English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 31/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offences, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites
Letter to the Romans 16/07-20: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offences, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good, and guileless in what is evil. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.””

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 30-31/2021
US hails EU decision to adopt new sanctions regime for Lebanon
Lebanon Battles Wildfires for Third Straight Day
Wildfires blaze through north Lebanon homes, farms, pine forests
EU Says Ready to Impose Sanctions over Lebanon Crisis
In Beirut’s economic free fall, finding hope in new Lebanese food
Outcome of Aoun-Miqati Meetings 'Neither Negative Nor Positive'
Report: Aoun Vetoes Miqati's Confessional Distribution of Portfolios
Aoun ready to answer questions on Beirut blast, says no one above law
Gen. Aoun to Troops: Don’t Allow Anyone to Question Your Faith in Your Country
Lebanon parliament ready to lift immunity for Beirut blast probe
Al-Achkar Calls on Tourism Sector to Close on August 4
The West Must Counter Iran-Backed Hezbollah In Lebanon/Maria Maalouf and Bryan E. Leib/Iran International/July 30/2021
Assessing Lebanon’s Political Paralysis, Economic Crisis, and Challenges for U.S. Policy/David Schenker/House Foreign Affairs Committee/Washington Institute/July 30/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/2021
Ship Tied to Israeli Billionaire Attacked Off Oman, 2 Killed
Iran leading suspect in attack on Israeli-managed tanker: US, EU sources
US Navy has boarded attacked Israeli tanker, USS Reagan accompanying ship
Tunisia's Ghannouchi Calls for 'Return to Democracy'
US hits out at Assad regime, ‘very concerned’ about latest violence in Syria’s Daraa
Saudi FM assures Riyadh’s keenness on stability of Tunisia during visit
GCC chief, US envoy for Yemen: Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia violate intl law
Firefighters tackle one of the worst wildfires in southern Turkey
US Justice Dept orders IRS to provide Trump’s tax returns to Congress

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 30-31/2021
Biden Looks Away While Iranian Protesters Call for the Regime’s Overthrow/Alireza Nader/FDD/July 30/2021
Les inconséquences devant la terreur/Charles Elias Chartouni/July 30/2021
What will happen when Bennett meets with Biden in Washington?/Herb Keinon/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2021
Unrest grows in Iran, but is the regime in danger?/Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2021
Question: "In what ways is the Christian life like the Olympics?"/GotQuestions.org?/July 30/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 30-31/2021
US hails EU decision to adopt new sanctions regime for Lebanon
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
The US on Friday hailed the European Union’s decision to adopt a new sanctions regime on individuals in Lebanon that have caused the crisis-struck nation to an almost complete collapse. After years of being urged to do so, the EU announced a sanctions regime that includes potential travel bans to the EU and asset freezes on entities linked to those sanctioned. According to a senior EU diplomat, Hungary was still opposed to the sanctions regime until late Thursday. Hungary has voiced its public support for Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese president’s son-in-law who was sanctioned by the US last year for acts of corruption. “The United States welcomes the EU’s adoption today of a new sanctions regime to promote accountability and reform in Lebanon,” a joint statement from the US secretaries of Treasury and State read. “As an increasing number of Lebanese suffer from the country’s worsening economic crisis, it is critical that Lebanese leaders heed their people’s repeated calls for an end to widespread corruption and government inaction and form a government that can initiate the reforms critical to address the country’s dire situation,” Janet Yellen and Antony Blinken said in the statement. The US has mainly been the sole enforcer of sanctions on Lebanese officials for acts of corruption or their ties to Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization by Washington and several European and Gulf countries.But France, which distinguishes between the Iran-backed group’s so-called military and political wings, has been the major obstacle in the face of a unified international policy for Beirut. “Sanctions are intended, among other things, to compel changes in behavior, and promote accountability for corrupt actors and leaders who have engaged in malign behavior,” Friday’s statement from the US said. “We welcome the EU’s use of this powerful tool to promote accountability on a global scale. The United States looks forward to future cooperation with the EU in our shared efforts.”
US-based sources familiar with the matter have said the US is working on announcing more sanctions on Lebanese politicians or members of their inner circles in the near future. Treasury Department officials were in Lebanon last week to discuss “corruption, illicit finance, and counterterrorism,” the US Embassy in Beirut said during their visit. The delegation was made up of officials from the Treasury Department’s Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC) office. Najib Mikati was designated to form a new government after receiving the majority of votes to do so by lawmakers. He will be the third politician to try to form a government since Hassan Diab’s government resigned following the Beirut blast on Aug. 4, 2020.

Lebanon Battles Wildfires for Third Straight Day
Agence France Presse/30 July ,2021
Lebanon battled rapidly spreading wildfires for a third straight day Friday after they destroyed pine forests and threatened homes in northern areas. The blaze that started Wednesday in Lebanon's remote Akkar region "is spreading quickly over large areas," Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada told AFP.
"It's spreading in all directions" fanned by high winds, Mortada said, adding that it had reached neighboring Syria. The blaze, which has killed a 15-year-old volunteer firefighter and forced many people from their homes, gained pace overnight, according to the state-run National News Agency. "The fires were out of control in the Jabal Akroum" region which straddles the border, NNA said. "The area affected by the fire expanded significantly overnight... approaching orchards, farmland and some homes evacuated by their residents," it said. There is no official estimate of the size of the area affected. The army deployed two helicopters early Friday to help douse the flames and more local volunteers joined the firefighting effort, NNA said. The Red Cross treated one volunteer with breathing difficulties, it added. George Abou Moussa of Lebanon's civil defense said firefighting teams were working to contain the blaze.
"But there are areas we can't reach," he told AFP. According to Mortada, the cash-strapped government is looking for outside help. "The Lebanese government doesn't have access to many firefighting aircraft," and is pinning its hopes on assistance from Cyprus, Greece and neighboring Syria, Mortada said. For it's part, Syria said that it has managed to contain fires spreading from Lebanese territory. "The fire that spread from Lebanese territory to the... Qusayr region has been completely extinguished," the state SANA news agency reported, citing the director of Syria's civil defense. The government's failure to contain devastating wildfires in October 2019 was one of the triggers of an unprecedented, nationwide protest movement against perceived official incompetence and corruption.

Wildfires blaze through north Lebanon homes, farms, pine forests
Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
Wildfires continued to torch public and private lands across north Lebanon Friday as the government’s inability to heed warnings about these fires was widely visible to the public. Lebanon’s caretaker Agriculture Minister told AFP the state had no money for firefighting aircraft. The official said Beirut was banking on help from nearby Cyprus and Greece as well as neighboring war-torn Syria. Similar to the wildfires in the summer of 2019, which partially sparked the nationwide anti-government protests in October of that year, the state-owned firefighting helicopters remained grounded this year. At the time, a government official said there was no money in the state’s treasury to carry out the needed maintenance on the Sikorsky helicopters. The same problem is being faced today, according to Abbas Mortada, the agriculture minister. As a result, the Lebanese people have taken to social to voice their frustration and raise awareness as to what is taking place in Akkar, where the fires continue blaze across pine forests, orchards and homes. Al Arabiya English has compiled a number of videos of the fires from the last few days.

EU Says Ready to Impose Sanctions over Lebanon Crisis
Agence France Presse/30 July ,2021
The European Union said on Friday it was ready to impose sanctions on Lebanon's ruling elite over the political crisis wracking the country, after adopting a legal framework for such measures. The crisis has left Lebanon without a functioning government since the last one resigned after a massive explosion killed dozens and destroyed swathes of Beirut in August 2020. The country has plunged into what the World Bank described as one of the worst economic crises since the 1850s, and political players continue to squabble."This framework provides for the possibility of imposing sanctions against persons and entities who are responsible for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Lebanon," the EU said in a statement. The bloc's 27 member states must still vote unanimously for the list of people and entities to be sanctioned. On Monday, Lebanese lawmakers tasked ex-premier and billionaire Najib Mikati with forming a government, days after fellow veteran politician Saad Hariri threw in the towel. EU sanctions would target people obstructing this process, the statement read. They "consist of a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze for persons, and an asset freeze for entities," it said.
"In addition, EU persons and entities are forbidden from making funds available to those listed."The EU could also sanction people "obstructing or undermining the implementation of plans approved by Lebanese authorities and supported by relevant international actors, including the EU, to improve accountability and good governance in the public sector or the implementation of critical economic reforms."

EU adopts a framework for sanctions against Lebanese politicians
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
The European Union Friday announced that it had adopted a framework for “targeted restrictive measures” against individuals in Lebanon responsible for the current situation. “This framework provides for the possibility of imposing sanctions against persons and entities who are responsible for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Lebanon,” an EU statement read. Sanctions will target Lebanese individuals for “obstructing or undermining the democratic political process by persistently hampering the formation of a government or by obstructing or seriously undermining the holding of elections,” Friday’s statement read. Those obstructing the implementation of “good governance” and “critical economic reforms” are also subject to sanctions. “Sanctions consist of a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze for persons, and an asset freeze for entities. In addition, EU persons and entities are forbidden from making funds available to those listed,” the EU said. The United States has mainly been the sole enforcer of sanctions on Lebanese officials for acts of corruption or their ties to Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization by Washington and several European and Gulf countries. But France, which distinguishes between the Iran-backed group’s so-called military and political wings, has been the major obstacle in the face of a unified international policy for Beirut. Friday’s announcement will still need to be enforced, and it remains to be seen who and how many Lebanese politicians will be sanctioned. Get the latest stories from AlArabiya on Google News

In Beirut’s economic free fall, finding hope in new Lebanese food
Bloomberg/30 July ,2021
Last summer, when a deadly explosion ripped through Beirut’s port, chef and restaurateur Riad Aboulteif’s barbecue joint was destroyed. No one was injured. His restaurant Meats and Bread, in the trendy Gemmayze neighborhood less a kilometer from the blast site, suffered around $90,000 worth of damage. It was one of many businesses devastated by the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed over 200 people and wrought more than $4.6 billion worth of economic destruction in a country already reeling from the worst financial crisis in its history. No one was injured at Meats and Bread because no one was there. Aboulteif had closed the restaurant’s doors three months earlier as the soaring cost of imports triggered by an unprecedented currency crisis rendered his American-inspired menu of burgers, steaks, and smoked meats unsustainable. Quality rib-eye costs Aboulteif $32 per kilogram to import. Two years ago, before the financial crisis, that meant he paid around 48,000 Lebanese pounds. Today, with the currency collapsed, that same $32 kilo would cost him upward of 600,000 pounds. Dwindling foreign currency reserves have unofficially rendered the official pegged rate of 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar defunct, with traders buying dollars at black market rates to finance imports amid plummeting purchasing power. The blast, which shattered the restaurant’s windows, collapsed the ceiling, and destroyed its equipment, was just “salt on the wound,” Aboulteif says. The majority of the repairs were covered by local initiative Khaddit Beirut, which targets affected small and medium businesses, particularly those in the dining and hospitality sector. (Aboulteif paid the rest himself, with “zero funds” from the government.)
With the venue rebuilt but its old menu financially untenable, Aboulteif decided on a 180-degree turn. In June, he reopened as Ammoula, offering a menu of experimental Lebanese cuisine prepared with local ingredients. There’s the classic lentils-and-rice dish of mujaddara, but it’s served with slow-cooked and then grilled octopus. Armenian manti dumplings are deconstructed, while traditional mahalabia milk pudding becomes a panna cotta-like dessert, sprayed with arak, the Levantine anise liquor. The drinks menu features local wine and gin. Aboulteif describes Ammoula’s fare as his own interpretation of Lebanese food: “We don’t want to be in competition with anyone’s grandmother. Soaring food prices have become an issue in many parts of the world. Lebanon, which relies heavily on imports, is one of the region’s most vulnerable countries. Food prices shot up 400 percent in December, according to government data, and more than half of the nation’s population has plunged into poverty since the economic crisis commenced in August 2019 and was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and the port explosion. When it opened, Ammoula offered a dish featuring imported guanciale (cured pork jowl). Within a week, Aboulteif decided to replace it with local pork that’s matured in a dry ager. Since then, he’s been sourcing everything from local producers and has rented his own “very small farm” in the Mount Lebanon region southeast of Beirut to produce chicken, goats, quail, and some herbs and cucumbers. Such key materials as fertilizer for the plants and medicine for the animals are still imported, subject to ever-increasing price hikes and shortages. He’s had to adjust prices at least twice since opening because the Lebanese pound has depreciated.
Even as all-local ingredients and wines have helped cushion Ammoula’s prices in the face of skyrocketing inflation, there’s no way around the ever-worsening electricity crisis triggered by a shortage of imported fuel. Lebanon is suffering its most severe power shortfall in decades, and most places receive only two hours of state electricity a day. Though the Lebanese have weathered patchy electricity for years—supplemented by subscriptions to private generators—the fuel scarcity has led many of the generators to shut down for hours each day. Restaurateurs that aim to keep their lights on and fridges running around the clock must pay for a backup generator. Aboulteif is now saddled with three electricity bills: one from the government and two from private generator companies. The June bill from the two generator providers totaled 14 million Lebanese pounds. So far, Ammoula, which Aboulteif describes as a “work in progress,” isn’t consistently busy or profitable. He just aims to break even, relying on his more profitable Ferdinand gastropub on the other side of town to make ends meet. He says he felt he had “no option but to change course after the blast.
“When your back is up against the wall, you will fight,” he says, although he worries that business will slow after the summer’s high season in August. “That’s the only way we know how to fight, through our food. We’re fighting the circumstances we’re living in, through our food.” The old sign for Meats and Bread still hangs outside, by the newer one for Ammoula, and Aboulteif says he doesn’t intend to take it down. Although the switch to the Lebanese concept was driven more by necessity than national pride, he’s glad to showcase the country’s bounty, with its Mediterranean climate, mountains, and varying terroir: “You can probably find the best goat cheese in the entire galaxy in Lebanon.”

Outcome of Aoun-Miqati Meetings 'Neither Negative Nor Positive'
Naharnet/July 30/2021 
The outcome of the meetings that Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati held with President Michel Aoun in recent days is “neither negative nor positive,” informed sources have said. While Miqati has said that he refuses to set a certain deadline for himself, the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper that he “understands well the challenges that the country is facing and accordingly comprehends the cost of any delay in the cabinet formation process.”The daily meanwhile noted that the recent positive atmosphere “has not concealed the dispute that was quickly highlighted by the format that Miqati has presented for the distribution of portfolios.”“Adding the interior portfolio to the Sunni share while allocating justice to Christians means that he is submitting a formula that is rejected by Aoun in advance, something that the latter has clearly expressed, although the two sides prefer to keep the dispute behind closed doors,” the newspaper said. And as sources concerned with the formation process stressed that “the discussions have not yet reached the names phase,” Miqati himself called in an interview with MTV for giving him “a little chance to exit the dilemma.” Asked whether Aoun might give him “what he did not give to Hariri,” the PM-designate said: “Concessions are given for the interest of the country and no one takes or gives something from themselves… We are talking about running a country.”

Report: Aoun Vetoes Miqati's Confessional Distribution of Portfolios
Naharnet/July 30/2021 
A “gloomy” and “cautious” atmosphere is engulfing the cabinet formation process after a “key obstacle” emerged, a media report said on Friday. “The President has vetoed the confessional distribution that (PM-designate Najib) Miqati has suggested for the sovereign portfolios,” sources informed on the negotiations told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper. “Aoun specifically did not stomach the idea of allotting the interior and justice portfolios to the Sunni community,” the sources added. “The President considered that there is a flaw in the sectarian balance of the cabinet line-up in terms of the distribution of portfolios according to type and importance,” the sources went on to say. The sources also pointed out that “it will be difficult to move forward in the formation process unless this obstacle is resolved.”“That’s why it was agreed to take a 72-hour timeframe in which the PM-designate would look into possible solutions,” the sources added.

Aoun ready to answer questions on Beirut blast, says no one above law
The Daily Star/July 30/2021
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun told Lebanon's public prosecutor Friday he was ready to give a statement about last year's port blast in the capital Beirut if needed. "No one is above the law no matter how high up, and justice can only be achieved through the specialised judicial branches that provide guarantees," Aoun told prosecutor Ghassan Ouidat during a meeting, according to a statement released by the president's office. The Aug. 4 explosion at the port, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years, killed over 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed large swathes of the capital. A probe into the blast led by judge Tarek Bitar has been hindered over the past month as requests sent to parliament and the government to lift immunity and enable questioning of several top officials were either declined or stalled. Many Lebanese are angry that nearly a year after the incident, no senior official has yet been held responsible. Influential parliament speaker Nabih Berri said Thursday the legislature was ready to lift the immunity of its members to allow for questioning but did not detail when or how this would be done.

Gen. Aoun to Troops: Don’t Allow Anyone to Question Your Faith in Your Country
Naharnet/July 30/2021
The Army Commander General Joseph Aoun issued Friday an order to the military on the occasion of the seventy-sixth anniversary of the Army Day. Aoun said that Army Day this year comes a few days before the port explosion first anniversary, and “amid a strong economic and financial crisis and the continuing outbreak of Coronavirus.” He thanked the Army for proving to be “the unifying national institution that has won the confidence of the people and the world,” and for showing “professionalism and adopting the highest standards of transparency in dealing with humanitarian and security files.”“Do not allow anyone to take advantage of the poor living conditions to question your faith in your country and your institution,” Aoun cautioned, adding that "it is not allowed under any circumstances to plunge the country into chaos and destabilize its security and stability." He also warned about “additional challenges” and ordered the army “to be ready to face them with wisdom, patience and deliberation” and to be “up to our people’s and the international community’s aspirations.”Aoun added that “the Israeli enemy has recently increased its threats against Lebanon and threatened to launch a new war” and that the army is constantly “watching the border” to confront “the Israeli danger,” in addition to other challenges like “terrorism, the fight against drugs, smuggling and illegal immigration.”He also paid tribute to the martyrs who “protected Lebanon and its people,” adding that the army will remain loyal to its oath “no matter how severe the difficulties and challenges are.” Aoun advised the Army not to listen to “rumors,” reassuring them that his concern “has been and will remain the military and their families,” and his priority “has been and will remain the protection and fortification of the military institution.”

Lebanon parliament ready to lift immunity for Beirut blast probe
Reuters/Reuters/July 30/2-21
Lebanon's influential 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 massive explosion last August killed over 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed large parts of the city. Nearly a year later, however, no top officials have been questioned over the disaster, angering many Lebanese. "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.
Veteran Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, who heads the party, had called for lawmakers' immunity to be lifted earlier this week by suspending all constitutional and legal regulations that allow for it.  Berri did not say when immunity would be lifted or how. A probe into the port blast led by judge Tarek Bitar has been hindered over the past month as requests sent parliament and the government to lift immunity and enable questioning of several top officials were either declined or stalled.

Al-Achkar Calls on Tourism Sector to Close on August 4
Naharnet/July 30/2-21
The president of the Federation for Tourism Industries Pierre al-Achkar issued a statement on Friday calling on the tourism sector to close on the occasion of the first anniversary of Beirut Port blast. He announced the “solidarity of the entire tourism sector” with all those affected by the explosion “especially the families of the victims and martyrs.”Al-Achkar pointed out that “the tourism sector is the most affected by the explosion among the economic sectors.”He called on the tourism sector with its various institutions to close on Wednesday, August 4, in solidarity with the sector itself and the families of “the victims and martyrs” in their just and national cause. Al-Achkar also called on hotels and resorts to stop working for one minute at the moment on which the explosion happened “because of their inability to close” and urged them to “refrain from organizing parties and music.”The dramatic blast occurred at 6:07 pm on August 4 a year ago, causing at least 207 deaths, 7,500 injuries, and $15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

The West Must Counter Iran-Backed Hezbollah In Lebanon
Maria Maalouf and Bryan E. Leib/Iran International/July 30/2021
As Lebanon gravitates more toward a quagmire after the failure of Saad Al Harriri to form a government, the chances for its recovery are slim. Iran stands to benefit the most from this paralysis. Hezbollah is exploiting the current government stalemate to throw Lebanon into further turmoil. There is an Iranian occupation of Lebanon now. This must end. The whole Middle East is familiar with Iran’s power projection strategy. Iraq, Syria, and Yemen are vivid examples of Iran’s imperial disposition. Even in Egypt after the overthrow of President Mubarak in 2011, Tehran wanted to form an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. Their plans backfired because of the armed forces intervention in 2013. Egypt as a large Sunni nation resented the advances of Shiite Iran. Lebanon has been the victim of losing billions of dollars importing unnecessary commodities like medicines from Iran. Iran through many of its Shiite allies has been buying land and properties in Lebanon. Many Lebanese are suspicious of Iran.
The genesis of the contemporary government collapse began on October 17, 2019. Discontent led to demonstrations forcing Al Hariri to resign. The second date is October 22, 2020, when Al Hariri was asked to form a government again. The time span between these two dates witnessed the explosion at Beirut Port on August 4, 2020. Shortly after, the French President Emmanuel Macron paid two visits to Lebanon and called for national unity. Two subsequent governments failed.
The Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al Raii was not able to reconcile President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri. On July 15, 2021, Al Hariri declared his intention not to form a government.
Two political trends in Lebanon are hampering its political performance. The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) is led by the President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Gibran Basil. It is made up mostly of Christians, but it is an ally of Hezbollah through the March 8 Alliance. The Future Movement is mostly Sunni and was formed in 1995 by Rafik Al Hariri. The FPM’s strong ties with Hezbollah has in turn allowed the Party of God to play kingmaker in Lebanon.
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun meets with Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati, at the presidential palace, Lebanon. July 28, 2021
Hezbollah does not want to risk its alliance with Aoun and Basil. These two politicians are in collusion with Hezbollah to make it the hegemon in Lebanon. Hezbollah strives to prolong any political stalemate such as the current one
With the recent news of billionaire Najib Mikati being appointed as prime minister-designate, Hezbollah is certainly very happy. After all, the reports state it was Hezbollah who nominated Mikati. If Mikati successfully forms a government, this would be his third stint as Lebanon’s prime minister. The priority for the incoming government is stopping the financial collapse through a bailout agreement with the IMF and other government reforms. Some analysts say no matter how decent, powerful, and influential the prime minister is, he will not be able to do anything because of his allegiance to Hezbollah and the track record of being part of the problems in Lebanon.
It will be important to watch how the Biden Administration reacts to this move because they might not be willing to pressure Hezbollah as long as they are negotiating with Iran over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Another major player in Lebanon, France, is not pushing for reform in Lebanon either. They have their own interests in developing closer ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Offending Hezbollah can prevent them from improving relations with Iran. There are many solutions to help Lebanon rise above the current situation. First is establishing an international consensus on Lebanon, and to convince France, the US and Saudi Arabia to agree on the size and scope of economic reform in Lebanon. Also, there is the endorsement of the formation of a new cabinet and the empowering of a new prime minister to institute reform.
Second, the Biden Administration must not condition its negotiations in Vienna with Iran with toleration of Hezbollah’s bad behavior in Lebanon. The pro-Iran media in Lebanon is heralding the news that any new agreement between Tehran and Washington will not affect Tehran’s ties with its militant militias. Washington should take a more comprehensive approach to the Iran file - focusing on nuclear and non-nuclear issues to avoid empowering Tehran’s proxies and partners.
Third, Hezbollah must be disarmed. The Lebanese Army should be backed and deployed in all of Lebanon’s territory to counter Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Fourth, the Lebanese government must also tackle corruption. Hezbollah defends this corruption with all of its might. These steps should allow the money that went abroad to be deposited again inside Lebanon. Finally, the United Nations must activate Chapter 7 of its Charter that defines any country causing instability or threatening peace in any area in the world as deserving a punishable collective security action to stop it. The Islamic Republic of Iran should be held accountable for their actions in Lebanon. 
*Maria Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist, broadcaster, publisher and writer. She holds an MA in Political Sociology.
*Bryan E. Leib is the Executive Director of the Iranian Americans for Liberty and he is a former Republican candidate for US Congress.
The opinions expresses by the authors are not necessarily the views of Iran International

 تقرير قدمة ديفيد شنكر إلى لجنة الشؤون الخارجية في بمجلس النواب الأميركي حول لبنان/ معهد واشنطن/ تقييم الشلل السياسي في لبنان والأزمة الاقتصادية وتحديات السياسة الأمريكية
Assessing Lebanon’s Political Paralysis, Economic Crisis, and Challenges for U.S. Policy
David Schenker/House Foreign Affairs Committee/Washington Institute/July 30/2021
*The following testimony was prepared for a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism.
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101012/%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%82%d8%af%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%b4%d9%86%d9%83%d8%b1-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%86%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%a4%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a7/
The contours of Lebanon’s slow-motion economic collapse are by now well known. In the aftermath of the fifteen-year civil war, Lebanon borrowed huge amounts of money to rebuild, accumulating a mountain of debt that was funded by borrowing from local banks brimming with expatriate remittances. Even as the debt approached an unsustainable level of 150 percent of GDP, new money continued to flow into Lebanon, lured by obscene interest rates, particularly on Lebanese lira deposits—an expensive but effective tactic intended to encourage confidence in the shaky currency.
Some early warning signs of impending trouble emerged following the outbreak of the 2011 Syrian civil war, yet the Ponzi scheme endured. Over time, however, the war took a toll on Lebanon’s already troubled economy, as exports decreased, a million refugees arrived, foreign remittances slowed, Gulf state funding dried up (as the Iranian-backed Shia militia Hezbollah increasingly dominated the state), and new funding became unattainable. The impact of endemic corruption, which had long plagued the state, hastened the inevitable deterioration, but COVID-19 and the horrific August 2020 Beirut port explosion constituted the coup de grace.
Numbers tell a story of suffering. Once pegged at 1,500 to a dollar, the lira has devaluated and today is nearly 25,000 to a dollar. Life savings have been wiped out, and dollar bank accounts are inaccessible. The Central Bank—always an opaque institution—has little access to hard currency, and it’s unclear how much, if any, of the bank’s foreign reserves, which by law should be at least $17 billion, remain. The lack of hard currency has complicated Lebanon’s ability to produce energy or import food, medicine, and fuel. Subsidies have been cut. Unemployment is in excess of 30 percent. In 2020, GDP decreased more than 20 percent from 2019—in 2017, GDP per capita was around $8,000 per year; today it is less than $5,000. More than half of Lebanese are now below the poverty line, and nearly half of this population is destitute, or “food insecure.” The World Bank characterizes the situation as perhaps among the top three “most severe crisis episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century.”
The collapse of Lebanon’s economy has many midwives. Lebanon consistently ranks among the most corrupt states in the world according to Transparency International, and for good reason. Enormous sums of money have vanished, either spirited out of the country or siphoned into the pockets of local political elites. While Lebanon is a state where sectarianism runs deep, corruption is an ecumenical practice, exercised across the lines of the eighteen officially recognized religious groups in the state. To be sure, Hezbollah is among the groups in Lebanon most wedded to this profoundly corrupt and dysfunctional system, but it is not alone. Indeed, corruption has long been an area of rare cooperation between otherwise rival political parties in the fractious environment. The corruption has been so profitable for the elite that notwithstanding the slide toward state failure, they remain even to this day largely disinclined to reform.
Nearly a year has passed since the last Lebanese government resigned in the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion. Since then, as the economy has spiraled downward, Lebanon’s political elites have not been willing or able to form a new government committed to reform and fighting corruption, the international community’s prerequisites for supporting an IMF “bailout” program for the state. After eight months of reportedly trying to form this kind of technocratic reform-oriented government, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down in mid-July. His efforts were impeded by President Michel Aoun, among others, who insisted on naming a plurality of the cabinet ministers, a constitutionally questionable ploy seemingly driven by Aoun’s desire to better position his son-in-law Gebran Bassil to succeed him as president. With Hariri out of the picture, former prime minister Najib Mikati will now take the reins.
While difficult, there is a roadmap for Lebanon to extricate itself from this situation. It appears, however, that a majority of the elites remain most concerned with their own parochial interests rather than the well-being of the Lebanese people. Alas, this is not a new phenomenon by any stretch, but it is particularly disturbing given the burgeoning humanitarian crisis.
Broadly speaking, the Biden administration’s policy toward Lebanon represents continuity with its predecessor. Washington continues to provide significant humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people, primarily via its support for the World Bank—which in January 2021 provided $246 million to fund a social safety net program for the destitute—and the World Food Program, which delivers assistance to nearly 1.5 million residents a month. The Biden administration also continues to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), which it considers an increasingly important institution in Lebanon amid the deterioration of public security. In May, the administration announced that it would increase its annual Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant by $15 million, for a total of $120 million in FY 2021.
Most important, like its predecessor, the Biden administration continues to consider implementation of reforms the sine qua non for U.S. support for an IMF program. Lebanon has been in challenging economic straits many times before—only to be bailed out by successive international donor conferences, typically hosted by the French. While the Biden administration no doubt seeks stability in Lebanon, it is wisely thus far not willing to pay for it unconditionally. The United States will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people and will eventually help the Lebanese government, but only if Beirut takes steps first to help itself.
As the Biden administration contends with the crisis in Lebanon, it will be important to keep the following points in mind:
It can and will get worse before it gets better. Even if a government was formed in Beirut today, it would take time for reforms to be implemented and for IMF funds to be disbursed and start having an impact. In any event, Lebanon’s IMF program—if and when it happens—will likely be less than $5 billion and distributed incrementally based on the government’s execution of obligations. It will not be a silver bullet. Lebanon’s recovery, even in a best-case scenario, will be measured in decades. Efforts should be made to claw back funds stolen through corruption from the Lebanese people, but the vast majority of this money is unlikely ever to be returned. Lebanese account holders will take large haircuts and will never be made whole. While this process is occurring, public security will further deteriorate. As frustrations and hunger increase, so too will petty and violent crime. The integrity of Lebanese institutions, including security organizations, will be tested. On this front, the biggest concern will be the durability of the LAF.
The LAF is problematic but nonetheless important. U.S. support for the Lebanese Armed Forces is a controversial topic in Washington. CENTCOM characterizes the LAF as among its most capable regional partners, especially in terms of counterterrorism. While the LAF is indeed committed to fighting Sunni terrorists, however, the organization periodically deconflicts, cooperates, and coordinates with the Iranian-backed Shia terrorist militia Hezbollah. Key positions in the LAF are likewise held by Hezbollah sympathizers and/or operatives. This has a broad range of implications, including that, in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, the LAF frequently impedes the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from investigating hostile Hezbollah activities in south Lebanon. At the same time, however, the LAF is one of the few organizations still helping to maintain a semblance of public order in the state. Absent the LAF, Israel might see more Palestinian protestors attempting to infiltrate the border; demonstrations throughout the state, to some extent currently regulated by the LAF, might be more chaotic and violent.
Implications of LAF deterioration. Critics of the LAF and U.S. support to the institution frequently cite the LAF’s—and indeed the political elite’s—relationship with Hezbollah to argue for cutting FMF. This collaboration is problematic and needs to be addressed. Washington should hold the LAF to a high standard; to do so, the Biden administration should engage in a process of leveraging U.S. funding to weed out the most senior officers loyal to Hezbollah. The Biden administration should likewise condition assistance on the LAF ending its obscene practice of employing military tribunals to target Hezbollah critics at home and abroad. The institution should not be in the business of being Hezbollah’s enforcer. But to cut all funding to the LAF during the current financial crisis would be self-defeating. In addition to the public security implications mentioned above, the deterioration and/or collapse of the LAF could lead to an increase of what scholar Martin Kramer calls “superfluous young men,” i.e., unemployed military-trained people who will be tempted to seek jobs in sectarian militias.
Lebanon is not Hezbollah. To be sure, Hezbollah dominates Lebanon and will not be displaced anytime soon. The LAF will not militarily target the terrorist organization, and politicians and activists who too vocally oppose the group’s diktat are threatened or killed. The U.S. response to this dynamic should not be to leave Lebanon to become a full-fledged satrapy of Iran. As with Iraq, Washington should continue to engage with and support (to the extent possible) local actors who share U.S. values and aspire to exercise sovereignty. At the same time, as the United States helps to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Lebanon, it should continue to target Hezbollah financially. Hezbollah officials blame U.S. sanctions for the state’s economic collapse, but the vast majority of Lebanese know better; Hezbollah’s exploitation of the banking system, its corruption, its involvement in narco-trafficking, and its opposition to reform contributed greatly to Lebanon’s financial meltdown. No doubt, it’s a sensitive time to be leveling additional sanctions, but Hezbollah should not get a pass and further benefit from a crisis it has helped to create. Neither should Hezbollah’s political allies. It’s important that Washington continue to contest the space with Iran in Lebanon. As the Biden administration pursues a nuclear deal with Iran, it should toughen its approach to Hezbollah.
Sanctions remain a useful tool. Washington should persist in sanctioning Lebanese political elites, regardless of sect, who perpetuate the system of endemic corruption that has led the state to ruin. This includes designating not only Hezbollah officials, but also its political allies and others who obstruct the formation of a reform-oriented government and the implementation of reforms. The Biden administration, which prides itself on having rebuilt relations with European partners, should engage with these partners to follow through on commitments to designate Lebanese elites to help promote more productive behavior. In many ways, European sanctions are more impactful and meaningful to these actors than U.S. sanctions. Now that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has convicted a Hezbollah member for his role in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, Washington should press its European partners—who helped underwrite the tribunal in an effort to establish accountability in Lebanon—to designate the entirety of Hezbollah. Washington likewise has an interest in the pursuit of justice for other Lebanese victims of Hezbollah such as Lokman Slim, a longtime critic of the militia and recipient of U.S. development assistance who was murdered in February 2021.
*David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute. From 2019 to January 2021, he served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
*David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
A former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs diagnoses the country's incapacitated institutions and prescribes remedies for its entrenched corruption and Iranian/Hezbollah domination.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/assessing-lebanons-political-paralysis-economic-crisis-and-challenges-us-policy

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/2021
Ship Tied to Israeli Billionaire Attacked Off Oman, 2 Killed
Associated Press/30 July ,2021
An oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire reportedly came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, authorities said Friday, an assault that killed two crew members. The attack Thursday night targeted Liberian-flagged oil tanker Mercer Street just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah. The location is over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman's capital, Muscat. Israeli officials did not immediately acknowledge the attack, but it comes amid heightened tensions between it and Iran as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Other Israel-linked ships have been targeted in recent months as well amid a shadow war between the two nations, with Israeli officials blaming the Islamic Republic for the assaults. Israel meanwhile has been suspected in a series of major attacks targeting Iran's nuclear program. London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group, issued a statement saying the ship was the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Mercer Street and was Japanese owned. The British Defense Ministry earlier misidentified the ship's owners. Zodiac Maritime described the attack as "piracy," without elaborating. It later said the attack killed two crew members, one from the United Kingdom and another from Romania. It said the company was "not aware of harm to any other personnel."
"At the time of the incident the vessel was in the northern Indian Ocean, traveling from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah with no cargo onboard," the statement from Zodiac Maritime said, naming ports in Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates respectively. Satellite tracking data from MarineTraffic.com showed the vessel had been near where British officials said the attack occurred. However, the last signal the ship sent came early Friday morning. An brief initial statement from the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said an investigation was underway into the incident, which it described as happening late Thursday night. The statement did not elaborate, other to say that it suspected the attack did not involve piracy. Earlier on Thursday, the British military group had said it was investigating another unexplained incident in the same area, but it did not elaborate. Oman did not acknowledge an attack and officials there did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast, did not respond to a request for comment. The incident comes amid heightened tensions over Iran's tattered nuclear deal and as negotiations over restoring the accord have stalled in Vienna. Since then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, there have been a series of ship attacks in the region suspected to have been carried out by Tehran. Iranian media quoted foreign reports on the attack, but did not elaborate. The attack came the night after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Kuwait, warned Iran that talks in Vienna over the nuclear deal "cannot go on indefinitely." This is the second time this month a ship tied to Ofer apparently has been targeted. In early July, the Liberian-flagged container ship CSAV Tyndall, once tied to Zodiac Maritime, suffered an unexplained explosion on board while in the northern Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Iran leading suspect in attack on Israeli-managed tanker: US, EU sources
Reuters/30 July ,2021
Iran is the leading suspect in an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker off Oman but it is too early to say for sure, US and European sources familiar with intelligence reporting said on Friday. Separately, a US defense official said the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime, appeared to have been attacked by a drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle. All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington confirmed an attack took place but gave no details.
An attack on an Israeli ship came in response to the occupation’s attack on Dabaa airport, sources in the resistance axis told al Alam TV on Friday. No other details were mentioned.

US Navy has boarded attacked Israeli tanker, USS Reagan accompanying ship
Joseph Haboush & Pierre Ghanem, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
US Navy personnel are onboard the Israeli-managed ship that was allegedly attacked by Iranian forces earlier in the day, a Pentagon official told Al Arabiya Friday. Members from the US Navy’s 5th Fleet responded to a distress call from a ship in international waters earlier in the day after being attacked, the official said.The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan other US ships are currently accompanying the ship, which belongs to an Israeli-owned company and was attacked off the coast of Oman. The USS Reagan was recently dispatched to the Middle East to help protect the troops withdrawing from Afghanistan. Israel’s top diplomat accused Iran of being behind the attack, which the US said was carried out using a drone attack.But the Pentagon refused to cast blame as it awaits further investigations.Reuters had earlier quoted US and European sources familiar with intelligence reporting as saying that Tehran was the leading suspect in the attack on the petroleum products tanker.

Tunisia's Ghannouchi Calls for 'Return to Democracy'
Agence France Presse/30 July ,2021
Tunisia's parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi, in an interview with AFP, has called for a return to democracy after President Kais Saied's shock power grab at the weekend. Ghannouchi, also leader of the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, voiced regret at the lack of dialogue with the presidency, and warned that if no agreement is reached on the formation of a government and the reopening of the legislature, "we will invite the Tunisian people to defend their democracy". Question: You have called for dialogue. Where do things stand now? Answer: "There is no dialogue today with the president nor with his advisers. But we think we need a national dialogue."We are trying to use all peaceful means -- dialogue, negotiations, street pressure, pressure from organizations... internal and external pressure -- to bring back democracy."Question: You mentioned early parliamentary elections. What would you be ready to negotiate? Answer: "We are ready to make all concessions so that democracy can return to Tunisia. "The Tunisian constitution is more important than our staying in power. We are always ready for all concessions in the context of a return to democracy, and not the imposition of dictatorship and a coup d'état."
Question: Some of your supporters are calling on donors to suspend aid to Tunisia to put pressure on President Saied. Does the solution for Tunisia lie abroad? Answer: "We are not calling for starving the Tunisian people. We care about the interests of the Tunisian state, the Tunisian people, and it does not depend on who is in power."Question: Isn't Ennahdha paying for its mistakes, its alliances with politicians prosecuted for corruption, its reluctance to set up the constitutional court on time? Answer: "There have been mistakes in the economic and social fields, and Ennahdha bears a part of the responsibility, which corresponds to the part of power it has held."The parties in parliament made the mistake of not managing to establish a constitutional court... President Saied has used the absence of a constitutional court to monopolize the interpretation of the constitution and to make himself the constitutional court, and that's an error in which we all bear a part of the responsibility."
Question: How do you see the future?
Answer: "We must not reach the 30 days desired by the president (the time limit for emergency measures under the constitution). This should be the maximum limit to the suspension of the institutions and the constitution, and during this period there should be discussions between the president and the political parties to agree on a prime minister, on a government and on the presentation of this government to parliament before the end of the month." Question: Are you calling on your supporters to mobilize? Answer: "Since the start, we have called on the people to fight the coup d'état with all peaceful means, and this resistance will continue with peaceful means. "If there is no agreement on the return of parliament, on the formation of a government and its presentation to parliament, the Tunisian street will undoubtedly mobilize and we will invite the Tunisian people to defend their democracy. "He (Saied) put locks on parliament, a tank at its door, that's a very serious error to say the least."

US hits out at Assad regime, ‘very concerned’ about latest violence in Syria’s Daraa
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
The US is “very concerned” about the recent uptick in violence in Syria’s southwestern Daraa following this week’s clashes between Assad regime forces and opposition fighters, a State Department official said Friday. “We are very concerned about the situation in Daraa, including reports of harm to civilians and the extremely difficult and restrictive conditions imposed on the inhabitants by the Syrian regime,” the official, speaking on background, told Al Arabiya English in an email. The clashes have been one of the deadliest of fighting in Syria in recent months. Russia, along with Iran, a powerful backer of Bashar al-Assad, helped mediate a ceasefire in Daraa after the Syrian army recaptured the province in 2018. But this week’s violence was reportedly initiated after government forces tried to launch a raid on Daraa, which was met with a quick response from opposition fighters. “Syrian human rights groups report that civilians are being killed in the fighting, with thousands displaced and thousands more suffering food and medication shortages,” the State Department official said Friday.
“These events are further proof of what the United States has long said: Syria’s humanitarian crisis is a direct result of the Assad regime’s appalling and relentless attacks on the Syrian people,” the official added. Washington has been firm on calling for the Assad regime to cooperate with UN Security Resolution 2254, which called for a political solution and a new constitution. With the help of Tehran and Moscow, Assad has withstood this pressure and remained in power since the war broke out in 2011.
“We call on all sides to immediately de-escalate and allow aid and civilians to move freely,” the State Department official said. Ceasefire is not a solution; ‘it’s a band aid’
Charles Lister, director of the Middle East Institute’s (MEI) Syria Program, said the outbreak of fighting symbolized the failure of “Russia’s so-called reconciliation approach to Syria’s crisis.” “The last three years have shown clearly that the regime isn’t interested in reconciling, only in punishing and controlling,” Lister told Al Arabiya English. Asked if another ceasefire would put an end to the fighting, Lister said it was possible. “But that’s not a solution; it’s a band aid,” he said.

Saudi FM assures Riyadh’s keenness on stability of Tunisia during visit
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
Tunisian President Kais Saied received in Tunis on Friday Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan who assured of Riyadh’s keenness in supporting the North African country’s security and stability. “I had the honor to convey the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince - may God preserve them - to His Excellency President Kais Saied, President of the sisterly Republic of Tunisia. During my meeting with His Excellency, I reiterated the Kingdom’s position in support of the security and stability of Tunisia and standing by everything that achieves prosperity and prosperity for the brothers in Tunisia,” Faisal bin Farhan tweeted following his meeting. During the meeting, they reviewed the current developments on the situation in Tunisia, and the decisions taken by President Said “aimed at stabilizing the situation in Tunisia, especially the health and economic situation.”According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the President of Tunisia valued the Kingdom’s “permanent standing with his country”, and the Saudi King’s response to his request, which he made during his call with the Crown Prince, and the allocation of medical aid and equipment to Tunisia to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic there. Saied stressed that “the Tunisian people will never forget the gift of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which once again consolidates the strength and depth of the historical relations that exist between the two brotherly countries and peoples.”

GCC chief, US envoy for Yemen: Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia violate intl law
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2021
The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council met with the US Special Envoy for Yemen where they both condemned in the strongest terms the Iran-backed Houthis’ continued targeting of Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and explosive drones. GCC Secretary General Nayef al-Hajraf received US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking in Riyadh on Thursday during which they reviewed the latest developments in Yemen. “The GCC Secretary General appreciated the US position of calling for an immediate cessation of Houthi attacks on Marib, which exacerbates the humanitarian crisis, and its keenness to complete the implementation of Riyadh Agreement, achieve stability and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. “The two sides condemned in the strongest terms Houthi group's continued targeting of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones, which represent a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” SPA added. Both diplomats also stressed “the need to immediately stop the military escalation by Houthi militia on various fronts, and stop its crimes against civilians and the displaced.”The two sides urged Houthi group to respond to Saudi Arabia’s ceasefire initiative, engage in the peace process and give priority to the interests of Yemen and Yemenis.

Firefighters tackle one of the worst wildfires in southern Turkey
Reuters/31 July ,2021
Firefighters battled one of the worst wildfires on Turkey's southern coast on Friday for a third day after the evacuation of dozens of villages and some hotels. More than 60 wildfires have broken out across 17 provinces on Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts this week, officials have said. The forestry minister said fires raged on in six provinces. Officials have promised to bring to account anyone found responsible for starting them. Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said fires were still blazing in the Mediterranean resort region of Antalya and the Aegean resort province of Mugla.
Reuters filmed firefighters on the ground and in helicopters were fighting a blaze that killed three people in Manavgat, 75 km (45 miles) east of Antalya. Turkish authorities said three planes, nine drones, 38 helicopters 680 firefighting vehicles and 4,000 personnel were involved in firefighting efforts and separate wildfires raged in the provinces of Osmaniye, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Adana, Mersin and Kutahya.

US Justice Dept orders IRS to provide Trump’s tax returns to Congress
Reuters/Published: 30 July ,2021
The US Justice Department on Friday ordered the Internal Revenue Service to hand over former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to a House of Representatives committee, saying the panel has offered “sufficient reasons” for requesting the material.
The department’s Office of Legal Counsel reversed course and declared that the department erred in 2019 when Trump was still in office when it found that the request for his taxes by the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee was based on a “disingenuous” objective aimed at exposing them to the public. “We cannot know where receipt of the requested tax information will take the committee, any more than the committee itself can predict what it will find or determine,” wrote Acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen for the Office of Legal Counsel. However, Johnsen noted, “the respect due a co-equal branch of government requires that we presume the Committee will handle the tax information it receives with sensitivity to taxpayer privacy concerns.”Unlike other recent presidents, Trump did not publicly disclose his tax returns.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials published on July 30-31/2021
Biden Looks Away While Iranian Protesters Call for the Regime’s Overthrow
Alireza Nader/FDD/July 30/2021
علي رضا نادر: بايدن يتعامى عما يجري في إيران بينما يطالب المتظاهرون الإيرانيون بإسقاط نظام الملالي
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101008/alireza-nader-fdd-biden-looks-away-while-iranian-protesters-call-for-the-regimes-overthrow%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%8a-%d8%b1%d8%b6%d8%a7-%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%86-%d9%8a/
In Iran, nationwide protests are calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. The unrest started in the water-deprived province of Khuzistan but has spread to neighboring provinces and major cities, including the capital of Tehran. This revolt could mark a turning point in Iranian history, yet the Biden administration does not want anything to distract from its negotiations with the regime for a return to the flawed 2015 nuclear deal.
Khuzistan is the center of the Iranian energy industry and holds a strategic position along both the border with Iraq and the shores of Persian Gulf. Rising global temperatures have contributed to water shortages, but the ruling clerics’ corruption and mismanagement are what turned the situation into a crisis. More than six hundred dams have been built since the revolution of 1979, many if not most completely unnecessary. The regime also diverts water resources from one province to another. In both cases, the main beneficiaries are regime insiders who control the contracts.
Electricity is also becoming a scarce resource, with power blackouts becoming more frequent during this year’s hot and dry summer. Much of Iran, especially Khuzistan, is becoming uninhabitable. Iranians know that their immiseration is a manmade disaster, so they are directing their anger at the regime.
Much of Khuzistan’s population consists of Arab Iranians, who have suffered from decades of discrimination, but this is no ethnic rebellion. The Khuzistan uprising has been joined by all the major ethnic and religious groups in the province, including Arab speakers, Persian speakers, Lurs, Bakhtiaris, and others. As a result, the entire province is in open revolt as Iranians take over major cities such as Ahvaz, Soosangerd, and Khoramabad by closing major roads and highways and massing in the streets. What’s more, the revolt has spread far beyond Khuzistan, both to the capital and to major cities like Tabriz and Karaj. The movement transcends ethnicity, with calls for national unity heard across the country – unity in opposition to four decades of misrule.
Explicitly political matters are also feeding the protesters’ anger. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei arranged the “election” of Ibrahim Raisi as president last month. A former prosecutor and chief of the judiciary, Raisi has spent his career wielding the law as a tool of terror and repression on behalf of the supreme leader. In the late 1980s, he was a member of the Death Commission responsible for the execution of thousands of political prisoners.
In short, Raisi is Khamenei’s sword rather than the head of a government. The people have no reason to expect he will address the average Iranian’s many grievances. They know the regime cannot be reformed and see the regime for what it is – a dictatorship under Khamenei. The only way to save Iran from environmental, economic, and social disaster, they say, is to demand the barandazi, or overthrow, of the Islamic Republic.
During his six months as president, Joe Biden’s message to the world has been that “America is back” and will put human rights “at the center of U.S. foreign policy.” As far as Iranians are concerned, Biden is missing in action. After weeks of unrest, the State Department’s spokesman finally issued a two paragraph statement of support for the Iranian people. There has been silence about the nationwide labor strikes that also challenge the regime.
The reason for the White House’s timidity is that Biden, like Obama before him, refuses to let human rights derail his pursuit of nuclear negotiations. For now, talks in Vienna are on pause until Raisi’s inauguration next month. Khamenei’s selection of Raisi should already have made it clear that pressing Iran to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal is a fool’s errand. The incoming president favors an expansionist foreign policy, including an aggressive approach to nuclear negotiations.
Biden should see that closing his eyes to reality on the ground in Iran is likely to damage U.S. interests in the Middle East and beyond. Across the region, Iranian proxies like Hezbollah are reeling under pressure from similar forces to those driving discontent in Iran. Yet if Biden could not summon outrage when the Justice Department revealed that Tehran sought to kidnap an American journalist, Masih Alinejad, on American soil, it is hard to be optimistic.
The struggle to overthrow the clerical regime is likely to be borne almost completely alone by the Iranian people. Few Western countries have even offered moral support. This is where Iran’s neighbors and historic partners can step in.
This past week, a group of Iranian activists exiled from their homes traveled to Israel as part of a mission called the Cyrus Accords. The group seeks to revive the ancient bond between the Iranian and Jewish people. It may be easy to forget but Israel and Iran were allies before the 1979 revolution in Iran. Israel has reportedly penetrated the regime’s intelligence and security apparatus at the highest levels.
It has leveraged this success to inflict major damage on the Iranian nuclear program, yet the threat to Israel’s existence runs deeper than the regime’s unrelenting quest for nuclear weapons and regional expansion. Only a complete transformation of the political system in Iran can lead to peace in the entire region.
The country must have a secular, unified, and democratic Iran. The Iranian people have risen to free themselves from tyranny. The world, with one key exception, largely remains silent.
*Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @AlirezaNader. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Les inconséquences devant la terreur
Charles Elias Chartouni/July 30/2021
شارل الياس شرتوني: المفارقات أمام الإرهاب
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101010/charles-elias-chartouni-les-inconsequences-devant-la-terreur-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%82/
L’attaque terroriste du 4 août 2020 marque un tournant dans la vie politique libanaise dans la mesure où nous passons d’un régime de simulation démocratique à celui de la terreur. Le parcours de l’enquête a été faussé au point de départ lorsque l’éventualité d’une investigation internationale, celle d’une investigation conjointe, et d’une causalité politique ont été éliminées au profit d’une hypothèse de travail purement administrative dont le but est de reconstituer les faits d’une criminalité ordinaire attribuée aux dysfonctionnements multiples d’une autorité portuaire corrompue et défaillante. Il s’agit, en effet, d’une enquête basée sur des prémisses fausses dont le but est d’écarter toute étiologie politique, et induire un climat de terreur qui dissuaderait toute action légale et civile qui remettrait en question le récit que les pouvoirs en place essayent d’imposer. L’action des juges successifs s’est distinguée par son mutisme au point qu’on s’interrogeait sur le bien fondé de leur démarche, et leur entière soumission aux diktats politiques qui leur sont édictés.
Les raisons, jusque-là obscures, de la démission du juge Fadi Farran, le silence prolongé de son successeur, Tarek Bitar, l’obstruction faite par le parlement et le ministre de l’intérieur aux mandats d’arrêt des premiers ministres, ministres, députés et directeur de la sûreté générale, et les menaces directes ou voilées émises par les mouvances du fascisme chiite, sont suffisamment explicatifs des omissions qui ont scandé l’ensemble de la démarche, à commencer par l’interdiction d’accès à la scène du crime par les services de sécurité du Hezbollah, le blocage des interventions humanitaires dépêchées par les démocraties occidentales( la Croix Rouge, les ONG internationales, les corps d’État … ), la manipulation du site en vue de brouiller le travail d’investigation criminelle, le refus de toute coopération internationale en matière de justice, l’apathie totale des autorités à l’endroit du drame humanitaire et leur refus de coopération aux chantiers de reconstruction, fournissent un faisceau d’indicateurs qu’on gagnerait à retenir pour comprendre la lenteur des procédures, le brouillage des repères, le sabotage juridique, et la mise en orbite du pouvoir judiciaire moyennant des complicités avérées et le délitement avancé de la justice dans ce pays.
À l’instar de tous les crimes politiques que notre pays a connus durant les quinze dernières années et leurs antécédents, la justice libanaise instrumentalisée par les fascismes chiites et leurs actionnaires politiques à tous les niveaux (parlementaire, judiciaire et exécutif) a sciemment oblitéré la nature politique de ces crimes, et elle a été relayée par le tribunal international (2005) et ses conclusions hypothétiques quant à l’objet de l’assassinat du premier ministre Rafic Hariri et autres acteurs politiques de la mouvance du 14 Mars, la qualité institutionnelle des acteurs (il n’y a que Salim Ayache apparemment), aux relais logistiques et la trame politique dense qui le sous-tend. l’impunité au long parcours, la servilité du pouvoir judiciaire et ses complicités transversales, le règne de terreur généré par les assassinats successifs, la complicité objective de la majorité parlementaire, la division du travail entre les ailes des fascismes et mafias chiites représentés par l’alliance entre Nasrallah et Berri, la collusion de Michel Aoun et sa formation politique, et la subordination complète du cabinet de Hassan Diab, ont créé les conditions d’un coup d’État qui a entièrement détruit les règles de la vie institutionnelle, et pavé la voie à une politique de domination qui a remis en cause la norme démocratique, la légitimité nationale du pays, ses consensus historiques et sa viabilité, tout en laissant planer l’hypothèse d’un remaniement géopolitique qui s’inscrit dans le cadre des bouleversements stratégiques que connaît le proche orient.
Loin d’être un accident technologique dû à la vénalité et incompétence de l’administration portuaire, l’explosion proto-nucléaire du 4 août 2020, est un acte prémédité de terreur monté par le Hezbollah en vue de sceller une dynamique de changement politique, démographique, socio-économique et urbaine qui viendrait à bout des équilibres socio-politique en place au bénéfice d’un présumé condominium chiite-sunnite aux recoupements multiples, ouvertement affiché par Nabih Berri lors d’une discussion avec Fouad al Sanioura et le club des oligarques sunnites "venons en à un arrangement entre nous autres, alors que les chrétiens partent". L’enquête a besoin de se repositionner sur des axes nouveaux, et l’action de la société civile devrait se saisir de cet acte de terreur pour réaffirmer la primauté de la souveraineté nationale, et redonner à l’État de droit sa place angulaire dans l’agencement de la vie politique. La justice qu’on ne cesse de réclamer depuis cette infâme journée du 4 août 2020 est non négociable et n’aurait aucune chance d’aboutir dans le cadre des rapports de force en lice, l’encadrement des institutions internationales étant un recours inévitable afin de réaffirmer la prééminence du droit sur les rapports de force. À défaut, on voit mal quel serait l’avenir d’un pays subverti, sans ancrages institutionnels, sans repères normatifs et voués aux vides emboîtés d’une région en éclats.

What will happen when Bennett meets with Biden in Washington?
Herb Keinon/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2021
DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: It is to avoid surprises that meetings like those Hulata and Meir will have with their American counterparts before Bennett’s visit are so important.
Two senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, new National Security Council head Eyal Hulata and Bennett’s top foreign policy adviser, Shimrit Meir, are expected to arrive in Washington on Monday to begin preparations for Naftali Bennett’s maiden trip to the US as prime minister.
The importance of this type of preparation should not be underestimated. Hulata and Meir are expected to meet US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the US NSC’s top Mideast hand, Brett McGurk.
No date has yet been given for a meeting between Bennett and US President Joe Biden, but it is expected either in late August or during the last two weeks of September, when the premier would be able to couple a meeting with Biden with an address to the United Nations General Assembly and meetings with other world leaders there.
Like football players carefully going over the tapes of the games their upcoming opponent played in recent weeks, Hulata and Meir would do well to carefully review tapes of previous first meetings between US presidents and Israeli prime ministers. And the most important tape to watch would be that of the May 18, 2017, meeting between then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president Barack Obama in the White House.
Though on paper the two men were starkly different – Obama with a pronounced left-wing worldview and Netanyahu with one very much to the Right – most believed that at least the first meeting would go smoothly, as both leaders would want to start their relationship on the right foot.
Most people were wrong.
The meeting was a disaster from Netanyahu’s point of view, as Obama called for a complete settlement freeze during public comments in the Oval Office, and privately went even further and demanded an end of construction in east Jerusalem as well.
And why should Hulata and Meir pay attention to this meeting? Because, as an Israeli official intimately involved in that meeting told The Jerusalem Post at the time, Netanyahu “felt ambushed” by those demands, and his team had received no prior warning that this would be the tenor of the conversation.
Furthermore, Israel was caught off guard and unprepared for what eventually turned out to be a strategic decision made by Obama to publicly place daylight between the US and the Jewish state. Dennis Ross, who a month after this meeting became one of Obama’s top Mideast advisers, wrote later that Obama was hoping that by distancing himself from Israel he could improve ties with the Muslim world.
In other words, Netanyahu went into that meeting without the proper intelligence about what was about to come down. That first meeting set a negative tone for what would become a very rocky relationship.
Obama’s springing a settlement freeze on Netanyahu broke an important rule that has long been a tenet of Israel-US relations: No surprises.
Ironically, Netanyahu took Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to task last month for stressing, during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, that the US and Israel would employ a “no surprises” policy with each other. Netanyahu disingenuously said that this implies that Lapid had somehow forfeited Israel’s freedom of action against Iran, though this was by no means Lapid’s intention.
It is to avoid surprises that meetings like those Hulata and Meir will have with their American counterparts before Bennett’s visit are so important.
Even before their arrival, however, Jerusalem and Washington have been preparing for the trip by removing potential pitfalls that could cloud it. And Biden knows about clouded visits, such as the 2010 announcement by the Jerusalem Planning Committee of plans to build 1,600 housing units in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo beyond the Green Line just as he was visiting the country, a move that nearly ruined his visit here as vice president.
How are both sides now removing potential pitfalls?
On Tuesday the Post’s Lahav Harkov reported that a source close to Bennett said that even if the High Court of Justice rules that four Palestinian families can be evicted from homes in Sheikh Jarrah, the government does not plan to do so. A High Court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday. The eviction of these families close to or during a Bennett trip to Washington would completely overshadow the visit.
And on the other side of the fence, the US has reportedly decided to push off plans to open a consulate in Jerusalem to serve the Palestinians until after the November budget vote in the Knesset, a budget the government must pass to survive. A decision today by the US to ask Jerusalem for permission to reopen the consulate closed by president Donald Trump would complicate matters politically for Bennett, as some parties in his coalition are in favor of such a move, and others are opposed. Pushing that decision off until after the critical budget vote in November is proof that the US is mindful of Bennett’s precarious political situation, and does not want to complicate matters for him.
Not all disagreements between the two countries, however, will be as easy to paper over, and the biggest elephant in the room is clearly Iran.
THE US has made it unmistakably clear that it is keen on reentering the nuclear deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The US lead negotiator on the matter, Rob Malley, said in a television interview this week that the US would be willing to lift all sanctions on Iran if the Islamic Republic returned to the 2015 deal, which Trump walked away from.
Despite the offer, Iran has indicated no willingness to return to the deal, is looking for better conditions, and has said it will not resume indirect talks until the new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, is inaugurated on August 5. Israel is concerned that during the lull in the negotiations, Iran is inching precariously close to a nuclear bomb.
It is clear that Bennett will want his meeting with Biden to go well to get relations off on the right foot and show him and the Democrats that he is not Netanyahu. But it is equally clear that he will use the visit to inform the president and the American public that entering the deal and allowing the Iranians to remain as close as they are now to a nuclear weapon is completely unacceptable to Israel.
One factor that may help him explain Israel’s position to the American public is the election of Raisi, a man who strikes a much different posture than the previous president Hassan Rouhani, whose smiling visage presented a deceptively soft image of the Iranian regime to the American public.
Raisi is cut of much different cloth, and his involvement in the late 1980s in the execution of thousands of political prisoners at the end of the Iran-Iraq war will undoubtedly feature prominently in Bennett’s arguing against reentering the JCPOA.
What he said at a cabinet meeting last month after Raisi’s victory gives an indication of the line he will present against the Iranian leader in the US.
“Of all the people that [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei could have chosen, he chose the ‘Hangman of Tehran,’” Bennett said, referring to Raisi, “the man infamous among Iranians and across the world for leading the Death Committees, which executed thousands of innocent Iranian citizens throughout the years.
“Raisi’s election is the last chance for the world powers to wake up before returning to the nuclear agreement, and to understand who they are doing business with. These guys are murderers, mass murderers. A regime of brutal hangmen must never be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction that will enable it to not kill thousands, but millions. Israel’s position will not change on this.”
Bennett’s challenge will be to present this argument to Biden, his administration and the American people without appearing to be as confrontational and combative as Netanyahu did when he challenged Obama’s policy. The message – that Israel will do what it must to prevent an Iranian bomb – will be the same, but the way it will be delivered will be markedly different.
THE PALESTINIAN issue looms as another area of disagreement, though, unlike during that first Obama-Netanyahu meeting, the US and Israel are not at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding what needs to be done.
Obama came into power trying to swing for the fences and hit the equivalent of a diplomatic home run with a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli deal, and Netanyahu was not even in the ballpark.
This time, both sides share an appreciation that nothing dramatic is about to happen. For starters, the makeup of the current Israeli government – made up of a Right and Left bloc where each has veto power over the other – ensures there will be no dramatic push for Israeli concessions by the Left, nor a move toward annexation by the Right. Rather, the composition of this government pushes toward a middle ground: stabilizing the situation and improving the economic situation for the Palestinians.
And that does not collide with where the Biden administration stands on the issue. Blinken has said repeatedly that though the US is in favor of a two-state solution, it is not lurking just around the corner. And when the low-profile US Mideast negotiator Hady Amr wrapped up a visit to the region last month, the US Embassy issued a statement saying, “The current focus of the United States is on improving the situation on the ground and relations between Israelis and Palestinians, which together are important in their own right, and are also important as a means ultimately to advance towards a comprehensive peace.”
In other words, no John Kerry-like pie-in-the-sky expectations of a comprehensive solution within months, nor a Trump “deal of the century.” Rather, stabilizing the situation in the hopes that, down the line, conditions will be more conducive to renewing negotiations.
With that type of meeting of the minds, a meeting of the minds Meir and Haluta can be expected to try to solidify during their meetings next week in Washington, a first Bennett-Biden meeting should go much smoother than the first Netanyahu-Obama one.

Unrest grows in Iran, but is the regime in danger?
Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2021
On Monday, the unrest reached the Iranian capital. Videos and reports from the Tehran protests show demonstrators chanting against the regime.
Iran is currently experiencing a significant wave of unrest. Protests began on July 15 in the southwestern Khuzestan Province. The initial focus was a scarcity of water in recent months, which has led to deaths among livestock and consequent impoverishment among farmers in the ethnically diverse province. The lack of water is also leading to a breakdown in electricity provision and frequent blackouts.
But while scarcity of water was the initial trigger, the protests soon began to include more generalized slogans against the ruling Islamist regime. Khuzestan Province, in which Arab-Iranians form the largest community, is a place of high unemployment, poorly served by the central government in terms of services. In the course of a week, the protests spread, with additional, though smaller, demonstrations taking place in the cities of Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah and Tabriz.
On Monday, the unrest reached the Iranian capital. Videos and reports from the Tehran protests show demonstrators chanting against the regime. Slogans including “Death to the dictator,” “Khamenei, shame on you – leave Iran alone” and, notably, “No Gaza, no Lebanon, my life for Iran.” The latter chant, heard also in the widespread unrest that hit Iran in late 2019, reflects the widespread perception among Iranians that their country’s resources are being wasted on support for Islamic causes across the region, leading to international sanctions and leaving little available for Iran’s own population.
Notably, protesters also chanted slogans in favor of Reza Shah, the military officer who founded the Pahlavi dynasty in the early part of the 20th century, and who is remembered as a modernizing force by many Iranians.
The authorities have reacted to the protests with predictable harshness. In a repeat of what took place in late 2019, Internet reception has been blocked in Khuzestan. Activists in Iran are deeply concerned at what they describe as regime efforts to build a “national Internet” system along Chinese lines, (and, some maintain, with Chinese assistance). Such a system would severely curtail the ability of Iranian citizens to communicate with one another and to access online sources not approved by the regime.
Riot police and Revolutionary Guards personnel have been rushed to restive areas. Ten people so far are reported to have been killed. As of the beginning of this week, according to Amnesty International, the authorities commenced the use of live fire against protesters. In the nationwide protests of late 2019, more than 1,500 people were killed. The death toll in the current protests looks set to sharply rise.
The blocking of Internet provision to areas affected by unrest has two purposes: firstly, it prevents or complicates communication between protesters, who rely on online channels to spread the word concerning protests, in particular in keeping other parts of the country informed of events and seeking to broaden unrest (other means are available for communication and propaganda on a more local level). Secondly, Internet restrictions prevent protesters from keeping international audiences from seeing their videos and messages.
SO WHAT has precipitated the current wave of unrest? And is there reason to believe that this round of protests may differ from previous periods of discontent, and may succeed in posing the question of the continued existence of the clerical regime in Iran?
Regarding the first issue, as with previous waves of protest in Iran and elsewhere, a cluster of causes may be identified. Since last year, Khuzestan has been affected by a severe drought. According to Iran’s meteorological service, the months from October 2020 to June 2021 were the driest for the last 53 years. The Karun River, which flows through Khuzestan, has now entirely dried up.
But the water shortages in Khuzestan and elsewhere in Iran are not solely the product of unavoidable climatic conditions. These have been exacerbated by policies deemed necessary because of the broader regime strategy of confrontation with the West and its regional allies.
Like past regimes that sought to challenge the core rules of the international system, the Iranian regime seeks to secure for itself as far as is possible independent sources of food provision. This has led to an emphasis on the development of agriculture within Iran. This in turn has led to an overexploitation of water resources, which is now producing negative results. Around 90% of Iran’s total water consumption is used by the agricultural sector. The main crops grown in Khuzestan are rice and sugarcane, both of which require large amounts of water.
Overexploitation of water resources for a period of decades took place in the absence of a coherent national strategy for the husbanding of water. The result is now becoming apparent in the growing salinity and in places aridity of considerable parts of Iran’s south. This is bringing water shortages to the population, and raises the possibility of large-scale movements of population. Over-damming of water resources, which leads to the drying up of reservoirs, is exacerbating the issue.
Drought, exacerbated by clumsy and unsuccessful state policy, has played a role in the fomenting of unrest and instability elsewhere in the Middle East. In Syria, for example, a severe drought combined with the effect of economic mismanagement led to the departure of 1.5 million farmers from their lands in the pre-2011 period. The result was the emergence of a class of displaced, poor, Sunni Arab families in and around Damascus and other major cities. The insurgency that began in Syria in late 2011 found its most willing foot soldiers from among this sector.
So might the current drought-inspired unrest in Iran produce a similar result?
While nothing should be ruled out, the current situation is still very far from there. The protests underway are considerably smaller than those witnessed in 2019. There is still, crucially, a lack of any kind of credible revolutionary leadership able to pose a popular alternative to the rule of the clerics and the IRGC.
But for all that, according to one Iranian source, the current protests do have real significance. This source notes that the water and electricity shortages are without precedent, and are serving to turn popular sentiment away from further thoughts of reform, and toward a wholesale rejection of the current regime. If such a wholesale and thorough rejection of the system itself is indeed spreading among the public, it may well bring further results over time.
Certainly the current events in Iran are yet more proof that the Achilles’ heel of the Iranian system is its inability to create workable conditions of social and economic life for the populations who live under its control.
This inability, in time, may well prove fatal to the regime. For the moment, the unrest, and the crackdown, are continuing.

Question: "In what ways is the Christian life like the Olympics?"
GotQuestions.org?/July 30/2021
Answer: The Olympics represent the pinnacle of athleticism, training, and competitiveness, going all the way back to ancient times. The apostle Paul used illustrations from the world of athletics in several of his letters. In three Epistles, he used the image of all-out racing to urge vigorous and lawful pursuit of spiritual growth and service. Four times Paul spoke of his own growth and service in terms of his own such race.
To the gifted but immature believers in Corinth, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Here, Paul compares the disciplined effort necessary for spiritual growth to an Olympic athlete’s effort to win the prize that awaits only the winner of a race. Growing Christlikeness does not just happen on its own. God certainly “works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13), but the believer must cooperate with God by exerting responsible and serious effort to follow what the Holy Spirit teaches. “Anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). For the disciplined believer, the prize is the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV). To what does God call the believer? It is to become like Jesus Christ in heart and lifestyle (Romans 8:28–30).
The true believer demonstrates the reality of God’s work in his heart by enduring all sorts of tests in the development of Christlikeness. The believer is in training, much as an Olympic athlete must train for a race. No pain, no gain. That is why the writer of Hebrews exhorted, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1–3). Jesus is portrayed as the finest runner, the One who set the pace, our model and hero in life’s race. Just as a runner in the Olympics must dispense with anything that would hinder his running, we must disentangle ourselves from sin. As a runner in the games must keep his eyes on the finish line, so we must keep our eyes on Christ and His joyful reward.
Some believers in Galatia had lost faith in God’s grace and were returning to a legalistic, performance-based religion. Paul wrote strong words to them: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you” (Galatians 5:7–8). The true Christian life can be lived only by faith—faith in the pure Word of God and faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. To follow Satan’s deceitful advice to try to earn God’s grace and free gift of salvation is to stumble in our race. Trusting our own works only insults God and does us no good.
Paul wrote with similar urgency to believers in Philippi, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then . . . I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain” (Philippians 2:14–16). Paul encouraged the Philippians’ pure faith and likened his own labor on their behalf to running a race. He had invested hard work and deep suffering in teaching them God’s story, and he wanted his exertion to pay off—much like an Olympic athlete deeply desires his sacrifices to result in victory.
Another passage in which Paul uses the metaphor of a race is Galatians 2:1–2. There Paul tells how he had visited Christian leaders in Jerusalem in order to check with them the gospel he preached to the Gentiles. What was his reason for taking such care? “For fear that I was running or had run my race in vain” (NAS). It was vital to Paul that he knew, believed, and taught God’s truth. This was the way that he “ran his race.”
It was in peaceful confidence that Paul approached the end of his life. Anticipating his impending martyrdom in Rome, he wrote to his young protégé, Timothy, “The time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6–8).
We don’t know if Paul had been an athlete in his younger years. In these references to the Olympic races, he certainly showed deep interest in and understanding of competitive running. He used that understanding of the Olympic races to illustrate the basics of the Christian life.
A runner must train for his race, know the rules, and commit to winning. A believer must endure hardship, exercise absolute and enduring faith in the Word of God, and keep his eyes on the goal. In the power of the cross, the believer grows more and more like the Savior. Despite obstacles, challenges, temptations, and even the threat of death, the Christian continues to run the race Christ has marked out for him.