faces an 'exodus' of troops as prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine start to be pardoned and return home, says UK intel
Sinéad Baker/Business Insider/Tue, March 21, 2023
Russia's Wagner mercenary army fighting in Ukraine is about to see an "exodus" of personnel. It's due to release thousands of troops recruited from prisons in exchange for pardons, UK intel said. It will likely face personnel issues as a result, since it's no longer allowed to recruit prisoners. Russia is about to face potentially major personnel problems in Ukraine, as thousands of convicts who were recruited to fight in the war are set to be pardoned and sent home, according to UK intelligence. The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Tuesday that in the coming weeks "thousands of Russian convicts who have fought for Wagner Group are likely to be pardoned and released."It described it as an expected "exodus" from the mercenary army's ranks. The Wagner Group is a private, pro-Kremlin group that has sent tens of thousands of mercenaries and former prisoners to Ukraine. Early in the war it was given permission to recruit from Russian prisons, offering full pardons in exchange for six months of service. The MOD said that the number of those prisoners who are due to be pardoned shortly is significant, as the group's recruitment effort peaked in fall 2022. Evidence from Russia suggests that the Wagner Group is "following through on its promise to free survivors," the MOD said. It also noted that around half of the prisoners recruited have been killed or injured in the fighting, according to Western intelligence. Wagner is expected to struggle with troop numbers going forward, the MOD said, as the group has been banned from recruiting more prisoners. "This exodus will worsen its personnel problems," it said. The MOD said earlier this month that the paramilitary force had been trying to recruit in Moscow high schools, where it collected details of students who were interested in fighting. But the MOD said that those efforts would likely not be enough to fill the gaps created by the drop in prisoner numbers. The MOD also said that with the upcoming pardons there will be a "sudden influx of often violent offenders with recent and often traumatic combat experience" into Russia. This, it said, "will likely present a significant challenge for Russia's war-time society." The Wagner Group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been publicly feuding with Russia's military leadership. He has accused the military of denying ammunition to his troops, calling it an "an attempt to destroy" Wagner. The Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War said earlier this month that Russia's military leadership may be using the brutal fight for the city of Bakhmut as a way to weaken the group and Prigozhin. The battle for Bakhmut has become one of the war's bloodiest battles. Western officials estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured there, with Russia making slow progress in its efforts to capture the city.

Xi calls Russia ties priority on Moscow trip
Agence France PresseMarch 21, 2023
Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China would prioritize ties with Russia, calling the two "great neighboring powers" as he prepared for a second day of talks with Vladimir Putin expected to focus on Ukraine. The Chinese president also said he invited the internationally isolated Putin to visit China later this year as both leaders seek an alliance to counteract Western power. Beijing and Moscow's trade ties have boomed since Russia's Ukraine campaign, linking the nations more closely and raising worries in Western capital over how far the ties will go. Xi said China's government would "continue to prioritize the all-round strategic partnership between China and Russia". "We are great neighboring powers," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Xi's trip coincides with a surprise visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Kyiv on Tuesday where he is expected to meet Putin's nemesis Volodymyr Zelensky. Xi's visit to Moscow has been viewed as a major boost for Putin, who is under Western sanctions and subject to an International Criminal Court warrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
'Constructive role' -
On Monday, Xi and Putin held four and a half hours of talks, calling each other "dear friend."In a rare move, Putin escorted Xi to his car after the talks, and the two were seen smiling together. During the meeting, the Russian leader said he was open to talks on Ukraine and praised Beijing's 12-point position paper on the conflict, which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries' territorial sovereignty. Xi and Putin are also expected to discuss boosting economic cooperation as Russia boosts energy exports to China after being mostly shut out of European markets.
Ahead of the talks, Russian gas giant Gazprom said that supplies through the Power of Siberia pipeline to China had reached a daily record on Monday. Xi's three-day visit began a day after Putin travelled to Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, his first trip to territory captured from Kyiv since the start of the assault in February 2022. China has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, but Washington has said Beijing's moves could be a "stalling tactic" to help Moscow. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Xi's Moscow visit "suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the president accountable for the atrocities committed to Ukraine." "And instead of even condemning, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those great crimes," he added. The United States has accused Beijing of mulling arms exports to Moscow, claims China has vociferously denied. Zelensky has said he would welcome talks with Xi, though there has been no indication from Beijing of any such plans.
- Kishida heads to Kyiv -
Meanwhile, Japanese leader Kishida was on his way to Kyiv, where he would offer "solidarity and support" in a meeting with Zelensky. Kishida is the last Group of Seven leader to visit Ukraine and has come under increasing pressure to make the trip, as Japan hosts the grouping's summit this May.
Japan and China are close trading partners, but Tokyo has been increasingly worried about Beijing's growing assertiveness in the region. Japan is part of the US-led security alliance known informally as the Quad, which also includes India and Australia, and positions itself as a bulwark against China's military ambitions in Asia and the Pacific. Moscow and Beijing have over the past years ramped up cooperation, both driven by a desire to counterbalance US global dominance. While Beijing has called for an "impartial" mediation in the conflict, Western countries have argued that China's proposals are heavy on grand principles but light on practical solutions. The United States said last week that China's proposals would simply consolidate "Russian conquest" and allow the Kremlin to prepare a fresh offensive. China and Russia have often worked in lockstep at the UN Security Council, using their veto power as permanent council members to counter the West. It defended Putin on Monday against the International Criminal Court, saying that the court should avoid what it called "politicization and double standards" and respect the principle of immunity for heads of state. Russia's assault on Ukraine has also deepened fears among Western powers that China could one day try to take control of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of its territory.

NATO to hold Ukraine meeting despite Hungary's objections
BRUSSELS (AP)/Tue, March 21, 2023
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that he would call a high-level meeting of the military organization’s main forum for cooperation with Ukraine next month despite objections from Hungary. The NATO-Ukraine Commission hasn't met at ministerial level for several years. The last meeting was held at a lower level in 2019 in Kyiv, with NATO ambassadors joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some of his Cabinet ministers, about three years before Russia's full-scale invasion. Hungary and Ukraine are at loggerheads over a language law adopted in Ukraine in 2017 which the nationalist government in Budapest insists stops members of the Transcarpathian ethnic minority from studying in Hungarian. Hungary has routinely blocked NATO-Ukraine Commission meetings since. “This is an established framework. I have the mandate to convene it,” said Stoltenberg, who chairs NATO’s meetings. “In respect for the issues that Hungary has raised I have not convened that for some time, but now I will continue to convene the meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.”
He said the meeting will be held on the sidelines of a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on April 4-5, and added: “I’ve not planned more meetings but of course this will not be a one-off event.” He noted that Zelenskyy has been invited to attend NATO’s summit in Lithuania in July. Stoltenberg also said that Hungary’s minority concerns would be discussed at next month’s meeting. NATO makes its decisions by consensus, and Stoltenberg declined to say why he was insisting on calling the meeting over Hungary’s head. But Hungary has continually pushed back a date to vote on the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden, delaying their entry with little explanation. Stoltenberg said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, in a meeting earlier Tuesday, had confirmed to him that the parliament in Budapest would vote on Finland’s membership on March 27, but it's unclear when or if it will vote on Sweden’s entry. Szijjártó also declined to say what the problem was, telling reporters that the NATO-Ukraine Commission is being convened “for reasons that are not my duty to disclose.” He said though that Stoltenberg’s decision “in our opinion, hurts the cherished unity of NATO.” Hungary has been widely criticized over its human rights record, including a law adopted two years ago that rights groups consider to be homophobic and transphobic. The European Court of Human Rights has also condemned Budapest’s handling of asylum-seekers. ___
*Boldizsár Győri contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.

Only Seven NATO Allies Meet Spending Goal Despite Russia’s War
Natalia Drozdiak/Bloomberg/Tue, March 21, 2023
Only one more NATO ally met the military alliance’s goal to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense last year, with a total of seven countries reaching the commitment despite new pledges following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The US, UK and Poland are in line with NATO’s target to spend 2% of countries’ wealth, along with Estonia, Greece and Latvia. The new entry is Lithuania, according to spending estimates in NATO’s 2022 annual report published Tuesday. The total is up from three allies when the pledge was agreed in 2014. The figures come as the 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have started discussing how to revise the new target, which is likely to be agreed at a leaders’ summit in Vilnius in July. “While I welcome all the progress that has been made, it’s obvious we need to do more and need to do it faster,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday. Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that allies increasingly view 2% of GDP as “a floor, not a ceiling,” particularly given new spending promises prompted by Russia’s invasion. But dozens of allies are still struggling to meet the goal as it takes time to spend the new cash. Even though Germany has created a special fund worth €100 billion ($108 billion) on top of the regular annual defense budget of around €50 billion, officials have said it may again fail to hit the target this year and instead will reach the goal “on average in the next five years.” The officials blame longstanding procurement issues, entrenched bureaucratic hurdles and backlogs at defense companies for the difficulties. Last year, Germany spent an estimated 1.49% of gross domestic product, compared to 1.46% the year before. Increased spending will be critical for the alliance in coming years as it plans a broader overhaul of its defenses prompted by the Russian invasion. NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Madrid last June to establish a new force model that would put about 300,000 troops on high alert and to also form rotational brigades to defend the eastern flank, all of which will require additional investments.Total military spending by the alliance last year was estimated to exceed $1 trillion, according to the report, with the US accounting for about 70% of combined defense expenditure.
--With assistance from Iain Rogers and Zoe Schneeweiss.

West Bank settlers win Israel parliament vote
Agence France Presse/March 21, 2023
Israel's settler movement celebrated Tuesday after parliament annulled part of a law banning them from residing in areas of the occupied West Bank the then Israeli government evacuated in 2005. That year the government of Ariel Sharon, a long-time settler champion turned peacemaker, oversaw a unilateral withdrawal by Israel from the Gaza Strip, and the removal of Jewish settlers from the Palestinian enclave and four settlements in the northern West Bank. Legislation passed at the time barred Israelis from staying in those areas, but an amendment approved by lawmakers overnight permits Israelis to return to the West Bank settlement sites near the city of Nablus. The parliamentary vote notably paves the way for Israeli authorities to formally allow settlers to return to Homesh, the only one of the four sites whose residents were forcibly removed before their homes were demolished.
Most governments around the world consider all Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories as illegal but Israel disputes this. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in December, at the helm of one of the most right-wing administrations in the country's history. Amid a surge in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the UN Security Council last month called on all parties "to observe calm and restraint, and refrain from provocative actions". The council in a February 20 statement expressed its "strong opposition to all unilateral measures that impede peace -- including Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinians' land and the 'legalization' of settlement outposts."Israel's far-right settler lobby has made Homesh a symbol of their cause. A small group of activists returned to the site in 2009 and built a yeshiva, a Jewish seminary, which was evacuated dozens of times by Israeli forces until the military ultimately allowed them to stay. In December 2021, an AFP photographer saw the school and a dormitory at the site which were made from tarpaulin mounted on wooden frames. The site was being guarded by the Israeli military. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a West Bank settler who has claimed "there isn't a Palestinian people", heralded the parliamentary vote as "historic".The legislative move "starts to erase the shame of expulsion" and "advances the regularization of our presence at Homesh," he wrote on Twitter.

Orthodox Church accused by Kyiv of Moscow links faces eviction
Max Hunder and Felix Hoske/KYIV (Reuters)/Tue, March 21, 2023
Eight bishops wearing robes and mitres went to the Ukrainian president's offices this week to try to stop their historically Russian-aligned wing of the Orthodox Church being evicted from its Kyiv headquarters. They got only as far as a checkpoint, where they were turned back, and their request for a meeting on Monday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was denied. The bishops, who make up the ruling council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), appear to have little or no chance of preventing the Church's eviction on March 29 in a row unfolding against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The government says the UOC has broken tenancy agreements and must leave its historic seat - a sprawling, 980-year-old gold-domed monastery complex in the hills above central Kyiv called the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The Church, Ukraine's second-largest, is also accused by the government of retaining links with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) which has been vocal in its support of Russia's invasion. Kyiv has opened criminal cases against over 50 UOC clergy in the past year on charges including treason and collaboration with Moscow. Some have been swapped for Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been held by Russia.The UOC says it cut all ties with the ROC, which it used to recognise as its parent church, last May and that the charges against its clergy are politically motivated. "We do not plan to leave, and we will not," Metropolitan Pavlo, the UOC clergyman running the Lavra, said last week. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleskandr Tkachenko told Reuters that violations of the tenancy agreement included the construction of new buildings on the vast monastery complex, and that the state had the right to take the site back. He said Kyiv wanted the entire site and the cultural treasures that are housed inside to be in the hands of the state, rather than the UOC, which he described as "the Moscow branch of the Church."UOC spokesperson Metropolitan Klyment said the government had not shown the Church any documents proving violations of the tenancy agreement at the monastery or justifying the need to leave. He added that the buildings had the correct permissions.
DEADLINE APPROACHES
It is not clear what will happen on March 29 if the UOC does not leave the monastery. The government transferred the monastery's main cathedral to another, Kyiv-backed branch of the Orthodox church late last year, but the UOC leadership has remained in residence at the lower part of the complex. As the deadline approaches, Reuters correspondents have seen cars being searched by police as they leave the monastery. Tkachenko said this was to ensure valuable artefacts were not smuggled out. Tensions have simmered for years between the Kyiv authorities and the UOC, but have mounted sharply since Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year. An opinion poll in July 2022 showed only 4% of Ukrainians considered themselves members of the UOC compared to 15% in 2020, said Anton Hrushetskyi, Deputy Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
The UOC was formally under the wing of Russia's Orthodox Church until May, and most Ukrainians have historically seen it as part of a larger Russian church, he said. But the eviction order, and a planned law banning religious organisations affiliated with Russia, is troubling the UOC faithful. "I think that the people don't support this decision because it means to take away God from the people, to take away their faith and change it for something else, according to how someone on the very top made it up," Natalia Lytovchenko, a 36-year-old worshipper, said at a recent service at the monastery.
(Additional reporting by Anna Dabrowska, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Frank Jack Daniel)

North Korea is nearing a terrifying nuclear reality
Edward Howell/The Telegraph/March 21, 2023
As Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet in Moscow and Iran normalises relations with Saudi Arabia, it's easy to overlook the other great opponent of the Western order. It is also foolish. Last week saw North Korea launch an intercontinental ballistic missile – one of four missile tests in the week – as it continues to develop its nuclear capabilities. Britain must not overlook this potent threat to the free world.
The timing of these launches was no coincidence. Pyongyang has a habit of exploiting the external security environment to its benefit, and last week's launches took place at a time when the United Nations Security Council is at its most impotent and divided since its post-war inception. With global eyes on Moscow and Beijing, the two veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council are reviving early Cold War friendships following the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The time is ideal for North Korea to conduct a much-speculated seventh nuclear test, and escape sanctions-free.
Second, while Pyongyang may not yet want to create formalised partnerships with its Cold War patrons, it has found itself in a position where both Moscow and Beijing are keen to shield it from the consequences of its actions. North Korean arms are keeping the Russian Wagner Group functioning in its Ukrainian operations, and China wants to ensure stability on the Korean peninsula; both will assist Pyongyang in evading any sanctions that might follow. The prospect of North Korea developing an effective nuclear deterrent is one that should alarm the West. While a great deal of attention has been devoted to the Iranian nuclear programme, Pyongyang's continued efforts to improve its arsenal highlight a fundamental truth: as the international order frays, more states will wish to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Consideration of an independent nuclear deterrent by some South Korean leaders speaks volumes to this possibility.
The prospect of a nuclear South Korea is a question that has occupied analysts for decades. Seoul has proved a valuable ally not just to Washington but to London. Securing stability on the Korean Peninsula does not require more nuclear proliferation, but a strengthening of existing bonds. This was underlined by the other events taking place even as North Korea's missile fell into the waters just outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. Overcoming decades of tensions over over the legacies of Japan’s 1910 annexation of Korea and the sexual abuse of Korean women during the Second World War, the Japanese Prime Minister met his South Korean counterpart in Tokyo for the first time in a dozen years, while Seoul's military held joint exercises with its American allies.
One summit cannot resolve decades-old issues, but the meeting highlighted a lesson for the United Kingdom and its allies. Now is the time for unity, not division. Notably lacking in a Nato-style collective defence institution, the need to strengthen regional security in East Asia has never been so urgent.
There are already organisations that Japan and South Korea can be drawn into to provide structure to our alliances. Seoul has expressed interest in becoming a full member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Japan would be a valuable addition to the Aukus security pact. Britain's offer of assistance to Italy and Japan in developing next-generation fighter jets could be extended to South Korea's naval forces. The United Kingdom is uniquely placed to play a leading role in these developments, with Whitehall successfully maintaining diplomatic relations with North Korea, its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and its intention to "tilt" its geostrategic considerations towards the Indo-Pacific. We cannot simply watch North Korean nuclear technology creep towards viabilities, even if the warheads will be targeting Tokyo and Washington rather than London. In the past year, Pyongyang launched a record number of over 70 missiles. Not even an unholy combination of a global epidemic, draconian border closures, and resultant economic devastation could divert its nuclear ambitions. Now, with the world in disorder, Kim Jong Un will hope that attention will stay drawn from his efforts. China’s rhetorical calls for a "peaceful resolution" of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine will likely fall on deaf ears, setting the stage for the hermit kingdom of North Korea to continue exploiting a polarised liberal international order.
The United Kingdom must take North Korea seriously. We must be realistic. While we can't denuclearise North Korea alone, we can bolster our support to our Eastern allies, South Korea and Japan, against their increasingly reckless nuclear neighbour.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 21-22/2023
The UAE is more than just the 'Switzerland of the Middle East'
Nadim Koteich/The National/March 21/2023
As recent years have shown, it isn't only a global wealth management hub and a neutral arbiter on the global stage
While the UAE may lack the snowy peaks and alpine vistas of Switzerland or the culinary and horological masterpieces for which the Swiss are known, the Emirati leadership is quietly building the foundation for a new role – that of the "Switzerland of the Middle East”.
The tumultuous Arab uprisings, and the ensuing turmoil in Egypt, served as a crucial inflection point for the UAE's customary approach to regional conflicts. The ascendance of Islamist groups and their potential to destabilise the Middle East posed a direct challenge to the UAE's own security and stability. Consequently, the Emirati leadership responded by adopting a more interventionist approach to the region’s conflicts, such as the decision to militarily intervene in Yemen. This approach marked a departure from the UAE's long-held position as a quasi-neutral regional player, established by the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as the region itself changed. Instead, the era ushered in a more assertive and proactive role for the UAE, which US former Centcom head Gen James Mattis once likened to "a little Sparta".
Despite the prevailing challenges, the Emirati leadership has opted for a fresh approach, ingeniously seizing the economic prospects brought forth by the post-pandemic landscape. On the other hand, by astutely responding to ongoing geopolitical and military conundrums, such as the situation in Ukraine, the UAE fortified its position as a neutral arbitrator and mediator par excellence.
Owing to its strategic geographical positioning, congenial business climate, state-of-the-art infrastructure, tax-friendly environment and forward-thinking policies, the UAE has emerged as a veritable lodestone for international investment, a financial epicentre, and a nexus of trade, all of which hinge on the maintenance of stability.
The county is set to experience a substantial boost in financial wealth, with a predicted compound annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent, leading to more than $1 trillion by 2026, thanks to the influx of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), according to recent reports. In the post-pandemic era, Dubai alone saw its HNWI population surge by 18 per cent, propelling the emirate to the top spot in the Mena region.
Yet, the Emiratis have surpassed merely mirroring Switzerland's blueprint of being a global wealth management hub and a neutral arbiter in the complex realm of international politics. Instead, Abu Dhabi formulated its unique model, centred on cutting-edge industries, global alliances and partnerships, and influential soft-power projection. Skilfully blending these three components has propelled the UAE towards this newfound, multifaceted role, both politically and economically.
The UAE's first strategic choice is to be more Swiss and less Spartan
The UAE has adopted a proactive foreign policy that recognises the urgent need for regional countries to come together and establish new economic, security and political frameworks to ensure regional security and stability, in light of Washington's strategic shift to disengage from the Middle East. Accordingly, the UAE champions several significant endeavours involving Arab nations and, in some cases, collaboration between Arab countries and Israel. Abu Dhabi has earmarked funding, which by certain calculations amounts to $18 billion, for the construction of an oil pipeline connecting the southern Iraqi city of Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Concurrently, the UAE has fostered a strategic accord between Jordan and Israel encompassing the establishment of a 600-megawatt solar energy facility, complete with an electrical energy storage system situated in Jordan, aimed at generating clean power for export to Israel. As a reciprocal measure, Israel will embark on a programme to develop sustainable desalination initiatives, supplying Jordan with an estimated 200 million cubic metres of treated water each year.
Moreover, since the latter part of 2021, the UAE demonstrated its nimble diplomatic prowess by making significant strides in reconciling with former adversaries, mainly restoring full diplomatic relations with Iran and Turkey. Notably, the UAE played an earlier leading role in brokering the Abraham Accords, historic peace agreements with Israel that paved the way for Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to join the normalisation club with Israel.
In the cases of Turkey and Israel, the UAE pursued a path of peaceful reconciliation, anchored by robust economic agreements and trade arrangements. Through this approach, it sought to establish enduring common interests that reflect the UAE's unwavering commitment to tangible actions and concrete results, rather than mere rhetoric, when it comes to building stable and constructive relationships with its neighbours.
The UAE’s expanding trade agreements with Turkey, India, Indonesia and Israel, in addition to pre-existing deals within the Arab world, forge connections to new markets encompassing more than 2.2 billion people and entwining the country’s economy with a remarkable 10 per cent of global economy.
In a bold demonstration of the UAE's commitment to confronting obstacles and fostering alliances as a resolute and long-lasting strategy, President Sheikh Mohamed recently opted to withdraw Abu Dhabi's bid to host the 2026 World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting. In a conciliatory gesture, Sheikh Mohamed extended his support to Doha as a prospective host.
During the donor conference for the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, the Minister of State, Noura Al Kaabi, expressed the UAE's commitment to aiding the Yemeni people and called for international efforts to achieve peace in Yemen in 2023. The UAE has already provided Yemen with $6.6bn in aid since 2015, and this year it will continue its support for reconstruction and rehabilitation projects with approximately $325 million. Such a stance is a significant departure from UAE’s previous involvement in the Yemen conflict.
In a trailblazing move in 2018, the UAE engaged with the Assad regime, despite scant support from fellow Arab nations. This stance has since gained traction, with key regional players, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, following suit in the wake of the Turkey-Syria earthquake, marking a watershed moment in the UAE's ascent as an Arab trendsetter. Last Sunday, Sheikh Mohamed received Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Abu Dhabi, where the two leaders discussed the stability in the Middle East.
Internationally, the UAE played a pivotal role in facilitating a prisoner swap agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which was reportedly linked to the resumption of Russian ammonia exports to Asia and Africa via Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Moreover, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh mediated the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner from Russia through another prisoner swap that took place after Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to Moscow last October.
The Great Mosque of Al Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, and its famous leaning minaret were blown up by ISIS militants in 2017 and are being rebuilt with help from Unesco and
The UAE-Iran diplomatic reset is part of a greater focus on regional stability
Restoring UAE-Turkey ties is about more than just investments
Further, the UAE's notable standing as the 10th-most influential soft power player globally and the top-ranked Middle Eastern nation, according to the Global Soft Power Index, emphasises its expanding influence on the global scene. The UAE's unwavering commitment to enhancing its soft-power capabilities, as evidenced by hosting prestigious events such as Expo 2020, increasing foreign aid allocations, and embarking on a Mars mission, bears witness to its steadfast ambition to become a formidable force in global affairs.
Showcasing its soft power and commitment to promoting hope and tolerance, the UAE has forged a partnership with Unesco, in pursuit of the visionary "Revive the Spirit of Mosul" initiative. This co-operative endeavour aims to breathe new life into Mosul's historic architecture and treasured heritage sites, with a particular focus on reconstructing the city's famed Al Nouri Mosque and its 45-metre tall Al Hadba minaret, a landmark built in 1172 by Seljuk ruler Nour Al Din Zanki, which bestowed upon Mosul its nickname, Al Hadba. Also, the UAE's generous $50m grant has facilitated the restoration of the famous Dominican Al Saa'a Church and Al Tahera Catholic Church, underscoring the nation's ongoing dedication to the preservation of cultural legacies and the advancement of global understanding and tolerance.
Nestled on the banks of the Tigris River in northern Iraq, the historic city of Mosul – whose name in Arabic signifies "The Connector" – has served as a vibrant nexus of cultures, civilisations and faiths. A crucial hub of commerce on the Silk Road, Mosul has welcomed a diverse array of communities, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians and Armenians, as well as Muslims, Christians and Jews. The city's 2014 capture and subsequent three-year occupation by ISIS was a targeted assault on the ideals and symbolism that Mosul has long embodied. The commitment to rebuild the city is a powerful counter-message, affirming the restoration of public spaces as a means to foster co-existence, tolerance and hope for a brighter future.
However, the UAE's ambition to become the "Switzerland of the Middle East" is not without its challenges. One major challenge the country faces is competition from other regional players, who are also seeking to establish themselves as dominant political and economic centres in the region.
The Middle East is a challenging and enduring neighbourhood made for marathon runners, not for sprinters. The UAE is a marathoner, guided by the values of “Zayed Doctrine” of positive communication, regional dialogue good neighbourliness, stability, development and prosperity.
Its first strategic choice is to be more Swiss and less Spartan.
*Nadim Koteich is a journalist at Sky News Arabia

Obstacles Hindering the Turkish-Syrian Summit
Omer Onhon/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
Russia is occupied with the war in Ukraine, but it also continues its engagement in Syria because of its importance in the geo-strategic stage.
Russia, having special relations, in its own way, with both Türkiye and Syria, has long wanted to restore relations between them. A few months ago, it seized a window of opportunity and initiated a process.
The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs at a press conference with his Iranian counterpart a couple of weeks ago in Ankara said that there would be a meeting of representatives of Russia, Iran, Türkiye and Syria at the level of deputy ministers on March 16 in Moscow. He said this meeting was to prepare for a possible meeting of foreign ministers.
The final phase of this process is supposed to be the meeting between presidents or as party loyalists like to call them, the leaders.
The Russian initiated process had started with meetings between intelligence officials and was followed last December by a meeting between Defense Ministers.
At the outset of the process, the Assad side stated that withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria and stopping support to opposition groups should be the starting point of a rapprochement between the two countries.
Turkish Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense responded that Turkish forces were there only to prevent threats emanating from border areas and would not remain when these threats were eliminated.
The Turkish side may have thought that these statements have comforted Damascus and that they are now content with building on this approach. Apparently, it was not the case.
The evening before the quadrilateral meeting of diplomats, Assad, was in Moscow for an official visit. He met with President Vladimir Putin and rapprochement with Türkiye was also on their agenda.
On that evening Assad said in an interview with Sputnik that he would meet Tukrish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan only if "Türkiye is ready, clearly and without any ambiguity, to completely withdraw from Syrian territory, stop supporting terrorism and restore the situation to what it was before the start of the war in Syria".
The next day, it was announced that the meeting, which was supposed to be held that day, had been postponed for "technical reasons". No new date was announced.
Assad would not instruct the Syrian representative not to attend the meeting in a way which would embarrass his Russian host, to whom he owes almost everything. I hardly think that the decision to postpone the meeting would have been possible without Russia playing along.
In any event, what happened in Moscow cannot be good news for Erdogan, whose Syria policy has been criticized even among his own ranks.
Erdogan wants something tangible with Assad before the critical elections on May 14 because he needs to show that despite all that has happened, he can still put things right and he is the one who can solve the problem.
What drives Assad’s policy against Erdogan?
Relations between Erdogan and Assad have been strained to the level of hostility since 2011. Realpolitik may bring them together around a table, but the mutual feeling of distrust and dislike is unlikely to go away soon, if ever.
Elections in Türkiye are to be held in a couple of months and issues with roots in Syria, especially return of Syrian refugees and security matters, will have an impact. Assad is unlikely to want to make an election gift to Erdogan by meeting him or reaching an agreement.
The Turkish opposition has a good chance of winning against Erdogan. Asad could prefer to wait to negotiate with them, as they have always been critical of Erdogan’s Syria policy.
Assad, who has been isolated in the international community for many years, is trying to make a comeback and has covered some ground in that regard, especially within the Arab world.
Assad is not the favorite official of many Arab leaders. But bitter memories of the failure of the state as in the case of Iraq, Iran’s ambitions in the region and the risk of leaving Syria entirely in the hands of Iran and the developments in Syria have in a way compelled many Arab countries to start building bridges with Assad.
More than any other country, Assad is focused on the Arab world. Softening a few remaining Arab countries with negative attitudes and taking back Syria’s seat in the Arab League would be a major achievement for him.
An important feature of the postponed meeting in Moscow was that Iran had also joined in and this would have been the first quadrilateral meeting. Initially, for various reasons, Russia had not involved Iran in this process, but it found (or pushed) its way in. I am not sure if Russia and Türkiye are really happy with Iran joining in, but not accepting it would probably have implications.
The US is the other major part of the Syrian complex. There are around 1,000 American soldiers in Syria, who continue to work with their local allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces. The House of Representatives recently voted against a bill which proposed withdrawing US forces from Syria.
The Americans are against holding meetings and establishing ties with Assad. The US has stated that UNSC resolution 2254 is the way forward to reach a political solution and a durable peace. True, but neither the US nor the countries which think alike, are not doing anything meaningful in this direction. On the contrary, many parties are convinced that their presence and policies make things even worse.
In that regard, for example, both Türkiye and Syria are concerned that US support to People's Protection Units (YPD) and SDF encourages separatism and endangers Syria’s territorial integrity.
The postponement of the meeting in Moscow does not necessarily mean the end of the process. We can expect Russia to pursue the matter.
But as things stand, the election pressure in Türkiye and Assad’s "I won the war and I have the upper hand" attitude, which is in many ways misguided and misleading, will continue as major markers. Under these circumstances, one may hardly expect a major, meaningful breakthrough soon.

2023… The Interior Is Back to Making Politics
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
Though it might be hasty, one could make the claim, based on the types of political developments that are unfolding, that 2023 has already acquired its character.
It is the year of the return of the interior. That is to say, domestic and foreign policies are being shaped primarily by domestic issues. This is especially true for the Middle East, after ideological conflicts spiked over the past decade.
The most substantial challenge facing Israel today is neither the missiles of Hamas and Hezbollah nor Iran’s nuclear weapons. It is the country’s domestic social, political, cultural and moral struggles (which pushed its head of state to warn of a “civil war”) that threaten to obliterate Israel in “seven and a half minutes”!Iran’s most significant challenge, also domestic, is linked to the regime’s legitimacy at home and its ability to meet the needs of society, and this challenge played a role in compelling Iran to seek settlements and reconciliations.
In an immense country like China, the interior, not its purely ideological conflict with the US, has become the source of policy-making. China’s challenges are tied to the repercussions of the measures taken by the state to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate bubble, and decreased growth rates. Without economic growth, Beijing cannot meet the expectations of the Chinese middle class, the largest globally and the most prominent symbol of the Chinese miracle.
Expanding our scope slightly, we find that the US does not deviate from the rule. America’s domestic issues, its conflicts of identity, ideology, and interests, have to shape US foreign policy. It has always been said that, in the US, “all politics is ultimately domestic politics;” however, this axiom has never been as evident as it is today.
The return of the interior is a pivotal juncture in the evolution of the philosophical conceptualization of politics and the clash of doctrine.
Political ideologies, as frameworks for organizing and understanding the role and structure of government, have a profound impact on how we see and engage with the world, as well as how we understand our environment spatially and temporally. Looking into the interplay between political ideologies and conceptions of space and time can be very helpful for understanding how political geography, the historical context, or visions for the future shape political ideas and practice.
How space is conceptualized is a crucial component of political ideologies of any kind, as it has direct implications for the way in which political power is distributed and exercised, as well as identifying sources of legitimacy and the criteria for success and failure. Ideologies’ spatial dimension is closely tied to geopolitics, whether this refers to physical borders, natural resources, or how the population is divided geographically. The spatial dimension is inseparable from the temporal dimension, which evokes history, as is the case for most national or identity-based ideologies that grant unique importance to land, culture, language, and ethnicity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s understanding of all these matters pushed him to enter Ukraine in order to “correct” the mistakes of history and “save” the country’s Russian speakers. In Israel, the battles raging in the West Bank and Jerusalem stem from a biblical conception of space and time that defines the “Jewish homeland.”
Iran’s actions suggest that it is also stubbornly struggling against geography, as it reiterates that the Islamic Republic is now “on the shores of the Mediterranean.” Its actions also speak to a desire to “correct” history, which is understood according to a particular vision that recalls specific historical battles and moments of political conflict over in Islam.
Space expands and contracts depending on the nature of the ideology. It can contract to include the borders of the “Jewish homeland” or the “Kurdish homeland,” two give two of many examples. And it can expand to encompass the earth and everyone on it, as is the case for the liberal ideology, in whose name Francis Fukuyama once declared the end of history, and implicitly the end of geography, with the emergence of the global village.
Obviously, the ability of different ideologies to adapt and evolve over time varies, as does their capacity to accommodate changing social, economic and political conditions, and what the dynamics of political thought and practice do and do not allow for.
This leads me to the divergent conceptions of space and time among Middle Eastern rivals. Vision 2030 outlines how time is perceived in Saudi Arabia, and its internationally recognized borders illustrate how it perceives space. In the Gulf, one finds similar notions of these concepts. After the country celebrated its fiftieth-year anniversary in 2021, the UAE outlined its vision for the next fifty years.
As for the space, it is the country itself. Here, we find specific time frames and defined spaces that the human mind can perceive.
On the other hand, if we look at political Islam, both Sunni and Shiite, we find that time ranges from ancient history to a future beyond the future and beyond life. The Sunni puritans yearn for what is called the golden age of Islam, the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. They aspire to bring a caliph that reproduces it in the present to power, ignoring the frameworks set by statehood, national borders, political legitimacy, and national identity.
The Shiite puritans refer back to moments that they believe encapsulate all that political righteousness means, as they do when they commemorate Ashura as a political moment. Their struggle is to change the outcomes of this historical event through the outcomes of the battles being waged in the now and here, whether in Iraq, Syria, or Yemen.
As for the future, both see it as nothing less than the afterlife itself, where eternal bliss and paradise are ascended to after the divine promise is fulfilled.
Non-ideological countries, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, look to the future. Theirs is a tangible future that physically exists temporally and spatially, and it is linked to plans for a future that can be predicted. In this future, there is greater emphasis on strengthening economic development, social cohesion, modernization, and environmental sustainability, and the path toward it is usually shaped by the needs and aspirations of the people of a particular nation state.
The outcome of this interplay between political thought and questions of time and space is directly tied to the future of mankind. The utopias pushed for by ideology, especially rigid ideologies, are founded on the idea of bringing about an ideal society built on the basis of religious, cultural, national, political or class principles. Thus, utopia can potentially encourage a culture of individual sacrifice and martyrdom for the common good, as it prioritizes collective goals over individual well-being.
In contrast, other countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have prioritized individual well-being and meeting contemporary needs and aspirations, such as ensuring high living standards, good education and health care, and economic opportunities for their citizens.
And so, the most consequential potential outcome of the political tracks emerging in the region is this change in how space and time are perceived politically. As mentioned at the outset of this article, the return of the interiors is the most prominent manifestation of this shift. The interior is back to shaping politics and taming ideologies after cold hard reality tested the capacity of utopias to become places where hardship and tragedies unfold in the here and now.

A Confident Saudi Arabia and the Peace Being Promised
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/2023
The Saudi-Iranian agreement will remain the region’s most prominent development for a long time. China’s involvement in this thorny matter, which saw Beijing become a sponsor and guarantor of the agreement, adds to its significance.
The role China played affirms its growing influence in the region and its determination to ensure political and security stability as it vies to safeguard its immense economic interests in there, which does not imply that it will not have political and military interests in the future.
If the Chinese initiative is fated to succeed, even to achieve relative success, in cooling the hotbeds of tension (or some of them), strengthening neighborly relations, and ensuring that the agreement between the two rival countries is abided by, even to a minimal degree, then it would be considered an achievement that previous regional and foreign initiatives failed to realize.
There can be no doubt as to whether China has succeeded in solidifying its expansion on the Silk Road in the Gulf and the Middle East by highlighting its geostrategic and political dimensions. It has given us an early indication of the hallmarks of what might eventually be called Pax Sinica, along the lines of Pax Americana. This is the first time a major power other than the US unilaterally intervenes in the Middle East to contain a conflict since the Cold War ended.
China pounced on the opportunity presented by US policy failures, which allowed Russia to launch a military incursion into the region that has been ongoing and justified with shoddy pretexts since 2015. The US has also turned a blind eye to military attacks on its allies and partners in the region several times, refraining from retaliating in a manner commensurate with the attacks. This engendered feelings of disappointment, caution, and skepticism about Washington’s credibility and its commitment to its security guarantees to its Arab allies.
Beijing took advantage of Russia being embroiled in the war on Ukraine, the aloofness that seeped into Washington’s ties with its Arab partners, and vague and contradictory indications we see from the US from time to time that it intended to abandon the region.
While Iran’s isolation left it with no choice but to seek closer ties to China, Saudi Arabia has shrewdly diversified its alliances without giving up on its alliance with the US, though relations between the two countries have been turbulent. Here, we should mention the deal for 129 Boeing airplanes signed last week. Saudi Arabia also managed to place the political and moral onus on China to ensure a safe environment that facilitates the flow of goods along the Silk Road.
We do not need to elaborate on the Kingdom’s keenness on stability in the Middle East generally and the Arab Gulf particularly. Saudi Arabia is determined to turn them into economic, financial, touristic, and cultural hubs and eventually lead the region to an era of unprecedented progress.
In 2016, Vision 2030 was formulated with its three axes: “vibrant society,” “thriving economy,” and “ambitious nation.” All the projects launched within this framework reflect this desire: from the cross-border city of NEOM in the northwest of the Kingdom to the “world’s largest” entertainment, cultural and athletic city in the Qiddiya region, the Middle East Green Initiative, the Sakaka Solar Power Plant Project, etc… This Kingdom’s vision requires security, and ideally, Saudi Arabia would have no problems with anyone. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has immense economic projects that have impacted the lives of its citizens and contributed to achieving Vision 2030.
As for Iran, it has been sanctioned and blockaded since the 1979 revolution, which gave rise to severe economic and financial problems that fueled popular uprisings over political, social, and livelihood issues. The country is also under international pressure tied to its nuclear problem and its destabilizing actions in the region and beyond. It went as far as intervening in Europe, interfering in the Ukrainian war on the side of Russia.
Iran is now in need of a break and an opportunity to catch its breath, as Israel’s threats of attacks on its nuclear facilities are escalating. The country has seen bombings, arson attacks, and assassinations committed by perpetrators who remain unidentified. Tehran would not miss an opportunity to score points against the West, especially the US, and this agreement doubtlessly provides it with some much need protection.
Nonetheless, we should remind ourselves that Iran and Saudi Arabia should not be put in the same boat. For over forty years, Iran has been expanding in the region through sympathetic local communities. It has established militias that are now forming statelets in several countries. The influence it exerts in several Arab countries is evident. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is a normal country, just like others around the world. It has friendships, alliances and rivalries, but it does not form armed local militias like those linked to Tehran.
The agreement’s stipulation that both countries respect the sovereignty of states and avoid interfering in their domestic affairs concerns Iran. Respecting this clause, it would be no hyperbole to claim, is the bedrock of its success.
Being overly optimistic about the agreement would be going too far. Meanwhile, pessimism closes the door to history; it is the right course of action, either. In politics, issues cannot be seen in black and white. Nonetheless, objectivity demands that we list potential obstacles that this agreement may stumble upon. Two are particularly notable:
The first is how Iran will approach its nuclear program. The future of this program is among the most prominent points of contention between Tehran and the Kingdom. If the agreement is to allow Beijing to contain the countries’ disputes, it is crucial that China prevent Iran from enriching at increasingly high levels of purity, compelling it to only use the program for civilian goals.
On January 5, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price announced that Washington had removed reviving the nuclear deal from its agenda, saying the US would focus on confronting the military cooperation between Iran and Russia. Days before the agreement to restore diplomatic relations with Tehran was announced, Saudi Arabia reiterated its opposition to a nuclear agreement with Iran that does not address the concerns of the countries of the region.
All of these positions were made to ensure supreme national interests and safeguard national security, as well as regional and international security. Thus, they are unlikely to change once the rapprochement is eventually complete. If pressuring Iran to end its nuclear program is on Beijing’s agenda, this would stave off a calamitous state of affairs and deny Israel a pretext the reaction against which could destabilize the region.
In any case, it seems that Iran intends to reach the highest threshold below that needed to make nuclear weapons. In this event, would the agreement be nullified? Would Iran push Saudi Arabia, which has the will, determination, and capabilities, to become a nuclear power like Japan, South Korea and others?
The second obstacle is the future of Iran’s relationship with the local communities it has allied with across the region. The question, here, is about the extent to which Iran is willing to stop exporting its revolution and ideology, and to support nation-states and respect their sovereignty instead.
How likely is this, given that Iran sees its spheres of influence in some countries as its regime’s first line of defense? The answer depends on just how determined the deep state in Iran, represented by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is to make this agreement a success.
The Kingdom has always used the language of diplomacy and dialogue to resolve disputes. Its commitment to the principles of good neighborliness gives this agreement a chance to succeed. The remaining question is whether it is realistic to think that the Iranian regime would shed its skin to allow the agreement to succeed. If the Beijing agreement materializes, the violent and fanatical right-wing Israeli government will be the first to lose out, as respecting the agreement would give rise to a stable and prosperous regional system that sets the course for further normalizations and all the achievements that ensue from them.

A Mideast/North Africa Update with Elie Abouaoun, US Institute of Peace
17 March 2023
https://www.voaafrica.com/a/7009817.html?fbclid=IwAR1R0SHiVjQJWirBzda3LBWZb4rkMmR4Hst2vFaYQzWNFqln99NKkkQH3rY
https://www.voaafrica.com/a/7009817.html
Host Carol Castiel talks with Elie Abouaoun, director of the US Institute of Peace’s North Africa and MENA programs, about a range of issues from the significance and implications of the Beijing-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, to the political state of play in Libya and Egypt as well as rising popular opposition in Morocco against its resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel given Tel Aviv’s right-wing government, attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and lack of progress on a two-state solution.

Could the Saudi-Iranian deal lead to peace with Israel?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Jerusalem Post/March 21/2023
Saudi Arabia’s appointment of a new information (media) minister hinted that the kingdom was getting closer to bilateral peace with Israel.
A joint trilateral Saudi-Iranian-Chinese statement surprised the world and prompted speculation that Riyadh might be switching sides, abandoning America and joining the anti-Western axis. Dragging its feet in welcoming Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to a United Nations conference further substantiated such a hypothesis.But exchanging pledges of mutual non-intervention with Iran can also suggest that Saudi Arabia is still preparing for possible normalization with Israel. Many Saudis are already moving in this direction. After all, if the Saudis sue for peace with Israel, the last thing they want is to have an antagonistic Iran instigating against them. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s appointment of a new information (media) minister hinted that the kingdom was getting closer to bilateral peace with Israel. Salman Aldosary is known for his support of the Abraham Accords for peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, accords that the Biden administration has promised to expand but has yet to invest enough time and political capital to make peace happen.
Aldosary is a columnist and an influential voice on social media. His support of a Saudi First policy, including bilateral Saudi peace with Israel, has won him enemies from the anti-peace camp. Aldosary, however, has not been a lone voice. Last year, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, known by his acronym MBS, said he did not believe Israel was Riyadh’s enemy but a potential ally.
Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian cause
Saudi Arabia has been the biggest supporter of Palestinians since before the establishment of Israel in 1948. When the kingdom’s founder Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saudi met with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard USS Quincy in the Red Sea in 1945, the Saudi king demanded that Jews in Palestine be settled elsewhere. Since 1948, Riyadh has contributed billions of dollars to Palestinian refugees, military organizations and starting in 1993, the Palestinian Authority (PA). Between 2000 and 2020, Saudi Arabia spent $6.5 billion (NIS 23.7 b.) on Palestinians.
But Saudi unlimited support has only bought Palestinian ungratefulness and at times, downright hate. After the Abraham Accords were announced in August 2020, Palestinians in Gaza and Ramallah burned pictures, not only of the leaders of the UAE and Bahrain but also of Saudi King Salman and MBS.
Since then, many Palestinian pundits and activists have been accusing Saudi Arabia of betraying the cause, even though the Saudis have said repeatedly and as late as January that their peace with Israel is incumbent on the establishment of a Palestinian state. Last month, the Palestinian delegation at the Asian Football Confederation abstained from voting in favor of Saudi Arabia’s hosting Asia Cup 2027, sparking an angry Saudi Arabian reaction against the Palestinian cause.
While the Saudi Arabian government has practiced self-restraint by not reciprocating Palestinian hate, Saudi Arabian columnists, cartoonists and social media activists have been punching back. After the burning of the pictures of Saudi Arabian leaders, Aldosary wrote that with their aggression against Saudi Arabia, the Palestinians “have liberated the kingdom from any ethical or political commitment to these parties in the future.”
ALDOSARY ADDED that Saudi Arabian policies were not “based on what the audience expects,” taking a jab at the populism of Qatar and its firebrand satellite channel Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia, according to Aldosary, “makes its decisions based on its national interests and those of its people, first, second and 10th.”
After the Abraham Accords, representatives from all Palestinian factions held a meeting in Beirut in which they denounced the Gulf, prompting the Gulf Countries Council (GCC) to demand a Palestinian apology. In another one of his editorials, Aldosary wrote that Gulf countries should not be blamed for giving up on “a cause abandoned by its own people,” arguing that “a Palestinian apology cannot fix relations… that have been broken for good.”
Aldosary also said that he agreed with PA Chairman Mahmud Abbas that even though they signed peace with Israel, neither the UAE nor Bahrain spoke on behalf of Palestinians. “By the same token,” according to Aldosary, Palestinian leaders did not have any right to speak on behalf of the Emiratis or the Bahrainis or decide which policies served the interests of the two Gulf nations.
For his call to put national Gulf interests ahead of Palestinian ones, Aldosary’s appointment as minister angered advocates of perpetual conflict with Israel. “Asharq Alawsat [daily paper] was at the peak of its Zionism when Salman Aldosary was its editor-in-chief,” Tweeted a Saudi opposition account with 1.1 million followers. But Aldosary was not alone in fighting back. Saudi cartoonist Fahd Aljubairi posted a drawing that depicted six characters sobbing as they watched the news about the appointment of Aldosary. The shirt of one of them, a goat, had on it a picture of Jerusalem with the hashtag “Normalization is betrayal,” a slogan used by anti-peace activists who call for boycotting Israel. While Riyadh still conditions its peace with Israel on Palestinian statehood, the general Saudi Arabian mood – from MBS to Aldosary and Aljubairi – seems to be shifting. Under MBS, Saudi Arabia has abandoned its dogmatic policies and replaced them with more realistic ones, prioritizing Saudi interests over anything else, including the Palestinian cause.
Saudi First has been Riyadh’s policy in Lebanon, an Iranian satellite state ungrateful for Saudi Arabia’s enormous support over the past decades. After investing tens of billions of dollars to prevent the collapse of the Lebanese economy and state, Saudi Arabia reasoned that Lebanon is a lost cause. In 2018, MBS cut Saudi Arabian losses and folded.In its relations with Palestinians, too, Saudi Arabia has nothing to show for its huge investment in money and diplomacy. Why Riyadh has not yet cut the Palestinians loose – like it did the Lebanese – is anybody’s guess. When Saudi abandons its outdated policy on the Palestinians, peace with Israel will logically be the next step.
*The writer is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Follow Hussain on Twitter @hahussain.

Longtime Israel backers in U.S. turn outraged critics — but Biden administration remains distant
Tracy Wilkinson/Los Angeles Times/March 21/ 2023
With massive street protests, a mutiny by elite military reserve officers and outrage from diplomats, academics and former officials, Israel seems steeped in epic crisis.
Shock waves over radical plans by the new right-wing Israeli government are also cascading thunderously in the U.S., alienating Jewish Americans while raising questions about the Biden administration’s ability — or willingness — to confront the troubles. Israel's figurehead President Isaac Herzog warned bluntly of civil war.“The abyss is within touching distance,” Herzog said last week, making the bleak assessment after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposed compromise over his coalition’s efforts to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court and national judiciary. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, wants to subjugate judges to politicians and make it easier for members of the Knesset, or parliament, to overturn court decisions. But the debate now goes much deeper than the judiciary to the essence of democracy itself, critics say.
“This is not just a political crisis; this is an existential crisis," Rabbi Noah Farkas, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said hours after returning from an urgent trip to Israel late last week.
Though both sides have legitimate grievances, Farkas said, the questions being raised are starkly fundamental.
“What does Jewish mean? Zionist? What does being an Israeli mean?” he said.
"This is a coup d'etat," Alon Pinkas, who served as a senior foreign policy advisor in several Israeli administrations, said in an interview from his home in Tel Aviv. He and those who voice similar sentiment believe that the changes Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox and extreme nationalist ruling partners are planning would create a new form of government in Israel. It would be a regime changer, they say, creating something akin to a religious autocracy instead of the "Jewish and democratic state" that has long characterized how Israel legally defines itself.
To be sure, Israel’s democracy always came with an asterisk: Palestinians living in Israel or under Israeli occupation in the West Bank or Gaza do not have full equal rights. But for Israeli Jews, Israel’s democracy has been unique in the Middle East.
Yet the government that came to office on Dec. 29 — after Israel's fifth election in nearly four years — wants to undo many of the underpinnings of that democracy while also jettisoning the shared values that successive U.S. administrations have cited as the foundation for the so-called ironclad diplomatic, political and economic relationship between the two countries.
In addition to weakening the judiciary, members of the Netanyahu government want to expand Jewish settlements on land claimed by Palestinians; thwart a Palestinian state; take away rights for LGBTQ people and some minorities; favor ultra-Orthodox Jews over the Reform and Conservative branches of Judaism that comprise the majority of U.S. Jews; and make the country more religious by eliminating some regulations that preserve its secular character.
The new government includes known extremists Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was convicted of inciting anti-Arab hate several years ago, and Bezalel Smotrich. Ben-Gvir is serving as security minister and Smotrich as finance minister, which gives him significant authority over the West Bank.
Since the coalition government was formed, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have filled the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities to protest. The demonstrations turned violent this month when police clashed with protesters in rare Israeli-on-Israeli confrontation.
Meanwhile, there has been an intense spike in bloodshed in Jerusalem and the West Bank, with regular Israeli military raids seeking militants in Palestinian cities, Palestinian terrorist attacks on civilian Israelis and vigilante Jewish settlers assaulting Palestinian civilians. It is the deadliest violence in years, and authorities on all sides are bracing for the coinciding holidays of Passover, Ramadan and Easter in the coming weeks.
While the new Israeli government also roils the Palestinian relationship, the Netanyahu administration's plans are a bridge too far for many Israelis and American Jews, including some who have long been Israel's staunchest supporters. In addition to liberal pro-Israel organizations, critics now include more conservative groups and leaders, such as former president of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman, former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and prominent members of Congress.
Many have latched on to Herzog's efforts at finding a compromise as way to urge a different path without appearing overly confrontational against Israel.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) led a group of 16 Jewish members of Congress in a letter to Netanyahu, Herzog and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid to express "profound concern about proposed changes to Israel’s governing institutions and legal system" that could "undermine Israeli democracy and the civil rights and religious freedoms it protects." The letter also urged the Israeli government "to suspend its efforts to pass the bills" that could "fundamentally change the democratic nature of the State of Israel."
In another letter to President Biden, 91 Jewish and non-Jewish members of Congress urged the administration to take more forceful action to ease mounting tensions in Israel. They also noted the new government's plans to expand settlements in land claimed by Palestinians and efforts to block an independent Palestinian state as additional combustible elements in the region.
"We urge you to use all diplomatic tools available to prevent Israel’s current government from further damaging the nation’s democratic institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two peoples," the members of Congress wrote.
So far, however, Biden administration officials have tread lightly in calling out events in Israel. After sticking to a wait-and-see approach even as the direction Israel was taking became clear, criticism for the most part has been couched in highly diplomatic language, urging a search for consensus while expressing wide support for Israel. Biden reiterated these points on Sunday in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu, the White House said.
The president "underscored his belief that democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship" and said that democratic societies need "genuine checks and balances" while "fundamental changes" must be based on the "broadest possible" popular support, the White House said.In a highly unusual move involving a newly seated Israeli prime minister, Biden has yet to invite Netanyahu for an official visit to the White House. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken also refused to meet with Ben-Gvir during a recent trip to Israel, and a visit by Smotrich to Washington last week touched off protest rallies outside his hotel.
Also on Sunday, representatives of Israel and the Palestinian Authority held a security meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el Sheikh, with Egyptian, Jordanian and U.S. officials present and aiming to reduce violence in Israel and the West Bank. It was the second such meeting in three weeks — previously such encounters had fallen by the wayside as security deteriorated in the occupied territories. It is not clear whether the talks will have any impact; some members of Netanyahu's coalition have already dismissed them.
The Biden administration’s reluctance to posit a sharper critique of the Israeli government's controversial policies has bewildered many Israelis and American Jews, who say that, among world powers, only the U.S. can influence Israel.
“What is the U.S. doing to exert leadership and push the parties together?" said Jeremy Ben-Ami, who heads the liberal Washington-based advocacy group J Street, which promotes Israel-related issues. "Pursuing a solution very quietly behind the scenes does not meet the moment."
Pinkas, the Israeli diplomat, said he does not think the U.S. government has the responsibility to detour Israel from what he called its "authoritarian trajectory," but that it is "negligent for the Americans to continue to act as if nothing is happening."
Many U.S. politicians have been reluctant to criticize Israel for fear of losing support among Jewish voters. However, voting patterns by American Jews are fairly stable: Polling shows that most lean Democratic. The other large voting bloc that focuses on Israel is made up of white evangelicals, who lean Republican.
The angst throughout the American Jewish community is evident in newspaper columns, at think-tank symposiums and in synagogue webinars, with many dreading a pall on U.S.-Israel relations or further potential damage to Israel's reputation in the world. “A lot of American Jews have yet to understand the depth of the crisis," said Farkas, the L.A. rabbi. "It is not translating well. The pain. The anger. The tears. They are slowly waking up to it.”
Ben-Ami of J Street said that "for most American Jews, support of Israel is a critical part of their identity."
"But if the center of Israeli society is walking away," he continued, "what are American Jews going to do?"
Susie Gelman, who chairs the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, was among the speakers at the protest rally last week outside Smotrich's Washington hotel, where participants demanded he not be received by U.S. officials.
“The racism, homophobia and extremism" that she said Smotrich represents "do not and must not represent the values of Israelis and the Jewish people worldwide.
"Israel’s future is closely linked to that of Jews in the United States and around the world," Gelman added. "We must stand together with our Israeli family to fight for that future, now so greatly threatened by this extremist, right-wing government."
Another rally participant, Dany Bahar, an international affairs professor at Brown University, highlighted the impact that the Israeli government's actions could have on the country's economy, which has been buoyed by a booming high-tech industry.
“What the enemies of Israel have not been able and won’t be able to ever achieve — to see an isolated and economically struggling Israel — is happening due to the actions of the current Israeli government," he told the crowd. "Capital is flowing out of the country. Businesses and investors are questioning whether they will see return on their investments if the independence of the judiciary is jeopardized. This is a crisis of Israel’s own making.”

Iraqi Christians are threatened with extinction 20 years after the US-led invasion
Metro Detroit/The National/March 21/2023
The world must act fast to prevent what happened to religious minorities during this period from continuing before it's too late
Natasha Dado author image
The 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq may be a moment to shine a
As a Catholic Iraqi American, I have watched from afar as my culture and heritage slowly disappear. Indeed, since the start of the war, the Christian population has reportedly diminished by more than 80 per cent, from an estimated 1.5 million to 250,000, according to Christian leaders as well as NGO and media reports. More than 350 churches have been destroyed in attacks carried out by terrorists during this period.
Ancient Christian sites and artefacts left in ruins over the past two decades threaten to erase the history of a people dating back thousands of years. In past years, attacks made Iraq a less safe place for Christians to worship, and prevented displaced followers of the faith from returning to their homeland.
This is deeply personal, as ISIS murdered two of my cousins whose only crime was following their religious teachings. The war undoubtedly made the country vulnerable to terrorism. Prior to that, Christians had felt safer and enjoyed more religious freedom and protections. After then president Saddam Hussein was toppled from power at the start of the invasion, many Christians were subjected to persecution by terrorists and forced into exile from their ancestral lands.
While Christians only accounted for a small minority of the population, faced persecution for hundreds of years and are the indigenous people of Iraq, they were quickly targeted after the invasion.
The history of Iraqi Christians, widely referred to as Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs, dates back more than 5,000 years to Mesopotamia, which many consider to be the cradle of civilisation. Most Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs don’t identify as Arabs because they are indigenous people and speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, which is dying out. These communities were in Iraq long before it was established as a modern nation-state.
Remaining Iraqi Christians ‘can’t afford another exodus’ of any sort
Another setback for religious minorities came in 2014 when ISIS gained a stronghold in Mosul. At the time, ISIS gave Christians the ultimatum to flee their city, convert to Islam, pay a special tax or die. To identify members of the faith, ISIS marked homes belonging to Christians with the letter “N” for Nazarene – Arabic for Christian.
After the takeover of Mosul, the city was nearly void of Christians for the first time in thousands of years, as more than 125,000 were forced to flee. Yazidis, another minority and indigenous group, faced the same fate as about 200,000 fled during the event.
I recently asked a friend whether he thought Christians had a future in Iraq. He said they did, provided no other event pushed them out in droves. I brought up the fall of Mosul to point out how dire the situation is for the remaining Christians, who simply can’t afford another exodus. A population database from an NGO called the Shlama Foundation estimates that only 141,346 Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs remain in Iraq today.
Iraqi Christians in need of special attention after war
An unfathomable number of Iraqis have experienced the devastating toll of the war and its consequences, with more than one million killed. Similarly, many Muslims are victims of religious persecution and mosques have been destroyed. However, religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis, are victims of what the international community has characterised as genocide and ethnic cleansing. These minorities remain uncertain about whether they will be a part of Iraq’s future, and are threatened with extinction.
The plight of these indigenous communities must be treated as a separate issue in order to find effective solutions that ensure their survival.
‘Iraqi Christian diaspora worldwide has the right to a homeland’
In 2010, the church my mother took her communion in, Our Lady of Salvation Church, in Baghdad, was bombed in an attack by suicide bombers that left dozens dead. The thought of another church attack or Christian site being destroyed is unsettling. Since this is my identity, I lose a part of myself every time a piece of my history is wiped away.
Members of the Iraqi Christian diaspora worldwide have the right to a homeland they can always return to without fear of being targeted for their faith, and one where the community's language and culture continues to thrive.
Growing up, my immigrant parents and grandmother spoke Chaldean, a dialect of Aramaic. I learned Chaldean prayers from my grandmother which we used to recite together. She was like a second mother and so much of this is about fighting to keep her culture, language and heritage alive.
I was raised in the Detroit metropolitan area that is home to about 160,000 Chaldeans. The customs, traditions, food and history that my community brought from Iraq remain close to my heart. It is difficult to accept that one day they might cease to exist in the homeland of my parents and ancestors.
World must act fast before it's too late
As a news reporter, I have made use of every opportunity to spread awareness about the plight of Iraqi Christians after the war, by pitching and writing stories about them. During this period, I have learnt that journalists may not be able to lift people out of their plight but we can share their stories with the rest of the world – and that is powerful.
On the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, therefore, I want to raise awareness about the country’s Christians, in the hope that the international community acts to prevent their tragedy from continuing before it is too late.
*Natasha Dado joined The National in 2022, having previously worked at People magazine and WDIV-TV, Detroit's NBC affiliate. She started her career covering Metro Detroit's Arab-American community and has a degree in journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/2023/03/20/iraqi-christians-are-threatened-with-extinction-20-years-after-the-us-led-invasion/?fbclid=IwAR0-J-mrox0K0RYUoTzx739GJ3cZ2qVPdAaoiNoFYwsF6fho7Gq7qPDsuOo

Egyptian Court Abandons Child to Forced Conversion, Denies Him Loving (Christian) Parents
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/March 21/2023
On Mar. 18, 2023, an Egyptian administrative court ruled that it did not have the “jurisdiction” to interfere with the state’s decision to strip a child from his adoptive Christian family, place him in an orphanage, and forcibly convert him to Islam.
Reacting to this development, Adel Guindy, co-founder of Coptic Solidarity and author of A Sword Over the Nile, said:
Coming after seven months of deliberating the case, the ruling is both puzzling and very disappointing. The adoptive family’s lawyers said that they would appeal the ruling in front of a higher court. But such lengthy procedures, whose outcome appear to be far from certain, are increasing the agony of the family and its supporters, who feel that they are being meshed in a web, made up of the various organs of the state, whose manipulations and procrastination gimmicks appear to be aimed at wasting precious time and letting the child settle in his new (Muslim) identity and forget his adoptive parents. Shame on Egypt’s government, judiciary and political leadership!
The plight of “Baby Shenouda” is more fully discussed here. To summarize, in 2018, a newborn baby boy was found abandoned inside a Coptic church. He was entrusted to a barren couple, who loved and raised him as their own. Some four years later, the state learned about this happy development, seized the child and sent him to an orphanage, where his religion was formally changed to Islam, and his name—Shenouda, a distinctly Coptic Christian name—changed to an Islamic one, Yusif.
A little known Islamic doctrine is behind the state’s inhumane decision. According to Muslim teaching, every human is born as a Muslim (until their parents conform them to their own religion). Accordingly, because the religious identity of Shenouda’s biological parents cannot be determined, he must be considered Muslim; and entrusting Muslim children to non-Muslim parents—in this case, Christian infidels—is strictly forbidden under Islamic law (Sharia).
Since Shenouda’s original seizure by the Ministry of Social Solidarity over a year ago, his adoptive parents have been, as might be imagined, living in misery and despair, especially his mother, Amal Ibrahim. In a recent interview, she explained how
I tried many surgeries to help me to conceive, to no avail. But the Lord honored me with Shenouda, whom we considered a miracle of the Lord.
As such, from the day he was found in church—when he was literally a day old—until the state seized him, the boy was, she said, the “apple of their eye.”
Since Shenouda was taken in Feb. 2022, his adoptive parents have only been allowed to see him once, on Dec. 31, 2022. During that meeting, and “much to their despair,” they found the boy “confused” and “slightly distant”—no doubt because his indoctrinators at the orphanage had been doing everything they could over the preceding ten months to make the boy dislike his Christian upbringing and Christian adoptive parents. As his adoptive mother, Amal, reported:
There was something off about him…. They [the authorities] talk about human rights, yet they took my son away from me and placed him in an orphanage.
Ten months after he was seized, Shenouda appeared distant to his adoptive mother, Amal
The couple had since appealed to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and were given reason to hope that the March 18 hearing would lead to a reunion with the child.
However, according to an Arabic-language report,
The First Circuit of the Court of Administrative Judiciary ruled to reject the lawsuit filed by a lawyer representing the Christian family, to demand that the decision to change the religion of the child Shenouda be stopped, and that he be returned to them.
Such treatment is not new. In another recent, high profile case—that of an elderly Coptic Christian grandmother who was stripped naked and publicly abused by a Muslim mob—court after court delayed and “recused” themselves over the course of some seven years, with the result that the woman’s Muslim abusers escaped justice.
In an interview immediately following the Mar. 18 decision to reject their lawsuit, the Christian family’s lawyers stressed that this was “a shocking and regrettable decision for all of Egypt—but especially its Christians.” Almost as if to add insult to injury, the court had allowed the Christian family and their lawyers to wait for over ten hours in the courtroom, giving them hope, before simply dismissing the case out of hand.
One lawyer repeatedly pointed out that “Baby Shenouda does not increase the Muslims or lessen the Christians”—so why are they so determined to ruin a Christian family’s life by seizing him and making him Muslim?
At one point during the interview, the adoptive mother, Amal, cried out,
Their whole purpose [in continuously delaying and sending the case to higher courts] is to make the child forget his father and mother! This is why they keep delaying! How can they do this? How can they want to make him forget his father and mother? How can they try to make us forget him? He is now a part of us!As a “solution” of sorts, a few sympathetic Muslim families have offered to take custody of the child, but give his Christian adoptive parents the right to visit him whenever they wish. The Christian family and their lawyer have politely rejected this offer, not only due to obvious reasons, but because they know that once the child is formally handed over to a Muslim family, his fate as a Muslim will be sealed.
Meanwhile, others are now blaming the Christian family of “illegally” adopting the boy and registering him as their son. But they forget that in the face of such inhumane laws that prohibit adoption, there is no other way but to go around them, and even Islam itself offers “loop-holes.”
In a statement on his Facebook page, Dr. Emad Gad, (Coptic) member of the parliament, and a political studies researcher, bravely summarized the situation:
This case represents a flagrant attack on the most basic principles of humanity as well as freedom of belief, and reflects the ideology of [Islamic] institutions. [The] nation suffers from an all-encompassing deterioration at all levels, even as it searches for fake electoral victories.
When the neutrality of state institutions is absent, humanity is lost and internal crises explode, exposing us to the world. This case is fundamentally humanitarian, but the officials of the Ministry of Solidarity dealt with it as religious, and so they mercilessly seized the child from the bosom of his foster family and threw him into an orphanage, changing his name and religion.
Indeed, a few weeks before the recent decision was given, Ehab Ramzy, a Christian member of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, made a prediction:
The next trial hearing on March 18 will not only determine Shenouda’s fate, it will also determine the fate of the entire country, signaling whether Egypt is on its way to becoming a secular state or a theocratic country, one where Sharia is imposed not just on Muslims but on all citizens.
Now there is no mystery: Egypt is a theocratic state, governed by Sharia.
Note: If you’d like to help reunite the child Shenouda with his adoptive parents, click here and join the Coptic Solidarity petition to Congress.

Biden Administration Pushing Arabs Towards Iran
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 21, 2023
Today, China is victorious by sponsoring the historic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, while the US has a new president who comes to destroy agreements reached by his predecessor, and even brags about it during his election campaign and his presidency." — Saeed Al-Mryti, Saudi political activist, Twitter, March 14, 2023.
"[N]o matter how hard analysts try to beautify the situation for US policy, what Saudi Arabia has done today is a direct and successful blow to the Biden administration and its policy in the Middle East." — Jubran Al-Khoury, Lebanese political analyst, annahar.com, March 12, 2023.
It is thus no surprise that Iran and its terror proxies – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah – are expressing profound satisfaction over the Saudi-Iranian agreement. In their eyes, the agreement is an indication of the growing weakness of the US and the failed policy of the Biden administration in the Middle East. Thanks to the US administration's fragility, the Iranian-led axis of evil has been significantly emboldened as America's erstwhile Arab allies are rushing towards the open arms of the mullahs in Tehran.
Many Arabs and Muslims are celebrating the Saudi-Iranian agreement to restore diplomatic relations as a devastating blow to the Biden Administration, a victory for Iran and China, and a sign of Washington's failed policies in the Middle East.
Many Arabs and Muslims are celebrating the Saudi-Iranian agreement to restore diplomatic relations as a devastating blow to the Biden Administration, a victory for Iran and China, and a sign of Washington's failed policies in the Middle East.
According to these Arabs and Muslims, the Saudi-Iranian pact is the direct result of the Biden Administration's antagonism towards America's traditional Arab allies, especially Saudi Arabia, and the American policy of appeasement towards the mullahs in Iran.
Lebanese-born American scholar Walid Phares wrote that in the past two years he has been issuing warnings that the Biden administration's dealings with the Arab allies "were neither at the required level nor with the necessary depth."
According to Phares, the Obama Administration "went too far in its partnership with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, while turning its back on the Arab countries, with the aim of establishing partnerships with Islamists in the region."
Phares pointed out that this policy of the Obama administration led to the first crisis of confidence between Washington and the Arab countries. The Trump Administration, however, he noted, "embarked on an unprecedented alliance with the Arabs to isolate Iran and defeat the Islamic State (ISIS)."
"The Arab-American alliance lasted four years, and Saudi Arabia and its partners committed themselves to the shared agenda on all fronts, starting with confronting the [Iranian-backed] Houthis [in Yemen] and supporting those who confronted Iran, in addition to uprooting Al-Qaeda and ISIS and, most importantly, delegitimizing radical Islam... However, the fluctuation in US foreign policy after the end of the Trump administration and the arrival of President Joe Biden's administration put the Saudis, and with them all the Arabs, in a difficult position. The Arabs continued with their commitment to the policy agreed upon with the Trump administration, but the administration of his successor turned against it. In 2021, the Arab coalition found itself headed towards war with Iran, while the Biden administration was going to make peace with Tehran!"
Phares noted that the Biden Administration has continued the policy of the Obama Administration by ignoring the Arab coalition and the concerns of the Arab countries about the expansionist and terrorist dangers of the radicals in the Middle East. The Arabs, he added, also saw how the Biden Administration handed over Afghanistan to the Taliban "and were shocked to see the West scrambling towards the negotiating table with the Iranians, while ignoring the Arab countries and their national interests."
Many Arabs have also taken to social media to praise the Chinese-brokered Saudi-Iranian agreement, hailing it as a major defeat for the policies of the Biden administration and a victory for China.
"China is coming with force and has defeated America politically," read a comment posted by Saudi political activist Saeed Al-Mryti.
"China extracted full Arab recognition against America's policies. Today, China is victorious by sponsoring the historic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, while the US has a new president who comes to destroy agreements reached by his predecessor, and even brags about it during his election campaign and his presidency."
Another Arab, Ahmed Al-Fifi, wrote on Twitter:
"Two earthquakes, unprecedented for nearly 70 years, have hit Washington, and their center is in Riyadh! The first occurred in 1986 when Saudi Arabia bought long-range strategic missiles from China. The second was when Saudi Arabia worked to restore its relationship with Iran under Chinese auspices."
Prominent Iraqi author Iyad Al-Dalimi wrote that by choosing China as the sponsor of the agreement, the Saudis aimed to place the Biden administration in an embarrassing situation. The Saudi-Iranian agreement, Al-Dalimi stated, "came in response to Biden ignoring Saudi Arabia and the apathy that afflicted this relationship since he assumed power more than two years ago."
Commenting on the Saudi-Iranian agreement, Lebanese political analyst Jubran Al-Khoury wrote that "no matter how hard analysts try to beautify the situation for US policy, what Saudi Arabia has done today is a direct and successful blow to the Biden administration and its policy in the Middle East."
Al-Khoury pointed out that the Biden administration tried to "escape" from the Middle East to confront China in its home in the Far East.
"Two years after this American decision, Saudi Arabia allowed China to enter directly into Middle East politics from the wide door... Since 2021, Saudi Arabia's policy has changed due to a change in America's policy, and Saudi Arabia has taken several measures, which include launching negotiations with Iran, expanding trade relations with China despite the declared trade war between the US and China, and developing Saudi relations with Russia...
"The Biden administration has become keenly aware that the new policy of Saudi Arabia is no longer as flexible towards American requests as it was previously... Indeed, Saudi Arabia, with its current performance, may have forced America to reconsider its policy in the Middle East."
The Palestinians, who are opposed to peace between Israel and the Arab countries, also see the Saudi-Iranian accord as a severe blow to both the US and Israel. The Palestinians are voicing optimism that the agreement will stop Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries from joining the Abraham Accords, a series of treaties normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kosovo, Sudan and Morocco.
By turning its back on Saudi Arabia, the Biden Administration has empowered the Arabs who oppose peace with Israel and destroyed any chance of expanding the Abraham Accords to include more Arab countries.
According to an editorial in the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds:
"The Saudi-Iranian agreement dealt a strong blow not only to Israel, but also to America and many European countries that are imposing a blockade on Iran and stirring unrest within it... Likewise, the agreement will be a prelude to the Arab world's exit from American control and hegemony, and support the international trend against America in order to end its domination of the world through unipolarity. This agreement will unite the Arabic and Islamic [worlds]; it will also end Israeli hopes of getting Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords."
It is thus no surprise that Iran and its terror proxies – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah – are expressing profound satisfaction over the Saudi-Iranian agreement. In their eyes, the agreement is an indication of the growing weakness of the US and the failed policy of the Biden administration in the Middle East. Thanks to the US administration's fragility, the Iranian-led axis of evil has been significantly emboldened as America's erstwhile Arab allies are rushing towards the open arms of the mullahs in Tehran.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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Advocating caution after the Saudi-Iranian Beijing agreement
James J. Zogby/The Arab Weekly/March 21/2023
If the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran pact can be built upon, it could represent a major transformation of the region.
After four days of negotiations in Beijing, an agreement has been reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic ties. While reactions from pundits and politicians have ranged from euphoria to cynicism to outright hostility, reality dictates that cautious optimism is the better course. 
Here are a few observations on what just happened and why, along with what needs to happen next.
It is significant that China brought the parties together. For domestic political reasons, the US could not and would not play that role, so the diplomatic vacuum opened the door for Beijing.  
The stage was set by US miscues in the region, beginning with the Bush administration’s disastrous war in Iraq, the Obama administration’s short-sighted approach to the Iran nuclear deal and the Trump administration’s unpredictable actions. American hubris, erratic behaviour and lack of concern for allies’ needs led one Arab intellectual to describe the past two decades of US policy as “a dizzying roller coaster ride and we want to get off.”   
No longer confident of US support, some Arab states drew closer to China and Russia and even began inching their way toward normalising relations with Iran. UAE restored diplomatic ties and Saudi Arabia began exploratory meetings in Baghdad with Iranian counterparts. 
It fell to China, which has been expanding economic ties with both Iran and Arab Gulf countries, to close the deal by playing the needed diplomatic role to facilitate an agreement. The China-Saudi Arabia-Iran pact not only envisions restored diplomatic ties, non-intervention and respect for sovereignty, but also sets the stage for a regional economic summit later this year. 
Recent polling across the Middle East demonstrates China’s enhanced role at the expense of the US. While still considered a more powerful ally, the US is increasingly viewed as erratic and unreliable. Strong majorities in most Arab countries see China as the emergent power that will eclipse the US in the next 20 years. We have sold Arab states weapons, invested heavily in the region and at times provided needed security, but we have also been demeaning and demanding and too often failed to address the concerns of Arab regional partners. As Saudi Arabian leaders have told US presidents going back to Bush: “If you insist on acting according to your interests, even when they conflict with ours, then we will act according to our interests, even when they conflict with yours.”  
As this China-Saudi Arabia-Iran agreement illustrates, as a result of our hubris we may no longer be, as Madeline Albright often declared, “the indispensable nation.”
That said, declarations that “peace is at hand” are premature. Iran and Saudi Arabia will establish relations and China will parlay its economic ties with both countries and others in the region to broaden the framework, but the big remaining question is whether Iran will and can reduce regional tensions by reining in its regional allies. 
Tehran has invested heavily in supporting proxy militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. If willing, Iran may be able to exercise some restraint and control. But even if it reduced financial and military support, it is unclear whether the destabilising groups it has backed will submit to its dictates. Deep-seated sectarian and structural conflicts remain in each of these countries, conflicts which Iran did not create, but instead exploited and helped to exacerbate. One measure of how serious Iran is about peaceful coexistence and focusing on trade, development and promoting prosperity for its own people and the region, is its willingness to participate in regional efforts to stabilise the countries in conflict by ending support for their militias and working with Saudi Arabia and others to achieve political solutions. 
If the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran pact can be built upon, it could represent a major transformation of the region. This outcome is far from assured and will require heavy lifting and good faith of all parties, especially Iran. 
If the US were smart, it would recognise the new game afoot. We can either remain on the sidelines, like Israel, shell-shocked, finger-pointing and bad-mouthing this development, or we can seize this opportunity and offer to support and participate in expanding a regional peacemaking effort. I hope we choose the latter option, but fear we will choose the former.
*Dr James J. Zogby is President of the Washington-based Arab American Institute.