English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 30/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God
Saint Luke 12/06-09/:”Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 29-30/2021
Health Ministry: 1104 new Corona cases, 3 deaths
Presidency press office denies news published by MTV
Forest fires add to Lebanon’s combustible climate
Aoun meets Mikati in Baabda over Cabinet line-up, next meeting on Monday
Hezbollah pressures Aoun, Bassil to facilitate Mikati’s task
Gantz Voices Concern to Paris on Arms Deliveries to Lebanon
Interior Portfolio Emerges as Main Govt. Formation Obstacle
Miqati Holds New Meeting with Aoun in Baabda
Berri on Port Case: Finger-Pointing Must Target Those Trying to Exploit the Blood
Bassil Advises Miqati Not to be 'Hariri's Fifth Victim'
Wildfire Rages for 2nd Day in Lebanon, Spreads to Syria
Japan Court Upholds Jail Sentences for U.S. Duo over Ghosn Escape
Ronaldinho visits Beirut Fire Brigade Center, lays wreath and prays for souls of Port blast martyrs

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 29-30/2021
Tunisian presidential order officially lifts immunity from Members of Parliament
After Power Grab, Tunisia President Launches Graft Crackdown
Ennahda opts for de-escalation, calls for ‘dialogue’ as it copes with fait accompli
Two Rockets Fired near U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
Syria's Daraa Gripped by Worst Clashes in Three Years
Turkey seeks to regain favour with US through Kabul airport offer
Israel Tells France It Takes Spyware Scandal Seriously
Five Iraqi Crew Killed in Helicopter Crash on Combat Mission
U.S. Returns to Iraq Treasure Trove of Antiquities
Floods Kill 40 in North Afghanistan, 150 Missing
Armenia to Request Russian Military Deployment on Azerbaijan Border
8.2 Magnitude Earthquake Off Alaskan Peninsula Triggers Small Tsunami
Tebboune meets Menfi, offers Algeria’s support to Libya
Senior ISIS member arrested in Greece with Morocco’s help
U.S. Department Of State/Press Release on Protests in Iran

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 29-30/2021
Blinken Should Invite Kuwait to Join Abraham Accords/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The National Interest/July 29/2021
Erdogan’s Provocations in Cyprus Escalate Tensions in Eastern Mediterranean/Aykan Erdemir/FDD-Policy Brief/July 29/2021
While Biden Aims For A New Nuclear Deal, Israel Must Stay Tough on Iran/Jacob Nagel/Mark Dubowitz/Newsweek/July 29/2021
Tunisian judiciary opens probe into election finances of Ennahda, Qalb Tounes/Khaled Hedoui/The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 29-30/2021
Health Ministry: 1104 new Corona cases, 3 deaths
NNA/July 29/2021
In its daily report, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Thursday the registration of 1104 new Coronavirus infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 559,473.
It added that three deaths were also recorded during the past 24 hours.

Presidency press office denies news published by MTV
NNA/July 29/2021  
The Presidency Press Office issued the following statement: “MTV website published news attributed to the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, claiming statements by His Excellency to MPs, on the day of binding parliamentary consultations. The Presidency Press Office asserts that this is fake and baseless news, which falls within the framework of a series of fabricated news which creates an atmosphere of misinformation and confusion among the public opinion.
The public opinion is called to differentiate between what is true, and what is false”. -- Press Office

Forest fires add to Lebanon’s combustible climate
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
On top of the fires, the Lebanese have to cope these days with power outages, limited means of fighting the epidemic and the absence of a government. The death of a Lebanese volunteer, while he was helping put out fires that erupted in more than one area in the north of Lebanon, epitomised the series of disasters that the country is facing besides the political crisis that has dragged on for more than nine months. The country’s National News Agency said that a Civil Defence volunteer had died of his injuries after helping extinguish fires in the town of Kafr-Tun, north of Lebanon. On top of the fires, the Lebanese have to cope these days with power outages, limited means of fighting the epidemic and the absence of a government. The sense of time has been lost by most Lebanese leaders. After nine months of consultations, Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the leader of the Future Movement and former Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri returned to square one. They failed to make any progress, which compelled Hariri to step down.
Since the Beirut port explosion, on August 4 of last year last year, which killed more than 200 people and flattened large areas of the city, Lebanon has been without a government, besides struggling with an increasingly severe economic crisis.
The blast has left a lingering collective trauma in a country that is slipping more and more into a quagmire of crises and chaos, with no solutions on the horizon. The blast exacerbated the economic collapse that Lebanon has been witnessing since the summer of 2019. In more than two years, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar and more than half of the population sunk below the poverty line. For weeks, the country has been witnessing a fuel crisis, a shortage of medicine and drastic electricity rationing, with outages in certain areas sometimes extending continuously to 22 hours. The investigation into the port blast has hit many snags, including the parliament’s refusal so far to lift the immunity of MPs wanted for interrogation, as well as the interference of influential parties that do not want the probe to reach figures and parties that were involved in the storage of high explosives, especially Hezbollah. But Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday the legislature was ready to lift the immunity of its members in order allow for questioning over last year’s port blast in the capital Beirut.
“The priority of parliament was and will continue to be complete cooperation with the judiciary,” Berri said in a statement after a meeting with the Future Movement, parliament’s main Sunni bloc. He did not say when immunity would be lifted or how.
Political immunity has hindered the summoning of MPs, former ministers and heads of security and military agencies who, according to reports, were well aware of the dangers posed by the storing of huge quantities of ammonium nitrate in the port and did nothing about it. Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said Wednesday that he hopes to form a government in the “near future” after receiving President Michel Aoun’s approval for most of his proposals. But analysts say that this government, although it comes about as a result of international pressures, will nevertheless have to operate within the confines set by sectarian factions.
Since the explosion, international suasion on the political class, especially from France, has not succeeded in expediting the formation of a government which the international community said should be made up of specialists and be willing to introduce far-reaching reforms in return for financial support.
In the meantime, several fires broke out in a number of regions in the north of the country. One blaze erupted in an historic pine forest that extends over large areas in the town of Qobayat in the northern Akkar governorate.
With the help of residents and army helicopters, fire fighters rushed to help put out the fires, but the wind speed made their task difficult. The conflagration eventually spread to forests that are close to residential areas. The head of the Council for Environment and Heritage Protection in Qobayat, Antoine Daher, told local media that “the neighbouring houses were evacuated within two hours after the fire spread to large areas. This is the first time we’ve seen a fire start big, and that’s why we believe this is arson.” He added that the forest areas on the outskirts of Qobayat in the Akkar governorate in northern Lebanon included “a coniferous forest that passes through a pine tunnel but now has unfortunately turned into a grey inferno.”

Aoun meets Mikati in Baabda over Cabinet line-up, next meeting on Monday
NNA/July 29/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Thursday met with Prime Minister-designate, Najib Mikati, over the impending cabinet formation process. On emerging, Mikati said that his next meeting with President Aoun would be taking place on Monday.

Hezbollah pressures Aoun, Bassil to facilitate Mikati’s task
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
BEIRUT--Lebanese political sources revealed to The Arab Weekly on Tuesday that there is some sort of consensus on forming a government of specialists, headed by Najib Mikati. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Hezbollah, which named Mikati in the binding parliamentary consultations held by the president of the republic, will pressure Aoun and his son-in-law, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gibran Bassil, to agree to the formation of such a government. In a development that would likely facilitate Mikati’s task, Bassil, accused by critics of repeatedly obstructing previous efforts to form a new government, said his party would stand aside this time. We will “not to participate in the next cabinet, which means we will not get involved in the formation process.”The formation of a new government depends significantly on the position of Bassil’s ally, Hezbollah. The powerful Shia group’s recent call to facilitate Mikati’s task and Bassil’s statement in support of a new government indicate a prior coordination between the two sides. That being said, there are also signs of Hezbollah’s pressure on Bassil to facilitate Mikati’s task. On Tuesday, Mikati met top political parties, including the Hezbollah movement and the Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun.
“There was unanimous agreement from all blocs and lawmakers on the need to speed up the process of cabinet formation,” Mikati said after consultations ended. The meetings are the customary official step that follows a new prime minister’s designation, but the high-stakes horse-trading has yet to even begin. Following the meeting with Mikati, Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammad Raad said his party was ready to “cooperate seriously” with the new PM-designate. In an interview with the An-Nahar newspaper, Mikati vowed his line-up would be “purely technical” and tasked with bridging the gap to elections due next year. Several lawmakers, including deputy speaker Elie Ferzli, backed this push on Tuesday. “The government will consist of specialists,” Ferzli said. “As for the nominating process, it will rest on Mikati and his agreements with the president.”
France and other Western governments stopped short of welcoming Mikati’s designation and simply urged him to swiftly deliver a competent line-up. But Lebanon’s bickering politicians view Mikati as a consensus candidate, who may be capable of easing the near-year-long political deadlock. Mikati, the third politician in a year to attempt the job, promised his government would work on implementing a French roadmap making a huge aid package conditional on reform and transparency. In some of his first comments after his designation, Mikati said he would prioritise what little international aid is currently available towards addressing severe power blackouts, according to the Al-Akhbar newspaper.
Lebanon can no longer provide mains electricity to its citizens for more than a handful of hours each day, nor can it afford to buy the fuel needed to power generators. Almost none of the international community’s demands for a broad programme of reforms have so far been met. Further stalling the bankrupt state’s recapitalisation has been the government’s failure to engage the International Monetary Fund and discuss a fully-fledged rescue plan. Until then, the monetary institution is due to send around $900 million, but experts warn it will not be enough and risks being misused.

Gantz Voices Concern to Paris on Arms Deliveries to Lebanon
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has discussed with his French counterpart Israeli concerns about weapons deliveries to Lebanon among other issues, his ministry said. The meeting between Gantz and the French minister, Florence Parly, was held in Paris. Gantz and Parly also discussed the Iran nuclear issue, the Israeli defense ministry said. A previous Israeli statement had said that Gantz and Parly would tackle the “crisis in Lebanon.”Several Israeli officials have expressed concern over Lebanon's severe financial and economic crisis in recent weeks.

Interior Portfolio Emerges as Main Govt. Formation Obstacle
Naharnet/July 29/2021
The issue of who will get the interior portfolio in the new government has emerged as the main obstacle in the renewed cabinet formation process, most newspapers reported on Thursday. “The issue is not limited to a single portfolio and the general distribution of portfolios is still being discussed,” informed sources told al-Liwaa newspaper.“The interior portfolio is the mother of all obstacles,” the sources added. The daily also noted that Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has revealed that President Michel Aoun has repeatedly demanded to be allocated the interior portfolio -- which will oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections. Al-Liwaa added that there is also no agreement on the justice portfolio. “The preliminary format submitted by (PM-designate Najib) Miqati included the allocation of the interior portfolio to a Sunni and the defense portfolio to a Christian, which means a return to what (resigned PM-designate Saad) Hariri had proposed and was rejected by Aoun, who insisted on interior, justice and defense at the time,” the daily said. It however noted that the Aoun-Miqati meeting on Wednesday “did not witness any tensions” although the President “asked for some changes to the line-up.”

Miqati Holds New Meeting with Aoun in Baabda
Naharnet/July 29/2021
Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati was meeting with President Michel Aoun in Baabda on Thursday afternoon. The meeting aims to continue the discussions over the line-up of the new government. TV networks said that Miqati will not make a statement after the meeting. After talks with Aoun on Wednesday, Miqati announced that he submitted to the President his suggestions regarding the cabinet line-up and that he “sensed acceptance from his side.”“I took his remarks into consideration and I hope we will see a government soon,” the PM-designate added. Miqati had also met with Aoun on Tuesday to brief him on the outcome of his nonbinding consultations with the parliamentary blocs regarding the new government. He has pledged to hold continuous meetings with the President in order to speed up the formation of the new government.

Berri on Port Case: Finger-Pointing Must Target Those Trying to Exploit the Blood
Naharnet/July 29/2021
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday lashed out at parties he said are trying to “exploit the blood” in the port blast case. “Finger-pointing must not target those who cooperated and will cooperate to the highest level with the judiciary, but rather those who are trying to exploit the blood for objectives that have become exposed,” Berri told a delegation from al-Mustaqbal bloc, which visited several parliamentary blocs on Thursday to discuss ex-PM Saad Hariri’s proposal regarding immunities. “Parliament, including the Development and Liberation bloc, is fully ready to lift immunity off everyone without any exception, including off the judiciary which had put its hand on the case of the nitrates from the moment of the docking of the cursed ship to the moment of the blast,” the Speaker said. “We support the suspension of all immunities as per the proposal submitted by al-Mustaqbal bloc,” Berri went on to say. Hariri had on Wednesday said that the bloc would submit a proposal for “suspending all constitutional articles that grant immunity to all presidents, ministers, MPs, officials, judges and even lawyers.”

Bassil Advises Miqati Not to be 'Hariri's Fifth Victim'
Naharnet/July 29/2021
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has advised PM-designate Najib Miqati not to be the “fifth victim” of ex-PM Saad Hariri. “My advice for Miqati is not to be Hariri’s fifth victim. Hariri booted out (Mohammed) Safadi, (Samir) al-Khatib, (Bahij) Tabbara, Mustafa Adib and himself,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI, referring to candidates for the PM post who preceded Hariri and Miqati. Saying that, “God willing, there will be a government” soon, Bassil added that the FPM “will not interfere in the entire cabinet formation process,” and that it wants the government to be formed “quickly” and “according to the National Pact and the constitution.”“But this is something to be decided by Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister and the blocs that will take part, while our confidence will be granted or withheld based on the line-up and the program,” Bassil went on to say. Moreover, the FPM chief said he “disagrees” with Aoun on a point related to the government. “According to what right does he prevent a camp from obtaining the blocking one-third if it is entitled to have it based on its size? When the President agreed to the idea of not granting the blocking one-third to any camp, that was the first point that pushed us to say that we won’t take part in the government,” Bassil added. He also revealed that the FPM will not grant the new government its confidence in parliament “should all portfolios be rotated except for finance.”

Wildfire Rages for 2nd Day in Lebanon, Spreads to Syria
Associated Press/July 29/2021
Lebanese firefighters struggled for the second day on Thursday to contain wildfires in the country's north that have spread across the border into Syria, civil defense officials in both countries said. The fires killed at least one person, a 15-year-old boy, who was helping firefighting efforts in Lebanon. Lebanon's civil defense said it deployed 25 firetrucks, supported by four air force helicopters and military units, to put out the blaze. But the fires continued to rage, spreading east, and have already affected large swaths of forest in the mountainous north. Residents posted videos and images of scorched forests, blackened trees and fires on mountaintops, as the blaze closes in on the village of Qobayat. There was no official estimate yet of the area affected. Lebanon's Red Cross said late Wednesday it had evacuated 17 people and treated more than 30, including eight who have been hospitalized. "There are lots of damages. Lots of losses," said Omar Massoud, the mayor of Andaqt village. He estimated that about 2 million square meters -- about 500 acres -- of pine and oak forests have been destroyed. "As you see, the weather and the wind ... even with the helicopters of the Lebanese Army, they are not able to control the fire," he told The Associated Press. The fire began on Wednesday in the northern Akkar province, and has since spread across into border areas of Syria's Homs province. The Qobayat trail is described as having some of the most beautiful forests in Lebanon, with oak, pine and cedar trees.
Lebanon's state-owned National News Agency said late Wednesday the fire spread over the distance of 7 kilometers and was 2 kilometers wide, claiming tens of thousands of pine trees so far. In Syria, Syrian firefighters were also struggling to contain the fires in villages in the al-Qusair area, according to the state news agency SANA. Syrian military helicopters have also been taking part in the operation since Wednesday. Syrian Civil Defense Chief General Saied al-Awad said gusty winds and high temperatures, as well as rugged terrain, were complicating the operations. Efforts are ongoing to contain the fires away from residential areas, he said, according to SANA. Lebanon's government has called for urgent assistance from neighboring Cyprus, which recently fought three days to put out one of its worst brush fires in decades. Lebanon suffered devastating wildfires in October 2019 that lasted for more than two days and spread from the mountains in the Chouf area to just outside the capital of Beirut. Lack of equipment and preparedness combined with high temperatures and gusty winds caused the fire to rage and destroy much of the forest.
The government's handling of the fires was among the factors that fueled nationwide protests later that month, which were originally called over economic policy.

Japan Court Upholds Jail Sentences for U.S. Duo over Ghosn Escape
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
A Tokyo court has upheld jail sentences for a US father-son duo who helped ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn flee Japan, as the pair waived their right to appeal. At their final hearing earlier this month, former special forces operative Michael Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison, and his son Peter to one year and eight months. The men had admitted helping smuggle ex-auto tycoon Ghosn onto a private jet inside an audio equipment box in an audacious December 2019 escape. "The verdict was fixed as of July 28" for the pair, a Tokyo District Court spokeswoman told AFP Thursday. The Taylors and the prosecution both gave up their right to appeal within two weeks of the July 19 verdict, Kyodo News reported. Ghosn, now an international fugitive in Lebanon, fled Japan with the Taylors' help while on bail following his shock 2018 arrest on financial misconduct allegations.
The Taylors arrived in Tokyo in March after losing a battle against extradition from the United States. At their first hearing, in June, prosecutors described the almost-Hollywood details of the operation -- including that Ghosn was hidden in a large case with air holes drilled into it to slip past security at an airport.
A third man, identified as George Antoine Zayek, is also accused of involvement in the escape but remains at large. According to the prosecution, the Ghosn family paid the Taylors more than $860,000 for preparation and logistical costs, and $500,000 in cryptocurrency for lawyers' fees. Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports, says he fled Japan because he did not believe he would receive a fair trial. He has always denied the charges against him, arguing they were cooked up by Nissan executives who opposed his attempts to more closely integrate the firm with French partner Renault.

Ronaldinho visits Beirut Fire Brigade Center, lays wreath and prays for souls of Port blast martyrs
NNAe/July 29/2021
Retired Brazilian footballer, Ronaldinho, nicknamed "The Legend", on Thursday visited Beirut Fire Brigade Center, laid a wreath, and prayed for the martyrs of Beirut Port Blast, which rocked Beirut city on August 4, 2020. A large number of Beirut Fire Brigade members welcomed the Brazilian star, along with dozens of citizens who support the Brazilian team. The former Brazilian national team player and a number of international football clubs, including Barcelona, arrived yesterday in Lebanon, as part of a tour of solidarity with the victims of Beirut port explosion, marking the first anniversary of this ill fated incident.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 29-30/2021 
Tunisian presidential order officially lifts immunity from Members of Parliament
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
Tunisia’s presidency has officially issued a presidential order lifting immunity from Members of Parliament, according to a decision announced by the country’s official gazette.

After Power Grab, Tunisia President Launches Graft Crackdown
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Tunisia's President Kais Saied accused 460 businessmen of embezzlement as he launched a crackdown on corruption, days after grabbing power in what his opponents have dubbed a "coup." Saied, who suspended parliament for 30 days and seized all executive powers on Sunday, slammed the "bad economic choices" made in recent years, during a meeting with a leader of the employers' federation UTICA. In his comments late Wednesday, the president singled out for criticism "those who plunder public money". Saied accused 460 businessmen of owing 13.5 billion dinars ($4.9 billion) to the state, citing the findings of a commission of inquiry into graft under former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "This money must be returned to the Tunisian people," he said, adding that he intends to offer the businessmen "judicial arbitration." In exchange for dropping proceedings, the reimbursed sums of money would be injected into less developed parts of Tunisia. Saied also asked traders and wholesalers to "lower prices" in a country where soaring inflation has eaten away at the purchasing power of consumers. He also called for a revival of phosphate production, one of the country's few natural resources often used for agricultural fertilizer. Gafsa Phosphate Company (CPG), a former flagship of the Tunisian economy, has seen its production collapse since the 2011 revolution due to a lack of investment and bouts of social unrest. Saied raised suspicions of corruption that surround the industry, referring to "people in parliament who protect themselves with parliamentary immunity". The president also announced the establishment of a crisis unit to manage the Covid-19 pandemic, supervised by a senior military officer. Tunisia is facing a new peak in the pandemic that has provoked the anger of the public in recent weeks. The North African country of around 12 million people has one of the worst Covid death rates in the world, with 19,000 fatalities linked to the coronavirus. After months of political crisis, Saied seized power by invoking the constitution. The move was denounced as a "coup d'etat" by his main opponents, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.

Ennahda opts for de-escalation, calls for ‘dialogue’ as it copes with fait accompli
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
TUNIS--Islamist party Ennahda changed its narrative Tuesday and issued a statement urging “dialogue” and avoidance of internal strife.
Experts attribute Ennahda’s choice of de-escalation to the discouraging stances of Western powers, which abstained from denouncing President Kais Saied’s move of July 25 when he removed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and froze the activities of the parliament, invoking on Article 80 of the constitution.
Despite its initial calls for “mobilisation”, Ennahda failed to draw large supportive crowds in a protest against what it considered a “coup” by Saied, in front of parliament headquarters in the Bardo district of Tunis, Monday. Its leaders’ attempts to enter parliament despite the security and military cordon surrounding it proved futile. Its supporters could not compete with crowds cheering the Tunisian president’s move and were demoralised by divisions within Ennahda’s own ranks. The Ennahda party had called Monday on its supporters to defend “legitimacy” at a time when other political parties were advocating caution and warning against dragging the country into chaos and internecine violence. The Islamist party said Tuesday in a statement that “for the good of democratic life, it is ready for early and simultaneous legislative and presidential elections in order to safeguard the democratic path and to avoid any delay that would be used as an excuse to keep in place a despotic regime.” .Tunisian political analysts attributed the shift of Ennahda’s position, away from ramping up tensions, to political sea changes, including the annoucement made by the dismissed prime minister that he was ready to hand over power to whomever would be chosen by President Saied to form the new government. Hichem Mechichi’s attitude deprived Ennahda of one of the main cards it thought it could play in a showdown with the president.
Other allies of Ennahda seemed also to be looking for a personal way out. Oussama Khlifi, the head of the parliamentary bloc of Qalb Tounes party (the second partner in the coalition government), reversed track emphasising that he now understood the president’s decision to freeze parliament and lift the immunity of MPs. A similar position was reflected by a Tahya Tounes party statement. Sources said that the main reason for Ennahda’s retreat from escalation was the failure of its bet on external pressures to push President Saied to reverse his decisions. The reactions from the United States and the European Union are said to have deeply disheartened Ennahda’s leadership. Western capitals, including London, Paris, Washington and Brussels, did not slam the Tunisian president’s decisions, urging instead restraint, commitment to democracy and individual rights, along with a return to the normal political process after the one month deadline set by the constitution for the duration of Saied’s exceptional powers. TV commentator and former MP Sahbi Ben Frej sums up the predicament of the Islamist party saying: “Ennahda has resigned itself to the fait accompli after it read very well the popular and international reactions and after it noted the absence of its support base from the battle-field.”“This is more dangerous for Ennahda and strategically harder on it than losing parlaiment and the government,” he added in a Facebook post, Wednesday.
The Tunisian leader received Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, Tuesday. Observers linked the two visits to the desire of both Algeria and Morocco to support Tunisia’s efforts to resolve the political crisis and to restore the state’s ability to to manage its various crises after the president’s recent decisions. Calm returned to Tunis Tuesday. The popular welcome received by Saied’s moves seems to have compelled Ennahda to deal with the new situation as a fait accompli in order not to find itself even more isolated politically. This is especially the case now that the general consensus among members of the political class and the public is that Ennahda is largely to blame for the deterioration of the political climate during the last decade and the worsening of the country’s woes.
On top of its acute political crisis, Tunisia’s economy is on the brink of bankruptcy. The toll of the coronavirus pandemic has soared even as international aid has arrived in recent weeks. Observers believe much will now depend on Saied’s ability to act on his ideas quickly enough to demonstrate a firm sense of direction in managing the country’s affairs in the transitional phase, as he has not yet appointed a prime minister and has not detailed the road map for an end to the crisis. But he took important steps to ensure the support of various social organisations and to dispel the fears of their representatives. He implicitly refuted rumours of a travel ban on all businessmen stressing that “he has no problem with Tunisian businessmen.”

Two Rockets Fired near U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Two rockets were fired early Thursday at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone which houses the U.S. embassy, without causing any casualties or damage, an Iraqi security source told AFP. One rocket hit the ground near the Al-Rahman Mosque in the capital's Mansur district, which borders the Green Zone, the interior ministry said, condemning the endangerment of public safety. The dawn attack came as Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi was flying home from Washington after White House talks on Monday in which President Joe Biden announced an end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq. Attacks on US interests in Iraq had been launched almost daily in recent months, blamed on pro-Iran armed groups within the security apparatus. But they had died down in the weeks running up to Kadhemi's Washington visit during which he had faced pressure from hardliners to secure a firm withdrawal date for all remaining U.S. troops. There had been just one attack since the first week of July, a Saturday drone strike targeting an air base in Iraqi Kurdistan, which also caused no casualties or damage. Biden said U.S. relations with Iraq would enter a new phase with American troops exiting combat operations in the country by year-end. Amid the threat of resurgence of the Islamic State group and Iran's powerful influence in Baghdad, Biden stressed that Washington remains "committed to our security cooperation" while Kadhemi reaffirmed the two countries' "strategic partnership." But, in a shift that comes as the United States pulls out of Afghanistan, the US leader confirmed that the 2,500 US troops still in Iraq won't be fighting by year-end. His announcement was welcomed by the Conquest Alliance, the political wing of Iraq's Hashed-al-Shaabi paramilitary network, which is dominated by pro-Iran groups, but not by hardline factions which fear the change will be purely nominal. In a statement Wednesday, the Coordinating Committee of Iraqi Resistance Factions condemned it as a "manipulation intended to prolong the US presence". "There is no US pullout. The resistance stands ready until there is a genuine US withdrawal," the hardline umbrella group said. Iraqi researcher Isham al-Shamary said the continuation of rocket and drone attacks on U.S. interests "risks weakening the impact of the Washington announcement and highlights the Iraqi government's inability to protect foreign troops."

Syria's Daraa Gripped by Worst Clashes in Three Years
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Gunmen on Thursday killed eight Syrian regime fighters and captured 15 others during the fiercest clashes in the southern province of Daraa since it came under government control, a war monitor reported. Russian-backed Syrian army and allied forces recaptured Daraa from rebels in 2018, a symbolic blow to the anti-government uprising born there in 2011. State institutions have returned, but the army still hasn't deployed across the whole province, and tit-for-tat bombings and assassinations between former opposition figures and regime forces have since become routine.
Tensions flared on Thursday, leading to what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the "most violent and broadest clashes in Daraa since it came under regime control". Fighting started when regime forces fired artillery shells towards the former opposition hub of Daraa al-Balad in tandem with a ground push, the Britain-based war monitor said. The pro-government al-Watan newspaper called it the "start of a military operation against hideouts of terrorists who thwarted a reconciliation deal". Many former rebels stayed in Daraa instead of evacuating under a Moscow-brokered deal, either joining the army or remaining in control of parts of the province. Daraa al-Balad, a southern district of Daraa city, is among the areas controlled by former opposition forces. In response to Thursday's shelling, gunmen launched a counterattack across many parts of Daraa's countryside, where they captured several regime positions. "Eight Syrian regime and allied militia fighters died during clashes across Daraa province in recent hours," the Observatory said. "Gunmen also captured more than 15 members of the regime forces in Daraa's western and eastern countrysides," it said. The war in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011.

Turkey seeks to regain favour with US through Kabul airport offer
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
ANKARA /WASHINGTON--Turkey is offering to protect Kabul’s strategic airport after US forces leave in what experts view as a high-risk bid to improve Ankara’s strained ties with Washington. Keeping the air hub safe from advancing Taliban forces became a major issue after US President Joe Biden called an end to Washington’s 20-year involvement by ordering all troops out of Afghanistan by the end of next month. Hamid Karzai International Airport offers the safest route for embassy staff and humanitarian aid to reach the war-torn country. Its fall could leave Afghanistan largely cut off from the world. Ankara’s surprise proposal gave Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a chance to build a rapport with Biden during their first meeting at a NATO summit in June. The offer meets two of the Turkish leader’s objectives: to warm chilly ties with Western allies and avert an influx of refugees by keeping aid routes open.
“Turkey has a vested interest in Afghanistan’s stability,” said Magdalena Kirchner, Afghanistan country director at German foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Turkish officials play down the diplomatic aspects of the mission and stress the importance of relieving the suffering in Afghanistan. “Our objective is to make sure Afghanistan is not closed to the outside world, that it is not isolated,” a Turkish diplomatic source said. The United Nations this month said 18 million people, or fully half the Afghan population, needed assistance, while half of all children under the age of five suffered from acute malnutrition.
‘Regain favour’
While Washington still views Turkey as an important ally in a volatile part of the world, relations have been bedevilled by disputes, including Ankara’s acquisition of a Russian missile defence system. Washington sanctioned Ankara for the purchase last year.
“The main factor behind the airport proposal … is Turkish-American relations: Ankara hopes to regain favour with Washington after a string of diplomatic crises,” analyst Salim Cevik wrote in a paper for Germany’s SWP think tank. The Turkish source refused to give details of what Ankara wanted from Washington in return for its continued presence in Afghanistan. But Erdogan has said that Turkey requires US logistical support and funding. The sides have reportedly made progress during closed-door talks between their militaries. The Turkish leader has also mentioned possible Hungarian and Pakistani involvement in the mission. But the Turkish source said that Ankara had not held direct talks on the airport with Islamabad and Hungary has said little about its possible role.
“Reprehensible”
Ankara is also talking to the Taliban in the hope of finding an arrangement that could keep Turkish troops from turning into targets for the hardline Islamist movement.
The Taliban has publicly called the idea of a Turkish military presence in Kabul “reprehensible”.“Turkish ambitions to remain engaged despite the US withdrawal appear genuine but carry risks for protection of its own forces, should violence escalate,” Kirchner said. But Erdogan said he was willing to “see where these talks (with the Taliban) take us” and Turkish officials are striking a positive tone. “In our discussions with the Taliban, they say: ‘we trust you, we know you don’t have a hidden agenda’,” the Turkish source said. Turkey has around 500 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led non-combat mission, whose withdrawal is nearly complete.
Opposition issue
The UN refugee agency in 2020 counted 125,104 Afghan asylum-seekers in Turkey, which is already home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees. Their growing presence could become an emotive issue that the opposition is trying to exploit to keep Erdogan from extending his rule into a third decade in an election set for 2023. The main opposition party this month made waves by vowing to send Syrians “back home” and raising the issue of Afghan arrivals in Turkey. Erdogan struck a deal with the European Union in 2016 under which Turkey agreed to host migrants in exchange for billions of dollars in aid. Ankara and Brussels are now working on updating the agreement and Afghanistan is already dominating talks between European and Turkish officials. “The Europeans are worried,” the Turkish source said. A total of 201,437 Afghan migrants were caught in Turkey in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic saw those numbers drop to 50,161 last year and around 29,000 so far this year. But EU and Turkish officials agree on one thing already: the number of Afghans seeking refuge is likely to climb after the US troops leave.

Israel Tells France It Takes Spyware Scandal Seriously
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz told his French counterpart his country took "seriously" espionage allegations concerning the Pegasus software developed by Israeli firm NSO that is suspected of targeting President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials. Gantz addressed the NSO issue when he met French Defense Minister Florence Parly and said that "Israel is taking the allegations seriously," according to an Israeli defense ministry statement. "He noted that the State of Israel approves the export of cyber products exclusively to governmental entities, for lawful use and only for the purpose of preventing and investigating crime and counter terrorism," the statement added. "He also informed Minister Parly that officials visited NSO’s office today and that Israel is investigating the allegations thoroughly." Parly told Gantz of the "clarifications which are expected today by France and on which depend the trust and mutual respect of our two countries," her ministry said, adding it was the first meeting of the two countries' defense ministers since 2013. Parly, a defense ministry source said Tuesday, aimed "to find out what knowledge the Israeli government had of the activities of NSO's clients, and what arrangements were put in place -- and will be in the future -- to prevent these highly intrusive tools being hijacked." Pegasus can switch on a phone's camera or microphone and harvest its data, and is at the center of a storm after a list of about 50,000 potential surveillance targets worldwide was leaked to human rights groups.
'Verification' under way Amnesty International and French media nonprofit, Forbidden Stories, collaborated with a clutch of media companies, including The Washington Post, The Guardian and Le Monde, to analyze and publish the list. Macron had to change his phone and number. Israel's defense establishment has set up a committee to review NSO's business, including the process through which export licenses are granted. Pegasus's list of alleged targets includes at least 600 politicians, 180 journalists, 85 human rights activists and 65 business leaders. NSO insists its software is intended for use only in fighting terrorism and other crimes, and says it exports to 45 countries. Le Monde newspaper and Radio France said Macron's phone numbers and those of former prime minister Edouard Philippe, as well as 14 government members including foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, were on the list of numbers chosen by a Moroccan state security service that used Pegasus for a possible hack. "If these facts are confirmed... we will consider all the consequences, but first it must be proven they are confirmed," government spokesman Gabriel Attal said after a cabinet meeting, adding that "verification" was under way. Frequently accused of aiding authoritarian regimes, NSO insists its Pegasus software serves only in theory to obtain intelligence on criminal networks and terrorists. Gantz also discussed the Iran nuclear issue as well as concerns about weapons deliveries to Lebanon, his ministry said. He also met with Bernard Emie, the head of France's foreign intelligence service DGSE.

Five Iraqi Crew Killed in Helicopter Crash on Combat Mission
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Five Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a "combat mission" north of Baghdad, the military said, as a security source confirmed it had been hit by ground fire. The helicopter came down near Amerli in Salaheddin province, the military said, in an area where Iraqi troops have carried out repeated operations against suspected sleeper cells of the Islamic State group. Video footage sent to journalists in Baghdad showed firefighters attempting to put out a blaze in the wreckage of the aircraft. The security forces had launched an operation on Tuesday to "search and clear areas in the south of Kirkuk province", which borders Salaheddin, a statement on their Twitter account said. The security source told AFP that the helicopter that came down was one of two that had been checking pylons carrying high-voltage power lines in the area, a frequent target for holdout jihadists in recent months. As the two aircraft approached Amerli district, one of them took a "direct hit" which forced it down. The Islamic State group lost its last territory in Iraq in 2017 after a bloody three-year campaign that put paid to its hopes of forging a transnational "caliphate" straddling the border with Syria. But the jihadists retain sleeper cells in desert and mountain areas that they have used as launchpads for attacks in Iraq's cities. A July 19 suicide bombing claimed by the Sunni extremists killed 30 people in a street market in a Shiite district of Baghdad.

U.S. Returns to Iraq Treasure Trove of Antiquities
Naharnet/July 29/2021
The United States will return to Iraq some 17,000 archaeological treasures dating back 4,000 years and looted in recent decades, an "unprecedented" restitution, the culture minister in Baghdad said Wednesday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi was set to take back the artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia on his aircraft, when he returns Thursday from Washington where he met US President Joe Biden. "This is the largest return of antiquities to Iraq," said Iraqi Culture Minister Hassan Nazim, hailing it as "the result of months of efforts by the Iraqi authorities in conjunction with their embassy in Washington". Most of the ancient pieces document "the commercial exchanges during the Sumerian period", his ministry said in a statement. Iraq's antiquities have been extensively looted during decades of war and insurgency, often by organized crime groups, since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. "It is impossible to quantify the number of pieces that have been stolen from archaeological sites," Qahtan al-Obaid, director of antiquities and heritage at the Basra Museum, told AFP. Archaeological sites across the country have been severely damaged and neglected, and museums looted, with some 15,000 pieces stolen from Iraq's only national museum in Baghdad. "I hope that in the near future we will be able to recover the rest of our goods, especially in Europe," said Nazim in his statement.
'Looted artifacts'
Among the pieces to be returned to Iraq is a 3,500-year-old clay tablet with a sequence from the epic of Gilgamesh, which once sat in Washington's Museum of the Bible, the U.S. Department of Justice said separately in Washington. It was not immediately clear whether the "Gilgamesh Dream Tablet" would be among the 17,000 pieces to be returned this week. The rare fragment, which recounts a dream sequence from the epic in Akkadian cuneiform script, is one of many ancient artifacts from the Middle East collected by David Green, the billionaire owner of the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores. It was seized by the U.S. Justice Department in 2019, two years after Green opened the museum dedicated to ancient Christian history in downtown Washington. The tablet was just one of thousands of Iraqi-origin artifacts, mostly 3,000- to 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets and seals, that have been seized from Hobby Lobby and the Bible Museum for repatriation to Iraq. The Justice Department said they were plundered in Iraq, and traded illegally by dealers in Israel and the United Arab Emirates. According to the Justice Department, Hobby Lobby bought the six-by-five-inch (15.2 by 12.7 centimeter) tablet from a prominent auction house in 2014 for $1.67 million. It had originally been brought illegally to the United States in 2003 by a dealer, who purchased it in London from a well-known Jordanian trader of ancient Middle Eastern antiquities. It was then traded several times with false letters of provenance to assure buyers that it was legally obtained, rather than a product of the underground antiquities trade. In 2014, Hobby Lobby arranged to buy the tablet in New York, but carried out the transaction in Oklahoma to avoid sales taxes, according to the Justice Department. The company then donated it to the collection of the Museum of the Bible. Since the tablet was seized in 2019, the Justice Department has pursued formal ownership through forfeiture laws to be able to return it to the rightful owners. "This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin," said acting U.S. attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis of the eastern district of New York. "This office is committed to combating the black market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts," she said in a statement.

Floods Kill 40 in North Afghanistan, 150 Missing
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
At least 40 people have been killed with 150 more missing in northern Afghanistan after flash floods ravaged an area northeast of the capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday. A rescue operation was underway to find the missing people after torrential rains overwhelmed Kamdesh district in Nuristan province -- about 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Kabul. "About 40 people were killed last night due to flash floods," Saeedullah Nuristani, head of the provincial council, told AFP. He said 150 people were still missing and nearly 80 houses had been destroyed after floods swept through the area. Saeed Momand, a spokesman for Nuristan's governor, gave a slightly higher death toll, saying more than 60 people had been killed in the floods. Torrential downpours and flash floods kill scores of people annually in Afghanistan. Many poorly built homes -- mostly in rural areas -- are at risk of collapse during the rains in the impoverished country. Dozens of people were killed last year after flash floods swept through swaths of Parwan province. This year's flooding comes as Afghanistan has been rocked by a surge in fighting with the Taliban launching multiple offensives across the country. The uptick in fighting also comes as Afghanistan is battling a third wave of Covid-19 that has overwhelmed the nation’s ramshackle health care sector while other parts of the country have been hit by a punishing drought.

Armenia to Request Russian Military Deployment on Azerbaijan Border
Agence France Presse/July 29/2021
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday he would request the deployment of Russian border guards along his country's frontier with Azerbaijan to prevent further escalation after new clashes. Last year Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-week war over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict claimed some 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that saw Armenia cede territories it had controlled for decades. In recent months tensions have been running high over the two countries' shared border. On Wednesday, three Armenian soldiers were killed in fresh border clashes with Azerbaijani forces, in some of the heaviest fighting between the Caucasus rivals since last year's war.Addressing a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Pashinyan said he wanted to ask Moscow for more help. "I think it makes sense to consider the question of stationing outposts of Russian border guards along the entire stretch of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," he said. Pashinyan said the move will help the two countries "carry out work on demarcation and delimitation of the border without the risk of military clashes." "We are planning to discuss the matter with our Russian colleagues." After the new clashes both countries traded accusations of initiating the fighting before a ceasefire was agreed upon with Russia's help. After the war Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of a series of border intrusions and of seizing pockets of territory including along a lake shared by the two countries. The new border clashes have raised fears of a fresh flare-up in tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that broke away from Baku's control in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow, which has a military base in Armenia, has deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers in and around Karabakh to oversee the ceasefire. Pashinyan has earlier asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military support, saying up to 600 Azerbaijani troops are stationed on Armenian territory, a claim denied by Baku. Russia has offered to help resolve the border disputes by working with the two sides to clearly define the borders. The United States and France have called on Azerbaijan to pull back its forces.

8.2 Magnitude Earthquake Off Alaskan Peninsula Triggers Small Tsunami
Naharnet/July 29/2021
An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, generating small waves but no major tsunami before all warnings were canceled. The earthquake hit 56 miles (91 kilometers) southeast of the town of Perryville, the USGS said. The quake struck at 10:15 pm Wednesday (0615 GMT Thursday). Perryville is a small village about 500 miles from Anchorage, Alaska's biggest city. The US government's National Tsunami Warning Center immediately issued an alert for south Alaska and the Alaskan peninsula but canceled all warnings about three hours later. The maximum wave height detected by the center was eight inches (21 centimeters) above tide level with small tsunamis hitting at least six points off Alaska's coastline.Tsunami warning sirens had been broadcast across Kodiak, an island with a population of about 6,000 people, along Alaska's coastline. Locals living close to sea level were told to evacuate to higher ground. Small waves hit the coast of Kodiak, according to a broadcaster on local radio station KMXT. She said authorities had lifted evacuation orders, with no reports of any damage. "This is the largest earthquake to happen in the Alaska region since 1965," Michael West, state seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center, told Alaska Public Media. Alaska is part of the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire. The state was hit by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in March 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America. It devastated Anchorage and unleashed a tsunami that slammed the Gulf of Alaska, the US west coast, and Hawaii. More than 250 people were killed by the quake and the tsunami. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake also caused tsunami waves in Alaska's southern coast in October, but no casualties were reported.

Tebboune meets Menfi, offers Algeria’s support to Libya
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
ALGIERS --Algeria offers its “absolute support” to Libya, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Wednesday, as he hosted the head of Libya’s Presidency Council Mohammad Younes el-Menfi. Algeria is ready to help Libyans “in making the voice of their country heard” and “bringing aid and assistance to Libya … to resolve certain problems that have arisen,” Tebboune said following a meeting between the two men. He was quoted in a presidential statement published by Algerian media that did not elaborate on the “problems” he cited. But Libya is struggling to emerge from decades of violence and political rivalries following its descent into chaos in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted long-time leader Muammar Gathafi. It currently has an interim government, under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and a presidency council headed by Menfi, which have promised to hold polls before the end of the year. The government was established earlier this year following an October ceasefire between a now defunct Tripoli-based administration and forces loyal to Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. Tebboune reaffirmed Algeria’s position in favour of “holding elections that will confer more legitimacy” on the presidency council. Algiers favours the organisation of a “simultaneous parliamentary and presidential election” in Libya, Tebboune said. Menfi said he was “delighted” by Algerian support, according to Algeria’s official APS news agency. The two leaders spoke about “security in southern Libya”, where their countries share a near-1,000 kilometre border, the Libyan leader said, according to APS. “We hope to establish technical Algerian-Libyan cooperation alongside bilateral security cooperation,” Menfi was quoted as saying. Algeria is meanwhile seeking to play a more active role in Libya and the Sahel and lately named Ramtane Lamamra, an experienced mediator, as foreign minister.

Senior ISIS member arrested in Greece with Morocco’s help
The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
Acting on a lead by Morocco's security services, Greek authorities were able to arrest Tuesday a 28-year-old Moroccan national who had held senior positions within the Islamist State (ISIS) extremist group, said Moroccan new agency MAP. According to a Moroccan security source, the arrest of the suspect was the result of a joint coordination and exchange of intelligence carried out "with the active contribution of Moroccan security services and their counterparts in Greece, Italy, England and the United States." A key role in this regard was played by Morocco's General Directorate of Studies and Documents and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance. The suspect was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the Moroccan authorities over his alleged involvement in preparing major terrorist plots and the perpetration of "sabotage operations" in Morocco at the instigation of ISIS, the source pointed out. The suspect, known as "Abu Muhammad al-Fateh", had joined ISIS in Syria in 2014, before holding senior positions in the so-called "special division" of ISIS in the Deir ez-Zor region, and in the so-called "religious police" Or "Hisbah" in the Wilaya of Raqqa. He was also shown on a videotape documenting executing a Syrian fighter and later mutilating his dead body and threatening those he called "the enemies of religion". The ISIS senior operative was able to escape from Syria and cross into Europe, via Greece, using forged personal documents and a fake identity, before being arrested as part of a joint security operation, the source pointed out. MAP added that Moroccan judicial authorities have been notified of the arrest of the suspect and coordination is underway with the Greek authorities through the Interpol office of the Moroccan General Directorate of National Security in order to formalise the extradition procedure of the suspect. According to the same source, the successful security operation in which Moroccan security services actively contributed, "underlines the importance of international security cooperation in fighting terrorism and tracking down members of terrorist organisations."
This joint operation also "reflects the serious and effective role played by the kingdom of Morocco in promoting security and stability at the regional and international levels," added the source. Western intelligence services acknowledge the crucial role played by Morocco in preventing the perpetration of many terrorist acts on European soil.

U.S. Department Of State/Press Release on Protests in Iran
NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
JULY 28, 2021
Protests in Iran that began with a water shortage — owing to drought and governmental mismanagement and neglect — in the Khuzestan province have now spread across various cities including Tehran, Karaj and Tabriz.  The Iranian people are now putting a spotlight not only on their unmet needs, but also their unfulfilled aspirations for respect for human rights — rights to which individuals the world over are entitled. The Iranian people have a right to voice their frustrations and hold their government accountable, but we have seen disturbing reports that security forces fired on protesters, resulting in multiple deaths.  We condemn the use of violence against peaceful protestors.  We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and express themselves, without fear of violence and detention by security forces.  We are also monitoring reports of internet slowdowns in the region. We urge the Iranian government to allow its citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression and to freely access information, including via the Internet.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials published on July 29-30/2021
Blinken Should Invite Kuwait to Join Abraham Accords
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The National Interest/July 29/2021
If the Biden administration is serious about expanding the Abraham Accords, it has to show countries like Kuwait that peace is still one of Washington’s top priorities.
As Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Kuwait on Wednesday, he will discuss with senior Kuwaiti officials “a variety of different regional issues”—including Kuwait’s role in ending conflicts, bridging differences, and deescalating tensions—and will consult “closely on Iran, Yemen, and other regional issues,” according to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim. However, Blinken’s agenda appears to omit the best prospect for ending conflict and bridging differences: Kuwaiti peace with Israel.
As a candidate, President Joe Biden endorsed the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel sign peace agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Biden even promised to expand these accords, if elected. But earlier this month, according to the Washington Post, Biden told Jordan’s King Abdullah II that the Abraham Accords cannot serve as an end-run around a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that would ensure Palestinian statehood.
The Biden administration seems to have reverted to the failed approach of making peace between Israel and the Arab states incumbent on settling the Palestinian issue first. Thus, in their meetings with Arab officials whose governments have not signed a peace agreement with Israel, Biden and his team have yet to bring up the subject of peace.
Last week, Blinken received Iraqi foreign minister Fouad Hussain at the State Department. During the media stakeout before the meeting, Blinken did not mention anything about the potential for Iraqi peace with Israel. Similarly, when Biden welcomed Iraqi prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to the White House on Monday, Iraqi peace with Israel was neither on the agenda nor in public statements.
But if Biden is serious about building on the momentum of the Abraham Accords, broaching the subject of peace with Israel should become one of his talking points with the fifteen member states of the Arab League that have not made peace with the Jewish state.
Except for Lebanon and Syria, the Arab governments that have yet to sign peace agreements have no outstanding border or refugee issues with Israel. Washington should view these states, particularly Kuwait, as low-hanging fruit that it can nudge to sign peace deals and give the Biden administration a historic diplomatic victory.
When Blinken and Benaim meet their Kuwaiti counterparts, they should make clear that Washington still strongly supports the Abraham Accords. When Kuwaiti leaders realize that peace is important to America, they will likely capitalize on their image as neutral regional peace brokers and join the Abraham Accords. On most other issues, America and Kuwait are already close allies and see eye-to-eye.
To be sure, Kuwait today seems far away from peace with Israel. Non-governmental organizations, mainly Islamist ones known for their donations to terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, launched a donation drive for Gaza during the most recent war between Israel and Hamas in May. They collected $10 million in a few hours. The Kuwaiti government tried to keep tabs on the campaign by attempting to channel its proceeds to global humanitarian organizations. Verifying that no Kuwaiti money found its way to Hamas is hard.
Moreover, in the 1960s, Kuwait played an instrumental role in the rise of Palestinian nationalism. The late chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, and his closest lieutenants were residents of Kuwait when they formed their Fatah militia. However, Arafat benefited from Kuwaiti diplomatic support and generosity only until 1990, when he backed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s occupation and decimation of Kuwait.
The alliance between the United States and Kuwait became unbreakable as a result of the Gulf War, when Washington liberated Kuwait from the invading Iraqis, an event that reoriented the country away from Arab nationalism and removed a key obstacle to peace with Israel.
After liberation, Kuwaitis took their revenge on Arafat by expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been working and living in the country. Since then, Kuwaiti zeal for Arab nationalism has receded, while Kuwaiti voices calling for peace with Israel became louder. Legislators, columnists, pundits, politicians, and TV anchors have all called for unconditional peace with Israel over the past few years.
However, when America did not grasp the opportunity after 1991, the rulers of Kuwait found in the Palestinian cause a useful tool to blunt opposition groups—especially the Muslim Brotherhood—that have been, since 1949, blaming the plight of the Palestinians on incompetent and complicit Arab rulers, who in turn show increasing aggression toward Israel to counter their opponents’ narrative.
If the Biden administration is serious about expanding the Abraham Accords, it has to show countries like Kuwait that peace is still one of Washington’s top priorities. Also of help would be for Washington to change its perspective on the Muslim Brotherhood, and to view it as a totalitarian cross-border organization rather than legitimate political parties acting independently and locally. The Brotherhood has been dragging many Arab governments into a perpetual state of war with Israel, a situation that helps transnational opposition like MB, but substantially undermines national interests like those of Kuwait.
It is very likely that the Kuwaiti government and its loyalists, most of whom are top regional merchants, will jump on the opportunity to sideline Islamists and endorse peace that benefits their businesses. What is still missing is for America to show these Kuwaitis that it is seriously pursuing such a plan.
*Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Follow him on Twitter @hahussain.

Erdogan’s Provocations in Cyprus Escalate Tensions in Eastern Mediterranean
Aykan Erdemir/FDD-Policy Brief/July 29/2021
During a two-day visit to Northern Cyprus last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan escalated tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean by threatening unilateral action, including an indirect land grab, on the divided island, triggering condemnations by the United States, European Union, and UN Security Council. Erdogan’s latest provocation is part of his ongoing effort to destabilize the region and undermine U.S.-backed partnerships among littoral states.
On July 19, the Turkish president and his ultranationalist coalition partner Devlet Bahceli arrived in North Nicosia, hoping that the rally-round-the-flag effect of a nationalist incident would help reverse the ongoing erosion of their voter support in Turkey, a consequence of their authoritarian policies and economic mismanagement. During the visit, Erdogan announced that a two-state solution is the only way to solve the Cyprus conflict, singlehandedly reversing longtime Turkish and Turkish Cypriot positions and discarding five decades of negotiations aimed at reunifying the divided island as a bizonal and bicommunal federal state. The Turkish president also took further steps to reopen sections of the abandoned coastal town of Varosha to offer spoils to his clients in the construction sector, in breach of UN Security Council resolutions that call for the town to be handed over to UN administration so that its former residents can return to their homes.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish military seized the northern third of the island. Ankara’s action came in response to a coup attempt organized by the military junta in Athens with the aim of uniting the Republic of Cyprus with Greece. Turkey maintains nearly 40,000 troops in the northern breakaway region, which Ankara alone recognizes as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The Erdogan government’s heavy-handed meddling in TRNC elections last year, which included death threats against incumbent President Mustafa Akinci and his family, resulted in a narrow victory for the hardline pro-Erdogan challenger, Ersin Tatar. Since then, Erdogan and Tatar have intensified their efforts to impose Erdogan’s Islamist worldview on a Turkish Cypriot community known for its secular lifestyle.
In response to the actions taken by the presidents of Turkey and the TRNC, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement on July 20 calling Erdogan’s and Tatar’s actions “provocative, unacceptable, and incompatible with their past commitments to engage constructively in settlement talks.” The same day, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized the duo on Twitter, saying that their unilateral move “risks raising tensions,” reiterating an earlier statement this month by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Brussels “will never, ever accept a two state solution.”
On July 23, the UN Security Council issued a unanimous condemnation of Erdogan and Tatar for their announcement of the further reopening of Varosha, calling for “the immediate reversal of that course of action.”
The Turkish president’s unilateral moves also drew a negative reaction from Turkish Cypriots. Two opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary session Erdogan attended. Akinci also warned that Erdogan’s policies, “condemned by all international organizations and countries,” would isolate Turkish Cypriots. Erdogan, however, is unlikely to respect either international law and global public opinion or the will of Turkish Cypriots in charting and imposing his future course of action on the divided island.
To contain the Turkish president’s disruptive behavior in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, the Biden administration should develop a concerted strategy with the European Union, including the imposition of coordinated sanctions targeting Erdogan’s and Tatar’s construction sector clients implicated in illegal land and property grabs in Varosha. Washington should also appoint a special envoy for the Eastern Mediterranean and strengthen its ongoing cooperation with littoral allies and partners.
*Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey Program 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 Aykan, the Turkey Program, and CEFP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Aykan on Twitter @aykan_erdemir. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

While Biden Aims For A New Nuclear Deal, Israel Must Stay Tough on Iran
Jacob Nagel/Mark Dubowitz/Newsweek/July 29/2021
Senior Israeli officials will be in Washington next week to prepare for newly elected Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett‘s first meeting with U.S. president Joe Biden. Bennett knows the importance of public comity between himself and the American president. But make no mistake; Israeli officials are deeply troubled by Biden’s apparent readiness to bring Iran back into the fatally flawed 2015 nuclear deal at any price. It will be in both countries’ best interest if Bennett tells Biden privately—but directly—what the latter’s administration is doing wrong.
After six rounds of negotiation, during which Iranian officials refused to sit down directly with their U.S. counterparts, nuclear talks are on hold as the Islamic Republic of Iran waits for the inauguration next month of its new president, Ebrahim Raisi.
Hand-picked by the supreme leader, notorious for his role in the mass murder of Iranians and elected by the lowest number of voters in Iran’s history, Raisi will preside over a country racked with daily demonstrations. Iranians are in the streets protesting shortages of water and electricity. But the protests are also political—protesters blame the corrupt clerical regime for their suffering.
Raisi surely knows that a return to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is the only way to get the massive economic relief that would ease pressure on the regime. Raisi surely sees the desperation of Biden and the United States’ top Iran negotiator Robert Malley to get back into the JCPOA, and will squeeze Washington for more concessions.
Jerusalem knows that any return to the JCPOA will only be worse than the original agreement, since Washington is prepared to lift even more sanctions than it did in 2015. Iran also will keep most of the gains its nuclear program attained since negotiations began with the Biden administration—and that it attained in violation of the JCPOA since 2015. Israeli officials are warning their American counterparts that Tehran is already taking advantage of the lull in negotiations to become a threshold nuclear state. Meanwhile, if Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif is to be believed, Malley has already agreed to lift sanctions on more than 1,000 designated entities—including all Iranian banks but one. Malley reportedly agreed to remove sanctions on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his close associates, as well as take the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps off the U.S. foreign terrorist organization list. What would remain are likely minor symbolic sanctions with little coercive power.
The Biden administration has acknowledged several of the JCPOA’s major flaws and pledged to negotiate a “longer and stronger” deal. But implausibly, it insists Tehran will be amenable to this deal even after getting everything it wants in exchange for first returning to a “shorter and weaker deal,” with fewer nuclear constraints and much greater sanctions relief.
Prime Minister Bennett sees that the Iranian nuclear program is racing ahead. Iran today is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, manufacturing uranium metal, accumulating large stockpiles of fissile material, testing much more advanced centrifuges and stonewalling the International Atomic Energy Agency by denying inspectors access to sites where nuclear-related activities took place. Tehran is digging in its heels and insisting on warehousing, rather than destroying, its stockpile of advanced centrifuges.
While the Obama administration claimed the JCPOA would “cut off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon,” the deal in fact opened a pathway for Tehran. Its nuclear restraints begin expiring in 2024. By 2027, restrictions on mass deployment of centrifuges, including advanced models, will begin to sunset, and all of them will be gone by 2029. By 2031, there is no cap either on stockpiles of fissile material or on enrichment levels, meaning Iran could produce weapons-grade material without violating the JCPOA. Likewise, new enrichment plants and heavy water reactors will be permitted, and prohibitions on plutonium reprocessing will go away. If the regime has sufficient patience, the JCPOA will let it have all the nuclear infrastructure it needs.
Prime Minister Bennett needs to be clear that no deal will be effective unless it places hard limits on three crucial elements of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program: production of fissile materials, weaponization and means of delivery.
First, fissile materials, along with the technology to produce them, should be completely banned. There must be no room for negotiation on them. Many analysts naively consider any deal that lengthens Iran’s “breakout time”—that is, how long it would take Tehran to produce one bomb’s worth of weapons-grade uranium—sufficient. But this obsession with breakout times is misguided. The regime will not break out; it will “sneak out” by employing increasingly advanced centrifuges, which are easier to hide because fewer of them are needed.
Second, weaponization is the most difficult to define and monitor, but its status became clearer in 2018 thanks to the atomic archive materials that Mossad exfiltrated from Tehran. IAEA inspections have turned up further signs of weaponization, although Iran continues to stonewall the agency. An effective deal must require the regime to come clean on all previous nuclear activities, otherwise the cat-and-mouse game will continue indefinitely. If Tehran cannot admit and specify previous violations, there will be no way to verify its compliance.
The elimination of nuclear-weapons mastermind Mohsen Fakrizadeh inflicted major damage to the weaponization program. Our sources believe that the program now is around two years from completion, confirming that the elimination of a leader will always be better than the elimination of infrastructure. At the same time, any new deal cannot allow underground facilities or weaponization groups to continue to exist.
Third, an effective deal must restrict the means of delivery for a nuclear weapon, namely ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The UN missile embargo, already weakened during the JCPOA negotiations in 2015, is set to expire in 2023. Tehran says restrictions on such missiles are non-negotiable, but it has made similar claims about other aspects of its nuclear program, only to compromise when the U.S. exerted sufficient pressure.
Prime Minister Bennett will likely not confront the United States publicly. And that’s fine, for now. But he needs to be firm in communicating Israel’s main principles. Israel must not be part of a new agreement that involves returning to the JCPOA, and must maintain its full freedom of action while strengthening its military options for dealing with Iranian nuclear capabilities. The U.S. and Israel should work together on gathering intelligence on Iran’s weaponization program and not accept Tehran’s attempts to thwart IAEA inspection. Washington cannot accept Iran’s demands, even in part: not re-opening the weaponization file, not using the archive data and not answering the IAEA’s findings.
If there is no other option to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, the Jewish state will go it alone. Any hint that Jerusalem will only act with American consent implicates Washington, which is good for no one. It would make it more difficult for the Biden team to assert plausible deniability after a strike, and may complicate or block Israeli action.
Israel must avoid another critical error—it should not enter any talks with the Biden administration about “compensation” or the definition of a “longer and stronger” agreement before Iran officially agrees to enter this negotiation.
Putting regional issues, conventional ballistic missiles or even the preservation of Israel’s qualitative military edge on the line in current talks is a mistake. Some Israeli officials and outside experts want Bennett to raise the compensation issue by leaking to U.S. and Israeli journalists what Israel should ask from Washington. With one voice, the Israeli government should explain why a return to the JCPOA is bad for both the United States and Israel. Washington and Jerusalem can address other issues after solving the nuclear one.
No country will be tougher on Iran than Israel. Any sign that Jerusalem is willing to compromise on its principles will shift the entire policy and political landscape in Washington. Now is the time for greater U.S.-Israel cooperation to counter the Iranian regime—and greater preparation by Israel if it is forced to act alone.
*Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a visiting professor at the Technion Aerospace faculty. He previously served as acting national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as head of the National Security Council.
*Mark Dubowitz is FDD’s chief executive. An expert on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions, he was designated by Iran in 2019. Follow Mark on Twitter @mdubowitz. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Tunisian judiciary opens probe into election finances of Ennahda, Qalb Tounes
Khaled Hedoui/The Arab Weekly/July 29/2021
TUNIS --The Tunisian judiciary has opened an investigation into the Ennahda movement, the Heart of Tunisia party and the “Aish Tounsi” association, on suspicion of receiving funds from abroad during the 2019 election campaign, in a move that observers said is the beginning of the Tunisian judiciary’s recovery of its independence away from the pressures of the Ennahda movement and the Mechichi government.
Mohsen Dali, the spokesperson for the Court of First Instance in Tunis and the economic and financial court, revealed on Wednesday that formal judicial investigations have been launched in a number of cases involving political parties, politicians and well-known personalities on suspicion of receiving funds from abroad during the 2019 election campaign.
Local media quoted Dali as saying that the Public Prosecutor decided after studying the lobbying group’s contracts file, to open a judicial investigation against the Ennahda Movement, the Heart of Tunisia (Qalb Tounes) party and the Aish Tounsi association, on suspicion of obtaining illicit foreign funds.
He pointed out that at the core of the probe is a complaint filed by the Democratic Current Party and the last report of the Court of Accounts, pointing out that administrative correspondence was exchanged with the Central Bank and the Customs and that the charges were brought after the preliminary research was completed.
He added that the investigative judges will begin their work and take whatever precautionary decisions they deem fit, such as issuing travel bans or other measures, noting that judicial rogatory commissions will be issued for this purpose.
Ennahda, along with the Qalb Tounes party (led by media magnate Nabil Karoui), are the leading parties in the parliament, which was elected in September 2019.
Karoui competed with President Kais Saied in the presidential elections that took place in two rounds, in September and October 2019.
Karoui, a major stakeholder in the private TV channel Nessma, has been under investigation on suspicion of financial irregularities that led to his pretrial detention during most of the 2019 election campaign and again this year.
The investigation into possible illicit foreign funding was opened on July 14, that is before President Kais Saied’s decisions to dismiss Hichem Mechichi from the office of prime minister, freeze parliament and assume executive powers and thus the responsibility of overseeing the public prosecution.
Article 163 of the Electoral Code stipulates that MPs who are found guilty of receiving illicit financing during their election campaigns can be fined up to ten times the value of the received financing. They can also lose their seat in the parliament and are deprived of the right to run for the upcoming elections.
Presidential candidates who are found guilty of illegal electoral finance practices can be sentenced to a five-year jail sentence and are deprived of the right to run in the next election. Political figures see the judicial decision to open the probe into illegal electoral financing as a positive step towards the recovery of the Tunisian judiciary, which has been under the direct influence of the Ennahda movement for years.
A political leader, who did not want to be identified, told The Arab Weekly that the investigation into the case of Ennahda and Qalb Tounes electoral financing actually started eleven months ago and the fact that no progress was made indicated that “there is a desire from the judiciary to shelve the file.”
The political leader added that “there are many judges who are extra cautious in cases related to political figures and I believe that the judiciary will now begin to recover.”
He added that, “Judges must be free from fear by not entangling themselves with parties and seriously opening the files.”The probe comes after measures taken by Saied, which included on Tuesday, terminating the duties of the Director of Military Judiciary and a number of senior officials working in the dismissed prime minister’s office. Former judge and lawyer, Ahmed Swab, stated that “the investigation into these files (related to the election financing) began on July 14.”
He added in a statement to The Arab Weekly, “The beginning of the unfettering of the judiciary after a deep slumber from the judges and the Supreme Judicial Council.” This awakening, he said, began with popular pressure to look into the cases of senior judge Tayeb Rached and those of the assassinated leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. Swab called for “pushing the judges to open other corruption files related to personalities and powerful politicians.”
Retired judge Kalthoum Kannou, former president of the Association of Tunisian Judges, has said in the past that “there are many files placed before the judiciary’s attention,” noting that “the judiciary’s handling of several files is very ambiguous.”
“Many cases have been referred to the judiciary, but they have not yet been examined,” she added. She noted that “there is pressure on the judiciary after 16 judges were referred to the disciplinary board.” Fadhila Gargouri, head of the Court of Accounts department, said that the court had monitored, during its oversight work on the early presidential elections and the 2019 legislative elections, many breaches in the candidates’ financial accounts.