Bible Quotations For today When

English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 30/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest
Matthew 09/36-38: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 29-30/2025
The summoning of journalists Carine Abd El Nour and Bishara Charbel by the Criminal Investigations Bureau—without specifying the nature of the accusation—is a flagrant violation of the law and a vile assault on press freedom./Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
The Concept and Meanings of the “Heart” in the Bible/Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
Video Link: An interview from “Dawaer Online” with Monsignor Mansour Labaki… A Lifetime’s Journey Between Vocation and Ordeal
After Iran-Israel war, Syria and Lebanon peace deals with Israel needed: US envoy
Lebanon prepares response to US proposals: Hezbollah insists on US guarantees before disarmament
Israeli army claims killing Hezbollah intelligence officer in South Lebanon
Israeli strike targets house in Aita al-Shaab, South Lebanon
MP Hajj Hassan on normalization with Israel: We will not change our position
Wildfire erupts in Akkar's Qoubaiyat forests, rapidly spreads amid strong winds
Report: Lebanon urges Israeli pullout in return for Hezbollah arms handover declaration
Qassem says Hezbollah 'capable of confronting Israelis'
Israel strikes 2 homes in border towns after drones kill 3 Lebanese
ISIS Ideology Persists in Lebanon, Recruitment Attempts Thwarted

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 29-30/2025
Netanyahu sees ‘opportunities’ to free Gaza hostages
Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
Trump says 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's continued prosecution
Iran says no threat to UN nuclear watchdog chief, inspectors after call for execution
Iran releases death toll of Israel’s Evin prison attack as officials remain suspicious of ceasefire
Iran says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Iran says no threat to UN nuclear watchdog chief, inspectors after call for execution
Intercepted Iranian communications downplay damage from US attack, Washington Post reports
Court cancels Israel PM Netanyahu's trial hearings this week
Thousands attend Iranian state funerals for victims of Iran-Israel conflict
Political earthquake in Israel: Trump boldly intervenes in Netanyahu trial
Iran says has ‘serious doubts’ over Israel’s commitment to ceasefire
Turkey spy chief talks Gaza truce with senior Hamas leader
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces kill 17, including children
Egyptian foreign minister urges recognition of Palestine in talks with EU envoy to Middle East

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 29-30/2025
Bravo, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu — You Are Doing What the Whole World Failed to Do/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2025
Toward President Trump's 'MIGA!': Making Iran Great Again/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2025
How news from the Middle East is shaping Gen Z’s mental well-being/Sherouk Zakaria/Arab News/June 29, 2025
Is UK government principled or realist in the Middle East?/Christopher Phillips/Arab News/June 29, 2025
The vanishing hospitals of Gaza/Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/June 29, 2025
Germany and the balance of power in Europe/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/June 29, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 29-30/2025
The summoning of journalists Carine Abd El Nour and Bishara Charbel by the Criminal Investigations Bureau—without specifying the nature of the accusation—is a flagrant violation of the law and a vile assault on press freedom.
Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144679/
Once again, the Lebanese judiciary, still shackled by the grip of Nabih Berri and Hezbollah, exposes its corrupted and compromised nature. In a shocking breach of legal protocol and an outright dismissal of the jurisdiction of the Publications Court, journalist Carine Abd El Nour, Managing Editor of Al-Hurra weekly, and its Editor-in-Chief, journalist Bishara Charbel, have been summoned for interrogation without even being informed of the charges against them. This is not merely a procedural misstep—it is a disgraceful slap in the face of justice and a stark confirmation that what remains of Lebanon's judiciary is little more than a servile instrument in the hands of the Iranian-controlled deep state.
We had hoped, following the defeat and disbandment of the terrorist Hezbollah, that Lebanon would finally breathe freely—liberated from the suffocating grip of the militias that have long corrupted and terrorized the nation. Yet, today’s events confirm that the judiciary remains tragically captive to Nabih Berri’s mafia and Hezbollah’s terrorist machine, both of which epitomize criminality, coercion, the suppression of liberties, and the trampling of all constitutional principles.
The targeting of the free press—Al-Hurra in this case—is nothing more than a desperate attempt to silence voices that expose their corruption and confront their illegitimate authority.
Let us be clear: this is not the first time Lebanon’s judiciary—under the control of the deep state—has trampled laws and targeted writers, journalists, politicians, and sovereign activists. These judicial abuses have become systematic. The persecution of free individuals with independent, patriotic views is now the norm rather than the exception. Even more appalling is the summoning of journalists without informing them of the charges—an act that displays outright contempt for the dignity of the press, freedom of speech, and all legal norms.
Despite the transformative changes in the region—the defeat of Hezbollah, the collapse of Assad’s brutal regime, and the crumbling of the Iranian mullahs' aura following the elimination of dozens of their leaders and nuclear scientists and the destruction of key nuclear capabilities—Lebanon’s leadership remains hostage to the Iranian occupation and its terrorist proxies that continue to control the country and its judiciary.
We therefore call upon the Minister of Justice, the President of the Republic, and the Prime Minister to take a firm and transparent stand. Either they remain complicit tools in the hands of Nabih Berri, Hezbollah, and the Iranian regime—enforcing their will, suppressing freedoms, and dismantling the state—or they rise to the level of true national leadership, with the resolve and courage to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty, its people, its institutions, and its constitution.
We also urge the free world and all human rights organizations to immediately intervene and take strong, clear positions. These oppressive practices are an existential threat to Lebanon’s fragile democracy and its freedom of expression. Silence, in this context, serves as a green light for continued violations. Only clear, principled, and decisive stances can act as a safeguard for the Land of the Cedars, which continues to struggle for survival, dignity, and liberty.

The Concept and Meanings of the “Heart” in the Bible
Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144659/
The word “heart” appears over 300 times in the Bible. Theologically, it has little, if anything, to do with the physical organ that pumps blood. Instead, it refers to the core of human existence, the center where all our capacities converge, including our conscience, emotions, and entire range of feelings and contradictions. In modern psychological terms, it’s our “self” or “ego.” Therefore, from a theological, emotional, spiritual, and faith-based perspective, the heart isn’t the physical organ beating in our chest. It’s the spiritual and existential reality that forms the very essence of our personal being. It’s the central point where all the threads of our human existence intertwine. In observing church rituals and icons, we notice the immense significance given to the “Heart of Jesus” and the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, dozens of verses emphasize the critical importance and centrality of this spiritual, intellectual, and faith-based understanding of the heart.
The Heart in God’s Commands
This understanding is clearly seen in the first of the Ten Commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus Himself speaks of the heart as the root of human intentions and the origin of all our actions. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:19-20). This confirms that the very essence of who we are, whether for good or ill, originates in the heart.
Only God truly knows the intentions of our hearts
Only God truly knows the intentions of our hearts, whether good or evil. Because He loves us and awaits our return to His heavenly home—a home not built by human hands—He, as a merciful Father, constantly warns us through various means. He does so when we defile our hearts, fall into the devil’s temptations, and follow our “old self”—the self of original sin—abandoning the “new self” born of baptism by water and the Holy Spirit. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (Matthew 15:7-8). This verse highlights the importance of genuine worship that springs from the heart, rather than just outward rituals.
A Pure Heart: A Gift from God
The Bible teaches us to always pray to God with humility, sincerity, and faith, asking for the grace and gift of a pure, upright, and good heart. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). This prayer expresses a deep longing for spiritual renewal, rooted in a new heart. God the Father created humanity in His image and likeness, giving us a heart like His own. When He sees that heart being defiled, He rushes to our aid, sending prophets, saints, and righteous people to guide us back to the right path. However, when we disobey, remain unrepentant, and fail to atone, He disciplines and punishes us, as He did in the time of Noah and Nimrod, and with Lot’s cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
God’s sorrow over the corruption of human hearts
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled” (Genesis 6:5-6). These verses vividly show God’s sorrow over the corruption of human hearts. God works through natural law, conscience, and prophets to awaken the hearts of humanity, so they may return to Him, find Him, give Him their hearts, and observe His ways and commandments. “With your own eyes you saw those great trials and the signs and great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. Yet I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet” (Deuteronomy 29:3-5). Here, we see that a lack of understanding and perception stems from the heart.
The Heart as a Dwelling Place for the Holy Spirit
Our Lord God bound our hearts to His, so that we may love Him with all our heart and soul, and live through Him. God fully accomplished this in the New Covenant through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers. Our hearts become a dwelling place for His Spirit, sanctified for Him, making us temples of God’s Spirit. Our hearts become altars consecrated for worship through devout prayers and sincere love. As our hearts are purified, we come to see God, and Christ works within us through faith. Thus, it is crucial to pause and reflect on the biblical and theological meaning of the heart.
The heart is that reality in which the human being finds his or her unity and inner orientation
In his commentary on the Third Secret of Fatima, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) offered a concise description of the heart: “In biblical language, the heart means the center of human existence, the integration of mind and will, temperament and feeling.” He added: “The heart is that reality in which the human being finds his or her unity and inner orientation.”
The heart is a human capacity that goes beyond and deeper than intellectual ability, and beyond the reach of our imagination. It is the dimension of divine instinct and also the depth of the soul. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). This verse emphasizes that only God truly sees and tests the hidden depths of the heart.
It’s impossible for any of us to fully penetrate another person’s inner being, no matter how close they are, or to know what’s stored within their heart and thoughts. However, we can understand it through their actions, words, and feelings, which bear witness to what’s in their heart, “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:34). And this heart becomes defiled when its owner succumbs to the traps of worldly desires, failing to curb and refine them due to a lack of faith and weak hope.
The Heart and Love
In our prayers, we say, “Lord, give me a heart like Your own” (“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10)). This means: “Bestow upon me the gifts of love, for love is God, and love is the heart.” The meaning of love, which is God Himself, was beautifully defined by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Biblical Verses on the Heart
Many verses in the Bible illustrate the meanings of the heart. Here are a few more:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).
“He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).
“The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (Psalm 24:4).
“They would not be like their ancestors—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him” (Psalm 78:8).
“Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:31).
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). This verse specifically speaks of the inner transformation granted by God.
Then Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of people’s hearts, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23).
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you” (Proverbs 4:23-25). This verse emphasizes the importance of protecting the heart as it is the source of life.
“As the secrets of their hearts are laid bare, they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is truly among you!'” (1 Corinthians 14:25).
“Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:10). This verse shows the consequence of stubbornness and refusal to hear God’s word.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Fount of Divine Love
Pope Benedict XVI: “The roots of this devotion (to the Sacred Heart of Jesus) are deeply embedded in the mystery of the Incarnation. Through the Heart of Jesus, God’s love for humanity was revealed in a vivid way. Therefore, authentic devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus retains its meaning and particularly attracts souls thirsting for God’s mercy—an unfathomable spring of living water capable of quenching the deserts of the soul, allowing hope to grow.”
Prayer to the Sacred Heart
O Jesus, You possess a compassionate heart, full of goodness and kindness. You see me and love me. You are merciful and forgiving, for You cannot witness misery without desiring to heal it. Behold, I place all my hope in You, trusting that You will not abandon me, and that Your graces will always surpass my expectations. Therefore, Jesus, fulfill all Your promises for me, grant me the graces necessary for my state, bestow peace upon my family, comfort me in my trials, and be my refuge throughout my life and at the hour of my death. If I am lukewarm in faith, I will grow fervent through You. If I am fervent, I will ascend to higher degrees of perfection. Grant me, Jesus, a special grace to soften hardened hearts, and to spread devotion to Your Sacred Heart. And inscribe my name in Your adored Heart, that it may never be erased. I also ask You to bless my home, where the image of Your Most Sacred Heart is honored.

Video Link: An interview from “Dawaer Online” with Monsignor Mansour Labaki… A Lifetime’s Journey Between Vocation and Ordeal
June 29/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144696/
Father Mansour Labaki: A Lifetime’s Journey Between Vocation and Ordeal
From the spaces of prayer to the courtrooms, from the sound of hymns to the silence of solitude, appears Father Mansour Labaki, the priest, writer, poet, and composer who for decades influenced the spiritual and cultural life in Lebanon and the Arab world, before finding himself at the heart of an unrelenting judicial and media storm. In this frank and special interview, we go back with him to the beginnings: to the call of the priesthood, and the relationship of prayer, writing, and music to the spiritual message. We ask him about the milestones of his service, about hope, about creativity, and about the accusations that pursued him, and how he lived through this ordeal with all its pain, silence, and determination to persevere. A conversation about faith under fire, about a memory that refuses to die, and about a man who never stopped addressing God… in his own way.

After Iran-Israel war, Syria and Lebanon peace deals with Israel needed: US envoy
Al Arabiya English/With AFP/29 June/2025
The Iran-Israel war has opened the way to a “new road” for the Middle East in which Turkey will have a key role to play, Washington’s ambassador to Ankara said Sunday. “What just happened between Israel and Iran is an opportunity for all of us to say: ‘Time out. Let’s create a new road’ (and) Turkiye is key in that new road,” Ambassador Tom Barrack, who is also the US special envoy to Syria, told the Anadolu state news agency. “The Middle East is ready to have a new dialogue, people are tired of the same old story,” he said, saying it was essential for decades-long enmities to be reframed.
Israel, he said, was “in the process of being redefined” and its regional neighbors needed to reach agreements with it. “(Syrian) President (Ahmed) al-Sharaa has indicated that he doesn’t hate Israel and that he wants peace on that border. I think that will also happen with Lebanon. It’s a necessity to have an agreement with Israel,” he said. What is happening in Syria is “in big part due to Turkey” – a key backer of the opposition forces who toppled Bashar al-Assad and now form the Damascus government – and Turkey could play a central role in changing the regional narrative, he said.
US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “see that this is an opportunity at a really interesting point in both of their lives where they can change the dialogue,” he said. “And dialogue in the Middle East takes strong leadership.”
Barrack also said he believed there would be a ceasefire soon in the deadly Gaza war which would also speed up a shift in regional thinking. “We’re going to see a ceasefire in Gaza in the near future, I think we have the right team on it,” he told Anadolu. “Everybody is starting to move back towards the Abraham Accords, especially as the Gaza situation dissipates,” he said referring to the US-sponsored agreements struck by Israel to normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. And he expressed confidence that Turkey and Israel – whose relationship has been shattered by the Gaza war -- would resume their former ties. “It can happen again, it’s not a religious issue, it’s a misunderstanding of territorial desires. So having a discussion, a dialogue ... will take place.”

Lebanon prepares response to US proposals: Hezbollah insists on US guarantees before disarmament
LBCI/June 29, 2025
Lebanon is making evident progress in preparing its response to the U.S. proposals presented by American envoy Tom Barrack, but officials say more time is needed for further discussions. This is the outcome of the ongoing work by the Lebanese advisory team tasked with drafting the official reply. Despite the secrecy surrounding the team's deliberations, sources confirmed that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the lead negotiator in coordination with Hezbollah, has requested additional time to consult with the group on several unresolved points. A response is expected within the next 48 hours.
Within Hezbollah, internal positions vary, with some leaders adopting hardline stances while others take a more moderate approach regarding the sensitive issue of disarmament. Observers believe this divergence may be part of a broader negotiation strategy. Hezbollah is demanding clear guarantees from the United States, particularly regarding the safety of its members. The group insists that it will not easily agree to disarm, citing significant security risks. Among Hezbollah's key demands is an end to Israeli attacks on its personnel and a phased Israeli withdrawal. Only after such steps, the group argues, will it consider gradually surrendering its weapons, warning that Israel could otherwise exploit the process to weaken its strategic leverage. Sources familiar with Hezbollah's position dismissed claims that recent tough rhetoric from the group's Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem was aimed at boosting Iran's bargaining power amid speculations of Tehran resuming talks with Washington. They argued that Iran already possesses sufficient leverage without additional maneuvers. Regarding the widely discussed demand for the Lebanese government to explicitly reaffirm its monopoly over arms possession, sources close to the Amal-Hezbollah duo maintain that no new decision is necessary. They point out that this principle was already endorsed during Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government when Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. Political sources involved in the negotiations believe that once progress is made on disarmament and a "step-for-step" framework is adopted, other critical files could see smoother resolutions. These include implementing economic reforms, controlling the cash economy, curbing smuggling across land borders, addressing customs violations, and reaching agreements with Syria to secure Lebanon's strategic vulnerabilities. Lebanon is also expected to propose solutions for the longstanding dispute over the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, including the deployment of international peacekeepers until the area's status is formally resolved through talks with Syria, backed by available documents from both sides. Although Washington has not set a strict deadline for receiving Lebanon's response, officials acknowledge that time is working against Beirut. Efforts are underway to finalize a unified presidential reply that incorporates answers and possible remarks. The response is set to be delivered to Barrack, who is expected to return to the region in the second week of July. In the meantime, concerns are mounting that Israel may once again resort to military escalation to apply pressure, with recent developments on the ground seen as clear indicators of that possibility.

Israeli army claims killing Hezbollah intelligence officer in South Lebanon
LBCI/June 29, 2025
The Israeli military claimed Saturday it killed a Hezbollah Radwan force intelligence officer in a strike on the town of Mahrouna in southern Lebanon.

Israeli strike targets house in Aita al-Shaab, South Lebanon
LBCI/June 29, 2025
An Israeli drone launched a missile strike early Sunday, targeting a house in the town of Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district, the National News Agency reported.

MP Hajj Hassan on normalization with Israel: We will not change our position
LBCI/June 29, 2025
Head of the Baalbek-Hermel bloc, MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, called on the Lebanese state to "fulfill its role alongside the Quintet Committee to stop Israeli attacks, secure the return of prisoners, and initiate reconstruction efforts."Hajj Hassan stressed that "Lebanese national issues are resolved among Lebanese themselves, and we have nothing to trade with the enemy under the pressure of bombardment, killings, and assassinations."He warned of ongoing attempts to impose normalization with Israel across the region as part of efforts to liquidate the Palestinian cause."As part of the Resistance Axis, we have confronted this issue over the past years and will not change our position," he affirmed. Hajj Hassan added that normalization with Israel contradicts the interests of Lebanon, Syria, and the broader region, including the very countries that have already normalized relations.

Wildfire erupts in Akkar's Qoubaiyat forests, rapidly spreads amid strong winds
LBCI/June 29, 2025
A massive wildfire broke out in the forested areas of Qoubaiyat in Akkar, consuming large stretches of woodland and causing significant damage to the region's natural resources. Civil Defense teams from Qobayat, Al Bireh, Munjez, Aaidmoun, Deir Janine, Aandqet, Chadra, Hisheh, and Wadi Khaled have been working tirelessly to extinguish the flames.However, strong winds have fueled the rapid spread of the fire, making containment efforts extremely difficult.

Report: Lebanon urges Israeli pullout in return for Hezbollah arms handover declaration
Naharnet /June 29, 2025
The Lebanese response to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s paper is based on the “step-for-step” principle, “contrary to the U.S. envoy’s paper which calls on the Lebanese side to be handed over Hezbollah’s arms as a gateway for U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from the South,” Lebanese officials told Al-Jadeed TV. “The Lebanese amendments include a proposal for synchronous steps by the two sides, starting by the Lebanese government’s declaration that Hezbollah’s arms will be handed over and followed by a gradual Israeli withdrawal from some border points, after which the process of handing over weapons in the North Litani area would begin, as a third phase synchronized with full Israeli withdrawal,” the sources added.The visitors of Ain el-Tineh and the Grand Serail meanwhile told Al-Jadeed that Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam were “relieved” after their meeting on Saturday.
“Berri assumed the responsibility of relaying the format to Hezbollah to obtain its official stance on it within the next two days,” the visitors said.

Qassem says Hezbollah 'capable of confronting Israelis'
Agence France Presse/June 29, 2025
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a Ashoura commemorations televised speech overnight that the "ongoing aggression" by Israel "must not be allowed to continue.""The (Lebanese) state must exert pressure, and it must fulfill all of its duties," he said, insisting Hezbollah had held up its end of the ceasefire bargain. "Do you imagine we will remain silent forever? No. Everything has its limits," he warned. He added that Hezbollah is “capable of confronting the Israelis” if needed and that it “can win” through performing “its duty, praying to God and depending on God.”
God “will send us his angels” to support us on the battlefield, Qassem went on to say. Stressing that Hezbollah should not hand over its weapons before Israel implements its part of the ceasefire agreement, Qassem warned: "Let no one mess with us, let no one play with us and let no one say that they are capable of subjugating us."

Israel strikes 2 homes in border towns after drones kill 3 Lebanese
Agence France Presse/June 29, 2025
Israeli drones fired two missiles at dawn Sunday at two homes in the southern border towns of Aita al-Shaab and Ramyeh, causing material damage, the state-run National News Agency reported. Israeli strikes had killed three people in southern Lebanon on Saturday. The Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli enemy drone strike on a car in Kounine, south Lebanon, killed one man and wounded another person. The Israeli military said the strike "eliminated the terrorist Hassan Mohammad Hammoudi", who it said was responsible for anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli territory during the recent war. In a second statement later on Saturday, the Health Ministry said a strike on a motorcycle in Mahrouna, near Tyre, resulted in "two martyrs and wounded one person," with one of the dead a woman. The Israeli military said it carried out a strike Saturday that "eliminated the terrorist Abbas Al-Hassan Wahbi in the area of Mahrouna in southern Lebanon.”The Israeli statement said Wahbi was a Hezbollah intelligence official "involved in efforts to rebuild Hezbollah and weapons transfers.""These activities constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," it said. The attacks came a day after Lebanon blamed Israel for strikes that killed a woman and wounded 25 others. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that the woman was killed in an Israeli drone strike on an apartment in the city of Nabatieh. But Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on social media that the army "did not target any civilian building", attributing the death to a Hezbollah rocket set off by an Israeli strike. The Israeli military said it had "identified rehabilitation attempts made by Hezbollah beforehand and struck terror infrastructure sites in the area."Adraee said the civilian building "was hit by a rocket that was inside the (fire and defense array) site and launched and exploded as a result of the strike."Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the November ceasefire aimed at ending over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country, but has kept them in five locations in south Lebanon that it deems strategic.

ISIS Ideology Persists in Lebanon, Recruitment Attempts Thwarted
Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/June 29, 2025
Is ISIS truly active in Lebanon? Following the suicide bombing that targeted Mar Elias Church in Damascus, concerns have resurfaced over ISIS’ threat in Lebanon. Notably, the political base of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) sought to exploit the tragedy to justify, firstly, the persisting presence of illegal weapons, and secondly, to launch political attacks against the Lebanese Force, since the latter does not view Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa as a political adversary. Both Hezbollah and the FPM appeared to amplify ISIS’ threat in Lebanon. Nevertheless, while some of this discourse may be politically motivated, it does not negate the fact that ISIS sympathizers do exist within Lebanon. These elements, however, remain under strict and close surveillance and control by Lebanese security. Security sources confirm that attempts to recruit Lebanese nationals into this terrorist group are ongoing. These efforts are being orchestrated from within Syria, targeting individuals in Lebanon who already espouse extremist ideologies. One such success involved a man known as Abu Saeed al-Shami, who was arrested last December. Al-Shami was identified as ISIS’ so-called “governor” of Lebanon, who resided in the Haddadin area of Tripoli. He managed to mobilize around 30 individuals — half of whom were knowingly involved, while the other half were unaware of serving a terrorist cause. This network, dismantled following his arrest, had been preparing terrorist operations through seven separate cells based in northern Lebanon. Their plans targeted various Lebanese areas, with intended attacks against the Lebanese Army and communities considered “enemies” by ISIS, such as Christians and Shiites. The group also planned assassinations of individuals labeled as “apostates” or “infidels.”
Despite the fall of Abu Saeed al-Shami, Syrian-based ISIS operatives continued their recruitment efforts. They succeeded in appointing a new “governor” for Lebanon, known as Qassoura, from the Beqaa region. He began laying the groundwork for terrorist activity, focusing on explosives — his area of expertise, as he is trained in chemistry. He reached out to several young men aiming to form operational cells affiliated with ISIS. He amassed weapons and ammunition and, more dangerously, sought to assemble and rig drones for use in terrorist attacks. However, he was also arrested by security forces.
Security sources state that Lebanese agencies are closely monitoring several individuals suspected of harboring ISIS ideology across various regions in Lebanon. So far, however, these individuals have not exhibited any active security threats, and there is no sufficient evidence to justify their arrest at this stage.
Following the Damascus church bombing, surveillance efforts have intensified, particularly in certain Lebanese areas and Syrian refugee camps. Lebanese security agencies are also closely tracking updates and findings from the Damascus investigation, seeking to identify whether any intelligence services may have exploited ISIS’ presence in the area to execute the bombing. It is suspected that the group may be infiltrated by several intelligence agencies, which could potentially deploy them in service of broader geopolitical agendas.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 29-30/2025
Netanyahu sees ‘opportunities’ to free Gaza hostages
AFP/June 29, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his country’s “victory” over Iran in their 12-day war had created “opportunities,” including for freeing hostages held in Gaza. “Many opportunities have opened up now following this victory. First of all, to rescue the hostages,” Netanyahu said in an address to officers of the security services. “Of course, we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both goals,” he added, referring to his country’s campaign to crush the Palestinian militant group. In a statement late Sunday, the main group representing hostages’ families welcomed “the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister.”“This is a very important statement that must translate into a single comprehensive deal to bring back all 50 hostages and end the fighting in Gaza,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Of these, 49 are still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas also holds the body of an Israeli soldier killed there in 2014. The forum called for the hostages’ “release, not rescue.”“The only way to free them all is through a comprehensive deal and an end to the fighting, without rescue operations that endanger both the hostages and (Israeli) soldiers.”

Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
AFP/June 29, 2025
JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Sunday postponed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial after he requested a delay, as US President Donald Trump called for the case to be thrown out. “Following the explanations given... we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr.Netanyahu’s hearings scheduled” for this week, the Jerusalem district court said in its ruling, published online by Netanyahu’s Likud party. Netanyahu’s lawyers had asked the court to excuse him from testifying over the next two weeks so he could focus on security issues following a ceasefire with Iran and amid ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held. They had submitted Netanyahu’s schedule to the court to demonstrate “the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand.”The court initially rejected the lawyers’ request but said in its ruling on Sunday that it had changed its judgment after hearing arguments from the prime minister, the head of military intelligence and the chief of the Mossad spy agency. Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “not going to stand” for the continued prosecution, prompting Netanyahu to thank him in a message on X. Earlier in the week, the US president had described the case against the Israeli premier as a “witch hunt,” saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid reacted by saying that Trump “should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country.”Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in the corruption affair and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated. In one of the cases, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. In two others, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.
The prime minister has requested multiple postponements to the trial since it began in May 2020. During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu’s government has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts and prompted massive protests that were only curtailed by the onset of the Gaza war. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, former prime minister Naftali Bennett accused Netanyahu of deepening divisions in Israeli society, and said that he “must go.”Netanyahu “has been in power for 20 years... that’s too much, it’s not healthy,” Bennett said. The former right-wing premier managed to form a coalition in 2021 that ousted Netanyahu from the premiership after 12 consecutive years, but it collapsed before the end of the following year. Bennett is rumored to be planning a comeback, with public opinion polls suggesting he may have enough support to oust Netanyahu again. He declined to comment on that prospect in Saturday’s interview.

Trump says 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's continued prosecution
Agence France Presse/29 June/2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States was "not going to stand" for the continued prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. "The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Netanyahu responded on X, saying "thank you again" and promising that "together, we... will make the Middle East Great Again!".An Israeli court on Friday rejected Netanyahu's request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, ruling that he had not provided adequate justification for his request. In one case, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has thanked Trump for his support in Israel's war with Iran, which saw a ceasefire agreement earlier this week. His lawyer had asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needs to concentrate on "security issues."Trump on Wednesday sprung to Netanyahu's defense, describing the case against him as a "witch hunt."On Saturday, he described Netanyahu as a "War Hero" and said the case would distract the prime minister from negotiations with Iran and with Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian armed group that Israel is at war with. "This travesty of 'Justice' will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations," said Trump, although it was unclear what negotiations he was referring to with regards to Iran. Hamas took 251 hostages during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, with 49 still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Talks are ongoing for the return of the remaining hostages and the bodies of those killed, while Israel's punishing war on Gaza continues unabated.
The U.S. leader also likened Netanyahu's legal troubles to his own before he took office for his second term. "It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure," said Trump. The Republican was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024 in a case related to hush money payments to a porn star. Trump also faced two federal cases, one related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Iran releases death toll of Israel’s Evin prison attack as officials remain suspicious of ceasefire
FARNOUSH AMIRI and DAVID RISING/AP/June 29, 2025
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dozens of staff members, two inmates and a bystander were the casualties of Israel's attack last week on Tehran's Evin prison, a notorious facility where many political prisoners and dissidents have been held. The death toll of the strike was released Sunday by Iran's judiciary and confirmed by human rights groups as the one-week mark of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran approaches, despite suspicions from both sides of whether the truce will hold. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir posted on the office’s official Mizan news agency website that at least 71 people were killed on Monday, including staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families. While officials did not provide a breakdown of the casualty figures, the Washington-based Human Rights Activists in Iran said that at least 35 were staff members and two were inmates. Others killed included a person walking in the prison vicinity and a woman who went to meet a judge about her imprisoned husband’s case, the organization said. The June 23 attack, the day before the ceasefire between Israel and Iran took hold, hit several prison buildings and prompted concerns from rights groups about the safety of the inmates. It remains unclear why Israel targeted the prison, but it came on a day when the Defense Ministry said it was attacking “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.”The news of the prison attack was quickly overshadowed by an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Qatar later that same day, which caused no casualties, and the announcement of the ceasefire. On the day of the attack, the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of the Iranian regime's repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.
Prison attack came near the end of 12 days of strikes
Over the 12 days before a ceasefire was declared, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 of them civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group. In retaliation, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said in a Saturday letter to United Nations officials that the international body should recognize Israel and the U.S. “as the initiators of the act of aggression” against Iran over the war and that their targeting of sovereign country and its people should require “compensation and reparation."“The Security Council should also hold the aggressors accountable and prevent the recurrence of such heinous and serious crimes to enable it to maintain international peace and security,” Araghchi said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. At the same time, advocates have said that Iran was legally obligated to protect the prisoners held in Evin, and slammed authorities in Tehran for their “failure to evacuate, provide medical assistance or inform families” following the attack. Jahangir said some of the injured were treated on-site, while others were taken to hospitals. Iran had not previously announced any death figures, though on Saturday, it confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar — whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, led to widespread criticism by human rights groups — had been killed in the attack. He was one of about 60 people for whom a massive public funeral procession was held on Saturday in Tehran, and he was to be buried at a shrine in Qom on Sunday. Iran worries whether the ceasefire will hold. While both Israel and Iran have been adhering to the truce, Iranian officials raised suspicions Sunday about whether the other side would continue to keep its word.
Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of staff for Iran's armed forces, said in a conversation with Saudi Arabia's defense minister that the country is prepared if there were to be another surprise Israeli attack. “We did not initiate the war, but we responded to the aggressor with all our might, and since we have complete doubts about the enemy’s adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give them a strong response if they repeat the aggression,” Mousavi said, according to Iranian state TV agency IRNA.
It's unclear how much damage was done to the nuclear program
Meanwhile, a lot remained unclear about the status of Iran's nuclear program, which incited the initial Israeli attack. U.S. President Donald Trump says American strikes “obliterated” the program while Iranians say that he's exaggerating. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview set to air Sunday that Iran's capacities remain but it is impossible to know the timeline or access the full damage to the program unless inspectors are allowed in, which Iranian officials have not allowed. “It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it’s not total damage, first of all. And secondly, Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.”

Iran says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Reuters/June 29, 2025
DUBAI -Israel's attack on the Evin Prison in Iran's capital Tehran on June 23 killed 71 people, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Sunday. At the end of an air war with Iran, Israel struck Tehran's most notorious jail for political prisoners, in a demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim at symbols of Iran's ruling system. “In the attack on Evin prison, 71 people were martyred including administrative staff, youth doing their military service, detainees, family members of detainees who were visiting them and neighbours who lived in the prison’s vicinity,” Jahangir said in remarks carried on the judiciary's news outlet Mizan.Jahangir had previously said that part of Evin prison's administrative building had been damaged in the attack and people were killed and injured. The judiciary added that remaining detainees had been transferred to other prisons in Tehran province.Evin prison holds a number of foreign nationals, including two French citizens detained for three years. "The strike targeting Evin prison in Tehran, put our citizens Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris in danger. It is unacceptable," France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had said on social media X after the attack.

Iran says no threat to UN nuclear watchdog chief, inspectors after call for execution
AFP/29 June/2025
Iran said Sunday it posed no threat to the head of the UN nuclear watchdog and its inspectors after an Iranian newspaper called for the execution of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi. “No, there is not any threat” against the inspectors or the director general, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said in an interview with US broadcaster CBS when asked about calls in an ultra-conservative newspaper for the agency’s chief to be executed as a spy. The ambassador said inspectors in Iran were “in safe conditions.”On Saturday, Argentina condemned what it said were threats against Argentine Grossi after Iran rejected his request to visit nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States. Tehran has accused Grossi of “betrayal of his duties” for not condemning the Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites this month, and Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA which he leads. On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that “Grossi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent.”Iran has said it believes an IAEA resolution on June 12 that accused Iran of ignoring its nuclear obligations served as an “excuse” for the 12-day war Israel launched on June 13.

Intercepted Iranian communications downplay damage from US attack, Washington Post reports
Reuters/June 29, 2025
WASHINGTON -Intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government. A source, who declined to be named, confirmed that account to Reuters but said there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators. The report by the Post is the latest, however, to raise questions about the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program. A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency cautioned the strikes may have only set back Iran by months. President Donald Trump has said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, but U.S. officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the U.S. military strikes last weekend. The White House dismissed the report by the Post. "The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was quoted as saying by the Post. In an interview broadcast on Sunday on Fox News, Trump reiterated his confidence that the strikes had destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities. "It was obliterated like nobody's ever seen before. And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time," he said on the "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" program.

Court cancels Israel PM Netanyahu's trial hearings this week
Maayan Lubell/Reuters/June 29, 2025
JERUSALEM /The Jerusalem District Court cancelled this week's hearings in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial, accepting a request the Israeli leader made citing classified diplomatic and security grounds. It was unclear whether a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump influenced the court's decision. Trump suggested the trial could interfere with Netanyahu’s ability to join negotiations with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran. The ruling, seen by Reuters, said that new reasons provided by Netanyahu, the head of Israel's spy agency Mossad and the military intelligence chief justified cancelling the hearings. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies. He has cast the trial against him as an orchestrated left-wing witch-hunt meant to topple a democratically elected right-wing leader.
On Friday, the court rejected a request by Netanyahu to delay his testimony for the next two weeks because of diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which ended last Tuesday. He was due to take the stand on Monday for cross-examination. "It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu," Trump said in a Truth Social post. He said Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to "stand for this". A spokesperson for the Israeli prosecution declined to comment on Trump's post. Netanyahu on X retweeted Trump's post and added: "Thank you again, @realDonaldTrump. Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!" Trump said Netanyahu was "right now" negotiating a deal with Hamas, though neither leader provided details, and officials from both sides have voiced scepticism over prospects for a ceasefire soon. On Friday, the Republican president told reporters he believed a ceasefire was close. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Thousands attend Iranian state funerals for victims of Iran-Israel conflict
Simon Corlett/UPI/June 29, 2025
Funeral processions got underway in Tehran Saturday, for around 60 people killed in the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked the hundreds of thousands of mourners who attended the funerals for those killed, which included high-ranking military officers and nuclear scientists in addition to civilians. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you dear people; With love, you bid farewell to the martyrs of our homeland, and our voice of unity reached the ears of the world," Pezeshkian said on X, in a post translated to English.
"Serving such a noble nation is the honor of my life," he wrote. "Forever Iran."The post was accompanied by photos of people waving flags and banners lining the streets of the Iranian capital for the state funerals. Chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" could also be heard among the crowd. The event was also broadcast on Iranian state television. Pezeshkian marched in the funeral procession. The Iranian president and state-run Islamic Republic News Agency referred to those killed as "martyrs." The IRNA also said around 90 military members and more than 10 leading scientists were among the around 600 people killed in the Israeli attacks. There was no mention during Saturday's funeral proceedings by local media of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei earlier in the week declared "victory" over the United States, following the American bombardment of three Iranian nuclear facilities. The airstrikes carried out by the U.S. Air Force' B-2 Spirit bombers came following 12 days of various attacks on elements of Iran's military by the Israel Defense Forces. Khamenei told state media the American bombing "achieved nothing." However, on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi admitted the country's nuclear facilities "have been seriously damaged."Araghchi attended the funerals Saturday, calling the deaths "hard and painful," while promising "new glory" for Iran. The countries "don't have anything scheduled as of now," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday in response to a question about planned talks between the two nations. Israel and Iran remain in a tense ceasefire that was brokered by the United States. "It was so bad they ended the war," Trump said earlier in the week of the American bombing on Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel has accused Iran of violating terms of the ceasefire, ordering new attacks in retaliation before the current peace was reached. Israeli forces continued military operations Saturday, killing at least 20 people in a bombing operation in Gaza. The strikes on the Palestinian enclave come one day after the IDF attacked suspected positions held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing one and injuring more than a dozen others.

Political earthquake in Israel: Trump boldly intervenes in Netanyahu trial
LBCI/29 June ,2025
Israel woke up Sunday to what many described as a political earthquake shaking the foundations of the country's judiciary and democratic image. This time, the turmoil was not triggered by threats to the ruling coalition or pressure from religious hardliners but by an unprecedented intervention from former U.S. President Donald Trump. In a statement issued at dawn, Trump openly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial, warning that the legal proceedings could undermine Netanyahu's ability to negotiate with Hamas and Iran. Trump effectively linked Netanyahu's political survival to Israel's military and diplomatic priorities, suggesting that clearing Netanyahu of charges is a necessary step to end the Gaza war and maintain U.S. military support for Israel. Trump, eager to secure a Middle East deal that could pave his way to a Nobel Peace Prize, has pushed to remove any obstacles to what he envisions as a comprehensive regional agreement. His outspoken defense of Netanyahu, who faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, has deepened internal divisions in Israel, with critics describing Trump's remarks as a political bombshell that turned Netanyahu into a pawn in Trump's broader strategic ambitions. In response to growing tensions, Israeli judges postponed Netanyahu's trial sessions for the coming week, citing classified security briefings from the heads of Mossad and Military Intelligence. As Netanyahu chaired an emergency cabinet meeting focused on the Gaza war and ongoing efforts to secure a hostage deal, political sources downplayed the likelihood of breakthroughs before Netanyahu travels to Washington in two weeks. The only tangible progress expected in the short term is the expansion of the Abraham Accords. Talks are reportedly advancing with three countries: Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. Ahead of the high-stakes Netanyahu-Trump meeting, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is scheduled to visit Washington on Monday to discuss the Abraham Accords and hostage negotiations. Meanwhile, all eyes remain on Netanyahu's trial, which has been temporarily delayed but continues to cast a shadow over Israel's political landscape.

Iran says has ‘serious doubts’ over Israel’s commitment to ceasefire
AFP/29 June ,2025
Iran on Sunday said it was not convinced Israel would abide by a ceasefire that ended their 12-day war this week. The most serious escalation to date between the arch-foes erupted on June 13, when Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that killed top military commanders and scientists linked to its disputed nuclear program. Israel said its aim was to keep the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon -- an ambition Tehran has consistently denied, insisting it has the right to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes like energy. The fighting derailed nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, a staunch ally of Israel’s. “We did not start the war, but we have responded to the aggressor with all our power,” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was quoted as saying by state television, referring to Israel. “We have serious doubts over the enemy’s compliance with its commitments including the ceasefire, we are ready to respond with force” if attacked again, he added, six days into the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
Deadly war
The United States joined Israel in its campaign during the war, carrying out strikes on three key facilities used for Iran’s atomic program. Trump has threatened further strikes should Iran enrich uranium to levels capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent in 2021, well above the 3.67 percent limit set by a 2015 agreement from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018. The make a weapon, Iran would need to enrich uranium up to 90 percent. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads. According to Iran’s health ministry, at least 627 civilians were killed and 4,900 injured during the 12-day war with Israel. Retaliatory missile attacks by Iran on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli authorities. During the war, Iran arrested dozens of people it accused of spying for Israel, also saying it seized equipment including drones and weapons. Iran’s parliament on Sunday voted to ban the unauthorized use of communications equipment, including tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service, according to the official news agency IRNA.
‘Unacceptable’
An Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin prison during the war killed at least 71 people, Iran’s judiciary said Sunday. The strike on Monday destroyed part of the administrative building at Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals. According to judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir, the victims at Evin included administrative staff, guards, prisoners and visiting relatives as well as people living nearby. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that detained French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held at Evin for three years, were not believed to have been harmed by the Israeli strike, which he described as “unacceptable.”On Tuesday, a day after the strike, the judiciary said that the Iranian prison authority had transferred inmates out of Evin prison, without specifying their number or identifying them. The inmates at Evin have included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi as well as several French nationals and other foreigners.

Turkey spy chief talks Gaza truce with senior Hamas leader
AFP/29 June/2025
Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met a senior Hamas leader on Sunday for talks on Gaza’s humanitarian tragedy and efforts to reach a ceasefire, state news agency Anadolu reported. Kalin held talks with Mohammed Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas that rules Gaza, and his delegation at an undisclosed location, Anadolu said, citing security sources. They discussed the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and Turkey’s efforts to end the war and “ensure the immediate passage of aid” to the territory.
They also spoke of “the need to reach a consensus among Palestinian groups during this critical period ... (and) the steps to be taken to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” the sources said. The meeting came after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying Friday it could happen “within the next week.” Mediators have engaged in months of negotiations aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza, where Israel stopped all food entering over two months ago, leading to warnings of famine. It has since allowed a resumption of food deliveries through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation involving US security contractors, with Israeli troops at the periphery. Witnesses and Gaza officials have reported multiple instances of Palestinians being killed while trying to get aid.

Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces kill 17, including children
AFP/June 29, 2025
Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes and gunfire killed at least 17 people including three children in the war-stricken Palestinian territory on Sunday. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that 16 people died in air strikes at five locations around the Gaza Strip, and another from Israeli fire near an aid distribution center.The Israeli military said it was not able to comment on the reported incidents but said it was fighting “to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” in a campaign launched in 2023 against the Islamist militant group whose attack on Israel triggered the war.
Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers. Bassal said two children were killed in an air strike on their home in Gaza City’s Zeitun neighborhood in the early morning, and “the house was completely destroyed.” A member of the family, Abdel Rahman Azzam, 45, said he was at home and “heard a huge explosion at my relative’s house.”“I rushed out in panic and saw the house destroyed and on fire,” he added. “We evacuated more than 20 injured people, including two martyrs — two children from the family. The screams of children and women were non-stop,” Azzam said. “They bombed the house with a missile without any prior warning. This is a horrific crime. We sleep without knowing if we will wake up.”Elsewhere, Bassal said a drone strike on a tent housing displaced people near the southern city of Khan Yunis killed five people including a child. He said that other casualties included a young man killed “by Israeli fire this morning while waiting for aid” near a humanitarian distribution center in the southern city of Rafah. The Israeli military issued an evacuation order on Sunday for parts of Gaza City and nearby areas in the territory’s north, warning of imminent action there. The military “will operate with intense force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand... to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organizations,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement posted on X.
He told residents to “evacuate immediately south” to Al-Mawasi area on the coast. The civil defense agency later said an Israeli air strike hit a house in Gaza City, killing three people. Israel launched its offensive in October 2023 in response to the deadly Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,412 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages.

Egyptian foreign minister urges recognition of Palestine in talks with EU envoy to Middle East
Arab News/June 29, 2025
LONDON: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday emphasized the urgent need to recognize Palestinian statehood on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He made his comment during a meeting in Cairo with Christophe Bigot, the EU’s special representative for the Middle East peace process. Abdelatty said that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the only way to achieve lasting peace, security and stability in the region, the Wafa news agency reported. He hoped for the broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and for the organization of an international conference aimed at resolving the Palestinian issue through peaceful means. Abdelatty’s remarks followed those of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said on Sunday during an interview with the French LCI news channel that France is “determined to recognize the State of Palestine,” emphasizing the urgent need for international action in light of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. A French-Saudi conference to drum up international support for the recognition of the state of Palestine was due to start in mid-June, but the organizers postponed it because of the Iranian-Israeli conflict and elevated tensions in the region. “We are committed to recognizing the state of Palestine, and this will happen as part of a joint initiative that encourages all parties to create the necessary conditions for the establishment of that state,” Barrot said. He called the killing of hundreds of Palestinian aid seekers by Israeli forces in recent weeks in Gaza “a disgrace and an affront to human dignity.”

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 29-30/2025
Bravo, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu — You Are Doing What the Whole World Failed to Do
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2025
What Israel, along with the United States, has done in the past two years far surpasses anything the self-proclaimed defenders of freedom in Brussels or Berlin have done in the past 80 years. As European leaders lecture Israel about ceasefires, "de-escalation", "proportionality" and "restraint" from the comfort of their distant homes and elegant dinners, Israel has dismantled, destabilized, and struck a crippling blow to four terrorist regimes and organizations, the Iran and its proxies as well as Syria's Assad regime — all while under constant attack. It is a miracle of military strategy, intelligence precision and moral clarity. The world owes this tiny, demonized nation, its defense forces, Netanyahu and Trump a massive debt of gratitude as well as a Nobel Peace Prize.
The West has been feeding a lot of crocodiles for far too long. Giving the Iranian regime sanctions relief, nuclear deals, and diplomatic back channels, the so-called liberal world order enabled the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its lavishly funded war machine. Israel has been doing the dirty work that Western powers refused to do -- all of them.
Israel has not just been fighting for its own people — it is fighting to prevent World War III. If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, no capital in the free world would be safe. Iran's ruling ayatollahs do not just hate Jews. They hate Christians and all "unbelievers" in Allah. They hate the West. They hate freedom. There is no reason to think they would not have used a nuclear bomb. Just look at what their barrages of ballistic missiles without nuclear warheads did to one tiny nation, the size of New Jersey.
Israel did not stop there. Israel, with Trump delivering the difficult final blow, launched the most daring, comprehensive, and devastating strikes inside Iranian territory in modern history. Israel's operation alone, called "Rising Lion," targeted more than 100 strategic sites tied to Iran's nuclear weapons program. That program, costing the Iranian people $2-3 trillion, and decades in the making, took a fatal hit in less than 37 hours. This was not just a series of airstrikes -- it was a message to every tyrant: if you aim to annihilate Israel, if you chant "Death to America," if you fund terror across the globe, there will be consequences.
Thanks to Trump and Netanyahu, the world now knows what real leadership looks like.
[W]ill the West finally grow a spine and stand with Israel?... At the very least, if they are too scared to lead, they should fully support the small country that led unapologetically. Let Israel lead. Let Israel strike. Let Israel save the world from the nightmare that the rest allowed to fester.
Peace is not achieved through weakness, funding the enemy, legitimizing terror organizations or tolerating genocidal regimes. Peace comes from defeating them.
The democracies of the world -- the peace lovers, the free thinkers, the believers in Western civilization -- owe Israel not just thanks, but allegiance. In just two years, this tiny nation has done more to safeguard global security than the entire EU, the UN, and most of the free world combined -- which were busy condemning it and protesting against it.
What the international community and Western powers lacked the spine to do, tiny Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's steady leadership and US President Donald Trump's historic decision, put an end to the charade and finally delivered the blows to Iran's nuclear weapons program that needed to be dealt.
For decades, when it came to confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran, the so-called "international community," particularly the Western powers that pride themselves on being defenders of democracy and human rights, chose cowardice over conviction. Instead of drawing a red line then sticking to it, they drew circles. Instead of acting, they offered concession after concession. They fed the beast and even funded its industry of death. They threw Israel under the bus again and again to placate tyrants. They talked about diplomacy while Iran built centrifuges, enriched uranium, and spread terror throughout Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and even inside Iran. This year alone, 2025, Iran's regime has already conducted 1,700 executions – and it is only June.
All the while, Iran has kept pushing, inch by inch, toward its dream of acquiring nuclear weapons — and no one had the courage to stop them. No one... except Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
After the savage invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023 by Iran-backed Hamas, in an age where global leaders are more concerned with virtue signaling and hosting summits that accomplish nothing, it took the Jewish state — tiny, isolated, hated by the media and universities — to stand up and say, "Enough." While the West wrung its hands, and its bureaucrats talked about "proportionality" and restraint, Israel acted -- not just for its own survival, but for the security of the free world. Israel did what the international community, the West and the United Nations would never do -- and what NATO would never even dream of. What the international community and Western powers lacked the spine to do, tiny Israel, under Netanyahu's steady leadership and Trump's historic decision, put an end to the charade and finally delivered the blows that needed to be dealt.
Since the horrific October 7 massacre, when Hamas butchered, raped, burned, and kidnapped Israeli civilians — men, women, the elderly, children and even babies — Israel has been on a relentless and unapologetic campaign to uproot terrorism at its roots. This has not just been about retaliation; it is about making sure that evil does not get rewarded with more money and more legitimacy – again. Israel dismantled Hamas's infrastructure in Gaza, and decimated Lebanon's Hezbollah, which had for years provided Syria's Assad regime with critical military support.
Israel took out weapons shipments and terror command centers in Syria, which directly led to the collapse of the Assad regime. Late in 2024, in a period of 10 days, the designated terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa advanced his forces and finally ended the reign of slaughter and chemical attacks by Bashar al-Assad.
Israel did not stop there. Israel, with Trump delivering the difficult final blow, launched the most daring, comprehensive, and devastating strikes inside Iranian territory in modern history. Israel's operation alone, called "Rising Lion," targeted more than 100 strategic sites tied to Iran's nuclear weapons program. That program, costing the Iranian people $2-3 trillion, and decades in the making, took a fatal hit in less than 37 hours. This was not just a series of airstrikes -- it was a message to every tyrant: if you aim to annihilate Israel, if you chant "Death to America," if you fund terror across the globe, there will be consequences.
Thanks to Trump and Netanyahu, the world now knows what real leadership looks like.
Even more impressively, Israel managed to assassinate some of the highest-ranking military leaders of the Iranian regime. The commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami, is dead. IRGC Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri is dead. At least 14 nuclear scientists, critical to Iran's atomic weapons program, have been neutralized. These were men plotting a second Holocaust while hiding behind diplomacy and Western cowardice.
Israel did not wait for permission. It did what needed to be done.
What Israel, along with the United States, has done in the past two years far surpasses anything the self-proclaimed defenders of freedom in Brussels or Berlin have done in the past 80 years. As European leaders lecture Israel about ceasefires, "de-escalation", "proportionality" and "restraint" from the comfort of their distant homes and elegant dinners, Israel has dismantled, destabilized, and struck a crippling blow to four terrorist regimes and organizations, the Iran and its proxies as well as Syria's Assad regime — all while under constant attack. It is a miracle of military strategy, intelligence precision and moral clarity. The world owes this tiny, demonized nation, its defense forces, Netanyahu and Trump a massive debt of gratitude as well as a Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel did what Winston Churchill warned that the West needed to do back in the 1930s —when appeasement gave Hitler the space he needed to unleash World War II. Churchill's warning could not be more relevant today: "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last."
The West has been feeding a lot of crocodiles for far too long. Giving the Iranian regime sanctions relief, nuclear deals, and diplomatic back channels, the so-called liberal world order enabled the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its lavishly funded war machine. Israel has been doing the dirty work that Western powers refused to do -- all of them.
Israel has not just been fighting for its own people — it is fighting to prevent World War III. If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, no capital in the free world would be safe. Iran's ruling ayatollahs do not just hate Jews. They hate Christians and all "unbelievers" in Allah. They hate the West. They hate freedom. There is no reason to think they would not have used a nuclear bomb. Just look at what their barrages of ballistic missiles without nuclear warheads did to one tiny nation, the size of New Jersey.
Now that Israel, its military, Trump and the great U.S. Air Force have acted with unmatched courage, the question becomes: will the West finally grow a spine and stand with Israel? Will they stop hiding behind "peace conferences" and empty UN resolutions, and finally support the one country that is actually securing peace through strength? At the very least, if they are too scared to lead, they should fully support the small country that led unapologetically. Let Israel lead. Let Israel strike. Let Israel save the world from the nightmare that the rest allowed to fester.
Peace is not achieved through weakness, funding the enemy, legitimizing terror organizations or tolerating genocidal regimes. Peace comes from defeating them. The world learned this the hard way in the 20th century, and too many people have become too dangerously close to forgetting it. Netanyahu and Trump did not forget. That is why they stand alone — victorious. It is time to stop treating Israel like a burden or a pariah, and start recognizing it as the moral and military powerhouse that it is.
The democracies of the world -- the peace lovers, the free thinkers, the believers in Western civilization -- owe Israel not just thanks, but allegiance. In just two years, this tiny nation has done more to safeguard global security than the entire EU, the UN, and most of the free world combined -- which were busy condemning it and protesting against it. Israel deserves admiration, not sanctimony. It deserves support, not sanctions. If the rest of the free world is too cowardly to act, then at the very least, they should hide behind Israel's courage and pray that, with the partnership of the far-sighted Trump, it keeps winning. If Israel falls, the rest of the West is next. Stand with Israel, or fall with your silence.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
**Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21705/bravo-trump-netanyahu

Toward President Trump's 'MIGA!': Making Iran Great Again
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2025
Iran's regime has not only been committed for nearly half a century to "Death to Israel" and – as "a policy," according to Iran's Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei -- to "Death to America." To implement this policy, the regime has also been committed to acquiring nuclear weapons and the intercontinental ballistic missiles to fire them across the Atlantic.
The Iranian regime, by violating US President Donald J. Trump's ceasefire after only four hours, did the world a great favor. It should now be clear, if it was not, before, that Iran's government -- called by the US Department of State, the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism for the 39th year running," -- does not look as if it will suddenly agree to become the compete opposite of itself.
As big-hearted as it is for Trump -- who deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing an end to the war with Iran in just 12 days, and the US operation in just 37 hours -- to agree to talks with Iran's ruling mullahs, in Shiite Islam, unfortunately, whenever Islam might appear under threat, dissimulation, taqiyya, is recommended.
The Iranian regime would doubtless be delighted to negotiate forever. It is a perfect way to run out the clock, especially by claiming at each near-breaking point to be "this close" to a solution. The regime has skillfully been orchestrating this kind of "diplomacy" for 46 years.
If Trump thinks that Iran's mullahs will actually comply with any agreement they make -- such as to stop trying to obtain nuclear weapons; to stop their policy of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America;" or stop arming terrorist proxies in neighboring countries; or stop having their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) brutalize their own citizens, or actually permitting "anywhere-anytime" nuclear inspections by Israel and the US – he could be in for a shock.
Trump, in fact, appears to know as much. He has already said that "a nuclear deal would not be necessary" -- meaning, it seems, that he realizes he will not get one. Any "handshake" agreement, of course, would most certainly be reversed at the end of his term, if not sooner, and only serve as a green light for the mullahs to wait him out, get rich and rearmed, and then, as soon as the coast is clear, get back to doing what they really want: "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."
As the Iranian author Amir Taheri (and, full disclosure: chairman of Gatestone Europe) notes today:
"This time it was, again, the United States to remove the cup of victory from their lips.
"The do-gooders who imposed the fishtail outcome forgot that the duty of a war is to change an unstable status quo and replace it by a new one acceptable to protagonists, by clearly designating a victor and a vanquished....
"The do-gooders and peddlers of ceasefire turn war into a knife that remains in the wound, to be turned again and again.
"In other words, in some cases, ceasefire could be an enemy of peace."
Iran's regime has not only been committed for nearly half a century to "Death to Israel" and – as "a policy," according to Iran's Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei -- to "Death to America." To implement this policy, the regime has also been committed to acquiring nuclear weapons and the intercontinental ballistic missiles to fire them across the Atlantic. Who do you suppose is there?
Iran already has ballistic missiles that carry a one-ton warhead, which have devastated entire city blocks. It is currently on the way to producing missiles tipped with a two-ton warhead, which might efficiently destroy even larger areas. In addition, Iran's regime has been suppressing, poisoning, arresting, raping, torturing and executing its own citizens in record numbers. In 2025 alone, Iran's regime has already executed 1,700 people -- and it is not even July.
"Those who are prepared to treat their own people badly," wrote the Russian dissident Natan Sharansky in A Case for Democracy, co-authored with Ron Dermer, now Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, "are likely to treat others even worse."
The question regarding Iran, then, is what to do with it?
The good news is that the Iranian regime is not the same as the Iranian people. In 2009, 2011 and 2012, the Iranian people came out onto the streets begging then US President Barack Obama to help them overturn their brutal regime. Instead, Obama ignored them and effectively underwrote the mullahs' war machine (here, here and here).
Last week, there were hopes that the regime's dissidents might finally take over. On June 23, in a precision airstrike, Israel blew the entrance gate off Tehran's horrific Evin Prison, where most political prisoners are held, presumably to encourage dissidents to take to the streets again to spark a change, the same way the former trade union leader Lech Walesa did to free Poland from the Soviet Union in 1989.
Regrettably, as in Venezuela, civilians in Iran are forbidden to have guns – clearly to keep them defenseless -- the reason for the United States' Second Amendment.
"Iran," The Telegraph reported last week, is "'hiding thousands of centrifuges' to build nuclear bomb," adding: "The IRGC is growing in power, influence and control, according to one well placed Iranian source."
The Economist backed that up with a report headlined, "Fierce hardliners are grabbing power in Iran."
In recent days, Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested more than 700 people accused of ties with Israel – with who knows what kind of unimaginable "trial." Three of those have already been sentenced to death for "espionage." This is the regime that Trump will leave in place?
Secular thugs might be preferable to religious thugs, but still seem less than an ideal solution. The West brilliantly defeated Lenin and Stalin, only to come up with -- Vladimir Putin, a KGB graduate and mass-murderer?
Sadly, the idea of "nation-building" has become only slightly less popular than a diagnosis of cancer, yet if one looks at the thumping successes of Germany and Japan after World War II, what is clear is that nation-building can work – just not if it is done atrociously, which is true of anything. Just because all surgeries do not necessarily end well, does not mean that one should never undergo surgery. One just wants to make sure that any plan is as carefully thought-through beforehand as Trump's assault on Iran's nuclear installations was, and that it would be administered by no-nonsense people who are, for a change, genuinely competent.
In their book, Sharansky and Dermer stated that many countries can be categorized as "countries of freedom" or "countries of fear." The biggest mistake that the West made, the authors suggested, was to assume that elections are the same thing as democracy. They are not. Elections, Sharansky and Dermer insisted, must come after other institutions of democracy are solidly in place and running smoothly, not before then. These institutions include property rights; equal justice under the law; separation of religion and state; freedom of religion and from religion; a free judiciary separate from the government; freedom of the press, and -- above all -- freedom of speech. A country is free, the book maintains, only when a citizen can stand in the town square and criticize the government without fear of retribution.
At present, since operatives were able to quietly work inside Iran to bring down its two-trillion-dollar nuclear weapons program, why could operatives not also quietly work to guide the Iranian people who wish to have a free government toward a new free, peaceful and prosperous way of life?
It is a transition that admittedly cannot be done in a week – it took four years before the Germans could elect Chancellor Konrad Adenauer – but that transition was not necessarily going to happen all by itself. It was cautiously nursed into place.
The West seems to have condemned itself to look only for quick fixes, possibly so politicians can get the quick-fix credit they need to run for reelection. So many problems are unaddressed, for instance the crisis in mental health, because politicians cannot see a quick credit in fixing it.
What seems to be missing to "Make Iran Great Again: MIGA!" -- as with the failure of every previous US administration to confront Iran's nuclear threat, as Trump so brilliantly did last week -- is the political will.
Perhaps, in order not to create more North Koreas, Russias or failed states, a bit of help in Iran would go a long way to making not just Iran "Great Again," but the complete Middle East.
**Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21707/making-iran-great-again

How news from the Middle East is shaping Gen Z’s mental well-being
Sherouk Zakaria/Arab News/June 29, 2025
DUBAI: Gen Z — those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s — consumes more news than any other type of content, according to a new study unveiled by the UNICEF-led Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health — a finding that many may find surprising.
What is less surprising, however, is the emotional toll that constant exposure to global headlines appears to be taking on young people.
The study, based on a survey of more than 5,600 people aged 14 to 25 globally, found that 60 percent of Zoomers reported feeling overwhelmed by the news. Despite these pressures, they remain determined to contribute to shaping a better future.
In a statement to Arab News, Dr. Zeinab Hijazi, UNICEF’s global lead on mental health, said such anxieties are shaped by a combination of geopolitical conflict, climate and ecological crisis, and economic uncertainty.
Screen grab from a Youtube video showing Dr. Zeinab Hijazi, UNICEF’s global lead on mental health, talking about mental health issues.
“For many, especially young people, the weight of these overlapping crises is not abstract — it’s deeply personal, showing up in their minds, their bodies, and their sense of hope for the future,” said Hijazi.
The study, which was unveiled at the Social Innovation Summit in San Francisco, raises concerns that feelings of being overwhelmed and disempowered may be eroding young people’s sense of agency.
This is hindering their ability to help shape the future they envision for themselves and generations to come. This impact on mental health is compounded, the study states, by inadequate support and services available to young people.
“It can feel as though we are caught in a constant storm of challenges, with little control over the forces shaping our world,” said Hijazi.
Given its serious repercussions, Hijazi emphasized that mental health should not be treated as a side effect of global disruption, but as a central pillar of collective efforts to empower youth in shaping a better future.
While Gen Z tends to feel connected and engaged with world events, around 67 percent of the global cohort reported feeling overwhelmed after exposure to news or events in the world, more than news in their country (60 percent) or their community (40 percent).
Escalating geopolitical tensions and instability in the Middle East, particularly since the onset of Israel’s latest war on Gaza in 2023, have raised concerns among analysts about the long-term impact on youth and the potential for fomenting extremism in times of unrest and uncertainty. Psychologists and media analysts believe that exposure to such news through social media platforms also increases the emotional toll on young users.
Dr. Shaima Al-Fardan, a UAE-based clinical psychologist, highlighted the impact of constant exposure to news and endless scrolling on youth development.
“It can isolate youth from real-life social interactions, which in turn hinders the development of essential social skills. It also consistently heightens negative emotions, reinforcing those emotional patterns over time.”According to Attest, a consumer research platform, social media platforms serve as the primary news source for Gen Z. About 43 percent said they rely on social media for daily news, with TikTok leading for 21 percent of users.
While instant access to content across digital platforms can broaden young people’s awareness of global events, Al-Fardan warned that it also exposes them to misinformation and propaganda. “It is important to be taught to be critical about news they consume at this time due to their brain development, as they have still not been able to fully form the part of their brain that is responsible for rational decision-making in order to form solid opinions,” she said. However, she observed that while young people often respond with strong initial reactions, they may quickly become desensitized. “Social media has created a culture of following trends, which makes engagement inconsistent,” she said.
The short, fast-paced nature of social media content may intensify young people’s negative emotional responses to world events.
Elizabeth Matar, assistant professor and chair of Media and Mass Communication at the American University in the Emirates, told Arab News social media platforms have expanded information sources but not necessarily deepened users’ understanding, especially on evolving issues. “When users are following the news from a media outlet on social media, they only get a headline with an image or video clip and a caption, which does not give the full nuance from reading a full article,” said Matar.“This is causing a problem because it just feels like headlines and just information coming in without understanding much of the context or forming an ability to piece it together.”She added that this “flood of information,” compounded by inputs from non-traditional news sources such as citizen journalists, can lead to a general sense of uncertainty, deepened by the limited depth of understanding.
“The quality, in contrast to quantity, of engagement with the news must be monitored,” said Matar. “Only then we can understand if deeper engagement with content would have the same negative effect.”Despite growing awareness and open conversations around mental health in the digital age, many young people continue to face stigma and limited access to support services — even as their familiarity with the topic increases.
A UNICEF-led study found that 40 percent of respondents felt stigmatized when speaking openly about mental health in schools and workplaces, while only half said they knew where to access relevant support resources. Despite resource availability, the study findings showed that many young people still lacked clarity on where to turn for help and how to build effective coping skills. Al-Fardan said that access to mental health resources remains limited due to affordability and lack of insurance. She also observed a lack of understanding about what psychotherapy involves. “There is a limited amount of culturally attuned, affordable, skilled therapists around as well,” she said. “In addition, many people are either unaware or hesitant to share their views, particularly when it comes to processing political information during times of unrest.” Warning of the long-term impact of unguided online news consumption, Al-Fardan said: “Without boundaries on excessive scrolling, negative thought patterns in the brain can be reinforced, influencing one’s outlook on life and overall functioning. “This can contribute to mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, increased social isolation, and a lack of essential skills needed to integrate into society.”Education and media literacy are key to addressing these challenges, along with building healthy habits, monitoring exposure, and setting boundaries around social media use. UNICEF’s Hijazi stressed that ensuring mental health support for young people should be a responsibility shared by governments, schools, employers and the private sector. “Understanding perception is the first step toward meaningful action,” she said. “If we can listen more deeply — not just to the facts, but to the feelings — we can begin to design and scale solutions that are grounded in empathy and centered on human well-being.”

Is UK government principled or realist in the Middle East?
Christopher Phillips/Arab News/June 29, 2025
The UK’s Labour government was probably thankful that Donald Trump found a way to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities without using British bases. After the June 22 attacks occurred, London was quick to emphasize that, though it had been informed in advance, the UK played no role. In the run-up, British officials were concerned that any American request to use the UK base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia would put Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a difficult position. While Britain would feel obliged to aid its most important ally, there were questions over the legality of Washington’s strikes. Immediately afterward, David Lammy, the UK’s foreign secretary, declined to comment on the legal concerns, stating they were “for the Americans to discuss.”
But the question of international law and the UK’s approach to the Middle East is not insignificant. As a lawyer and former head of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service, many expected Starmer to place considerable emphasis on upholding international law and the so-called rules-based order when he came to office. Indeed, Starmer’s attorney general, the UK government’s chief legal adviser, told the BBC recently that international law “goes absolutely to the heart” of London’s foreign policy.
Lammy, another lawyer, stated when he came to power that Labour would pursue “progressive realism” in office — using realist means to pursue progressive ends. But the Middle East, especially Israel’s actions, have at times appeared a blind spot for this supposedly progressive foreign policy. For all its rhetoric, is Starmer’s government ultimately more realist than principled in the region?
During its year in office so far, Starmer’s Labour government has been keen to emphasize its principles when it comes to the Middle East. Unlike some states like Hungary, which withdrew from the International Criminal Court to allow Benjamin Netanyahu to visit, Starmer’s government has stated that, were the Israeli premier to enter the UK, he would be arrested in accordance with the court’s warrant. Similarly, in recent months, London has stepped up its criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and initiated legal measures. These have included canceling free trade talks with Israel and 30 arms licenses, as well as sanctioning two Israeli ministers. In May, Lammy stated that Israel’s recent actions in Gaza were “an affront to the values of the British people,” and that ministers’ calls to expel Palestinians were “monstrous” and “extremist.”
During Israel’s recent war with Iran, London similarly stuck to its principles of promoting a diplomatic not an armed solution — in contrast to its allies in Israel and the US. As Israel launched its attacks on Iran, Starmer’s office released a statement emphasizing “the need for de-escalation and a diplomatic resolution, in the interests of stability in the region.”
However, critics complain that the Labour government’s principles in the Middle East appear quite elastic and inconsistent. While calling for Israel to de-escalate, Starmer also emphasized Israel’s right to “self-defense,” offering a degree of legitimacy to the attacks — “self-defense” being the criteria needed under the UN Charter to legally justify military action.Critics complain that the Labour government’s principles in the Middle East appear quite elastic and inconsistent.
Similarly, while London has become increasingly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, for a long time it was more supportive. As leader of the opposition, Starmer caused waves by saying Israel had “the right” to cut off water and power to Gaza, despite this being considered illegal collective punishment by many international lawyers. And lawyers supporting the Palestinians have repeatedly challenged the legality of the UK continuing to supply Israel with arms — with the 320 continuing licenses far greater than the 30 that were suspended. Though there is always legal ambiguity with these issues, London’s apparent unwillingness to seriously reduce arms supplies, despite its foreign secretary calling Israel’s actions in Gaza “monstrous,” suggests its commitment to principles in the region can be selective. Yet the government’s supporters would offer a more nuanced take. In his interview with the BBC, Attorney General Richard Hermer, a long-term friend of Starmer, said that international law was “important in and of itself, but it’s also important because it goes absolutely to the heart of what we’re trying to achieve, which is to make life better for people in this country.” The suggestion is that the latter point, making life better for Britons, is the ultimate priority. Principles like upholding and promoting international law are important, but not at any expense.
Labour must balance these principles with other concerns. At home, the Middle East is a hugely divisive issue. In 2024’s general election, Labour lost five parliamentary seats to candidates overtly criticizing Starmer’s Gaza policy, while the issue has repeatedly caused ruptures within the party itself. A significant number of MPs on the left wing of the party were vocally against the UK playing any role in the US strikes on Iran.
Internationally, the UK is in a relatively weak position. Its primary concern is facing down Russia and pursuing rearmament alongside European allies in response to an apparent American reluctance to come to their aid. He is also determined to keep US President Donald Trump onside and to position the UK as a reliable friend to the White House. Grandstanding on international law to either Israel or the US risks damaging that relationship. The Middle East is low down the UK’s list of core interests, perhaps explaining why London is often selective about when it wants to push international law — only doing so when it does not clash with core interests. Perhaps this selectiveness is what Lammy regards as progressive realism, but it is not clear whether this is having any effect in the Middle East or whether the US and Israel are more likely to adhere to progressive principles because of Britain’s actions. A more cynical read is that Labour are being realist progressives: led by principle when they can but ultimately falling back on realpolitik when it comes to the crunch.
The risk, of course, is that key actors not standing up for international laws and rules at these crucial moments means they wither away, making the world more dangerous. In such cases, there are fewer progressive opportunities and realism becomes the only option.
**Christopher Phillips is professor of international relations at Queen Mary University of London and author of “Battleground: Ten Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East.” X: @cjophillips

The vanishing hospitals of Gaza
Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/June 29, 2025
In Gaza, hospitals are no longer sanctuaries, they have become battlegrounds, targets and, ultimately, ruins. What is unfolding in the besieged Palestinian enclave is not only a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering proportions but also a chilling case study in how healthcare systems can be weaponized and dismantled by modern warfare. Since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, the destruction of healthcare infrastructure has been relentless and systematic. More than 30 hospitals and over 100 clinics have either been bombed into oblivion, rendered inoperable or forcibly evacuated under military siege. Medical professionals have been killed or detained. Patients, including premature infants, have been left without life-sustaining care.
This is not collateral damage. It is a strategy. Health is no longer a neutral domain in Gaza, it is a front line. The war has transformed symbols of life — ambulances, operating rooms and maternity wards — into graveyards. And the implications of this reach far beyond the borders of Gaza.
Before the current war, Gaza’s healthcare system was already strained under a crippling blockade that had lasted more than 15 years. Hospitals operated with limited medical supplies, outdated equipment and intermittent electricity. Since the war erupted, this fragile system has collapsed entirely.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 70 percent of Gaza’s hospitals are now nonfunctional. Those that remain open are overwhelmed, operating far beyond their intended capacities and under conditions that violate every international standard for medical care. Doctors work around the clock in makeshift wards with no anesthesia available, often performing surgeries by flashlight. Dialysis machines, neonatal incubators and radiology labs sit silent and unused, without power or maintenance.
Worse still, humanitarian convoys carrying essential medical supplies are often denied entry to the territory or delayed by weeks, if not months. Health workers, already operating in near-impossible circumstances, have become some of the most vulnerable targets: bombed while treating patients, arrested while transferring the wounded and demonized in military discourse.
The deliberate targeting of healthcare infrastructure in Gaza is not an accident of war; it is a tactic. By eroding the medical system, the aggressor aims to inflict maximum psychological and physical damage, creating unlivable conditions that push communities into despair or displacement. Such a strategy is not without precedent, but the sheer scale and intensity in Gaza are especially egregious. International law, including the Geneva Conventions, specifically protects medical facilities and personnel during conflict. The pattern of attacks on hospitals, coupled with restrictions on medical aid and the demonization of health workers as combatants or “human shields,” amounts to a gross violation of these laws.
Hospitals are not only buildings, they are lifelines. When you target them, you are targeting civilians in their most vulnerable moments. You are turning the struggle for survival into an impossible equation: no safety, no treatment, no hope.
The collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system is measured in lives lost, many of them children. With neonatal units shut down, babies die for lack of oxygen or incubators. Cancer patients go without chemotherapy. Diabetics and cardiac patients die quietly in their homes without access to medication. The World Health Organization has warned that the number of preventable deaths now rivals those caused directly by airstrikes.
This is not collateral damage. It is a strategy. Health is no longer a neutral domain in Gaza, it is a front line. This is not just a war on infrastructure, it is a war on the human body, on public health and on the very notion that life is sacred. And it is unfolding in full view of the world. The destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system does not stop at the enclave’s borders. Its collapse creates ripple effects across the region. Neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, face increased pressure to absorb patients, deliver aid and manage the fallout of what is now a transnational public health crisis.
Jordan, in particular, has stepped up in recent months, sending field hospitals, medical teams and convoys of humanitarian aid. King Abdullah has repeatedly sounded the alarm, reminding the world that the health crisis in Gaza does not exist in isolation — it is a test of international morality and a bellwether for regional stability. The Jordanian people have also rallied in unprecedented numbers, organizing blood drives, fundraising efforts and public campaigns to highlight the suffering in Gaza.
But no neighboring country can fully offset the collapse of a healthcare system that has been deliberately and systematically destroyed. The region is watching a disaster unfold in slow motion, aware that its consequences will not be confined to Gaza.
The failure of the international community to respond robustly to the destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure is a stain on the global conscience. Condemnations have been tepid, investigations stalled and aid commitments have been drowned in bureaucratic inertia.
The UN and the International Criminal Court have the legal and moral mandates to act, but political calculations continue to override justice. Fear of diplomatic fallout, pressure from powerful allies and a reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths have paralyzed the prospects for meaningful action.
As a result, accountability is deferred, impunity is emboldened and the deliberate targeting of hospitals has become a tragic precedent rather than an international red line.
The state of a society can often be measured by the state of its hospitals. In Gaza, that measure is grim. The intentional collapse of the healthcare system reflects not only the brutality of war but also the erosion of the international will to uphold basic human rights.
Gaza’s vanishing hospitals must not be normalized. They are not only brick-and-mortar structures, they are sacred spaces meant to protect life. Their destruction is a war on life itself.
**Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh

Germany and the balance of power in Europe
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/June 29, 2025
The 2025 NATO Summit, which took place in The Hague last week, brought together representatives of all 32 member nations of the alliance. Top of the agenda was an agreement to increase national security expenditure, with a target for each country to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035. The shift comes as Germany embarks on its biggest military rearmament since the Second World War, signaling its intent to assume a more assertive role within NATO and across Europe. Given that a highly militarized Germany twice brought the world to war, this latest iteration has drawn great interest.
It also follows repeated criticism from US President Donald Trump, who has long accused European allies of relying too heavily for their security on Washington, which he argues bears a disproportionate share of NATO’s military burden.
In 2024, the US spent $935 billion on defense, more than double the combined total of all other NATO members. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this imbalance became clear, as Europe was exposed as being critically reliant on the US for its security.
No country reflects the shift toward increased military investment more clearly than Germany. Under the leadership of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, it has embraced rearmament with a boldness unseen since the end of the Second World War.
For much of the second half of the 20th century, Germany was characterized by its rejection of military might as an instrument of state power. Under the auspices of the European project, a reunified Germany sought to establish its role through multilateral diplomacy, economic stability and the rule of law. Its military, the Bundeswehr, remained fragmented and poorly equipped, with a defense budget that rarely exceeded 1.1 percent of GDP. Strict controls were placed on arms exports and strategic leadership was largely left to the country’s NATO allies, led by the US. This was the established trend in postwar Germany. Even the faintest hint of rearmament was met with public resistance, shaped by memories of the nation’s painful past.
The Bundeswehr, established in 1955, was intentionally built with no projection of offensive power. For decades, as Germany became Europe’s economic powerhouse, its security policies remained largely reactive and rooted within NATO’s strategic architecture.
However, those days now seem to be firmly behind it, with Berlin emerging as a prominent defense hub for Europe. This year, the Merz government passed a defense budget worth 2.4 percent of GDP, the highest level of military expenditure in Germany’s postwar history, and announced long-term aspirations to raise it to 5 percent.
At the transatlantic level, Germany’s evolving strategy reflects growing uncertainty about Washington’s role in NATO. The goal is to ramp up annual defense spending from €95 billion ($111 billion) in 2025 to €162 billion by 2029. To enable this shift, Berlin has introduced legal changes allowing it to bypass its constitutional debt brake, a departure from a long-standing tradition of fiscal restraint. The transformation goes beyond budgets and legislation. Merz has pledged to build the Bundeswehr into “the strongest conventional army in Europe” by 2031. The plan includes an expansion of its active forces from 182,000 troops to 203,000 by 2031, with a long-term target of 240,000.
The military’s role is expanding beyond Germany’s borders as well. In May, Berlin announced that an armored brigade would be permanently stationed in Lithuania, the first long-term deployment of a German force beyond its own borders since the Second World War. This shift aims to support NATO’s eastern flank amid growing concerns about Russian aggression. Modernization is proceeding at a rapid pace. Under a new rearmament directive issued by Chief of Defense Gen. Carsten Breuer, the Bundeswehr is acquiring advanced weapons and equipment, including air defense and precision-strike capabilities, space assets, advanced electronic warfare tools and munitions reserves. The procurement program includes Patriot missile systems, Eurofighter and F-35 fighter jets, Leopard 2 tanks, PzH 2000 howitzers and sophisticated military drones.
This shift by Germany marks a pivotal moment for NATO and for Europe: the emergence of a post-American mindset in defense policy, with Berlin increasingly taking on responsibilities long championed by the US. At the transatlantic level, Germany’s evolving strategy also reflects growing uncertainty about Washington’s role in NATO, especially amid the decisions of Trump and his administration during his second term. The result is a more assertive and autonomous German military posture, one that is reshaping the security architecture of Europe. For the Middle East and North Africa, the rearmament of Germany and the revitalization of its defense industry present significant opportunities for deeper cooperation. The country has long been a key supplier of advanced machinery, equipment, motor vehicles and military aircraft components across the region. Amid the ongoing tensions between Iran, Israel and the US, Middle Eastern nations might increasingly look to Berlin as a vital partner, one whose expanding defense capabilities and industrial expertise could help shape their own security and military strategies for years to come.
**Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid

Selected Twitters For Today on June 28-29/2025
Amine Bar-Julius Iskandar
No wonder, from Arafat to Hezbollah, including Nasserists, Baathists, Arabists, Assads, Gaddafi, Khomeini… they all concentrated their destructive hatred against this little Mediterranean country in navy blue.

Reza Pahlavi
Today I launched a secure communications channel for members of Iran's armed forces, security personnel, and others seeking to break rank with the regime and join the Iranian people. To those whose hands are not soiled with blood, I will guarantee their place in the new Iran.

Mike Pence
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”(Psalm 121:1-2)

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
This is my maternal ancestral hometown of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon. I grew up there during my late childhood and early teens when Iran's Islamist regime founded Hezbollah. I know every inch of this town intimately. The picture shows the Anti-Lebanon mountain range (in the distance). Walking straight leads to Ras El-Ein Park, possibly once a temple site for pre-Christian Baptist sects like the Sabeans. Turning around and walking straight takes you to the famous Roman ruins and the well-preserved Temple of Bacchus. Banners of Shia clerics and "resistance martyrs" are visible. The Shia cannot forever celebrate death. One day, these banners must come down, and Baalbek's people must join the global knowledge economy.