English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese,
Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 15/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.september15.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life.
John 03/11-21: “‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak
of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our
testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how
can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?No one has ascended into
heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.‘For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not
perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe
are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only
Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world,
and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For
all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds
may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it
may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on September 14-15/2020
Shiek Basher After 38 Years/Condolences For Four
Soldiers's Families/Elias Bejjani/September 14/2020
Health Ministry: 547 Coronavirus cases
Political forces must form govt without delay: France
Hopes Dim for Timely Lebanon Govt. as French Deadline Looms
Paris Urges Lebanese Parties to Form Govt. 'without Delay'
Adib Meets Aoun for ‘More Cabinet Consultations’
Reports: Adib to Meet Berri; FPM Wants Finance, Interior Portfolios
Aoun Begins Talks with MPs over Govt. Formation Hurdles
Khalaf Warns Covid-Hit Roumieh Prison a 'Humanitarian Time Bomb'
Shots Fired as LF, FPM Supporters Clash in Sin el-Fil
Lebanon's New Domestic Worker Contract: End to 'Kafala Slavery'?
UNIFIL Rescues 36 People on Boat Outside Lebanon Territorial Waters
Four Soldiers Killed in Hunt for 'Terrorist', Army Says
Diab condoles Army Commander, Director of intelligence after loss of four
martyrs
Tenenti: UNIFIL located boat with 37 people on board outside territorial waters
Bodies in Mashghara Hospital not belonging to Beirut port blast victims:
Director
A one-year extension of UNDP contracts to save the Administration
Hizbullah Deputy Leader Naim Qassem: War Is Not Likely To Break Out In The
Region, Despite UAE-Israel Normalization; We Have Been Withdrawing From Syria
Since 2017/MEMRI/September 14/2020
An Obsession With Independence/Fares Sassine/Carnegie MEC/September 14/2020
How Hamas Plans to Destroy Lebanon/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/September 14, 2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 14-15/2020
Report: 10 killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes in
Syria
The next Arab state to recognize Israel: Oman
Normalizing ties with Israel strengthens Bahrain-US partnership: Minister
Iran condemns Bahrain’s plan to normalize ties with Israel
Tehran reveals ‘strength’ of new long-range missiles
Iran condemns Bahrain’s plan to normalize ties with Israel
Iran executes man whose case drew international attention
Iran summons German ambassador after condemning execution of wrestler Navid
Afkari
Macron urges Putin to shed light on 'attempted murder' of opponent Navalny
Turkish Red Crescent Worker Killed in Northern Syria
Rare dolphins return to Hong Kong as coronavirus halts ferry traffic
Vatican calls on China to extend deal on appointment of Catholic bishops
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 14-15/2020
US Officials: Iran weighing plot to kill U.S.
ambassador to South Africa/Nahal Toosi and Natasha Bertrand/Politico/September
14/2020
Desperate to Sustain Stock Market Bubble, Tehran Taps Its Sovereign Wealth Fund/Saeed
Ghasseminejad/FDD/September 14/2020
The Plight of Iranians in Turkey/Behnam Ben Taleblu and Aykan Erdemir/FDD/September
14/2020
Iran’s Longstanding Cooperation with Armenia/Domestic Azerbaijani Opposition May
be Rising/Brenda Shaffer/Baku Dialogues/September 14/2020
How to burst CCP’s balloon/Cleo Paskal/ Baku Dialogues/September 14/2020,
Iran's Offer of Nuclear Cooperation is a Sham/Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute/September 14/ 2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 14-15/2020
Shiek Basher After 38 Years/Condolences For Four Soldiers's Families
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2020
*Sheik Basher and after 38 Years he is still alive in our hearts and
conscience while those Maronite politicians are actually dead while they are
still breathing because their presence in reality is absence
*Our prayers and supplications go for the souls of the four Lebanese Army heroic
martyrs that they rest in peace in the heavenly dwellings alongside the saints
and the righteous. Our heartily felt condolences to their grieving families.
Health Ministry: 547 Coronavirus cases
NNA/September 14/2020
547 new cases of the novel Coronavirus have been confirmed in Lebanon a
statement by the Ministry of Public Health said on Monday, raising the tally of
infected people in the country to 24,857 since February 21, 2020.
Political forces must form govt without delay: France
NNA/September 14/2020
France's foreign ministry said Monday that all Lebanese political forces need to
come good on their promise to quickly put in place a government. In response to
a question on whether Paris would accept a delay in creating a government,
spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said Lebanese political parties had been
reminded repeatedly of the need to create a government quickly to be able to
implement essential reforms. "All Lebanese political forces have endorsed this
goal. It is up to them to translate this commitment into action without delay.
It is their responsibility," she said.A deadline agreed with France expires
Tuesday.—Reuters
Hopes Dim for Timely Lebanon Govt. as French Deadline Looms
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/September 14/2020
Lebanon's prime minister-designate on Monday updated President Michel Aoun on
talks on forming a new government, but did not submit proposals for a cabinet
despite a looming French-imposed deadline.
Premier-in-waiting Mustafa Adib "did not present a line-up" during Monday's
meeting at the presidential palace, said a source at the president's office.
"Developments over the past two days necessitated more negotiations," the same
source said, adding that Aoun and Adib would meet again when consultations were
completed. That dimmed hopes for a new cabinet by a mid-September deadline
announced by French president Emmanuel Macron during his second visit to Lebanon
since an August 4 explosion ripped through the capital, killing more than 190
people.
Macron said on September 1 that Lebanese leaders had promised to form a new
government within two weeks. Adib, who was designated premier just hours before
the start of Macron's latest visit, kicked off consultations to form a new
government the next day.
But the little-known former diplomat, who has received backing from most of the
country's main political parties, has kept silent on the progress of talks.
Government formation usually takes months in Lebanon, a multi-confessional
country constantly gripped by political deadlock because of a power-sharing
arrangement that requires consensus from major parties on major decisions.
Macron and other world leaders have urged officials to form a new cabinet in
record time to kick-start reforms and help lift the disaster-hit country out of
its worst economic crisis in decades.
But the process has been hit by a series of snags. Speaker of parliament Nabih
Berri said on Sunday that his AMAL Movement would not take part in the
government because he opposed Adib's approach to forming a cabinet. An-Nahar
newspaper had reported Friday that the speaker did not want to relinquish
control of the finance ministry, which has been headed by an AMAL Movement
representative since 2014.. Berri argues that there had been an agreement during
the 1989 Taef meetings to permanently allocate the portfolio to the Shiite sect.
Berri's insistence emerged after the U.S. administration slapped sanctions on
his top aide, ex-finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, last week. Macron held a
telephone call with Berri on Saturday, during which the speaker reportedly
insisted that the Finance Ministry is traditionally controlled by Shiites in
Lebanon, according to his aides. In a statement issued by his office later,
Berri said he objected to the way the Cabinet formation was being undertaken.
However, Berri said he would be supportive of any initiative to stabilize the
nation. An-Nahar said Adib had proposed to stage a ministerial rotation between
top parties instead of reserving posts.
Jebran Bassil, the president's son-in-law and the head of the Free Patriotic
Movement that Aoun founded, also said that his party would not take part in the
new cabinet. In a press conference, Bassil said that "internal and external"
forces were trying to thwart government formation, criticizing Adib for trying
to impose a line-up without broader political approval. The FPM, AMAL and
Hizbullah are part of an alliance that commands a majority in the outgoing
cabinet and parliament. Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, close to Hezbollah, said
Monday that objections by AMAL and Hizbullah could obstruct a settlement.
Paris Urges Lebanese Parties to Form Govt. 'without Delay'
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/September 14/2020
France on Monday called on Lebanon’s political forces to form a new government
without delay, as hopes dimmed for a new Cabinet by a mid-September deadline
announced by French president Emmanuel Macron. The French Foreign Ministry said
all Lebanese political parties had endorsed the rapid formation of a government
that can implement essential reforms. "It is up to them to translate this
commitment into action without delay," it said. The French leader has been
pressing Lebanese politicians to form a Cabinet made up of independent
specialists that can work on enacting urgent reforms to extract Lebanon from a
devastating economic and financial crisis worsened by the devastating Aug. 4
explosion at Beirut port. The small, cash-strapped country is in desperate need
of financial assistance but France and other international powers have refused
to provide aid before serious reforms are made. The crisis represents the
biggest threat to Lebanon since the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, and is
largely blamed on decades of systematic corruption and mismanagement by
Lebanon's ruling class. During Macron's Sept 1. visit to Lebanon, Lebanese
politicians promised a new government would be formed within two weeks. With one
day left before that deadline, Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib was
expected to present his Cabinet lineup to President Michel Aoun on Monday. But
instead, Adib only held further consultations with the president. Although he
could still form a Cabinet later, missing the deadline would be an early blow to
the premier-designate, who quit his job as Lebanese ambassador to Germany for
the new post.
Adib Meets Aoun for ‘More Cabinet Consultations’
Naharnet/September 14/2020
Despite intensive contacts over the weekend signaling the formation of Lebanon’s
government Monday, expectations dimmed when PM designate Musafa Adib said more
Cabinet consultations are needed.
“I met the President for more consultations on the government formation. God
willing things will be good,” Adib told anxious reporters at Baabda Palace after
his meeting with President Michel Aoun. Adib's meeting with Aoun came amid
expectations he would be presenting the Cabinet lineup, much expected after
shuffle talks over the weekend mainly a meeting behind the scene between Speaker
Nabih Berri and ex-PM Saad Hariri, followed by a phone call between French
President Emmanuel Macron and Berri. Although the outcome of the conversation
between the two men was not disclosed, reports said Macron-Berri talks could
have eased some hurdles facing the formation.
Reports: Adib to Meet Berri; FPM Wants Finance, Interior
Portfolios
Naharnet/September 14/2020
Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri in the
coming hours in a bid to resolve the dispute over the finance ministerial
portfolio, media reports said. "He will seek to reach a middle ground formula
regarding the finance portfolio," to which Berri and Hizbullah are "clinging,"
the privately-owned al-Markazia news agency quoted political sources as saying.
Adib had held phone talks with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on
Sunday evening, hours after Berri and the FPM chief expressed dismay over the
way in which the PM-designate is seeking to form the new government.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also called Berri and Bassil after the
emergence of hurdles delaying the formation of the new government. The political
sources said Adib is showing cooperation because he does not want to "break
anyone" although he is still seeking to form "a small government of independent
experts" with a rotation of the key ministerial portfolios. MTV meanwhile
reported that Aoun and Bassil want a 20- or 24-member cabinet and "have no
problem in the rotation of portfolios on the condition of getting the interior
and finance portfolios."
Aoun Begins Talks with MPs over Govt. Formation Hurdles
Naharnet/September 14/2020
President Michel Aoun on Monday launched two-day consultations with the
representatives of the country's parliamentary blocs, hours after a key meeting
with Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib. The MPs met Monday by Aoun were
Jebran Bassil of the Strong Lebanon bloc, Samir al-Jisr of the al-Mustaqbal
bloc, Faisal Karami of the Consultative Gathering bloc, Farid al-Khazen of the
National Bloc and Asaad Hardan of the Social National bloc. The president will
meet with representatives of the rest of the blocs on Tuesday morning.
Premier-in-waiting Mustafa Adib "did not present a line-up" during Monday's
meeting at the presidential palace, said a source at the president's office.
"Developments over the past two days necessitated more negotiations," the same
source said, adding that Aoun and Adib would meet again when consultations were
completed.
Khalaf Warns Covid-Hit Roumieh Prison a 'Humanitarian Time
Bomb'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/2020
The head of the Beirut Bar Association Monday warned a novel coronavirus
outbreak in crisis-hit Lebanon's largest and most overcrowded prison amounted to
a "humanitarian time bomb."Security authorities on Saturday announced 22
coronavirus cases at the Roumieh prison, just outside Beirut, including 13
detainees and nine guards. They said the prisoners had been transferred to an
isolation unit inside the jail. "The virus inside the Roumieh prison is
tantamount to a humanitarian time bomb," Beirut Bar Association head Melhem
Khalaf told AFP. The prison houses more than 4,000 prisoners, around three times
its intended capacity, and has long been infamous for the poor conditions in
some of its blocks.Footage allegedly smuggled out of the prison and shared
widely on social media shows several men lying on thin mattresses just feet
apart from each other along a narrow corridor.
In an adjacent room, at least seven detainees lie on similar mattresses side by
side on the floor.Khalaf called on the Lebanese government to take more "urgent
measures" to stem the spread of the virus.
These should include "separating out those prisoners showing symptoms from the
others" and relying on non-government organizations willing to carry out regular
Covid-19 tests, he said. He added that the advent of Covid-19 cases inside
Roumieh should be reason to "improve food and water quality" in Lebanese
prisons, "where no regard is given to the value or dignity of human beings."
Khalaf said measures must be taken to address overcrowding, calling on the
judiciary to order "some releases, except in cases of egregious crimes and
terrorism." He urged outgoing justice minister Marie-Claude Najm to call on the
president to issue an amnesty in special cases, such as for those who are sick,
"to quickly decrease the overcrowding." Dozens of families of Roumieh detainees
staged a protest in front of a Beirut courthouse Monday, demanding a general
amnesty for their relatives over fears the pandemic was spreading inside.
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Saturday said his ministry was working
with the ministries of interior and defense to prepare two hospitals in the
eastern Bekaa region and one in the capital for detainees and prisoners.
The number of Covid-19 infections has spiked in Lebanon in recent weeks,
especially after a massive explosion at the Beirut port on August 4 that killed
more than 190 people, wounded thousands and ravaged large parts of the capital.
Since February, Lebanon has recorded a total of 24,310 Covid-19 cases, including
241 deaths. The country is already mired in its worst economic crisis in
decades, and many fear its fragile health system could not cope with a huge
increase of coronavirus cases.
Shots Fired as LF, FPM Supporters Clash in Sin el-Fil
Naharnet/September 14/2020
A clash erupted Monday evening between supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement
and the Lebanese Forces outside the FPM headquarters in Sin el-Fil’s Mirna
Chalouhi area. Videos circulated online show gunfire erupting during the
presence of a large convoy carrying LF supporters on the highway outside the HQ.
TV networks said the headquarters’ guards fired in the air after the tensions
erupted with the LF supporters. The videos also show the LF supporters shouting
insults against the FPM. According to TV networks, the two sides hurled stones
and sticks at each other. The army has since intervened in force and separated
between the two parties.
Lebanon's New Domestic Worker Contract: End to 'Kafala
Slavery'?
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/2020
Lebanon has approved a new work contract allowing foreign domestic workers to
resign and keep hold of their own passport, but activists say the exploitative "kafala"
system remains in place. The economic crisis-hit Mediterranean country is home
to around 250,000 migrants, mostly women from Africa and Asia, who toil away in
people's homes as housekeepers, carers or nannies. They are not protected by the
country's labor law, but instead work under a set of laws, policies and customs
called kafala, repeatedly slammed by rights groups as allowing a wide range of
abuse. Under kafala, meaning "sponsorship" in Arabic, the employer sponsors the
worker's legal immigration status in the country, and the latter cannot resign
without their consent or they become undocumented. The law also does not ban
withholding a worker's passport.
All this leaves a worker at the employer's mercy. Lebanon's economic and
coronavirus crises have increased the urgency for reform over the past year,
with many families now paying their workers in the devaluated local currency,
and some not at all. In recent months, dozens of foreign helpers have been
thrown out into the streets without due pay or even their passport, many of them
interviewed by AFP. After the August 4 blast at Beirut's port that devastated
swathes of the capital and killed more than 190 people, foreign workers have
staged rallies outside their consulates appealing to be sent home. The labor
ministry this month finally published a new and revised work contract for
domestic workers, the main legal document governing their stay in Lebanon.
Private room, holidays
Outgoing labor minister Lamia Yammine has said the new contract -- to replace a
2009 version -- "abolishes the kafala system."Campaigners have welcomed the
detailed five-page document outlining workers' rights, but say it is only a
beginning. "It is no doubt a much better version than the older one," said
Amnesty International researcher Diala Haidar. But "a contract alone doesn't end
kafala." Most importantly, the new contract gives the workers the right to
resign and change employers, and says they can keep their passport.
If their employer withholds their wages or passport, they can immediately quit
without notice. It finally gives the worker the right to the national minimum
wage of 675,000 pounds ($450 before the crisis, less than $100 at the black
market rate) -- albeit allowing the substraction of an undetermined amount to
cover food, board and clothes. The new contract states workers must be provided
with a private, well-ventilated room with a key, an improvement after many women
said they were forced to sleep in the living room or on a balcony.
It limits labor to eight hours a day in a six-day week, and details the right to
daily rest, paid holidays and sick leave.
Ink on paper?
But activists warn that all these new provisions will amount to nothing without
inspections and unless employers violating the agreement are held accountable.
"In the absence of an enforcement mechanism, this contract will remain ink on
paper," Haidar said. The old contract, for example, states the worker must
receive their wages at the end of the month, but this had not stopped some from
kicking out workers without pay. "We haven't seen any employers held to account
for this breach of the contract," she said. A Beirut housewife, who employs a
Filipina domestic worker, insisted there are two sides to the story.
"The employer needs to keep at least one document as security... I know some
employers are bad but also some employees are ungrateful," the 59-year-old said,
asking not to be named. Rights groups have documented manifold abuses over the
years, including no day off, locking workers inside the house, and physical or
sexual assault. Activists have reported up to two deaths a week. They have
repeatedly called for an end to kafala, which is common in the Middle East and
often compared to modern-day slavery. Zeina Mezher of the International Labor
Organization (ILO) called the new contract "one step in the right direction"
towards dismantling kafala. But it's just "the first step on a road that is
still complicated," she said. She said support was needed to ensure a worker
could resign without losing their residency permit. Activists have also called
for parliament to amend the labor law to bring all domestic workers -- Lebanese
and foreign -- under its protection, and give them the right to set up
unions.But Banchi Yimer, a former domestic worker and activist, said the new
contract was no longer a priority. "We discussed it when everything was normal,
but now everything is upside down," she said. With an acute economic crisis, and
many women stranded without pay, she instead demanded official steps for their
repatriation. "Let the women go home," she said.
UNIFIL Rescues 36 People on Boat Outside Lebanon
Territorial Waters
Naharnet/September 14/2020
Spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Andrea Tenenti said
Monday that a ship belonging to the UN peacekeeping maritime force had located a
boat outside the Lebanese territorial waters carrying 37 people on board, and
unfortunately one of them had died.
“The priority for the UN peacekeeping force was to rescue the remaining 36
people and ensure their safety through," said Tenenti in a statement. The UNFIL
had immediately informed Lebanese authorities about the incident. UNIFIL Head of
Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said the incident "is
very tragic. The UNIFIL Maritime Task Force is doing their best to save the
lives of these people. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of all 36
people we have just saved.”The UNIFIL Maritime Force is the first of its kind in
the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
It was deployed at the request of the Lebanese government to assist the Lebanese
Navy in securing the territorial waters and to help prevent unauthorized entry
of weapons or related materials by sea into Lebanon. Cypriot authorities were
alarmed lately over the arrival of boats carrying Syrian and Lebanese migrants.
Four Soldiers Killed in Hunt for 'Terrorist', Army Says
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/2020
The Lebanese army said on Monday that four of its troops were killed while
attempting to arrest a suspected "terrorist" at his north Lebanon home.
The soldiers were trying to detain Khaled al-Tallawi, who heads a "militant
cell" behind the August 21 murder of two police officers and the son of the
mayor of Kaftoun village in the country's north, the army said. Tallawi opened
fire and lobbed a hand grenade at the troops who raided his home in the Beddawi
area near the northern port city of Tripoli late Sunday, it added. Three
soldiers were killed on the spot while another was severely wounded and later
succumbed to his injuries. The army said that Tallawi was later shot dead after
soldiers chased him and affiliated militants in a hunt that lasted into the
early hours of Monday morning. Troops are still searching for other members of
Tallawi's cell, the army said.
Lebanese security forces have been chasing suspects over the Kaftoun murders for
weeks. Police had already arrested a suspect in the Beddawi camp for Palestinian
refugees near the northern port city of Tripoli, the day after the killings.
Diab condoles Army Commander, Director of intelligence
after loss of four martyrs
NNA/September 14/2020
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab called the Army Commander, General Joseph
Aoun, and the Director of Intelligence, Brigadier General Antoine Mansour, to
offer them condolences after the loss of four Lebanese army martyrs during the
Beddawi raid. On a related note, Premier Diab tweeted:
It is the price of honor, sacrifice, and loyalty that the Lebanese army pays to
protect Lebanon, preserve civil peace, and uphold security stability. The Army
has, once again, offered new martyrs to the nation.There is no fear for a nation
protected by this army, whose wise leadership is keen on consolidating Lebanon’s
national unity.—PM Press Office
Tenenti: UNIFIL located boat with 37 people on board outside territorial waters
NNA/September 14/2020
UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti indicated in a statement on Monday, “This
morning, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Maritime Task Force
(MTF) ship located at sea outside Lebanese territorial waters a boat with 37
people inside. Unfortunately, one of them had already passed away. “The main
priority for our peacekeepers was to rescue the remaining 36 people and ensure
their safety by providing immediate assistance. UNIFIL MTF immediately informed
the Lebanese authorities. All the 36 survivors are currently being provided
immediate medical treatment on board the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force ship before
being transferred to the Lebanese authorities.At this moment, the MTF ship is
moving towards the Port of Beirut. UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander
Major General Stefano Del Col said: “This is a very tragic incident and our
UNIFIL Maritime Task Force peacekeepers are doing their utmost to save the lives
of these people. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of all the 36 people
we have just rescued.”The first Naval Force to be part of a UN peacekeeping
mission, the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force has been deployed at the request of the
Lebanese Government to assist the Lebanese Navy in securing the territorial
waters and to help prevent the unauthorized entry of arms or related materiel by
sea into Lebanon. In addition, the Maritime Task Force has been working with the
Lebanese Navy to strengthen the latter’s capabilities to secure its maritime
borders and assume effective security control over Lebanese territorial waters.
UNIFIL Maritime Task Force has also taken part in humanitarian efforts in the
past when called upon. “
Bodies in Mashghara Hospital not belonging to Beirut port
blast victims: Director
NNA/September 14/2020
The Director of Mashghara Governmental Hospital clarified, in a statement on
Monday, that the six bodies stored in the facility's mortuary refrigerators do
not belong to victims of the Beirut port blast, as they were delivered to the
hospital before the explosion.
A one-year extension of UNDP contracts to save the
Administration
NNA/September 14/2020
President of the Republic General Michel Aoun and Caretaker Prime Minister, Dr.
Hassan Diab, approved the request for exceptional authorization made by Finance
Minister Ghazi Wazni to conclude extraordinary agreement contracts for
contractors with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to continue
business operations based on the principle of public facilities’ continuity in
several ministries and public institutions. Failure to conclude contracts in the
relevant ministries and institutions will lead to the cessation of work and the
disruption of the State and citizens’ interests. In fact, this will lead to the
disruption of work in the automation systems of courts and data centers of the
Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice; it will also interrupt the
management of a number of projects related to solid waste contracts and will
stop the financing of operation and management in 17 solid waste treatment
centers. Moreover, more than 90 government websites, the e-learning portal, as
well as the information security and anti-virus programs in state
administrations will be interrupted...
The Lebanese state had contracted many years ago with several skilled and
experienced individuals in some ministries, departments and public institutions
in the context of the plan for administrative modernization, automation and
capacity-building of the Lebanese administration, within the framework of the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), especially in the Presidency of the
Council of Ministers and the ministries of Finance, Economy and trade, Justice,
Education and Higher Education, and Environment, as well as in the Investment
Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) and the Office of the Ministry of State
for Administrative Development.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) had rescinded the contracts of
these contractors due to the State's inability to fulfill its financial
obligations in US dollars, which posed a threat to the continuity of the work of
the aforementioned departments.
The Presidencies of the Republic and of the Council of Ministers have
exceptionally agreed to conclude contracts for the current contracting parties,
for a maximum period of one year and with the consent of the two parties,
provided that the subject matter is brought before the Council of Ministers
later on, and that compensation be paid in Lebanese pounds and within a
specified ceiling that is roughly equivalent to the contribution that the
Lebanese state was paying from its share for the program. This means that the
treasury will not be bearing any additional spending charge, especially that the
funds are available from the 2020 budget in the form of contributions to the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). ----Caretaker PM’s Press Office
Hizbullah Deputy Leader Naim Qassem: War Is Not Likely To
Break Out In The Region, Despite UAE-Israel Normalization; We Have Been
Withdrawing From Syria Since 2017
MEMRI/September 14/2020
Russia Today TV (Russia)
Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary-General of Hizbullah, said in a September 10,
2020 interview on Russia Today that a war is not currently likely to break out
in the Middle East and that Hizbullah maintains the highest level of readiness
nonetheless. He added that the recent Israel-UAE peace deal does not affect the
chances of war or other developments in the region and that Hizbullah has been
withdrawing its fighters from Syria since 2017. Qassem elaborated that Hizbullah
will continue to be active in Syria according to what is necessary.
Naim Qassem: "I think that conditions do not favor war. As for Hizbullah, it has
always been in a position of defense and resistance and it has never initiated
any war. Hizbullah is not initiating a war today, either. Therefore, when we
react to an Israeli attack, this is part of the deterrence that we consider
essential to protecting Lebanon and to avoiding the launching of war. Therefore,
we do not anticipate a war, but we emphasize – like we always do – that
Hizbullah's readiness is very high, and it will not be taken by surprise if the
Israelis decide to start a war.
"Upon deciding to go to a war, Israeli would consult only with the U.S.
Sometimes – like in 2006 – it is the U.S. that orders Israel to start a war.
Those Arab [rulers] have always been the last to know, or to be taken into
account. It is true that this normalization does Israel a great service, but it
neither delays nor accelerates war or any other development in the region.
Normalization is an attempt by the Gulf leaders to protect their thrones by
accepting the demands of the U.S. and Israel. "We have been withdrawing our
forces from Syria since the end of 2017. That is, over the past three years we
have begun a gradual withdrawal of some of the fighters and mujahideen of
Hizbullah, since they were no longer needed in several places that were
liberated. Consequently, when these vast lands are liberated, there is no longer
a need for more mujahideen in those places. "We are currently present in Syria
in accordance with necessity. If circumstances call for more [fighters], we will
send them back to Syria. However, if the need for more does not arise but rather
a reduction, then we will act accordingly. This matter has nothing to do with
policy decisions concerning the region nor with agreements, but only with the
need on the ground in Syria."
An Obsession With Independence
Fares Sassine/Carnegie MEC/September 14/2020
The response to Lebanon’s protest movement in Zahleh showed sympathy, but within
a conservative framework.
Many Lebanese regard the city of Zahleh with a mix of admiration and envy. An
oasis of picnic spots, cafes, and nightclubs, it is seen as a city of poetry and
freedom. It enjoys the unusual blessings (for Lebanon) of round-the-clock
electricity, abundant water, and municipal cleaning services at a relatively low
cost. However, the majority of its residents, fed up with Lebanon’s grinding
economic and political crises, were sympathetic to the October 2019 uprising
against official corruption, waste, and ineptitude. Like many, they hoped for
the fall of the ruling class and the creation of a government capable of
bringing about change and truly representative politics.
Zahleh saw large demonstrations in the early days of the uprising. School
students protested, lawyers rallied outside the main courthouse, and doctors
organized a march from a hospital to the central Manara roundabout. Protestors
walked along the main road chanting slogans in favor of the revolution, and
reached the main Shtaura-Ba‘lbek highway on the edge of the city where they were
met by people from villages and towns across the governorate—citizens with a
variety of political outlooks and confessional affiliations. Some activists
erected tents and stalls on the roundabout. But Hezbollah and its allies voiced
annoyance at the cutting of the road between Beirut and Ba‘lbek. The protestors
were dispersed with brutal force by the security forces, and their tents and
stalls were cleared. Hezbollah made its presence felt as events unfolded and
some of its provocative statements sparked reactions that were as violent. The
two sides then held back to avoid further flare-ups.
Many of the city’s youth repeatedly visited Beirut at key moments of the
uprising, playing a central role in events. They demonstrated at Martyrs Square
and the nearby Ring highway, and in front of parliament. Activists from Zahleh
were also prominent on social media, sometimes sparring bitterly with supporters
of President Michel Aoun (who had staged their own protests). This led many
people to make new friends of various political persuasions from across Lebanon.
It was not new for the people of Zahleh to voice Lebanese patriotic slogans,
honor the flag, and sing the national anthem, as protestors elsewhere were
doing. The city regularly held Independence Day celebrations comparable to those
of the main Christian holidays. But most people were wary of Lebanon’s political
parties, both ideological and nonideological, making them reluctant to become
more deeply involved in the uprising.
The youth-led nature of the protest movement quickly took precedence over its
popular dimension. The Lebanese Forces, reportedly the most pervasive party in
the district, sent members to participate in the movement in an unannounced move
and without any of its officials appearing publicly, given that many members
took issue with the protestors’ widespread and uncompromising slogan against the
political elite: “All of them means all of them.” Protestors even ejected a
longtime political figure and her supporters from an early demonstration,
accusing them of opportunism.
After shrinking during Lebanon’s 1975–1990 war, Zahleh experienced a period of
rapid growth, with modern buildings and villas spreading into the hills and the
adjacent plain. The city’s industrial sector also grew after the Zahleh
municipality took administrative charge of the Ta‘nail area, home to many
workshops and factories. The city also nurtured a tourism sector with hotels,
cinemas, and cafes.
However, a stubborn economic downturn affected the city in the years before the
uprising. Zahleh lost administrative control over a large area of the Beqa‘
region to the new governorate of Ba‘lbek-Hermel. Zahleh residents also lost
their privileged positions in the local administration. Local shops faced new
competition and banks set up branches in nearby towns, not to mention the
contending appeal of the more glamorous shopping malls in Beirut. While Zahleh’s
schools and hospitals maintained good reputations, they were not the only ones
in the area—nor were they always the best-equipped. Finally, many people from
Zahleh only remained in the city for short periods of time, such as summer
breaks or for large celebrations. All this was in addition to the huge impact of
the general decline in Lebanon’s economic activity.
Politically, the city has been facing a deep crisis of leadership. Melkite Greek
Catholics, who make up the majority of residents and hold a prominent symbolic
and historical position in Zahleh, “the Catholic capital of Orient,” lost their
two parliamentary seats there in the 2018 elections to candidates from smaller
towns. The first was from the town of Rayyaq and was a Lebanese Forces member,
while the second was an industrialist from the nearby town of Ferzol.
It should be mentioned that the Greek Catholic leadership in Zahleh had been a
dominant presence in the central Beqa‘ from the time of the Mutasarrifiya
(1861–1918), throughout the French Mandate, and into the post-independence
period. Greek Catholic leaders led electoral battles and formed electoral lists,
as well as ensuring that state services were available to their voters. During
the civil war and throughout the years of the Syrian presence (1976–2005), a
council was formed of the city’s Greek Catholic, Maronite, Greek Orthodox, and
Syriac Orthodox bishops, which played a major role politically and in providing
services. However, today it has lost much of this role due to a dispute between
one bishop and members of his sect.
Zahleh supported last year’s uprising, however it was not totally open to its
neighbors, despite the economic hardships common to everyone, the crisis in
living standards, and the supposedly shared goals driving the protests. The city
tried, but it was unable to move beyond the seclusion, sense of superiority, and
traditionalism of most of its residents. Zahleh did not coin its own slogans to
express its positions, nor did it propose answers and solutions to its deep
problems. Its youth did not create organizations appropriate for the magnitude
of the events, and the Zahleh elite did not unify within innovative new
frameworks. The protest movement in the city did not generate new leaders with
new ideas and initiatives, but rather relied on speakers brought in from
outside. The debates attracted people affiliated with the Lebanese Forces as
well as a founding member of the revitalized National Bloc, who is from the
city. An elite from outside the traditional Christian political parties tried to
spur new initiatives, but these lost momentum despite the organizers’ good
intentions and serious efforts. Existing organizations were unable to put in
place a context that could have brought together university students, along with
comrades from both the left and right, to work together to change the system and
solve the disasters it had created.
One group with a major presence at the protests on the edge of Zahleh was made
up of young demonstrators from nearby towns, particularly Sunni towns. Some
reports said that they even formed a majority of protestors. But the
“revolutionaries” from Zahleh had little presence at the rallies in nearby
towns, and their participation at the huge demonstrations in Beirut took place
on an individual basis. One did not find groups there that had travelled to the
capital together, but rather educated individuals who were there on their own
initiative, appalled by widespread corruption, state bankruptcy, clientelism,
and oppression, and wanting to express their anger and their hopes by taking
part in the wider revolutionary movement.
But Zahleh as a whole never abandoned its conservative political outlook.
Rather, it retained pride in its slogans and national values, becoming even more
convinced of them as Lebanese from all regions and sects marched in defense of
those slogans. It saw the uprising as an opportunity to break down the barriers
of sect and create a new, stronger, and healthier Lebanon. But residents were
also annoyed by the arbitrary blocking of roads. Lebanon’s independence is
Zahleh’s obsession, followed by worries over living standards and getting rid of
the corrupt and coercive ruling clique. But the inhabitants’ efforts to reach
these goals were not as radical as the goals themselves, and fell short of the
need for creative thought and organization, effective strategies, and the huge
sacrifices required.
That said, the uprising has left marks on the people of Zahleh. While these
marks may have sometimes faded, they will not be erased.
How Hamas Plans to Destroy Lebanon
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/September 14, 2020
During Haniyeh's tour of Ain al-Hilweh, he said that the Iran-backed Hamas in
the Gaza Strip "possesses missiles to strike Tel Aviv and beyond Tel Aviv."
Arab political analysts.... also believe that Iran is preparing to use its
proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, to target Arab countries that establish relations
with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
"Who is this Ismail Haniyeh, who comes to Lebanon and flexes his muscles in the
[refugee] camps while surrounded by armed men.... No one in our government has
asked what is he doing here and who let him into our country." — Rita Mokbel, a
Lebanese woman, Twitter, September 7, 2020.
"Lebanon is an independent state and not a theater for Iran and the
Palestinians." — Lebanese General Asraf Rifi, Twitter, September 7, 2020.
"Syria paid a heavy price for defending Hamas and the resistance movements, and
they returned the favor by plotting against Syria and participating in its
destruction. This is what the school of the Muslim Brotherhood and [Turkish
President] Erdogan teaches." — Wiam Wahhab, former Lebanese minister of
environment, Twitter, September 7, 2020.
The visit of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to Lebanon has sparked outrage in the
country. Haniyeh held a series of meetings with Lebanese and Palestinian
officials. He also met with Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed
Hezbollah terrorist group. Pictured: Haniyeh (wearing a blue shirt), surrounded
by armed militiamen, is paraded through Lebanon's Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on
September 6, 2020. (Photo by Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images)
The visit of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to Lebanon has sparked outrage in the
country. Many Lebanese citizens and officials have expressed the fear that his
presence in their country could trigger another war with Israel. Their fear does
not seem unjustified. The Lebanese are aware of the disasters Hamas has brought
on its people in the Gaza Strip by firing rockets into Israel. The Lebanese are
telling Hamas: "If you want to launch terror attacks against Israel, please do
not use our country. We are not prepared to pay the price."
The Lebanese have also objected to the return to Lebanon of armed Palestinian
groups. The Lebanese appear afraid that Hamas is operating on instructions from
Iran to turn Lebanon into a launching pad for firing missiles at Israel. The
Lebanese remember the days in the 70s and 80s when the PLO and other Palestinian
armed factions controlled Lebanon and used its territories to launch terror
attacks against Israel, its neighbor to the south.
Haniyeh, who is currently based in Qatar, arrived in Lebanon in early September
for a series of meetings with Lebanese and Palestinian officials. He also met
with Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist
group, and visited the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, where he was
surrounded by scores of armed militiamen.
Haniyeh also participated in a videoconference meeting of leaders of Palestinian
factions. He addressed the conference from the offices of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) embassy in Beirut. PA President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech
at the conference from his office in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the
Palestinians in the West Bank.
During Haniyeh's tour of Ain al-Hilweh, he said that the Iran-backed Hamas in
the Gaza Strip "possesses missiles to strike Tel Aviv and beyond Tel Aviv."
During his visit to Beirut, Haniyeh met with Nasrallah. After the meeting, Hamas
and Hezbollah issued a statement in which they affirmed the "stability and
solidity of the axis of resistance and the strength of the relationship between
Hezbollah and Hamas, which is based on foundations of faith, brotherhood, and
jihad (holy war)." The terror groups also pledged to "develop mechanisms of
coordination between the two parties."
The Hamas leader's visit to Lebanon came during one of the worst crises in the
country's history. The Lebanese government had resigned amid growing public
anger in the aftermath of a devastating explosion at the port of Beirut on
August 4. The blast, which killed at least 200 people and injured about 5,000
others, occurred while Lebanon was coping, as it still is, with the spread of
the coronavirus and a dire economic crisis.
Many Lebanese are angry with their government for allowing Haniyeh to enter the
country. Rita Mokbel, a Lebanese woman living in the United Arab Emirates wrote
on Twitter:
"Who is this Ismail Haniyeh, who comes to Lebanon and flexes his muscles in the
[refugee] camps while surrounded by armed men and says he wants to liberate
Palestine from Ain al-Hilweh? No one in our government has asked what is he
doing here and who let him into our country."
Wiam Wahhab, a former Lebanese minister of environment, wrote that Haniyeh was
"unwelcome" in Lebanon.
"Syria paid a heavy price for defending Hamas and the resistance movements, and
they returned the favor by plotting against Syria and participating in its
destruction. This is what the school of the Muslim Brotherhood and [Turkish
President] Erdogan teaches. The timing [of the visit] is inappropriate, and the
guest is unwelcome."
Lebanese journalist Mohamad Nimer commented that "Ismail Haniyeh left Palestine
and came to Beirut to announce the development of Hamas's missile capabilities?"
Nimer pointed out that Hezbollah already has missiles that it says will be used
against Israel. Addressing Hamas and Hezbollah, he added: "Have mercy on Lebanon
from your mischief."
Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid, commenting on Haniyeh's visit and threats
against Israel, warned of the return of Palestinian military presence in
Lebanon:
"Ismail Haniyeh's threat to Israel from Beirut is dangerous because it brings
back Palestinian military action [against Israel] in Lebanon, which ended in
1982. It also threatens the security of residential neighborhoods and will allow
Hamas to work under the cover of Hezbollah."
Richard Kouyoumjian, another former Lebanese minister, said he did not
understand who permitted Haniyeh to use Lebanon as a platform to threaten
Israel. "Who gave him permission and the right to do so?" Kouyoumjian asked,
adding that "if Haniyeh wants to be a hero, he should do so from the Gaza Strip,
and not Lebanon."
Lebanese General Ashraf Rifi wrote on Twitter that Haniyeh's threats against
Israel do not serve the Palestinian issue. In addition, he warned that Iran's
weapons would lead to the destruction of Lebanon.
"Iran turned the Palestinian issue into a bargaining chip and deepened divisions
among the Palestinians," Rifi said.
"Empowering Iran with the Palestinian card is a grave mistake. It is an even
worse mistake to hand over the card of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon
to Iran. Lebanon is an independent state and not a theater for Iran and the
Palestinians."
Leaders of Lebanese political parties held a meeting to discuss the
repercussions of Haniyeh's visit and his threats against Israel.
The politicians warned against "the return of the Palestinian factions to
exercising any military or security role in Lebanon."
They said that the meeting of the Palestinian faction leaders in Beirut reminded
them of the days when Lebanon was effectively controlled by the Palestinians:
"The meeting of the Palestinian factions in Lebanon brought back to mind the era
of 'Fatah Land ' -- the days when Lebanon was just a venue for the PLO." (Fatah
is the largest Palestinian faction of the PLO.)
The MENA Media Monitor news outlet, which focuses on Middle East and North
Africa issues, warned that Haniyeh's threat against Israel and Hamas's alliance
with Hezbollah would "slaughter Lebanon." It pointed out that Hamas, which has
already ruined the Gaza Strip because of its terror attacks against Israel, is
now seeking to destroy Lebanon.
"In addition to its professionalism in violence, money laundering, drug
trafficking, and mobile assassinations, Hezbollah has become more professional
in closing the door to any solutions that prevent the collapse of Lebanon,"
according to MENA.
"Haniyeh's visit to Lebanon, and his announcement from Lebanese soil that he and
his ally, Hezbollah, are working on manufacturing smart missiles from Lebanon,
is an announcement to slaughter Lebanon, which today does not need anything less
than international solidarity with it, and with its disasters. Ismail Haniyeh
and Hezbollah will take Lebanon into the hell of a war that will destroy what is
left of the country."
Lebanese political commentator and journalist Walid Choucair wrote that Hamas
and Hezbollah, at the behest of Iran, may be planning to use Lebanon as a podium
for foiling normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries.
Arab political analysts are apparently convinced that Iran dispatched Haniyeh to
Lebanon in an effort to expand its control over the country to include the
Palestinian refugee camps there. Arab political analysts also believe that Iran
is preparing to use its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, to target Arab countries
that establish relations with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates and
Bahrain.
The analysts warned that Lebanese and Palestinians alike will pay a heavy price
if the camps fall into Iran's hands. The Lebanese and other Arabs are sending a
clear message: "We are sick to death of Hezbollah and Iran. Allowing Hamas into
Lebanon will only further sicken a country in deathly need of rehabilitation."
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a
Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 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.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 14-15/2020
Report: 10 killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes in
Syria
Aruts Sheva/September 14/2020
Airstrikes attributed to Israel kill 10 pro-Iranian combatants in eastern Syria.
Weapons depots destroyed. Airstrikes attributed to Israel killed at least 10 in
eastern Syria Monday morning, according to a report by the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights (SOHR). The SOHR claimed that at least six powerful explosions
were heard Monday outside of the city of Albu Kamal in the Deir Ezzor region of
eastern Syria. Ambulances were seen rushing from Albu Kamal to the areas
targeted, SOHR reported. The airstrikes targeted ammunition depots and vehicles
used by pro-Iranian militias, the report claimed. Ten fatalities were reported
in the airstrikes, all of them members of pro-Iranian militias. Two of the dead
are said to be Syrian nationals, while the remaining eight are Iraqi nationals.
Israel, which has a policy of not commenting on its operations in Syria, has not
commented on the report. This is the third attack attributed to Israel in Syria
in the past 11 days. Sixteen pro-Iranian combatants were reportedly killed in
another airstrike attributed to Israel on September 9th.
The next Arab state to recognize Israel: Oman
Aruts Sheva/September 14/2020
Ahead of signing of Abraham Accords between Israel, UAE and Bahrain, Arab world
preparing for additional states to recognize Israel. Oman is preparing to join
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in recognizing Israel, Arab diplomats are
claiming. According to a report Monday morning in Israel Hayom which quoted
multiple senior Arab diplomats and officials, Oman is now widely expected to
join Bahrain and the UAE in establishing formal diplomatic ties with the Jewish
state, including full normalization of relations and direct flights. This
despite a senior UAE official noting that Oman is one of the only Arab states in
the Gulf region which maintains a positive dialogue with the Iranian regime. A
second diplomat was quoted as saying that Oman’s relations with Iran were the
only reason it has yet to openly recognize Israel. “The reason it hasn’t yet
agreed to full and open relations is the reasonable possibility that this could
harm its relations with Iran significantly.”The second official added that part
of Bahrain’s calculations in deciding whether to recognize Israel were also
affected by concerns over Iran’s reaction, noting that while the ruling dynasty
in Bahrain is Sunni, more than 60% of the Muslim population there is Shi’ite,
giving Iran significant influence over the country. But, the official continued,
“After the United Arab Emirates reached a deal with Israel with the support of
the Saudis, in Manama [Bahrain’s capital] they understood that they can rely on
the support of Riyadh…and they joined on to the historic peace agreement, which
will benefit all sides. Therefore, it is pretty clear that additional states
will join soon.”On the other hand, other Arab diplomats agree that Saudi Arabia
itself will not move to recognize Israel formally or to establish full
relations, due to its obligations to the Palestinian Authority. Israeli Premier
Binyamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and his sons Yair and Avner departed for
Washington late Sunday night for the signing of the Abraham Accords in
Washington Tuesday.
Normalizing ties with Israel strengthens Bahrain-US
partnership: Minister
Reuters/Monday 14 September 2020
Bahrain’s interior minister said on Monday that normalizing ties with Israel
protects Bahrain’s interests and strengthens its strategic partnership with the
United States, amid an ongoing threat from Iran.
“It is not an abandonment of the Palestinian cause ... it is to strengthen
Bahrainis’ security and their economic stability,” minister Rashid bin Abdullah
Al Khalifa said in a statement. Al Khalifa’s comments ahead of Tuesday’s
ceremony, which will be held at the White House to sign an agreement to
normalize ties between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel. Last week, US President
Donald Trump announced that Bahrain was joining the UAE in striking a historic
agreement to normalize relations with Tel Aviv. As part of the US-brokered peace
deal, the UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel, while Israel agreed to
continue with plans to suspend its annexation of the West Bank. The UAE also
abolished on August 29 a previous law that mandated an economic boycott of
Israel.
Iran condemns Bahrain’s plan to normalize ties with
Israel
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem Post/September 14/ 2020
The German athletic advocacy association Athleten Deutschland on Sunday urged
the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling to impose
sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran for hanging a reportedly innocent
champion Greco-Roman wrestler.
“Athleten Deutschland is deeply shocked by the death of Navid Afkari. His
execution must not be without consequences. We expect the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) and United World Wrestling (UWW) to take a strong stand against
human rights violations of athletes and other groups of people who are part of
the Olympic movement or are in its sphere of influence,” the organization said,
adding “This also includes establishing an appropriate sanction mechanism. It is
long overdue that the strongly humanistically shaped Olympic movement commits
itself to the protection of human rights.”
Germany’s government funds Athleten Deutschland, yet Chancellor Angela Merkel
has remained silent about Afkari’s execution. US President Donald Trump urged
Iran’s rulers not to execute the wrestler.
The Iranian authorities hanged Afkari on Saturday for the alleged crime of
killing a security guard and protesting against regime corruption during
nationwide demonstrations in 2018.
Afkari, who was widely believed to have been brutally tortured to confess to a
murder he did not commit, was buried on Sunday in the southern village of Sangar.
Voice of America reporter and activist Masih Alinejad tweeted: “We Iranian
people are furious because the Islamic Republic killed one of us for the crime
of protesting and this is not acceptable in the 21st Century. Here [sic] what we
demand from international community. If you agree please support. Navid Afkari
was innocent.”The labor union organization Global Athlete said in a statement:
“We call on athlete solidarity to demand that the International Olympic
Committee and United World Wrestling immediately implement sanctions that expel
Iran from world sport for this heinous execution."
Latest articles from Jpost
Prior to Iran’s execution of Afkari, a global campaign was underway to save his
life. The hashtag #BanIRSports4Navid calling for Iran’s regime to be boycotted
from sports competition has trended on Twitter.
US democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Saturday tweeted: “Iran’s
cruel execution of Navid Afkari is a travesty. No country should arrest,
torture, or execute peaceful protestors or activists.”
After The Jerusalem Post spent a week seeking to secure a statement from Human
Rights Watch, the NGO wrote to the Post on the day of Afkari’s execution.
“Iranian authorities’ utter disregard of serious allegations that they tortured
Navid Afkari into confessing to alleged murder fits with a broader pattern of
systematic impunity for torture and coerced confessions,” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran
researcher at Human Rights Watch said. She added that “The authorities should
drop charges that violate the Afkari brothers’ legitimate freedoms, investigate
their allegations of torture, and ensure that they get a fair trial.”
Sepehri Far said that, “instead of prosecuting the Afkari brothers and
protesters in unfair trials, the authorities should allow for an independent
inquiry into the abuses by security forces cracking down on the protests. The
authorities should ensure anyone accused of a real crime gets a fair trial in
accordance with international human rights standards.”The Center for Human
Rights in Iran criticized the feeble interventions from IOC president Thomas
Bach and the UWW. “Yet it must also be noted that the response of the
International Olympic Committee and the United World Wrestling organization was
weak and inadequate; they failed to uphold their own principles and regulations,
thereby undermining their own viability. Sports federations must hold Iran
accountable for its actions,” the center wrote.
Both Bach and the UWW did not publicly urge Iran’s regime not to execute Afkari.
The Post sent press queries to the IOC, UWW and USA Wrestling. UWW president
Nenad Lalovic did not publicly urge Iran's regime to stay the execution. The
executive director of USA Wrestling, Rich Bender, was silent during the entire
campaign to save Afkari’s life.
Tehran reveals ‘strength’ of new long-range missiles
Seth J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/September 14/2020
Amir Hatami discussed the quality and quantity of the missiles and said it was
one of the great achievements in the field of missiles that the country has ever
seen. In an exclusive interview with Iran’s Tasnim News Agency over the weekend,
Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami spoke of the strength, readiness and
capability of his defense forces and their new missile capabilities. He spoke
directly about new missiles that were unveiled on August 31. Hatami discussed
the quality and quantity of the missiles and said it was one of the great
achievements in the field of missiles that the country has seen. Iran has named
these new missiles “Martyr Qasem Soleimani” after the late IRGC Quds Force
commander who was killed by the US in January. The second type of missile is
named “Martyr Abu Mahdi” after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iranian ally and head
of the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, who was killed in the same strike.
The armed forces would soon triple the range of these missiles, Hatami said.
“The capability is very important for us,” he said, adding that it is a top
priority. The short statements indicate the Islamic Republic’s obsession with
pushing the range of its missiles amid the recent normalization deals between
Israel and Gulf states. Iran has threatened Bahrain and called Arab states
traitors for working with the Jewish state. Tehran is very concerned about the
way its position is being eroded in the region, even as it uses Houthi rebels to
strike at Saudi Arabia while seeking to undermine Iraq’s government, gobble up
Syria and use Hezbollah. Iran’s new missiles have an alleged range of 1,400 km.
and 1,000 km., respectively. These ranges are not arbitrary. They are
designed to show that Iran can reach almost all the way to Israel. That is
because Israel’s borders are just 1,000 km. from Iran. Tehran knows its
messaging matters. In the past, it has sent ballistic missiles to Iraq and
drones to Syria to threaten Israel.
Iran condemns Bahrain’s plan to normalize ties with Israel
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)/September14/2020
Iran on Saturday strongly condemned Bahrain’s plan to
normalize relations with Israel, calling it a shameful and ignominious move by
the Gulf Arab country.
Bahrain’s announcement Friday followed a similar normalization agreement last
month by the United Arab Emirates, a fellow U.S. ally. The two Arab nations’
establishment of full relations with Israel is part of a broader push by the
Trump administration find common ground with countries that share U.S. wariness
of Iran. Tehran’s arch rival Saudi Arabia may also be close to a deal. In a
statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Bahrain’s normalization “will remain in
the historical memory of the oppressed and downtrodden people of Palestine and
the world’s free nations forever.”
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also denounced Bahrain’s move using
similar language, calling it a betrayal of the Palestinian people and a “threat
to security in West Asia and the Muslim world.”The agreements by the UAE and now
Bahrain are a setback for Palestinian leaders, who have urged Arab nations to
withhold recognition until they have secured an independent state. The
Palestinians have seen a steady erosion in once-unified Arab support — one of
the few cards they still held as leverage against Israel — since President
Donald Trump began pursuing an unabashedly pro-Israel agenda.
The Foreign Ministry statement also said Bahrain’s government and the other
supporting governments would be held accountable for any act by Israel that
causes insecurity in the Persian Gulf region. The island of Bahrain lies just
off the coast of Saudi Arabia, and is among the world’s smallest countries, only
about 760 square kilometers (290 square miles). Bahrain’s location in the
Persian Gulf long has made it a trading stop and a naval defensive position. The
island is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and a recently built British naval
base.
Like Iran, Bahrain’s population is majority Shiite, and the country has been
ruled since 1783 by the Sunni Al Khalifa family. Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic
Revolution, Bahrain’s rulers have blamed Iran for arming militants on the
island. Iran denies the accusations. Bahrain’s Shiite majority has accused the
government of treating them like second-class citizens. The Shiites joined
pro-democracy activists in demanding more political freedoms in 2011, as Arab
Spring protests swept across the wider Middle East. Saudi and Emirati troops
ultimately helped violently put down the demonstrations.
Iran executes man whose case drew international attention
AP/September 14/ 2020
Iranian state TV on Saturday reported that the country’s authorities executed a
wrestler for allegedly murdering a man, after President Donald Trump asked for
the 27-year-old condemned man’s life to be spared.
State TV quoted the chief justice of Fars province, Kazem Mousavi, as saying:
“The retaliation sentence against Navid Afkari, the killer of Hassan Torkaman,
was carried out this morning in Adelabad prison in Shiraz.”
Afkari’s case had drawn the attention of a social media campaign that portrayed
him and his brothers as victims targeted over participating in protests against
Iran’s Shiite theocracy in 2018. Authorities accused Afkari of stabbing a water
supply company employee in the southern city of Shiraz amid the unrest.
Iran broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession last week. The segment
resembled hundreds of other suspected coerced confessions aired over the last
decade in the Islamic Republic.
The case revived a demand inside the country for Iran to stop carrying out the
death penalty. Even imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh,
herself nearly a month into a hunger strike over conditions at Tehran’s Evin
prison amid the coronavirus pandemic, passed word that she supported Afkari.
The International Olympic Committee in a statement Saturday said it was shocked
and saddened by the news of the wrestler’s execution, and that the committee’s
president, Thomas Bach, “had made direct personal appeals to the Supreme Leader
and to the President of Iran this week and asked for mercy for Navid Afkari.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the execution was cruel. “We condemn it
in the strongest terms. It is an outrageous assault on human dignity, even by
the despicable standards of this regime. The voices of the Iranian people will
not be silenced,” Pompeo tweeted.
Last week, President Donald Trump tweeted out his own concern about Afkari’s
case. “To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare
this young man’s life, and not execute him,” Trump wrote. “Thank you!”Iran responded to Trump’s tweet with a nearly 11-minute state TV package on Afkari. It included the weeping parents of the slain water company employee. The
package included footage of Afkari on the back of a motorbike, saying he had
stabbed the employee in the back, without explaining why he allegedly carried
out the assault. The state TV segment showed blurred police documents and
described the killing as a “personal dispute,” without elaborating. It said
Afkari’s cellphone had been in the area and it showed surveillance footage of
him walking down a street, talking on his phone.
Last week, Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency dismissed Trump’s tweet in a
feature story, saying that American sanctions have hurt Iranian hospitals amid
the pandemic.“Trump is worried about the life of a murderer while he puts many
Iranian patients’ lives in danger by imposing severe sanctions,” the agency
said.
Iran summons German ambassador after condemning
execution of wrestler Navid Afkari
NNA/September 14/2020
Iran's foreign ministry on Monday summoned Germany's ambassador over tweets
condemning the execution of a wrestler, accused of murdering a man during a wave
of anti-government protests in 2018. The ministry "strongly condemned" the
tweets and told German envoy Hans-Udo Muzel that the reaction was considered to
be an "interference in the internal affairs" of Iran, according to an official
statement.--AFP
Macron urges Putin to shed light on 'attempted murder' of
opponent Navalny
NNA/September 14/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin to urgently shed light on the "attempted murder" of opposition
figure Alexei Navalny after French tests confirmed the use of the Novichok nerve
agent, the Elysée said. Macron told Putin in telephone talks that it is
"imperative that all light be shed, without delay, on the circumstances of this
attempted murder and who is responsible", the French presidency said in a
statement. He also informed Putin that France's own analysis had confirmed
Germany's conclusion that Navalny was poisoned by Novichok "in contravention of
international norms on using chemical weapons".Putin, for his part, told Macron
that it was "inappropriate" to make groundless accusations against Russia over
the suspected poisoning of Navalny, the Kremlin said. The Russian leader said
his country wanted Germany to hand over medical test results taken from Navalny,
according to a Kremlin readout of the call.—AFP
Turkish Red Crescent Worker Killed in Northern Syria
NNA/September 14/2020
An aid worker from Turkey's Red Crescent was killed and another was wounded
after masked assailants attacked the group's vehicle near the northern Syrian
town of al-Bab, the aid agency said in a statement on Monday.
It said the attack took place between al-Bab and the Turkish border town of
Cobanbey, despite the vehicle having a Kizilay, or Red Crescent, logo on its
roof. “With the help of our country, I believe the attackers will be captured
soon," Kizilay Chairman Kerem Kinik said. Turkey has seized swathes of northern
Syria in four cross-border offensives since 2016 to drive back Islamic State and
the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which Ankara deems a terrorist group. In 2017, Syrian
rebels backed by Turkey seized al-Bab as part of Ankara's "Operation Euphrates
Shield". "Every measure from the ground and air is being taken to capture the
terrorists, who stooped to attacking an aid group that is untouchable under
international law," Turkey's Defence Ministry said.—REUTERS
Rare dolphins return to Hong Kong as coronavirus halts ferry traffic
NNA/September 14/2020
The number of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins seen around Hong Kong has jumped as
the pause in high-speed ferry traffic due to the coronavirus allows the
threatened species to make something of a comeback, scientists said.
Marine scientist Lindsay Porter of the University of St. Andrews said the
mammals - also known as Chinese white dolphins and pink dolphins - were moving
back into parts of the Pearl River Delta that they typically avoided due to the
ferries that connect Hong Kong and Macau.
Dolphin numbers in the area had jumped by up to 30% since March when the ferry
traffic was suspended, allowing scientists a rare opportunity to study how
underwater noise affected their behaviour, she said.—Reuters
Vatican calls on China to extend deal on appointment
of Catholic bishops
AFP/Monday 14 September 2020
A top Vatican official said Monday he hoped a landmark deal signed two years ago
with China on the appointment of bishops would be extended.
Under the terms of the provisional agreement, which China and the Vatican signed
in 2018, both Beijing and the pope have a say in appointing Catholic bishops.
The current accord expires in October, but Vatican number two Pietro Parolin
told Italian media: “Our intention is that it should be extended.
“Is there the same intention on the part of the Chinese? I think and I hope so,”
Parolin told the Ansa news agency. The People’s Republic of China broke off
relations with the Vatican in 1951 and the atmosphere between the two states
remains strained. The Vatican is the only European diplomatic ally of self-ruled
Taiwan, which is viewed by China as a breakaway province awaiting reunification.
China’s roughly 12 million Catholics have for decades been split between a
government-run association, whose clergy are chosen by the atheist Communist
Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.
Under the 2018 deal, both Beijing and the Vatican participate in the appointment
of bishops -- the first of whom was Yao Shun of the diocese of Ulanqab in the
northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in August last year. The law in China
requires priests and bishops to register and align with the country’s official
church. But the Vatican said at the time that the bishop, who it named as
Antonio Yao Shun, had “received the papal mandate” at the ordination. Pope
Francis recognized seven clergy appointed by China as part of the deal two years
ago, despite fears Beijing would use the accord to further crack down on
worshippers outside the official church. Improving relations with Beijing was
worth pursuing, said Parolin. “Our current interest in China is to normalize the
life of the Church as much as possible,” he said.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 14-15/2020
US Officials: Iran weighing plot to kill U.S. ambassador to
South Africa
Nahal Toosi and Natasha Bertrand/Politico/September 14/2020
The Islamic Republic is still looking to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani,
officials said.
U.S. officials believe Iran’s regime is considering retaliation for Iranian Gen.
Qassem Soleimani's assassination. | Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via
The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American
ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, according to a U.S.
government official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen
the intelligence.
News of the plot comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for President
Donald Trump’s decision to kill a powerful Iranian general earlier this year,
the officials said. If carried out, it could dramatically ratchet up already
serious tensions between the U.S. and Iran and create enormous pressure on Trump
to strike back — possibly in the middle of a tense election season.
U.S. officials have been aware of a general threat against the ambassador, Lana
Marks, since the spring, the officials said. But the intelligence about the
threat to the ambassador has become more specific in recent weeks. The Iranian
Embassy in Pretoria is involved in the plot, the U.S. government official said.
Still, attacking Marks is one of several options U.S. officials believe Iran’s
regime is considering for retaliation since the general, Qassem Soleimani, was
assassinated by a U.S. drone strike in January. At the time, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said the U.S. killed Soleimani to reestablish deterrence against
Iran.
An intelligence community directive known as “Duty to Warn” requires U.S. spy
agencies to notify a potential victim if intelligence indicates their life could
be in danger; in the case of U.S. government officials, credible threats would
be included in briefings and security planning. Marks has been made aware of the
threat, the U.S. government official said. The intelligence also has been
included in the CIA World Intelligence Review, known as the WIRe, a classified
product that is accessible to senior policy and security officials across the
U.S. government, as well as certain lawmakers and their staff.
Marks, 66, was sworn in as U.S. ambassador last October. She’s known Trump for
more than two decades and has been a member of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Critics of Trump have derided her as a “handbag designer,” but her supporters
retort that she is a successful businesswoman — her eponymous handbags run as
much as $40,000 — with numerous international connections. A personal friend of
the late Princess Diana, she also was born in South Africa and speaks some of
the country’s key languages, including Afrikaans and Xhosa.
The intelligence community isn’t exactly sure why Iranians would target Marks,
who has few, if any, known links to Iran. It’s possible the Iranians took her
long friendship with Trump into consideration, the U.S. government official
said.
The Iranian government also operates clandestine networks in South Africa, the
officials noted, and has had a foothold there for decades. In 2015, Al Jazeera
and The Guardian reported on leaked intelligence documents that detailed an
extensive secret network of Iranian operatives in South Africa. Marks may also
be an easier target than U.S. diplomats in other parts of the world, such as
Western Europe, where the U.S. has stronger relationships with local law
enforcement and intelligence services.
Iran’s Islamist leaders have a history of carrying out assassinations beyond
their country’s borders, as well as taking hostages, since seizing power
following a popular uprising in the late 1970s. In recent decades, Iran has
generally avoided directly targeting U.S. diplomats, although Iranian-backed
militias have long attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel in Iraq.
Trump alleged after Soleimani’s killing that the Iranian general had been
plotting attacks on American diplomatic missions, although U.S. officials later
cast doubt on his claims. “They were looking to blow up our embassy,” Trump said
in January, referring to the massive, heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic compound
in Iraq. Later, in a Fox News interview, he said, “I can reveal I believe it
probably would’ve been four embassies.”
Days after Soleimani’s death, Iran launched a ballistic missile salvo at a
military base in Iraq that housed U.S. forces, causing traumatic brain injuries
among dozens of American troops. Trump declined to retaliate and said, “Iran
appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and
a very good thing for the world” — though he announced fresh sanctions on the
Iranian regime and warned it against further retaliatory moves.
Some analysts, however, said at the time that Iran likely would seek other ways
to avenge Soleimani’s death. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central
Command, was at the top of Iran’s hit list earlier this year, according to media
reports. McKenzie said last month that he expected a new “response” from Iran to
America’s ongoing presence in Iraq.
“I do not know what the nature of that response will be, but we will certainly
be ready for it, should it occur,” he said. On Wednesday, McKenzie confirmed
plans to cut the U.S. troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 by the end of
September.
During an online forum in August, McKenzie said Iran was “our central problem”
in the region, and acknowledged that the danger from Iranian proxies in Iraq had
complicated U.S. efforts against ISIS, the radical Sunni terrorist organization
and movement. “The threat against our forces from Shia militant groups has
caused us to put resources that we would otherwise use against ISIS to provide
for our own defense and that has lowered our ability to work effectively against
them,” he said.
The White House-based National Security Council did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. Neither did an Iranian official with Iran’s mission at the
United Nations, nor a South African Embassy official in Washington. Spokespeople
for the State Department, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence declined to comment.
The U.S. and Iran have been bitter foes for decades, openly confronting each
other at times — and gingerly engaging in diplomacy at others — but more often
waging a shadowy battle for power and influence across the broader Middle East.
Under Trump, the two countries have veered toward outright military conflict on
more than one occasion.
Last summer, the U.S. blamed Iran and its proxies for a series of explosions
aimed at oil tankers. Iran took down a U.S. drone, and the U.S. later managed to
take down an Iranian drone.
Trump acknowledged that, after Iran took down the U.S. drone, he nearly
authorized a direct attack on Iranian soil, but he held off after being told 150
people could die — a toll he said was disproportionate.
The countries’ dispute deepened in the months afterward, especially in Iraq,
where America and the U.S. have long engaged in proxy warfare. In December, an
American contractor was killed in Iraq after an attack by an Iranian-allied
militia. The U.S. reacted by bombing sites held by the group, killing around two
dozen of its fighters. Soon afterward, protesters believed linked to the militia
breached parts of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.
Then, in early January, the United States staged an airstrike that killed
Soleimani as he was visiting Baghdad. It was a major escalation given
Soleimani’s importance in Iran, although U.S. officials described it as a
defensive measure.
Soleimani led the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
that oversees much of the country’s military activities outside its borders.
Americans blame him for the death of numerous U.S. troops in the region.
Iran vowed to retaliate. Its first major move was the Jan. 8 missile attack on
the al-Asad military base in Iraq. But around the same time, an Iranian missile
took down a civilian airliner, killing 176 people and leading to fury inside
Iran at the regime’s incompetence and shifting explanations for the incident,
along with condemnation abroad.
Iran and South Africa have cooperated on a number of fronts in recent decades,
including at the U.N., where South Africa has at times advocated for Iran. South
Africa’s uranium deposits are believed to have been a major interest for Iran as
it was ramping up its nuclear program, which Tehran has always insisted was
meant for peaceful energy purposes, not a bomb. The pair also have a military
relationship, having signed some basic defense pacts.
Strange Iran-connected plots have been uncovered before.
Almost a decade ago, the U.S. arrested and eventually sentenced to prison an
Iranian-American man who was alleged to have tried to hire Mexican drug cartel
assassins to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States as he dined in
Cafe Milano, a swanky Washington restaurant frequented by the city’s wealthy and
powerful. The U.S. accused Soleimani of overseeing the plot.
Desperate to Sustain Stock Market Bubble, Tehran Taps Its
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Saeed Ghasseminejad/FDD/September 14/2020
Tehran announced on Tuesday that it would use 1 percent of its National
Development Fund (NDF) – one Iran’s few remaining sources of hard currency – to
stabilize the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The announcement reflects the Islamic
Republic’s urgent need to sustain the TSE bubble until after the U.S. elections
in November, which Tehran hopes will result in a new administration prepared to
lift sanctions.
Established in 2011, the NDF constitutes an investment and savings fund aimed at
preserving revenue from Iran’s oil and gas industry for future generations. Over
the past three years, however, Tehran has repeatedly diverted money from the NDF
to finance its military operations and basic economic and development needs. The
TSE overall index had a 421 percent nominal return from January 1 until August
8, 2020. Since then, it has lost 25 percent of its value. At the same time, the
rial has continued to depreciate, hitting an all-time low of 257,300 rials to
the dollar on September 8. The rise in prices happened across all stocks at a
time when Iran has been facing three years of recession, currency depreciation,
and high inflation, showing all the signs of a state-initiated, state-sustained
bubble. The green light to spend 1 percent of NDF resources is a clear sign that
the government in Tehran wants to sustain the bubble in the market.Tehran has
many reasons to perceive the existence of the bubble as the best of bad options
right now. The bubble is the result of massive wandering liquidity and the
household’s need for a short-term liquid hedge against inflation amid
stagflation and a loose labor market. Other markets that can absorb the
wandering liquidity are the currency market, precious metals, and real estate.
The injection of enormous wandering liquidity into these markets immediately
creates an inflation shock in an economy that is already in a state of high
inflation. The stock market, however, has the potential to guide the liquidity
toward production and, by doing so, mitigate the inflationary effect of this
liquidity.
As a result, over the last year, the regime has wooed millions of Iranians to
put their life savings into the stock market. Now, a crash of the bubble would
elicit the wrath of millions of Iranians, who would be losing all they had. This
development could trigger nationwide protests. The regime has already survived
two waves of widespread demonstrations over the past three years by killing
hundreds of protesters and putting thousands in jail.
Tehran’s decision to prop up the stock market and sustain the bubble should be
understood in the context of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Regime
officials have surely heard about former Vice President Joe Biden’s plan to
reenter the 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions if Tehran returns to
compliance with the deal. As a result, the Islamic Republic hopes that Biden
will win the election, thereby ending the Trump administration’s maximum
pressure campaign, after which Tehran can manage the problem of the stock market
bubble in a less hostile environment.
For Washington, the policy implications of Tehran’s decision are clear. No
matter who wins the White House in November, Washington must not bail out the
regime.
*Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s
Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). For more analysis from Saeed and
CEFP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Saeed on Twitter @SGhasseminejad. Follow FDD
on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan
research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
The Plight of Iranians in Turkey
Behnam Ben Taleblu and Aykan Erdemir/FDD/September 14/2020
Turkish authorities on Monday detained Maryam Shariatmadari, an anti-Hijab
activist twice-jailed in Iran, threatening deportation back to her home country.
Although an international outcry from human rights activists appears to have
ensured her release for now, an uncertain future awaits.
Shariatmadari’s case puts a much-needed spotlight on the plight of Iranians
abroad. While no immigrant, refugee, or visitor group is a monolith, Iranians
have long-seen Turkey, which shares a 330-mile border with Iran, as a place to
experience elements of a life denied at home. However, the Turkish government’s
continued deportation of activists, and the blind eye Ankara turns toward
Tehran’s activities on its soil, are a real cause for concern. This is
especially true as Iranian investment and tourism in Turkey continue to grow.
According to a video Shariatmadari posted on Instagram Monday, she claimed that
her detention was “without reason,” and that the Turkish police ignored pleas to
look up her name “in the system” – likely a reference to immigration logs or the
nature of her status in Turkey. According to an audio file of Shariatmadari
published later by Iran International, she also says she was not given access to
a Persian-language translator. The arrest came ahead of a cooperation meeting
between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart,
Hassan Rouhani.
Under the nearly 18-year rule of Turkey’s Islamist president, Ankara has
deepened cooperation with Tehran, seeing the Islamic Republic as a willing
partner to challenge the Western-led liberal world order. Indeed, in the past
the Turkish government has not only provided Iranian individuals and entities a
permissive jurisdiction to evade U.S. sanctions, but has actively assisted
Tehran’s schemes and ringleaders. For Ankara, Iranians residing in or visiting
Turkey are not only a much-needed source of revenue amidst the country’s
economic downturn. Each is now a potential pawn to cash in, either through
extradition or by ignoring their killing on Turkish soil.
Turkey and Iran signed a “legal cooperation” agreement in 2010 permitting
extradition. Ankara ratified it in 2011. The agreement received criticism for
lacking explicit provisions preventing extradition if the individual would face
ill treatment or capital punishment.
Since then, Turkey has become an increasingly problematic jurisdiction for
Iranian refugees, dissidents, and journalists. For instance, in 2017 Turkish
authorities threatened Neda Amin, a journalist who had fled Iran in 2014, with
deportation as she tried to make her way to Israel. In January 2018, Turkish
authorities arrested Arash Shoa-Shargh, another journalist, and deported him to
Iran where he was later imprisoned. Last November, Iranian intelligence went
abroad and killed Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, an Iranian dissident, in Istanbul.
That same year, Turkey also deported Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi, both of
whom partook in demonstrations in Iran in November 2019. They were sentenced to
death upon their return, but in July 2020, their execution order was halted due
to a massive online pressure campaign.
The trend sadly continues. This June, Turkish intelligence detained Abdollah
Bozorgzadeh, a Baloch activist. He probably faces extradition to Iran.
Similarly, Turkey has threatened Arash Yavari and his wife Masoomeh Hatamkhani,
both of whom are journalists, with extradition back to Iran. They fled Iran with
their teenage son in 2015 and have United Nations refugee status.
It is a different story however, for Iranian tourists and investors, who pump
much-needed money into the Turkish economy. In 2019, over 2 million Iranians
visited Turkey, making Iran Turkey’s fifth-biggest source of tourists. Turkey
remains the most popular tourism destination for Iranians: Over 40% of foreign
travel by Iranians in 2018 was to Turkey. When Western tourists may have slowed
their visits to Turkey’s eastern provinces, Iranians have been increasingly
traveling over the border to Van, where alcohol is available, head covering is
not compulsory for women, and shopkeepers are even beginning to learn Persian.
Moreover, according to the Iranian press, there has been a wave of Iranian
acquisitions of real estate in Turkey, with Iranians amounting to the
second-largest demographic of foreign purchasers. There has also been a reported
surge in Iranian registered businesses in Turkey. While these facts ostensibly
suggest that Iranians are seeking better economic conditions outside their
homeland, they could also represent, from an illicit finance perspective,
opportunities for Iran to take advantage of Turkey as a hub for re-exports,
money laundering, and sanctions-evasion.
What’s more, since 2016, some 9,000 foreign nationals have capitalized on
Turkey’s fast-track to citizenship program by investing as little as $250,000
into real estate. Washington should be cognizant of the potential for Iranians
with newly minted Turkish passports to violate sanctions.
The extradition of the likes of Maryam Shariatmadari is not only immoral, but
also is a breach of Ankara’s international legal responsibilities. The 1951
Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol provide Turkey with non-refoulement
obligations, banning it from returning refugees and asylum seekers to a country
in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution. Furthermore, as a
signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention
on Extradition, Ankara needs to respect non-derogable provisions for the right
to life and the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The
Council of Europe should remind Turkey, one of its 47 members, of its
obligations as a signatory state to the key human rights conventions that
enshrine the Council’s fundamental values.
Meanwhile, the United States should continue to go after the source of the
problem for Iranian victims, by continuing to name, shame and punish Iranian
rights violators, all the meanwhile standing with the Iranian people and echoing
their concerns. Further U.S. Treasury sanctions that target Tehran’s accomplices
abroad, be they in Turkey or elsewhere, would contribute to the weakening of the
Islamic Republic’s capacity to intimidate dissidents who have taken refuge in
Turkey and beyond.
**Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) covering Iranian issues, where Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish
parliamentarian, serves as the senior director of the Turkey program. Follow
Aykan on Twitter @aykan_erdemir.
Iran’s Longstanding Cooperation with Armenia/Domestic
Azerbaijani Opposition May be Rising
Brenda Shaffer/Baku Dialogues/September 14/2020
When the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, Iran’s stable northern
boundary suddenly became a shared border with five states: land borders with
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, and maritime borders with Kazakhstan and
Russia. Tehran viewed this momentous change as a source of several new security
challenges. Among these were maritime delimitation in the Caspian Sea and the
establishment of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, two states that shared ethnic ties
with large numbers of Iranian citizens.
Consequently, Tehran did not view the breakup of the Soviet Union and the
establishment of six new states populated by Muslim‑majorities in the Caspian
region as an opportunity to expand its influence and “export the revolution.”
Rather, Tehran’s position was defensive: protecting against this new potential
source of threats. The officially‑sponsored Tehran Times, wrote in late December
1991 that the first ground for concern from the point of view in Tehran is the
lack of political stability in the newly independent republics. The unstable
conditions in those republics could be serious causes of insecurity along the
lengthy borders (over 2,000 kilometers) Iran shares with those countries.
Already foreign hands can be felt at work in those republics, [e]specially in
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan republics, with the ultimate objective of brewing
discord among the Iranian Azeris and Turkmen by instigating ethnic and
nationalistic sentiments.
During the period of the Soviet collapse, all‑out war emerged between two of
Iran’s new neighbors: Armenia and Azerbaijan, which created a critical security
and political challenge for Tehran. This was not some faraway conflict like
those in the Gaza Strip or Lebanon; this war was taking place directly on Iran’s
borders, and at times created refugee flows into Iran. Thus, Iran’s own national
security and domestic stability was seen to be directly threatened by the
conflict. The danger was especially sensitive since over one third of the
population of Iran is ethnic‑Azerbaijani; the regions of northwest Iran that are
contiguous to the conflict zone—East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and
Ardebil—are populated primarily by ethnic‑Azerbaijanis, many of whom share
family ties with co‑ethnics in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Tehran almost always puts pragmatic interests above ideology in instances where
Islamic solidarity conflicts with primary geopolitical interests.
While the ruling regime in Iran formally asserts that its foreign policy is
based on Islamic solidarity, Tehran almost always puts pragmatic interests above
ideology in instances where Islamic solidarity conflicts with primary
geopolitical interests. In the specific case of the war between two of its
northern neighbors, the clash between ideological and pragmatic considerations
was unmistakable: Christian‑populated Armenia had invaded Shia majority
Azerbaijan (the only majority‑Shia former Soviet republic), captured close to 20
percent of its territory, and turned almost one million Azerbaijani Shia into
refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
However, the devastation created by the war and occupation in Azerbaijan in the
early years of the conflict served a main Iranian policy goal by dimming the new
country’s attraction to Iran’s Azerbaijani minority. Thus, Tehran adopted a
policy in support of Yerevan in the war with Azerbaijan and has continued to
engage in close cooperation with Armenia until the present day.
In January 2008, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran’s then‑Deputy Foreign Minister responsible
for the former Soviet region (he now serves as chief of staff to the country’s
president) wrote the following about how Iran had approached the
Armenia‑Azerbaijan conflict during the early war period:
Iran was in the neighborhood of the environment of the conflict. Karabakh is
situated only 40 km distance from its borders. At that time, this possibility
raised that the boundaries of conflict extended to the beyond of Karabakh. Since
then, Iran’s consideration was based on security perceptions. […] Iran could not
be indifferent to the developments occurring along its borders, security changes
of the borders and their impact on Iran’s internal developments.
Tehran’s policy tilt toward Armenia—for reasons of security, as Vaezi made
clear—was predicated on the assumption that Iran’s domestic Azerbaijani
community would not mount significant opposition to this policy. For most of the
period since the emergence of the Armenia‑Azerbaijan conflict, Tehran’s bet had
paid off.
*Brenda Shaffer is a faculty member of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School,
Senior Advisor for Energy at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and a
Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center who has provided
testimony to both houses of the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament. She
is the author of, most notably, Energy Politics (2009), a standard textbook in
over 200 university courses around the globe. Follow Brenda on Twitter @ProfBShaffer.
How to burst CCP’s balloon
Cleo Paskal/ Baku Dialogues/September 14/2020,
The thing that scares the CCP even more than a country pushing back on multiple
fronts, is countries banding together to multiply their ability to push back.
Wentworth, Canada: So, the first thing to understand—and this is important—is
that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) believes it can rank countries based on
what it calls Comprehensive National Power (CNP). It has an equation for it and
everything.
To get at that golden Comprehensive National Power number, the CCP includes more
than you can possibly imagine. Economic resources, human capital, natural
resources, capital resources, technology, research, international influence,
military, government spending, even lending pandas to international zoos counts
in there somewhere.
The goal of the CCP is to dominate in CNP so as to preserve and promote the
interests of the Party and its leadership.
As Prof M.D. Nalapat puts it: “The Chinese concept of war is not necessarily
guns, artillery, bombers—all those wonderful things that we see on National
Geographic or HBO. No, the Chinese concept of war is overcoming and dominating
your enemy. It can be by guns, it can be by ships, it can also be by artificial
intelligence. It can be by expansion of the economy. It can be by spread of
goodwill. It can be by various means, but essentially it means having mastery
over your foe so that you are acknowledged as the Middle Kingdom and every other
kingdom comes and pays tribute to you.”
Why is understanding that important? Because if you understand that, you
understand why the CCP deliberately and consistently uses misdirection to
advance its interests—why it uses “fishing boats” to push maritime claims and
sends People’s Liberation Army (PLA) scientists undercover abroad to study at
research institutes. It is all part of the same mindset. Anything is legitimate
if it advances Comprehensive National Power.
It’s also why, just because China withdraws in one area, it doesn’t mean it’s
not advancing in another. Like an expanding balloon, you can push back PLA
troops on the border, but if CCP-linked investments have taken over your
high-tech start-ups, China’s overall CNP has grown just the same.
So, what to do? Pushing back against Comprehensive National Power requires
Comprehensive National Defence (CND), and India has already started doing the
needful.
Among the other defensive moves, there have been restrictions on Chinese FDI, on
visas for Chinese, the arrest of a dubious Chinese hawala trader, redeployment
of the Indian Navy, and the elegant ban on Chinese apps.
The apps were perfect CCP Comprehensive National Power tools—they siphoned
metadata to develop China’s AI weaponization; they allowed communications
intercepts for blackmail, intelligence and corporate advantage; they made their
Chinese parent companies a lot of money, and more. The Narendra Modi
government’s decision to ban them showed a deep understanding of the nature of
Comprehensive National Power and the need for Comprehensive National Defence.
It’s worth making clear that, in the same way the CCP leverages its whole of
society and economy influence, effective Comprehensive National Defence is
beyond a whole of government approach—it is a whole of nation approach. It has
to reciprocate (and then some) the way the CCP tries to infiltrate.
So, when a private Indian company decides not to take Chinese funding, or an
Indian university refuses to host a Confucius Institute, or the people of India
download the app that deletes Chinese apps from their phones, they are all part
of India’s Comprehensive National Defence.
In fact, India is extremely well placed to lead on CND. It is unique in myriad
ways that threaten core elements of China’s CNP.
For example, China’s soft power machine has been pushing spurious “silk road”
related claims across the Indo-Pacific. However, as the Prime Minister said
after the Ram Temple bhoomi pujan, the Ramayana resonates deeply across the
region, including in Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka
and Nepal. And Buddhism has touched hearts from Japan to Europe—including China.
And given the current maritime construct of the Indo-Pacific, whatever ancient
overland “silk route” the CPP can try to claim, it is nothing compared to
India’s very real and extensive maritime Spice Route.
So, on historical/cultural connectivity, if activated, links out of India can
more than give China a run for its Comprehensive National Power points.
Then, in terms of strategic positioning, there is no “Indo”-Pacific without
India. And with growing infrastructure investments in the highly strategic
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India must be giving nightmares to PLA Navy
planners.
As for military prowess, the Indian military may be under-equipped, but the men
and women of the Services have shown their experience, skill, determination and
bravery for all the world to see. It was not what the CCP expected. But it was
what the Indian people expected, and they’ve shown their support for their
bravehearts—again contributing to a distributed Comprehensive National Defence.
So, the CCP’s expanding Comprehensive National Power balloon is getting poked,
but what would it take to make it burst?
It would take what retired US Coast Guard Captain Bernard Moreland—whose last
posting was as US Coast Guard liaison to Beijing—has termed Comprehensive
Multinational Defence (CMD).
The thing that scares the CCP even more than a country pushing back on multiple
fronts, is countries banding together to multiply their ability to push back.
That means the Quad, or an Indo-Pacific Charter, or the proposed Supply Chain
Resilience Initiative between India, Japan and Australia.
The CCP’s Comprehensive National Power is most effective against isolated
targets. It tried to pressure Australia into dropping its requests for an
inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 by (in part) putting tariffs on Australian
barley. Those plans were stymied when India agreed to take some of the crop.
The CCP built up the tourism sector in Palau—a country that recognises
Taiwan—and then pulled out Chinese tourism to try to pressure Palau to drop
Taiwan. Now Palau is asking the US to build a military base there.
The CCP hates it when we work together to defend ourselves. And it is not alone.
The CCP is enlisting its partners to try to keep us weak and apart. And one of
its major partners is Russia.
Moscow hates the Quad as much as Beijing, but it has access in India that China
no longer has. So, while it may look like “old friend” Russia is reaching out
for understanding, how much of that “understanding” also advances the CCP’s
Comprehensive National Power? Is Russia the CCP’s Trojan Horse at the gates of
Delhi? Is it time for India to activate Comprehensive National Defence against
Russia as well?
India is well underway at understanding how its unique qualities, at this unique
time in history, make it well placed to lead the way on Comprehensive National
Defence and be a driver in Comprehensive Multinational Defence. But if the
all-smothering balloon of the CCP’s Comprehensive National Power is going to be
popped, it may take an even wider view of its methods of expansion.
*Cleo Paskal is a non-resident senior fellow for the Indo-Pacific at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Iran's Offer of Nuclear Cooperation is a Sham
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/September 14/ 2020
This effort [lifting the arms embargo on Iran] has prompted Iran to launch a
diplomatic offensive to have the arms embargo lifted, a move that would allow
Tehran to increase its ability to supply arms to terror groups such as Hizbollah
and Hamas, as well as the Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting US-backed coalition
forces
"Iran is desperate to get the arms embargo lifted at the UN, and so has decided
to cooperate with the IAEA to improve relations with the UN," a senior Western
diplomat who is familiar with the negotiations told me. "Tehran believes that if
it cooperates with the UN, there is a greater possibility that the arms embargo
will not be renewed."
As a senior Gulf official... told me earlier this week, lifting the ban would
simply allow Iran to continue arming terror groups in the Middle East. "If the
ban is lifted, then we are going to see a lot more bloodshed in the region," the
official warned.
Pictured: A uranium conversion facility just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran,
used as part of the regime's uranium enrichment process. (Photo by Getty Images)
Iran's belated offer to allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit two
controversial nuclear sites should be seen as nothing more than a stunt to get
the international ban on arms sales to Tehran lifted.
Washington is fighting attempts by the UN Security Council to lift the arms
embargo on Iran, a document that dates back to 2007, and comes up for renewal
next month.
This effort has prompted Iran to launch a diplomatic offensive to have the arms
embargo lifted, a move that would allow Tehran to increase its ability to supply
arms to terror groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, as well as the Houthi rebels
in Yemen fighting US-backed coalition forces.
As part of the Iranian campaign, Tehran has reached a deal with the UN-sponsored
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based organization
responsible for monitoring global nuclear issues, to allow inspectors to visit
two controversial sites that are suspected of being part of Iran's controversial
nuclear programme.
The IAEA has been in a dispute with Iran over Tehran's refusal to allow
inspectors to visit the sites following suspicions that they have been involved
in activity related to Iran's nuclear programme that has not been declared to
the UN body.
Israeli intelligence officials have since identified one of the sites as the
Abadeh Nuclear Weapons Development Site, and claim that experiments using
conventional explosives are believed to have been conducted there. When
inspectors demanded access last year, satellite photographs showed that some
buildings had been razed to the ground.
The stand-off between Tehran and the IAEA over the sites, together with disputes
over other unresolved issues, prompted the organisation to take the
unprecedented step of publishing a special report in March about the unanswered
questions that remained about Iran's nuclear activities, and the lack of
cooperation inspectors had received from Tehran.
This was followed in June when the IAEA's Board of Governors, led by the US and
the European signatories to the deal, Britain, France and Germany, issued a rare
condemnation of Iran for stonewalling its nuclear inspectors, and called on the
country to allow the agency access to two undeclared sites. The resolution was
the first time the organisation had formally criticised the Islamic Republic
since 2012.
Now, in an attempt to improve its standing with the UN, Iran has negotiated a
deal with Rafael Grossi, the recently-appointed director general of the IAEA, to
allow inspectors to visit the sites, a move Tehran believes will help to
persuade the UN to lift the arms embargo.
"Iran is desperate to get the arms embargo lifted at the UN, and so has decided
to cooperate with the IAEA to improve relations with the UN," a senior Western
diplomat familiar with the negotiations, but who asked not to be named, told me.
"Tehran believes that if it cooperates with the UN, there is a greater
possibility that the arms embargo will not be renewed."
Critics of the deal argue that the agreement is simply a ploy by Iran to improve
relations with the IAEA at a critical juncture, and that Iran has no real
intention of complying with the IAEA's inspection teams. Iran has previously
prevented IAEA inspectors from visiting sensitive nuclear sites, an action that
resulted in the imposition of the arms embargo in the first place.
The key issue now is whether Iran's agreement with the IAEA will pave the way
for ending the arms embargo, which is due to expire on October 18.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already announced that Washington intends
to implement a "snapback" option to prevent the embargo being lifted, and US
President Donald Trump is expected to raise the issue when he addresses the UN
General Assembly later this month.
Washington's attempts to have the arms embargo extended beyond October are
certainly being followed closely in the Middle East.
As a senior Gulf official, who also asked not to be named, told me earlier this
week, lifting the ban would simply allow Iran to continue arming terror groups
in the Middle East. "If the ban is lifted, then we are going to see a lot more
bloodshed in the region," the official warned.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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