LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 23/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The Third Time That Jesus Appeared To The Disciples After His Resurrection
John/21/01-14/ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”“No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 22-23/19
Our Prayers Go For The Hundreds That Were killed Or Injured in Sri Lank Today Because Of Their Christian Faith
Report: U.S. Says Israel 'Won't Spark' Lebanon War, But 'Defensives Ready'
Report: Lebanon Won’t Attend April Astana Talks
Lebanon Religious Leaders Denounce Sri Lanka Bombings
France Warns Lebanon Over Hezbollah's Missile Plant
Rahi presides over Mass devoted to France, calls for raising prayers for the souls of the Sri Lanka bombings' victims
Saudi Royal Court Advisor starts official visit to Lebanon
Derian condemns Sri Lanka bombings: Islam prohibits abuse of human soul
Hassan contacts President of the Republic, Sleiman and Rahi on Easter occasion
Sleiman following his meeting with Rahi: For political and economic measures to rescue Lebanon
Geagea says balance of power is in the interest of March 14th Forces
Hariri after meeting Al-Rabia'ah: Reform and austerity measures require consensus
Al Rabia'ah visits Qabalan
Nasrallah says financial situation is dire, hopes that solution will come through the Lebanese themselves
Al Rabia'ah from Dar Fatwa: Everyone is optimistic about Lebanon's future
Carlos Ghosn Faces New Charges
Anger boils in Lebanon over government austerity plans

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 22-23/19
Unconfirmed reports blame Zahran Hashim for Sri Lanka attack. Who is he?
An Islamist extremist imam, he was a prolific lecturer for National Tawheed Jamaath.
Sri Lanka attacks death toll rises to 290, about 500 wounded
Trump decides not to reissue Iran oil waivers when they expire
US Eyes Measures Against Iraq for Violating Iran Sanctions
Iran Guards Reject Criticism of Foreign Militia Deployment in Flood-Hit Areas
U.S. Increasing Pressure on Use of Iranian Oil
Pakistan, Iran to Form Rapid Response Force on Border
Greenblatt: Deal of the Century Won’t Include Two-State Solution
Arab League Pledges $100 Mln a Month to Support Palestinians
Russia to Lease Syria’s Tartus Port for 49 Years
Syria Opposition: Rapprochement with Moscow Brings us Closer to Political Solution
Sudan Opposition Suspends Talks with Military Council
Head of Sudan’s military council receives Bahraini FM in Khartoum
Sudan tensions escalate after talks with military break down
Libya Force Slows Push as Death Toll From Fighting Over Capital at 254
Thousands of Moroccans Protest Prison Sentences Against 'Hirak Rif' Activists
Turkey police arrest ruling party member after attack on opposition chief
Israeli army to probe shooting of fleeing Palestinian teen detainee

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 22-23/19
Our Prayers Go For The Hundreds That Were killed Or Injured in Sri Lank Today Because Of Their Christian Faith/Elias Bejjani/April 21/19
Anger boils in Lebanon over government austerity plans/Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/April 22/19
Unconfirmed reports blame Zahran Hashim for Sri Lanka attack. Who is he?
An Islamist extremist imam, he was a prolific lecturer for National Tawheed Jamaath./Jerusalem Post/April 22/19
Sri Lanka attacks death toll rises to 290, about 500 wounded/Reurers/April 22/19
Nigeria: Jihad against Christians/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/April 22/19
Regime corruption to cause further decline in Iran’s economy/ Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 21/19
‘Diabolical’: Islam’s Past and Present Attacks on European Churches/Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/April 22/19
Tales in the Absence of Institutions/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 22/19
Iranian Regime Mouthpiece 'Kayhan' Calls For Targeting America's Economic Interests In The Region, Blocking Strait Of Hormuz And Red Sea To Saudi Oil Exports/MEMRI/April 22/19
Egypt is unlikely driving force behind 'deal of the century'/Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/April 22/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 22-23/19
Our Prayers Go For The Hundreds That Were killed Or Injured in Sri Lank Today Because Of Their Christian Faith
Elias Bejjani/April 21/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74097/elias-bejjani-our-prayers-goes-for-the-hundreds-that-were-killed-or-injured-in-sri-lank-today-because-of-their-christian-faith/
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16-33)
The shocking and tragic news from Sri Lanka this morning left the whole world in anger, sorrow, panic and fear.
Our voices join in condemning the horrific attacks on Christians as they were celebrating their holiest day, Easter Sunday, and our hearts and our prayers goes to all those who were injured or killed.
The least ethical and human obligation that any peace loving person would do today, is to strongly condemn the barbaric, savage and fundamentalist assault that targeted five churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka.
Most of the victims were observing and celebrating The Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian Church calendar.
The vicious attack killed more than 230 innocent parishioners among them citizens from numerous countries, and injured at least 500 others, many of them are in a critical condition.
The coward and evil assailants attacked civil and peaceful parishioners while they were worshiping and praying. This vicious assault reaches the realm of a series of similar previous and ongoing fanatic attacks against Christians and their churches in many other countries.
This phenomenon of anti-human rights’ practices is widely encouraged, nurtured and cultivated through education of hatred, fundamentalism, rejection of the other and ignorance in many third world countries.
What is unfortunate, pitiful and sad is that the governments of many middle east and African countries adopt such practices while the free world keeps a blind eye or in the best scenario limits its condemnation to mere rhetoric levels.
The horrible and barbaric crime of today is strongly denounced. The Free World has an obligation to protect Christians as well as all African and Middle East minorities.
We, call on the free world countries, the United Nations, the Vatican and on all the Human Rights’ organizations to be loud in their public stances of condemnation and to develop a world wide plan and strategy to protect the Middle East Christians as well as all other minorities.
Our deepest sympathies are extended to the families and friends of those killed today, and all wishes for a speedy recovery to all the injured.
May the souls of all those innocent victims that were killed today rest in peace.

Report: U.S. Says Israel 'Won't Spark' Lebanon War, But 'Defensives Ready'
Naharnet/April 22/19/After reported claims that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned of an Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer, fearing he could be killed, US sources said “Israel will not be the one to fire the first bullet but is ready to fight back in defense,” the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper reported on Monday. The daily said that US sources have responded to a report published by al-Rai about Nasrallah who predicted a war between his party and Israel this summer, saying: "If the war breaks out, as in 2006, Israel will not be the one to launch the first bullet, but it will not hesitate to defend itself if attacked.” In its report, al-Rai said that Nasrallah told the region’s Hizullah leaders in a special meeting that he asked his men “not to hide the truth,” raising the possibility of “war,” with Israel and asking that people living in southern villages close to the occupied territories “be informed.”
Nasrallah also said that “he could be killed in this war,” according to the report. The sources said “Israeli authorities do not intend to wage war on Lebanon, the Israeli policy is no longer distracted by the branches (Hizbullah) of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The only confrontation required is to confront the IRGC and the Iranian regime. Iran's mullahs may try to divert attention from the economic difficulties they face because of renewed US sanctions by igniting side wars.”They added "the 2006 (Lebanon) war itself was to divert attention from the difficulties faced by Hizbullah and its ally Syrian President Bashar Assad following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because of the scarcity of Iranian funds. The difficulties have come now to affect the Lebanese state itself.”“Without Iran abandoning its destabilizing activities in the region, there is no way out of the economic stalemate in which Iran and its ally, Assad in Syria and Hizbullah in Lebanon, are drowning. All the international parties concerned with the Middle East can see this,” they concluded.

Report: Lebanon Won’t Attend April Astana Talks
Naharnet/April 22/19/The Lebanese Foreign Ministry reportedly revealed that Lebanon “will not participate in the next fresh round of Astana talks that will take place in Kazakhstan’s capital of Nur-Sultan on April 25-26,” the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Monday. Sources from the Ministry explained that Lebanon “may be present in the next round, if an official invitation was given by the two conferences.”Regarding the level of representatives’ participation, the sources said in an interview to the paper: “It is usually determined after the distribution of invitations and after checking the level of participation of other countries. Shall the participation take place at the level of foreign ministers, Foriegn Minister Jebran Bassil will undoubtedly take part in it.”In that regard, Russian Ambassador in Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin reportedly denied knowledge of whether Lebanon would participate in the next round of “Astana”, pointing out that there is no information in this regard and that it is more appropriate to ask the Lebanese authorities on the subject. Kazakhstan will host a fresh round of Syria talks on April 25-26 in its capital, recently renamed from Astana to Nur-Sultan.

Lebanon Religious Leaders Denounce Sri Lanka Bombings
Naharnet/April 22/19/Religious leaders in Lebanon denounced the bomb blasts that ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka leaving at least 290 people dead, the National News Agency said on Monday. “Islam prohibits abuse of human life, what happened in Sri Lanka bears the hallmarks of terrorist and criminal aggression against the divine religions which call for respect in dealing with others," Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan said. For his part, Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi emphasized that "the language of violence and hatred does not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian. It must disappear with the dawn of resurrection that discards all culture of hatred and injustice, terrorism and ignorance, which all religions condemn.”More than 500 people were injured in the Easter Sunday assault that saw suicide bombers hit three high-end hotels popular with foreign tourists and three churches, unleashing carnage in Colombo and beyond. Two additional blasts were triggered as security forces carried out raids searching for suspects. The attacks were the worst ever carried out against Sri Lanka's small Christian minority, who make up just seven percent of the 21 million population. At least 37 foreigners were among the dead, the foreign ministry said.

France Warns Lebanon Over Hezbollah's Missile Plant
Kataeb.org/April 22/2019/France has warned that Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah-operated precision missile factory that was allegedly built in Lebanon, Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Sunday. According to Arab diplomatic sources, France has voiced concern over "dangerous" information provided by Israel to the United States regarding the establishment of a missile plant, prompting it to warn Lebanese officials of the consequences of such a move.During his recent visit to Beirut, U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned Lebanese officials that Hezbollah and Iran have set up a new factory to produce precision missiles in the country.

Rahi presides over Mass devoted to France, calls for raising prayers for the souls of the Sri Lanka bombings' victims
Mon 22 Apr 2019/ Foucher: Return of Syrian refugees must take place in favorable conditions and in a safe and voluntary manner
NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros el-Rahi, presided Monday over the traditional annual Mass service devoted to France in the "Church of Our Lady" in the Patriarchal Edifice of Bkirki, in the presence of Deputy House Speaker Elie Ferzli, French Ambassador Bruno Foucher, senior French Embassy staff, former Ministers Ziad Baroud and Ibrahim Daher, and various other prominent figures and a crowd of believers. In his religious sermon on the occasion, Rahi said, "Together we pray for the goodness of France and for peace and reconciliation in our turbulent region...We pray for the dead, and for healing the 500 wounded, extending our heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones. We express our solidarity with the dear Sri Lankan people and with the religious and civil authorities, as well as with the Sri Lankans who work in Lebanon."
"The fire that destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is devastating and horrible that only silence and prayer can help us in this ordeal," Rahi went on. "At the same time, the national and international solidarity with this Christian symbol in France, and this historically and culturally inherited gem, gives us a firm promise of his resurrection from this cathedral, from his ashes," he asserted. "On Easter Day, it has become the duty of every Christian believer in Jesus Christ, in Lebanon and the Middle East, to be active in peace, tolerance and reconciliation," Rahi corroborated.
The Patriarch concluded his sermon by saying, "In the name of the French-Lebanese friendship, I thank the French people for their closeness and dedication in any trying experience."In turn, French Ambassador delivered a word in which he said, "Since the celebration of Easter last year, political news continues to threaten the message of peace and brotherhood, and the situation in Lebanon is of concern to us." "We hope that Lebanese politicians will build the strong foundations of a sustainable state," Foucher added, considering that "contributing to this remarkable effort lies, first, in maintaining Lebanon's stability, which is what France is doing by making a significant contribution to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, France's largest participation in a peacekeeping operation.""One of the priorities of our diplomacy is to ensure a state of calm in the southern parts of the country, and to ensure the full implementation of UN Resolution #1701 and subsequent resolutions," Foucher asserted. He added: "The Lebanese Republic must be the most stable along its borders, safer on its territory and more sovereign over the sea. That is why we support the Lebanese army and the security forces, which are developing their capabilities. We have secured a loan of 400 Million Euros during the 2nd Rome Conference. Our cooperation is now the most important compared to the Mediterranean, where our contributions are worth 45 Million Euros. This effort is not a matter of numbers, but it attests to the daily battles that we have fought side by side, for we have confronted Daesh and reaped victory.""Finally, our support lies in contributing to Lebanese civil society, which we admire very much for helping the underprivileged and for its role in establishing peaceful coexistence among all Lebanese," Foucher underlined.
"Working for a stronger Lebanon also means providing a just, reassuring and humanitarian approach to the Syrian refugee crisis. We cannot show indifference to their fate, yet we also cannot remain unaware of the consequences of their existence. We hope that the refugees will be able to return home. This return must take place under favorable conditions, in a safe and voluntary manner," he asserted. "Meanwhile, we will continue to stand by Lebanon to try to ease the heavy burden of displacement. During the recent conference in Brussels, we committed to pursuing our support to refugees and the vulnerable Lebanese population by sustaining many projects that focus on schools, hospitals and infrastructure," the French diplomat emphasized.

Saudi Royal Court Advisor starts official visit to Lebanon
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Saudi Royal Court Advisor, General Supervisor of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works, Abdullah Al Rabia'ah, arrived this Monday at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, commencing a three-day official visit to Lebanon. The Saudi senior official was greeted at the Airport's VIP lounge by Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, and Sheikh Mohammed Ali Tarshishi Al Ameli. Speaking upon arrival at the Airport, Al Rabia'ah deemed Saudi-Lebanese relations as solid, saying he is pleased to be visiting Lebanon. Al Rabia'ah said he is currently visiting Lebanon to implement a series of relief and humanitarian projects, meet with Lebanese officials, and build bridges of cooperation between the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works and Lebanese governmental and non-governmental organizations. "We look forward to meet officials and representatives of the organizations to build strong bridges of cooperation for the benefit of the refugees and the underprivileged in various areas of Lebanon," Al Eabia'ah maintained. In reply to a question, Al Rabia'ah said he is pleased to meet any of the Lebanese officials, should their itinerary permit. He also disclosed that he shall be inaugurating during his visit a number of projects that serve the refugees and the underprivileged. It is to note that the Saudi senior official will commence his visit to Lebanon by meeting Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and heads of religious communities in Lebanon. Al Rabia'ah will also pay a field visit to the Bekaa tomorrow [Tuesday] and will inaugurate a series of humanitarian projects.

Derian condemns Sri Lanka bombings: Islam prohibits abuse of human soul
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, strongly denounced the bombings that targeted a number of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. "Islam prohibits any assault or abusive act against human soul," Derian said in a statement on Monday. He added: "What happened in Sri Lanka bears the marks of terrorist and criminal aggression against the divine religions that call for dealing with one another with respect."

Hassan contacts President of the Republic, Sleiman and Rahi on Easter occasion
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Druze Sheikh Aql, Naim Hassan, contacted Monday the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, expressing his sincere wishes on the occasion of the glorious Easter holiday and emphasizing "the importance of joining hands to achieve the best for the country."
Hassan stressed "the need for internal unity and coexistence to preserve and boost the state's stability."He also hoped that "Lebanon will survive the burdening cloud of pressing economic and daily living dossiers, and that the country will enjoy a new resurrection and rise at all levels...in addition to succeeding in achieving reform, fighting corruption and stopping waste expenditure."The Druze Sheikh Aql also conducted a similar phone call to Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, confirming "continued communication between all spiritual and national figures to protect the country from the challenges that beset it."Hassan also contacted former President Michel Sleiman to express Easter greetings. Meanwhile, the Druze Sheikh Aql renewed his condemnation of the vicious attacks on Christians in Sri Lanka, calling for "real efforts to fight terrorism and extremism."

Sleiman following his meeting with Rahi: For political and economic measures to rescue Lebanon
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, met this morning with former President Michel Sleiman, who visited him in Bkirki to offer his Easter greetings and well wishes. The encounter was a chance to dwell on recent developments in the country. On emerging, Sleiman hoped that this year would be a blessed one for Lebanon, and that the measures adopted to help the economy would be serious and real, coupling with the necessary political steps to solve the crises at hand. "Lebanon's international obligations must be implemented as well," Sleiman added, highlighting the need to maintain Lebanon's self-distancing policy as mentioned in the Baabda Declaration. "We have called for Lebanon's neutralization, as stipulated in Lebanon's constitutions and national charters, and as we agreed in the Baabda Declaration, and we insisted on adopting it as an official document in the United Nations and the European Union," he went on. "However, and after it was considered as an official document, we have reversed our commitments," Sleiman said regretfully. He concluded by stressing, "All matters are dependent on correcting the political course in Lebanon."

Geagea says balance of power is in the interest of March 14th Forces
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea, refused to consider that "the vertical division between March 8 and 14 is absent", describing it as "a matter of principle related to Lebanon's sovereignty and independence, with all parties agreeing not to translate it at the political level, since that would reap destruction in the country. "At the popular level, however, people are divided between March 8 and March 14, so is the case within the cabinet, especially when sensitive issues are proposed for discussion," he added. Speaking in an interview with the Lebanese Forces website team earlier today, Geagea said, "There is no fear of the existence of figures affiliated to the Syrian regime within the parliament and government, since Syria no longer has power in Lebanon for its regime has no more strength in its country," adding that "the balance of power is in the interest of March 14th Forces."Geagea expressed his conviction that the possibility of "Syrian President Bashar el-Assad's remaining in power is minimal, for he is staying today because there is no clear vision at this moment, the Syrian crisis is frozen, and the regime is not defined at present, considering that the powers in Syria are Iran, Russia, America and its allies.""The balance among these forces would determine his [Assad's] position," he noted. Referring to the intersection of relations between the Lebanese Forces and Hezbollah, Geagea indicated that this has been due to the latter's current engagement in daily living dossiers in the country, unlike in the past. "Today, matters must be approached objectively when a file is presented within the Council of Ministers and agreed upon by both parties," he explained, adding, "The current phase is political, par excellence!" As for the threatening economic situation in Lebanon, Geagea indicated that "the LF Party has a clear vision of the pre-collapse stage, as it is our basic duty to prevent any deterioration. In this sense, the Party is moving at all levels, and today we are fighting the battle of the state budget, whereby its study, discussion and endorsement as required would guarantee that no collapse occurs."Geagea pointed to the slow pace at the level of the state in addressing this matter, "so the Lebanese Forces Party is seeking to activate measures to avoid any collapse in light of the amount of rampant corruption." He stressed that "Lebanon can carry out reforms with or without the Cedar Conference, since these reforms are necessary and we must have a practical and clean country." As for the talk about the presidential elections, Geagea considered this as "premature", especially that "it is impossible to predict the circumstances and equation of said elections at this time."

Hariri after meeting Al-Rabia'ah: Reform and austerity measures require consensus
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri received this afternoon at the Center House the Advisor to the Saudi Royal Court and General Supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabia'ah, accompanied by the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Higher Relief Committee Mj. Gen. Mohamed Kheir. They discussed Al-Rabia'ah’s mission in Lebanon and the bilateral relations between the two countries.
During the meeting, Al- Rabia'ah presented to Prime Minister Hariri a shield as a token of appreciation. After the meeting, Al-Rabia'ah said: “I am very happy to meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri. I conveyed to him the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz. The visit comes in implementation of these directives and to underline the strong relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Through this visit and in application of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, many programs will be implemented and agreements signed to support humanitarian aid in several areas, to Syrian refugees and the brotherly Lebanese people. This work is the beginning of multiple programs and of the continuation of this strong relationship not only in the humanitarian field, but in all areas.”
In a chat with reporters after the meeting, Hariri said that the main reason delaying the completion of the budget is “to ensure that we can all agree on all the numbers and reductions that we want to implement because economy, growth and reform are not the responsibility of one party, but of all parties, and they are partners in this reform. Saad Hariri cannot carry out reform alone, nor can the President of the Republic or Speaker Nabih Berri. Any of the political parties in the Council of Ministers cannot carry out reform alone, because it is done through consensus between us all. The same goes for the austerity measures we want to take. Because we are keen on the Lebanese citizen, state and all employees in the Lebanese administration and on preserving their benefits. No one in politics has a hobby of taking anything away from anyone. What is important is that we can implement all CEDRE projects that contribute to the growth of the economy.”He added: “It is true that there is austerity, but it is not true that there will be no money in the country. This austerity will bring all CEDRE projects to the Council of Ministers, and then we start to implement one project after the other and this is the basis, to have growth with austerity.
This way we will reach the figures that we are seeking to reach. Next year, there will certainly not be austerity because we would have secured electricity 24 hours per day with an increase in tariffs and even if this increase takes place, it will save the Lebanese citizen between 20 and 25 percent. This will help us reach the figures we want to reach in the years 2020 and 2021.”Asked about what President Michel Aoun said yesterday, and whether he meant Prime Minister Hariri, he said: “I do not want to respond. I understand that all political parties want to increase their gains, but for me, it is the result that counts, and that the Council of Ministers approves a budget with a very large reform, for the future of our children, and what is important to us is that we all participate in this.”

Al Rabia'ah visits Qabalan
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Head of the Islamic Supreme Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel Amir Qabalan, on Monday afternoon welcomed Saudi Royal Court Advisor, General Supervisor of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works, Abdullah Al Rabia'ah, in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, and accompanying Saudi delegation. Talks reportedly touched on Al Rabia'ah's mission during his visit to Lebanon, and on bilateral relations between both countries. The meeting was also attended by the Council's Vice Head Sheikh Ali Al Khatib and the Council's Secretary General Nazih Jammoul. Al-Rabia'ah presented Sheikh Qabalan with a shield as a token of appreciation. Sheikh Qabalan welcomed the Saudi delegation, wishing Al Rabia'ah success in his humanitarian mission that serves humans regardless of their affiliation. Qabalan stressed the need to exert efforts to secure the return of Syrian refugees to their country, and to facilitate this return as soon as possible, in light of the grave impact Lebanon bears due to this displacement. Al Rabia'ah, in turn, said he was pleased to meet with Sheikh Qabalan, saying the meeting affirms the Kingdom's keenness on Lebanon and all the Lebanese people of all sects and communities. Al Rabia'ah said the Kingdom seeks to support many programs in the various domains in Lebanon, notably in the relief and humanitarian spheres. Talks also touched on the Kingdom's keenness to find peaceful solutions to all the challenges facing the Arab and Islamic world, hoping to see a stable and prosperous Lebanon through the relentless efforts of all its people.

Nasrallah says financial situation is dire, hopes that solution will come through the Lebanese themselves
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, referred Monday to the unanimous agreement among various Lebanese constituents regarding the "dire financial situation" prevailing in the country and the "need to find a solution." "We hope that the solution will come through the Lebanese themselves, but it seems that it will be inevitable for us through the terms of Cedar and the World Bank," Nasrallah underlined. He added that "the solution must be the responsibility of all," and that "it will lead to a certain austerity, so we have to be prudent in our debate and to act wisely and courageously when making proposals, and to maintain precision when studying these proposals."The Secretary-General confirmed that Hezbollah would be "a partner in responsibility, and part of the state and the people in assuming said responsibility.""We also perceive the state budget as the beginning of reform, and we consider that what is being discussed today is a golden opportunity to reduce waste expenditure," maintained Nasrallah, affirming "Hezbollah's openness to any discussion, while preserving its faith and moral commitment against tampering with people's incomes or imposing new taxes."
The Secretary-General's words came in his delivered speech this afternoon marking the 34th anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts Association foundation, which he began by strongly condemning the "massacre in Sri Lanka that claimed the lives of hundreds." He joined the many voices that denounced "this inhuman and brutal act that is far from the values of divine religions and human morality."Nasrallah called herein for "a comprehensive confrontation of terrorism and all those behind it," adding, "We will wait for unveiling the side behind this terrorist act in the coming days, following which we will state our position."
He also regretted "this ongoing terrorism that has robbed holiday revelers of their smiles, whether in Sri Lanka or in Yemen or occupied Palestine."Referring to the commemoration of the Mahdi Scouts foundation and the birth of Imam Al-Mahdi, Nasrallah said: "It is a day of celebration for this Scout."
In this connection, Nasrallah touched on a "central notion shared by divine religions, which is the end of time, i.e. the last part of human life, the timing of which we do not know." He pointed to "the difference in naming this leader, who will appear at the end of time for the Jews, not the Israelis, as well as the Christians and Muslims," noting that "for the Shiites, it is the Imam Al-Mahdi who is awaited with Jesus Christ, whom we glorify."Nasrallah highlighted "the importance of hope in the lives of peoples as an alternative to despair that leads to surrender," praising "the steadfastness of the Palestinian people," in addition to "the events in Lebanon when some ruled out the ability to resist Israel." "If despair had filled our souls, Lebanon would have been under occupation and Trump would have donated it to Israel!" he exclaimed. Nasrallah hoped that "the sanctions will not affect the Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts," commending their efforts and valuable contributions to social wellbeing. Meanwhile, Nasrallah regretted what was published by a Kuwaiti newspaper and some media outlets here, categorically denying the article's content and timing. He ruled out “the possibility of a renewed Israeli war,” adding, ‘The Israeli air force can no longer resolve a battle, and Israel itself says that it is not ready for a ground battle." However, Nasrallah pointed to the need to remain alert to all possibilities. The Secretary-General also expressed surprise towards the world’s silence about Trump's actions against Iran, “since this gives an excuse for violating other peoples in various countries of the world," calling for "rejecting these arrogant American policies, whether in support of the war on Yemen or sanctions against Iran or against the Palestinian people."

Al Rabia'ah from Dar Fatwa: Everyone is optimistic about Lebanon's future
Mon 22 Apr 2019/NNA - Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, on Monday welcomed at Dar Al Fatwa Saudi Royal Court Advisor, General Supervisor of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works, Abdullah Al Rabia'ah, in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, and accompanying Saudi delegation. On emerging, Al Rabia'ah said he was pleased to meet with Lebanon's Mufti, deeming Saudi-Lebanese relations as deeply consolidated. He also underlined the Kingdom's keenness to support relief and humanitarian programs for all refugees and underprivileged in Lebanon, stressing continued cooperation with Dar Al Fatwa and its affiliated humanitarian organizations, as well as governmental and community humanitarian organizations and institutions in Lebanon. In reply to a question, Al Rabia'ah said "everyone is optimistic about the future of Lebanon," emphasizing that friendly countries to Lebanon, notably Saudi Arabia, support Lebanon's development and advancement. Mufti Derian, in turn, hailed the efforts undertaken by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works for the welfare of all the underprivileged in Lebanon and the Arab region. Mufti Derian also presented Al Rabia'ah with Dar Al Fatwa's shield as a token of appreciation, who in turn conferred upon Derian the shield of the King Salman Center.

Carlos Ghosn Faces New Charges
Kataeb.org/April 22/2019/Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has been accused of new charges of aggravated breach of trust, thus, making up four formal indictments so far. The new charges claim that Ghosn had transferred millions in Nissan funds to a dealership in the Middle East and directed around five million dollars for personal enrichment. Prosecutors claim that the transferred money was actually done "with the purpose of benefiting himself by receiving part of the money.”Nissan itself had filed a criminal complaint against him "after determining that payments made by Nissan to an overseas vehicle sales company via a subsidiary were in fact directed by Ghosn for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint."

Anger boils in Lebanon over government austerity plans
مكرم رباح: تفاقم الغضب في لبنان بسبب خطط التقشف الحكومية
Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/April 22/19
The retreat over the salary cuts does not mean these will not ensue but rather that the ruling establishment would simply allow matters to deteriorate further before allowing the suggestion to resurface.
Desperate people do desperate things, more so when their predicament is largely of their own making. This is pretty much the case with the Lebanese state and its cabinet, which is frantically scrambling to prevent the collapse of Lebanon’s decrepit economy and, consequently, the country.
The Hariri government once again demonstrated a total lack of political and fiscal acumen as it floated the idea that its upcoming budget would include slashing salaries in the public sector, which for Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his 30-member cabinet was the only way to weather the storm.
As alarming as this scenario might seem, it was made gloomier by the fact that these measures would touch on retirement packages and health benefits of retired bureaucrats, who include thousands of pensioners from the military and security forces and teachers as well as from various sectors of government.
Consequently, thousands of pensioners went to the streets, blocking main highways into Beirut and flocked to the Lebanese parliament to vehemently protest and to warn of the consequences of this measure.
Hariri’s unimaginative response to these disgruntled seniors was to deny that this item was on the table, yet he warned of the difficult times that await if austerity measures were not immediately and fully implemented.
Hariri’s tactical retreat over the salary cuts does not mean these will not ensue but rather that the ruling establishment would simply allow matters to deteriorate further before allowing the suggestion to resurface.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of the debate goes beyond discussing the somewhat necessary reforms to the pension plan and reflects the sinister approach that the government is employing, one that ultimately frames the public sector as the main reason for the country’s inability to prosper.
It is no coincidence that the ruling establishment has been implicitly linking the ongoing anti-corruption campaign with the debate on pension control.
While it is true that the Lebanese public sector suffers from a chronic corruption problem, most of the pensioners who wait for their monthly retirement checks are not those who accumulated millions from shady dealings or kickbacks.
The hard-working public servants who diligently run the state are not the demons the politicians and their extended propaganda machine paint them to be.
If the austerity measures and fiscal crunches must start somewhere, they should begin from above and not only target the lower- and medium-income brackets. This is equally true of the Lebanese banking sector, which is portrayed as the vicious capitalist wormhole that is sucking the country dry.
As a country that celebrates free enterprise and a laissez-faire economy and with the imprudent fiscal planning of the government and excessive corruption, it is natural for these banks to profit from their investment and capitalise on the failures of the political class.
Yet much of the suggested reform plan does not touch on the privileges of the political elite, the majority of whom take advantage of their standing to block legislation or taxation that would lower their profit margins.
While the ruling establishment preaches austerity as the only economic salvation, the public watches these same self-righteous politicians as they abuse power and squander taxpayers’ money by flying to trivial international conferences and driving around in elaborate motorcades, all of which incur millions of dollars of costs on the state — millions that could have been directed to more worthy projects.
In his latest trip to Moscow, Lebanese President Michel Aoun and his accompanying delegation are said to have cost the Lebanese state approximately $500,000. Aoun was given a lukewarm reception and only 11 minutes of audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
For $45,000 a minute, the Lebanese certainly did not get their money’s worth nor did Aoun affirm his claim of being a strong president willing to sacrifice to save his people.
Quite as dangerous perhaps is that the Lebanese political elite are comparing their predicament to that of Greece or Serbia and are emulating some of the measures that such countries implemented to stimulate their economies.
Yet these so-called reformers ignore that decades of corruption and mismanagement could not be simply rectified by chastising the public servants, who practically give the state its legitimacy and perhaps its soul.
Before Hariri asks members of his bureaucracy to relinquish part of their pay, he needs to reduce the number of ministers in his cabinet, half of whom collect a hefty paycheque while doing nothing but representing their respective sects.
The Lebanese have a saying that to wash a staircase one needs to start from the top floor. However, in its current shape, no amount of soap or water can clean decades of corruption nor delay the inevitable.
*Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, Department of History. He is the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics at the American University of Beirut, 1967-1975.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on April 22-23/19
Unconfirmed reports blame Zahran Hashim for Sri Lanka attack. Who is he?
An Islamist extremist imam, he was a prolific lecturer for National Tawheed Jamaath.
Jerusalem Post/April 22/19
 Shortly after bombing attacks struck Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, right-wing reports began disseminating a name of an Islamist extremist who they said was responsible for the events that killed 290 people and wounded more than 500 others. No terrorist or organization has yet to take responsibility for the attack.
The unconfirmed reports identified the suicide bomber and mastermind behind the attack on the Shangri La hotel as Islamic extremist Moulvi Zahran Hashim. An imam, he was a prolific lecturer for National Tawheed Jamaath. CNN reported that Hashim also wanted to attack the Indian High Commission in Colombo earlier this month, but the attack was thwarted. According to the CNN report, that attack was planned for April 4. CNN also noted that at least two suicide bombers were responsible for some of the attacks that took place on Easter Sunday. As Hashim’s name began disseminating on social media, journalists on the left, like Al Jazeera journalist Saif Khalid, pushed back against the reports, accusing the press of being “Islamophobic” for reporting his name.The National Tawheed Jamaath imam has a history of racism and Islamic superiority. In July 2017, for example, Sri Lanka press reported that the organization’s leaders were being prosecuted for making derogatory remarks in a video against Buddha and hurting the sentiments of the Sinhala-Buddhist community in the country. Hashim has likewise posted several YouTube videos during which he preaches comments that could be considered incitement. “For years, the faithful man spread his incitement without being banned,” he describes on his video. In another one, he says: “What can Sri Lankan Muslims do for Dr. Zakir Naik?” Naik is the president of the Islamic Research Foundation in India and is considered to preach incitement and support terrorism.

Sri Lanka attacks death toll rises to 290, about 500 wounded
Reurers/April 22/19
Three Sri Lankan churches and three hotels were hit by explosions on Easter Sunday, wounding hundreds of people, police sources said.
Sri Lankan military officials stand guard in front of the St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade church after an explosion in Colombo, Sri Lanka .
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The death toll from attacks on churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka rose significantly to 290, and about 500 people were also wounded, police said on Monday. Bomb blasts ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the first major attack on the Indian Ocean island since the end of a civil war 10 years ago. Thirteen people were arrested and three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo several hours after the attacks, many of which officials said were suicide bomb explosions.
The government declared a curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp. It is unclear when the curfew will be lifted. The US Role in the Worlds Worst Humanitarian Crisis. Three churches in various parts of the country and four hotels in Colombo were hit. At least 27 of the dead were foreigners, including five British people, two of whom had dual US citizenship, and three Indians, according to officials in those countries. Also among the fatalities were three people from Denmark, two from Turkey, and one from Portugal, officials said. There were also Chinese and Dutch among the dead, according to media reports. No Israelis were among those killed. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said US nationals were among those killed, but did not give details. There are 25 unidentified bodies, believed to be of foreigners, at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer’s mortuary, according to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009, a time when bomb blasts in the capital were common. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acknowledged that the government had some “prior information of the attack,” though ministers were not told. He said there wasn’t an adequate response and there needed to be an inquiry into how the information was used. He also said the government needs to look at the international links of a local terrorist group.
Agence France-Presse reported that it had seen documents showing that Sri Lanka’s police chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit “prominent churches.” He cited a foreign intelligence service as reporting that a little-known Islamist group was planning attacks. A Sri Lanka police spokesman said he was not aware of the intelligence report. Local Christian groups have said they faced increasing intimidation from some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years. Last year, there were clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and minority Muslims, with some hard line Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam.
Dozens were killed in one of the blasts at St. Sebastian’s Gothic-style Catholic church in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo. Gunasekera said the police suspected a suicide attack there. Pictures from the site showed bodies on the ground, blood on the church pews and a destroyed roof.
Local media reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on an evangelical church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province. The hotels hit in Colombo were the Shangri-La, the Kingsbury, the Cinnamon Grand and the Tropical Inn near the national zoo. There was no word on casualties in the hotels, but a witness told local TV he saw some body parts, including a severed head, lying on the ground beside the Tropical Inn. The first six explosions were all reported within a short period in the morning just as church services were starting. One of the explosions was at St. Anthony’s Shrine, a Catholic church in Kochcikade, Colombo, a tourist landmark.
The explosion at the Tropical Inn happened later and there was an eighth explosion at a house in Colombo. Police and media said that three officers were killed and seven people detained during a raid on this location. “I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong,” said the prime minister in a Tweet. “Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation.”President Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered the police special task force and military to investigate who was behind the attacks and their agenda. The military was deployed, a military spokesman said, and security stepped up at Colombo’s international airport. Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), which represents more than 200 churches and other Christian organizations. This year, the NCEASL recorded 26 such incidents, including one in which Buddhist monks allegedly attempted to disrupt a Sunday worship service, with the last one reported on March 25.
Out of Sri Lanka’s total population of around 22 million, 70% are Buddhist, 12.6% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim and 7.6% Christian, according to the country’s 2012 census. The heads of major governments condemned the attacks. US President Donald Trump said America offered “heartfelt condolences” to the Sri Lankan people and stood ready to help, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there was “no place for such barbarism in our region,” and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the bombings were “an assault on all of humanity.”
Modi told voters that they needed to elect him to a second term as only he can beat the “terrorists” threatening India. “Should terrorism be finished or not?,” he asked an election rally in the western state of Rajasthan. “Who can do this? Can you think of any name aside from Modi? Can anybody else do this?”
Pope Francis, addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square to hear his Easter Sunday message: “I wish to express my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence.”Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday after his death by crucifixion on Friday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, where a gunman shot 50 people dead in two mosques last month, said in a statement: “Collectively we must find the will and the answers to end such violence.”

Trump decides not to reissue Iran oil waivers when they expire
AFP /Monday, 22 April 2019/US President Donald Trump decided not to reissue Iran oil waivers when they expire in May, a White House statement said. The statement added that the US, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates “have agreed to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market.”The United States announced it would no longer grant sanctions exemptions to Iran's oil customers, potentially punishing allies such as India as it tries to squeeze Tehran's top export. “This decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue,” the White House said in a statement. “The Trump administration and our allies are determined to sustain and expand the maximum economic pressure campaign against Iran to end the regime's destabilizing activity threatening the United States, our partners and allies and security in the Middle East,” it said. Eight governments were initially given six-month reprieves from the unilateral US sanctions on Iran. They include India, which has warm ties with Washington but disagrees on the US insistence that Iran is a threat. Other countries that will be affected include China and Turkey, opening up new friction in contentious relationships if the United States goes ahead with sanctions over buying Iranian oil. The others- Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan- have already heavily reduced their purchases from Iran. Trump last year withdrew the United States from an accord negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear program in return for promises of sanctions relief. US officials say that they are aiming at choking off Iranian revenue to reduce the clerical regime's regional clout, notably its support for militants groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

US Eyes Measures Against Iraq for Violating Iran Sanctions
Reuters/Monday, 22 April, 2019/The United States may take diplomatic measures against Iraq if it fails to comply with the sanctions on Iran, according to US Charge d’Affaires in Baghdad Joey Hood. The United States does not monitor Iran from its bases in Iraq and it wants Iraq to be independent in the field of energy, Hood said in an interview with al-Dijlah channel on Saturday. He explained that the US administration has given Iraqi government short-term exemptions on energy imports from Iran, but it wanted Iraq to produce its own energy and gas. Hood accused Iran of pressuring Iraq to break US sanctions, asserting that Washington was closely watching and would take necessary action in this regard. In addition, it would stop any transfers to companies and individuals, especially those associated with Iranian entities such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
In turn, member of the parliamentary foreign relations committee and MP of Reform and Reconstruction Alliance Furat al-Tamimi, ruled out any importance to the Chargé d'Affaires’ statements, saying he didn’t enjoy “high level in US diplomacy.”“We are awaiting the arrival of the new US ambassador to see what can be done, and what exactly is the US position," he told Asharq al-Awsat. Tamimi voiced his conviction that Washington would not impose diplomatic or non-diplomatic sanctions on Baghdad as a result of Iraq's clear position from Iranian sanctions and the two countries' commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement. He noted that Iraq was geographically associated with Iran, which Washington recognized, indicating that he, personally, had no fear of US sanctions. However, head of Iraqi Center for Political Thought Ihsan al-Shammari believes that the imposition of diplomatic sanctions is possible, and this could lead to cooling relations between Washington and Baghdad, especially with Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi declaring that he would not abide by US sanctions against Tehran. Shammari told Asharq Al-Awsat he believes Washington was testing Iraq’s ability to find alternatives, especially now that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt expressed their willingness to supply it with electricity. He predicts that if Iraq does not facilitate the development of alternatives, US will impose sanctions through two tracks: the first through diplomatic methods which could harm relations between the two countries, and the second through the imposition of sanctions on figures and armed factions associated with Iran. Shammari believes that sanctions on figures and factions is the more difficult option and could damage the political situation. The US will announce in June lists of political figures, factions, and traders close to Iran on the terror list, Shammari believes especially as the US Congress has discussed issuing a law to prosecute those who contribute to destabilizing Iraq. Fatah Coalition MP Qusai Abbas considered Hood’s statement a new way to blackmail Iraqi authorities in an attempt to prevent any legislation or resolution that would legalize US presence in Iraq. Abbas asked the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to summon the Charge d'Affaires and hand over a formal protest note, considering Hood’s statement an interference in Iraq’s internal affairs that has a negative impact on the nature of the relationship between Iraq and US.

Iran Guards Reject Criticism of Foreign Militia Deployment in Flood-Hit Areas
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) rejected criticism by parliament over the deployment of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units from Iraq into the flood-hit region of Ahwaz. Commander of the IRGC navy Alireza Tangsiri said that those objecting to the move “are either ignorant or affiliated to foreigners,” reported the Fars news agency. The PMF had entered southwestern regions in Iran days after the Fatemiyoun militia had deployed in the Lorestan province. MP Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh questioned the PMF deployment, saying they did not obtain permission from the parliament and government. “Don’t the IRGC and army have enough forces? Did we make a plea to the people that was unheeded, forcing the PMF and Fatemiyoun to deploy in flood-hit areas?” he tweeted, deeming the development a violation of the constitution. Shiraz MP Bahram Parsaei demanded that Iran’s borders be respected, rejecting the deployment of “foreign military forces” without a legal permit even if they were part of a relief effort. Their deployment must be approved by the parliament speaker, he demanded. Tehran MP Alireza Rahimi had called on the Foreign Ministry to clarify the deployment, warning also that he may submit a request to debrief the interior minister if he was not “transparent” about controlling the activity of the PMF. In contrast, national security council member Hossein Naghavi Hosseini said: “We had once presented support to Iraq and it must support us today. We should fear the presence of American, French and European forces, not Iraqi ones.”IRGC-affiliated media had on Friday released images of PMF deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis attending a meeting for the Ahwaz crisis cell, which was attended by the Guards’ Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani. Muhandis’ attendance was deemed a violation of Iranian administrative laws. Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Hashmatollah Falahatpisheh defended the deployment, rejecting any criticism of the presence of the PMF and any foreign forces that are loyal to the IRGC.
These are “voluntary” forces from other countries and they are bound to the regulations of the Interior Ministry, he added. The regime granted them permission to enter Iran. Meanwhile, four leftist opposition groups outside of Iran issued a joint statement that demands the evacuation of foreign militias from Iran, describing the “intervention” as “worrying.”Pakistani Zaynabioun militia members and others from Lebanon’s Hezbollah had deployed in Ahwaz and Lorestan to help in flood relief.

U.S. Increasing Pressure on Use of Iranian Oil
Associated Press/Naharnet/April 22/19/The Trump administration is poised to tell five nations, including allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey, that they will no longer be exempt from U.S. sanctions if they continue to import oil from Iran, officials said Sunday.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to announce on Monday that the administration will not renew sanctions waivers for the five countries when they expire on May 2, three U.S. officials said. The others are China and India. It was not immediately clear if any of the five would be given additional time to wind down their purchases or if they would be subject to U.S. sanctions on May 3 if they do not immediately halt imports of Iranian oil. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Pompeo's announcement. The decision not to extend the waivers, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was finalized on Friday by President Donald Trump, according to the officials. They said it is intended to further ramp up pressure on Iran by strangling the revenue it gets from oil exports. The administration granted eight oil sanctions waivers when it re-imposed sanctions on Iran after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. They were granted in part to give those countries more time to find alternate energy sources but also to prevent a shock to global oil markets from the sudden removal of Iranian crude. U.S. officials now say they do not expect any significant reduction in the supply of oil given production increases by other countries, including the U.S. itself and Saudi Arabia. Since November, three of the eight — Italy, Greece and Taiwan — have stopped importing oil from Iran. The other five, however, have not, and have lobbied for their waivers to be extended. NATO ally Turkey has made perhaps the most public case for an extension, with senior officials telling their U.S. counterparts that Iranian oil is critical to meeting their country's energy needs. They have also made the case that as a neighbor of Iran, Turkey cannot be expected to completely close its economy to Iranian goods.

Pakistan, Iran to Form Rapid Response Force on Border
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/Pakistan and Iran will form a rapid response force to combat militant activity on their shared border. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the announcement Monday during a televised press conference in Tehran with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan. “We agreed to increase the security cooperation of the two countries, our border forces, our intelligence forces,” Rouhani said. “And also to form a joint quick reaction force on the border of the two countries for fighting terrorism.”Khan said that militant activity at the border could be a source of tension. “The most important reason why I’m here, Mr. President, is because I felt that the issue of terrorism was going to ... increase differences between our countries,” Khan said during the joint press conference. “So it was very important for me to come here and come with our security chief that we resolve this issue.” Khan had arrived in Iran on Sunday to discuss security and regional issues, Iranian state TV reported, a day after Islamabad urged Tehran to act against militants behind killings in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been strained in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. A new umbrella group representing various insurgent groups operating in Baluchistan claimed responsibility for an attack on Thursday when 14 passengers were killed after being kidnapped from buses in the province, which borders Iran. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday the training and logistical camps of the new alliance that carried out the attack were based inside Iran and called on Iran to take action against the insurgents. Tehran has stepped up security along its long border with Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 27 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in mid-February in southeastern Iran, with Iranian officials saying the attackers were based inside Pakistan.

Greenblatt: Deal of the Century Won’t Include Two-State Solution
Ramallah – Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/Jason Greenblatt, the top White House Middle East peace negotiator, rejected the use of the term “two-state solution” in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. There was no reason to use the term because each side understood it differently, he said according to the Israel Hayom daily. “If the two sides do not respond positively to the plan, they will have squandered an important opportunity, especially so for the Palestinians,” Greenblatt said of the US peace proposal. There are not enough details on the plan, but the Washington Post and The Guardian reports showed that it will not include establishing a full Palestinian state.Outgoing French Ambassador to the US, Gerard Aro said the US plan was doomed to fail. He told the Atlantic journal there was a “99 percent chance” that it will fail. “Jared Kushner, for his extreme rationalism and clear bias to the Israelis, does not understand that the Palestinians, in the event that they choose between stop or suicide, choose the second,” he added. Last week, Kushner said the peace plan will be released only after the Israeli government is sworn in to office and after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends in June. Reuters reported that Kushner encouraged Palestinians to keep an "open mind" about the proposal.

Arab League Pledges $100 Mln a Month to Support Palestinians
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/The Arab League pledged from Cairo on Sunday to provide $100 million a month to support the Palestinian Authority and help it confront political and financial pressure from Israel. The foreign ministers of the Arab League underscored the need to implement the 2002 Arab peace initiative, international resolution and the land-for-peace concept, refusing any deal that does not adhere to these references. The ministers were referring to so-called “deal of the century” peace plan that is being drafted by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Such a deal will fail in achieving permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, they continued. Addressing the extraordinary foreign ministers meeting, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said "the Arabs need to be engaging actively at this critical time."The Palestinians reject the deal and demand Israel fully withdraw from all occupied territories, he added. American officials have said last week that the deal could be unveiled after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends in June.

Russia to Lease Syria’s Tartus Port for 49 Years
Damascus, London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discussed Moscow’s efforts to help the Middle Eastern country’s economic revival, as well as trade and economic cooperation “particularly in the fields of energy, industry and increasing trade,” according to Russian sources. Assad and the Russian envoy also discussed mechanisms to overcome obstacles including those from the sanctions which “countries against the Syrian people imposed on Syria.”“We have made considerable progress on that matter and hope that a contract will be signed within a week and the port of Tartus will be used by Russian businesses for 49 years," Borisov was quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency. In December 2017, Russia’s Federation Council ratified an agreement between Moscow and Assad’s government on Russian forces' access to the naval base in Tartus. A few days ago, Syrian state media reported a shortage in fuel which caused the rationing of available quantities, pointing out that this was due to the difficulties in importing fuel and the halting of credit line from Iran. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem said in a statement on Saturday carried by state-owned Syrian news agency (SANA) that "Syria is always coordinating with Iran". On the other hand, news of leasing Tartus port caused widespread discontent among Syrians, who have been witnessing unprecedented economic distress for the past two weeks. Syrian port workers are worried about the future of their work and the consequences of Russia's control over the port.
In 2017, Moscow and Damascus signed an agreement on the deployment of a Russian navy logistics support center in Tartus for the term of 49 years. Russia and Iran are competing for influence in Syria. Moscow’s intention to lease Tartus port comes after Iran leased from the Syrian regime its commercial port of Latakia in October 2018. During an unannounced visit to Tehran in February, Assad signed with his Iranian counterpart, Hasan Rouhani, an agreement allowing Iran to manage the commercial port of Latakia, which angered the Russian side. Russia is looking to explore oil fields in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and establish a land bridge to Europe across the Middle East to strengthen its role as a major supplier of gas to Europe. Moscow is also interested in Lebanon, especially that, over the past two years, trade exchange has doubled between the two countries. It is also eyeing the oil storage facility at Tripoli port, 30 kilometers from the Syrian border and 60 kilometers from the Syrian port of Tartus. Sources in Damascus said that leasing Tartus port to Russia is a clear indication of the shared influence and control, especially that there are Iranian-Russian interests in using the Syrian territory to extend gas pipelines in the region and resume the railway project linking Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Various media outlets reported Iranian and Russian forces are clashing in several areas, which SANA categorically denied saying no such thing occurred. Soon after the news broke of leasing Tartus port, allies and opposition figures denounced the move, prompting social media activists affiliated with the regime to promote that the ports of Tartus and Latakia were operated by the Philippine’s International Container Terminal Services Inc up until 2011 when both ports were classified dangerous areas. The pro-regime critics considered the lease a “tactical move by Syria” in the face of the economic war declared on it. They argued that this would restore activity to the quasi-paralyzed port as a result of the economic blockade, and will allow the import of food and oil to Syria. Earlier, al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the Syrian government, disclosed in an article “Unprecedented Disclosure on Oil” that the serious shortage of fuel in Syria is due of Iran halting a credit line to Syria after US sanctions. The newspaper pointed out that Syria daily needs 4.5 million liters of gasoline, 6 million liters, 7 thousand tons of fuel, and 12 hundred tons of gas, amounting to $200 million every month. Meanwhile, Moscow has pushed for a political process involving talks on a new constitution and elections as a way to end the conflict, but Assad has played down the possibility that the Turkey-backed opposition or foreign countries might participate. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said late on Friday that Assad met Moscow’s Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, and several Russian Defence Ministry officials. They discussed the formation of a constitutional committee, which Syria’s opposition last year agreed to join under UN auspices during Sochi peace conference. SANA said meetings had focused on the next round of talks in Kazakhstan involving Syria, its allies Russia and Iran, and the rebels’ backer Turkey.

Syria Opposition: Rapprochement with Moscow Brings us Closer to Political Solution
Riyadh – Fatehelrahman Yousif/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/Syria’s opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) reported on progress in forming the constitutional committee and said holding discussions with Russia as a mediator may shorten the duration of the war and open room for political transition. “We can say that we are the closest we have ever been to completing the formation of the committee. The discussions have focused on three central issues, including care, structure and procedural rules,” HNC chief Naser al-Hariri said. Addressing a Riyadh press conference, Hariri added: “We can say that we are now before a constitutional committee sponsored by the United Nations, as part of the implementation of resolution 2254, so that it will be an important key step for launching the political process.”He confirmed that even though there is consensus on the majority of nominated members for forming the committee, a few names remain disputed. Nonetheless, he affirmed that discussions are ongoing and that consensus on those names is expected soon. He stressed that successfully establishing the committee would be a great step forward for the people of Syria. Once formed by the regime and opposition members, the constitutional body will then engage in deep discussions in order to chart the political future of Syria in line with international resolutions, guarantee a political solution and realize the aspirations of the people. Hariri had held talks in Riyadh last week with Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Lavrentiev. They discussed the need to preserve the Sochi agreement on Idlib to protect the people, especially in wake of the regime and its allied militias’ violations.Hariri acknowledged the rapprochement between the HNC and Russia during a “positive” moment of understanding between the two sides. There can be no escaping the political solution, which must include all parties, especially Russia that has played a major role in Syria, he remarked.

Sudan Opposition Suspends Talks with Military Council
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/The Sudanese opposition suspended on Sunday talks with the Transitional Military Council because it failed to meet their demands for an immediate transfer to a civilian government. Protesters have accused the council of being little different from the ousted regime of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir who was topped by the army on April 11 following months of demonstrations. They want the council to be dissolved and to hand power to a transitional civilian government. Large crowds lit up the night sky with their cellphones, singing and chanting as protest leaders, of the Sudanese Professionals Association, delivered fiery speeches in the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday night. The protesters fear the military intends to cling to power or put another general in charge. Qurashi Diefallah, a protester, said they're disappointed because the army is "just an extension of the regime which stole 30 years from us." On Monday, the military council demanded protesters remove blockades on roads leading to the military headquarters where thousands of demonstrators have camped for days calling on them to step down. Protesters have massed outside the army complex since April 6, putting up barricades on roads leading to the area as well as checkpoints to frisk people coming to the rally. "The roads have to be opened immediately to facilitate the movement of trains, and all means of transport in the capital and other states so as to help movement of essential items," the military council said in a statement. On Sunday, new military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan voiced dissatisfaction with protesters setting up checkpoints and searching those who come to the sit-in. "It can't continue like this because security is the responsibility of the state," he said. Protesters vowed to remain at the checkpoints they have set up every few meters across the roads leading to the protest site in central Khartoum. "We will carry on manning the checkpoints as usual," 23-year-old demonstrator Kawthar Hasaballah told AFP. "No one, not even the military council, will remove us from our places."Demonstrators entering the site have to go through several layers of checks, including personal frisks and searching of their bags, an AFP correspondent reported.

Head of Sudan’s military council receives Bahraini FM in Khartoum
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Monday, 22 April 2019/Bahrain’s Foreign Minister became the first high-ranking Arab official to visit Khartoum after the Sudanese Transitional Military Council ousted former president Omar al-Bashir following months of mass protests. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa on Monday conveyed a message of support from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain to Sudanese army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council in Khartoum. “Bahrain expresses its support to Sudan and its people at this important historical stage,” said the Foreign Minister in a speech during his visit to Khartoum. He said Bahrain reiterated the “brotherly relations with the Republic of Sudan and its continued keenness to strengthen these relations in various fields in a way that supports the interests of both countries and their people.”He also praised the great role played by Sudan in supporting the legitimate government in Yemen.

Sudan tensions escalate after talks with military break down
The Associated Press, Khartoum/Monday, 22 April 2019/Tensions are rising in Sudan after talks broke down between protesters and the country’s military rulers who earlier in April ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of street protests against his rule. Large crowds lit up the night sky with their cellphones, singing and chanting as protest leaders delivered fiery speeches in the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday night. The protest organizers - the Sudanese Professionals Association - said they suspended talks with the ruling military council because it failed to meet their demands for an immediate transfer to a civilian government. The protesters fear the military intends to cling to power or put another general in charge. Qurashi Diefallah, a protester, said they’re disappointed because the army is “just an extension of the regime which stole 30 years from us.”

Libya Force Slows Push as Death Toll From Fighting Over Capital at 254
Tripoli- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/A self-styled Libyan army slowed down its push on the country's capital over concerns for civilians caught up in the violence as the UN refugee agency said Monday that the fighting for Tripoli has displaced more than 32,000 people. Fighting erupted on April 5, pitting the Libyan National Army, led by commander Khalifa Hafter and aligned with a rival government in the east, against militias affiliated with Tripoli's UN-supported government. The clashes threaten to ignite a new civil war in Libya on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The death toll from this month's fighting climbed to 254, including combatants and civilians, the World Health Organization said Sunday. At least 34 more people died in the past two days, WHO said; 1,228 were wounded. Since launching his push, which many see as a power grab for Tripoli, Hafter's forces have captured the districts of Gharyan and Qasr Bani Ghashir, along with several smaller towns. They also seized the capital's shuttered old airport. Fighting is now underway for control of Ain Zara and Azizyia, two larger towns near Tripoli, and in the Abu Salim district, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Tripoli center. Abdelhadi Lahouij, the top diplomat for the east-based government, told The Associated Press in Tunis on Sunday that Hafter's push was slowed down because of concerns for civilians in the greater Tripoli area, estimated to number about 3 million. If the civilians had not been taken into account, the battle would not have lasted even a week, he said. "The army is today 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Tripoli. It controls the (old) airport and the bridge that connects the airport to the city center," Lahouij said.He also lauded President Donald Trump's call to Hafter last week expressing US support for the Libyan commander's perceived stance against terrorism and Hafter's role in "securing Libya's oil resources." A White House statement on Friday also said "the two discussed a shared vision for Libya's transition to a stable, democratic political system."Trump's phone call was a step "in the right direction," Lahouij said. Since Gadhafi's ouster, Libya has slid into chaos, governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory. Hafter has vowed to unify the country. He has led previous campaigns against militants and other rivals in eastern Libya.

Thousands of Moroccans Protest Prison Sentences Against 'Hirak Rif' Activists
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 22 April, 2019/Demonstrators marched in Morocco's capital, Rabat, on Sunday to condemn lengthy prison sentences given to activists of the "Hirak Rif" poverty-fighting movement. Thousands took to the streets to call for the release of the detainees, chanting different slogans: "The people want the detainees released" and "Long live Rif."Hirak leader Nasser Zefzafi, one of the detainees, received a prison sentence term of 20 years for threatening state security. Zefzafi, seen as the movement's public face, was arrested in 2017. An appeals court upheld his sentence and those of other activists in April. Rif is the struggling region in northern Morocco where the Hirak movement was born in 2016, demanding development and job creation for the region, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Relatives and human rights organizations are demanding the imprisoned activists' immediate release. The mother of Rabea Al-Ablaq, one of the detainees who was sentenced to five years in prison, told Asharq Al-Awsat that she is calling "for the release of her son and all the other detainees." She confirmed that her son's health is "deteriorating after he refused to end the hunger strike which he started following the court's sentence.""Zefzafi and his comrades demanded social justice and creation of schools and hospitals. How is that a crime?" the secretary general of the opposition United Socialist Party (PSU), Nabila Mounib, said during the protest. She told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Moroccan government made a mistake in its approach against those activists. "We came out in this demonstration along with many political, civil and human rights groups to express our full solidarity with these detainees," said Abdel Wahed Al-Mutawakkil, who heads the political circle of the semi-banned "Justice and Charity Movement." Mutawakkil stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that "they made legitimate demands which everyone acknowledged.""But, why are they being tried and jailed, given very harsh sentences?," he added. Mutawakkil denounced the sentences describing them as "unjust" and called for the immediate release of all detainees. For his part, government lawyer Mohamed Al Houssaini Karout argued that the appeals court confirmed the sentences because there was "nothing new to look at" in the case.

Turkey police arrest ruling party member after attack on opposition chief
AFP, Istanbul/Monday, 22 April 2019/Turkish police on Monday arrested six people, including a member of the ruling AKP party, after an attack on opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, local media and party officials said. Kilicdaroglu, 70, of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was attacked on Sunday by a mob as he attended the funeral in the Cubuk district of Ankara for a soldier killed fighting Kurdish militants in the southeast. The attack came days after the opposition CHP won Ankara and Istanbul from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP on March 31 local elections in a stinging blow to the ruling party. A video from Sunday’s attack went viral and sparked outrage on social media, with the hashtag #KilicdarogluYalnizDegildir (“Kilicdaroglu is not alone”) becoming a trending topic. The chief suspect, identified only by his initials O.S., was arrested in Sivrihisar in central Anatolia and was being taken to Cubuk, private NTV television reported. The AKP later identified him as Osman Sarigun and said he was a party member who would face a disciplinary hearing for expulsion. “AKP is against any form of violence. Our principles certainly reject violence. There is no room for violence in democratic politics,” AKP spokesperson Omer Celik said on Twitter. Five other detainees were already testifying at the police station in Cubuk, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. After the attack, the CHP chief was taken to a nearby house for security reasons and then taken away in an armored vehicle, local media reported.
Kilicdaroglu, who spoke to supporters after the incident, said the attack targeted Turkey’s unity. “The assailants have no respect for the martyr (dead soldier),” he said. “They are not genuine Muslims.”During campaigning for the local polls, Erdogan often accused Kilicdaroglu and the CHP of backing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and showed videos of the opposition leader at his rallies. Electoral authorities have given the CHP candidates their mandates for the Istanbul and Ankara mayor posts, but Erdogan’s AKP is seeking a re-run of the Istanbul vote, citing irregularities.
CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu won the race by a very tight margin after two weeks of recounts. The CHP held Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu responsible for “provocation” after he said last year he had ordered governors not to allow CHP members to join soldiers’ funerals. The CHP’s provincial heads in 81 cities plan a simultaneous statement about the “heinous attack” targeting Kilicdaroglu, the party said.

Israeli army to probe shooting of fleeing Palestinian teen detainee
AFP, Jerusalem/Monday, 22 April 2019/Israel’s military said on Monday it would investigate the shooting by troops in the occupied West Bank of a fleeing 16-year-old Palestinian detainee who said he was cuffed and blindfolded at the time. An army statement confirmed the teenager was shot and wounded on Thursday while attempting to escape but did not address the other allegations. It said that he was seized by troops near the Palestinian village of Tuqoa near Bethlehem as part of a group involved in a “violent disturbance ... which included massive stone throwing” at Israeli troops.
It added that he twice tried to flee but on the second attempt, troops fired “at his lower body” then administered first aid. “The incident is to be investigated,” it said. The wounded youth, Osama Ali al-Badan, said that he was shot twice, beginning while he was still sitting in the soldiers’ custody.
Israel’s military said it could not provide further details for now beyond its statement. “They shot me the first time while I was trying to change my sitting position because they sat me on thorns,” Badan told AFP by phone from a hospital in the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.
According to the teenager, he was hit in the right thigh the first time. “I started walking towards the villagers asking for help,” he added, then the soldiers “shot me again and hit my left thigh.”Badan alleged he was cuffed and blindfolded during both instances. He said that he had two operations and was in stable condition. Badan said he was uninvolved in stone-throwing and had been swept up in the soldiers’ pursuit of others. Israeli media also reported that he was blindfolded and cuffed when shot while fleeing. Public radio’s website showed an image of a young man on a rocky hillside running, with his hands fastened behind his back and his eyes covered with cloth, while pursued by a helmeted soldier as other troops watched. It said that after a “brief confrontation” between the troops and Palestinians at the scene the soldiers allowed the villagers to take him to hospital. “He was shot in the thigh while his back was to the soldiers,” top-selling Yedioth Aharonot newspaper said. A video posted on Facebook purportedly from the incident showed Palestinian women gathered around a young man sprawled on the ground. A masked soldier aims his pistol at Palestinian men nearby and warns in Hebrew, “anyone who comes near gets a bullet.”After a brief but highly-charged standoff, men carry the injured youth away by his arms and legs.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 22-23/19
Nigeria: Jihad against Christians
أوزاي بولوت/معهد جيتستون: أضواء على عمليات الجهاد الممنهجة ضد المسيحيين في نيجيريا
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/April 22/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74124/%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14067/nigeria-jihad-christians
The current violence, which has been getting worse since early 2017, "is slightly different, in that it is a series of targeted attacks on Christian communities attempting to displace farmers and take land for herders." — Nathan Johnson, International Christian Concern, Regional Manager for Africa.
"Christians in Nigeria are treated as second-class citizens in the twelve northern states, where sharia law is implemented. They are victimized in many ways. Christian girls are kidnapped and forced into marriage to Muslim men. Pastors are abducted for ransom. Churches are vandalized or completely destroyed." — Nathan Johnson.
"The Nigerian government and the international community... have from the start done little to address the situation. This lack of participation is not surprising: they cannot even acknowledge its roots, namely, the intolerant ideology of jihad. As a result, the death toll of Christians has only risen -- and will likely continue to grow exponentially -- until such time that this reality is not only acknowledged but addressed." — Raymond Ibrahim, author and Middle East expert.
Christians are being massacred in Nigeria by Fulani and Boko Haram jihadists -- and no one seems to care. Pictured: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, from a November 2018 Boko Haram propaganda video.
The most severe persecution of these defenseless Christians -- who make up half of Nigeria's total population -- has been taking place mostly in the Muslim north of the country, which is governed by sharia law, and in the states known as the "Middle Belt," which are a transition zone between the northern and southern states.
According to the human rights organization International Christian Concern (ICC):
"Fulani militants continued to carry out violent attacks throughout Nigeria's Middle Belt region in March. The brutal attacks perpetrated by these hardline Islamic militants persistently spark fear among Christians living in the Middle Belt, as death tolls continue to rise... Last month [March 2019], at least 150 people were killed.
"... Nigerian bishop William Amove Avenya of Benue State said, 'Fulani tribesmen armed to the teeth, are murdering pregnant women and children, and destroying our smallholdings.
"'This is a time bomb that threatens to ignite the whole region. We cannot wait for a mass genocide to happen before intervening,' he added.
"... Below are the largest attacks that took place in March:
March 4, 2019: Fulani militants attack Benue State, killing 23
March 11, 2019: Fulani militias attack Kajuru, burning more than 100 homes, killing 52
March 18, 2019: Boko Haram sieged a Christian majority town in Adamawa State, inhabited by more than 370,000 people."
ICC Regional Manager for Africa, Nathan Johnson, who recently visited Nigeria, told Gatestone that this deadly violence began less than 20 years ago.
"It really only started in 2001, after riots between Muslims and Christians in the Plateau region left more than 1,000 people dead and many churches destroyed. There were also deadly riots in 2008 and 2010, and the tension between the two communities has been growing ever since."
Johnson noted that the current violence, which has been getting worse since early 2017, "is slightly different, in that it is a series of targeted attacks on Christian communities attempting to displace farmers and take land for herders."
He said that the hostility includes a complex set of factors -- socio-economic (herder vs. farmer), ethnic (mainly Fulani vs. everyone else except Hausa) and religious (Muslim vs. Christian), however:
"The Nigerian government and the mainstream media have downplayed the fact that radical Muslims are slaughtering Christian communities in Nigeria. They would much rather describe the crisis as a clash between two ethnic or socio-economic communities who are killing each other -- even though nearly 80% of the casualties are Christians."
Johnson added: "Christians in Nigeria are treated as second-class citizens in the twelve northern states, where sharia law is implemented. They are victimized in many ways. Christian girls are kidnapped and forced into marriage to Muslim men. Pastors are abducted for ransom. Churches are vandalized or completely destroyed.
"The Christians I met during my recent trip to Nigeria, who have suffered from both the Fulani and Boko Haram, are hoping that others around the world are concerned about and praying for them. Many lack food, water and shelter, because they have been driven off their lands and into cities where they cannot farm or find work. Hundreds of thousands of Christian children across the country are unable to go to school because their parents cannot afford it, do not have access to it or fear that their children could be attacked or abducted on their way to or in the classroom."
As the Middle East expert Raymond Ibrahim wrote last year:
"The Nigerian government and the international community... have from the start done little to address the situation. This lack of participation is not surprising: they cannot even acknowledge its roots, namely, the intolerant ideology of jihad. As a result, the death toll of Christians has only risen -- and will likely continue to grow exponentially -- until such time that this reality is not only acknowledged but addressed."
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Regime corruption to cause further decline in Iran’s economy
د.ماجد رافيزادا: فساد النظام الإيراني يتسبب في المزيد من الإنهيار الإقتصادي
 Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 21/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74122/%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%8A/
 Iran’s leaders have been underplaying the country’s economic crisis, despite many Iranian people continuing to suffer financially.
 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last month highlighted his optimism in a pre-recorded video broadcast on Iran’s state TV. He said: “In the face of severe, and according to them unprecedented, sanctions from America and Europe, the Iranian people showed a strong and powerful reaction both in the field of politics and the economy.”
 The reasons for the Iranian government’s determination to conceal the truth about the nation’s economy are numerous. They include avoiding showing economic and political weakness to the countries Tehran views as its rivals, keeping the regime’s militias and terror groups loyal to the Islamic Republic, and evading taking responsibility or being held accountable for the crumbling economy.
 In addition, the Iranian authorities are promoting the idea that this will be a year of confidence and productivity. As President Hasan Rouhani stated on the occasion of Nowruz — the Persian New Year — last month: “The new year is a year to boost production and create jobs for our dear young people.”
 But, in the year 2019, Iran’s economy will most likely continue its downtrend trend. International financial institutions, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have recently indicated they are pessimistic about the direction that Iran’s economy is heading. For example, the World Bank has amended its forecast for Iran’s economic growth. It released its latest report on Iran’s economy this month and indicated that its gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink 3.8 percent in 2019. That is 0.2 percent worse than its prediction in January, and almost 8 percent below its forecast from June 2018. The IMF is even more pessimistic — it predicted this month that Iran’s economy would contract 6 percent in 2019.
 Annual GDP growth is measured by calculating how much more production a country has fulfilled in comparison to the previous year. In an ideal economy, GDP growth is between about 2 and 3 percent. The World Bank’s forecasts for other countries in the Middle East and North Africa are mostly positive, with only Sudan and Iran’s economies expected to contract. It predicts that the GDPs of Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE will all grow this year.
 One of the reasons for the growing pessimism on Iran’s economy is the renewed US sanctions. After US President Donald Trump last year withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, the US Treasury Department reimposed the primary and secondary sanctions that were lifted under the Obama administration. These include sanctions on Iran’s automotive and shipping sectors, the energy industry, and currency transactions.
 One of the reasons for the growing pessimism on Iran’s economy is the renewed US sanctions
 The largest impact of these sanctions came from the pressure the Trump administration imposed on Iran’s oil exports. Although the US granted a six-month waiver to eight countries — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece — that allows them to continue buying oil from the Islamic Republic in limited quantities, Iran’s oil exports have plunged by more than 50 percent in comparison to 2017. According to a report by OPEC, Iran’s crude oil production sank to 2.754 million barrels per day in January, which was considered to be the lowest rate in the last five years. It is currently exporting about 1 million barrels per day.
 Although some policy analysts, scholars and politicians may blame Washington for Iran’s crumbling economy, the core factors behind the country’s economic crisis are the widespread corruption within the theocratic establishment, its mismanagement of the economy, embezzlement and money laundering within the banking system, and the hemorrhaging of the nation’s wealth on militias, terror groups and proxies across the region. Corruption is ingrained in the political and financial institutions that are the country’s backbone.
 Considerable parts of the economy and financial systems are owned and controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the office of the supreme leader, since they enjoy the final say when it comes to decision-making. The so-called moderate President Rouhani has also totally failed to tackle corruption as he promised to. In fact, figures across the political spectrum, including members of the president’s office, often engage in corruption for their own political and financial benefit.
 In conclusion, Iran’s economy will only be dragged down further as the nation’s leaders have shown no sign that they are willing to change and adequately address the regime’s incompetent, aggressive and corrupt policies.
 • Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

‘Diabolical’: Islam’s Past and Present Attacks on European Churches
ريموند إبراهيم: الهجمات الإسلامية الحالية والسابقة على كنائس في أوروبا
Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/April 22/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74117/raymond-ibrahim-pj-mediadiabolical-islams-past-and-present-attacks-on-european-churches/
As explained in this recent article, all around Western Europe, churches are under attack. Along with arson attempts, typically—and rather with diabolical intent—altars are desecrated, crucifixes broken, statues mocked and/or beheaded.
Sometimes fecal matter is smeared on the churches. Last February in France, for instance, vandals plundered and used human excrement to draw a cross on the Notre-Dame des Enfants Church in Nimes; consecrated bread was found thrown outside among garbage. One week later, vandals desecrated and smashed crosses and statues at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur; they mangled the arms of a crucified Christ in a mocking manner and an altar cloth was burned.
While European authorities and media usually obfuscate over the identity of the desecrators, demographics offer a clue: true to “Islam’s Rule of Numbers,” Western European nations that have large Muslim migrant populations tend to witness the most attacks.
Thus in France, which has one of if not the largest Muslim populations in Western Europe, two churches are attacked every day. The same situation prevails in Germany, which also has an immense Muslim population. In Bavaria and the Alps alone, some 200 churches have been attacked and many crosses broken: “Police are currently dealing with church desecrations again and again,” one November 2017 report notes before adding, “The perpetrators are often youthful rioters with a migration background.”
Before Christmas 2016, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany—where more than a million Muslims reside—some 50 public Christian statues (including of Jesus) were beheaded and crucifixes broken. In 2015, following the arrival of another million Muslim migrants to Dülmen, a local newspaper said “not a day goes by” without attacks on Christian statues.
Numerical deductions aside, the fact is, the desecration of churches has for centuries been a Muslim trademark—a sort of “Islam was here.” As documented in my recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, whenever Muslims invaded Christian nations, untold thousands of churches were ritually desecrated and despoiled, their crosses and other Christian symbols systematically broken. Think what ISIS does but on an exponential level—and not for a handful of years but for over a millennium.
The patterns between past and present attacks are virtually identical. Reminiscent of the recent drawing of a cross in fecal matter on a French church, in 1147 in Portugal, Muslims displayed “with much derision the symbol of the cross. They spat upon it and wiped the feces from their posteriors with it.” Decades earlier in Jerusalem, Muslims “spat on them [crucifixes] and did not even refrain from urinating on them in the sight of all.” Even that supposedly “magnanimous” sultan, Saladin, commanded “whoever saw that the outside of a church was white, to cover it with black dirt,” and ordered “the removal of every cross from atop the dome of every church in the provinces of Egypt” (all quotes from primary sources documented in Sword and Scimitar, pp. 171, 145, 162).
From the start, the intentional, widespread, and systematic targeting of churches and other Christian symbols prompted some to see Muslim invaders as motivated by a diabolical animus. For Anastasius of Sinai (630–701), the heroes of the seventh-century Arab conquests of the then Christian-majority Middle East were “perhaps even worse than the demons.” After all, “the demons are frequently much afraid of the mysteries of Christ, I mean his holy body [the Eucharist], the cross… and many other things. But these demons of flesh trample all that under their feet, mock it, set fire to it, destroy it” (Sword and Scimitar, p. 27).
Interestingly, nowadays, whenever a church attacker is exposed as a migrant, authorities and media try to downplay the incident by saying he is suffering from mental health issues (modern-day parlance for what was once seen as demonization). Others still rely on the more antiquated interpretation. During the memorial service for Father Hamel—an 85-year-old priest slaughtered by “Allahu Akbar” shouting Muslims while holding mass in his own church in France—Archbishop Dominique Lebrun called on those “who are tormented by diabolical violence, you who are drawn to kill by a demonic, murderous madness, pray to God to free you from the devil’s grip.” Before his murderer carved his throat, Fr. Hamel himself had reportedly shouted, “Be gone, Satan!”
Considering the descriptions of some Muslim assailants, such “otherworldly” accusations are not farfetched. In France, April 2015, a Muslim man dressed in traditional Islamic garb damaged and desecrated more than 200 Christian gravestones and crosses in a cemetery (just as ISIS and other Muslim “radicals” are known to do in Libya, Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere). After he was apprehended, authorities said, “The man repeats Muslim prayers over and over, he drools and cannot be communicated with: his condition has been declared incompatible with preliminary detention.” Similarly, around Christmas 2016 in Italy, another Muslim migrant who said he “wanted to destroy Christian symbols” set a church nativity scene aflame. Police fought hard to restrain the man, who was described as suffering from a “visible psycho-physical crisis.”
In other words, not much has changed: past and present, Muslims—motivated by what has long been deemed a diabolical animus—attack and desecrate churches, crosses, and other Christian symbols.
The only difference is that, whereas Europeans used to prevent them entry, and thus safeguarded their sacred sites, today they welcome them in with open arms.
Note: For a comprehensive and well-documented overview of what Muslims did to churches throughout history, see Ibrahim’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West
https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2019/04/22/diabolical-islams-past-and-present-attacks-on-european-churches/

Tales in the Absence of Institutions
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 22/19
The United Nations had once upon a time tasked a team to hold a census in Central Africa, which was then ruled by Emperor Bokassa. Bokassa received the team when it completed its work. The Tunisian head of the mission informed the ruler that some 4.5 million people lived in the country, drawing the ire of Bokassa, who did not want to be emperor of a small country. He replied that 10 million people lived in Central Africa. The Tunisian expert objected and soon found himself in jail. He could only be released after African and UN intervention.
Numbers do not have the right to defy rulers. Bokassa had previously spent a quarter of the country’s budget for his coronation. When asked if it he was being over-the-top, he replied that he simply followed Napoleon’s example.
A French businessman spoke of a trip on board the yacht of Zaire’s President Mobutu Sese Seko. He recalled how the president became upset with the service of one of the waiters and how he ordered that he promptly be tossed into the river to be fed to the crocodiles. The president chose his name, Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, which means “the rooster that watches over all the hens.”
One day, a bootlicker from the Ivory Coast visited Moammar al-Gaddafi and convinced him that he was too powerful to be simply the ruler of Libya. He instead told him that he should be the “King of Kings of Africa.” And so it was. Gaddafi ordered that a lavish ceremony be thrown. Africa did not have kings, but sultans of groups and tribes. Gaddafi’s aides had to scramble to find a crown. They bought one and celebrated. Prior to this, Gaddafi had informed the world that he refuses to be called president, but should instead be addressed as “Leader of the Revolution.” He then changed the name again to the “international revolutionary,” before settling on “Leader of the Revolution and the King of Kings of Africa.” The Foreign Ministry had no choice but to inform the world of the new name.
One day, Gaddafi summoned his foreign minister and African affairs expert Ali Abdussalam Treki. He tasked him with the simple mission of “delivering a message to King Hussein II that clearly informs him that he was a traitor and a spy.” He also used to ring up Treki to order him “to contact Amr Moussa and curse him.”One day, Gaddafi addressed the UN General Assembly and made a deliberate point to deliver a speech that was longer than Barack Obama’s. He stood before the cameras and tried to tear up the UN Charter. When he failed, he threw it on the ground. He also requested that the Libyan ambassador to the UN demand that the investigation into John Kennedy’s assassination be reopened. He also did not forget to demand his foreign minister to work on expelling the Swiss ambassador to the UN and on dividing Saudi Arabia.
During one summer, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. Hours later the Defense Minister and chief of staff were summoned to be informed by an officer of the invasion. Days later, Saddam Hussein would inform the two men that for the sake of secrecy, he chose to give the command to units that directly receive orders from. The above are not anecdotes that can be found on the internet, but they are some of several tales that I have heard from people concerned with these developments. Among them is Libyan former Foreign Minister Treki and Nizar al-Khazraji, who was chief of staff when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
These stories are examples of what happens when men, who have nothing to do with the state, the economy, rights and national treaties and managing people’s lives, come to power. These tales are a reminder of the tragedy that is created in the absence of institutions. Would Iraq’s catastrophic invasion of Kuwait have happened had there been an institution whose members would have had the right to speak their minds and warn of the dangers of such a move? Could Gaddafi have ordered the kidnapping of OPEC ministers and the murder of the Saudi and Iranian ministers in 1975 had Tripoli enjoyed institutions that could have thwarted such mad and reckless decisions?
Several Arab countries have paid a heavy price for the sudden absence of the “savior”, who governed for a long period and engineered his “state” on a single rule: his continuation in power with his entourage. Such rulers rejected the idea of institutions and separation of authorities. The only characteristic needed was loyalty, not competency. This is how a parliament becomes the parliament of the commander. The same goes to the army and judiciary.
When disaster strikes and the “savior” is no more, the major collapse takes place and the country becomes exposed to deadly chaos, militias or foreign meddling. We have seen this in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam’s regime and we are still witnessing the tragedies sparked by the demise of Gaddafi and his regime. In recent days, we have seen how the Sudanese people have regained their ability to dream of better days. We have seen millions of peaceful Algerians voice their ambitions for a state that does not fall prey to corruption and monopolies. We have heard pressing demands in Sudan and Algeria to put on trial officials who have squandered the people’s rights and funds. These demands are legitimate and understandable. Opening the doors to the future, however, remains more important than holding the past accountable. By this we mean establishing political agreements and stressing the need to build a modern state and institutions. It is time to quit playing old and costly games. A normal president for a normal state, which is governed by institutions and the rule of law, are needed.

Iranian Regime Mouthpiece 'Kayhan' Calls For Targeting America's Economic Interests In The Region, Blocking Strait Of Hormuz And Red Sea To Saudi Oil Exports
ميمري/جريدة كيهان الإيرانية الرسمية تدعوا إلى استهداف المصالح الإقتصادية الأميركية في المنطقة وأقفال مضيق هرمز بوجه تصدير البترول السعودي
MEMRI/April 22/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74134/%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA/
The April 13, 2019 editorial of the daily Kayhan, which is close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called to bring Saudi Arabia's oil exports "down to zero" and thereby harm the U.S., in retaliation for the latter's designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Noting that America's designation of the IRGC is not a military move in essence, but rather an economic one, which has significant impact on Iran and on its ability to spread in the Middle East by means of the IRGC,[1] the editorial urged to punish the U.S. by targeting the economy of its ally Saudi Arabia. To this end, the daily recommended to formulate an effective plan that would be implemented within a year, with two goals: targeting companies in the region that have contracts with the U.S., and targeting Saudi Arabia's oil exports, which are America's "Achilles heel" in the region.
It should be noted that the author of the editorial, Sadollah Zarei, a member of Kayhan's editorial board, refrains from explicitly urging the Iranian forces, or Iran-backed militias, to carry out terror operations against Saudi Arabia to prevent it from exporting its oil through the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait or the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. He does, however, hint at this, and imply that he infers Iran's ability to carry out such operations from statements by IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who is in charge of deploying Iran's special forces outside its borders, in which he agreed with Iranian President Rohani. The latter claimed that the U.S. moves against the Iranian economy would result in America's own economy coming to a halt. It seems that Zarei is deliberately blurring the nature of the terrorist operation for which he is calling in order to avoid harm to Iran's image and so that Iran will not have to bear the political or military cost of its involvement in this operation.
It should also be noted that, in July 2018, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen fired missiles at Saudi oil tankers in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, which caused Saudi Arabia to briefly suspend its oil shipments via that route.
The following are excerpts from the Kayhan editorial, which is titled "Bring the Saudi Oil Exports Down to Zero." [2]
Kayhan: We Understood That We Have The Ability To Bring Saudi Arabia's Oil Exports Down To Zero When [Qods Force Commander] Soleimani Agreed With President [Rohani]
"The inclusion of the IRGC in the list of terror organizations is not really a military-security move against the Islamic Republic [of Iran] or against the IRGC as the most important institution of the Iranian [armed] forces... In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, a Pentagon military source said, while expressing concerns about Trump's move, that 'the [U.S.] army has received no orders regarding military moves vis-à-vis the Iranian forces, and I must say that President [Trump's] move certainly does not mean war with Iran or the killing of Iranians.' The reason for this statement is very clear. America cannot risk the lives of 200,000 U.S. troops who are deployed on three sides of Iran, surrounded by revolutionary Muslims who support it...
"If we accept the fact that the move of the U.S. administration against the IRGC is just another in a series of economic moves against the Iranian nation and regime... we must implement our broad [capability] to threaten the economic interests of America and its partners, at the right time. America makes military threats and implements [them] in the economic domain, [so] we too must make security threats and carry them out by targeting the economic interests of America and its agents in the region. There are dozens of companies in various countries in our region that have contracts with America and are supported by its armed forces, as well as embassies that are managed by [U.S.] military personnel. They engage in a wide range of economic activities. We must stop these activities by means of a clear and effective plan, to be carried out within a year at most, that will bring the benefit that America [derives in the region] down to zero."Our second task is to take an economic step against the most important local player that depends on America, namely Saudi Arabia. While the Saudi regime is a cash cow for America and the West, it is also the Achilles heel of America's anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic policy in the region. It is time we listened to the statements of President [Rohani], who said publically that, [if] the Americans obstruct the Iranian economy, this will bring the economy of the bullying America itself to a halt, and we must act. Our activity must be based on bringing the Saudi oil exports down to zero. We know that at least 75% of the Saudi oil passes through the Red Sea, and the main beneficiaries of this export are the Europeans, that is, America's main partners in imposing sanctions on Iran. Since the Hormuz Strait forms the route through which oil is exported to our Asian partners, who oppose America's anti-Iran measures, stopping the oil exports via this strait can hurt countries [such as] Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and they seem to have prepared for this [eventuality].
"We understood that we have the ability to bring the Saudi oil exports down to zero when [IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem] Soleimani supported the statements of President [Rohani]. Everyone knows that the Qods Force does not have any mission in the Strait of Hormuz, and the same is true regarding the Red Sea and regarding Saudi Arabia's Western coast. All right, so we must not waste time. We must turn to this plan and implement it, namely bring Saudi oil exports down to zero, so that, in practice, the European and Arab sides will genuinely realize that their anti-Iran policy does them significant harm.
"We must realize that there is a big chance that, the minute the Saudi oil export begins to stop, the Europeans and Saudis will begin consulting with influential American elements in order to halt the anti-Iran activities, and the lobby groups in the U.S. will go into action as well.
"In order to accomplish this mission, we must not entrust it to the pro-Iran resistance forces in the region. That is unnecessary. Iran can use other effective security means to implement this plan, and it has done so in the past. An example is the expulsion of the American troops from Iraq, which was accomplished neither by Iranian troops nor by Iraqi resistance forces that support Iran. In the [Iraqi] arena, the security [noose] gradually tightened around the American forces. The political penetration of Iraqi forces allied with Iran grew from day to day during the formation of the [Iraqi] government, and within four years, the American military presence in Iran completely ended.
"Iran must decide. We must not allow America to issue a new anti-Iran [position] paper every few weeks, even if the actual impact is small. This [American] habit must stop. We can stop it with an initiative and without imposing any security costs on the [Iranian] state. By Allah, let us begin. The Saudi oil exports must go down to zero. We have a year."
[1] For MEMRI's assessment of the significance of the U.S. decision for Iran, see Inquiry & Analysis No. 1449, The Trump Administration's Designation Of The IRGC As A Foreign Terror Organization – Goals And Impact, April 8, 2019.
[2] Kayhan (Iran), April 13, 2019.

Egypt is unlikely driving force behind 'deal of the century'
سمدر باري/يديعوت احرونوت: من غير المرجح أن تكون مصر هي القوة الدافعة لصفقة القرن التي يريدها ترامب
Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/April 22/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74138/%d8%b3%d9%85%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86%d9%88%d8%aa-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%ac%d8%ad/
Opinion: Netanyahu has apparently convinced Trump that Egyptian President Sisi should be the one representing the Arab side in the peace plan - over the White House favorites Saudi Arabia - which raises questions over who really formulates the long-delayed proposal
No leader, intelligence chief, or ambassador in the Arab world knows the full extent of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan dubbed the “deal of the century." The changes to the peace proposal are still being made and the final draft will most likely be unveiled in early June after the holy month of Ramadan. There is one change, however, that has already become quite apparent, the extent of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s involvement in the agreement.
Initially, Saudi Arabia was meant to be the Arab world’s representatives in the deal, but Trump’s “excellent friend” Sisi has recently found himself in the driver's seat. Although many in the United States have an issue with both of them - Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman is linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while Sisi’s government has a problematic human rights record - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has swayed Trump's heart in favor of the Egyptian leader.
The Israeli view of Sisi is different from the way he’s perceived in the rest of the world (in some cases as a dictator). To Israeli government he is a neighbor and a partner who watches over the Sinai Peninsula - where thousands of Israelis are spending their Passover holidays - along with Israel.
Sisi has in the past already been a recipient of Trump’s preferential treatment. When the Egyptian president made it clear to the White House he doesn’t intend to confront Iran - either in Yemen (where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are trying to topple the government) or through the means of US sanctions on the Iranian regime - Sisi was given an all-clear from Trump and a warm welcome from Tehran.
Sisi’s main role in the deal - even though he probably doesn’t know all the details himself - is clear: to recruit the moderate Arab world into supporting Trump’s peace plan. The Egyptian leader can potentially recruit Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf states, and perhaps even Qatar, which despite being at odds with the Saudis, maintains a warm relationship with Egypt. Sisi has already taken a step in this direction by announcing that Egypt is committed to the two-state solution.
However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Sisi met in Cairo on Sunday, is fed up with the Egyptian leader and his domestic woes are much more pressing.
Basically, the deal is being formulated on the down low as we speak, like a transaction: Netanyahu recommended, Trump placed the order, and Sisi is the one getting the package. Egypt will lead the Arab world to accept the so-called “deal of the century”, and will be asked for its input in the proposal before all the details are finalized. In return, the Cairo administration will receive a massive economic aid package from the US government.
It seems as though Netanyahu's fingerprints are all over this peace plan, to the extent that it’s not clear who really formulated it. What is clear, however, is the advice on Egypt’s role in the long-delayed agreement is being given to the White House directly from Jerusalem.