LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 09/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’
Letter to the Ephesians 05/08-21:”For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.””

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 08-09/2019
Report: STL Tells Lebanon Same Culprits behind Hariri Murder, 3 Other Attacks
Aoun Meets Berri at Baabda Palace
Report: Berri ‘Proposes’ Political Settlement on Qabrshmoun Incident
Arslan 'Insists' on Judicial Council in Meeting with Aoun
Bassil Says Not behind Cabinet Suspension, Urges Jumblat to 'Hand Over Fugitives'
Report: ‘Disruption’ Casts Shadow over Government
PSP, Kataeb Affirm ‘Strong’ Mountain Reconciliation, Jab at Bassil, Bou Saab
Lebanon: Recent Deadly Shootout in Aley Threatens Government's Performance
Airport Customs seize 44 Kg gold from passengers coming from Istanbul

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 08-09/2019
Pence says US action has cut off Iran's ability to support terrorism
Iran Describes as ‘Threatening Act’ Britain’s Impounding of Oil Tanker
Germany Rejects US Call to Send Ground Troops to Syria
Iran Says Uranium Enrichment Passes 4.5%, Exceeding Deal Cap
Iran Won’t Offer More Deadlines to Save Nuclear Deal as China Calls for Restraint
Quake Rocks Town in Southwest Iran
Saudi Arabia Affirms in Geneva its Position on Arab-Israeli Conflict
Five Reasons Why Gulf Investors Could Leave Turkey
Second Turkish Drillship Arrives off Cyprus Coas
Report: Syrian President Replaces Security Chiefs
EU, Cyprus Condemn New Turkish Drilling Off Island
Turkey: Lira Drops after Central Bank Chief is Fired
Israeli Army Says Gaza Drone Shot Down After Crossing Border
Ahead of Elections, Israel Opposition Agrees to Cooperate to Oust Netanyahu
Friction with Cairo over the Israel air defense system for Ethiopia’s Great Nile dam
Oman FM Meets Assad in Damascus
ISIS Re-Emerges in Southern Libya to Pledge Allegiance to Baghdadi
African Leaders Launch 'Historic' Free Trade Deal
UAE Says Reducing Troops in War-Torn Yemen
Former Bouteflika Minister Held in Algeria Graft Probe
Morocco Seizes 'Record' 27.3 Tons of Cannabis Resin

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 08-09/2019
Friction with Cairo over the Israel air defense system for Ethiopia’s Great Nile dam/Debka File/July 08/2019
Burkina Faso: Losing Sovereignty to Terrorists/Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/July 08/2019
European Union: Toward a European Superstate/"The EU is a Sham Democracy"/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/July 08/2019
Mao’s Mausoleum in Huawei’s Hands/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/July 08/2019
Canadian Sh'iite Imam Jaffer H. Jaffer: We Must Support Leaders Like Khamenei, Sistani When They Stand Up To Trump's Bullying/MEMRI/July 08/2019
Iran’s nuclear enrichment game - Analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/July 08/2019
The plan against Iran is working/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/July 08, 2019
The US cannot face Iran alone/Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/July 08/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 08-09/2019
Report: STL Tells Lebanon Same Culprits behind Hariri Murder, 3 Other Attacks
Naharnet/July 08/2019
The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has determined that the same culprits are behind the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and three other bomb attacks, a media report said on Monday. “Lebanese authorities have been informed of the conclusion that the same culprits are behind the assassination of martyr premier Rafik Hariri and the assassination attempts against Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr and the murder of George Hawi,” MTV said, quoting informed sources. “Delving further into the details might lead to linking more crimes and assassinations to this file, such as those against Gebran Tueini, Samir Kassir, May Chidiac and others,” the sources added. The STL has tried four Hizbullah operatives in absentia over their alleged involvement in Hariri's murder. The trial ended in September 2018 and the judges are deliberating over the verdicts.

Aoun Meets Berri at Baabda Palace

Naharnet/July 08/2019
Speaker Nabih Berri visited President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Baabda to deliberate an outcome for a new dispute arising in the country over referring a deadly incident in the Aley town of Qabrshmoun to the Judicial Council. Berri met with Aoun and left without making a statement. He said joking: “I am here to say Good Morning to the President.” LBCI reporter from Baabda, said the Speaker is keen on finding a solution for the matter and that besides his meeting with Aoun, he has been convening with other officials and political parties at his residence in Ain el-Tineh for the same goal. She said the issue will be discussed thoroughly with Prime Minister Saad Hariri after he returns from a short trip abroad.

Report: Berri ‘Proposes’ Political Settlement on Qabrshmoun Incident

Naharnet/July 08/2019
Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly “offered” President Michel Aoun the possibility of sponsoring a “political settlement” that includes withdrawing controversial demands to refer the Qabrshmoun case to the Judicial Council, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday. Berri’s proposal suggests the incident be addressed by “security” agencies and that “civil judiciary” looks into it, “in return for setting a political plan to address the crisis as a whole,” informed sources told the daily. However, it added that Ain el-Tineh sources, of Berri, have voiced concerns the suggestion would fall through. Political parties are divided over referring the deadly incident of Qabrshmoun to the Judicial Council, that left two bodyguards of a minister dead and one was critically injured. In June, Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil visited the Aley town of Qabrshmoun in Mount Lebanon. Progressive Socialist Party supporters (of Druze leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat) closed roads to prevent Bassil from touring the region. An armed clash erupted between the convoy of minister of refugee affairs (of the Lebanese Democratic Party and an ally of Bassil) and the people who were closing the road to prevent Bassil from passing. Two guards were killed and one person was critically injured. The FPM, and Lebanese Democratic Party insist that the file be referred to the Judicial Council.

Arslan 'Insists' on Judicial Council in Meeting with Aoun

Naharnet/July 08/2019
Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan and State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib on Monday held talks in Baabda with President Michel Aoun. The two left without making a statement but LBCI TV said Arslan expressed his “insistence more than ever” on referring the case of the deadly Qabrshmoun incident to the Judicial Council, stressing that “there will be no bargaining over the blood of the two victims.” He had earlier warned in a tweet against “any attempts to downplay the Mt. Lebanon crime, regardless whether that happen with a good or a bad intention.”“Any settlement should go through referring that crime to the Judicial Council, which is the only competent authority to address it, or else the path will remain open for a strife whose consequences will be unknown,” Arslan warned. MTV meanwhile said that Aoun called for "continuing the investigation and reaching a result before deciding to which judicial authority the case should be referred." "Arslan clung to his stance, stressing that the alternative to the Judicial Council is the Judicial Council itself," while reiterating to Aoun that the incident was "an assassination attempt against a minister," MTV added. Two of Gharib's bodyguards were killed and a third was wounded as the minister's convoy came under gunfire during an armed clash with Progressive Socialist Party supporters in Qabrshmoun. A PSP supporter was also injured in the violence.The two parties have traded blame over the incident, with Gharib and Arslan describing it as an ambush and the PSP accusing the minister's bodyguards of forcing their way and opening fire on protesters.

Bassil Says Not behind Cabinet Suspension, Urges Jumblat to 'Hand Over Fugitives'
Naharnet/July 08/2019
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil said Monday that the repercussions of the deadly Qabrshmoun incident will not end before the Progressive Socialist Party hands over the “fugitives.”Reminding of PSP chief Walid Jumblat's announcement that his party is not “above the law,” Bassil called on Jumblat to prove that the PSP is “under the law.”“Why are they rejecting the referral of the case to the Judicial Council?” Bassil said in an interview on NBN television, reminding that cases that shook the Druze community such as the murder of Ziad Ghandour and Ziad Qabalan and the assassination of Saleh Aridi had been referred to the council. “They are depicting the issue as if gunmen from the two sides opened fire, whereas in fact preparations were made to attack a convoy and there was a planned ambush, and if anything happened in response it was self defense,” Bassil added. “Someone prepared a systematic attack and the signs emerged two days before the incident,” the FPM chief said. “Jumblat is saying you either deal with me differently in politics or there would be a (security) problem in the country,” Bassil suggested. “I am peaceful but they should not use this to scare us, seeing as the army protects us when needed,” Bassil added. Asked whether the FPM and its allies are behind the suspension of cabinet sessions, Bassil said they are not to blame for the interruption although they have “the right to do so.”“The prime minister opted for postponement to prevent an explosion in the session,” he explained, noting that the FPM has “expressed solidarity” with State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib whose convoy came under gunfire in Qabrshmoun. “Two of his bodyguards were killed and 16 gunshots hit his car, some of which struck his seat's headrest,” Bassil explained. “I have asked PM Saad Hariri twice about the date of the upcoming cabinet session and of course we're in contact, though some are trying to give the impression that there is a dispute,” the FPM chief said. As for his “presidential” ambitions, Bassil said “he who wants to become president would not fight with everyone like I'm doing.” “May God prolong the life of President (Michel) Aoun and it would be shameful for me to think of the presidency today,” he added.

Report: ‘Disruption’ Casts Shadow over Government
Naharnet/July 08/2019
Some have sounded the alarm over the consequences of a “dispute” between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri against the former’s insistence to refer the killing of two bodyguards of a minister to the Judicial Council, and Hariri’s insistence for adopting a political solution and resorting to the judiciary, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Monday. Ministerial sources said the "dispute" can reflect on the government and hamper its meetings under critical circumstances in the country that call for expediting its response to the road map approved at Paris CEDRE conference in order to overcome the economic and social crises. “The situation can not tolerate implicating the country, under the pretext of referring the Qabrshmoun incident to the Judicial Council, in a political clash leading to the disruption of its government meetings,” the sources told the daily. “The current week must be decisive regarding the fate of setting a Cabinet session after Hariri returns from a short trip abroad. The government must convene to discuss the suggested amendments of its 2019 state budget in preparation for referring it to the parliament for approval,” they added. They said the (Qabrshmoun) case must follow certain steps before it is referred to the Judicial Council, “judicial investigation must first be run to find out if the incident was really an ambush for the State Minister of Refugees Saleh al-Gharib, or others,” they said. “Referring the incident to the Judicial Council without proper judicial investigation means there is someone who wants to implicate the Progressive Socialist Party in a “tailored-charge”,” added the sources. “The matter must be left to the judiciary which determines through data and evidence whether the incident comes in the context of ambush, or threatens the civil peace and damages to state security. From the beginning, Jumblat (PSP leader) has responded to mediation carried out by General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim regarding handing the suspects involved in this incident,” they added. In June, Bassil visited the Aley town of Qabrshmoun in Mount Lebanon. Progressive Socialist Party supporters (of Druze leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat) closed roads to prevent Bassil from touring the region. An armed clash erupted between the convoy of minister of refugee affairs (an ally of Bassil) and the people who were closing the road to prevent Bassil from passing. Two guards were killed and one person was critically injured.

PSP, Kataeb Affirm ‘Strong’ Mountain Reconciliation, Jab at Bassil, Bou Saab

Naharnet/July 08/2019
The Kataeb and Progressive Socialist Parties on Monday called for “constructive dialogue” and affirmed that the 2001 Mountain Reconciliation still stands strong despite the deadly armed clash that took place in the Druze area of Aley late in June. “Some people have for personal goals abandoned the Mountain Reconciliation, but supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement still have it in their conscience,” said Abu Faour after meeting Kataeb party leader Sami Gemayel. Abu Faour was indirectly lashing out at FPM chief and Foreign Minister Bassil without naming him. He added: “The PSP and Kataeb agree that the current dispute is not a Christian-Druze, or Druze-Druze conflict. The dispute is a political one.”He said the “parties hampering the convention of the Cabinet must bear responsibility for obstruction,” noting that only the President and PM are entitled to prepare the agenda of the Cabinet. In reference to the FPM’s demand to include the Qabrshmoun incident and its referral to the Judicial Council on the agenda. In a direct jab at FPM Defense Minister Elias Bou Saad, Abu Faour added: “The performance of the Minister of Defense is biased and arrogant. He was irresponsible to trespass the security agencies and declare that there was an ambush. He should not leave his work and UN Resolution 1701 to tour as escort with a second minister. This performance reflects negatively on the position of the Defense Ministry.” For his part, Gemayel assured that coexistence between the Christians and Druze is doing very well. The PSP delegation was comprised of Abu Faour, MP Faysal al-Sayegh, Secretary-General Zafer Nasser, former deputy Antoine Saad and Adviser Hossam Harb in the presence of MP Elias Hankash, former MP Fadi Haber, Secretary-General Nizar Najariyan, Politburo member Serge Dagher and former Minister Joseph el-Hashem.

Lebanon: Recent Deadly Shootout in Aley Threatens Government's Performance
Beirut - Mohammed Choucair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Lebanese ministerial sources warned on Sunday from a possible dispute between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri over referring the shooting of two members of the Lebanese Democratic Party in the Druze area of Aley more than a week ago, to a senior Judicial Council. The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun supports referring the case to the Council that deals with crimes against state security, while the PM prefers instead adopting a political solution and refer the case to the normal Judiciary, which would decide who is responsible for the deadly shootout. The sources fear the Aoun-Hariri dispute would reflect on the government performance and therefore, interrupt cabinet sessions in light of sensitive conditions the country is passing through. “The situation in Lebanon does not bear a political dispute, that could lead to interrupting cabinet sessions under the pretext of referring the Qabr Shamoun shootout to the Judicial Council,” the sources said. The fate of future cabinet sessions should be defined this week, when Hariri returns to Beirut from a trip abroad. “The government should meet to study amendments recently introduced on the 2019 budget, before referring it to Parliament for approval,” the ministerial sources said. They said there is still hope to contain the repercussions of the Aley shooting, on condition of not allowing foreign parties, particularly the regime in Syria, to interfere in the case. Some observers believe that Assad’s regime is trying to exclude the role of Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader, ex-MP Walid Jumblatt in Lebanon. “PSP officials greatly complain about President Aoun’s latest comments in which he said that what happened in Aley must never be repeated,” the sources explained. They said the PSP officials believe that Aoun took the side of one party against the other before judicial investigations into the event were completed.

 Airport Customs seize 44 Kg gold from passengers coming from Istanbul
NNA - Mon 08 Jul 2019
Customs Authority at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport has seized a large amount of gold, estimated at 44 kg, from two Lebanese passengers coming from Istanbul, NNA correspondent reported on Monday.
The two arrested persons were identified as R.D and H.Sh. In details, the Customs seized the amount of gold distributed in 3 handbags. As such, the two persons were arrested for investigation. The passengers revealed they were transferring the gold to a third person in Lebanon, who was later summoned by the Customs for interrogation.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 08-09/2019
Pence says US action has cut off Iran's ability to support terrorism
Arab News/July 08/2019
WASHINGTON: The United States will not waver from its course of maximum pressure against Iran, Vice President Mike Pence said Monday, as tensions rise and the US-brokered nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers appears to be unraveling with the Trump administration’s pullout. Pence’s assertion to a pro-Israel Christian organization that the US “will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon” came on the same day that Iran began enriching uranium to 4.5 percent , breaking the limit set in the 2015 agreement sealed under President Barack Obama. The speech, amplified in later remarks to the group by the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, also comes as the other partners in the agreement must decide how to respond to Iran’s announcement. President Donald Trump discussed the issue by phone Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron. Echoing comments made repeatedly by Trump, Pence said the international accord simply delayed Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon by “roughly a decade” and gave away billions in economic relief that Iran could then use to wage terrorist attacks. Since Trump withdrew from that deal more than a year ago, his administration has reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran and designated its Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist group. “Iran must choose between caring for its people and continuing to fund its proxies who spread violence and terrorism throughout the region and breathe out murderous hatred against Israel,” Pence said. Pence said the US’s actions have succeeded in “cutting off” Iran’s ability to support terrorism in the Middle East, but he also charged that Iran had increased its “malign activity and violence in the region” over the past several months. Tensions in the region have risen in recent weeks after oil tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz and Iran downed an unmanned US military surveillance drone. The downing of the drone nearly led to a US military strike against Iran; it was called off at the last minute by Trump. Instead, the US military’s cyberforces launched a retaliatory strike against Iranian military computer systems that controlled the country’s rocket and missile launchers. The US has sent thousands of troops, an aircraft carrier, nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and advanced fighter jets to the Middle East. “Let me be clear,” Pence said. “Iran should not confuse American restraint with a lack of American resolve.” Iran has long maintained it was enriching uranium for peaceful reasons. While enriched uranium at the 3.67 percent level is enough for peaceful pursuits, it isn’t close to the weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. At 4.5 percent, the enriched uranium is enough to help power Iran’s Bushehr reactor, the country’s only nuclear power plant. Iran has been trying to gain European help in bypassing US sanctions, which have targeted oil sales and top officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The remaining signatories to the deal include Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. “We hope for the best, but the United States of America and our military are prepared to protect our interests and to protect our personnel and citizens in the region,” Pence said. Later Monday, Bolton, the White House national security adviser and a longtime advocate of tough measures against Iran, devoted a large portion of his speech at the same summit to Iran, noting that the that the administration has expanded sanctions to cover metals and the petrochemical sector. “As we pressure the Iranian regime, we will also continue to stand with the long-suffering Iranian people, who as President Trump has said, are the “rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land,” Bolton said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US has implemented the “strongest pressure campaign in history against the Iranian regime,” before adding “and we are not done.”

Iran Describes as ‘Threatening Act’ Britain’s Impounding of Oil Tanker
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Iran has deemed as a “threatening act” Britain’s seizing last week of an Iranian oil tanker, said Defense Minister Amir Hatami on Monday. “These days we witnessed a threatening act from the government of England in the Strait of Gibraltar against a tanker from” Iran, he stated. “This is an incorrect and wrong action, an action similar to maritime robbery...certainly these kind of robberies will not be tolerated.”Royal Marines impounded the tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday on suspicion it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Iran denies the vessel was headed to Syria, where the regime of Bashar Assad is an ally of Tehran. Spanish authorities said the seizure came at the request of the US. Authorities in the British territory said the tanker can be held for up to 14 days. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened to seize a British ship in retaliation. The tanker was not headed to Syria, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday, without specifying the final destination of the vessel. Hatami said Iran’s downing of an unmanned American aircraft last month sent a message that Tehran would defend its borders. Washington said the drone was shot down over international waters. Separately, Iranian army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Monday that Iran is not looking for war with any country, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. A spokesman for the government of Gibraltar said last week all 28 crew members remain on the vessel while being interviewed as witnesses. The crew is comprised of mainly Indian, Pakistani and Ukrainian nationals, he said. The vessel was likely carrying just over 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, the data firm Refinitv said. Tracking data showed it made a slow trip around the southern tip of Africa before reaching the Mediterranean, it said. US national security adviser John Bolton tweeted that the ship's seizure was "excellent news.""America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade," Bolton added.

Germany Rejects US Call to Send Ground Troops to Syria

Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Germany rejected on Monday a demand by the United States to deploy ground troops to Syria to combat remaining ISIS militants in the war-torn country. “When I say the government envisages sticking to the current measures in the anti-ISIS (military) coalition, this includes no ground troops, as is well known,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular news conference. The US request comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Berlin to increase its defense spending, last month calling Germany "delinquent" over its contributions to NATO's budget. Speaking from Berlin over the weekend, US special representative on Syria James Jeffrey told German media that Washington wanted ground troops from Germany “to partly replace our soldiers" in the area as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. Last year, Trump declared victory against ISIS and ordered the withdrawal of all 2,000 American troops from Syria.
But a small number have remained in northeastern Syria, an area not controlled by the regime of Bashar Assad, and Washington is pushing for increased military support from other members of the international coalition against ISIS. "We are looking for volunteers who want to take part here and among other coalition partners," Jeffrey said. Washington has two goals in the region: to support the US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that expelled ISIS from northern Syria as they are increasingly threatened by Turkey, and to prevent a potential ISIS resurgence in the country. The US is hoping Europe will help, pressuring Britain, France and Germany, which has so far deployed surveillance aircraft and other non-combat military support in Syria. Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.

Iran Says Uranium Enrichment Passes 4.5%, Exceeding Deal Cap
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/2019
Iran's uranium enrichment level passed 4.5 percent on Monday, exceeding the 2015 nuclear deal cap, Iranian atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said. "This morning Iran passed the 4.5 percent level in uranium enrichment," Kamalvandi said according to the semi-official ISNA News Agency. "This level of purity completely satisfies the power plant fuel requirements of the country," he added in a hint that the Islamic republic might stick to this level of enrichment for the time being. Iran announced on Sunday it would no longer adhere to the enrichment cap in what it billed as its second step to decrease commitments to the deal in a bid to press other parties into keeping their side of the bargain. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal between Iran and six world powers in May 2018 and has since reimposed sanctions on many sectors including the crucial oil and financial industries.
Iran demanded the other parties -- France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia -- take steps to guarantee the economic benefits Iran was promised for the drastic limitations imposed on its nuclear programme. However after one year of what it called "strategic patience", Tehran has grown increasingly frustrated about a perceived lack of action by the European side to help it economically in the face of crippling US sanctions.

Iran Won’t Offer More Deadlines to Save Nuclear Deal as China Calls for Restraint
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Iran warned on Monday world powers that it will not offer any further "deadlines" to save the 2015 nuclear deal by September as it threatened to restart deactivated centrifuges and sharply step up its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters that the last chance for saving the pact will pass after a 60-day deadline. The previous day, Iranian officials said the country would take further steps toward the "reduction" of its compliance with the accord after the deadline. Iran has already breached the deal's limits on uranium enrichment and stockpiling. Mousavi said Iran is still open to negotiations with its European partners and expressed hope they would "take steps forward" toward implementing their commitments. Iran will only discuss issues included in current nuclear deal and not take part in negotiations for a new deal, he added. Tehran’s third step in reducing commitments under the nuclear deal will be stronger, he warned. Later, Behrouz Kamalvindi, spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, threatened to restart deactivated centrifuges and confirmed an announcement that Tehran had enriched uranium beyond the 3.67% purity that the deal allows, passing 4.5%, according to the student's news agency INSA. The threats would go far beyond the small steps Iran has taken in the past week to nudge its stocks of fissile material just beyond limits in the nuclear pact. That could raise serious questions about whether the agreement, intended to block Iran from making a nuclear weapon, is still viable. Kamalvindi said the authorities were discussing options that included the prospect of enriching uranium to 20% purity or beyond, and restarting centrifuges that were dismantled as one of the deal's core aims. "There is the 20% option and there are options even higher than that but each in its own place," Kamalvandi said, according to state television. "Restarting IR-2 and IR-2 M centrifuges is an option." Such threats will put new pressure on European countries, which insist Iran must continue to comply with the agreement even though the United States is no longer doing so. Iran’s main demand - in talks with the European parties to the deal and as a precondition to any talks with the United States - is to be allowed to sell its oil at the levels before Washington pulled out of the agreement and restored sanctions. The confrontation has taken on a military dimension, with Washington blaming Tehran for attacks on oil tankers, and Iran shooting down a US drone, prompting aborted US air strikes. The Europeans, who object to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal, have so far failed to salvage the pact by shielding Iran’s economy from US sanctions, which cost billions of dollars in lost oil sales. Meanwhile, China expressed regret at Iran's decision to boost uranium enrichment, its foreign ministry said on Monday, reiterating that the standoff needed to be resolved diplomatically. At a daily briefing, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang also reiterated that China called on all sides involved to exercise restraint. Earlier, Japan voiced serious concern over Iran's decision to increase uranium enrichment, urging it to return to its earlier commitment. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura said Monday that Japan is "seriously concerned and closely watching" the development on the nuclear deal and increased tension in the Middle East. Nishimura urged Iran to "immediately return to its commitment under the agreement and avoid any further steps that would undermine the nuclear agreement." Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders but did little to help deescalate tensions with the US.

Quake Rocks Town in Southwest Iran
London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Iran's seismology center says a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit on Monday a town in the country's oil-rich southwest, damaging buildings. Iran is located on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake per day on average. The quake hit near the town of Masjid Soleiman in Khuzestan province, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, IRNA news agency reported. It said four people so far have been reported injured. A local witness Iman Nazarpour told The Associated Press that the quake damaged buildings in the center of town. Another witness Rahim Zaheri said some older buildings had collapsed, with others showing cracks. The town is where the first oil well in Iran and the Middle East was explored. State TV said rescue teams were deployed to surrounding rural areas, too. The depth of the quake was 17 kilometers (10.5 miles), according to IRNA. Several aftershocks were reported. The US Geological Survey says the quake was centered 28 kilometers (17 miles) southeast of the town, and at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The tremors were felt throughout the area, and as far as the neighboring Persian Gulf country of Kuwait. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam in southern Iran, killing 26,000 people.

Saudi Arabia Affirms in Geneva its Position on Arab-Israeli Conflict

Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Saudi Arabia has affirmed that supporting the Palestinian cause is one of the most important priorities of its foreign policy since its establishment and the central issue is that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights. This came in a speech delivered Monday at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva by the Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Dr. Al-Wasel reiterated the Saudi Arabia's firm position on the Arab-Israeli conflict, stressing the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the restoration of their land and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1976 borders with Al-Quds as its capital.  Dr. Al-Wasel also highlighted the Saudi rejection of the law of the "national state of the Jewish people", pointing out that it contradicts the provisions of the international law and obstructs efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. At the same time he called on the international community to address this law and any Israeli attempts aimed at perpetuating racial discrimination against the Palestinian people and obliterating their national identity. According to SPA, he also called on the international community to support the Palestinian cause, stressing Saudi Arabia's full support for all international initiatives and efforts aimed at saving the peace process and the two-state solution.

Five Reasons Why Gulf Investors Could Leave Turkey

Riyadh - Musaed al-Zayani
A number of Gulf investors are planning to withdraw their investments from Turkey while others are considering changing the investment plans they have been seeking to make in a number of Turkish sectors, most notably the real estate, financial and retail sectors. These decisions were taken due to five challenges recently facing Ankara, making it an unsuitable destination for investment. According to a survey carried out by Asharq Al-Awsat, Gulf investors identified five challenges facing Gulf capitals in Turkey. These challenges are the political unrest, economic slowdown, US sanctions, weak enforcement of regulations and the commitment to contracts and problems facing Gulf tourists and government warnings. Investors view these challenges as reasons behind lack of clarity regarding the investment environment in light of the tightening on Gulf investments. They stressed that the continuation of these challenges has led to a clear reluctance and fear to continue investments that were planned to be pumped in Turkey. A Saudi businessman, who preferred not to be named, said the investment environment in Turkey has changed rapidly in recent years, making it unclear how things will be in the coming years, posing a challenge for investors and driving them to leave the country. He pointed out that a number of those who invested in various industries are currently looking for an alternative that provides added value for investment and achieves the businessmen’s desired goal to create a stable business environment and has positive relations with Gulf countries. Professor in Political Media Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen al-Assaf, for his part, told Asharq Al-Awsat that those observing the Turkish affairs can clearly view the consequences of the political, economic, security and social issues facing the country, especially over the past two years, during which many incidents have taken place at all levels. ''The political situation is not reassuring as a result of the internal and external political conflicts,” Assaf explained. ''Internally, the ruling party has lost during elections for Istanbul’s municipality...in favor for the opposition, showing a decline in the Justice and Development Party’s popularity.'' The ruling party’s policies and narcissistic dreams have led to a declining in its popularity at the internal level and mass migration of investors for various reasons, Assaf noted. Among these reasons, Assaf noted, are the decline in the value of the Turkish Lira, increase in the unemployment rate, negative classifications of Turkey’s financial institutions in addition to a large number of crimes, making Istanbul an unsafe place, and various types of fraud faced by investors, especially in the real estate, which was circumvented through vague contracts and non-delivery of their property.

Second Turkish Drillship Arrives off Cyprus Coast

Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
A second Turkish drillship arrived on Monday off Cyprus’ northeastern coast to drill for oil and natural gas, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed. In a move that could further strain ties with Cyprus over exploration rights, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez was quoted by state-owned Anadolu news agency on Saturday as saying the Yavuz would start drilling within a week. Cyprus on Monday “strongly condemned” the move, saying it was an infringement of its sovereign rights by Turkey. "This planned second drilling ... is an escalation by Turkey of its repeated violations of Cyprus's sovereign rights based on the UN Law of the Sea and international law, and is a most serious violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus," Cyprus's presidency in Nicosia said in a statement. Yavuz had been at the southern Turkish port of Mersin doing final tests and taking on supplies before departing for Cyprus on Sunday. The shipping data showed that it arrived off the coast of the Karpas peninsula overnight. Turkey already has a drilling ship, Fatih, off the west coast of Cyprus and Nicosia issued arrest warrants for its crew in June. Last month, European Union leaders warned Turkey to end its gas drilling in disputed waters around the island or face action from the bloc, after Greece and Cyprus pressed other EU states to speak out. Ankara, which does not have diplomatic relations with Cyprus, claims that certain areas in Cyprus’s offshore maritime zone, known as an EEZ, fall under the jurisdiction of Turkey or of Turkish Cypriots, who have their own breakaway state in the north of the island which is recognized only by Turkey. Cyprus has divided its EEZ off its southern coast into 13 blocks, or areas. Turkey says parts of three blocks off the island's west coast fall within its own continental shelf. Turkish Cypriots claim most of seven blocks in the east. The Cypriot government says any potential gas proceeds will be shared equitably with Turkish Cypriots after a reunification deal is agreed upon and has created a fund into which all such revenues will flow. Cyprus was divided in 1974 after a Turkish invasion triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Several peacemaking endeavors have failed and the discovery of offshore resources has increasingly complicated peace negotiations.

Report: Syrian President Replaces Security Chiefs
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 08/2019
Syrian President Bashar Assad has replaced some heads of influential security agencies, including Maj. Gen. Jamil Hassan, who has headed the powerful Air Force Intelligence Directorate since 2009, pro-government Syrian pages on social media reported Sunday.
No reason was given for the shake-up, which came as government forces have made little progress in a two-month-old offensive against rebels in the northwestern Idlib province despite recapturing wide areas of the country in recent years. There was no immediate confirmation from the government or state media, which rarely report news related to intelligence agencies. Several pages, including Latakia Eagles and Homs Network Live, reported that Hassan was replaced by his deputy, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Ismail. Hassan had been one of the most powerful officers in the country, and opposition activists and foreign countries have blamed him for atrocities during Syria's eight-year civil war, which has killed some 400,000 people. Hassan was one of 13 Syrian commanders and prison officials that the United States said in 2016 were responsible for attacks on cities, residential areas and civilian infrastructure as well as acts of torture. The U.S. and the European Union had imposed sanctions on Hassan because of his role in the crackdown. Last year, Germany said it is seeking Hassan's arrest, saying his intelligence agency was suspected to have been involved in war crimes. Earlier this year, there were reports that Germany asked Lebanon to hand over Hassan while he was being treated in a hospital run by the militant Hezbollah group, which has sent fighters to Syria to help Assad's forces. The pages said the General Intelligence Directorate is now headed by Maj. Gen. Hussam Louqa, while Maj. Gen. Nasser al-Ali is now in charge of the Political Security Directorate. Bahjat Suleiman, a former intelligence chief and former ambassador to Jordan, also listed the names on his Facebook page and Twitter account.

EU, Cyprus Condemn New Turkish Drilling Off Island
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/2019
The European Union said on Monday a second attempt by Turkey to drill for oil and gas in waters off Cyprus was an "unacceptable escalation", having warned Ankara to stop its "illegal" activities or face sanctions. "Turkey's declared intention to illegally conduct a new drilling operation northeast of Cyprus is of grave concern," EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini said in statement. Turkey's first drilling attempts prompted EU leaders in June to warn Ankara of "targeted and appropriate" sanctions if it did not stop its "illegal activities." According to the EU statement on Monday, the European Council is considering "appropriate measures" and will respond "in full solidarity with Cyprus" in light of this second exploration. Mogherini reiterated the call to Turkish authorities "to refrain from such actions, act in a spirit of good neighbourliness and respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in accordance with international law". Ankara has sent a second ship –- the Yavuz -- for exploratory activities off eastern Cyprus, after its Fatih vessel entered the island’s exclusive economic zone in the west in May. "This second planned drilling operation... is a further unacceptable escalation which violates the sovereignty of Cyprus," Mogherini added.  The region near the island is believed have rich natural gas deposits, triggering a race between Turkey and Cyprus, which has ramped up exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Hours earlier, Cyprus condemned Turkey's actions "in the strongest of terms", in a statement from the Cypriot presidency.  It said the second attempt was taking place off the Karpas peninsula, in the northeast of the island, and amounted to "an escalation of continued violations by Turkey."The Cyprus government said "Turkey continues to violate international law... disrespecting the calls of the European Union and the international community."Ankara says its actions abide by international law and that it is drilling inside its continental shelf. Cyprus has said only a resumption of talks aimed at reaching a peace settlement between the Turkish-held north and the internationally-recognised government in Nicosia could resolve the dispute. The island has been divided between the Republic of Cyprus and the northern third under Turkish military control since 1974, formed after a Turkish invasion in response to a coup sponsored by a Greek military junta. Cyprus has issued arrest warrants for Fatih's crew members, accusing the ship of breaching the republic's sovereign territory. Turkey opposes unilateral exploration activities by Cyprus and says Turkish Cypriots have rights to a share of the island's offshore resources.

Turkey: Lira Drops after Central Bank Chief is Fired
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
The Turkish lira has fell up to 2% against the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired the central bank governor reportedly over disagreements on interest rate cuts. Murat Cetinkaya was replaced by Murat Uysal, the central bank's deputy governor, in a presidential decree published Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. While no reason was given for the dismissal, Erdogan frequently criticized the central bank for keeping rates high. On Monday, the lira weakened to 5.73 against the dollar. Hurriyet newspaper said the governor had rejected calls by the president to lower the benchmark interest rate, which currently is at 24%. According to AP, Uysal, the new governor, said the central bank would continue to "independently implement monetary policy instruments" for price stability. Cetinkaya's four-year term was due to end next year.

Israeli Army Says Gaza Drone Shot Down After Crossing Border
Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Israel's military says it has shot down a drone that crossed into its territory from the Gaza Strip. The military says it recovered the downed drone and took it in for examination Monday. There was no comment from Gaza. Its militant Hamas leaders are known to have developed a drone program with Iranian help. The drones are typically used for reconnaissance along the Israeli-Gaza border and it's unclear if they have potential to carry out attacks.The incident comes amid low-level tensions along the border as Israel and Gaza are still trying to maintain an informal long-term truce between them.

Ahead of Elections, Israel Opposition Agrees to Cooperate to Oust Netanyahu
Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Israeli opposition leaders decided to refrain from trading accusations and instead cooperate in the electoral battle to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule. Observers interpreted the move as a major development ahead of the elections, saying it would open wide prospects to topple the long-time PM. Likud MP Miki Zohar said Israelis won’t be forced to go to the polls for the third time in less than a year if the premier again fails to form a government after Knesset elections. Zohar, who initiated the bill to dissolve the Knesset, said such legislation would not be introduced again if Netanyahu’s coalition-building efforts fail to bear fruit after the September 17 elections. “There won’t be another law to dissolve the Knesset. Next time we’ll do everything to form a government, and if we don’t succeed then [Benny] Gantz will try,” Zohar said, referring to the Blue and White party leader. Netanyahu was tasked to put together a coalition in the Knesset after elections in April, but he was unable to muster up a ruling majority before the deadline. Under Israeli law, if the prime minister-designate cannot form a government before the deadline, the mandate goes back to the president, who assigns another lawmaker to do so. A number of political figures have called for the re-establishment of the old coalition between Labor, Meretz and Ehud Barak’s new party within the framework of the “Zionist camp” and return former minister Tzipi Livni and her Hatnua party to the coalition list to run in the elections. These figures are seeking to organize a meeting between Livni and Amir Peretz, the new Labor Party chairman. Peretz, for his part, said the most important thing to do is to unite the center-left bloc. Should he fail, he said he will try to reach an agreement among them all not to attack each other and to reach understandings that will ensure the formation of center-left government backed by the Arab parties, just as Yitzhak Rabin did in 1993. Barak, who has recently founded the new Israeli Democratic Party, supported Peretz’s idea and said his party was considering an alliance with Livni. “We are studying all options to unite classes not only with Livni, but also with Meretz, Labor and other parties,” he said. He pointed out that what was missing during the recent elections was a large bloc that includes as much of the left parties as possible and as many of the concerned parties that aim to have a united Israel as a state of peace, democracy and liberty. In this context, Gantz agreed with Peretz, during their first meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday, to “maintain an open channel of dialogue.”

Friction with Cairo over the Israel air defense system for Ethiopia’s Great Nile dam
Debka File/July 08/2019
Israeli firms have finished installing the advanced Spyder-MR air defense system for the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam upstream of the Nile – in the face of discord with Egypt. Cairo has strongly resisted the construction of Ethiopia’s mega-dam as a threat to its water security. It is estimated that the new dam when filled will store up to 74 billion cubic meters of water, equal to twice the average annual flow of the Nile at the Sudanese-Egyptian border. Half Egypt’s population lives and subsists on the Nile River basin and its fast-growing numbers already present the country with a massive water deficit. Cairo, which for decades has enjoyed hegemony over its source of life, one of the world’s major rivers, is not appeased by Addis Ababa’s assurances. Ethiopia has high hopes of the great dam as a major economic boost. Its 15 turbines are planned to double or treble its power industry, create new jobs in and outside farming and export energy to its neighbors. Our military sources report that Addis chose the Spyder-MR air defense system to shield the Great Renaissance Dam project after watching its performance in the Indian-Pakistani clashes in Kashmir five months ago. It is the only system known to be capable of simultaneously launching two different types of missile – a Python-5 (5km range) and Derby-6 (50km range). Spyder-MR is the product of three Israeli firms, Rafael, which makes the missiles: the MBT Missiles Division of Israel Aerospace Industries – the trucks on which the missiles are mounted; and Elta Systems for the radar.Work on installing the air defense system which began in May has just been completed. Our sources also report that frequent calls came from the office of Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi in an effort to dissuade Israel from installing the Spyder-MR on the great Ethiopian dam, but the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem decided to go ahead with it just the same.

Oman FM Meets Assad in Damascus
Al-Dammam – Merza al-Khuwaldi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
Oman’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi held talks in Damascus on Sunday with head of the Syrian regime Bashar Assad. Oman’s Foreign Ministry tweeted that bin Alawi delivered a message from the sultan of Oman and talked about boosting efforts "to restore stability and security in the region." It added that bin Alawi also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem to discuss bilateral relations and efforts to bolster them for the interests of peoples of both countries. They also discussed regional developments and efforts to boost dialogue to reach political solutions that will restore security and stability in the area. Bin Alawi last visited Damascus in October 2015. He is the only Gulf minister to visit the war-torn country since the anti-regime uprising erupted in 2011. Moallem visited Oman in March 2018. Oman is one of few Arab countries that kept normal relations with Damascus after Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over its regime crackdown on peaceful protests. In December, the United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Syria's capital for the first time in seven years. Bahrain followed days later by resuming work at its embassy in Damascus, but no other Arab countries have taken similar steps.

ISIS Re-Emerges in Southern Libya to Pledge Allegiance to Baghdadi
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
ISIS re-emerged in southern Libya, pledging its allegiance to the terrorist group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Dozens of masked gunmen appeared in a video released by ISIS media to renew their allegiance, vowing to carry out reprisals against the Libyan National Army (LNA).
They announced that they will continue combating the LNA, threatening to launch more terrorist attacks against it. Local sources suspected that the video was shot in a remote desert region in southern Libya where dozens of ISIS gunmen, led by Mahmoud al-Baraasi, are located. Barassi, known as Abu Musab al-Libi, is the former founder of the ISIS affiliate in the eastern city of Benghazi. In May, ISIS had claimed responsibility for an attack on an oilfield in the town of Zillah, some 650 kilometers southeast of the capital Tripoli. The attack was seen as an escalation against LNA-held regions in the South. The terrorists also launched major attacks in Tripoli in 2018, but they have since retreated to the desert in the South after they lost their former stronghold of Sirte in late 2016.

African Leaders Launch 'Historic' Free Trade Deal

Niamey- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 8 July, 2019
African nations officially launched a landmark trade agreement at the African Union summit in Niger on Sunday, with the long sought-after agreement hailed as a historic step towards "peace and prosperity" across the continent. After 17 years of tough negotiations, the AU launched the "operational phase" of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in what AU commission chairman Moussa Faki had described as a "historic" moment. "An old dream is coming true, the founding fathers must be proud," said Faki, adding that AfCFTA would create "the greatest trading area in the world". Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou hailed it as "the greatest historical event for the African continent since the creation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963," referring to the AU's predecessor. AU officials announced the launch of the five "operational instruments" of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Nations agreed to shared "rules of origin, the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers, a unified digital payments system and an African trade observatory dashboard", the AU commission announced. The agreement was given a boost when the presidents of Nigeria and Benin signed on to rapturous applause on Sunday morning at the two-day summit in Niger's capital Niamey. With Nigeria and Benin on board, 54 of the 55 AU member countries have now signed onto the deal, with holdout Eritrea announcing it will consider joining the pact. Around 4,500 delegates and guests -- including 32 heads of state and more than 100 ministers -- attended the AU summit in Niamey, which has been revamped and boasts a brand-new airport, upgraded roads, and new hotels for the occasion.
'Game changer for Africa'
The agreement was formalized at the end of April when it crossed the launch threshold, which required ratification by at least 22 countries. The zone will be operational from July 1st 2020, giving countries time to adapt to the agreed changes, Issoufou said. Malawi's director of trade, Christina Chatima, told AFP the trade agreement as a "game changer for Africa." "Most of us export with Europe and the US. It's about time we started trading more with each other," she said. However despite the launch, there are still key issues leaders have yet to resolve. Leaders could not agree on a common criteria for rules of origin for some sectors. "An agreement has not yet been reached on some of these issues," Chatima said. "On textiles, even the automotive sector. The AU secretariat is meant to come up with proposals on how we can agree," she added. The AfCFTA commits the majority of countries to 90 percent tariff cuts within a five year period -- reducing barriers to trade on the continent. Countries on a United Nations list of 'Least Developed Countries' will have 10 years to cut tariffs, whilst a group of six countries -- including Niger and Malawi -- will have at least 15 years, Chatima said. Amaka Anku, Africa analyst at Eurasia group, described the deal as a positive step but said implementing the AfCFTA was still "a long way from taking off", with concerns on how many of the new regulatory agencies for the trade agreement would be funded. The AU estimates that the deal will lead to a 60-percent boost in intra-African trade by 2022. At the moment, African countries trade only about 16 percent of their goods and services among one another, compared to 65 percent with European countries.
Security on the continent
Also on the summit agenda is security -- an issue afflicting the Sahel in particular. Summit host Niger has faced constant attacks by jihadist groups. Its fellow members in the G5-Sahel security pact -- Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania -- will seek backing at the AU summit to push for a greater UN security force to address the terror threat. he countries hope to activate Chapter VII of the UN Charter, a Nigerien security source told AFP. The chapter allows for the UN Security Council to determine a threat to peace and propose measures, including military deployment, to deal with it. "No prosperity, no integration is possible without peace," said Faki, who stressed the importance of an AU Peace Fund launched in 2018 to finance security activities and called on member states to fulfil their financial promises. So far, only $116 million has been received for the envisaged $400-million fund. The leaders are also set to discuss boosting intelligence cooperation and the global migration crisis.

UAE Says Reducing Troops in War-Torn Yemen

Naharnet/Agence France Presse/July 08/2019
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it was reducing the number of troops in war-torn Yemen and moving from a "military-first" strategy to a "peace-first" plan. "We do have troop levels that are down for reasons that are strategic in (the Red Sea city of) Hodeida and reasons that are tactical" in other parts of the country, a senior UAE official told reporters. "It is very much to do with moving from what I would call a military-first strategy to a peace-first strategy, and this is I think what we are doing." UAE troops fighting as part of a Saudi-led military coalition against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have "totally vacated" the military base in Khokha, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Hodeida, a Yemeni government official told AFP on Monday. He added that the UAE withdrew part of its heavy artillery from Khokha but was -- along with the Saudi-led coalition and the government -- still overseeing the military situation in Yemen's western coast. The Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said UAE troops vacated a military post in Sarwah, west of Marib province, and pulled back the Patriot missile system from the area.

Former Bouteflika Minister Held in Algeria Graft Probe
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/July 08/2019
Algerian authorities on Monday placed in preventive detention a former cabinet minister under ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika on suspicion of squandering public funds, state television said. Said Barakat, 71, is the latest in a series of prominent politicians and businessmen linked to Bouteflika to have been detained or questioned in connection with corruption since the ailing president was forced to step down in the face of mass protests in early April. The former minister of national solidarity was questioned by a supreme court magistrate and ordered held in preventive detention for alleged squandering of public funds, the state broadcaster said. His predecessor Djamel Ould Abbes, who was also the former head of Bouteflika's party, was likewise placed in provisional detention on Sunday on similar charges.

Morocco Seizes 'Record' 27.3 Tons of Cannabis Resin

Naharnet/Agence France Presse/July 08/2019
Moroccan police seized a "record" 27.3 tons of cannabis resin hidden in trucks bound for Europe, the country's security service said Monday. The drugs were discovered Sunday evening at the vast Tanger Med port in three vehicles "believed to be transporting industrial equipment", the General Directorate for National Security said in a statement. The "record" quantity of resin was found "divided among 16 containers in the trailers of the three trucks," the statement added. The drivers and their three assistants, all Moroccan, were arrested and taken into police custody. Tanger Med in northern Morocco is one of Africa's largest ports and is within sight of the Spanish coast. Morocco is one of the main global producers and exporters of cannabis resin, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Production is concentrated in the north of the country, where some 47,000 hectares of agricultural land were used for cannabis cultivation, according to UNODC statistics from 2016. Moroccan police seized 52 tons of cannabis resin last year, according to official figures.

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 08-09/2019
Burkina Faso: Losing Sovereignty to Terrorists
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/July 08/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14504/burkina-faso-terrorists
The progression of terrorist advances in Burkina Faso has reached such major proportions that in January, a state of emergency was imposed on 14 of its provinces, where the situation is so bad that it is too dangerous for children to go to school for fear of attack.
Unless international and NATO efforts are successful in transforming Burkina Faso's army into a more adequate defense force, the country is likely to succumb to ungovernable chaos.
Burkina Faso's army desperately needs to begin instituting political and social reforms. This, in tandem with complementary efforts by the U.S. State Department and European foreign ministries, is a necessary step towards retarding the onslaught of terrorist networks.
If Burkina Faso does dissolve into total chaos and loses its sovereignty to terrorists, its equally vulnerable neighbors will surely soon follow.
Unless international and NATO efforts are successful in transforming Burkina Faso's army into a more adequate defense force, the country is likely to succumb to ungovernable chaos. Pictured: Soldiers from the U.S., Belgium, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon and Mauritania discuss information operation best practices at Camp Zagre, Burkina Faso, on February 26, 2019, during Flintlock, "an annual, African-led, integrated military and law enforcement exercise."
The West African country of Burkina Faso continues to be plagued by terrorist attacks committed by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS. The attacks -- on churches, restaurants, embassies and military outposts -- not only highlight the inadequacy of the country's security forces, but threaten the sovereignty of the landlocked former French colony, located on the southern edge of the sub-Saharan Sahel region.
In June 2017, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2359, "affirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, [and] expressing its continued concern over the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region."
A few months later, in December 2017, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged $100 million and $30 million respectively, towards establishing a "Group of Five (G5) Sahel States Joint Force" to combat terrorism. The U.S. promised to contribute up to $60 million; the European Union said it would donate €50 million, and the G5 states -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -- agreed to contribute 5,000 troops.
As far back as 2014, France, then under President François Hollande, had committed thousands of troops -- in an effort code-named "Operation Barkhane" (after a crescent-shaped dune in the Sahara desert ) -- to prevent jihadists being able to pass across the G5 borders.
France, like its fellow EU member states, clearly views security investment in Sahel affairs as a national interest: if the African region is overtaken by Islamist terrorists, it could be used as a launching pad for attacks on continental Europe. In addition, instability in Sahel would likely increase the number of asylum-seekers from the region.
America's efforts to hamper terrorist groups' operational capability in the Sahel are coordinated by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). Its principal task is to provide security assistance to insufficiently governed African countries that are particularly vulnerable to terrorist networks. AFRICOM conducts, among other programs, Flintlock, "an annual, African-led, integrated military and law enforcement exercise."
The 2019 Flintlock exercise was hosted in Burkina Faso, with a key outstation in Mauritania. Western partners included Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Ft. Bragg, North Carolina-based 3rd Special Forces Group (SFG) that renders training assistance in Burkina Faso. The 3rd SFG places emphasis on improving the capabilities of Burkina Faso's counter-terrorist units to include sniper training, military field medicine and basic drone-operating skills.
All of these international efforts on behalf of Burkina Faso, however, appear to be failing. The terrorists have become more successful, rather than less so, in their operations to penetrate the country's borders and move with impunity through its territory. The al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, for example, has a local branch of an estimated 800 terrorists in Burkina Faso, while the local ISIS branch (ISIS in the Greater Sahara) has approximately 300 members.
The progression of terrorist advances in Burkina Faso has reached such major proportions that in January, a state of emergency was imposed on 14 of its provinces, where the situation is so bad that it is too dangerous for children to go to school for fear of attack.
Unless international and NATO efforts are successful in transforming Burkina Faso's army into a more adequate defense force, the country is likely to succumb to ungovernable chaos.
The overall security status in Burkina Faso cannot be solved by military assistance alone, regrettably, particularly considering that, throughout Burkina Faso's independent history since 1960, its army has maintained little connection with the citizenry, and its role in coup-plotting is legendary. To make matters worse, corruption in all sectors of Burkina Faso government and society is rampant.
There is also complex tribal and societal strife in Burkina Faso, where Muslims make up about 60% of the country's population, but are divided into different ethnic groups: the Fulani, Mossi and Mande. The aggressive proselytizing campaigns of the Fulani -- nomads who raise livestock -- against the country's Christians and Bissa (mainly subsistence farmers), have been lending weight and encouragement to the agenda of groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, which themselves are competing with each other for dominance.
Burkina Faso's army desperately needs to begin instituting political and social reforms. This, in tandem with complementary efforts by the U.S. State Department and European foreign ministries, is a necessary step towards retarding the onslaught of terrorist networks.
If Burkina Faso does dissolve into total chaos and loses its sovereignty to terrorists, its equally vulnerable neighbors will surely soon follow.
*Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
© 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.

European Union: Toward a European Superstate/"The EU is a Sham Democracy"
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/July 08/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14503/european-union-towards-superstate
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, nominated to be the next President of the European Commission, has called for the creation of a European superstate. "My aim is the United States of Europe..." she said in an interview with Der Spiegel. She has also called for the creation of a European Army.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, nominated to be the next President of the European Council, has said that Eastern European countries opposed to burden-sharing on migration should lose some of their EU rights. He is also a strong proponent of the Iran nuclear deal.
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, nominated to replace Federica Mogherini as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is a well-known supporter of the mullahs in Iran. Borrell has also said that he hopes Britain will leave the EU because it is an impediment to the creation of a European superstate.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, nominated to be the next President of the European Central Bank, has supported U.S. President Donald J. Trump's trade war with China. "President Trump has a point on intellectual property. It is correct that nobody should be stealing intellectual property to move ahead.... On these points clearly the game has to change, the rules have to be respected."
"The best cure for Europhilia is always to observe the EU's big beasts at their unguarded worst... unencumbered by any attachment to democracy, accountability or even basic morality... [W]e witnessed rare footage of the secretive process that propels so many retreads and second-rate apparatchiks into positions of immense power in Brussels and Frankfurt, utterly disregarding public opinion.... Everything that is wrong with the EU was shamelessly on display." — Allister Heath, The Telegraph.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, nominated to be the next President of the European Commission, has called for the creation of a European superstate. "My aim is the United States of Europe..." she said in an interview with Der Spiegel. She has also called for the creation of a
After weeks of frenzied backroom wrangling, European leaders on July 2 nominated four federalists to fill the top jobs of the European Union. The nominations — which must be approved by the European Parliament — send a clear signal that the pro-EU establishment has no intention of slowing its relentless march toward a European superstate, a "United States of Europe," despite a surge of anti-EU sentiment across the continent.
Following are brief profiles of the nominees for the top four positions in the next European Commission, which begins on November 1, 2019 for a period of five years.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, the daughter of a prominent EU official, has been nominated to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission, the powerful bureaucratic arm of the European Union. Von der Leyen, of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was a compromise choice after the candidacy of Manfred Weber, a favorite of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was rejected by critics, led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron had favored the candidacy of European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, a Dutch Social Democrat. Timmermans, however, was rejected by the Visegrád Group — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — due to his frequent criticism of their stance against mass migration and judicial reforms.
Von der Leyen has called for the creation of a European superstate. "My aim is the United States of Europe — on the model of federal states such as Switzerland, Germany or the U.S.," she said in an interview with Der Spiegel. She has also called for the creation of a European Army.
At the same time, however, von der Leyen has been roundly criticized at home and abroad for her performance as German defense minister. During her tenure, Germany's military has deteriorated due to budget cuts and poor management, according to Parliamentary Armed Forces Commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels.
"The Bundeswehr's condition is catastrophic," wrote Rupert Scholz, who served as defense minister under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, days before von der Leyen was nominated to the EU's top post. "The entire defense capability of the Federal Republic is suffering, which is totally irresponsible."
Writing for the Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, commentator Stefan Ulrich opined that von der Leyen is an "unsuitable" choice:
"Von der Leyen is unsuitable because after six years as defense minister the Bundeswehr is still in such a deplorable state. She should have resigned a long time ago. As President of the European Commission, she will be overwhelmed."
In March 2016, von der Leyen was cleared of allegations of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis. In September 2015, the newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported that plagiarized material had been found on 27 pages of her 62-page dissertation. The president of the Hanover Medical School, Christopher Baum, said that although von der Leyen's thesis did contain plagiarized material, the school decided against revoking her title because there had been no intent to deceive. "It's about mistake, not misconduct," he said.
Von der Leyen is currently being investigated by the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office for nepotism in connection with the allocation of contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros to outside consultants. One such firm is McKinsey & Company, where her son David works as an associate.
Former European Parliament President Martin Schulz tweeted: "Von der Leyen is our weakest minister. That's apparently enough to become Commission president."
A Deutschlandtrend survey published on July 4 found that 56% of Germans believe that von der Leyen is not a good choice to lead the European Commission; 33% said that she is a good choice.
The European Parliament will vote on her nomination in Strasbourg on July 16. If approved, she will take over from Jean-Claude Juncker on November 1.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, the son of a prominent EU official, has been nominated to succeed Poland's Donald Tusk as President of the European Council. The European Council defines the EU's overall political direction and priorities. The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 28 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.
Michel became Belgium's youngest prime minister in 2014 at the age of 38. In December 2018, he resigned after losing a no-confidence motion over his support for the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. It proclaimed basic rights for migrants, but critics said it would blur the line between legal and illegal immigration. He now heads a caretaker government after an inconclusive general election in May 2019.
Michel has said that Eastern European countries opposed to burden-sharing on migration should lose some of their EU rights. "The European Union is not only an ATM when you need support," he said. "Cooperation means solidarity and responsibility."
Michel is a strong proponent of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He has criticized the Trump administration for withdrawing from the agreement: "No #IranDeal means more instability or war in the Middle East. I deeply regret the withdrawal by @realDonaldTrump from #JCPOA. EU & its international partners must remain committed and Iran must continue to fulfil its obligations."
Michel has also condemned the Trump administration's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. "We know that tensions in Israel and Palestine are feeding a form of hatred and violence that is felt everywhere in the world. That's why we have unequivocally condemned Donald Trump's statement. It was oil on fire, we do not need it."
Josep Borrell, EU Foreign Policy Chief
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell has been nominated to replace Federica Mogherini as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Like Mogherini, Borrell is a well-known supporter of the mullahs in Iran and is likely to clash with the United States and Israel over the nuclear deal with Tehran.
In a February 19 interview with Politico, Borrell, a Socialist, declared that Israel would have to live with the existential threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb: "The Americans decided to kill [the Iran nuclear deal], unilaterally as they do things without any kind of previous consultation, without taking care of what interests the Europeans have. We are not children following what they say. We have our own prospects, interests and strategy and we will continue working with Iran. It would be very bad for us if it goes on to develop a nuclear weapon.... Iran wants to wipe out Israel; nothing new about that. You have to live with it."
On February 11, Borrell marked the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution by praising the achievements made by women in the country since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini swept to power in 1979. The rights and status of Iranian women have, in fact, been severely restricted since the Islamic Revolution. In a Twitter thread, Borrell also encouraged the Iranian regime to wait out American sanctions in case U.S. President Donald J. Trump is not reelected in 2020.
In May 2019, Spain withdrew a warship, the frigate Méndez Núñez, from the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, because of rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Also in May 2019, Borrell accused the United States of acting "like a western cowboy" after the Trump administration recognized the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, as interim president of the country. Borrell said that Spain "will continue to reject pressures that border on military interventions" to remove from power Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Spanish Socialist Party has a long history of promoting the Marxist revolutionaries led by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
In November 2018, Borrell explained why the United States is more politically integrated than the European Union: "The United States has very little previous history. They were born to independence with practically no history; the only thing they had done was to kill four Indians." He later apologized for the "excessively colloquial manner" in which he downplayed the "quasi annihilation" of Native Americans. Borrell made no mention of the destruction of the native populations of Central and South America at the hands of Spanish conquerors.
Borrell has said that "Europe needs a new leitmotiv" and that the fight against climate change "should be one of the great engines of Europe's rebirth." Borrell has also stated that he hopes Britain will leave the EU because it is an impediment to the creation of a European superstate:
"I belong to the school which believes that with the UK in the EU we will never have a political union. Personally, because I do want a political union, I don't care whether the United Kingdom leaves because I know that to date, it has been an obstacle to further integration."
In April 2012, Borrell was forced to resign as president of the European University Institute (EUI) due to a conflict of interest after it emerged that he was simultaneously being paid €300,000 a year as a board member of the Spanish sustainable-energy company Abengoa.
In October 2016, Borrell was fined €30,000 ($34,000) by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) for insider trading after selling 10,000 shares in Abengoa in November 2015.
Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank
Christine Lagarde, a former French finance minister the current managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has been nominated to succeed Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank (ECB). Lagarde's nomination has received mixed reviews. As the head of the IMF, she brings strong credentials in leadership, management and communications. She is, however, a lawyer, not an economist, and she has no experience in monetary policy.
During an interview with the Daily Show, Lagarde said that President Donald Trump "has a point" in his trade war with China:
"President Trump has a point on intellectual property. It is correct that nobody should be stealing intellectual property to move ahead. He has a point on subsidies, you cannot just go about competing with others out there that are heavily subsidized. On these points clearly, the game has to change, the rules have to be respected."
Financial reporter Bjarke Smith-Meyer noted that Lagarde's nomination came as something of a surprise and "pushes the European Central Bank toward an area it's tried to avoid in its 21-year history: politics."
Paul Taylor, a columnist for Politico, added:
"Central banking is rocket science. If you don't get it right, the consequences can be tragic.
"That's why EU leaders are taking a huge gamble in their decision to entrust the leadership of the European Central Bank to Christine Lagarde, a political rock star with no economic training and no practical experience of monetary policy.
"At a time when the ECB is running low on options for jolting the economy, Lagarde may have the acumen and authority needed to persuade reluctant, conservative Germany and the Netherlands of the urgent need to provide more fiscal stimulus....
"But by nominating the former French minister to succeed Italy's Mario Draghi — the bold president of the bank who rescued the European economy in 2012 with a promise to do 'whatever it takes to preserve the euro' — the EU's leaders have effectively decided that they don't need a central banker to run their central bank....
"The surprise choice of Lagarde, 64, was part of a Franco-German trade-off under which conservative German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, 60, was nominated to head the European Commission, breaking a political deadlock in which all the original candidates fell by the wayside....
"The main reason why Lagarde got the nod, instead of the experienced French central bank chief François Villeroy de Galhau, appeared to be gender. "For the first time, the sensitive choice of ECB chief was the adjustment variable in political horse-trading over other top EU jobs — even though the bank is meant to be strictly independent of politics."
In December 2016, France's Court of Justice of the Republic found Lagarde guilty of negligence for not seeking to block a fraudulent 2008 arbitration award to a politically connected tycoon when she was finance minister. The court ruled that Lagarde's negligence in her management of a long-running arbitration case involving tycoon Bernard Tapie helped open the door for the fraudulent misappropriation of €403 million ($450 million) of public funds in a settlement given to Tapie in 2008 over the botched sale of sportswear giant Adidas in the 1990s.
Reflections on European "Democracy"
Writing for The Telegraph, columnist Allister Heath, in an essay titled, "The EU is a Sham Democracy," noted: "Thank you, Eurocrats, for being yourselves. The best cure for Europhilia is always to observe the EU's big beasts at their unguarded worst, wheeling and dealing in their natural habitat, unencumbered by any attachment to democracy, accountability or even basic morality.
"The spectacle of the past few days made for compulsive watching: we witnessed rare footage of the secretive process that propels so many retreads and second-rate apparatchiks into positions of immense power in Brussels and Frankfurt, utterly disregarding public opinion.
"Peeking into Europe's dystopia was certainly the right medicine for pre-Brexit Britain, guaranteed to convert erstwhile moderates into raging Brexiteers as they looked on, aghast, at the shocking disconnect between elites and people.
"Everything that is wrong with the EU was shamelessly on display: a Franco-German stitch-up; smaller countries being bulldozed, especially Eastern Europeans; a constitutional coup which sidelined the (useless) European Parliament; the fact that so many of the new generation of EU leaders have had brushes with the law that would have terminated their careers in the US or UK; their explicit commitment to a 'United States of Europe' and a 'European army' (about which we keep being lied to); and the singing of a national anthem we were promised wouldn't exist when the European constitution was voted down....
"While the EU apes some of the rituals of democracy, they are a sinister sham, and will always be. The EU is a technocratic empire, and can be nothing else." Writing for the European media platform, Euractiv, Jorge Valero lamented: "After five summit days and hundreds of hours of phone calls, meetings and backroom chats, the EU conclave agreed on its new leadership. But the 'white smoke' that emerged from the Council building preludes storm clouds for the nominees and the European demos.
"Few winners came out of the distribution of the top posts sealed on July 2, and the European democracy was hardly one of them.
"Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Josep Borrell, and Christine Lagarde have good reasons to pop the champagne and toast their unexpected elevation to Commission president, European Council chair, High Representative and ECB chief, respectively.
"But it was a high price to pay for the badly needed gender balance....
"The fresh leadership will stand in the shadow of old scandals, legal cases and malpractice. Lagarde was found guilty of negligence in the Bernard Tapie scandal. Borrell was sanctioned by the Spanish market authority for using insider information in the sale of some shares.
"The German parliament launched an investigation into von der Leyen for nepotism and irregularities in allocating expensive contracts. And Michel's career would hardly be the same if his father hadn't been a Belgian minister and EU Commissioner."
The British Conservative MEP Daniel Hannon, in a tweet, summarized: "Can anyone look at the people who will be running the EU for the next five years and then try to claim that the high tide of federalism has passed?"
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based 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.

Mao’s Mausoleum in Huawei’s Hands
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/July 08/2019
On the United States’ Independence Day, President Donald Trump went to great lengths to boast of his achievements and deride his opponents. He presented himself as the guardian of the continuation of the American Dream. He tried to address the America that grows excited about being prosperous and strong and being number one. He insisted on reminding the people of his country’s arsenal, as the rarely seen B-2 stealth bomber flew over Washington. With a very optimistic tone, Trump declared that "for Americans, nothing is impossible,” drawing cheers from the crowd.
He reminded his citizens that they are the descendants of pioneering inventors and victorious generals in major battles. He pledged that the United States will soon send a man to the moon and beyond, to "plant the American flag on Mars." He said: "We will always be the people who defeated a tyrant, crossed a continent, harnessed science, took to the skies, and soared into the heavens, because we will never forget that we are Americans, and the future belongs to us."
The advocate of the “America First” slogan never ceases to remind in his tweets that his country’s economy is the strongest in the world. He does not hesitate in saying that the US military is the most powerful on the planet. It is as if he is responding to claims that the United States’ time at the number one spot was coming to an end and that the Chinese age was definitely coming in perhaps less than two decades.
It is clear from Trump’s remarks that Russia is no longer the primary concern. It is true that Vladimir Putin succeeded in saving the Russian federation from the storm that broke up the Soviet Union, he restored the dignity of the Red Army and restored Russia as a major player in the international arena. However, it is also true that Russia’s Putin did not achieve as successful an economic leap as its political one. This therefore, deprives it of the label of “number one enemy” or “number one partner”. Moscow no longer worries Washington, rather, China does.
We, the journalists of the Middle East, are mired in the tragedies of this thorny part of the world. We follow its problems and collapses and nearly forget that the future of this global village is not shaped here. This is what I sensed in Osaka among the thousands of journalists who flocked to the Japanese city to attend the G20 summit.
I asked a Japanese journalist about his opinion. He responded: “The issues proposed at the summit table are important and complex. They concern countries near and far, as well as the stability of the economy, trade, investment and development. The major issue at hand, however, is China’s rise. Perhaps we are on the way towards a major change in a decade or a little more. The repercussions of this change will be no less momentous than the fall of the Berlin wall.”
I pondered his remarks. I asked him about his opinion, as a Japanese, about China’s rise to occupy the second spot in the global economy, while Japan had to make do with third. He replied: “The Chinese rise is a fact and the world has to prepare itself to get used to it. We have no choice but to return to motivating our universities and research centers and become more involved in the open technological revolution. When a giant wakes up beside you, you cannot ignore him. China is a worrisome dragon. It is a major force that is forging ahead in the world and into the future.”
“What really worries is us is that it is so far a mysterious force. We cannot decipher its real intentions because it is not a democratic state in the common sense of the word. Some fear that its experience may send a message that achieving economic and technological advances is possible without fulling into the lure of democracy. This message has reverberations beyond Asia. This is why Japan needs to constantly maintain its relations with the rising power and maintain its deep alliances, especially with the United States,” he said.
The American-Chinese meeting in Osaka was preceded by other events. In early 2017, when Trump was ready to assume his duties at the White House, we heard a speech at the great hall in Davos that was delivered by an exceptional orator called Xi Jinping. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China defended globalization and the removal of obstacles in a clear message to the newly-elected American president. He said that no one will emerge victorious in the trade war. A year later, Trump stood at the same platform and it became clear to observers that the American and Chinese dreams were headed towards a clash. It is a battle for the number one economic position in the world and some view it as the battle of the current century.
Trump did not conceal his desire to rein in the Chinese dragon under the pretext of removing the flaws in trade relations between Washington and Beijing. He imposed tariffs on Chinese goods and the beating of the drums of the trade war began. Experts were quick to say that this war will surely harm the Chinese economy, but that the American economy will also not be spared from it. The same goes for the global economy, especially after the Belt and Road initiative expanded in the global villages.
At the Osaka summit between Trump and Xi, the journalist must have also paid attention to the third man, who was not present at the talks, but whose shadow weighed heavily over it. It is the shadow of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, the world’s second smartphone company and pioneer in 5G networks.
The story of the third man sums up the Chinese dream that is today attacking the American one after it brushed aside Japan. He witnessed hardships growing up in Mao’s China, however, this engineer, who passed through the military later banked on technological advances and innovation. And here we have America fearing that Huawei’s domination of 5G networks could expose the world’s secrets to the Communist Party of China, which enshrined Xi’s name in its charter alongside Mao and Deng Xiaoping.
It is the race of the century. China has changed and the world has to change. It has placed Mao’s mausoleum in the hands of Huawei’s imagination. The great captain’s teachings have been restricted to his party and used them as a stabilizing tool in China’s rise towards the top. Huawei has achieved what Mao failed to accomplish.

Canadian Sh'iite Imam Jaffer H. Jaffer: We Must Support Leaders Like Khamenei, Sistani When They Stand Up To Trump's Bullying

MEMRI/July 08/2019
Canadian Shi'ite Imam Jaffer H. Jaffer said in a June 28, 2019 Friday sermon at the Masumeen Islamic Centre in Brampton, a suburb of Ontario, Canada, that it is the way of the Prophet's Household to stand up to humiliation and bullying like Iran and its leadership have been standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump's bullying. He said that Trump has been a bully his entire life, and he criticized him for withdrawing from the JCPOA for "egocentric" reasons. Sheikh Jaffer said that he hopes the tensions between Iran and the U.S. will subside without loss of innocent life, and he prayed for more leaders like Supreme Leader Khamenei and Ayatollah Ali Sistani and for Allah to help the Houthi leaders in Yemen, who he praised for refusing to succumb to those who are more powerful than them. Sheikh Jaffer added: "These are the type of leaders that Allah wants to see … It is our responsibility to support them and to pray for them." The sermon was streamed live on Masuemeen Islamic Centre's YouTube channel.
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
https://www.memri.org/tv/canadian-sheikh-jaffer-friday-sermon-praise-leaders-khamenei-sistani-yemen-stand-up-trump-bully
Jaffer H. Jaffer: "There are generally two ways that one will respond to a bully. The first one would be where someone will fall in line with what the
"And then the other wat is to hold firm, and say that we will not succumb to the bullying. Now, that may lead to other repercussions, right? But that is the firm way to stand – that is the way of the Household of the Prophet. They don't accept humiliation. [They say:] 'Away with the humiliation!' Trump has been bullying people his entire life, right? From his days of business, and now we see that even more in his presidency.
"The fact that he negated [the Iran nuclear] deal was without any grounds, really, but just because of his egocentric approach to life. And then he imposed sanctions when Iran did not back down. Not only did he impose some of the heaviest sanctions on the country – very recently, he imposed sanctions on Ayatollah Khamenei himself – may Allah give him a long life – and he went after other leadership positions by trying to financially cripple them.
"Through all of this, you know, we see a very beautiful example of how one should stand up to bullies.
"This display of leadership, quite honestly, is admirable. It is something that deserves to be praised. And we will see, Allah willing. We pray to Allah that there are no consequences where innocent lives are lost, and that, Allah willing, it comes to an end. We come to this – to a third form of bullying now – where currently Trump is at a G-20 meeting, and he has come out again with that same bullying stance: Any European country that buys oil from Iran will be faced with sanctions.
"And we are going to see now how these other countries respond to this form of bullying – whether they take the approach that has been seen by Iran, or they take the approach that has been seen by Canada and Mexico [with NAFTA]. We pray to Allah that we have leaders in our lives such as these – like Ayatollah Khamenei, like Sistani, and all of our great leaders – who do not succumb to the bullying of powers that seem to be greater than them. We pray that we are constantly provided with leaders like those in Yemen, who – even though they are surrounded by sea, land, and air – ye they are resistant to the cause that is taking place, and they continue to stand firm in their refusal to succumb to the wishes of those who have power. These are the type of leaders that Allah wants to see. When we see those types of leaders, it is our responsibility to support them and to pray for them."

Iran’s nuclear enrichment game - Analysis
تحليل سياسي من جريدة الجيرازلم بوست يتناول لعبة إيران في تخصيب اليورانيوم
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/July 08/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76472/%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%84-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%ac%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b2%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%aa-%d9%8a%d8%aa/
Nuclear issue appears more like a means to an end, not the end
In those business sections of bookstores where there are often books on “how to negotiate,” there should be a new book added that examines Iran’s negotiating strategy regarding its nuclear program.
Since Tehran successfully negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it has also successfully put the Western powers on the defensive regarding its ambitions. This is not just about Iran getting a nuclear bomb, but really about Iran getting everything else it wants, including financial incentives and foreign policy incentives not to build a bomb.
This strategy was on display this week when Iran said that European countries had not met its demands, and that a 60-day ultimatum that the Islamic republic put out in May had not been met. What Tehran did in essence was give the Europeans a year to come up with a way to help it avoid a reimposition of US sanctions, which increased after America left the Iran deal in May 2018.
When May 2019 came around and the European countries had still not created a financial mechanism to help Iran avoid the biting US sanctions, Iran decided to move forward with its “good cop, bad cop” strategy.
Let’s recall that the Iran deal was entered into by the US, UK, Russia, France, China, Germany and the European Union. For Iran, the issue is not Russia, China or the US – it already has amicable relations with China and Russia, made clear by meetings last month in Central Asia, and the US and Iran are at odds under the Trump administration. For Tehran then the issues with Washington are sunk costs; it isn’t yet willing to re-negotiate the deal. The US has said that “maximum pressure” in terms of sanctions will result until Iran comes begging.
So Iran, which won’t beg or bend, eyes the European countries as the weakest link in the Iran deal framework. The UK is in the middle of Brexit chaos, so France and Germany are thus the addresses to whom Iran is writing.
Tehran first said this week that it would begin enriching uranium to 4.5%, surpassing a 3.67% limit. Now, unsurprisingly, it has said via its Press TV that it could reach 20% uranium enrichment if the Europeans don’t get on board. “Twenty percent is not needed now,” said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization’s Behrouz Kamalvandi. “But if we want, we will produce it.”
LET’S STEP back a moment and try to understand what’s going on in Iran’s mindset. Usually the Iran deal is seen solely through a Western lens. For instance, the widespread narrative in the US in 2015 was that if there was no deal there would be war. That was largely a talking point advanced by Tehran’s supporters, who provided the Western public with this stark choice: a deal or war. Since Western countries obviously don’t want war, they will choose a deal.
This is part of the Iranian “good cop, bad cop” strategy of always claiming that if the US or Western countries don’t do what Iran wants, then “hard-liners” will come to power. However, when Iran speaks to China or Russia, it doesn’t mention any hard-liners – and reports in Russia don’t seem to indicate that if Iran doesn’t get what it wants then such hard-liners will take over.
The reason that Iran, usually through surrogates, emphasizes the existence of “hard liners” is to play into a Western mindset that views the world as revolving around what Western countries do. The reality in Tehran is that the system which appears to be in place – of its Foreign Ministry feigning being a “moderate” institution while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or the Supreme Leader are “hard-liners” – is just a front for the fact that they are all just aspects of the same government working in concert.
Iran’s second negotiating tactic is to use the nuclear threat as a bargaining chip. This is interesting because Iran’s official position is that it wants only peaceful nuclear energy, and that it has even passed a religious edict against developing nuclear weapons. So if there is a religious edict and the enrichment is just for energy, then why use it as a cudgel to threaten others? If, as Iran says, the 20% is not “needed now,” then it is clear that the enrichment is just a path to get other things Iran wants. According to ABC News, the higher levels of enrichment and stockpiles of enriched uranium could “narrow the one-year window Iran would need to have enough material for an atomic bomb.”
THIS PRESENTS a situation where Iran’s bogeyman atomic bomb is always hanging over the countries that negotiated the deal. From Tehran’s perspective, this is an excellent place to be – because anytime it wants something, it can just threaten to narrow the relatively short window it needs to get to a bomb.
But what if the reality is more complex. Iran’s real goal is to continue expanding its conventional military arsenal, such as drones and ballistic missiles, and it wants to dominate its “near abroad” – a series of countries that make up an arc of Iranian influence from Lebanon to Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The nuclear issue appears more like a means to an end, not the end. Iran doesn’t view the bomb as the end, but merely the way to get what and where it wants, with or without the bomb. It appears that Tehran has been largely successful without needing to make a nuclear weapon, which anyway is a complex task. Even if Iran made a bomb, it would need to test it.
Iran’s goal now is to use the enrichment level as a way to slowly ratchet up its carrot-and-stick approach. It has targeted several countries with this threat, particularly France and Germany. Tehran knows that none of these countries wants conflict, and will do whatever is necessary to try to talk down the US from such a conflict. The Iranian’s goal is to get these countries to go to bat for them. Tehran seeks to present Washington as isolated and irrational, while presenting itself as a more logical power.
But Iran’s current attempts at enrichment will cause its supporters some concern, because eventually it will lead to questions about what Iran’s real goal is with such enrichment. If it is just enriching for enrichment’s sake, while its real goal is to get around sanctions, then it will be seen as needlessly threatening others using a complex charade.
And someone may also ask why Iran would have a religious edict against a weapon, while also threatening to enrich toward the objective of building a bomb that Iran doesn’t even want.

The plan against Iran is working
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/July 08, 2019
Everything seems to be going according to plan so far — this is if we assume that there is actually a plan to confront Iran.
The imposition of further US sanctions has now been completed, and Iran is no longer able to export more than half a million barrels of oil per day, when it used to export up to 3 million.
Furthermore, due to the risks and bargains, Iran will sell its oil below market value. Sometimes, shipping the oil costs Iran more too. We have seen this with the discovery and detention of the oil tanker that sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, then through the Atlantic Ocean, until it reached the Strait of Gibraltar, where it was seized.
Had this oil tanker not been seized by the British, it was expected to reach the Syrian coast. True, the shipment was free, being a part of the Iranian support to the Syrian regime, but it was fabulously expensive and clearly reflects the state of frustration and failure of the leadership in Tehran.
Even if China bought a quarter of a million barrels, the quality is still small. Increasing Tehran’s pain is the addition of new sanctions that target its exports of petrochemicals and other products.
The “well-planned scheme” was based on the psychology of Iran. The scheme has predicted well how Iran would react, and has rarely erred. The imposition of the sanctions will push Iran into intransigence, so it threatens and goes back to enrichment. We know that it will go back to uranium enrichment and, thus, lose the support the rest of the states that signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. These states will also have to stand against Iran and this is exactly what has happened. Instead of negotiating, Iran has gone too far in its threats and announced its breach of the deal, prompting the EU countries, China and Russia to respond with denunciation. The EU countries are now under pressure to join the US in imposing sanctions on Iran.
By increasing its uranium enrichment, Iran has increased the threat against it, not the other way around.
Moreover, now that Iran has activated its nuclear project, Israel’s role in the crisis has become more central and effective, as it believes it — and not just the Gulf states — is a target for Iran’s nuclear and ballistic weapons.
Before the enrichment move, the dispute over Iraq and Yemen was of less importance to the Israelis. This also applies to Syria. Iran’s situation there is very bad, as Israel continuously attacks its military presence, despite the fact that Iran’s forces and militias have retreated outside of Damascus. The plight of the Iranians has also increased with Russia allowing Israel to target them in Syria without trying to intercept the Israeli missiles with its rocket launchers. By increasing its uranium enrichment, Iran has increased the threat against it, not the other way around.
What about the increasing Iranian hostile activity in the Arabian Gulf region by targeting ships, especially those coming from Saudi Arabia and the UAE? There is also Iran’s aggression through its Houthi agent, which has also increased. The Houthis have been using drones to attack Abha and Jazan airports in southern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen.
There is another expected Iranian development that reflects the regime’s behavior and raises the threat level against Saudi Arabia. But, even if Tehran doubled or tripled its attacks, its effect would still be too small to provoke Saudi Arabia and its allies to go for a direct confrontation with Iran. No one wants to slip into war — not even the Iranians themselves. However, Iran wants to push things toward ending or curbing the US sanctions. This will never happen, with the US administration insisting on the implementation of the majority of its “scheme.” The sanctions will not be lifted, and negotiations are the only solution on the table. Iran has to make the expected concessions.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor in chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @aalrashed

The US cannot face Iran alone
Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/July 08/2019
With the isolationist, nationalistic slogan “America First,” Trump won the 2016 US presidential election. In his view, as in the view of a large portion of Americans, the US system pays more attention to the world than it does to America. The current world order is taking advantage of the US. America bears most of the NATO burden. It is the world’s first donor. It finances a fifth of the UN budget. Trump declared that the US entanglement in Middle Eastern conflicts had cost the US $7 trillion and the country got nothing out of it. Trump ran on an isolationist agenda. While in office, his anti-Europe, anti-NATO narrative has created unnecessary enemies for him and the US. However, Trump should remember that the US is “first” in world affairs because it is not alone.
Since the Second World War, the transatlantic alliance has been at the core of global geopolitics. Trump should remember that the confrontations that were won by the US were when Europe and the UN were on its side. The first Gulf War, which was a major success for the US and created an economic boom that benefited the Clinton administration, was conducted in alliance with Europe and the UN. On the other hand, the second Gulf War, in which the US invaded Iraq without the acquiescence of the UN and much of Europe, was a major disaster. The Iraq war cost the US more than $800 billion, the lives of thousands of its soldiers, and a greatly damaged image in the world.
Today, if the US wants to be successful in countering the malignant activities of Iran, it cannot be alone. It needs the support of Europe and the blessings of the UN. So far, Trump’s confrontational style has created more enemies than the US can afford. He unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear treaty without pleading his case with the Europeans. The Europeans feel bullied by the Trump administration. The US is applying sanctions and exercising maximum pressure on Tehran, but unilateral sanctions do not work.
The US president should be careful in choosing his enemies. His confrontational style is turning off the Europeans and this is not to his advantage. On May 13, when Pompeo met with European leaders in Brussels and shared with them intelligence about the Iranian threats, his counterparts were more concerned about the unraveling of the nuclear deal than an attack on oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf. Top EU officials called on the US to use “maximum restraint” and avoid military escalation with Iran.
US coercion, applied simultaneously to both Iran and Europe, seems to have had negative repercussions. On June 28, the governments of Germany, France and the UK declared that a special payment vehicle known as Instex was up and running and ready to facilitate trade between Iran and Europe, circumventing American sanctions. China and Russia were present at the declaration, as both countries are trade partners of Iran and fierce competitors of the US. While the imposed sanctions were intended to isolate Iran, they instead seem to be driving America into isolation.
Iran, meanwhile, is more defiant than ever. It did not flinch at Trump’s threat that it is playing with fire. President Hassan Rouhani, on the other hand, announced that his country would start enriching uranium to “any amount we want.” The Europeans are imploring Iran to stay within the enrichment limit stipulated by the nuclear deal.
While the imposed sanctions were intended to isolate Iran, they instead seem to be driving America into isolation.
The US needs friends when confronting Iran. We see that Europe is not on the same page as the US. As soon as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived in the region, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini declared that the Europeans are keen on keeping the nuclear agreement in place. The EU feels more and more alienated as the US takes unilateral actions, such as pulling out of the nuclear deal, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and recognizing its annexation of the occupied Golan Heights. Trump has shown contempt for NATO, saying it is “obsolete,” and he endorsed the UK’s exit from the EU. However, those positions are going to boomerang back to the US.
America now finds itself at a stalemate with Iran and it needs the cooperation of the Europeans and the international community to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. Trump’s belligerent style has been counterproductive. He should cherish the transatlantic alliance, as it is the backbone of US supremacy in world affairs, and make sure to bring the Europeans on to his side if he wants to take any action against Iran.
So far, Iran, despite its malignant activities, has convinced many that it is the victim of Trump’s whimsical decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement in spite of its compliance. Trump’s strength would be boosted if he could convince the world otherwise, but he can’t do it alone — he needs Europe on his side.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She holds a PhD in politics from the University of Exeter and is an affiliated scholar with the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.