LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 06/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april06.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
Lies of the Guards Who were
watching Jesus' Grave
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 28/11-15: "While they
were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests
everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders,
they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them,
‘You must say, "His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were
asleep."If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you
out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this
story is still told among the Jews to this day."
You
were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors with the
precious blood of Christ
First Letter of Peter 01/17-21:"If you invoke as Father the one who judges all
people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the
time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or
blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at
the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are
set on God."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on April 06/16
Hezbollah goes
corporate/Hezbollah fighters turned employees/Hanin
Ghaddar/Now Lebanon/April 05/16/
Lebanon and violated citizenship/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
Yemen, one year on: Victory or
defeat/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
The Alawite Declaration: Assad's firewall showing cracks/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/April
05/16
Kuwait talks doesn’t mean military respite in Yemen/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/April
05/16
Saudi Arabia must build new strategies to deal with the paradigm shift/Khaled
Almaeena/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
Iran Locks Itself Out of the International Financial System While Blaming
Washington/Patrick Clawson/The Washington Institute/April 05/16
The Next President's Choices on ISIS/James F. Jeffrey/Cipher Brief/April 05/16
Is Armenia the Next Turkish-Russian Flashpoint/Can Kasapoglu/The Washington
Institute/April 05/16
The Historic Betrayal of the Palestinians/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April
05/16
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Speaks Out Against Pragmatic Camp Leaders
Rafsanjani, Rohani/MEMRI/April 5, 2016
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 06/16
Hezbollah goes corporate/Hezbollah
fighters turned employees
Lebanon and violated
citizenship
Hezbollah leader ‘Abu Jaafar’ killed
in Syria
Change and Reform Urges 'Measures' to Return Refugees to Syria
OECD Says Lebanon not Cooperating in Tax Evasion Scandal
Jumblat Accuses Unnamed Officials of Corruption in Several Heated Files
NileSat Asks Lebanon to Halt al-Manar Broadcast, Ends Jouret el-Ballout
Operations
Qahwaji: Army at Highest Readiness Level to Confront Any Terrorist Activity
Portolano chairs tripartite meeting in Naqoura
Gunmen kidnap Lebanese, kill soldier in Nigeria's Delta
Future bloc clings to freedom of speech, rejects insult to Lebanon
First Lebanese who helped free French hostages unearthed in Panama Papers
Media Committee Says Investigations Continue on Illegal Internet
Health Ministry Seals with Red Wax Office of Doctor Involved in Sex Trafficking
Ring
Beirut Judge Charges 7 Protesters over Newspaper Assault
Grenade Attack Shakes Ain el-Hilweh Ceasefire
Bassil Warns Some Forces May 'Arm Refugees', Says Aoun Nomination 'More than
Serious'
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 06/16
Syria Qaida Downs Regime Plane,
Captures Pilot
U.S. Congress investigates deception in Iran nuclear deal - report
Richard Ashworth MEP: Over 1000 executions in Iran in 2015
U.S. does not plan to grant Iran regime access to U.S. financial system
Azerbaijan Confirms Ceasefire Reached with Karabakh Rebels
ISIS ‘use mustard gas’ in Deir Ezzor airport attack
Nusra Front captures pilot from downed Syrian jet
Syria peace talks to resume on April 11: UN
Saudi king sets aside frustrations with Egypt for state visit
US would ‘block’ sale of Russian fighter jet to Iran
Weapons seized from Iran ‘bound for Houthis’
Erdogan proposes stripping terrorism supporters of Turkish citizenship
Saudi security officer shot dead in attack claimed by ISIS
Yemen panel of advisors arrive in Kuwait to prepare for talks
ISIS fires wound Turkish soldier near border
Turkey strikes PKK rebels in northern Iraq
ISIS arrests Fallujah woman who revealed group’s atrocities
Reports: Hundreds of Israeli Firms in Panama Papers
Italy warns Egypt as row continues over dead student
Algerian army kills four Islamists near Tunisian border
Iceland Premier Resigns in 'Panama Papers' Scandal
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
April 06/16
Islamic State building “kill lists” of Americans overseas
US seizes thousands of Iranian weapons, including grenade launchers
Hitler” clothing store causes stir in Cairo
Newly discovered 5th-century church shows violence of Muslim conquest
Raymond Ibrahim: Will Reality Trump Fantasy Regarding Muslim Immigration?
Molenbeek: Muslim teen assaults female journalist live on air
The Muslim Migrant Invasion and the Collapse of Europe
Islamic State executes eight people, crucifies their dead bodies
Iran: We designed our missiles to hit Israel from a safe distance
Christians in Pakistan live in constant danger of persecution
Perps of “far-right” hit-and-run on Muslim woman in Molenbeek were Muslims
Moronic Questions After Brussels – on The Glazov Gang
Germany: Muslim migrants
force 14-year-old boy to perform sex acts on them at pool
New Islamic State video quotes Qur’an, threatens jihad in London,
Berlin, Rome
Hezbollah leader ‘Abu Jaafar’
killed in Syria
Al Arabiya News Tuesday, 5 April 2016/A leading figure from Hezbollah’s branch
in Syria has been killed on Monday according to media outlets close to the
militia group. Bilal Nadir Khairuddin, known also as Abu Jaafar, was killed in
battles near al-Qaryatayn town in east Homs. He was considered as one of
Hezbollah’s top leading figures in Syria after he founded the “Redha forces,”
the group that acts as Hezbollah’s representative in Syria. Abu Jaafar was also
killed on Monday after seven other senior figures from Hezbollah in Syria were
confirmed dead. The death comes more than a month after Hezbollah lost one of
its most commanding senior leaders, Ali Fayyad, was killed in the northern
Syrian province of Aleppo.
Syria’s peace talks hit a fresh impasse last month after the as the head of
Lebanon’s Hezbollah vowed his Shiite movement would keep fighting alongside the
regime until ISIS were defeated.
Hezbollah goes
corporate/Hezbollah fighters turned employees
Hanin Ghaddar/Now
Lebanon/April 05/16/
While interviewing Hezbollah militants, you’d expect enthusiasm and some kind of
zeal on their part towards the “existential” or “sacred” battle they’re fighting
in Syria. You’d assume they’re participating in the war to protect the
“resistance” or Lebanon from extremists and a “Zionist conspiracy” to destroy
the Party of God. They do assert that during the first round of interviews.
However, the more they talk, and the more comfortable they get, you start to
sense that they are not entirely confident about that line you hear in Hezbollah
officials’ speeches and statements. You eventually realize that money plays a
major part in their involvement. The most noteworthy part is that most of these
young men come from the poorest neighborhood of the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiyeh),
where unemployment and low levels of education are more common than in the rest
of Dahiyeh.
That was certainly not the case before Hezbollah entered the war in Syria.
Winning the Narrative
Hezbollah’s power did not come from its weapons alone. Nor was it primarily
founded on social services and Iranian money. These were tools to maintain its
control and influence, which grew through decades of building a narrative of
allegiance. Hezbollah prevailed because it has won the narrative, by linking
three pillars of a Lebanese Shiite identity: the resistance, the collective
memory of the battle of Karbala and Iran’s Wilayat al-Faqih. Lebanese Shiites’
identity was gradually rebuilt to link their collective history of Karbala and
the Israeli occupation of the South. Kul Youm Karbalaa (Every day is Karbala)
became the slogan that defined the daily lives of the Shiites in the South,
because it embodied all of these elements: fighting injustice, remembering
Karbala and a deep Shiite identity affiliated with Hezbollah’s Wilayat al-Faqih.
As I grew up in the South, I encountered this narrative every day. It changed
the way people dressed, the way they socialized and celebrated religious
occasions, even the way they celebrated births and mourned deaths. It escalated
to fierce rhetoric during conflicts and wars, and went back to social and
cultural conduct between conflicts. Although this narrative was imposed on us by
the Party of God, people accepted it. They related to its purpose, the vibes of
its power and the way it accentuated our communal identity. People wanted it;
they even needed it to survive. The enemy was clear, the history was common and
the purpose was well defined. The dream of many of my relatives, neighbors and
friends as we grew up was to join the “resistance” or help it in any way
possible. There were more volunteers knocking on Hezbollah’s doors than young
men seeking employment. Many wanted to fight for free, and die for free. But
Hezbollah paid anyway, because they knew that it was the best way to structure
its army and maintain commitment.
Turning Corporate
That devotion and eagerness to belong and sacrifice is no longer sensed.
Hezbollah fighters who talked to me did not show the motivation or passion that
I used to see in young men’s eyes when I lived in the South. These eyes were
empty, anxious and very tired. They refer to their missions in Syria as “the
job”, and it’s not even a job they seem to enjoy. “I am just waiting for my
contract to expire and then I’m out,” Mahdi (25 years old) told me. He – like
all others – sign a two-year contract that specifies the salary (between $500
and $1200) and the package of benefits they receive. The thing is that they have
to complete the two years. They cannot just give notice and leave whenever they
want to. “And they don’t pay compensation packages to martyrs’ families as they
used to,” Mahdi added, saying that each family of a martyr used to receive forty
thousand dollars, but that this was halted almost two years ago.
The fighters interviewed by NOW come from very poor families. Most of them never
finished school, and the only alternative for them is unemployment. “But you
need to understand that I’ve lost many friends in Syria and it is not going to
be easy for me to leave the battle, even if I’m tired and disappointed. It would
feel that I’ve betrayed my friends,” Mustafa (23 years old) told me. “I would
never be able to forgive myself.”
The loyalty of Mustafa is toward his “martyr” friends, not the party or the
ideology. He also fights because he needs to, not because he wants to. Mahdi, on
the other hand, wants to leave the battle – or the job as he refers to it –
because he is exhausted of the hierarchy and the expectations of his bosses. “If
I leave before my contract is expired, I will be taken to Hezbollah’s military
court and eventually will spend the rest of my contract in their jail in Dahiyeh.
I’d rather wait.”Mahdi’s main complaint is that when he joined Hezbollah he
thought he’d come back with a victory that would provide him with an office or
technical job and secure his future. “Instead, I feel like I took a job at a
company where I am required to give everything, including my life, and there are
no guarantees for the future beyond these two years.” And victory? He smiled.
Resistance became a matter of perspective
In fact, many Hezbollah members and supporters have realized in the past few
years that they have become the mercenaries of Waliyat al-Faqih in Iran’s war in
the region. They will have to go wherever they are required, be it Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq or Yemen. The new rhetoric of sectarian regional war has cost
Hezbollah its depth in the Arab world. But most importantly, Hezbollah lost its
narrative. For more than thirty years, Hezbollah’s narrative was built on a very
clear purpose and specific target. The result was liberating land and gaining
political power. However, the “resistance” today is a matter of perspective. The
narrative is no longer well-defined or evident. The “enemy” fluctuates too often
and allies are mostly strategic or temporary. The US is no longer the “great
Satan,” and the Putin – the partner in Syria and ally against imperialism – is
also coordinating with Israel.“We are invaders,” says Mustafa, “this is our role
now. Yes, I have many questions, but war is too complicated and I have a family
to support.” The “resistance” has gone corporate and the old beliefs of
liberation and freedom are now replaced with ambitions for promotion and better
status. It is going to be extremely difficult for Hezbollah to come back from
this.
**Hanin Ghaddar is the managing editor of NOW and a nonresident fellow at the
Atlantic Council. She tweets @haningdr
Lebanon and violated
citizenship
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
Some Lebanese men attacked the offices of Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in Beirut,
damaged property, hurled insults and terrorized staff to protest against a
satirical caricature. They then left the building and celebrated what they did.
There were no security forces in the area to notice and stop them. People here
are not even embarrassed by the idea of storming offices and institutions, as
these men even brought cameras and media representatives.Defending Lebanon
becomes daunting when a group of men can behave in such a way without anyone
deterring them. Some of them think it is OK to replace Lebanon’s flag with
Hezbollah’s. Some participated in campaigns in which the cedar on the Lebanese
flag was replaced with a garbage bag to protest the recent trash crisis. This is
not the first time a media outlet’s office is stormed in Lebanon. The most
dangerous incident was when Hezbollah closed and burnt the offices of the Future
Movement’s media outlets in 2008 during its famous attack on Beirut. Those who
attacked Asharq al-Awsat’s offices do not care that Hezbollah sees nothing in
Lebanon but a gelatinous entity with no borders or sovereignty. The party has
repeatedly violated and insulted this sovereignty.
Overreaction
The caricature that Amjad Rasmi drew in Asharq al-Awsat criticized the concept
of the Lebanese state and described it as an “April fool.” The caricature was
harsh, provocative, inappropriate, and included all of Lebanon rather than just
the state. However, after I saw how these men stormed its offices, I realized
that they proved the caricature correct. How can we be convinced that we are
citizens in a state that is not present? This is the essence of our crisis.
Citizenship in Lebanon has fallen into the hands of mobs - we must restore it
from them. How can we be convinced that we are citizens in a state that is not
present? This is the essence of our crisis. A few hours before the offices were
attacked, security forces revealed details of a ring involved in trafficking
female Syrian refugees. This exposed scary facts about our reality in Lebanon.
This news did not make anyone afraid for a country that is falling apart. The
caricature may have included the whole country, but the reaction revealed a
vulgar concept of citizenship that is sponsored by those who violate its real
essence. Citizenship in Lebanon has fallen into the hands of mobs - we must
restore it from them.
Change and Reform Urges
'Measures' to Return Refugees to Syria
Naharnet/April 05/16/The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called
for “measures” to expedite the return of Syrian refugees to their country in
light of the latest ceasefire there and the decline in violence. “The necessary
measures must be taken for the return of the refugees after this ceasefire.
Following the statements about safe areas in Syria, practical decisions must be
taken,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan announced after the bloc's weekly meeting in Rabieh.
“A senior European official has openly said that the threat of naturalization in
Lebanon is real,” Kanaan added, stressing that “the issue is not an illusion and
no one is fabricating it.”“We support offering them aid in the current period
but not for setting up a long-term infrastructure,” the MP went on to say.
Warning that “the increase in population has exceeded 35%,” Kanaan lamented that
the bloc's ministers were accused of “racism” when they raised the issue during
cabinet sessions. “The magnitude of what happened is huge and it resembles the
migration of an entire people to another country,” Kanaan said. “The same
political blocs that launched accusations against us are not doing anything
today to confront naturalization,” he added. FPM chief and Foreign Minister
Jebran Bassil had warned last month that there are indirect efforts to
naturalize Syrian refugees in Lebanon, calling for “unilateral and sovereign
steps, otherwise naturalization will be imposed on us.”“I know that some
politicians have remained silent over this issue for political and sectarian
interests,” Bassil said, a day after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and other
international officials concluded a three-day visit to Lebanon. The minister's
remarks drew sharp rebuke from some political parties, which accused Bassil of
making “fabrications” that could be aimed at “deviating attention” from the
issue of the presidential vacuum.
Lebanon is home to more than one million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a
quarter of the country's 4.5 million people. Lebanese officials say that another
half a million Syrians live in the country as well.
OECD Says Lebanon not Cooperating in Tax Evasion Scandal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 05/16/The Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development has said that Lebanon is among the countries that
are refusing to “exchange information” after tax evasion probes were launched
following a massive leak of confidential documents that lifted the lid on the
murky offshore financial dealings of a slew of politicians and celebrities. The
scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a
year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the
Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in creating offshore
shell companies. Pascal Saint-Amans, head of tax policy at the OECD, said the
leaks showed that Panama was among the world's shadiest tax havens. "Among the
countries that refuse to automatically exchange information, there are Bahrain,
Nauru, Vanuatu and Lebanon," he told Agence France Presse.
"Switzerland is really making progress, so there is a concentration of problems
in Panama," he said. Offshore financial dealings are not illegal in themselves
but may be used to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of
criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient
wealth.
Jumblat Accuses Unnamed
Officials of Corruption in Several Heated Files
Naharnet/April 05/16/Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat said on
Tuesday that several heated files in Lebanon are marred with corruption, firing
accusations against officials without naming them in covering a prostitution
ring that was unveiled last week. He said that the sex slavery ring unveiled has
been in business for many years and in complicity with senior officials at the
Vice Squad. “Do you know that the prostitution ring has been unveiled by
coincidence and through a free officer with a clear conscience,” Jumblat said
via Twitter. “The ring has been working for several years now in collaboration
with senior officials in the Vice Squad,” he added. On Thursday, the Internal
Security Forces busted what it called the “most dangerous” human trafficking and
prostitution ring in Lebanon. ISF was able to liberate around 75 women, mostly
Syrian nationals in the operation. On the illegal internet network, the PSP
chief said: “Do you know that a 'hawk' judge has requested a subordinate judge
to amble in the investigations in the network?” “How would he not (the judge) do
that while top security and media figures in addition to administrators are
involved in the network?” he asked. Illegal internet stations were uncovered in
March where it was reported that they have installed stations that are not
subject to the state control. They are buying international internet bandwidth
with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese
subscribers at reduced prices. It has been reported that wireless internet
towers and technical equipment were placed lawlessly in some mountainous
terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled
internet services initiate risks namely the possibility of security breaches as
they lack the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third
parties, including Israel.
NileSat Asks Lebanon to Halt
al-Manar Broadcast, Ends Jouret el-Ballout Operations
Naharnet/April 05/16/The Egyptian Satellite Company, NileSat, has asked
Lebanon's telecom ministry to halt the broadcast of Hizbullah's al-Manar TV via
NileSat as of this morning, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported
Tuesday. “NileSat's administration linked the request to the channel's violation
of the contract signed with it and to airing programs that stir sectarian
sentiments and sedition,” NNA said. NileSat also sent another memo to the
telecom ministry, informing it that it will stop its broadcast from the Jouret
el-Ballout station in Northern Metn as of Wednesday morning “due to the expiry
of the contract signed with the Lebanese State.”The company said the contract
expired last year. According to Lebanon's Central News Agency, NileSat's halt of
Jouret el-Ballout operations would prevent some Lebanese TV networks from
broadcasting via NileSat's satellites to areas outside Lebanon. “This step is
part of the media-related measures that the Gulf Cooperation Council has started
implementing under a broad campaign it had launched in the wake of labeling
Hizbullah as a terrorist organization,” the agency said.
Qahwaji: Army at Highest
Readiness Level to Confront Any Terrorist Activity
Naharnet/April 05/16/Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji reassured Tuesday that
the army is fully ready to confront “any terrorist attack or activity” inside
the country and on the border with Syria. “The security situation in the country
is under control and the army is at its highest level of readiness to confront
any terrorist attack or activity, both at the border and inside the country,”
said Qahwaji during an inspection visit to the Military Academy in Fayadieh.
Referring to the upcoming municipal polls, the army commander also declared that
the army is at its highest readiness to secure the elections and “ensure freedom
of movement and freedom of expression for all citizens.”Militants from the
extremist Islamic State group and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front are entrenched
in mountainous regions along the porous Lebanese-Syrian border. The Lebanese
army regularly shells their positions and Hizbullah fighters have engaged in
clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. In August 2014, the IS and
al-Nusra waged a major attack and overran the northeastern border town of Arsal
in the wake of the arrest of a senior militant. The two groups withdrew after
deadly battles with the army but took with them around 30 hostages from the
Lebanese army and police of whom four were eventually executed. Nine servicemen
are still in the captivity of the IS group after al-Nusra freed those who were
in its custody in a swap deal with Lebanese authorities.
Portolano
chairs tripartite meeting in Naqoura
Tue 05 Apr 2016/NNA - In a press release by UNIFIL, it said: "The Head of
Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
Major-General Luciano Portolano, chaired a regular tripartite meeting with
senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) at the UN position at Ras Al Naqoura today. The discussions focused
on issues related to the implementation of UNIFIL's mandate under UN Security
Council resolution 1701, air and ground violations, situation along the Blue
Line and its ongoing visible marking, as well as the issue of withdrawal of
Israeli forces from northern Ghajar. Major-General Portolano expressed his
satisfaction that since the last tripartite meeting the past two months have
been devoid of any major incident along the Blue Line or in the UNIFIL area of
operations. "The parties' commitment to the implementation of resolution 1701
and your continued cooperation with the Mission have been acknowledged by the UN
Secretary-General, who has encouraged both parties to take advantage of this
window of opportunity presented by the calm along the Blue Line to make concrete
progress on the ground," said the UNIFIL Head of Mission. He also called for
making every effort to ensure that the cessation of hostilities is sustained.
Major-General Portolano noted that the strong liaison and coordination
arrangements with UNIFIL have been instrumental in minimizing and halting
violations, and in strengthening the security infrastructure the respective
sides have built, with UNIFIL's support, along the Blue Line.Highlighting the
points made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his recent visit to Lebanon
and the UNIFIL Headquarters, Major-General Portolano raised two points of
"imminent concern" for the tripartite forum: the vulnerability of the Blue Line
to regional developments, and the related imperative for both parties, working
with UNIFIL, to preserve the cessation of hostilities."
Gunmen kidnap Lebanese, kill
soldier in Nigeria's Delta
Tue 05 Apr 2016ظNNA - Gunmen killed a Nigerian soldier and kidnapped a Lebanese
construction worker on Tuesday in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta, police
said. "One Lebanese, Ramzi Bau Hadir, aged 53 years, was kidnapped by the armed
bandits," said Butswat Asinim, a police spokesman in Bayselsa state. A resident
said a second foreigner had been kidnapped but Asinim did not confirm this.
---Reuters
Future bloc clings to freedom
of speech, rejects insult to Lebanon
Tue 05 Apr 2016/NNA - Future parliamentary bloc on Tuesday maintained that it
held onto the freedom of speech, saying that any attack on liberties constitute
an insult to Lebanon. But the bloc stressed that it would not accept at all any
insult to Lebanon "and its flag," rejecting any expression offending the
country. This stance comes in the wake of a caricature that appeared in pan Arab
Assharq-al-Awsat newspaper, depicting the Lebanese flag and a caption that
describes Lebanon as "a lie." Future lawmakers convened today in a periodic
meeting at Bayt-al-Wassat under the chairmanship of MP Fouad Siniora.
The MPs lashed out at "the continuous campaign tampering with the brotherly Arab
countries, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through lies and slander."
"The insult to the Arab states aims directly at Lebanon," they said in a
statement. Also, the bloc renewed calls upon Hezbollah "to cease implicating
Lebanon and the Lebanese into the war in Syria.""Hezbollah is asked to cease the
daily bloodshed of Lebanese young men, who whether return from Syria's battles
dead or wounded or handicapped."Moreover, the lawmakers renewed rejection of
settlement of refugees onto the Lebanese soil. On a different note, they
confirmed clinging to the holding the municipal polls on their due time. They
also highlighted the necessity to proceed with the probe into the unauthorized
internet networks.The bloc did not fail to evoke the fresh visit of former Prime
Minister, Saad Hariri, to Russia, and his meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin. Accordingly, they commended the talks held in Moscow on the
situation in Syria and the necessity of a political solution.
First Lebanese who helped
free French hostages unearthed in Panama Papers
Tue 05 April/16/NNA - The name of the first Lebanese who had participated in an
operation to release French nationals taken hostages by Hezbollah during the
civil war in 1986, was unearthed today; it is Lebanese-French businessman
Iskandar Safa, Egyptian journalist Hisham Allam, who had contributed to
whistleblower Panama Papers, revealed on Tuesday. France had issued an arrest
warrant against Safa in 2002, over charges of refusing to appear in court in the
case of a three-million-dollar ransom the French authorities had paid to him to
free the three French hostages; Safa's brother, Akram, assisted the release
negotiations.
Media Committee Says
Investigations Continue on Illegal Internet
Naharnet/April 05/16/Head of the parliamentary media committee MP Hassan
Fadlallah called on the judicial authorities to shoulder the responsibility with
regard to the illegal internet network file away from political interference.
Following the committee's meeting held in the presence of Ministers of Defense
Samir Moqbel and Telecommunications Butros Harb, Fadlallah said: “There are no
answers so far on how the stations and the equipment were installed.” He
emphasized that investigations in the defense ministry will conclude within 15
days with regard to the security breaches, adding that things are still
complicated with regard to the Bakish and Faqra installations. The MP said that
some names involved in the case have appeared as the result of conflicts between
the beneficiaries. For his part, Harb said that the case must not be turned into
a political one. He added that one person has been detained so far from the
Ghorabi family on suspicions of his involvement. Last month, the government
kicked off efforts to dismantle internet stations that were illegally set up in
several areas around Lebanon. Harb had said that they posed a serious danger to
Lebanon's national security since they were linked to Israel. The owners of
these stations were buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost
from Turkey and Cyprus which they were selling back to Lebanese subscribers at
reduced prices. It has been reported that wireless internet towers and technical
equipment were placed illegally in some mountainous terrains including
Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled internet services
initiate risks namely the possibility of security breaches as they lack the
basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including
Israel.
Health Ministry Seals with
Red Wax Office of Doctor Involved in Sex Trafficking Ring
Naharnet/April 05/16/The Health Ministry sealed with red wax on Tuesday the
clinic of a doctor involved in the recently uncovered sex trafficking ring.
Officials from the ministry accompanied by security forces raided the clinic of
Dr. Riyad al-Alam in the Jounieh area north of Beirut. “He will be barred from
practicing medicine in Lebanon,” announced the ministry. Alam was not present at
his clinic at the time of the raid, reported LBCI television. Alam was
previously briefly detained following the discovery of the ring. He confessed to
performing around 60 abortions and that he was aware of their work at
nightclubs.
He was then released from custody. Another doctor, identified as George A., and
a nurse have been linked to the ring, but investigations have not yet been held
with them, said al-Akhbar newspaper. The Internal Security Forces announced on
Thursday that they had busted Lebanon's largest known sex trafficking ring and
freed 75 mainly Syrian women. "This is the largest sex trafficking ring we've
uncovered since the outbreak of the Syrian war," a Lebanese security source told
AFP. Even before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, Syrian women had been
pushed into the illicit sex trade in neighboring Lebanon.On Thursday, the ISF
said the members of the ring were arrested in the Jounieh region, detaining ten
men and eight female workers. Two of the ring's masterminds are still on the
run.
Beirut Judge Charges 7
Protesters over Newspaper Assault
Naharnet/April 05/16/Beirut State Prosecutor for Appeals Judge Ziad Abou Haidar
charged on Tuesday seven people accused of storming the offices of Asharq al-Awsat
newspaper last week. A group of activists briefly raided the offices of the
Saudi-owned newspaper protesting a cartoon published in its Friday edition. The
cartoon depicted the Lebanese state as an April's fool joke, printing the
Lebanese flag with the words "April's Fool" over it. The cartoon deemed
insulting provoked a storm over social media, with many, including politicians,
demanding an apology. Abou Haidar referred the seven suspects to Beirut First
Examining Magistrate Judge Ghassan Owaidat. Local internet celebrity Pierre
Hashash is among the seven suspects. He was arrested on Saturday. Other
individuals involved in the assault have turned themselves in to the police.
Grenade Attack Shakes Ain el-Hilweh
Ceasefire
Naharnet/April 05/16/A store burned down after a grenade was tossed in the
southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh at dawn Tuesday, the
state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said that a clothing store owned by
Palestinian Rasem Sariyeh was gutted by the fire after the hand grenade attack
at the camp's al-Fawqani street. Residents doused the blaze, it said. The attack
was the first since a ceasefire was reached in Ain el-Hilweh over the weekend
following deadly clashes that have left 3 Palestinians dead and dozens injured.
Several vehicles and houses were also damaged in the fighting which erupted last
week after a Fatah al-Islam member, Omar Natour, killed a Fatah Movement
official. This prompted unknown armed men to kill Natour’s brother in a revenge
attack.Such incidents have become frequent in recent years in Ain el-Hilweh, the
largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps.The shantytown has gained
notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives.
Bassil Warns
Some Forces May 'Arm Refugees', Says Aoun Nomination 'More than Serious'
/Naharnet/April 05/16/Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran
Bassil warned Tuesday that some foreign countries might seek to “arm” Syrian
refugees in Lebanon with the aim of implementing certain political schemes. “It
is not difficult for those who caused this destruction in Syria and created al-Nusra
(Front) and Daesh (Islamic State group) to arm the Syrian refugees in Lebanon
with the aim of using them in security plots,” said Bassil in an interview on
OTV. “My naturalization remarks are based on information, things I've heard and
analysis,” he said, clarifying his latest warning that there are indirect
efforts to naturalize Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which was criticized by
several parties including Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Tammam Salam and
al-Mustaqbal movement. Asked about the controversy over his shunning of U.N.
chief Ban Ki-moon during the latter's recent visit to Lebanon, Bassil stressed
that “the foreign ministry did not commit any protocol mistake.” As for his
approach as foreign minister towards Lebanon's ties with the Gulf countries, the
FM emphasized that “the only policy that the foreign ministry has implemented in
the past two years is the government's policy.”Turning to the issue of the
stalled presidential elections, Bassil said some parties are trying to target
FPM founder MP Michel Aoun's presidential bid by “aiming their attacks at the
foreign ministry.” “General Aoun's nomination is more than serious and it is
related to our free presence as people,” he added. “We invite anyone who
questions our representation to challenge us in immediate elections,” Bassil
said. The foreign minister also noted that “Hizbullah is playing a role against
terrorism,” calling on all Lebanese to “thank Hizbullah for its martyrs who are
falling in Syria.” “But I understand the Lebanese who are saying, 'What do we
have to do with Yemen?',” Bassil added, referring to Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah's verbal support for Yemen's Huthi rebels and Saudi accusations
that the Iran-backed party is interfering in the conflict.
Syria Qaida Downs Regime
Plane, Captures Pilot
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 05/16/Al-Qaida shot down a government
warplane over the town of Al-Eis in northern Syria on Tuesday and captured one
crew member alive, a rebel source and a monitoring group said. The rebel source
said it was "likely that (Al-Qaida's Syria affiliate) Al-Nusra Front shot down
the plane and took the pilot," adding that the plane had been hit by heavy
machinegun fire. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Al-Nusra downed
the plane, which it said was likely being flown by a Syrian air force pilot. The
Al-Qaida affiliate is not party to the ceasefire between government forces and
non-jihadist rebels brokered by the United States and Russia that has been in
place since February 27. On Friday, Al-Nusra and its allies pushed regime
loyalists out of Al-Eis, a strategic town in Aleppo province. In video footage
circulated on social media purporting to show the scene where the plane came
down, a dozen men crowd around a man lying in the dirt. Some of them cry: "He's
Syrian, he's Syrian!" and others yell: "Get his weapons off him!"AFP could not
confirm the authenticity of the footage. Last month, Islamist rebels shot down a
regime warplane over the village of Kafr Nabuda in the central province of Hama.
U.S. Congress investigates
deception in Iran nuclear deal - report
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Tuesday, 05 April 2016/The United States
Congress is investigating whether the Obama administration misled lawmakers last
summer about the extent of concessions granted to Iran's regime under the
nuclear deal, as well as if administration officials have been quietly rewriting
the deal’s terms in the aftermath of the agreement, the Washington Free Beacon
reported, quoting sources and a formal notice sent to the State Department. The
concerns come after statements from top U.S. officials last week suggesting that
Iran's regime is set to receive greater weapons and sanctions relief, moves that
the administration had promised Congress would never take place as White House
officials promoted the deal last summer. “When multiple officials—including
Secretary Kerry, Secretary Lew, and Ambassador Mull—testify in front of Members
of Congress, we are inclined to believe them,” Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) told
the Washington Free Beacon. “However, the gap between their promises on the Iran
nuclear deal and today’s scary reality continues to widen. We are now trying to
determine whether this was intentional deception on the part of the
administration or new levels of disturbing acquiescence to the Iranians,” Pompeo
said. Congress is believed to be investigating what insiders described to the
Free Beacon as a range of areas in which administration officials may have
understated the breadth of concessions made to the mullahs' regime when trying
to persuade lawmakers to sign off on the final deal. Multiple disputes have
surfaced in the last week, the Free Beacon report said on Monday. In one
dispute, congressional leaders are concerned that the administration no longer
considers recent Iranian ballistic missile tests a “violation” of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2231, which codifies the nuclear deal. Top
administration officials including Secretary of State John Kerry vowed to
Congress that the Iranian regime would be legally prohibited from carrying out
ballistic missile tests under the resolution.Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador
to the U.N., shifted course last week, refusing to call recent Iranian launches
a “violation” in a letter she signed criticizing those launches. A second
dispute centers around recent statements from Treasury Department officials
suggesting that the administration is now set to grant Iran's regime non-nuclear
sanctions relief, including indirect access to the U.S. financial system, weeks
after top Iranian officials began demanding this type of sanctions relief. Top
administration figures, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, had promised
Congress that years-old restrictions barring Iran's regime from accessing the
U.S. financial system in any way would remain in place even after the nuclear
deal. But new concerns have raised alarm bells among lawmakers, who fear that
the administration will ease longstanding restrictions on Iran. Kerry “and other
administration officials assured the American people and Congress that UNSCR
2231 still allowed the U.S. to respond to dangerous actions, like these, from
the Iranians,” Reps. Pompeo, Peter Roskam (R., Ill.), and Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.)
wrote in a letter last week to the State Department. “While many lawmakers,
ourselves included, are certain that Iran’s latest tests violate UNSCR 2231,
your decision to cease labeling the launches a violation is alarming,” they
wrote. “We are troubled by reports that the administration is stifling voices
within its ranks for stronger action against Iran—putting the JCPOA and
political legacy above the safety and security of the American people.”On
Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters that the Obama
administration does not plan to give Iran's regime access to the U.S. financial
system. "The administration has not been and is not planning to grant Iran
access to the U.S. financial system," Toner told reporters at a press briefing.
Richard Ashworth MEP: Over
1000 executions in Iran in 2015
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Tuesday, 05 April 2016/NCRI - Richard
Ashworth, a Member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom, has
reiterated that the Iranian regime’s president Hassan Rouhani is not a
‘moderate’ as he claims to be. Mr. Ashworth, who is a strong supporter of
freedom and democracy in Iran, pointed to over 1000 executions carried out in
Iran in 2015 under Rouhani’s watch. Text of remarks by Richard Ashworth MEP: “We
were very happy to host Mrs. Maryam Rajavi in the European Parliament last week.
She received great support from many members of the parliament, who came from
all of the different political groups. And we were all there to demonstrate our
support for her vision for a free and democratic Iran, an Iran that is free from
nuclear ambitions, an Iran which is free from the death penalty and an Iran that
can once again be a valued partner in a peaceful world; not a threat. We have to
remind our governments that Iranian President Rouhani is not a moderate. Over
1000 people were hanged last year in Iran which has made it the number one
executioner state in the world. And with a human rights record like that, no
state could ever claim to be moderate. The recent elections in Iran were not
real. How can they be when the opposition candidates are not allowed to run?
That’s not an election, that’s a selection within the ruling power itself. And
therefore we in the European Parliament will continue our efforts and continue
to support the democratic opposition until the day we get a truly free
democratic election being held in Iran. Thank you.” Members of the European
Parliament have spoken out in support of human rights and democracy in Iran
through support for the democratic opposition led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
U.S. does not plan to grant
Iran regime access to U.S. financial system
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Tuesday, 05 April 2016/The Obama
administration does not plan to give Iran's regime access to the U.S. financial
system, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Monday. "The administration
has not been and is not planning to grant Iran access to the U.S. financial
system," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at a briefing,
according to Reuters. On Friday, President Barack Obama said the United States
was not looking to permit the use of its financial system for dollar-denominated
transactions with Iran, and said foreign companies could work through European
banks.
Azerbaijan Confirms Ceasefire
Reached with Karabakh Rebels
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 05/16/Azerbaijan and Armenian separatist
authorities in the Nagorny Karabakh region reached an agreement Tuesday to end
four days of fierce fighting over the disputed territory, Azerbaijan confirmed.
"Military actions were halted as of 12:00pm local time (0800 GMT) on Tuesday,"
Azerbaijan's defense ministry said in a statement after a similar announcement
by separatist authorities in Karabakh. Azerbaijan's defense ministry said 16 its
soldiers had been killed over the last two days. The death toll from both sides
since the clashes in the Caucasus erupted on Friday is at least 64, according to
an AFP estimate based on official reports. "Armenia continued firing at
Azerbaijani army positions and civilian targets using large-caliber machineguns
and 120-millimeter mortars," the ministry said in a statement as clashes entered
a fourth day.
The rebel defense ministry in Karabakh said that "Azerbaijan continued its
aggression throughout the night.""It used (Russian-made) 'Smerch' heavy multiple
rocket launcher system at the southern sector of the front," the ministry added.
Russia and the West have hurriedly called for an end to the fighting. Mediators
from Russia, the United States and France were to meet in Vienna on Tuesday
under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of mountainous Nagorny Karabakh, a
majority ethnic Armenian region lying inside Azerbaijan, in an early 1990s war
that claimed some 30,000 lives. The sides have never signed a peace deal despite
the 1994 ceasefire and sporadic violence on the line of contact regularly claims
lives of soldiers on both sides, though the latest outbreak represents a serious
escalation. Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's
entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region
by force.
ISIS ‘use mustard gas’ in
Deir Ezzor airport attack
Reuters | Amman Tuesday, 5 April 2016/ISIS militants attacked Syrian army troops
with mustard gas in an offensive against a Syrian military airport in the
eastern province of Deir Ezzor that borders Iraq, state media said on late
Monday. Syrian state media did not disclose how many casualties were sustained
in the latest drive by the fundamentalist militants to capture the heavily
defended airport located south of Deir Ezzor city, whose main neighborhoods are
under the militants control. "The terrorists fired rockets carrying mustard
gas," a statement said on state owned Ikhbariyah television station. Deir Ezzor
is a strategic location. The province links ISIS 's de facto capital in Raqqa
with its fighters in Iraq. Reuters could not independently verify the media
reports. Amaq news agency, which is close to the militants, had earlier said
ISIS fighters had launched a wide scale attack on Jufrah village near the
airport in which it said two of its suicide bombers rammed their vehicles into
army defenses causing "tens of dead". "The battles continue on more than front
and posts and we pray to Allah (God) victory for his Mujahdeen (holy warriors),"
an official statement by the militants said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, a monitor which tracks violence across the country, said the
militants had advanced with heavy aerial strikes aimed at repelling their
offensive. The Syrian army backed by heavy Russian air strikes was able last
January to drive back the hardline militants from several villages near the
airport but has so far failed to dislodge them. Separately, the Observatory said
fighting flared on several frontlines in the major northern city of Aleppo which
is divided between government and rebel held sectors. Rebel shelling of Kurdish
YPG outposts in Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood caused several casualties, the
monitor said.
The Syrian army had earlier said that at least four hundred al-Qaeda affiliated
Nusra Front led militants fully equipped with heavy arms staged a major attack
on army outposts in the Aleppo countryside. The army statement also said at
least eight civilians were killed in mortar attacks by rebels on residential
areas of Sheikh Maqsoud with scores injured. A fragile "cessation of
hostilities" truce has held in Syria for over a month as the various parties to
the conflict try to negotiate an end to Syria's civil war. But the truce
excludes ISIS and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. Air and land attacks by
Syrian and allied forces continue in parts of Syria where the government says
the groups are present.
Nusra Front captures pilot
from downed Syrian jet
Agencies Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Syria militants shot down a warplane on Tuesday
in an area south of the city of Aleppo where insurgents are battling the Syrian
army and allied militias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The
monitor said a plume of smoke was seen as the plane caught fire before it fell
in the Talat al-Iss highland, where al Qaeda-affiliated militants have come
under heavy bombardment by Syrian and Russian planes since they captured the
area this week. Syrian state TV confirmed that the jet was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile in Aleppo province and the pilot ejected. However
according to the monitor and a militant source said that the pilot of downed
plane has been taken by al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra front to one of its
headquarters. Videos downloaded on social media also showed footage of the plane
and pictures of the wreckage of a burnt plane surrounded by rebels. Aerial
supremacy has been a major advantage for the Syrian army that has been battling
insurgents seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Foreign-backed rebels
have long demanded anti-aircraft weapons to offset the impact of devastating
aerial raids by Syrian forces and since September Russian planes, but their
backers have been wary of delivering weapons that could fall into the hands of
hardline groups. A fragile "cessation of hostilities" truce has held in Syria
for over a month as the various parties try to negotiate an end to the
five-year-old civil war. But the truce excludes ISIS and Nusra Front, and air
and land attacks by Syrian and allied forces continue in parts of Syria where
the government says the groups are present. One Turkish soldier was also lightly
wounded on Tuesday after a military outpost in the southeastern province of
Gaziantep came under fire from ISIS militants from across the Syrian border.
Shelling in Aleppo
In Aleppo, Syrian state media and an activist group have also reported that
militant shelling of a predominantly Kurdish neighborhood northern of the city
has killed at least nine people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights says Tuesday's shelling came amid clashes between militants, including
members of al-Qaida's branch in Syria, and Kurdish fighters. The activist group
says nine were killed. The state SANA news agency says the rocket attack on the
city's Sheik Maqssoud neighborhood killed 14 and wounded about 50. Sheikh
Maqsoud is on the northern edge of Aleppo and has been repeatedly targeted by
militants over the past few months amid fighting on its outskirts. On Monday,
state media reported that insurgents fired dozens of shells at the same
neighborhood, killing eight and wounding more than 20.
Syrian rebels advance against ISIS
In other parts of Syria, Syrian rebels were closing in on a town near the
Turkish border held by ISIS after seizing numerous villages from the group in
the area, rebels and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The rebels
involved in the offensive include factions fighting under the banner of the Free
Syrian Army that have been supplied with weapons via Turkey. They are advancing
towards the ISIS-held town of al-Rai. A sustained rebel advance near the Turkish
border would erode ISIS’ last foothold in an area identified by the United
States as a priority in the fight against the group. Rebels who have previously
struggled to make sustained gains against ISIS in the area have mobilized
several thousand fighters for the attack, rebel sources said. An alliance of
rebel groups formed for the offensive includes the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad
and Failaq al Sham groups. "The battles are continuing ... we have been able to
liberate several villages very quickly from the Daesh gangs and God willing will
cleanse northern Aleppo," said Abu Yasser, a commander with Failaq al Sham
group, speaking to Reuters. The Observatory said the rebel groups had seized at
least 16 villages in an area held by ISIS for nearly two years.
ISIS’ foothold at the Turkish border was significantly reduced last year by
U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters of the YPG, which gained territory from the group
further east. The YPG and rebels are however locked in their own conflict,
notably near the city of Aleppo. Turkey, a major sponsor of groups fighting to
topple President Bashar al-Assad, has been alarmed by YPG gains near the
frontier with Syria. (With Reuters and AP)
Syria peace talks to resume
on April 11: UN
AFP | Geneva Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Syria peace talks will likely resume in
Geneva on April 11, but regime negotiators will only arrive several days later
after the completion of parliamentary elections in the country, the UN said
Tuesday. United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura had previously said he
wanted to restart the talks on April 9, but noted there was flexibility in the
timeline. UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told journalists that de Mistura “expects to
start on the 11th” by meeting with the main opposition High Negotiations
Committee (HNC). De Mistura is leading indirect negotiations, meaning the
various parties have so far not met face-to-face. Before the previous round of
talks paused on March 24, President Bashar al-Assad’s representatives had said
they would not return to Geneva until after the elections on April 13. The UN
does not recognise Syria’s upcoming vote and is trying to strike a peace deal
that will see fresh general elections, with opposition candidates included, held
within 18 months. The talks remain gridlocked over the president’s political
fate, with the opposition demanding Assad leave power before any transitional
government is agreed.
The regime has said that dialogue about the president’s future is off limits.
Saudi king sets aside
frustrations with Egypt for state visit
Reuters | Riyadh/Cairo Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Despite years of mutual frustration
and disappointment over diverging priorities, Saudi Arabia and Egypt remain
fundamental to each other’s security, a message King Salman’s visit to Cairo
this week is intended to reinforce. The rare foreign trip by the Saudi ruler
will counter media commentary in both countries of discord between the richest
Arab state and the most populous, to show Riyadh still backs Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. However, with Iraq, Syria and Yemen immersed in civil war,
and Saudi Arabia preoccupied by its own region-wide tussle with Iran, Riyadh is
determined to stop the Egyptian state from failing. It will maintain some aid
despite its own tighter budgets from falling global oil prices, analysts say.
That position contrasts with Riyadh’s approach to Lebanon, from which Gulf
states have pulled aid in response to the growing role there of Iran’s ally
Hezbollah, evidence of Saudi Arabia’s with-us-or-against-us regional doctrine.
“The Saudis are very keen not to allow Egypt to collapse, but at the same time
the Saudis cannot pay forever. I think King Salman will try to explain these
issues,” said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the kingdom’s
Interior Ministry. In recent months, groups of Egyptian ministers have flown to
Riyadh almost weekly for meetings with their Saudi counterparts, a diplomat
said, and officials are planning to unveil Saudi investments of $4 billion this
week. Saudi Arabia is also expected to sign a $20 billion deal to finance
Egypt’s petroleum needs for the next five years and a $1.5 billion deal to
develop its Sinai region, two Egyptian government sources told Reuters. Egyptian
intelligence sources said Sisi wanted the visit to soothe the recent strains in
the relationship, attract more Saudi investment, reassure Riyadh over Cairo’s
support for its stance towards Iran and discuss possible arms deals. Agreements
to cooperate more closely on a range of issues, from the armed forces to the
economy, will be announced, say people in Riyadh, but are seen as unlikely to
make the relationship significantly deeper. “It is like a married couple who
argue but decide to stay together for the sake of the children,” said Jamal
Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist.
Disappointment
Once a central axis of Middle East politics, the relationship between Cairo and
Riyadh has become increasingly peripheral since the 2011 Arab uprisings in a
region now beset by civil wars and widespread unrest elsewhere. In Syria, where
Saudi Arabia is a leading backer of rebels, it has worked most closely with
Qatar and Turkey, political rivals of Egypt. In Yemen, Cairo has contributed
naval forces to a Saudi-led military intervention, but Riyadh’s main ally has
been the United Arab Emirates. However, as Saudi Arabia has turned to confront
what it sees as a threat of Iranian expansionism across the region, Egypt has
grown ever more introverted, focusing on its internal issues. “The fact is that
because of its revolution and its domestic economic situation, Egypt is not what
it was, and more and more the Saudis are taking this prominent role,” said a
diplomat. “The Saudis have some differences with them, but it’s between
consenting adults.”Still, Egypt’s naval participation in the Yemen campaign is
seen in Riyadh as important and despite Cairo’s unwillingness to join Gulf
states in declaring Hezbollah a terrorist group, its regional position has
broadly aligned with that of the kingdom.
Lavish Aid
“This is an historic visit,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir at a
news conference on Tuesday. Since 2013, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have
given Cairo around $35 billion in aid in the form of oil shipments, cash grants
and deposits into the central bank. Meanwhile, Riyadh and Cairo have spoken of
the need to increase Gulf investments into Egypt, a goal that has faltered as
prominent businessmen in Saudi Arabia and its neighbours have complained openly
about red tape and corruption. For some in Riyadh’s elite, the fault lies with
Egypt’s president, a man regarded when since 2013, and upon his election in
2014, as Saudi Arabia’s newest best friend. “Sisi enjoyed the position of a hero
at that time. He was the guy to fix Egypt and save it from chaos. Now in the
same majlises (salons) in Riyadh, he’s lost that appeal,” said Khashoggi.
US would ‘block’ sale of
Russian fighter jet to Iran
Reuters, Moscow/Washington Tuesday, 5 April 2016/The United States would use its
veto power in the UN Security Council to block any sale of Su-30 fighter
aircraft to Iran, Thomas Shannon, the US Under Secretary of State for Political
Affairs, said on Tuesday. “We would block the approval of fighter aircraft,” he
told a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, noting that any such sale
would have to be approved by the Security Council. Shannon also said Russia is
complying with its commitments not to transfer ballistic missile equipment to
Iran. “We’ve got a commitment ... from the Russians in terms of working to
prohibit the transfer of technologies to Iran's ballistic missile program,”
Shannon said, adding: “... They are complying with their commitment not to
transfer these kinds of technology or to facilitate the transfer.” The Obama
administration is also open to renewing the Iran Sanctions Act, which expires at
the end of 2016, if it does not interfere with the international nuclear
agreement with Tehran, Shannon said. “We would be happy to engage with this
committee and the Congress on a renewed Iran Sanctions Act, assuming that it
does not complicate or prevent us from meeting JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal)
commitments,” he said. Earlier, an Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian
diplomat as saying on Tuesday that Russia will begin the first shipment of its
S-300 air defence missile systems to Iran in the coming days. “I don’t know if
this will happen today, but they (S-300 missiles) will be loaded (for shipment
to Iran),” the agency quoted Zamir Kabulov, a department chief at the Foreign
Ministry, as saying. Russia cancelled a contract to deliver the advanced
anti-missile rocket system to Iran in 2010 under pressure from the West
following UN sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme. Tehran agreed
the deal on curbing its nuclear work in July last year and international
sanctions were lifted in January. But tensions with Washington have remained
high as Tehran continues to develop its military capabilities.
Weapons seized from Iran
‘bound for Houthis’
Reuters Tuesday, 5 April 2016/US Navy ships in the Arabian Sea intercepted and
seized an arms shipment from Iran likely bound for Houthi militias in Yemen, the
military said in a statement on Monday. The weapons seized last week by the
warships Sirocco and Gravely were hidden on a small dhow and included 1,500
AK-47 rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, and 21 .50-caliber
machine guns, according to the Navy statement. The weapons were seized on March
28 and are now in US custody. The boat, which the Navy described as stateless,
and its crew were allowed to leave once the weapons were taken. “This seizure is
the latest in a string of illicit weapons shipments assessed by the US to have
originated in Iran that were seized in the region by naval forces,” the military
said in the statement. It cited a Feb. 27 incident in which the Australian Navy
intercepted a dhow in late February and confiscated nearly 2,000 AK-47s, 100 RPG
launchers, and other weapons. On March 20, a French destroyer seized almost
2,000 AK-47s, dozens of Dragunov sniper rifles, nine antitank missiles, and
other equipment. Houthi militias seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, stoking
concern in Saudi Arabia that Iran was exploiting turmoil in the region and
extending its influence to the Saudi border. The Houthis, whose home territory
is in northern Yemen, practice Shiite Islam, the majority faith in Iran.
‘Destabilizing activities’
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday that Iran’s support for the
Houthis is an example of its “destabilizing activities” in the region, and that
the weapons shipment could be raised at the United Nations Security Council. “We
obviously are concerned about this development, because offering up support to
the rebels in Yemen is something that is not at all consistent with UN Security
Council resolutions,” Earnest said. US officials have said in the past that
Iran’s direct involvement with the Houthis is limited, but that Iranian military
personnel were training and equipping Houthi units. A Saudi-led Arab coalition
has been fighting to restore Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power
since last year, including via air strikes on Sanaa. UN-sponsored peace talks
are scheduled to start in Kuwait on April 18. The two sides have confirmed a
truce starting at midnight on April 10 ahead of the peace talks, scheduled to
follow a week later.
Erdogan proposes stripping
terrorism supporters of Turkish citizenship
Reuters, Ankara Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Turkey should consider stripping
citizenship from supporters of terrorism, President Tayyip Erdogan said on
Tuesday, adding that the government had "nothing to discuss with terrorists".
His comments, in a speech to a group of lawyers in the capital Ankara, come
after he ruled out on Monday a revival of peace talks with the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He has vowed to stamp out the conflict in the
mainly Kurdish southeast, at its deadliest in two decades, once and for all. "We
need to be decisive to take all the necessary measures including stripping of
citizenship for terror organisation supporters," he said in comments broadcast
live on television. "This state has nothing to discuss with terrorists. That
business is over." Erdogan did not specify who he was targeting with the
comments. In the past he said that those Turkey accuses of supporting terrorism
- whether they are journalists or aid workers - are no different from terrorists
themselves. Such comments have worried rights advocates who fear that
anti-terrorism laws, already used to detain academics and opposition
journalists, will now be used in courts to stifle discussion of issues such as
the Kurdish conflict. The autonomy-seeking PKK abandoned its two-year ceasefire
in July, reigniting a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives, mainly
Kurdish, since 1984. The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey,
the United States and the European Union. The violence has wrecked a peace
process, spearheaded by Erdogan, that was seen as the best chance at ending one
of Europe's longest-running insurgencies. Almost 400 soldiers and police and
thousands of militants have been killed since July, Erdogan said last week. He
also said on Tuesday that parliament should "immediately" act to strip
parliamentarians of their legal immunity from prosecution. Erdogan has been
lobbying for an end to the immunity, accusing the Kurdish-rooted Peoples'
Democratic Party (HDP), parliament's third-largest party, of being an extension
of the PKK. The HDP says it is opposed to violence and wants a peaceful solution
for Turkey's Kurds.
Saudi security officer shot
dead in attack claimed by ISIS
Reuters, Dubai Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Assailants shot dead a senior Saudi
security officer west of the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the interior ministry
said in a statement carried by state media, and the attack was claimed by ISIS.
Saudi state news agency SPA quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying that
the officer, Colonel Kitab Majed al-Hammadi, was shot dead in the al-Arja area
of al-Dawadimi province west of the Saudi capital. The spokesman said security
authorities were investigating the killing. ISIS’ Amaq news website said the
group's Saudi branch, known as the Nejd Province, carried out the attack and
identified Hammadi as the director of internal security in the al-Quwayiyah
region. The Nejd Province group claimed responsibility on Sunday for an
explosion next to a police station south of Riyadh that killed one person and
damaged police vehicles.
Yemen panel of advisors
arrive in Kuwait to prepare for talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Channel Tuesday, 5 April 2016/A panel of advisors
in charge of implementing a future ceasefire in Yemen has arrived in Kuwait to
kick start its arrangements for the upcoming peace talks on April 18, an
official in the internationally recognized Yemeni government said.
Abdullah al-Alimi, deputy head of the presidential office, said the Pacification
and Communication Commission panel has finished its draft notes over the paper
sent by the UN special envoy over arrangements to ceasefire. Since late March
last year, the Saudi-led coalition has bombed Iranian-backed Houthi militias and
forces allied to deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a bid to put the
government of internationally recognized President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi back in
power. UN-sponsored peace talks are scheduled to start in Kuwait on April 18.
The two sides have confirmed a truce starting at midnight on April 10 ahead of
the peace talks, scheduled to follow a week later. Alimi said the panel will
give its vision to launch the talks, expressing the government’s intentions to
reach peace especially if the Houthis respond in kind.Meanwhile, Abdulaziz al-Maflahi,
a Hadi advisor, told Al Arabiya News Channel in an interview that considered the
negotiations by the Houthis with the Saudi side is a step in the right
direction, but said they need to do more to boost confidence-building measures.
“Those attempted coup [Houthis] need to do the minimal asked from them and
that’s through releasing political prisoners, break siege on besieged areas
especially [southwestern city of] Taiz,” he said. “Until now we did not find
them taking any positive step, except for speaking with our brethren of the
Saudi kingdom.”
ISIS fires wound Turkish
soldier near border
Agencies Tuesday, 5 April 2016/One Turkish soldier was lightly wounded on
Tuesday after a military outpost in the southeastern province of Gaziantep came
under fire from ISIS militants from across the Syrian border, privately owned
Dogan News agency said. Turkey’s military responded in kind and fired artillery
into Syria, the agency said. Turkey, which faces multiple security threats, is
on heightened alert after four suicide bombings already this year, two of which
have been blamed on ISIS. Gaziantep province is near the Syrian border and part
of it lies just across the frontier from the ISIS-controlled Syrian town of
Jarablus. Meanwhile, authorities in southern Turkey have arrested two men
suspected of preparing to carry out suicide bombings for ISIS, which has staged
two attacks in Istanbul this year, reports said Tuesday. The men were arrested
in the southern province of Gaziantep, which borders Syria, the local governor’s
office said in a statement carried by the Dogan news agency. One of them was
named as Mehmet Mustafa Cevik, described as a member of ISIS and one of its
Turkish affiliates, the Dokumacilar Group. The Dokumacilar Group, named after
its wanted founder Mustafa Dokumaci, is the suicide bomber unit suspected of
being behind the October 2015 attack that killed 103 people at an Ankara peace
rally in Turkey’s bloodiest-ever attack. The cell has also been linked to the
killing of 34 people in the town of Suruc on the Syrian border in July 2015. The
other militant arrested was Ercan Capkin, the brother of Erkan Capkin, one of
the suspected suicide bombers behind the March 19 attack on a famous Istanbul
shopping thoroughfare that left four people dead. A dozen German tourists were
also killed in January when a suicide bomber linked to ISIS detonated his charge
in the heart of Istanbul’s historic center. Both suspects were ordered by a
court in Gaziantep to be held in jail ahead of trial, the report said. The
Turkish interior ministry now has 23 suspected ISIS militants on its most wanted
list with a total bounty of 42 million lira ($15 million) on their heads, the
Hurriyet daily reported Tuesday.
Three suspected ISIS militants are on its urgently-wanted red list including
Mustafa Dokumaci, the alleged leader of ISIS in Gaziantep, Ilhami Bali and Yunus
Durmaz who is said to have planned the March 19 attack. Turkey has been for
several months on a state of high alert due to a series of attacks blamed both
on ISIS and Kurdish militants amid the resumption of a conflict with the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). he attack in Istanbul came less than a week
after a car bomb exploded in central Ankara killing 35 people which was claimed
by a radical Kurdish faction that split from the PKK. (With APF and Reuters)
Turkey strikes PKK rebels in
northern Iraq
Reuters, Istanbul Tuesday, 5 April 2016/The Turkish military said on Tuesday it
had carried out airstrikes on Monday in northern Iraq against targets belonging
to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Turkish Armed Forces said it
hit weapon stores, shelters and other PKK sites in the Qandil area of northern
Iraq, in a statement posted on its website. Iraqi Kurdistan’s mountainous,
remote Qandil region is the main base for the PKK. Turkish jets have carried out
intermittent strikes against the PKK in north Iraq since July 2015 after the
militants’ abandoned their ceasefire. Security operations inside Turkey have
resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, soldiers, police and PKK
militants.
ISIS arrests Fallujah woman
who revealed group’s atrocities
Staff writer | Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 5 April 2016/ISIS has arrested a
woman in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after she revealed atrocities committed by
the group in a video aired on Al Arabiya News Channel and its sister station al-Hadath.
“People are dying because of hunger, there is no medicine, no food, we have no
more options left,” she said in the video, appearing breathless, adding “Allah
is my refuge.”The city of Fallujah, located around 70 kilometers from the
capital Baghdad, is currently controlled by ISIS. It has been under siege from
Popular Mobilization forces and Iraqi army forces for two years. ISIS views most
of the city’s residents as enemies, and it has deprived them of their most basic
rights, limiting their access to food and medicine – a situation made worse by
the ongoing siege. The residents of Fallujah suffer from many diseases due to
malnutrition and lack of medical supplies. Al-Hadath reported on Tuesday that
seven people had died, all of them women and children, due to the combination of
barrel bombings, hunger and shortage of medicine. Al Arabiya’s correspondent
cited a medic reporting that Fallujah’s hospital received three women wounded
from barrel bombings and two slain children. Meanwhile, five other children were
killed due to a medicine shortage.
Reports: Hundreds of Israeli
Firms in Panama Papers
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /April 05/16/Israeli tax authorities said Tuesday
they were searching the mass of leaked documents known as the Panama Papers,
after media reports said 600 Israeli companies and two major banks were
included. A spokeswoman from the tax authorities said the information from the
leak "strengthens our campaign, launched last year, aimed at convincing Israelis
who have not declared their fortune abroad to do so without facing
penalties."She stressed that new legislation which seeks to reduce tax evasion
had also been passed, with those found guilty facing up to 10 years in prison.
The Israeli Ministry of Finance did not comment on the Panama Papers
revelations. According to Israeli media, the names of 600 Israeli companies,
including two of the three major Israeli banks -- Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim
-- were contained in the documents. Some 850 shareholders were also named as
holders of accounts in the tax haven. Among those said to be named in the
documents were Israeli businessman Idan Ofer and a former aide to ex-prime
minister Ariel Sharon, Dov Weisglass, Israeli media reported without further
details. Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted that "as long as holdings in the
companies and their revenues -- if any -- are reported as required to Israeli
tax authorities, owning the company is not against the law."The trove of 11
million Panama Papers documents was anonymously leaked to German daily
Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with more than 100 media groups by the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The documents have
shone light on financial and tax practices of customers across the globe, with
more revelations expected over the coming weeks.
Italy warns Egypt as row
continues over dead student
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Italy said on Tuesday it
would take “immediate and proportionate” measures against Egypt if the Cairo
government did not fully cooperate in uncovering the truth over the murder of an
Italian student. Giulio Regeni vanished from the streets of Cairo on Jan 25. His
body, showing signs of extensive torture, was discovered in a ditch on the
outskirts of the Egyptian capital on Feb. 3. “If there is not a change in tack
(by the Egyptian authorities), the government is ready to react, adopting
measures that are both immediate and proportionate,” Foreign Minister Paolo
Gentiloni told parliament. The head of the Italian parliament’s human rights
committee said last month that the government should recall Italy’s ambassador
to Cairo and declare Egypt unsafe for visitors if the investigation went
nowhere. A delegation of Egyptian prosecutors and policemen is to fly to Rome on
Wednesday to present their findings of the murder, the prosecution service said.
On March 25, Cairo announced police had killed four members of a criminal gang
specializing in abducting foreigners, and that they had found Regeni’s passport
in the apartment of a sister of one of the slain suspects. Rome has cast doubt
on Cairo’s explanation for Regeni’s murder, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
saying Italy “will not stop until we have the truth” and that it would not be
“satisfied with some convenient truth.”Regeni’s murder has brought relations
between the two countries to one of their lowest points, with Italian officials
openly ridiculing different versions of Regeni’s death put forward by Egyptian
investigators, including an initial suggestion that he had died in a traffic
accident. Human rights groups have said torture marks on Regeni’s body indicated
he died at hands of Egyptian security forces, an allegation Cairo has repeatedly
denied. The case has raised fresh questions about accusations of police
brutality in Egypt, a strategic ally of the West and an important trade partner
for Rome.
(With Reuters and AFP)
Algerian army kills four
Islamists near Tunisian border
AFP, Algiers Tuesday, 5 April 2016/Algeria's army on Monday killed four armed
Islamists in El-Oued, the defence ministry said, meaning almost a dozen have
been killed in the lawless desert region in the past two weeks. Four Kalashnikov
automatic weapons, grenades and ammunition were also seized during the
military-led operation in the Bir El Kasira area, near the Tunisian border, the
ministry said on its website. The deaths bring the number of "terrorists" --
what the government calls Islamists who launched an insurgency in the early
1990s -- killed in the Algerian Sahara region over the past two weeks to 11.
Last year the Algerian army killed or arrested 157 "terrorists," according to
figures from the ministry of defence. A brutal civil war in the 1990s between
the government and Islamists claimed the lives of some 200,000 people. Despite
adopting a peace and reconciliation charter in 2005 aimed at turning the page on
the conflict, armed groups remain active in the centre and east of Algeria.
Iceland Premier Resigns in
'Panama Papers' Scandal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 05/16/Iceland's prime minister resigned
Tuesday, becoming the first political victim of a mushrooming worldwide scandal
over hidden offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called Panama Papers.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was the biggest casualty of a
worldwide media probe into 11.5 million leaked documents that purportedly reveal
the offshore financial activities of 140 political figures, including 12 current
or former heads of state. "The prime minister told (his party's) parliamentary
group meeting that he would step down as prime minister and I will take over,"
the Progressive Party's deputy leader Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told a live
broadcast. A series of other leaders and stars fingered in the leaked papers
have hit back at the allegations, denying any wrongdoing despite the
international furore. Those named include Russian President Vladimir Putin's
associates, Chinese President Xi Jinping's relatives, British Prime Minister
David Cameron's later father and celebrities such as Argentine footballing great
Lionel Messi. Iceland's leader had been under immense pressure after the papers,
leaked from a Panamanian law firm, appeared to show that he and his wife Anna
Sigurlaug Palsdottir owned an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands and
placed millions of dollars there.Though the prime minister denied ever hiding
money abroad, pressure on his government had mounted, with egg-throwing
protesters gathering in the streets Monday and fresh demonstrations planned
Tuesday.
'Groundless allegations'
The vast stash of records from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca was
obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and
shared with more than 100 media groups by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The network of journalists published their
first findings Sunday after a year-long probe. Offshore financial dealings are
not illegal in themselves, though they may be used to hide assets from tax
authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal
misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth. In Beijing, there was no
official reaction to ICIJ allegations that eight current or former members of
the ruling party's most powerful body concealed their fortunes through offshore
havens, as well as relatives of Xi Jinping, who has overseen a much-publicized
anti-corruption drive. Asked whether China would investigate those named in the
reports, however, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "For such groundless
accusations, I have no comment." The Kremlin suggested a U.S. plot after the
leaks put a close friend of Putin's at the top of an offshore empire worth more
than $2 billion. "Putin, Russia, our country, our stability and the upcoming
elections are the main target, specifically to destabilize the situation," said
a Kremlin spokesman, claiming many of the journalists were former officers from
the U.S. state department, the CIA and special services.
Rich must pay taxes too
Messi's family denied any wrongdoing after the footballer and his father were
named as owners of a Panama company that had not previously been disclosed
during a Spanish probe into their tax affairs. "The Panama company to which they
refer to is a totally inactive company that never had any funds or any open
current accounts," the Messi family said in a statement Monday. Australia,
France and the Netherlands have announced investigations into revelations
contained in the papers. A judicial source said Spain had opened a
money-laundering probe into the law firm. "We need to make sure that not just
ordinary citizens pay their taxes but also people who have a lot of money, who
earn a lot of money, pay their taxes where they make that money and don't hide
the money," visiting European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told
reporters Tuesday in the Polish capital Warsaw. Panama has pledged to identify
whether any crimes had been committed and any financial damages should be
awarded. But France's Finance Minister Michel Sapin said his country would put
Panama back on its list of countries that do not cooperate in efforts to track
down tax dodgers following the revelations.
Latest allegations
Among the latest allegations of the Panama Papers investigations:
- A North Korean front company used to help fund the country's nuclear weapons
program, Pyongyang-based DCB Finance Ltd, was among Mossack Fonseca's clients,
according to the BBC and The Guardian.
-- Prime Minister
David Cameron's father ran an offshore fund that paid no tax in Britain for 30
years, according to the Panama Papers probe. Cameron's Downing Street office
insisted it was a "private matter" although a government source later told AFP
that the prime minister himself did not have any such funds.
-- Aides to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen put in place a "sophisticated
offshore system" to hide money, according to Le Monde newspaper.
-- Syria used Mossack Fonseca to create shell companies to help it break
international sanctions and fund its war effort, the French paper said.
The papers, from around 214,000 offshore entities covering almost 40 years, also
name the president of Ukraine and the king of Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko denied any wrongdoing, but he may face an attempt to impeach
him.
One of the Panama law firm's founders, Ramon Fonseca, told AFP the leaks
themselves were "a crime, a felony" and "an attack on Panama."
Mossack Fonseca is subject to investigations in Germany and also in Brazil,
where it is part of a huge money laundering probe that has threatened to topple
the current government.
Yemen, one year on: Victory
or defeat?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
It has been a year since the Saudi-led coalition launched its war in Yemen
against the toppling of the legitimate government there. The coalition has
achieved more in a year than the Americans have done in Afghanistan in 15. It
has not eliminated the forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh or the
Houthis, and Al-Qaeda - which established its presence there years before the
war was launched - is still attacking legitimate Yemeni and coalition forces.
However, one year on, political and battlefield gains have diminished the number
of those protesting and doubting the war. By the time of the first coalition
airstrike, Houthi militias and Saleh’s forces had seized most of Yemen, and the
rebels had declared the formation of a cabinet and their rejection of UN
Security Council resolutions. The nightmare became a reality - another country
in Iran’s orbit, besieging Gulf countries from the south while they are besieged
by Iraq and Syria from the north. The rebels had also seized the arsenal of the
Yemeni army, which included Scud missiles that could gravely threaten Saudi
cities.
The war immediately destroyed the rebel political system, and prevented Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah forces and Iraqi militias from
entering Yemen, as they have done in Iraq and Syria. Liberating most Yemeni
provinces during this year of war is a huge military achievement in a rugged
country that resembles Afghanistan in its terrain and tribal divisions. The
coalition imposed an aerial and naval siege. Yemeni ports depended on efficient
international inspections. Last year, U.S., French and Australian naval forces
prevented ships carrying arms from Iran from reaching Yemen, but they did not
prevent humanitarian aid shipments. The war was the only option to prevent the
IRGC and Hezbollah from occupying Yemen and turning it into a front in a major
regional war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Military progress
Liberating most Yemeni provinces during this year of war is a huge military
achievement in a rugged country that resembles Afghanistan in its terrain and
tribal divisions. The war is ongoing, but at a slower pace as the legitimate
government’s forces approach the capital Sanaa.
This is the last battle, and this is why Saleh and the Houthis agreed to
negotiate in Kuwait, and sent a team of representatives to the Saudi capital.
Everyone hopes that there will be signs of a political solution to end the war,
and that everyone will work toward restoring legitimacy and implementing
relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Prior to the coup by the Houthis and
Saleh, the Yemeni people had finalized their political project under UN
auspices. They had also approved electing a transitional government and begun
writing a constitution. However, Saleh and the Houthis dared occupy Sanaa and
arrest members of the elected government. It is hoped that the negotiations turn
the clock back, adopt the approved international solution, and complete a
political transition to establish a representative parliament that can be
elected later and also under U.N. auspices. Then the Yemeni crisis will come to
an end.
The rebels thought that they could seize power in Yemen, and that Saudi Arabia
and its allies would not deter them militarily. The rebels miscalculated,
sounded alarm bells in the Gulf, and brought the region’s governments to meet
and agree to confront Iran and its allies in Yemen.
Many were surprised by Saudi and Emirati military capabilities to engage in a
war like this while also operating on the ground to rebuild and recruit Yemeni
forces. The war represents multiple confrontations with several goals. The first
is to prevent a militant regime similar to Hezbollah’s in Lebanon. The second is
to protect Saudi Arabia from the south, and thus prevent a hostile front that
will trigger a war that may last years or even decades. The third is to voice
rejection of superpowers’ submission to Iran’s regional expansionism.
The Alawite Declaration:
Assad's firewall showing cracks
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
The most significant development coming from Syria in the last few days is not
the killing of Al-Qaeda spokesperson in Idlib or the US-Russian chatter denying
a plan to oust Bashar Al-Assad. It was a document leaked to the Western media
and dubbed as the "declaration of identity reform" signaling signs of discontent
from elders in the Alawite community towards the Syrian regime. The news of the
document is the most concrete evidence we have from Assad's religious community
since the beginning of the uprising in 2011, indicating that their patience is
running out with the status-quo and they are openly seeking a third alternative.
For such alternative to materialize, however, and for the Alawites to publicly
start abandoning Assad, a political and security umbrella has to be extended
from Russia and regional countries, guaranteeing their protection and role in a
pluralistic future in a post-Assad Syria.
Alawite discontent
Syria's Alawites have been both, the cornerstone for the regime's survival and
its Achilles' heel. A 15% of Syria's population (estimate of 3 million), the
minority enjoys the lion's share in the regime political and security hierarchy.
Assad, the Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army, heads of the intelligence services
are all from the powerful sect. When the state security proved not enough, a new
militia was formed and allied with the regime and Iran to protect the Alawites
along the coastline and in the mountain region over Latakia.
The declaration from the Alawite leaders is a watershed moment in how the
minority is publicly untying itself from Assad family, and attempting to pursue
a pact of coexistence in Syria
The new declaration as leaked by European media, exposes fissures between the
Alawites and the regime, and efforts to pursue a third option, instead of
prolonging Assad’s military campaign, or getting overridden by extremist groups.
According to the The Telegraph, the document authors "had been forced to act
because of the extreme danger the sect was now facing” amid reports of enormous
losses for the Alawites (a third of their young) in the 5-year-long war. In a
political departure from the regime narrative, the declaration speaks of "a new
relationship with Syria's Sunni majority" while calling the regime as
"totalitarian", and the uprising "an initiative of noble anger". The document
also promotes a vision for secular, pluralist and democratic state of Syria.
By distancing themselves from the regime, the Alawite signatories are seeking a
path that is not hostage to Assad's strategy of war and outright military
victories that could take years or lead to disintegration of Syria. From the
beginning of the conflict, there were shy attempts from the Alawite community
showing discontent with the Assad family and the war realities. In the last year
the community has demonstrated in Latakia calling to execute Assad's cousin,
Suleiman, now serving a 20-year sentence in prison. In 2014, protests from
members of the community broke out in Tartous and in Homs over the bombing of
elementary schools and the failure of the security to protect their children.
Assurances from Region and Russia
The declaration from the Alawite leaders is a watershed moment in how the
minority is publicly untying itself from Assad family, and attempting to pursue
a pact of coexistence in Syria. However, and unless it's met by political and
security assurances from the West, the region and Russia, this momentum will not
hold against a status quo of fear from extremism that forces Alawites to be more
dependent on Assad and local militias. For a minority whose roots are entrenched
in the Levant and has survived the Mamluks, the Crusaders, and the Ottomans, it
is only natural that its fate won't be parallel and decided by the Assad family.
It is the regime and not the family that holds higher priority for the Alawites,
and even then, negotiating a new pact of governance is the most pragmatic and
secure approach for the community’s future in Syria. The heavy toll of the war
and the strong presence of Al-Qaeda's Jabhat Nusra in Northern of the country
are ominous signs of what could yet come if no political solution is achieved.
In that context, Russia's intervention and establishing a presence in Khmeimim
airbase in Latakia could make Moscow a key guarantor for the Alawites in a
post-Assad Syria. Regional countries such as Saudi Arabia who helped assure the
Lebanese Christians at the end of the civil war by brokering the Taif agreement,
or Turkey who holds influence in Northern Syria could help in mediating between
the Alawites and the opposition.
There is already plenty of buzz regionally of backchannel diplomacy to resolve
the Syrian conflict, supervised by John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, before U.S.
President Barack Obama leaves office. There are also questions on recent reports
of relieving Maher al-Assad of his duties in the Republican Guard, and what that
could mean for the negotiations, for the Alawites and Moscow's role. The Alawite
declaration this week from Syria, is a critical opportunity to start a
conversation about the status of the minority in a post-Assad structure. Absent
of guarantees in form of protection and political assurances, this paper will be
shelved along a thick bundle of documents and goodwill gestures to resolve the
conflict.
Kuwait talks doesn’t mean
military respite in Yemen
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
When I asked one of Yemen’s most important and experienced politicians about
Houthi flexibility regarding negotiations and political discussions, he said
during their moments of military weakness, they sign any deal that does not
annihilate them in order to buy time to regroup. According to the UN special
envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, negotiations between representatives
of Yemeni legitimacy and the Houthis will be launched in Kuwait on April 10. It
is normal for each party in these talks, which aim to end the war, to seek to
improve its situation on the ground so it has a stronger negotiation position
than its opponent. Perhaps this explains the insistence of the head of the
Houthi delegation, Mohammad Abdelsalam, that there must be no preconditions for
the talks. However, this contradicts statements by the UN envoy, who said
negotiations must be on the basis of UN Security Council resolution 2216, which
obliges the Houthis to hand over weapons to the state, leave state institutions
and accept the decisions of the Yemeni national dialogue.
Saudi determination
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman told
Bloomberg that his country was pushing to create a chance for peace in Yemen.
The negotiations in Kuwait do not mean military inaction or indecisiveness on
the part of the coalition. He added that a Houthi delegation was in Riyadh to
discuss military, humanitarian and operational affairs. The minister, who
surprised the world by establishing a Muslim military alliance against
terrorism, said: “If things relapse [during negotiations], we are
ready.”Bloomberg said this signified Saudi military ability and readiness to
engage in a long war in Yemen until legitimacy is restored. the negotiations in
Kuwait do not mean military inaction or indecisiveness on the part of the
coalition.
Saudi Arabia must build new
strategies to deal with the paradigm shift
Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/April 05/16
I don’t know why the Arabs get flustered and hot under the collar when an
American official speaks out his mind. President Obama’s talk to the Atlantic
magazine did that. Dozens of writers (many who may have never heard of the
magazine) immediately pounced on Obama’s words. Some even used racist remarks on
the social media. Others tried to remind him of the Gulf’s strategic
relationship and historic alliance with the US. A few were in a state of
hysteria as to why the US had “abandoned” its “historic” allies. How naïve we
are and will always be!! There are no permanent friends or enemies in
international relations. As has been the case with the US it has always put its
interest first. They believe that the time has come now for the US to
re-evaluate its interest and opt for places where there is economic growth and
relative peace. And that is South East Asia with Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand,
South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia being the
buzzwords. Our people should know that their security does not depend on an
alliance with America but on a vibrant and strong society. In the region they
are looking at their former enemy Iran. While there are diehard opponents of the
Iranian regime there is a growing element that are looking at the possibility of
raking in the dollars. Money talks. And despite Iranian shenanigans in the
region the US will conveniently overlook them. And please don’t forget Israel.
Everyday the Zionist terrorists are killing innocent children and are even being
glorified by presidential candidates and a large section of the servile US
media. The Gulf States are being ridiculed and lampooned in public and private
by both the administration and those waiting to enter the White House on Jan.
20, 2017. The portrayal in the media that we barter oil for our security is very
offensive to me. Instead of reviewing our policies, preparing for a post-Iran
deal, a post-oil economy we drug ourselves with words and express sadness,
disappointment as to why we have been criticized and ignored as the US rushes to
realign its foreign and economic policies.
Article after article is written on Obama’s statements. Yet, we forget Obama
hardly makes the headlines in the US any more. It’s the Clintons, Cruzs, Sanders
and Trumps who fill news space and television time. They are a new breed of
politicians for whom the past is long on. Roosevelt is a fading memory and the
future is one where the interests of the US come first. We have now become a
very small blip on their radar screen. What do we do then? We too should first
consolidate our economy, enhance societal change, giving the people a stake and
participation and make logical moves to be prepared.
Our people should know that their security does not depend on an alliance with
America but on a vibrant and strong society. They should also know we are not a
protectorate of the West but a sovereign nation. It’s time we build our own
strategies to deal with the paradigm shift and realities of a complex and fast
changing world.
Iran Locks Itself Out of the
International Financial System While Blaming Washington
Patrick Clawson/The Washington Institute/April 05/16
Out-of-date Iranian banking practices and rank deception have made international
banks leery of risking their reputations.
On March 22, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared that "the Americans have not
acted on their promises and only removed the sanctions on paper," echoing the
complaints of other Iranian officials. Although they are correct about Iran's
ongoing difficulties with accessing the international financial system, they
misdiagnose the cause. The real problem is that Iranian banks are out of step
with international banking regulations established over the past two decades.
BEHIND THE TIMES
The changing standards on which Iranian banks have fallen behind start with the
strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) rules
adopted across the world, and also include regulations tightened after the
2007-2008 global financial crisis, namely the "Basel III" standards covering
risk management, corporate governance, bankruptcy laws, and other bank safety
requirements. In a January 20 Financial Times article, Valiollah Seif, governor
of Iran's central bank (Bank Markazi Iran, or BMI), was quoted describing the
country's system as "outdated" and saying its banks must be brought in line with
Basel III requirements. The same article quoted Morteza Bina, a senior risk
manager at Iran's privately owned Middle East Bank, stating, "If we had observed
international standards, our banking crisis would have been much less severe."
The bank's chief executive, Parviz Aghili, added, "Foreign banks are not obliged
to risk their reputation by working with those Iranian banks which lack
efficient compliance departments." And an anonymous senior Tehran banker noted,
"Our banking system, like our economy, has been isolated and has no idea of what
has happened in the world over the past decades."
Meanwhile, Iranian banks have become so badly run and heavily politicized that a
recent study from London-based consultancy Darien Analytics warned about the
risk of "a major banking crisis three or four years from now." It cited
"unsophisticated management controls and IT systems, accounting and auditing
practices that are inconsistent and lax at recognizing [non-performing loans]."
Finance Minister Ali Tayyebnia has warned that the government needs to repay
banks despite the cash crunch caused by the oil price collapse. The BMI
estimates that the government owes banks $33 billion, but Tayyebnia has implied
the amount is much higher. The December 2015 IMF report on Iran's economy noted
that President Hassan Rouhani's team had yet to finalize its data on these debts
almost two years after taking office.
Indeed, the Iranian business scene is characterized by lack of transparency on
many matters. Deceptive financial activities are deeply ingrained in banking
practice, partly in response to sanctions and partly as a reflection of the
Islamic Republic's rampant corruption. Consider the recent death sentence
against Babak Zanjani, who was accused of money laundering, forgery, and fraud
while amassing a fortune estimated at $14 billion, which he used to flaunt his
flamboyant lifestyle. Iran's Oil Ministry has stated that Zanjani owes it $2.5
billion, which he claims he was unable to hand over because sanctions froze the
money in foreign banks. In a similar case, Mahmoud Reza Khavari, the managing
director of Bank Melli, Iran's largest commercial bank, fled to Canada after
being accused of embezzling more than $2 billion; in 2014, he was arrested in a
Gulf country and handed over to Iran.
Last month, the Majlis passed and the Guardian Council approved a new AML/CFT
law, which is a modest step forward. Yet even if Iran goes further to enact
legislation that measures up to international standards, the main test is
practice, not words on paper. On March 9, BMI Vice Governor Hamid Tehranfar
noted that "regulations and guidelines need to be prepared for complete
implementation of the new law," but then added, "We have asked the International
Monetary Fund to review our regulations so other countries' banks feel
reassured. The IMF will announce its assessment in 2018." That is two years off.
U.S. POLICY AND IRAN'S RETURN TO THE WORLD BANKING SYSTEM
To be sure, the U.S. government has issued public warnings about dealing with
Iranian banks. Last week, Chris Backemeyer, the State Department's principal
deputy coordinator for sanctions policy, insisted that the United States does
not block Iran's access to normal banking, but simultaneously noted that banks
would be subject to stiff penalties unless they ensure they are not doing
business with sanctioned entities such as firms linked to the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps -- no easy task given the IRGC's history of disguised
business ties. That follows a similar December 2015 warning from Acting Treasury
Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam Szubin: "Companies
going into Iran need to take care. They need to conduct the due diligence
necessary to ensure that their Iranian counterparts are not affiliated with
designated individuals or organizations, such as the...IRGC or its network of
companies."
But U.S. warnings are only one element among many holding back banks. Warnings
from international bodies, especially the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
play a key role as well. At the organization's latest meeting in February, the
thirty-seven member governments -- including Russia and China -- gave consensus
approval for a statement warning about the risks of doing business with Iran and
North Korea. As one passage noted, "The FATF remains particularly and
exceptionally concerned about Iran's failure to address the risk of terrorist
financing and the serious threat this poses to the integrity of the
international financial system. The FATF reaffirms its call on members and urges
all jurisdictions to advise their financial institutions to give special
attention to business relationships and transactions with Iran, including
Iranian companies and financial institutions. In addition to enhanced scrutiny,
the FATF reaffirms its 25 February 2009 call on its members and urges all
jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures to protect their financial
sectors from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks emanating from
Iran" (see PolicyWatch 2575, "Iran's Long Road to Reintegrating With the World
Financial System").
Past penalties have also made many banks cautious about how much risk to take
with countries like Iran. Having been subject to more than $15 billion in U.S.
fines for poor enforcement of sanctions and AML/CFT regulations, and tens of
billions more for other deceptive practices, major banks have adopted a "derisking"
strategy predicated on leaving markets where they judge the risk of violating
rules -- inadvertently or not -- is too high to be worth the limited returns.
Banks are also placing much more importance on AML/CFT and sanctions
enforcement; Bank of America reportedly spends $15 billion a year on compliance
issues, while J.P. Morgan spends at least $8 billion.
If Washington wants to counter Tehran's complaints about continued access
constraints, it should publicly offer to help the Iranians improve their AML/CFT
practices, not just their laws. After all, U.S. interests would be well served
if Iran actually implemented these good practices. That scenario is extremely
unlikely, of course, but Washington could at least gain the diplomatic high
ground: in refusing U.S. offers of assistance, Tehran would prove that the
barriers it faces are of its own making, not because of U.S. foot-dragging.
Much has been made about whether the Obama administration will allow access to
the U.S. dollar in foreign bank transactions with Iran. Such transactions were
probably permitted under the previous ambiguous rules, but no major bank would
take a chance, which is why various actors are pressuring the Treasury
Department to clarify the rules. But even if this new authority is clearly
granted, banks are very unlikely to make use of it right away because they
remain cautious about dealing with Iranian customers and banks. As Seyed Arash
Shahr Aeini, deputy head of the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran, complained last
week, "Big foreign banks that were active in Iran projects before the sanctions
were imposed [are] still reluctant to start doing business in Iran." (The
forthcoming PolicyWatch 2601 will explore dollar access and sanctions issues in
greater depth.)
It is also worth remembering that Iran was never completely cut off from the
international banking system; trade financing for items such as agricultural and
medical products was always available for companies that stood up to vetting. In
a 2014 statement, Belgium's largest bank, KBC, explained that it had "decided to
support its well-established customers in its home markets...in their genuine
trade with Iran, respecting all EU and U.S. sanctions" -- though KBC apparently
had difficulty persuading other banks to work with it in such trade financing.
The political problem facing Washington is that many in Iran and around the
world may accept Tehran's propaganda blaming the United States for these
financial barriers. Speaking at Chatham House on February 4, Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted, "Rebuilding the confidence of the banks that the
United States will not re-intervene in their relations with Iran may require
some further assurance from the United States." This is entirely backwards,
however: what banks need is further assurance from Tehran that reforms are on
the way. By offering to help Iran update its banking regulations and enforcement
measures, Washington can show who is truly blocking progress -- and in the very
unlikely event that Tehran accepts that assistance, it could serve U.S.
interests by impeding money laundering and terrorist financing.
**Patrick Clawson is the Morningstar Senior Fellow and director of research at
The Washington Institute.
The Next President's Choices
on ISIS
James F. Jeffrey/Cipher Brief/April 05/16
From continuing the status quo to deploying limited ground brigades, the next
administration will inherit a range of feasible options, but only some would
serve U.S. interests, and all of them come with formidable postwar questions.
Despite some recent successes against ISIS, including military strikes against
top leaders such as Hajji Imam and the Russian-backed Syrian victory against its
forces in Palmyra, the group's core control of a Britain-sized swath of Syria
and Iraq is still solid. Meanwhile, Iraq remains under military, terrorist and
financial pressure with hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized to fight ISIS
and 3 million people displaced by ISIS to care for. At the same time, ISIS
continues to take hold in areas throughout the Middle East from Afghanistan to
Nigeria, and can strike targets in Europe and possibly the U.S. With the
Presidential elections only months away, there is little chance that the
U.S.-led coalition against ISIS will 'defeat' the ISIS 'state' and 'army' before
a new President is elected.
Under those circumstances the incoming President must focus on the reality of an
as-yet unsuccessful policy against a dangerous foe at the center of the Middle
East's dysfunctionalities. So far the candidates have avoided serious
commentary: Republicans serve up vague 'bomb 'em' slogans, and Secretary
Clinton, challenged from the left and reluctant to break with Obama, has not
provided specifics on how she would carry out her rhetorical 'leadership'
against ISIS. But this will change with the national presidential campaign and
even more after the election. Broadly, there are three strategies to choose from
and two contingencies to prepare for.
Choice One would be to continue the current Administration's program against
ISIS. This was laid out in an eight-page response to Congress in mid-March. The
Administration's goal is to "degrade and ultimately defeat" ISIS in its 'state'
in Syria and Iraq. This is a reasonable approach, but the execution has moved
far too slowly -- U.S. troops were first sent back to Iraq in June 2014 -- for
it to be considered successful. Moreover, President Obama, as revealed in a
recent interview in The Atlantic, is unlikely to opt for a more robust effort.
Despite recent successes in Ramadi, around Mosul, and in strikes against ISIS
leaders, this approach has not answered the question -- where will the ground
forces that are capable of advancing against dug-in ISIS units in their cities
come from? There is no guarantee the current approach will work either in this
Administration or in the next.
Choice Two would be "Obama Plus." Under this scenario, the U.S. maintains its
ban on American ground troops, but greatly increases its air and advisory
support effort to local forces, similar to what Putin has recently done with the
Syrian army (minus the high civilian casualties). This would involve an
extensive use of U.S. artillery, U.S. advisory and forward air controller teams
at the front, as well as American attack helicopters and a much more intense
tempo of air strikes and special forces raids, with more liberal rules of
engagement. Ironically, Obama has deployed bits and pieces of all of this
against ISIS (and currently more vigorously against the Taliban in Afghanistan),
but in a desultory way. This approach could provide more progress, but does not
answer 'whose ground troops?"
Choice Three would be limited contingents of U.S. combat troops, probably two
brigades each of 3-4,000 combat personnel, reinforced with other NATO countries'
elite forces, to spearhead drives that would still rely heavily on local forces
for subsidiary operations. This would answer the 'ground troops' question, as
elite forces of 6,000 or less have repeatedly scored victories over ISIS, whose
ability to move its 20,000 or so forces around its perimeter is limited. But
this is politically sensitive, given the distaste in the U.S. for American
ground forces in combat. But in fact a recent CNN/ORC poll documents the public
is split 49 percent/49 percent on using U.S. ground troops. With a more resolute
American President, and/or more terrorist attacks, this choice could become
feasible, as it has by far the best chance of quickly succeeding.
Two contingencies weigh on any decision. The first is 'the day after.' With or
without use of U.S. troops, any U.S. Administration will have to play a lead
political, economic and perhaps security role in stabilizing territories after
ISIS is defeated. The Administration is vague here, citing an Iraqi-led process
in Iraq, and any solution in Syria based on drawn-out negotiations between the
Syrian government and the armed opposition. But the U.S. needs to do much more
planning, if it does not want to have a second, larger Libya.
Finally, as the recent victory against ISIS in Palmyra demonstrates, there is a
possibility that a Russian-Syrian-Iranian offensive could make real gains
against ISIS in Syria. This is not an unalloyed benefit. The Russians' motives
in the region, as CENTCOM commander Austin spelled out March 8, is to "enhance
their regional influence to counter the U.S." Fighting ISIS is less an
objective-in-itself than a new way for Putin to squeeze the U.S. If the U.S.
does rapidly start taking down ISIS, a 'victory' against ISIS by Russia and its
allies could be as threatening as ISIS now is.
*James Jeffrey is the Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow at The Washington
Institute.
Is Armenia the Next
Turkish-Russian Flashpoint?
Can Kasapoglu/The Washington Institute/April 05/16
Although Turkey and Russia are unlikely to erupt into direct conflict, a
regional hotspot like Armenia-Azerbaijan could drag Ankara into active
engagement, giving the Kremlin ample room to exploit Turkey's sensitive
position.
On April 2, border clashes broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with some
of the heaviest fighting since the two countries declared a ceasefire over the
disputed Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994. The clashes and related
developments have increased the risk of their border becoming a dangerous
flashpoint that draws in Turkey and Russia. In November, Turkey downed a Russian
military jet near its southern border, sending bilateral relations on a downward
spiral and leading many analysts to focus on Syria as the most likely flashpoint
between the two historical rivals. Yet while Russian airstrikes against
Turkey-backed rebels in Syria continue, the South Caucasus -- namely Azerbaijan,
Armenia, and Georgia -- have traditionally been the main chessboard of their
longstanding rivalry.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have technically been at war since well before the latest
hostilities, and both Moscow and Ankara have actively sought to secure their
interests in the conflict. Turkey has no diplomatic ties with the Armenians, but
Russia has formed an ever-closer alliance with them, deploying military forces
inside their territory and folding their airspace under its own since November.
Given Moscow's adventurism in Crimea to the north and Syria to the south, Ankara
sees the recent moves to the east as a particularly menacing threat and has
expanded its military partnership with Turkic Azerbaijan in response.
SURROUNDING TURKEY FROM THE CAUCASUS
Moscow's current military outreach in Armenia is centered around the Russian
bases at Gyumri and Erebuni, but its presence can be traced back to the Soviet
Red Army's Transcaucasian Front of the early 1940s. In the 1990s, while the bulk
of Russian forces withdrew from the region, Moscow kept its footprint in Armenia
through the 102nd Military Base at Gyumri. After 2010, deployment of offensive
and defensive strategic weapons in Armenia added new assets for Russia in the
southern Caucasus. From a geopolitical perspective, this contingent is augmented
by Russia's presence in Georgia (a key energy chokepoint) and its growing
strategic ties with Iran, another regional stakeholder.
Militarily, the main threat that Russian forces in Armenia pose to Turkey
emanates from the menacing antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) bubble they have
formed, as well as recently deployed offensive capabilities. Open-source
intelligence suggests that Russia operates a MiG-29 fighter jet squadron there,
along with a few thousand personnel, heavy armor, and S-300V long-range air and
missile defense systems layered with SA-6 medium-level air defenses. The A2/AD
umbrella is capable of making significant trouble for the Turkish Air Force.
Furthermore, Armenia signed a joint air defense agreement with the Russians in
December 2015, so its S-300 missiles are expected to operate under joint command
and control with Russian assets soon if they are not doing so already.
In terms of offensive capabilities, Russia's modernization of the MiG-29s to
cover air-ground attack roles is key, as is the deployment of rotary-wing
gunships and elite VDV airborne troops. Moscow has also been beefing up its
rocket and missile arsenal at the Gyumri base since 2010, centered on Tornado-G
multiple rocket launchers and SS-26 Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles.
The latter system is especially problematic because SS-26 launchers in Gyumri
could theoretically target almost all Turkish military formations in eastern
Anatolia; their presence also likely violates the long-embattled U.S.-Russian
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which restricts ground-launched
ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
Ankara does not have a national missile defense architecture, so it would have
to rely on NATO capabilities in case of an escalation on its Caucasus frontier.
TURKEY'S THIRD ARMY: A STRONG DETERRENT
Despite its main troop concentrations along the Syrian border, Turkey still has
the formidable Third Army in place to guard its eastern doorstep. Relying on the
harsh terrain of eastern Anatolia, this field army formed the first line of
defense against a possible Soviet invasion during the Cold War, and some of its
units have been assigned to counterterrorism roles since the 1990s. As a result,
they enjoy high combat-readiness levels.
The Third Army also supports the formations that Azerbaijan has deployed in its
exclave of Nakhichevan, bordering Turkey, Iran, and Armenia. These formations
have been organized under the Special Combined Army since 2013, replacing the
former Fifth Army Corps. Some assessments suggest that the superior combat
readiness of Azerbaijan's forces in Nakhichevan compared to its formations
elsewhere are the result Turkey's assistance.
THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH NEXUS
Despite their massive military presence on various frontiers, Turkey and Russia
are unlikely to erupt into direct conflict. Nevertheless, a regional flashpoint
such as the Armenia-Azerbaijan situation could drag Ankara into active
engagement, giving the Kremlin ample room to exploit Turkey's sensitive
position.
Recently, the protracted conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has shown signs of
becoming a hot war. Exchanges of fire between border positions have steadily
mounted since November 2014, when Azerbaijani forces downed an Armenian Mi-24
helicopter on the frontier. Meanwhile, Russia has been playing both sides of the
field, using multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Azerbaijan as a lever to make
Armenia even more reliant on its military patronage. Moscow may even be
exploiting the de facto Armenian leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh to ignite a
military escalation with Azerbaijan and thereby Turkey. In November 2015, for
example, leader Bako Sahakyan offered to let Russia use the Khankendi/Stepanakert
airport in occupied Azerbaijani territory for "antiterrorism operations." Such a
move would stir up Baku and Ankara, as would replacing Armenian troops in the
occupied regions with Russian "peacekeepers" -- a scenario the Kremlin has been
throwing out for some time.
Armenia is a NATO partner nation and has contributed to several of the
alliance's missions, including in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Yet the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has impeded the country's pro-Western pivot by making
it an avid consumer of Russian security -- a trend that will increase so long as
the conflict festers. Armenia's recent accession to the Eurasian Economic Union
made it subject to a single market managed by Russia, while its membership in
the Collective Security Treaty Organization, an alliance of six post-Soviet
countries, has increased its military dependence on Moscow.
For its part, Ankara has been tightening its traditional strategic partnerships
in the Caucasus since 2008, when Russia upped its regional profile via war with
Georgia. In 2014, the Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Georgian defense ministers began
holding trilateral meetings. And last year, the Turkish and Azerbaijani air
forces conducted their first joint drill, the TurAz Qartali exercise. They have
not hesitated to bolster their already strong defense cooperation since the
Russian shootdown incident on the Syria border, recently conducting a follow-on
drill called TurAz Shahini.
TURKISH-AZERI TIES
Given their ethnic ties, the relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan goes
well beyond realpolitik parameters. Even the Turkish Foreign Ministry,
traditionally a conservative reader of foreign policy, officially depicts
bilateral relations as "one nation, two states." And only days before the 2014
helicopter shootdown incident, the commander of the Turkish elite "maroon
berets" personally inspected Azerbaijani outposts along the Armenian border,
posing for the press with a sniper rifle. In a tense border area where sniper
fire had become the primary military tool, the image sent a strong signal in
support of Baku.
Technically, two legal frameworks shape bilateral defense cooperation. The
first, established in the early 1990s, enables military training of Azerbaijani
personnel in Turkish military institutions. The second is the 2010 Strategic
Partnership agreement, which openly states that the countries will help each
other if either one invokes its right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN
Charter. Although the nature of this "help" is subject to bilateral
consultations, the agreement clearly underscores the potential use of military
means in urgent circumstances.
CONCLUSION
Against the backdrop of recent Russian-Turkish tensions, Moscow has ample
avenues through which to further provoke Ankara, including volatility emanating
from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkey's close ties with Azerbaijan, and
Russian deployments in Armenia. For some time, analysts have expressed concern
about the presence of advanced Russian air defenses in Syria without noting the
similarly potent A2/AD deterrent and offensive capabilities on Turkey's eastern
doorstep. Turkey's military formations would be more than adequate to protect
its own territory, but uncontrollable escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan
could spark a regional conflict in which Turkey and Russia become directly
involved.
Can Kasapoglu is a defense analyst at the Istanbul-based think tank EDAM and a
former visiting scholar at the NATO Defense College. He holds a PhD from the
Turkish War College's Strategic Research Institute.
The Historic Betrayal of the Palestinians
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April 05/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7637/palestinians-betrayal
Why, throughout its
history, have the Palestinians been the victims of so many irresponsible leaders
who harm their own constituents?
Historically, the Palestinian "liberation organizations" have had no ideology or
motivation beyond the destruction of the State of Israel. They are proxies of
the countries funding them, instead of acting in the authentic national
interests of the Palestinian people.
Instead of bringing jobs, water and better education -- as they promise when
they stand for election -- some Arab Israeli legislators sell out their people
for a few crumbs of headline attention. They parrot the Iranian line, with no
regard for the needs of their voters. Iran just wants to get its foot in the
door.
With the generous "help" of our Palestinian leaders -- and especially with the
"help" of the treacherous Europeans who keep on enabling them -- any real help
for the Palestinians looks more distant than ever.
We Palestinians, as a new people on the stage of history, have not yet learned
from the experience of those who preceded us. We always seem to be motivated by
factors working against us, and let ourselves be manipulated by foreign
countries who use us as proxies to further their own interests.
We are making mistakes again, one after another. We do damage to the Palestinian
national interest and instead of propelling ourselves forward, we push ourselves
back. We work against our own best interests by constantly lying. We all know,
for instance, that there is no truth to the claim that Jesus was a Palestinian,
or when we say that the Jews have no historic links to Jerusalem. We just make
ourselves look ridiculous. Whoever makes such claims not only attacks
Christianity but also represents the entire Palestinian narrative as a blatant
lie.
The Palestinian leadership continues to destroy every chance the Palestinians
might have of becoming a genuine, internationally recognized nation by insisting
on demands they know the Israelis will never meet. These include the right of
return for more than 11 million Palestinians to a country of eight million, and
refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The Israelis correctly
understand both demands not as a desire to have a Palestinian state, but as a
desire to have Israel's state. That impression can only be confirmed every time
anyone looks at a map of Palestine: by pure coincidence, of course, it is
identical to the map of Israel, only the names are different
In 1948, when we could easily have established a Palestinian state in the large
territories offered by the UN, and instead joined with five Arab armies in an
attempt to destroy Israel and erect Palestine in its place.
Between 1949 and 1967, we could have established a Palestinian state in the West
Bank while it was still under Jordanian control, and in the Gaza Strip governed
by Egypt.
During the 1970s, instead of thanking Jordan's King Hussein for taking in
Palestinian refugees, Yasser Arafat and the PLO tried to overthrow him. The
result was a civil war and the expulsion of the Palestinian leadership from
Jordan to Lebanon.
Once in Lebanon, we set about creating a terrorist state-within-a-state, bent on
subverting Lebanese sovereignty and attacking Israel. The Israelis consequently
entered south Lebanon, and with the support of the Shi'ites there, we were
expelled once again, this time to Tunisia.
Under Palestinian influence, Tunisia then became a hotbed of crime and
international conspiracies, again endangering our hosts.
We are now following the same pattern in Syria. The Palestinian leadership first
betrayed Syria's then President Hafez Assad in 1982, when elements of the PLO
fought, together with the rebels, against the regime in Homs and Hama. Now, in
the Syrian civil war, some Palestinian movements, mainly in the Yarmouk refugee
camp, are fighting together with the rebels against President Bashar Assad.
Yasser Arafat stupidly supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, a choice
that led to the expulsion from the area of 400,000 Palestinian white- and
blue-collar workers, and doing untold damage to the Palestinian cause. When
Saddam Hussein was defeated and the Iraqis withdrew from Kuwait, the extent of
Arafat's mistake became evident. The Gulf States came to regard Palestinians as
traitors and alienated themselves from the Palestinian cause, overtly for a long
time and covertly -- with the exception of Qatar -- to this day.
The same pattern of ingratitude and thick-headedness is also being repeated by
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip. While
totally disregarding what Egypt sacrificed for the sake of the Palestinian cause
in its many wars against Israel, senior Hamas officials are now working to
undermine Egypt and its president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, by supplying the
Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula with arms and training.
Hamas, composed of Sunni Muslims, has also become the willing dupe of the Iran,
which is Shi'ite. Hamas is therefore openly collaborating with the arch-enemy of
Sunni Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni Gulf States. Iran has promised Hamas arms
and money to circumvent the Palestinian Authority (PA), in an attempt to topple
it. The Iranians are also trying to trying to convert members of Hamas, and
eventually all Palestinians, to Shi'ite Islam.
Recently, a senior official of the Fatah's Central Committee, Abbas Zaki, spoke
out in favor of Iran's plot. His remarks will not only help Hamas in its
attempts to overthrow the Palestinian Authority, but could mean the end of Saudi
Arabian and other Sunni-Arab Gulf States' support for the Palestinian cause. On
March 11, all 22 members of the Arab League officially branded Hezbollah --
Iran's proxy -- a terrorist organization because it collaborates with the Syrian
regime in slaughtering Sunnis, has terrorist cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,
and fights in the ranks of Yemen's Houthi Shi'ite rebels against Saudi Arabia
and other Sunni countries.
It has become painfully clear that, regardless of political affiliation, the
Palestinian leadership is motivated only by greed -- with no thought to the
interests of the Palestinian people.
Palestinians did not bypass the Arab politicians in the Israeli Knesset, who are
among the worst offenders, as well. As soon as the Arab League voted to
designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization, three Arab Israeli
parliamentarians, who were elected to represent Arabs inside Israel, condemned
the decision. In comical language that sounded as if it had come straight out of
the Cold War Kremlin, they said that declaring Hezbollah a terrorist group
served the interests of "the reactionary Arab states loyal to Israel and the
United States." The objective, they claimed, was to neutralize Hezbollah in
order to damage the security of the "Arab nation;" turn the war towards the
destruction of Lebanon, and get rid of anything that could stop America and
Israel's imperialistic plans for the Middle East in general and Palestine in
particular.
One can only ask why we, Sunni Palestinians, should support the Shi'ite
Hezbollah, which slaughters Sunni Muslims in Syria and subverts Arab states
while serving Iran's desire to keep Syria's Assad in power. What do these three
Arab members of Israel's Knesset think they have in common with Hezbollah?
Why, throughout its history, have the Palestinians been the victims of so many
irresponsible leaders who harm their own constituents? What makes the radicals
of Hezbollah more appealing to some Arab Israeli legislators than the radicals
of ISIS? Do those honorable Arab Knesset members not understand the damage they
do to the Palestinian cause by challenging the Sunni Arab states, which have
contributed so much to us -- both politically and economically -- over the
years?
Historically, the Palestinian "liberation organizations" have had no ideology or
motivation beyond the destruction of the State of Israel. They are all proxies
of the countries funding them, instead of acting in accordance with the
authentic national interests of the Palestinian people. In the instance of the
three Arab Israeli legislators, they evidently followed instructions from the
Iranians. Instead of bringing jobs, water and better education -- as they
promise when they stand for election -- they sell out their people for a few
crumbs of headline attention. They self-importantly parrot the Iranian line with
no regard for the needs of the people who voted for them. They cynically exploit
their parliamentary immunity and the defense provided them by a country they
call their sworn enemy, in order to support Hezbollah and Iran, which are
comfortably manipulating them.
Iran just wants to get its foot in the door. That is the reason the Iranian
regime is so persistent in courting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas,
both Sunni organizations (as well as its own Gaza proxy group, Al-Sabireen),
while it slaughters Sunnis in Syria and Iraq, and puts agents in place to
overturn the Sunni governments of Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Can Iran's plot possibly be a secret from the Israeli Arab Knesset members,
whose support of Hezbollah harms the interests of the Arabs inside Israel? Have
these three members of Knesset forgotten the thousands of missiles Hezbollah
fired into the Galilee, where so many Israeli Arabs live? Do they not understand
that if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah carries out his threat to bomb an
ammonia installation in the Haifa area, thousands of Israeli Arabs will be
killed? With the generous "help" of our Palestinian leaders -- and especially
with the "help" of the treacherous Europeans who keep on enabling them -- any
real help for the Palestinians, and the top of our mountain, look more distant
than ever.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened to launch missiles at an
ammonia installation in northern Israel, which could kill tens of thousands of
civilians -- including thousands of Israeli Arabs.
**Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. 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.
Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And
Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp Intensifies
Part III:
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Speaks Out Against Pragmatic Camp Leaders
Rafsanjani, Rohani
MEMRI/April 5, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6373
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9114.htm
In two speeches in as many weeks – one on March 30, 2016 marking a Shi'ite
religious holiday and the other on March 20, marking Norooz, the Persian New
Year – Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei focused on attacking his main
political rivals – Iranian President Hassan Rohani, and Expediency Council
chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani, the leaders of the Iranian pragmatic camp.[1]
Khamenei's Holiday Address, March 30
In his March 30 address, Khamenei called his old foe Rafsanjani "a traitor" for
his March 24 tweet stating that "the world of tomorrow is a world of talks, and
not of missiles." Khamenei said that Iran cannot give up its missile
capabilities, and termed this call to do so a plot by the Western enemy, headed
by the U.S., which seeks to destroy Iran's Islamic regime.[2] Khamenei's
statements were along the same lines as his criticism of Rafsanjani prior to the
February 26, 2016 Majlis and Assembly of Experts elections, i.e. that Rafsanjani
was trying to sell the U.S. to Iran.[3]
Attacking President Rohani as well, Khamenei rejected the latter's call to begin
now to work towards economic agreements that he referred to as "JCPOA 2" and "JCPOA
3," as a follow-up to the JCPOA agreed with the U.S. on July 14, 2015. According
to Khamenei, the nuclear agreement with the U.S. had failed, and the U.S.
administration was still not allowing trade with Iran. He demanded that Rohani
not merely use the term "resistance economy" – referring to Khamenei's economic
plan for Iran – but also implement it. It should be noted that this economic
vision, which calls for establishing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
and other domestic elements as an economic force for rehabilitating the country
is the opposite of Rohani's and Rafsanjani's economic plan, which is based on
foreign investment in Iran and on privatization.
Elsewhere in the speech, Khamenei attacked the U.S. for not meeting its
commitments under the JCPOA, and clarified that the U.S. administration is the
enemy of Iran and is even today working to bring down its Islamic regime.
A possible explanation for the increasing hostility in the top Iranian echelon
is the reports in the U.S. that it is time for high-level U.S. officials to
visit Tehran.[4] In its April 3, 2016 editorial, the Iranian daily Kayhan wrote
harshly about a possible such visit, presumably by President Obama and similar
to his Cuba visit: "The elements of [the American] infiltration are finding
their place among the [Iranian political] leaders, causing some to speak about a
cessation of the [Iranian] hostilities towards the arrogance [i.e. the U.S.] and
about an Iranian defensive weapons disarmament. This could reach the point where
President [Rohani's] advisor will say, 'If only Obama will visit Iran too and
solve the issue of relations with Iran, like he did with Cuba."
MEMRI TV Clip – Khamenei Criticizes Top Political Rivals: Favoring Talks Over
Missiles Constitutes Treason
Khamenei's Norooz Address, March 20
In his address to the Iranian people for Norooz, the Persian New Year, on March
20, 2016, Khamenei spoke out against the U.S. and attacked President Rohani and
his vision of openness towards the West. This speech reflected the great
apprehension in the regime about the West's alleged failure to meet its
obligations under the JCPOA, and about Iran's distrust of it.
Khamenei delivering Norooz address, English.khamenei.ir, March 23, 2016; one of
Khamenei's tweets in the series. Source: @khamenei_ir, March 20, 2016.
The same day, Khamenei tweeted, in English, a summary of his Norooz address. The
main themes, as given in the tweets, were, inter alia:
· The alleged U.S. attempts to instill in Iran the mindset that Iran must either
get along with the U.S. or face the consequences, and condemnation of those who
adopt this mindset – i.e. the pragmatic camp, led by Rafsanjani and Rohani
· The U.S. desire for Iran to relinquish its defense capabilities, such as its
missile program and the IRGC
· The U.S.'s violation of its commitments under the JCPOA
· The U.S. presidential candidates' "hostility" towards Iran and the uncertainty
that the next administration would meet "even its few commitments" under the
JCPOA
· The need for Iran to rely on a "resistance economy."
The following are the main points of Khamenei's March 30 speech,[5] excerpts
from the tweeted summary of his March 20 Norooz address,[6] and the text of his
Norooz address in English, as published on his website:[7]
Khamenei, March 30: If Rafsanjani's Words "The World Of Tomorrow Is A World Of
Talks, And Not Of Missiles" Were "Said Out Of Ignorance, That's One Thing, But
If They Were Said Out Of Cognizance, It Constitutes Treason"
"I am not against political negotiations, of course not with everyone... The
enemy is using political negotiations, and therefore we must be wary. The
enemies use talks, economic deals, economic sanctions, threats of war and
weapons. Against all these, we must equip ourselves with defensive might.
"Some people say that the world of tomorrow is a world of talks, and not of
missiles. If this is said out of ignorance, that's one thing, but if it is said
out of cognizance, it constitutes treason.
"How can this be? If the Islamic regime advances [in the areas of] science,
technology, political negotiations, and various commercial and economic
activities – [yes,] all of these are essential. But if it does not have
defensive might, and has no defensive capabilities, anybody at all or any
insignificant government can threaten it, saying, if you does not do thus and
so, we will strike you with missiles. If you have no way of defending yourself,
you will have to retreat.
"If you see the world powers talking in a loud voice, arrogantly, saying
unpleasant things in a forceful manner, [you should know that] for the most part
they are relying on the same weapons that they have [that they are asking us to
give up]. Should we be emptying our hands [of weapons] as we face them?
"The IRGC presents the progress made in its missiles, and this brings pride not
only to the Iranians, but to the freedom-seeking countries around us as well.
When the IRGC missiles are displayed in tests with such precision and beauty, it
pleases many nations, which have suffered at the hands of the Americans and the
Zionist regime. Should we depress them by saying that the era of the missiles is
over? No, the era of the missiles is not over.
"When these things take place, should we say, Today the era of missiles is
past?! No! The era of missiles is not yet over. The enemy is always upgrading,
and preparing itself – so [must] we naively retreat, and say no? ... Today, some
say, What are missiles? Why do we need missiles? The world of today is not one
of missiles. If that is the case, then what is it of?
"Today's world is one of everything. It is also of talks. We must be strong in
the talks and conduct negotiations in a way that will not cheat us afterwards.
If we negotiate, we will write it down, and then sign it, and then they will
carry out a particular thing so that everyone can see, but the sanctions will
not be lifted and there will be no commerce, so obviously there is some kind of
problem here. We must not allow such mistakes to happen. In this area too we
should strengthen ourselves.
"Also with regard to the domestic economy – I have said that there [is a need
for] action and implementation. Enough talk. Two hundred statements are not
worth half a deed. When the term 'resistance economy' is reiterated again and
again, it loses its value. When it becomes banal, it is wearisome. We must act.
The Main Points Of Khamenei's Address, In Tweets – March 20, 2016
One main theme in Khamenei's March 20 Norooz address, as expressed in his
tweets, was the alleged U.S. attempts to instill in Iran the mindset that Iran
must get along with the U.S. or face the consequences. Those who have adopted
this mindset – meaning the pragmatic camp, led by Iranian President Rohani, who
called for a second and third JCPOA agreement – were "yielding to the arrogance"
– i.e. the U.S. – and were willing to give way on "committed principles":
· "Currently, policies of the arrogance, particularly US, demands insertion of a
dilemmatic mindset among the elites and public opinion. 1/2; That dilemma is
either getting along with the US or suffering US pressures and the consequent
difficulties forever 2/2.
· "There are of course some inside #Iran who believe in& accept this moving
discourse of arrogance system & try to convince others as well 1/2; They believe
ME [Middle East] or domestic problems can be solved by JCPOA 2&3; this means
giving up principles & red lines & yielding to the arrogance 2/2.
· "Yielding means Iran would ignore committed principles like supporting
#Palestine & resistance in region & the oppressed in #Bahrain& #Yemen.
· "Other meaning of yielding is Iran, like some Arab states flagrantly extending
friendship hand to Zionist enemy, reconciles with Zionists."
Khamenei spoke about a U.S. desire for Iran to relinquish its defensive
capabilities, such as its missile program, and about the U.S.'s alleged
questioning of Iran's need for the IRGC and its Qods Force and its asking why
Iran's constitution requires that Iranian policies be Islam-compliant:
· "The US desire is that Iran would even give up on its defensive means as well.
· "They constantly blame Iran's missile program, but US holds joint drills 1000s
of miles far from its borders where it has no responsibility.
· "Arrogance will get to question why IRGC & Quds Force ever exist? Why
Constitution demands Islamic Republic's policies to comply with Islam.
· "If you surrender to the enemy while you can #resist, the enemy will step
forward and will not stop.
· "Arrogance believes if Iranian nation wants to get rid of US, it must give up
content of Islamic Republic & Islamic notions & its security."
He also enumerated other alleged U.S. demands:
· "Iran is strategically unique in region & has other resources besides gas &
oil. Before Revolution US had full grasp on Iran & looted it. 1/2; US hostility
against #Iran ends only when it gains the same rule over the country again.
2/2."
Turning to the Americans' deviousness, he said that the U.S. had violated its
obligations under the JCPOA; that the sanctions on Iran are continuing even if
they are said to have been lifted; and that U.S. administration officials are
the enemy:
· "In #IranDeal also US didn't fulfill its pledges. As @JZarif said they did
something on paper, but by detours barred Iran's objectives.#JCPOA.
· "Today, our banking deals & release of our wealth have problems in west as
they fear from US, while on paper they vowed lifting of sanctions.
· "US officials keep sanctions on one hand & give #Nowruz message on other hand
& set Haft-Seen table in White House; these are deceptions.
· "US hasn't known our nation yet. Iranians are aware & know enemies. Of course
we have no problem with people in US. US officials are enemies."
Underlining the U.S. presidential candidates' "hostility" towards Iran, he spoke
of the absence of any guarantee that the next administration would meet "even
its few commitments" under the JCPOA – and of the need for Iran to resist by
relying on a "resistance economy":
· "In few months US administration will change & there is no assurance next
administration would implement even its few commitments in #JCPOA.
· "American presidential candidates are racing in saying bad words against Iran
which is their hostility.
· "One of enemy's means of hostility is propaganda and Iranophobia, another is
infiltration, and the other is sanction.
· "In facing enemy sanctions we should either tolerate difficulties of sanctions
or resist through #ResistanceEconomy."
Khamenei also spoke of the triumph over the U.S. "in the region and beyond":
· "Today many countries in region & beyond say 'Death to US'. Iranian nation
showed resilience is possible & others learned.
· "Those with Great Middle East slogan have now failed in Iraq, Syria, Yemen &
Palestine & blame Iran. Their enmity toward Iran is fundamental."
Khamenei's Norooz Address – March 20, 2016
"...The reason why I chose an economic slogan for this year is because of a
specific analysis and outlook towards the issues of the country. Perhaps some
people were thinking that the slogan of this year should be a cultural or a
moral slogan. However, considering all the issues of the country, we deemed it
necessary, as in recent years, to choose an economic slogan for this year so
that it will turn into a discourse among the people and public opinion in the
country. I will present this analysis, and I [would] like our dear youth to
analyze, dissect, and think about it for themselves."
"At this point in time, the policies of arrogance – specifically and in
particular, the policies of America – deem it necessary to inject a specific
thought into the minds of our people: first, among the outstanding personalities
of society, and later on, and gradually, among public opinion in the country.
They want a specific thought to be injected into public opinion. The policy that
they have in mind is that they want to pretend that the people of Iran are in a
dilemma and that they have no option other than choosing one out of two options.
This dilemma is that they either have to get along with America or they have to
tolerate the pressures exerted by America and the problems that follow it. The
people of Iran have to choose one of these two options. This is what they want.
"Getting along with America is not like getting along with any other government.
This is because the American government enjoys wealth, large propaganda
apparatuses, dangerous weapons and many resources. So naturally, getting along
with America means accepting the impositions of that government. This is the
nature of reaching an agreement with America.
"This is the case everywhere in the world. When other countries reach an
agreement with America over any matter, this means that they retreat from their
positions to the advantage of the other side while the other side does not make
any noteworthy retreat to their advantage. In the case of the recent nuclear
agreement too, the same situation existed although we approved of it and
although we believed in and continue to believe in those who conducted the
negotiations.
"In certain cases, our honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs [Javad Zarif] said
to us that they [i.e. the negotiating team] failed to keep certain red lines [in
the negotiations]. This is what it means: When a government like the U.S.
government has propaganda means, resources, money, active diplomacy, and
different agents throughout the world, the governments that it pressures are at
its disposal. Getting along with him [i.e. the U.S. government] means
compromising and forgetting about some of the things that one insists on. This
is a dilemma that they want to inject into the minds of our people on the basis
of American policies. It is a forced dilemma and an unavoidable duality: either
we have to get along with America and her demands or we have to endure her
pressures, her threats, and the losses that we will suffer as a result of
opposing America.
"They want to promote this thought among the outstanding personalities of
society in the form of a discourse and to spread it among the people and public
opinion in the country in a gradual manner. They are promoting this thought
inside and outside the country and they are expanding it in global media with
different forms and with different statements. They appoint some people so that
they can promote this thought among our people. Of course, as I said, there are
some individuals inside the country who believe in and who have accepted this
thought and who are trying to make others accept it as well."
"Pay careful attention to this explanation. I will mention what the other side
says and then I will say what the correct thought and opinion is, based on the
truth and on reality. The other side – that it to say, that propaganda,
thought-generating and orientation-breeding apparatus – says that Iran has many
economic capacities and [that] the goal of the nuclear agreement was to help
Iran benefit from these capacities. Well, this agreement was reached, but it is
not enough. There are also other issues about which the people, the
administration, and the officials of Iran should make a decision and take
action.
"For example, there are many tumultuous and chaotic situations in the region of
West Asia – the same region that westerners refer to as the Middle East – in the
present time. This is a problem for the whole region and if you want your
country to be freed from these problems, you should try to act in a way that
these upheavals will be settled. What should we do to that end? [They say] we
should cooperate, hold meetings and negotiate with America, we should think in
the same way that the Americans do and should we choose a model according to the
wishes of the Americans or according to America's agreement. This is an issue.
"Another issue is that we have many problems and differences of opinion with
America. We should resolve these differences. They should come to an end. Now,
if in the process of resolving these differences, the people of Iran have to
abandon, for example, their principles and their red lines, they should do it.
The other side will not abandon its principles and values but if it is
necessary, we should abandon our principles so that we can resolve the existing
problems and so that the country can consequently benefit from its capacities
and turn into, for example, an outstanding economy. This is what they say.
"An agreement was made on the nuclear issue, and we called it the 'Bar-Jaam'
[the Persian name for the JCPOA]. However [they say], there should be another
Bar-Jaam in the case of regional events and yet another on the issue of the
Constitution of the country. There should be Bar-Jaam 2, 3, 4, and other Bar-Jaams
as well so that we can 'live comfortably.' This is a logic that they are trying
to promote among the outstanding personalities of society and among public
opinion in society through outstanding personalities.
"What is the meaning of this? It means that the Islamic Republic should forget
about those fundamental issues that it is committed to based on the edict of
Islam and its own outstanding guidelines: it should forget about the issue of
Palestine, it should forget about supporting the Resistance in the region, and
it should stop providing political assistance and support to the oppressed
peoples in the region – for example, the people of Palestine, the people of
Gaza, the people of Yemen and the people of Bahrain. And the Islamic Republic
should get close to what the other side – that is to say, America – wants to
achieve and it should do so by bringing about a balance in its own demands.
"This means that the Islamic Republic should act in the same way that some
regional countries and governments are acting today. Such countries have gotten
along with the Zionist regime contrary to the edict of Islam and contrary to the
wishes of their own peoples. And they have allowed other issues to overshadow
the issue of Palestine. This means that the Islamic Republic should get along
and be reconciled with the Zionist enemy in the same way that some Arab
governments have done so. They have extended the hand of friendship towards this
Zionist enemy with complete shamelessness.
"Of course, things do not end here. What this political analysis of the enemy
means is that if America wishes, the Islamic Republic should even forget about
its own defense mechanisms. You see what uproar they have created in the world
on the issue of our missiles. They say, 'Why does the Islamic Republic have
missiles? Why does it have long-range missiles? Why do the Islamic Republic's
missiles aim at and hit the target in a very precise manner?' They say, 'Why
have you carried out a military maneuver? Why do you have military exercises and
why and why and why!'
"This is while the Americans themselves carry out maneuvers from time to time in
the Persian Gulf – which is several thousand kilometers away from their country
– and they do so along with some regional countries. They do this while they
have no responsibility in the region. However, when the Islamic Republic carries
out a military maneuver in its own home, in its own territory and in its own
security zone, they create uproar about why we have carried out a military
operation, why we have adopted such and such measures and why our Navy and our
Air Force have adopted such and such courses of action.
"This analysis of the enemy means that we should forget about all these things.
The issue is even beyond this. They will gradually draw the issue towards the
reason why the Quds Force and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have been
formed and why the domestic policies of the Islamic Republic should be
coordinated with Islam. The matter will come to this!"
"When you retreat in the face of the enemy while you can resist him – later on,
I will enlarge on this issue – the enemy will advance. He does not stop.
Gradually, he will find the courage to say that our belief that the Islamic
Republic's administration, the Islamic Consultative Majlis and the judiciary
branch should work on the basis of Islam and Islamic sharia is against freedom
and that liberalism does not believe in this. The matter will gradually come to
this.
"If we retreat, this will encourage them to question the Guardian Council's role
in society. It will encourage them to question the Guardian Council's power to
repeal certain laws because of their opposition to sharia. This is the main
point. This is what I have said many times: this is changing the inner behavior
of the Islamic Republic. The outward appearance of the Islamic Republic might
survive, but it will completely be empty of its content. The enemy wants this.
On the basis of this analysis of the enemy and on the basis of the analysis that
is being injected into the minds of outstanding personalities and public
opinion, if the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran want to get rid of
America, they should abandon the Islamic Republic's content, Islam, Islamic
concepts and their security.
"What is missing in this analysis and what has been ignored in it are a few
issues one of which I would like to refer to: in the agreement that we have made
with the Americans on the issue of 5+1 and nuclear energy, the Americans have
not honored their promises and have not done what they should have. Of course,
as our honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs said, they have done certain things
on paper, but they have prevented the Islamic Republic from achieving its goals
through many detours and short cuts.
"Notice that today, in all western countries and in all those countries that are
under their influence, our banking transactions have been blocked. We have a
problem bringing our wealth – which has been kept in their banks – back to the
country. We have a problem conducting different financial transactions which
require the assistance of banks. And when we pursue the matter, follow it up and
ask about it, it becomes clear that they are afraid of the Americans. The
Americans have said that they would lift sanctions and they have actually done
so on paper, but through other ways and methods, they are acting in a way that
the result of sanctions repeal will not be witnessed at all.
"So, those who hope that we will sit and talk to America on such and such an
issue with the purpose of reaching an agreement – which means that both we and
the other side make certain promises – ignore the fact that [while] we will have
to fulfill all of our commitments – the other side will refuse to do so through
different means and methods and that he will not fulfill the promises that he
has made. This is what we are witnessing in front of our eyes! This means a
complete loss!"
"But the issue is even beyond this. I deem it necessary to discuss a few points
with our dear youth who have not witnessed the era of the taghuti regime and who
do not know what happened in the aftermath of the victory of the Revolution in
our country. Notice that in the region where we are living – West Asia –your
dear country, Iran, is the flower of the region. It is a peerless country in
terms of its strategic position and – as is commonly said today – its strategic
location. It has a privilege over the whole region – and in one sense – over the
whole world in terms of its abundant oil and gas supplies. And there are many
other resources apart from oil and gas. It is a large country with a talented
and resourceful population and with a rich history. Our country is the flower of
the region.
"However, this flower was once wholly and completely in America's hands. They
used to do whatever they wanted to. In this country they used to loot and take
away its wealth and they used to do whatever a colonialist and arrogant
government does to a weak country. They had the whole country in the claws of
their power. But the Revolution has come and has liberated this country from
their claws. This is why the grudge against the Revolution does not leave the
heart of American politics. Their enmity will end only when they manage to
restore the same domination over our country! This is the goal and they are
after this. Of course, they are politicians and diplomats. They know politics
and they know that there is a way for every goal and every purpose. They know
that they should move slowly and use the right way. And they are acting in that
manner. Our eyes should be open and our minds should be focused!
"Not only did the Islamic Republic free Iran from their hands, but it also
encouraged other countries with the spirit of resistance and the courage that it
showed – I will expand on this issue later on. Notice that today, the people in
many regional and even non-regional countries chant 'Death to America' and they
burn the American flag. The people of Iran have shown that they can resist.
Other nations too have learned this and therefore, America does not have any
control over this situation anymore. The Americans announced once that they want
to create the 'Greater Middle East' – once, they spoke about a 'New Middle East'
and once, they spoke about a 'Greater Middle East.' Their goal was to help the
Zionist regime dominate all economic, political, and cultural affairs in West
Asia and in the heart of Islamic countries. This was their goal.
"Now, take a look and see that those who chanted the slogan of the 'Greater
Middle East' have become desperate on the issue of Syria, on the issue of Yemen,
on the issue of Iraq and on the issue Palestine and they pin all the blame on
Iran and the Islamic Republic. Such is their enmity towards the Islamic
Republic! Their problem with the Islamic Republic is not about bits and pieces –
the problem is fundamental! They are moving towards this direction so that they
can re-establish their old domination."
"Our dear youth have not seen the taghuti era. I will tell you dear youth that
throughout the past 50, 60 years – during the time of the Pahlavi rule and a
little before that – first the English and later on, the Americans had all the
affairs of the country in their hands and they used to do whatever they wanted.
For example, they brought the Pahlavi regime and Reza Khan to power. Later on,
they became angry at him because of some reasons. So, they ousted him and
replaced him with Mohammad Reza. In a country with this greatness and
magnificence, the Americans and the English used to easily oust the head of our
country and replace him with another, based on their own wishes and whims and
contrary to the wishes of the people. This was their condition in Iran.
"Well, how had they managed to achieve this domination? They had built some
trenches in the country. First the English regime and after that – years and
decades after the English domination – the American regime used to use these
trenches in order to continue their domination over our country. However, the
Revolution appeared and destroyed and annihilated these trenches with its own
youth and in place of these trenches, it built other trenches to protect the
Revolution, the Islamic Republic and national interests. They want to come and
repair those ruined trenches again and to destroy the trenches that have been
created by the Revolution, revolutionary individuals and the youth. This is the
goal.
"I will refer to some of these trenches for you. The most important trench for
arrogant regimes – first England and later on, America – in our country was the
installed taghuti regime itself. The installed taghuti regime was their trench.
It was through this regime that they used to do whatever they wanted in this
country. They used to do whatever economic, cultural, and political activity
that they wanted and they used to conduct any transfer of power and adopt any
position that they liked. They swayed our country and the government of our
country towards any direction that they liked. So, the taghuti regime was the
most important trench for America and England in our country. This was one
trench.
"Well, the Revolution came and destroyed this trench. It annihilated and
uprooted it. It uprooted the monarchic system in the country and it created a
people-based system in place of that monarchic government and tyrannical regime.
There was one day in our country when they used to say, 'The country has an
owner. Who is this owner? His Royal Highness!' This was the case.
"They used to say repeatedly that the country has an owner. Who was that owner?
It was the Shah – that is to say, a corrupt, incompetent, and dependent element.
Most of those Shahs were empty of national zeal. It was such individuals that
owned the country. Well, the Islamic Republic came and put aside this fake and
usurping owner and it gave the country to its real owners who are the people! In
the present time, the people show their presence, choose, prove, and reject.
This was the first trench of the enemy which was destroyed by the Islamic
Republic and the Islamic Revolution.
"But this was not the only trench for the enemy. There were other trenches as
well: psychological and physical factors. There were certain trenches, two,
three of which I will refer to for you. One was fear: the trench of fear, fear
of powers. They had acted in a way in the country that fear of America was
dominant over the hearts of everyone. As I said, in the last decades before the
victory of the Revolution, there was fear of America and before that, there was
fear of England. They used to ascribe whatever event that took place in the
country to the English. In other words, they used to consider the English as the
absolute power.
"This fear was not particular to the people. The leaders of the regime
themselves were afraid of America as well. The memoirs that were written by the
agents of the regime and that were published later on – after the Revolution –
show that in certain cases, Mohammad Reza and elements close to him were angry
at the Americans because of their derogatory behavior and their indifferent
outlook, but they had no other option and they had to obey. They had to obey
them out of fear. They were afraid of them!
"However, the Islamic Revolution came and destroyed this trench of fear. Today,
you cannot find one single well-informed individual in the Islamic Republic who
is reliant on religious values, but who is afraid of America. The people threw
away fear! Not only did the people throw away fear of America, but they also
threw away fear of the whole front of arrogance!
"During the eight-year imposed war – unfortunately, our youth did not see that
golden and enlightened era – America, NATO, and the Soviet Union of those days
used to help Saddam. Arab reactionaries too used to help Saddam despite all
their incompetence and weaknesses. Everyone was helping Saddam. The east and the
west had become one united front in favor of Saddam and against the Islamic
Republic, but the Islamic Republic did not even frown and by Allah's favor, it
overcame and defeated all of them! After eight years of war, they could not
separate even one inch of Iran's soil!
"This was how they shattered fear. As I said, today, self-reliant and
well-informed individuals and those who are attached to Islamic values are not
afraid of America. Of course, it is possible that some people are afraid of
America today, but this fear is an unreasonable one. If Mohammad Reza's fear of
America was justifiable and reasonable, the fear of such people today is
unreasonable. This is because that regime did not have supporters like the
people, but today the Islamic Republic has supporters like these great people."
"One of the trenches of the enemy for dominating our country was injecting
disbelief in oneself and lack of confidence about oneself and one's nation. The
people used to witness the luster of western countries in front of themselves.
They used to witness the scientific and technological appearance and the
civilizational and material luster of westerners, but such things did not exist
in their own country. Such things did not exist in the country: there was only
backwardness and a feeling of disbelief and distrust in oneself. At that time –
during the Pahlavi era – a government official said, 'The Iranians should go and
make 'lulahangs.' You do not know what a lulahang is. Lulahang is a mud ewer
[for use in bathrooms], not even a metal one. In the distant past, it was common
to make mud ewers. He said, 'Iranians deserve to make lulahangs. How can
Iranians even think of inventing things?' In those days, they used to say such
things.
"Another outstanding personality in those days said, 'If Iranians want to
progress, they should become western and European from head to toe. They should
copy all aspects of westerners. If they do so, they might move forward.' This
means that they did not believe in themselves. Well, the Revolution came and
completely turned this lack of trust in oneself into self-confidence and
national self-confidence.
"Today, the Iranian youth say that they can. In many cases, when it comes to
scientific achievements – apart from the achievements that have thankfully been
made in the present time and that are available to us – our youth sometimes put
forward such new ideas that organizations in charge cannot deal with them. In
the present time, the Iranian youth have self-confidence. When self-confidence
does not exist, progress will not exist either. However, when self-confidence
and the slogan of 'we can' exist, capability will follow as well and the country
and the people become competent. Today, we are witnessing this.
"In the era of taghut and in the pre-revolutionary era, the country had a
50-year history of having universities. And there were committed and good
professors in those universities. There were talented students as well although
their number was smaller compared to the present time. Compared to today, the
number of students was much smaller, but those who existed were Iranian youth in
any case. So, they were talented, but no single scientific breakthrough was
witnessed throughout those 50 years. Why? Because they did not believe that they
had the capability to do so. They did not believe in themselves and they had
injected this lack of self-confidence into the minds of the people.
"However in the present time, we have new innovations – including scientific and
technological innovations – every day! When our enemies see these innovations,
they become angry. Today, our country is among the first ten countries in the
world in many fields of advanced sciences despite the existence of sanctions.
What the people visibly see are only the military tools and weapons that are
available to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Army and others. The
achievements that they have made in different areas – in the area of
nanotechnology and in the area of nuclear energy – originate from belief in
oneself. One of the trenches of the enemy in Iran was the people's lack of
belief in themselves and one of the greatest trenches of the people's and the
youth's victory is belief in oneself and the spirit of 'we can'. This was
another trench of the enemy"
"Another trench of the enemy was the separation of religion from politics. They
had injected the belief into everyone that religion should not interfere in the
environment of politics, social life and social system. They had injected this
belief into them. Even the pious and some ulama did not believe that Islam could
be involved in political affairs, let alone those who had nothing to do with
religion. This is while the essence of Islam's birth was interconnected with
political outlook. The first thing that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) did in Medina
was to form a government! However, they had injected this belief into the minds
of the people and they were using this trench against the Islamic Republic, the
country and the people. The Islamic Republic came, and destroyed and annihilated
this trench. Today, in the universities of the country, our youth and our
students are working in a diligent manner on the issues of the country from an
Islamic and Koranic perspective let alone ulama, Islamic seminaries and the
like.
"Well, when I speak about 'the enemy,' I mean the government of America and I
have no qualms about saying this. Of course, they say that they are not our
enemy and that they are our friends. They have issued a message to our people on
the occasion of Norouz and they have supposedly shown sympathy for our youth.
And they have spread a haft-seen table in the White House! Well these are things
that one says when one wants to deceive a child! No one believes such things.
"On the one hand, they preserve sanctions and on the other hand, the U.S.
Department of the Treasury acts in a way – with certain methods which have been
acknowledged by the Americans themselves – that big companies, agencies and
banks do not dare to approach the Islamic Republic and have business
transactions with it. On the one hand, they adopt such measures – they impose
sanctions and issue threats: there are clear cases of enmity – and on the other
hand they spread a haft-seen table in the White House or they say in a Norouz
message that they are after creating employment for the Iranian youth! Well, no
one believes such things.
"They still do not know our people. They do not know the people of Iran! The
people of Iran are a wise and well-informed people. They know their enemies and
they know the methods of enmity. We have no problems with the people of America.
We have no problems with any nation and any people. Our problem is with
policies. Our problem is with politicians. They are the enemies.
"Let us summarize the discussion so that the main points are not lost. There are
certain realities: one reality is the many capacities and the numerous resources
that exist in our country. We have both natural and human resources, and
international opportunities. Today, our country has an extraordinary capacity
for progress inside itself thanks to these resources. This is one reality.
Today, the Islamic Republic has turned into an influential power on a regional
and – in certain cases – international level. This is a reality that exists. We
should appreciate our value. We should know our own value and significance. We
should know the greatness of our people.
"The second reality is that America is our enemy because of some clear reasons.
As I said, by 'enemy' we mean American politicians and policies. They broke
their promises on the issue of the Bar-Jaam and they threatened to impose more
sanctions on us. As I said, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is seriously busy
day and night so that they do not allow the Islamic Republic to benefit from the
results of the Bar-Jaam. Well, these are acts of enmity.
"They continuously threaten to impose more sanctions. The U.S. presidential
elections will take place in a few months – in seven, eight months – and in nine
months, the current American administration will completely change and there
will be no guarantee that the future administration will honor the few promises
that the current administration has made.
"At present, when they deliver speeches, the U.S. presidential candidates
compete with each other in vilifying Iran. Well, this is enmity. Enmity does not
necessarily appear in a strange form so much so that we can easily distinguish
it. This is another reality [audience chant referring to the current Rohani
administration: 'Administration of acumen and hope! Have insight! Have
insight!']."
"Please pay attention. You should not forget that we have said that the people
and the administration should have harmony and unanimity. You should not forget
this. Everyone should work and help the administration. If anyone has a word of
advice, they can offer it to the administration. Everyone should help the
administration!
"The third reality is that the instruments that this seemingly powerful enemy
uses are not infinite. He has some basic instruments which constitute his active
tools: one is propaganda – Iranophobia – another is infiltration and another is
sanctions. I have repeatedly spoken about infiltration in the recent months and
therefore, I do not want to speak about it here. As for propaganda, this has
been discussed in detail. I want to speak about sanctions for a moment.
"One of the three efficient instruments that the enemy uses is sanctions. The
enemy has felt that our country and our people are harmed by sanctions.
Unfortunately, we ourselves have strengthened this feeling in him. In certain
cases and at some points in time, we constantly magnified the effect of
sanctions by saying that there are sanctions, there are sanctions and that they
should lift them. We said that if sanctions exist, we will be harmed in such and
such ways and other such statements. And on the other hand, we exaggerated and
magnified the effect of lifting sanctions by saying that if sanctions are
lifted, such and such things will happen. But the things that we expected to
happen did not happen and if we move forward like this, they will not happen in
the future either! However, the enemy has felt that he can pressure the people
of Iran with the instrument of sanctions. The enemy has felt this. Therefore,
what exists ahead of us in the present time is sanctions.
"What should we do in order to confront sanctions? In the beginning of my
speech, I said that the enemy has suggested one fake dilemma to us: he says that
we should either give in to America and listen to whatever he says, or pressures
and sanctions will continue. This is a dilemma that we said is wrong and false.
However, there is another dilemma: we should either endure the problems
resulting from sanctions or we should show resistance through the economy of
resistance [audience chant 'Oh liberated Leader! We are prepared! We are
prepared!']. Very well, your preparedness is very good. However, mere
preparedness is not enough for the economy of resistance. We have spoken about
'action and implementation.' Of course, the honorable administration has carried
out certain tasks in the area of the economy of resistance. We said that they
should form a command center for the economy of resistance and they did so,
appointing the First Vice President as the head of that command center.
"And they adopted some measures. They also gave me a report and I explained it
for the people today in the new year message. However, these are only some
preliminary tasks. They have reported to me that as a result of certain
activities, our balance of trade has become positive. This means that our
non-oil exports are more than our imports. Well, this is very good news. Another
issue is that our imports are less than the previous year. These are very good
pieces of news, but they are not enough and the task will not be completed with
such measures. A number of fundamental tasks should be carried out. I have
written down some tasks that should be carried out in the area of 'action and
implementation.'
"The first task is that the honorable executive officials should identify and
focus on those economic chains of activities that have priority. Some economic
tasks in the country have a priority over others in the country and they are
more significant. They are like mother tasks out of which many economic and
productive windows will open. They should focus on such tasks. They should
identify them, determine the roadmap and make it clear what should be done about
all these tasks.
"The second task that should receive attention on the issue of the 'action and
implementation' that we spoke about is reviving domestic production. According
to the reports that I have received, today, about 60 percent of our productive
capacity is untapped and unused. Some [of our industries] work less than their
capacity and some do not work at all. We should revive production. We should
breathe life into it. There are certain ways for this. Many committed economists
know these ways. I have repeatedly said to the honorable executive officials
that they should call for these critics so that they listen to them because they
sometimes have very good suggestions. It is possible to revive production and
get it moving in the country.
"The third issue is that we have foreign trade and that we import. We need
certain things that should be imported from abroad. We have to buy them and
there is nothing wrong with this. However, we should pay attention that our
purchases should not weaken our power to engage in domestic production. Imagine
that we want to import and buy airplanes. It is said to me – executive officials
themselves say this to me – that if we invest such and such a percentage of the
price that we pay to buy airplanes in our domestic airplane industries, we will
reap more benefits and the domestic production will be boosted as well. If we
buy everything from abroad and if we do not pay attention to the disasters that
imports will bring to domestic production, this is a mistake! Therefore, when
buying products, we should act in a way that domestic production will not be
weakened.
"The fourth task is that we have a certain amount of money outside the country.
We have sold, for example oil, but they have not given us the money. On the
issue of the Bar-Jaam, it was decided that this amount of money will return to
the country. Of course, a large portion of it has not returned. A large portion
of it has not returned because of certain problems. We can see the Americans'
hands behind this matter. Of course, there are other motives as well, but the
malevolence of some American organizations is the main factor behind failure to
bring back this money.
"But it will in the end return. When these sums of money return from outside the
country – no matter how many billions it is – it should not be used in areas
that actually waste it. This is the money that enters the country and the
country needs it. Primarily, it should be used in the area of, for example,
domestic production. They should take care not to let the money that enters the
country be wasted, ruined and spent on unnecessary purchases and measures. It
should not be spent in an extravagant manner. This means managing the financial
resources that enter the country through foreign banks and centers.
"The fifth issue is that there are certain areas in our economy that are
important and fundamental such as the area of oil and gas or the area of engine
production for automobiles, airplanes, trains, and ships. These sensitive and
important areas should become knowledge-based. When we speak about
knowledge-based economy, this is what we mean. Our youth and our scientists have
shown that they can innovate and that they can help us improve our technological
level. Well, is it a minor achievement to adjust long-range missiles in a way
that they hit the target from a two-thousand-kilometer distance and with a
two-to-five-meter margin of error? Well, the brain that can accomplish this feat
can accomplish other feats as well!
Another example is that they can improve the level of car engines so that they
consume less fuel or build train engines with such and such features. They can
do that! Right now, there are some economic and productive agencies in our
country whose works and products are either better than or equal to their
foreign counterparts. At this very moment, we have such agencies. Well, these
areas should be strengthened. So, making the important areas of our domestic
economy knowledge-based is one of the tasks that is a prerequisite for the
economy of resistance and that should definitely be accomplished."
"The sixth issue is that we have invested in some areas in the past. These areas
should be utilized and benefited from. We have made good investments in the area
of building power plants in the country. We have made good investments in the
area of petrochemicals. Today, the country needs power plants. Other countries
too need the power plants that we build at a lost cost. We should not buy and
import power plants from outside the country anymore or we should not hire some
individuals from outside the country so that they build power plants for us.
Those areas that have been invested in and for which great efforts have been
made should be revived and benefited from.
"The seventh issue is that we should set strict terms for the transfer of
technology in all foreign transactions that we carry out. Of course, our
brothers in the administration have said to us that they have done and continue
to do so. However, I would like to stress and repeat this so that it will not be
neglected. For example, if they want to buy a new product, they should not buy
those that have already been produced in the country, rather they should buy and
bring those products with their specific technology. They should bring
technology to the country. They should pay serious attention to this matter when
signing contracts.
"The eighth issue is combating corruption, economic rents and smuggling in a
serious manner. These phenomena are damaging the economy of the country. It is
the people who are suffering from this. If we show negligence in the face of
those groups that, for example, win special concessions and have particular
privileges on economic matters through collusion with others, that reap special
benefits for themselves, and that engage in monetary, financial and economic
corruption, the country will certainly sustain a loss. Therefore, no negligence
should be shown in this regard. Of course, when it comes to talking and creating
uproar – in particular, with certain political orientations and positions -
beautiful things are said in newspapers, but they are of no avail! If we arrest
an economic criminal and if newspapers write about him in detail and publish
photos of him and the like with partisan and political motives, these courses of
action are of no avail: 'Two hundred words are not like half an action' [from a
poem by Ferdowsi]. They should block the way of the corruption that might occur
in the present time and they should prevent it. The same is true of smuggling.
They should prevent smuggling. They should combat smuggling in the real sense of
the word!
"Another issue is energy optimization. Once, I said in one of my new year
speeches – that was delivered a few years ago [Supreme Leader's speech delivered
on March 21, 2009 at the holy shrine of Imam Ridha (a.s.)] – that it is claimed
and said that if we optimize energy, improve the way it is used and economize
it, a hundred billion dollars will be saved. This is not a small amount of
money. It is huge. Therefore, they should take this seriously. So many different
tasks are being carried out in this country some of which are unnecessary and
some of which are harmful. Well, they should centralize and concentrate tasks in
such areas. This is action and implementation. Action means such things. Of
course, I have heard that the Majlis has passed a bill in this regard.
Optimizing energy utilization is one of the bills of the Islamic Consultative
Majlis. They should really follow it up. If there is such a thing, they should
focus and work on it.
"And the 10th issue is that they should take a particular outlook towards
medium-sized and small industries. In the present time, there are several
thousand medium-sized and small workshops and factories in the country. If the
figures that they have given to me – showing that sixty percent of these
factories are not working – are true, this is a massive loss. It is these small
and medium-sized industries that create employment in the center of society,
that engender dynamism and that help lower classes of people. They should
strengthen and improve them.
"Well, these are the ten tasks that can be carried out if 'action and
implementation' is applied to the economy of resistance. Of course, we can carry
out other tasks as well. Officials will look into and investigate this. I have
suggested these ten tasks. This is a revolutionary orientation, a revolutionary
movement in the country. This is the kind of economy of resistance that will
save the country. If we accomplish these tasks, we will be able to stand up
against America. Under such circumstances, his sanctions will not have any
impact on us."
"We do not need to forget about our values, our red lines, and our principles,
so that America will not be able to impose sanctions on us. By pursuing the
policies on the economy of resistance in a practical and pragmatic way, we can
immunize the country. We can immunize the country so that we will no longer
tremble in the face of sanctions and the possibility of sanctions. Well, they
can impose sanctions on us. If the economy becomes resistant, the enemy
sanctions will not exert a noticeable impact.
"This means a revolutionary and religious movement. If we carry out such tasks,
the honorable executive officials can deliver a report to us at the end of the
year 1395 saying that they have revived these several thousand workshops,
factories, farms, ranches and the like. They can come and say these things and
they can report it to the people so that they both see and feel it. When the
people feel this, then they will begin to trust.
"And of course, the people should help as well. I will tell you that the people
– whether political and economic personalities or the masses of the people –
should help the administration and the officials of the country. Of course, this
task [the economy of resistance] is not only the responsibility of the
administration. All the three branches should cooperate with one another so that
the task moves forward. And the people should help them as well. This assistance
is necessary. The seriousness of officials – particularly the officials in the
executive branch – is necessary as well. If we can launch this movement, it will
be accompanied by both speed and success because as I said, this is a
revolutionary movement.
"Whenever we carried out a revolutionary task, we achieved these things. Notice
that the task that our nuclear martyrs pioneered in the nuclear area – which is
very sensitive – the task that Shahid Tehrani Moqadam pioneered and the task
that Shahid Kazemi pioneered in the area of stem cells are very great feats.
"In cultural areas too, the task that Shahid Avini pioneered, which was
continued by the late Salahshoor in recent years – these personalities were the
pioneers of revolutionary work in our country – should be promoted. The value of
these personalities should be appreciated and their names should be
commemorated. This is revolutionary work. The reason why I repeatedly say that
revolutionary forces should be commemorated and preserved is this. When the task
is accompanied by a revolutionary spirit, it will move forward!
"I discussed the issue of the economy of resistance. Now, I want to say a few
words about cultural issues as well. As you know, cultural issues are very
important from my viewpoint. I attach great significance to cultural issues.
What I want to say today is the same thing that I think I said last year or the
year before that in the meeting that is held in the beginning of the year
[Supreme Leader's speech delivered on March 21, 2014]. At that time, I said that
those popular groups that do cultural work voluntarily – in the present time,
there are thousands of popular groups that are doing cultural work voluntarily
and that are working, thinking and making efforts on their own – should be
developed on a daily basis.
"Executive organizations should help them. Executive organizations – those that
are in charge of cultural work – should open their arms to religious, pious,
revolutionary youth instead of opening their arms to those who do not at all
believe in Islam, in the Revolution, in the Islamic Republic and in Islamic
values. These revolutionary youth can work, as they are working right now.
Valuable cultural tasks are being carried out in the present time. In all areas,
our revolutionary youth can work hard.
"Dear youth! The country belongs to you! The future belongs to you! The present
time belongs to you as well! You should know that if you are in the middle of
the arena, if you move forward with faith in God and with reliance on Him and if
you believe in yourselves, America and those greater than America will not be
able to do a damn thing against you!..."
Endnotes:
[1] See also MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6321, Power Struggle Between Iranian
Supreme Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp
Intensifies – Part II: Regime Aligns Against 'New Fitna' (Pragmatic Camp Led By
Rafsanjani) And U.S., February 24, 2016; MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1209,
Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And
Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp Intensifies – Part I: Khamenei Blocks Iran's
Implementation Of The JCPOA, December 11, 2015.
[2] Immediately after Khamenei's March 30 speech, Rafsanjani tweeted a
correction to his original tweet, stating that "the world of tomorrow is a world
of talks with similarity to the Islamic Revolution, and not of ballistic
missiles and nuclear bombs." @Rafsanjani_fa, March 30, 2016. On April 4, 2016,
Iranian journalist Abas Aslani tweeted, " #Iran's Rafsanjani denied & distanced
himself from the tweet attributed to him which had said 'future will be
discourse world, not missiles'" @Abasinfo, April 4, 2016.
[3] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6321, Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme
Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp Intensifies –
Part II: Regime Aligns Against 'New Fitna' (Pragmatic Camp Led By Rafsanjani)
And U.S., February 24, 2016.
[4] Foreign Affairs, March 7, 2016.
[5] Farsi.khamenei.ir, March 30, 2016.
[6] @Khamenei.ir, March 20, 2016.
[7] English.khamenei.ir, March 23, 2016. The text has been lightly edited for
clarity.