English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese,
Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 12/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.june12.21.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
I have said this to you, so that in me you may have
peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the
world!’
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 16/29-33:”His
disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech!
Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question
you; by this we believe that you came from God.’Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now
believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered,
each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because
the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have
peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the
world!’”.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on June 11-12/2021
MoH: 206 new Covid-19 infections, 6 deaths
MoH: Pfizer marathon kicks off tomorrow
Aoun to Executive Director of UN Human Settlements Program: Lebanese will to
face challenges is firm
Sit-in in front of Central Bank against “touching” depositors’ funds
Rahi, Wronecka discuss UN’s role helping Lebanon out of impasse
UNIFIL, LAF troops carry out live-fire drill
Boukhary welcomes Sami Gemayel
AUB allocates $150 million to support its community over the next three years
Chinese authorities grant Lebanese Army military vehicles
Pharmacies go on strike: Health security under serious threat
Lebanese PM declares day of mourning on anniversary of Beirut port blast
"Western, Arab countries see in Lebanon’s army a viable alternative
Push for Hezbollah terrorism listing gains boost from ASIO/Nick Bonyhady/The
Sydney Morning Herald/June 11/ 2021
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on June 11-12/2021
Iran regains UN vote after US enables UN payment using frozen funds
Iran sends warships to Atlantic to lay claim to big power status
Israel clears revelations about involvement in anti-Iran operations
Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will
boost Tehran’s ability to surveil military targets, officials say
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth hosts Biden at G7
reception
White House says G7 leaders will endorse proposed 15 percent global corporate
tax
U.S. sanctions network charged with funding Yemen's Houthis
Treasury Sanctions Network Financing Houthi Aggression and Instability in Yemen
Israeli army shoots, kills Palestinian teen during protest: Ministry
U.S. Offers $3 Million for Information on Iraq Attacks
N. Ireland Casts Shadow over First Johnson-Biden Meeting
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on June 11-12/2021
Question: "What should a Christian do when convictions violate a tolerant
society?"/GotQuestions.org?/June 11/2021
In Response to Houthi Arms Transfers, Canada Must Designate Iran’s Revolutionary
Guard as Terror Group/Tzvi Kahn/Insight/FDD/June 11/2021
Merkel needs to end support for terrorist Iran’s regime/Jewish News
Syndicate/Benjamin Weinthal/June 11/202
The Effect of Communist China on America's Clean Energy Plan/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/June 11/2021
Arab coalition halts operations in Yemen, indicating breakthrough but Houthis
escalate/Saleh Baidhani/The Arab Weekly/June 11/2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News
& Editorials published on June 11-12/2021
MoH: 206 new Covid-19 infections, 6 deaths
NNA/June 11/2021
206 new coronavirus cases and 6 deaths have been recorded in Lebanon in the past
24 hours, as announced by the Ministry of Public Health on Friday.
MoH: Pfizer marathon kicks off tomorrow
NNA/June 11/2021
The Ministry of Public Health is organizing the third Pfizer vaccine marathon —
as per the Executive Vaccination Committee’s plan — for those aged 55 years and
above, as well as those with special needs, on Saturday and Sunday June 12 and
13 in all the Lebanese governorates from 8:00 am till 6:00 pm. Moreover, the MoH
emphasized the importance of pre-registration on COVAX platform for those who
have not registered yet, “in order to avoid overcrowding and to immunize the
largest percentage of people.”
Aoun to Executive Director of UN Human Settlements Program:
Lebanese will to face challenges is firm
NNA/June 11/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met UN Under-Secretary-General
and Executive Director of UN Human Settlements Program, Ms. Maimouna Muhammad
Sharif, today at the Presidential Palace.
The President informed the UN official that “Lebanon, which is facing difficult
economic and social conditions, looks forward to the support of the United
Nations organizations and brotherly-friendly countries so that he can get out of
the hardship which he has been experiencing for months”.
President Aoun stressed that the aid received by Lebanon is not sufficient in
view of the damage sustained, whether after the explosion in the port of Beirut,
or the spread of the “Corona” pandemic, and the issue of Syrian displacement,
which doubled during the years of the Syrian war, until the number of Syrian
refugees reached one million and 800 thousand displaced. “The cost incurred by
Lebanon exceeded 45 billion dollars, in addition to the negative repercussions
on the Lebanese economy after the closure of the Lebanese-Syrian borders and the
inability to export Lebanese products” the President added.
President Aoun also considered it “Impossible to continue in receiving this huge
number of displaced Syrians. The international community on one side and the
United Nations on the other hand should work to return them to their villages in
Syria, especially those which have become safe”.
In addition, President Aoun considered that “International solidarity with
Lebanon is a sign of confidence in the future of this country and its people,
despite all the harsh conditions it is currently going through”. The President
then stressed that “The Lebanese will to face challenges is firm, and the
international community must play its role in helping to find solutions to the
successive crises, in our country”.
Then, the President praised the assistance provided by the United Nations Human
Settlements Program (UN HABITAT), which works for a better urban future and
achieve sustainable urban development, especially after the explosion of the
Beirut Port, where it conducted a field survey of the damage and collected
160,000 tons of rubble. It also launched an emergency aid project worth $157.7
million, and rehabilitated 23 schools in Beirut and Mount Lebanon and 100
housing units. President Aoun hoped that the work of the program would continue
in all its fields of competence.
Mrs. Maymouna Sharif had expressed her happiness to be in Lebanon with the
accompanying delegation, and briefed President Aoun on the activities carried
out by the United Nations Human Settlements Program and the 24 projects it
intends to achieve, in addition to the program's response to the disaster after
the explosion of the Port of Beirut.
Mrs. Sharif pointed out that the priorities of the program are achieving
sustainable and inclusive urban development, developing development frameworks,
and making cities able to withstand and overcome the challenges they face to
continue growth.
In addition, Mrs. Sharif expressed the program's solidarity with Lebanon's
President, government and people, stressing the continuation of work to provide
all possible assistance so that Lebanon can overcome the difficult circumstances
it is going through.
The UN official pointed out that the program worked after the July war in 2006
to provide immediate assistance, and is currently working to address the crisis
of the displaced Syrians and provide support to municipalities, noting the
positions of the President of the Republic and his wise management of the
situation in Lebanon, in addition to his permanent determination to coordinate
with United Nations organizations to achieve sustainable development. Mrs.
Sharif also stressed the development of a strategy to achieve short-term and
long-term goals, hoping to obtain the support of the Lebanese government for it.
Ms. Maymouna Sharif was accompanied by the Head of the UN-Habitat Country
Program, Ms. Taina Christiansen, Executive Office Director Dr. Neil Khor, and
the Regional Representative of UN-Habitat in the Arab World, Mr. Irfan Ali.
Arab delegation to congratulate on Resistance and Liberation Day:
President Aoun met a delegation from the "Islamic National Conference",
including heads of parties, representatives, political and union figures from
Lebanon and a number of Arab countries.
The delegation came to the Presidential Palace to offer congratulations on the
occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day.
At the beginning of the meeting, the General Coordinator of the Islamic National
Conference, Dr. Khaled Al-Sufyani, confirmed the participation of Lebanon in its
celebration of the anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day, as well as
the participation of “the Palestinian resistance in its great victory over the
Zionist entity”.
Al Sufyani pointed out that this visit would not have been complete without
meeting President Aoun, who has become a symbol of steadfastness and wisdom, and
well-known for his patriotic and national stances.
Al-Sufyani addressed President Aoun: "We are proud of your stances and
steadfastness against the conspiracy targeting Lebanon, the model of democracy
and true coexistence among its various components. We consider that Lebanon's
security is an essential part of our national security, and that its progress is
essential to the nation's progress despite all the difficulties it is going
through, under the era of a President of the Republic who was able to manage one
of the most difficult stages that the nation and Lebanon are going through,
especially since you have not abandoned any part of this nation's constants”.
For his part, President Aoun welcomed the delegation, expressing his happiness
at receiving "Arab friends and brothers from all over the region, from the East
and West”.
The President stressed that "Lebanon celebrates the Resistance Day every year
because it constituted a model of steadfastness and victory”.
In addition, President Aoun recalled his stances during the July war, stressing
what he said at the time that "Israel will not prevail after this war, and it
has become unable to achieve victory in any war. This was evident in the last
Gaza war, where the Israeli enemy, as well as the world, were surprised, with
the resistance and what it achieved, the scales turned”.
The President concluded wishing that "The Palestinian cause will return to be
the main cause of the Arabs”.
The delegation included representatives from: Lebanon, the West, Mauritania,
Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Chad, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
and Somalia.—Presidency Press Office
Sit-in in front of Central Bank against “touching”
depositors’ funds
NNA/June 11/2021
Activists representing the “Lebanese Depositors Association" on Friday gathered
in front of the Lebanese Central Bank’s headquarters in Hamra, Beirut and
carried out a sit-in, in which they chanted slogans warning from attempts to
“touch” depositers’ funds in Lebanese banks and to return them instead to their
owners. “Listen to the voices of depositors: it is forbidden to touch our
funds,” they chanted in a song addressed to Riad Salameh.
Rahi, Wronecka discuss UN’s role helping Lebanon out of
impasse
NNA/June 11/2021
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi, on Friday welcomed in
Bkirki the newly appointed United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon,
Joanna Wronecka. The meeting had been an occasion to discuss the United Nations
role in helping Lebanon out of its current crisis, as well as the patriarch's
rescue proposals, especially his call for an international conference for
Lebanon. In the wake of the meeting, Wronecka expressed appreciation of
the Maronite Patriarch’s firm belief in the country's stability and coexistence,
“which the United Nations strongly supports.”“We saw eye-to-eye on the need for
urgent solutions to alleviate the concerns that the Lebanese people suffer in
their daily lives and to help restore their hope and confidence in a better
future,” she added.
Berri cables felicitations to Chinese President
NNA/June 11/2021
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, on Friday cabled felicitations to the
Secretary General of China’s Communist Party’s Central Committee, President Xi
Jinping, marking the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
In his cable, Speaker Berri called for strengthening Lebanese-Chinese
cooperation and coordination in various fields, especially the legislative
field, in a bid to serve the interests of both countries. Berri also sent a
congratulatory telegram to Ms. Annita Demetriou upon her election as head of the
Cypriot Chamber of Deputies.
UNIFIL, LAF troops carry out live-fire drill
NNA/June 11/2021
A five-day live fire exercise between UNIFIL peacekeepers and Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) personnel concluded today in an open field south of UNIFIL
Headquarters in Naqoura. The “Steel Storm” drill, led by UNIFIL’s Force
Commander’s Reserve (FCR) and conducted between the two forces twice a year,
involved armoured assets, machine gun and small arms live fire. Throughout this
week’s exercise, LAF troops were joined by UNIFIL peacekeepers from FCR (Finland
and France), Sector West (Ghana, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Poland,
Ireland and Italy) and Sector East (India, Indonesia, Nepal and Spain). LAF’s
5th Brigade elements, 7th brigade elements and 5th intervention regiment
participated in the exercise throughout the week. Under Security Council
Resolution 1701, which forms the core of UNIFIL’s current mandate, the UN
mission supports the LAF, which is the main provider of security and stability
in south Lebanon. One of the ways it does this is through coordinated
activities, like this week’s drill. Coordinated activities help build capacity
and help the LAF and UNIFIL better work together to maintain security in the
south. These activities improve skills and expertise, maintain efficiency and
mutual knowledge, train on fire support procedures, establish appropriate
coordination mechanisms, and ensure effective liaising at all levels. While
welcoming the expansion of coordinated activities between the two forces, the UN
Security Council last year called for “further enhancement of this cooperation.”
In 2020 alone, a total of 1,070 coordinated activities – including exercises,
training programmes and workshops – were carried out both on land and at sea.—UNIFIL
Boukhary welcomes Sami Gemayel
NNA/June 11/2021
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Boukhary, on Friday welcomed Kataeb party
leader and resigning MP, Sami Gemayel. The pair discussed the most recent local
and regional developments, as well as matters of mutual interest.
AUB allocates $150 million to support its community over
the next three years
NNA/June 11/2021
American University of Beirut (AUB) President Dr. Fadlo Khuri announced the
university’s plan to provide $150 million as base support packages in real
(“fresh”) US dollars, to all faculty, physicians, and full-time and part-time
staff at the university and its medical center, with no exception, starting on
the first of July 2021 and over a period of three years until June 2024. This
came after the decision of the Board of Trustees to allocate $150 million to
support the AUB community.
Khuri said that this plan, which will be subject to annual review, “is
consistent with our solemn undertaking throughout the series of political,
economic, and social crises that Lebanon is passing through, that we shall
expend all efforts within our means to ensure no member of the AUB family or
their dependents should be left to suffer the full consequences of the dire
situation that the country has reached.”
These base support packages will be evenly divided between academic and
non-academic personnel and will be composed of payments in real US dollars in
lieu of base salary, calculated at the 1508 Lebanese pound exchange rate, and
are equivalent to at least 20 percent of the base salary. Additionally, the
support package for full-time non-academic staff will include 15 percent in lieu
of base salary, calculated at the 1508 Lebanese pound exchange rate, and paid in
local dollars, contingent on the availability of funds. President Khuri
explained that AUB will maintain educational, healthcare, and retirement
benefits, and that these new resources will be invested to “help make what has
become a very difficult and challenging life in Lebanon less precarious and more
hopeful for our faculty and staff without increasing the financial burdens on
students.”
The support plan also includes modified educational allowances for faculty and
staff to accommodate the increases in tuition fees imposed by the educational
system; in addition to supplemental components for staff in mission-critical
administrative, academic, and medical support units, and for the purchase of
research and hospital equipment and supplies to maintain the support necessary
to deliver on the mission of the university and its medical center.
In addition, the university's Board of Trustees has set aside the income from
another $50 million in unrestricted investments for the establishment of
approximately 50 board-designated professorships with a total budget of $2.5
million per year over three years.
The university's trustees have also committed more than $1.25 million of their
own personal monies toward two newly designated funds—the Medical Heroes Fund
and the Staff Heroes Fund—to be utilized to support, reward, and empower the
most deserving physicians, nurses, and staff at AUB and its medical center.“We
are a committed, principled, and determined community at AUB. In order to
safeguard the future sustainability of this matchless, mission-oriented
institution of higher education and healthcare, we are actively exploring online
education opportunities, novel health and business development platforms, and
the possible establishment of twin international campuses. We will be sharing
our progress along these avenues in due course when there is more to say,”
President Khuri said.
He concluded, "Ultimately, it is all of our sacred charge to ensure that AUB
continues to support our people and the populations they comprise, that they may
continue to pursue excellence in service of the greater good.”—AUB
Chinese authorities grant Lebanese Army military vehicles
NNA/June 11/2021
The Lebanese Army’s Logistics Brigade on Friday held a ceremony, during which it
received from the Chinese authorities a grant comprising of military vehicles,
including 40 trucks, 60 jeeps, and spare parts. The ceremony was attended by the
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Wang Kejian, Chinese Military
Attaché, Brigadier General Zheng Yuchong, and Lebanese Army Major General, Milad
Isaac, representing Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun. In his speech, the
Chinese Ambassador lauded the special relationship that unites the Chinese and
Lebanese armies. “This cooperation reflects the deep feelings of friendship
towards the people and the army of Lebanon,” Kejian said. Major General Isaac
delivered a speech in which he underlined the importance of the Chinese grant,
especially that “it contributes to improving the mobility of the army units
deployed across Lebanese territories.”
Pharmacies go on strike: Health security under serious threat
NNA/June 11/2021
Pharmacies on Friday adhered to a decision to go on full strike, as had been
called forth by the gathering of pharmacists “to protest the deteriorating
availability and soaring cost of medicine, as well as to capitalize on the fact
that the country’s health security is under serious threat.” Consequently, most
pharmacies in various Lebanese governorates closed their doors, yet a very small
number violated these closures, according to our correspondent.
Lebanese PM declares day of mourning on anniversary of
Beirut port blast
Aya Iskandarani/The National/June 11/2021
Hassan Diab's draft decree will need President Michel Aoun's approval
Lebanon is to observe the first anniversary of the deadly blast that struck
Beirut port on August 4 last year as a national day of mourning, the prime
minister’s office said. The explosion sparked an outcry from international
allies and the Lebanese, who blamed the country’s entrenched political class,
already accused of failing to remedy a severe economic crisis, of criminal
negligence. Caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab, who resigned after the blast
but whose Cabinet has yet to be replaced, signed a draft decree on Friday to
mark the date as a national day of mourning. The order will require President
Michel Aoun's approval for it to take effect. “I say, in full transparency, that
the rampant corruption that tightens its grip on the state is primarily
responsible for the port explosion,” Mr Diab said during a meeting with the
families of the victims. “We should know the entire truth about this explosion.
The martyrs will not rest in peace unless the truth is revealed.” Tatiana
Hasrouty, whose father was killed in the explosion, says the gesture is not
enough for the families of the victims, who have been seeking answers and
justice for the past 10 months. "Declaring the 4th of August a National day of
mourning by the people who caused the mourning is ironic," Ms Hasrouty said.
"The 4th of August is a yearly reminder to the people in power that they failed,
that they are criminals. The only positive step I want is Justice, people taking
accountability for their actions. When justice prevails, the Lebanese people
will be relieved of its corrupt state." The investigation into the case
continues, 10 months after the incident. The blast was caused by the detonation
of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate – a fertiliser also used in making
explosives – that had been stored at the port for years, creating one of the
largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. More than 200 people were killed,
at least 6,500 injured and large areas of the city were destroyed in the blast,
leaving millions of residents traumatised. The circumstances that led to the
dangerous chemicals being seized and stored at the port in 2013 while en route
from Georgia to Mozambique, are not clear. A initial report on the causes of the
blast, ordered to be submitted within five days of the incident, was never
delivered. The investigating judge, Fadi Sawan, was removed from the case in
February after he summoned powerful politicians for questioning, all of them
close to Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese party and militia. Mr
Sawan had charged Mr Diab, former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former
public works ministers Yusef Fenianos and Ghazi Zeaiter with negligence in
December. Lebanon’s court of cassation replaced him in February after a request
filed by Mr Khalil and Mr Zeaiter.
"Western, Arab countries see in Lebanon’s army a viable alternative
The Arab Weekly/June 11/2021
BEIRUT – Some Western and Arab countries are working towards strengthening the
Lebanese army, which still enjoys the confidence of the international community
amid a collapse of other state institutions in the country, Lebanese political
sources told The Arab Weekly on Wednesday.
Over the past few days, the sources said, the United States, France and Saudi
Arabia have shown an increased interest in supporting the army so as to preserve
what remains of Lebanon. This comes amid a deepening economic crisis reckoned to
be the worst in the country’s modern history, with a political class dominated
by narrow partisan and factional calculations.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said contacts between Army
Commander General Joseph Aoun and senior officials in the three countries could
be part of a plan to prepare the man for a greater role in the near future,
especially after the failure of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to form a
new government.
Hariri had earlier pledged a government of non-partisan specialists tasked with
implementing economic, financial and administrative reform according to the
French initiative.
But Lebanon’s complex sectarian-based political system made reaching major
decisions a significant challenge. Power, including government posts, is
distributed among the country’s Shias, Sunnis and Christians who often get
bogged down in horse-trading because of fears of losing their calibrated clout.
With the political deadlock set to drag on, the United States, France and Saudi
Arabia have set up high-level coordination to support the army and its commander
in order to prevent the complete collapse of Lebanon and its transformation into
a failed state, controlled by Iran through its regional proxy Hezbollah.
France’s armed forces ministry said earlier this week that Paris will convene a
virtual meeting of countries on June 17 to drum up support for the Lebanese army
as it seeks to weather an economic crisis that has put the military on the verge
of collapse.
Support for Lebanon’s army also came from Riyadh, with Saudi ambassador Walid
Bukhari receiving General Joseph Aoun in his house, days after the latter’s
visit to Paris and his virtual meeting with US officials from the departments of
State and Defence.
Paris, which has led aid efforts to its former colony, has sought to ramp up
pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians, after failed attempts to rally
them to agree a new government and launch reforms to unlock foreign cash.
Discontent is brewing among Lebanon’s security forces over a currency crash
wiping out most of the value of their salaries.
Army chief Joseph Aoun was in France last month to warn of an increasingly
untenable situation. In response Paris provided food and medical supplies for
military personnel, whose salaries had fallen five or six fold in value, forcing
many to take extra jobs.
Two diplomatic sources said the meeting, organised by Paris, would seek aid from
countries offering food, medical supplies and spare parts for military
equipment. However, it was not designed to provide weapons or other military
hardware.
“The objective is to bring attention to the situation of the LAF (Lebanese Armed
Forces), whose members are faced with deteriorating living conditions and who
may no longer be able to fully implement their missions, which are essential to
the stability of the country,” France’s armed forces ministry said, adding that
it would host the meeting with the United Nations and Italy.
It aims to encourage donations to benefit the LAF, it said.
Countries from the Lebanon International Support Group, which includes Gulf Arab
states, the United States, Russia, China and European powers, have been invited.
Lebanon’s pound has crashed 90% since late 2019 in a financial meltdown that
poses the biggest threat to stability since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Over the past few months, France failed to achieve any significant breakthrough
on the formation of a new Lebanese government. This failure has led Paris to
express its displeasure with Hariri, who is accused of deviating from his main
goal to form a new cabinet by engaging in a war of words with President Michel
Aoun and his political party, the Free Patriotic Movement.
Observers believe that French moves to support the Lebanese army carry many
political implications, as they send a strong message to Lebanon’s political
class. In this regard, observers argue that Paris wants to show that it has many
options, including support for Army chief Joseph Aoun in the upcoming
presidential elections that will take place in 2022.
On his last visit to Beirut, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said
legislative and presidential elections should be held on time, at a time when
his country seemed to have already abandoned hopes for the formation of a new
Lebanese government.
Observers say support for Aoun’s candidacy for the presidential elections sounds
like a logical option, especially since military leaders have previously
undertaken this task, the last of them being President Michel Aoun.
Since the outbreak of the movement on October 17, 2019, Joseph Aoun has
repeatedly rejected calls by the Presidency to intervene and suppress
demonstrators.
On more than one occasion, General Aoun had warned the political class about the
seriousness of the situation. In March, he criticised “sectarian politicians”
and their handling of the crisis during a meeting at the headquarters of the
armed forces in Yarzeh.
He said that military officers are part of Lebanon’s social fabric and they
“suffer and starve like other people.” Addressing politicians, he asked, “Where
are we going, what do you intend to do? We have warned more than once about the
danger of the situation and the possibility of it exploding.”
Joseph Aoun’s statements at that time provoked angry reactions from the
political class, especially from Hezbollah, which mounted a media campaign
against the army chief to question his intentions.
Lebanese politicians believe that Joseph Aoun’s current moves aim at mobilising
support for the institution in light of the serious challenges it is facing but
that the general has not yet shown any desire to enter the political scene.
Push for Hezbollah terrorism listing gains boost from ASIO
Nick Bonyhady/The Sydney Morning Herald/June 11/ 2021
Australia’s domestic spy agency has no opposition to the country listing
Lebanese militant group and political party Hezbollah as a terrorist entity, in
a major development that could lead to the entire organisation being
blacklisted.
While other defence and foreign affairs bureaucrats appearing before a Senate
committee said it could affect their operations, the ASIO position will prove
key to any change as it is the main agency involved in recommending whether
groups should be placed on the proscribed list. Parliament’s Joint Committee on
Intelligence and Security is examining whether Australia should keep its policy
of branding only one component of Hezbollah – its External Security Organisation
responsible for attacks abroad – as a terrorist organisation, or broaden that
designation.
If Hezbollah, which is often termed a “state within a state”, were designated a
terrorist entity, joining it and providing funding or other resources would
become a crime in Australia. While the government decides whether to list an
organisation as a terrorist entity, the committee is looking at whether to
recommend either Hezbollah’s broader military wing or the entire organisation be
listed. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess declined to make public his
assessment of any threat posed by Hezbollah but said ASIO’s work would not be
hampered by a listing. “A key point I can make ... is that, for me, our ability
to do our job is not impacted if the listing was broadened and that’s ASIO’s
input into a conversation,” Mr Burgess said. He said ASIO, which is an
intelligence organisation rather than a law enforcement body like the police,
could also do its job equally well without the listing but that the position was
different for other organisations. “I agree that the mere fact of a group being
listed does give law enforcement another lawful means by which they can deal
with problems that we’re seeing in our society,” Mr Burgess said. Senior
bureaucrats representing the Australian Federal Police, Department of Foreign
Affairs and Department of Defence gave guarded evidence before the committee
because of its diplomatic and security sensitivity. In general terms they said
their work in Lebanon would be affected if the government listed Hezbollah but
said those risks could be managed.
Three major Australian Jewish organisations and an international terrorism
expert appearing at the proceedings argued that Hezbollah had a centralised
command structure that made security distinctions between its terrorist
components and other sections foolish.
They suggested it would make it easier for police to track and prosecute cases
involving Hezbollah’s alleged drug trafficking, money laundering and monitoring
of opponents abroad, including, they said, in Australia.
No Lebanese organisation, either in Australia or abroad, made a submission to
the inquiry. Hezbollah’s political wing has a history of getting MPs elected to
Parliament, and the current Lebanese government has Hezbollah ministers in the
Industry and Health portfolios. Committee chair James Paterson and other
Coalition MPs on the committee asked questions probing why Australia has not yet
already listed Hezbollah in its entirety, as did shadow Attorney-General Mark
Dreyfus. Other Labor MPs, including counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly, asked
more sceptical questions about how the listing could affect Australia’s Lebanese
community.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on June 11-12/2021
Iran regains UN vote after US enables
UN payment using frozen funds
Reuters, New York/11 June ,2021
Iran regained its vote in the UN General Assembly on Friday after the United
States enabled Tehran to use funds frozen in South Korea to pay some $16 million
it owed to the world body. Iran lost its vote in the 193-member General Assembly
in January because it was more than two years in arrears. It owed a total of
more than $65 million, but paid the minimum amount needed to regain its vote.
“Iran has paid the minimum amount due,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday,
confirming Iran could vote again. Iran says $20 billion of its oil revenue has
been frozen in countries like South Korea, Iraq and China since 2018 under
sanctions imposed by then-US President Donald Trump. “Illegal US sanctions have
not just deprived our people of medicine; they have also prevented Iran from
paying our dues in arrears to the UN,” Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi
posted on Twitter. “After more than 6 months of working on it, the UN today
announced it has received the funds.”Iran was able to vote in the General
Assembly on Friday to elect five new members of the UN Security Council. Iran’s
Foreign Ministry said that it had proposed to the United Nations that it could
use funds frozen in South Korea to pay its dues. It said the world body followed
up with the US Treasury Department to get the appropriate approvals. “The permit
was recently issued and the process of withdrawing the membership fee from
Iran’s account in the Korean banks and transferring it to the UN account in
Seoul has been paved, and this payment will be made soon,” Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said last week. When asked about the issue
last week, the US Treasury Department said it “does not comment on specific
licenses.” The UN payment comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration and
Iranian officials are expected to begin their sixth round of indirect talks in
Vienna this weekend about how both sides might resume compliance with a 2015
nuclear deal. Under the deal with key world powers, Iran limited its nuclear
program to make it harder to obtain fissile material for atomic weapons in
return for relief from US, European Union, and UN sanctions. However, Trump
abandoned the deal in 2018, arguing it gave Tehran too much sanctions relief for
too few nuclear restrictions, and reimposed sanctions that slashed Iran’s oil
exports. Iran then retaliated about a year later by violating the limits on its
nuclear program.
Iran sends warships to Atlantic to lay claim to big
power status
The Arab Weekly/June 11/2021
TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON— An Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in
the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from the Islamic Republic, Iran’s state
TV reported on Thursday, without offering the vessels’ final destination. The
trip by the new domestically-built destroyer Sahand and the
intelligence-gathering vessel Makran comes amid US media reports, citing
anonymous American officials, saying the ships were bound for Venezuela. The
unusual voyage comes ahead of Iran’s June 18 presidential election, which will
see voters select a successor for the relatively moderate President Hassan
Rouhani. Analysts see Iran’s Atltantic incursion as part of its attempts to
pressure the United States by posturing as world-class power which has the right
to privileges incumbent to that status in terms of naval deployment, ballistic
and nuclear programmes and projection of military clout. The vessels departed
last month from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas, said Admiral Habibollah
Sayyari, Iran’s deputy army chief. He described their mission as the Iranian
navy’s longest and most challenging voyage yet, without elaborating.
Iranian state TV released a short clip of the destroyer cruising through the
Atlantic’s rough seas. The video likely was shot from the Makran, a converted
commercial oil tanker with a launch platform for helicopters. “The Navy is
improving its seafaring capacity and proving its long-term durability in
unfavourable seas and the Atlantic’s unfavourable weather conditions,” Sayyari
said, adding that the warships would not call at any country’s port during the
mission. Images from Maxar Technologies dated April 28 appear to show seven
Iranian fast-attack craft typically associated with its paramilitary
Revolutionary Guard on the deck of the Makran. Satellite images from Planet Labs
Inc. suggest it left a port at Bandar Abbas sometime after April 29. It was not
immediately clear where the Makran and the destroyer are now. The website
Politico first reported in late May, citing anonymous officials, that the ships’
final destination may be Venezuela. Iran maintains close ties to Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro and has shipped gasoline and other products to the
country amid a US sanctions campaign targeting fuel-starved Caracas. Venezuela
is believed to have paid Iran, under US sanctions of its own, for the shipments.
A top aide to Maduro has denied press reports that the ships will dock there.
During a news conference May 31, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh declined to say where the Makran was going. “Iran is always present
in international waters and it has this right based on international law and it
can be present in international waters,” he said. “No country is able to violate
this right and I warn that no one makes miscalculations. Those who sit in glass
houses should be careful.”The fast-attack craft aboard the Makran are the type
that the Revolutionary Guard use in its tense encounters with US warships in the
Arabian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz. It is not immediately
clear what Venezuela’s plans would be for those craft. “If the boats are
delivered, they may form the core of an asymmetrical warfare force within
Venezuela’s armed forces,” the US Naval Institute said in an earlier published
analysis. “This could be focused on disrupting shipping as a means of countering
superior naval forces. Shipping routes to and from the Panama Canal are near the
Venezuelan coast.” Earlier this month, fires sank Iran’s largest warship, the
207-metre Kharg, which was used to resupply other ships in the fleet at sea and
conduct training exercises. Officials offered no cause for the blaze, which
follows a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019 targeting
commercial ships in Mideast waterways.
Israel clears revelations about involvement in anti-Iran
operations
The Arab Weekly/June 11/2021
TEL AVIV/ TEHRAN - The outgoing chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service
has offered the closest acknowledgment yet his country was behind recent attacks
targeting Iran’s nuclear program and a military scientist. The comments by Yossi
Cohen, speaking to Israel’s Channel 12 investigative program “Uvda” in a segment
aired Thursday night, offered an extraordinary debriefing by the head of the
typically secretive agency in what appears to be the final days of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule. It also gave a clear warning to other
scientists in Iran’s nuclear program that they too could become targets for
assassination even as diplomats in Vienna try to negotiate terms to try to
salvage its atomic accord with world powers. “If the scientist is willing to
change career and will not hurt us anymore, than yes, sometimes we offer them” a
way out, Cohen said. Among the major attacks to target Iran, none have struck
deeper than two explosions over the last year at its Natanz nuclear facility.
There, centrifuges enrich uranium from an underground hall designed to protect
them from airstrikes. In July 2020, a mysterious explosion tore apart Natanz’s
advanced centrifuge assembly, which Iran later blamed on Israel. Then in April
of this year, another blast tore apart one of its underground enrichment halls.
Discussing Natanz, the interviewer asked Cohen where he’d take them if they
could travel there, he said “to the cellar” where “the centrifuges used to
spin.”
“It doesn’t look like it used to look,” he added.
Cohen did not directly claim the attacks, but his specificity offered the
closest acknowledgement yet of an Israeli hand in the attacks. The interviewer,
journalist Ilana Dayan, also seemingly offered a detailed description in a
voiceover of how Israel snuck the explosives into Natanz’s underground halls.
“The man who was responsible for these explosions, it becomes clear, made sure
to supply to the Iranians the marble foundation on which the centrifuges are
placed,” Dayan said. “As they install this foundation within the Natanz
facility, they have no idea that it already includes an enormous amount of
explosives.”
They also discussed the November killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian
scientist who began Tehran’s military nuclear program decades ago. While Cohen
on camera doesn’t claim the killing, Dayan in the segment described Cohen as
having “personally signed off on the entire campaign.” Dayan also described how
a remotely operated machine gun fixed to a pickup truck killed Fakhrizadeh and
later self-destructed. Cohen described an Israeli effort to dissuade Iranian
scientists from taking part in the programme, which had seen some abandon their
work after being warned, even indirectly, by Israel. Asked by the interviewer if
the scientists understood the implications if they didn’t stop, Cohen said:
“They see their friends.”They also talked about Israel’s operation seizing
archival documents from Iran’s military nuclear program. Dayan said 20 agents,
none Israelis, seized material from 32 safes, then scanned and transmitted a
large portion of the documents. Cohen confirmed that the Mossad received most of
the material before it was physically taken out of Iran. Cohen defended Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to go public with the results of the
operation, going against a long-standing practice of secrecy involving Mossad
activities. “It was important to us that the world will see this, but this thing
should also resonate with the Iranian leadership, to tell them, ‘Dear friends:
One, you have been infiltrated. Two, we see you.. Three, the era of … lies is
over,’” Cohen said.
Media in Israel operate under a decades-old policy that requires journalists to
clear stories involving security matters through military censors. That Cohen’s
remarks apparently cleared the censors suggests Israel wanted to issue a new
warning to Iran amid the Vienna nuclear negotiations.
Iran has repeatedly complained about Israel’s attacks, with Iran’s ambassador to
the IAEA Kazem Gharibabadi warning as recently as Thursday that the incidents
“not only will be responded to decisively, but also certainly leave no option
for Iran but to reconsider its transparency measures and cooperation policy.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request by
the Associated Press for comment over the comments by Cohen, who was replaced by
former operative David Barnea. Cohen in the interview acknowledged he might one
day seek the prime minister’s office himself.
Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced
satellite system that will boost Tehran’s ability to surveil military targets,
officials say
Joby Warrick/The Washington Post/June 11/2021
Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will
give Tehran an unprecedented ability to track potential military targets across
the Middle East and beyond, according to current and former U.S. and Middle
Eastern officials briefed on details of the arrangement.
The plan would deliver to the Iranians a Russian-made Kanopus-V satellite
equipped with a high-resolution camera that would greatly enhance Iran’s spying
capabilities, allowing continuous monitoring of facilities ranging from Persian
Gulf oil refineries and Israeli military bases to Iraqi barracks that house U.S.
troops, the officials said. The launch could happen within months, they said.
While the Kanopus-V is marketed for civilian use, Iranian military officials
have been heavily involved in the acquisition, and leaders of Iran’s elite
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have made multiple trips to Russia since 2018
to help negotiate the terms of the agreement, the officials said. As recently as
this spring, Russian experts traveled to Iran to help train ground crews that
would operate the satellite from a newly built facility near the northern city
of Karaj, the officials said.
Details of the agreement were described by a current and a former U.S. official
as well as a senior Middle Eastern government official briefed on the sale. The
three officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing sensitivities
surrounding ongoing intelligence collection efforts. The Russian Foreign
Ministry in Moscow did not respond to an email request for comment.
Iran’s biggest warship mysteriously burns and sinks
The disclosures came as President Biden is preparing for his first meeting with
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The imminent launch of a Russian-made Iranian
satellite could add to a long list of contentious issues that have strained
relations between Moscow and Washington, including most notably recent Russian
hacking operations and efforts to interfere with U.S. elections. Opponents of
the U.S. reentering the nuclear accord with Iran are also likely to seize on the
disclosure to argue against any engagement with Tehran that doesn’t address its
military ambitions in the region.
If fully realized, the deal with Russia would represent a significant boost for
an Iranian military establishment that has struggled in its own attempts to put
a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. After several prominent
failures, Iran last year successfully launched an indigenous military satellite
dubbed Noor-1, but the spacecraft was quickly derided by a senior Pentagon
official as a “tumbling webcam.”Under the agreement, Iran’s new satellite would be launched in Russia and would
feature Russian hardware, including a camera with a resolution of 1.2 meters — a
significant improvement over Iran’s current capabilities, though still far short
of the quality achieved by U.S. spy satellites or high-end commercial satellite
imagery providers. More important, Iran would be able to “task” the new
satellite to spy on locations of its choosing, and as often as it wishes, the
officials said.
“It’s not the best in the world, but it’s high-resolution and very good for
military aims,” said the Middle Eastern official familiar with the satellite’s
hardware package. “This capability will allow Iran to maintain an accurate
target bank, and to update that target bank within a few hours” every day.
Equally concerning, the official said, is the possibility that Iran could share
the imagery with pro-Iranian militia groups across the region, from the Houthi
rebels battling Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen to Hezbollah fighters in
southern Lebanon and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria. Pro-Iranian militias
have been linked to repeated rocket attacks on Iraqi military bases that are
home to U.S. troops and military trainers.
While key aspects of the satellite’s capability have been kept under wraps, Iran
and Russia both publicly disclosed their intention to go into the space business
together. As far back as 2015, Iran’s Press TV news service reported that
Iranian and Russian companies had entered an arrangement that would allow Iran
to acquire a “remote-sensing system which can be employed for collecting
information about the Earth’s surface, atmosphere and oceans.”Pro-Iranian proxy groups turn to drone attacks, alarming US experts.
The article listed the deal’s Russian partners as NPK BARL and VNIIEM, two firms
that would build and launch the satellite in a partnership with the Iranian
state-operated trade company Bonyan Danesh Shargh and the Iranian Space Agency.
Independent experts and analysts said Iran’s new spying capabilities would be
especially worrying, given Tehran’s recent advances in missile guidance systems.
Iran is producing an array of ballistic missiles and drones that are able to
strike distant targets with precision, and access to improved satellite imagery
could make them even more effective, some said. “Having this kind of on-call
data feed may open up technical and operational possibilities that the Iranians
previously didn’t have,” said Christopher Ford, the State Department’s top
nonproliferation official under the Trump administration. “It sounds like a
significant upgrade, not just a slight slide up the slope in terms of potential
military applications.”Other experts noted that Iran has previously managed to acquire high-resolution
images by presumably purchasing them from commercial satellite companies,
although Tehran’s ability to obtain real-time data about potential military
targets was limited.
“A domestic capability to take those pictures is something the military wants,
because it’s valuable to them,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert
and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey,
Calif. He added that acquiring Russian technology essentially would allow the
Iranians a faster path to a capability they would have acquired on their own,
given enough time.
“Is Iran’s military delighted? Yes, it is, and this is a real change,” Lewis
said. “But it was going to happen sooner or later.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth hosts Biden at G7 reception
Reuters/11 June ,2021
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth met US President Joe Biden under the canopy of the
world’s largest indoor rainforest on Friday as she hosted a reception for
leaders of the Group of Seven richest nations, who are holding a three-day
summit. The 95-year-old monarch was joined by the other senior members of the
British royal family, with son and heir Prince Charles and his wife Camilla and
grandson Prince William and his wife Kate also present. It was their first major
public event together since the funeral in April of Prince Philip, the queen’s
husband of more than seven decades. At the reception, held at the Eden Project,
whose distinctive bubble-like Biomes house thousands of plant varieties, the
queen met Biden as US President for the first time. He is 13th American leader
she has met during her record-breaking 69-year reign. “Joe and I are both
looking forward to meeting the queen,” Biden’s wife Jill, who joined him at the
Eden Project event, had said on Thursday. “That’s an exciting part of the visit
for us.” They are also due to have tea with the monarch at Windsor Castle on
Sunday after the summit has concluded. Following a photocall with the queen,
Prince Charles addressed the G7 leaders about his Sustainable Markets
Initiative, which aims to involve business and private sector investment in
government efforts to combat climate change. “The fight against this terrible
pandemic provides, if ever one was needed, a crystal-clear example of the scale,
and sheer speed, at which the global community can tackle crises when we combine
political will with business ingenuity and public mobilization,” the prince told
them.“Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing it for the pandemic. So if you don’t
mind me saying so, we must also do it for the planet,” said Charles, 72, who has
spent much of his life campaigning on environmental issues.
White House says G7 leaders will endorse proposed 15
percent global corporate tax
Reuters/12 June ,2021
G7 leaders meeting in Britain will endorse US President Joe Biden’s proposal for
global minimum tax of at least 15 percent on corporations, White House national
security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter on Friday. The US Treasury in May
proposed a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 percent to try to end a
downward spiral of corporate tax rates. “America is rallying the world to make
big multinational corporations pay their fair share so we can invest in our
middle class at home,” Sullivan tweeted. By supporting the move, major economies
are aiming to discourage multinationals from shifting profits - and tax revenues
- to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made. Current global
tax rules date back to the 1920s and struggle with multinational tech giants
that sell services remotely and attribute much of their profits to intellectual
property held in low-tax jurisdictions. US tech giants such as Facebook and
Amazon could benefit from the agreement to create a global minimum 15 percent
corporate tax rate if the final deal also scraps increasingly popular digital
services taxes, according to industry lobbyists. The decision had been expected
after G7 finance officials backed a tax rate of at least 15 percent during a
meeting on June 5. The US Treasury has said the G7’s endorsement will provide
momentum for advancing negotiations towards a broader G20 finance meeting in
July in Italy. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her counterparts from
Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa backed the move in a column
published Wednesday by the Washington Post. They said they were confident that
the global minimum tax rate could ultimately be pushed higher than 15 percent,
citing “the ambition of the discussions thus far.”
U.S. sanctions network charged with funding Yemen's
Houthis
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
The United States on Thursday announced sanctions on what it called members of a
smuggling network that generates tens millions of dollars for Yemen’s Houthis,
pressuring the Iran-aligned movement to accept a ceasefire and peace talks. U.S.
President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to advance a U.N. effort to ease
Yemen’s dire humanitarian crisis and end the war pitting the Houthis against the
government and a Saudi-led coalition. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
reiterated a call for the Houthis to accept a nationwide ceasefire and a
resumption of talks on a political settlement to the seven-year-old conflict.
“The United States will continue to apply pressure to the Houthis, including
through targeted sanctions, to advance those goals,” he said in a statement.
Twelve individuals and entities were slapped with terrorism-related sanctions
blocking any U.S. property they hold, and barring Americans from doing business
with them. Foreign financial institutions that deal with them could be
blacklisted. The network works with Iran’s Quds Force, the elite arm of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to generate “tens of millions of dollars in
revenue from the sale of commodities, like Iranian petroleum,” a U.S. Treasury
statement said. A “significant portion” of the funds are “directed through a
complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to
the Houthis in Yemen,” it continued. Funds also underwrite “destabilizing
regional activities” of the Quds Force and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, it
said.
The network, it said, is headed by Said Ahmad Muhammad al-Jamal, an Iran-based
Yemeni who oversees the smuggling “of Iranian fuel, petroleum products, and
other commodities to customers throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.”
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Chris Reese and
David Gregorio
Treasury Sanctions Network Financing Houthi Aggression and
Instability in Yemen
US. DEpartment Of The Treasury
PRESS RELEASES
June 10, 2021
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) is designating members of a smuggling network that helps
fund Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and the
Houthis in Yemen. Led by Iran-based Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal, this
network generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of
commodities, like Iranian petroleum, a significant portion of which is then
directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in
multiple countries to the Houthis in Yemen.
“This network’s financial support enables the Houthis’ deplorable attacks
threatening civilian and critical infrastructure in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
These attacks undermine efforts to bring the conflict to an end and, most
tragically, starve tens of millions of innocent civilians,” said Director of the
Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. “Ending the suffering of
millions of Yemenis is of paramount concern to the United States, and we will
continue to hold accountable those responsible for widespread misery and deny
them access to the global financial system.”
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority
Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended. The IRGC-QF was designated pursuant to
E.O. 13224 in 2007 for support to numerous terrorist groups.
Since the onset of the conflict in Yemen, the Houthis have relied on support
from the IRGC-QF to wage their campaign against the internationally recognized
Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Coalition. Despite growing calls for peace,
the Houthis have continued to escalate their lethal attacks inside Yemen and in
the region, with dire consequences for Yemeni civilians and Yemen’s neighbors.
The Houthis have used ballistic missiles, explosives, naval mines, and Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles to strike military targets, population centers, infrastructure,
and nearby commercial shipping in Saudi Arabia, along key international trade
routes.
Today, OFAC and the Department of State are also lifting sanctions on three
former Government of Iran officials, and two companies formerly involved in the
purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of Iranian petrochemical
products. These delistings are a result of a verified change in behavior or
status on the part of the sanctioned parties and demonstrate the U.S.
government’s commitment to lifting sanctions in the event of a change in
behavior or status for sanctioned persons.
SA’ID AL-JAMAL: FINANCIAL CONDUIT TO THE HOUTHIS
Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iran-based Houthi financial supporter, directs a network of
front companies and vessels that smuggle Iranian fuel, petroleum products, and
other commodities to customers throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. A
significant portion of the revenue generated from these sales is directed
through a complex international network of intermediaries and exchange houses to
the Houthis in Yemen. This revenue helps fund the destabilizing regional
activities of the Houthis, IRGC-QF, and others, including Hizballah. Sa’id
al-Jamal’s network has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue through
the sale of Iranian commodities to those willing to evade sanctions. Sa’id
al-Jamal also maintains connections to Hizballah and has worked with the group
to send millions of dollars to support the Houthis.
Sa’id al-Jamal is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for
having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or
technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF.
OFAC is also identifying the Gabon-flagged vessel Triple Success, which has been
used by Sa’id al-Jamal to smuggle Iranian petroleum products out of Iran, as
property in which Sa’id al-Jamal has an interest.
SA’ID AL-JAMAL’S INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT NETWORK
A cohort of businessmen and shipping experts support Sa’id al-Jamal’s network,
enabling the illicit sale of Iranian goods abroad and the repatriation of
profits to entities including the Houthis in Yemen, and the IRGC-QF.
Turkey-based Houthi-affiliate Abdi Nasir Ali Mahamud, a key business partner of
Sa’id al-Jamal, acts as a financial intermediary and has coordinated the
smuggling of petrochemicals for the network. Mahamud has leveraged his position
as managing director of UAE-based Adoon General Trading FZE to facilitate the
transfer of millions of dollars on behalf of Sa’id al-Jamal. Mahamud is being
designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted,
sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or
goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id al-Jamal.
Adoon General Trading FZE and two additional companies, UAE-based Adoon General
Trading L.L.C. and Turkey-based Adoon General Trading Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret
Anonim Sirketi, are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for
being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Mahamud.
UAE-based Indian national Manoj Sabharwal is a maritime shipping professional
who manages shipping operations for Sa’id al-Jamal’s network and advises
al-Jamal on smuggling Iranian oil products. Sabharwal is responsible for
coordinating shipments of Iranian petroleum products and commodities throughout
the Middle East and Asia while obscuring Sa’id al-Jamal’s involvement. Sabharwal
is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially
assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support
for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id al-Jamal.
Hani ‘Abd-al-Majid Muhammad As’ad, a Turkey-based Yemeni accountant affiliated
with the Houthis, manages Sa’id al-Jamal's finances and has used multiple bank
accounts to send and receive millions of dollars in payments for Sa’id
al-Jamal’s shipping operations, as well as to facilitate transfers to the
Houthis in Yemen. As’ad is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended,
for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or
technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id
al-Jamal.
Since 2017, Jami’ ‘Ali Muhammad, a Somali businessman and Houthi and IRGC-QF
associate, has assisted Sa’id al-Jamal’s efforts to procure vessels, facilitate
shipments of Iranian fuel, and transfer funds for the benefit of the Houthis.
Jami’ is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having
materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or
technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id
al-Jamal.
At the direction of Sa’id al-Jamal, Turkey-based Syrian national Talib ‘Ali
Husayn Al-Ahmad al-Rawi and Greece-based Syrian national Abdul Jalil Mallah have
facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars to Swaid and Sons, a
Yemen-based exchange house associated with the Houthis. Sa’id al-Jamal has used
Swaid and Sons to send millions of dollars to IRGC-QF officials deployed in
Yemen.
Mallah has facilitated the shipment of Iranian crude oil to Syria. Mallah has
worked with Sa’id al-Jamal to send millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude
oil to Hizballah. Al-Rawi has worked with Sa’id al-Jamal to transfer millions of
dollars from Qatirji Group purchases of Iranian petroleum products to Swaid and
Sons in Yemen. Al-Rawi, Mallah, and Swaid and Sons are being designated pursuant
to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services
to or in support of, Sa’id al-Jamal.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
All property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the
persons designated are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from
engaging in transactions with the designated persons or their blocked property.
In addition, foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate
significant transactions for, or persons that provide material or certain other
support to, the persons designated today risk exposure to sanctions that could
sever their access to the U.S. financial system or block their property or
interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction.
View identifying information on the individuals and entities designated today.
##
LATEST NEWS
June 10, 2021
READOUT: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo’s Call with Indonesian
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati
Testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen to the Subcommittee on
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, U.S. House of Representatives
Treasury Sanctions Network Financing Houthi Aggression and Instability in Yemen
Testimony of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark J. Mazur to the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, U.S.
House of Representatives
June 9, 2021
More than 2.3 million additional Economic Impact Payments disbursed under the
American Rescue Plan; total payments top 169 million
Israeli army shoots, kills Palestinian teen during
protest: Ministry
AFP, Ramallah/11 June ,2021
The Israeli army shot dead a Palestinian teenager on Friday during clashes in
the north of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medics and the health ministry
said.
“Mohammad Said Hamayel, 15, died in clashes” with Israeli forces near Beita,
south of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The Palestinian health
ministry said six others had been wounded by live gunfire.According to Wafa, the
Palestinian news agency, the violence took place during “a public protest
against Israel’s construction of a colonial settlement outpost near the
village”, to which the army responded with live fire and teargas. The teenager’s
death comes a day after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli special forces
on a mission to arrest suspected “terrorists” in the occupied West Bank.
Violence in the West Bank increased in early May, with at least 30 Palestinians
killed in clashes with Israeli forces and in alleged attacks.
U.S. Offers $3 Million for Information on Iraq Attacks
Agence France Presse/11 June ,2021
The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program said Thursday it was
offering a reward of up to $3 million for information on attacks against
Americans in Iraq. The announcement comes a day after an attack was carried out
with three "explosive-laden" drones on Baghdad airport, where U.S. troops are
deployed. "O faithful people of Iraq, cowardly terrorists are attacking U.S.
diplomatic missions in Iraq, then they are fleeing to hide among civilians,"
said a statement in Arabic on the Twitter account of Rewards for Justice.
"America is offering a reward of up to $3 million for information on planned
attacks or past ones against American diplomatic installations," said the
statement, which was accompanied by a video. It provided a U.S. telephone
number, and said the information could be sent via the messaging apps WhatsApp,
Telegram or Signal. U.S. interests in Iraq have come under repeated attacks
since October 2019, including with rockets, with the United States routinely
blaming them on Iran-backed factions. Since the beginning of the year, a total
of 42 attacks have targeted the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraqi bases housing U.S.
troops or Iraqi convoys carrying logistical support. The latest attack on
Wednesday was carried out with three drones packed with explosives, the Iraqi
army said on Thursday. It said one of the drones had been intercepted by air
defenses Wednesday evening, the fourth such drone attack in less than two
months. Experts say the use of such drones marks an escalation in attacks
against American interests by pro-Iranian forces. The techniques are similar to
those deployed by Huthi rebels in Yemen against Tehran's regional rival Saudi
Arabia. Wednesday's attack was the first such attack on targets in the Iraqi
capital, the Arab world's second-most populated city. On Wednesday, five rockets
also landed at Balad, an airbase further north where American contractors are
based, a security source said. They did not cause any casualties or damage, the
source said. The Balad base has been targeted so regularly that US weapons firm
Lockheed Martin withdrew last month, citing concerns about the safety of its
personnel.
Pro-Iran groups on Wednesday had hailed what they described as "one more
victory" for the state-affiliated Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition, as
commander Qassem Muslah was released. Muslah had been arrested in May by police
intelligence on suspicion of ordering the killing of Ihab al-Wazni, a
pro-democracy activist shot dead earlier that month by unidentified gunmen on
motorbikes. Iraqi authorities have repeatedly blamed "outlaws" of carrying out
"terrorist" attacks with rockets or explosive-laded drones but have struggled to
identify those behind these assaults.
N. Ireland Casts Shadow over First Johnson-Biden
Meeting
Agence France Presse/11 June ,2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday played down reported tensions
with U.S. President Joe Biden over the impact of Brexit on the fragile peace in
Northern Ireland, after the pair met for their first face-to-face talks on the
eve of the G7 summit. The pair were all smiles as they posed for the media
before 90 minutes of closed-door discussions, overshadowed by claims Biden had
ordered a rebuke to London amid its row with the European Union over new trading
arrangements in Northern Ireland. According to The Times, Washington's most
senior diplomat in London, Yael Lempert, told Brexit Minister David Frost the UK
government was "'inflaming tensions in Ireland and Europe with its opposition to
checks at ports in the province". U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan
insisted the president -- a proud Irish-American with distant family still in
Ireland -- would not make "threats or ultimatums" to Johnson. But he said Biden
was "rock solid" in the belief that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended
three decades of violence over British rule in Northern Ireland must be
protected. Adding to the pressure on Johnson, EU leaders said they would also
bring up the row when they meet the British leader on Saturday, as member state
Ireland said it welcomed U.S. support. Johnson denied that Biden raised alarm
over Northern Ireland and insisted there was "absolutely common ground" on all
sides in upholding the landmark peace accord. "I'm optimistic we can do that,"
he told reporters in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
- Peace process -
The meeting came at the start of Biden's first foreign tour as president that
takes in NATO, the EU and talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin, and was billed as
a chance for the old allies to help shape the post-pandemic world. Biden and
Johnson agreed a modern version of the 1941 charter signed by their predecessors
Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt that determined the new world order
after World War II. Biden called the meeting "very productive" and echoed
Johnson's commitment to supporting the peace process in Northern Ireland,
without elaborating. "We affirmed the special relationship -- it's not said
lightly -- the special relationship between our people," he added. New trading
arrangements for Northern Ireland introduced in January after the UK left the
European single market and customs union, nearly four years after the divisive
Brexit vote, have caused tensions with the EU -- and alarm in Washington. Under
a new protocol, checks are supposed to be carried out on deliveries heading into
Northern Ireland from mainland Britain, to prevent unchecked goods going into
the single market via neighboring EU member Ireland. But pro-British unionist
communities say the new rules have driven a wedge between the province and the
rest of the UK, increasing the likelihood of reunification with Ireland. London
suspended checks earlier this year because of threats to port staff, and the
protocol has been blamed for the worst violence in years in the British-run
province. Talks to resolve the simmering feud broke up in London without
agreement Wednesday, with Europe threatening retaliatory action, including
tariffs, if the new trading arrangements are not implemented.
- Vaccine diplomacy? -
Biden on Wednesday night outlined the need for global collaboration to rebuild
after Covid-19 and reset diplomatic ties after the isolationism of the Trump
era, declaring: "The United States is back!" On Thursday, he confirmed US plans
to donate 500 million Covid vaccine doses for 92 poorer countries as a "historic
step" to boost the collective fight-back against the global pandemic. "This is
about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation, to save as many lives as
we can," he said. Other G7 countries -- hosts Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy and Japan -- will follow suit, and outline a way to ending the pandemic,
he added. But as Russia and China also engage in so-called "vaccine diplomacy"
and campaigners press for a level playing field on global vaccine distribution,
a senior U.S. official denied the US was seeking any quid pro quo. "This is the
right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do, and it is tangible proof that it
is going to be the world's democracies who ultimately deliver when it comes to
beating the Covid-19 pandemic," he said. In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron
called on pharma groups producing vaccines against Covid-19 to donate 10 percent
of their production to poor nations.
He also urged fellow G7 leaders to back a goal of getting 60 percent of Africans
vaccinated by the end of March next year -- a figure more ambitious than the
international Covax jab scheme -- as the WHO warned of a huge shortfall in
doses.
The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on June
11-12/2021
Question: "What should a Christian do when
convictions violate a tolerant society?"
GotQuestions.org?/June 11/2021
Answer: Many in society today want to view themselves as “tolerant.” By that
they usually mean “I accept people for who they are without passing judgment on
any action or lifestyle choice.” But the biblically informed Christian cannot,
in good conscience, approve of all actions or lifestyle choices; the Bible
clearly delineates some lifestyles as sinful and displeasing to God. When a
Christian’s convictions clash with the standard of tolerance set by society, the
Christian is often labeled as “intolerant,” “bigoted,” or worse. Ironically,
those who claim to be the most tolerant are the least tolerant of the Christian
worldview.
Sometimes the conflict between Christian convictions and secular standards of
tolerance involves a Christian business being forced to provide a product or
service to someone in a way that would violate the business owner’s convictions.
Other times, the conflict is not as public, involving personal acquaintances who
disagree with a Christian’s conviction against getting drunk at a party, for
example, or cohabitation before marriage.
A general principle that covers many issues was expressed by Peter before the
Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29). Whatever
pressure society brings to bear, the follower of Christ knows who his Lord is
and chooses to obey Him. In a sinful world that hated Christ, this will
naturally lead to some conflict. The “tolerance” espoused by the world leaves no
room for Christian convictions, but, for the redeemed who walk in the Spirit,
Christian convictions are indispensable. The Bible says there is a right and a
wrong, and no amount of sensitivity training or encounter group sessions can
change that.
If we define tolerate as “to put up with something one does not like,” then we
could say that tolerance does not require approval or support. In this sense,
Christians ought to be as tolerant as possible, in order for our loving
character to be visible to all (Matthew 5:16). We should be able to “put up
with” a lot. In most cases, we should be able to control our impulse to resent
something we find distasteful. The problem comes when tolerate is defined in a
manner that implies an acceptance or even approval of what one finds offensive.
A Christian with Bible-based convictions can accept the fact that people sin,
but he must still call it “sin.” A Christian’s convictions do not allow approval
of sin whatsoever.
No matter how it’s defined, tolerance has its limits: what message would be sent
by a church holding “interactive” services with a witch coven? What if a judge
decided to “tolerate” perjury—he allowed it in his courtroom, even though he
personally disliked it? How much disrespect should a teacher “tolerate” in her
classroom? What if a surgeon began to “tolerate” septic conditions in his
operating room?
When a believer finds that his Christian convictions are in conflict with
someone’s take on tolerance, he should immediately do the following things: 1)
Pray for wisdom and for courage. 2) Examine his convictions to make sure they
are based on what the Bible actually says, rather than personal preferences.
Taking a stand against having a joint Hindu-Christian worship service is
biblically supportable; taking a stand against serving ethnically diverse food
at the church potluck is not. 3) Commit himself to loving his enemies and doing
good to them (Matthew 5:38–48). 4) Purpose in his heart to engage the conflict
“with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians
3:12). 5) If legal issues come into play, explore his rights under the law (see
Acts 16:37–38; 21:39).
Even in the midst of a conflict between godly convictions and secular tolerance,
Christians must demonstrate Christ’s love and righteousness, exemplifying how
truth and love can coexist. In every situation, we should exhibit “deeds done in
the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13). Our conduct should be such
“that those who speak maliciously against [our] good behavior in Christ may be
ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:16).
In Response to Houthi Arms Transfers, Canada Must Designate Iran’s Revolutionary
Guard as Terror Group
Tzvi Kahn/Insight/FDD/June 11/2021
They lay in neat, organized rows, a colorful medley of matériel on the deck of
the USS Monterey. Some 3,000 Chinese Type 56 assault rifles. Hundreds of heavy
machine guns and sniper rifles. Several hundred rocket-propelled grenade
launchers. Dozens of Russian-made advanced anti-tank guided missiles.
The Monterey had seized the weaponry only days earlier, on May 6, from a dhow in
the Arabian Sea. According to an American defense official, an initial
investigation found that the vessel came from Iran. The likely destination:
Yemen, where, since 2015, Tehran-backed Houthi rebels have waged a bloody war
against a Saudi-led coalition aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized
government.
Tehran’s latest shipment of weapons to the Houthis, who officially call
themselves Ansar Allah, or “Partisans of God,” constitutes one of many that the
Islamic Republic has dispatched in recent years. U.S. naval forces have
frequently intercepted the deadly cargos. “Iran’s support to the Houthis is
quite significant, and it’s lethal,” said the American special envoy for Yemen,
Tim Lenderking, in April. According to a UN panel, the arms transfers violate UN
Security Council Resolution 2216, which passed in 2015 and prohibits the
transfer of weapons to designated Yemeni combatants.
For Canada, the proper response to this illegal arms trafficking is to designate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – the entity that carries out
such missions for the clerical regime – as a terrorist organization. In 2018,
the House of Commons overwhelmingly passed a non-binding motion calling on the
Canadian government to “immediately designate” the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to do so.
The arms shipments come as the conflict in Yemen worsens. On May 7, President
Joe Biden’s administration condemned the Houthis for refusing to institute a
nationwide cease-fire, allow the free flow of goods into Yemen, and begin peace
talks. “The Houthis passed up a major opportunity to demonstrate their
commitment to peace,” the State Department said. Instead, the Houthis are
“exacerbating dire conditions for already vulnerable, internally displaced
Yemenis.”
On May 12, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told a virtual
meeting of the UN Security Council that the Houthis have intensified the
bloodshed by launching an offensive against Marib, a key government stronghold.
The attack “has caused an astonishing loss of life, including children who have
been mercilessly thrown into the battle,” said Griffiths. Ansar Allah, he added,
must “immediately stop its attack on Marib.” Yet on Saturday, a Houthi ballistic
missile fired at Marib killed at least 17 people, including a five-year-old
girl.
In fact, U.S. policy has incentivized the Ansar Allah’s intransigence by
surrendering Washington’s leverage with Iran without securing concessions from
the Houthis. In the first weeks of his presidency, Biden revoked former
President Donald Trump’s designation of Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization.
Biden also ended U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s offensive operations
in Yemen, arguing that they have led to massive human rights violations against
civilians.
Biden’s concern about Riyadh’s human rights abuses is certainly valid, yet good
intentions alone do not make for good policy. Biden has seemingly failed to see
that the Houthis match or exceed their adversaries’ reckless disregard for
civilian life, and that the Houthis constitute a pillar of Tehran’s efforts to
control the Middle East. A sound policy would pressure Riyadh to halt its
deliberate bombing of civilian areas, while simultaneously ensuring that Saudi
Arabia has the military support it needs to check the Houthis.
For now, though, Ansar Allah possesses the upper hand. The Biden administration
has issued frequent calls for peace, but to no effect. “Nobody can be more
frustrated than I am,” said Griffiths on May 31 regarding talks with the Houthis.
Ultimately, Washington and the international community want a negotiated
agreement far more than the Houthis do.
In the context of these developments, Canada confronts the grim aftermath of
another malign act by the IRGC. In January 2020, the IRGC shot down Ukrainian
airliner Flight PS752 as it departed Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International
Airport. All 176 people on board, including 138 with ties to Canada, died.
Tehran, claiming the shootdown occurred due to human error, has yet to provide a
full and transparent account of what happened and why. On May 20, 2021,
Ontario’s Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the shootdown constituted a
deliberate act of terrorism.
This ruling crystalizes the challenge facing the Trudeau government. To date,
Canada’s role in the Yemen conflict has entailed the provision of weaponry to
Saudi Arabia – a clear recognition of the malign ambitions of the IRGC-backed
Houthis. But the latest U.S. seizure of Iranian arms, not to mention the Ontario
Supreme Court’s ruling, exposes a key gap in Ottawa’s Middle East policy: Canada
has not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Trudeau’s reluctance may stem from his goal of achieving a rapprochement with
Iran. In 2015, as a candidate for prime minister, Trudeau pledged to restore
diplomatic ties with the clerical regime, which former Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s government had cut in 2012. Six years later, with relations worse than
ever, particularly due to Flight PS752, Ottawa may perceive a new prospect for
reconciliation in the ongoing U.S. efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with
Tehran, which would lead Washington to lift sanctions – potentially including
sanctions on the IRGC. Trudeau may also fear that designating the IRGC as a
terrorist organization would isolate Canada abroad, especially among the
Europeans, who are committed to engagement with Tehran.
Such reasoning is misplaced. Ultimately, even if the United States reenters the
nuclear accord, the agreement does not preclude holding the IRGC accountable for
its crimes, such as arming the Houthis and the downing of Flight PS752. A
Canadian designation of the IRGC would show that Ottawa seeks meaningful change
– first and foremost in Tehran’s support for terrorism, whether by land, air, or
sea.
*Tzvi Kahn is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD),
where he contributes to FDD’s Iran Program, Center on Military and Political
Power (CMPP), and Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). For more
analysis from Tzvi, the Iran Program, CMPP, and CEFP, please subscribe HERE.
Follow Tzvi on Twitter @TzviKahn. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD, @FDD_Iran, @FDD_CMPP,
and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute
focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Merkel needs to end support for terrorist Iran’s regime
Jewish News Syndicate/Benjamin Weinthal/June 11/2021
Germany’s next government (elections are set for September) must break from its
unsavory romance with Tehran and start to show a little more love towards
Israel.
When it comes to matching words with action against the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country’s political class have their
heads deep in the sand.
In a jaw-dropping May editorial on the webpage of the Bild, Germany’s largest
newspaper, the co-editor-in-chief, Julian Reichelt provides a bill of
particulars for Merkel’s failing grade:
“Germany is Iran’s most important trading partner in Europe. The federal
government [in Berlin] is working tirelessly to bypass U.S. sanctions against
Iran. There is no other country in Europe that pours so much money into the
anti-Semitic terrorist Iranian regime, which finances the very missiles that are
currently being fired [by Hamas] on Tel Aviv.”
Reichelt also cites Merkel’s decision not to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital. This reporter revealed in 2018 that Merkel lobbied European countries
not to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem after Washington did so that year.
When Romania, for instance, was planning to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv
to Jerusalem, Merkel waged a no-holds-barred campaign against the Eastern
European country and its ethnic German president, Klaus Werner Iohannis, to stop
the move. Merkel also pressured other E.U. countries not to transfer their
embassies to Jerusalem.
Had Romania established its embassy in Jerusalem, the chances of other Eastern
European countries, friendlier to Israel than some of the Western European
heavyweights such as France, might have increased. In other words, Merkel
sabotaged Israel’s campaign to persuade European countries to relocate their
embassies and the 3,000-year-old Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
The chancellor has also missed key opportunities to show solidarity with Israel
and refute false claims by Muslim leaders that Jews have no ancient ties to the
Holy Land.
Merkel has, however, followed through on the previous German government’s pledge
to deliver Dolphin-class submarines to Israel. However, questions arose later
about how many submarines Israel needed to procure. Israel purchased the
advanced submarines, but at the same time, the sale produced controversy because
the German manufacturer ThyssenKrupp still permits Iran’s regime to maintain a
small percentage of the ownership in the engineering giant. As Deutsche Welle
reported in 2016, “Iran to profit from Israel’s submarine deal with
ThyssenKrupp.”
Reichelt also notes that Germany’s ambassador to the United Nations, Christoph
Heusgen, has voted against Israel 13 times at the world body and only once
against Iran’s regime. Heusgen previously served as Merkel’s national security
adviser and worked behind Israel’s back to isolate it diplomatically as early as
2010.
Also in 2010, Heusgen as “a senior adviser to German chancellor Angela Merkel,
urged the United States to water down its opposition to the U.N.’s anti-Israel
“Goldstone Report,” which turned out to be false, based on disinformation,
apparently in an effort to force Israel to freeze its settlement construction.
Israeli diplomats have complained about Heusgen over the years, but Merkel
grants him wide latitude in international fora, possibly to placate public
opinion in Muslim-majority countries.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center included Heusgen’s conduct on its top 10 list of
worst outbreaks of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in 2019 for his steady
bashing of Israel at the United Nations, where, in the Security Council he
likened Israel to Hamas, a jihadi movement labeled a foreign terrorist
organization by the United States and the European Union.
Merkel’s most egregious concessions to anti-Semites, however, are the result of
her efforts to placate the religious dictatorship in Tehran. She has not, for
instance, objected to her Social Democratic foreign minister, Heiko Maas,
sending diplomats to the Iranian regime’s embassy in Berlin each year to
celebrate the 1979 Islamic Revolution, where anti-Semitism was a core policy
from day one.
The revolution, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, immediately targeted Persian
Jews, including the 67-year-old businessman Habib Elghanian, accused of “treason
through his connections with Israel and Zionism” and one of the first Iranians
to be executed.
Merkel’s unstinting advocacy of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, or Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also displays an indifference to Tehran
leaders’ constant genocidal threats to eradicate Israel. While Merkel and other
advocates falsely insist that the deal will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear
capability, when the deal expires, Iran will be free to have as many
“legitimate” nukes as it likes.
As problematic, the more than $100 billion in sanctions relief the ayatollahs
are expected to receive in exchange for presumably unenforceable restrictions on
their atomic weapons program will presumably be used, at least in part, to fund
Iran’s militia, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as Iran’s
terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and
Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as their infiltration of Venezuela and other
parts of South America.
Merkel’s chief concern seems to be Germany’s export business: not to curtail
German engineering firms that use the European-Iranian trade bank (known by its
German acronym, EIH) to conduct transactions.
In 2010, the Obama administration’s Treasury Department designated EIH for
sanctions because, “As one of Iran’s few remaining access points to the European
financial system, EIH has facilitated a tremendous volume of transactions for
Iranian banks previously designated [blacklisted] for proliferation.”
The 2015 nuclear accord removed EIH from the sanctions list, and Merkel went
back to business as usual—at the expense of Israel’s security.
Although in 2008, Merkel delivered a highly publicized speech to the Knesset, in
which she told Israeli lawmakers the security of the Jewish state is “will never
be open to negotiation” for German administrations and pledged that Iran’s
regime would not secure nuclear weapons, her deference to Iran’s clerical rulers
has continued.
A burning desire to head off a nuclear-armed Iranian regime does not appear to
be on Merkel’s list of priorities. Merkel has even ignored the recent findings
of her own intelligence agencies who noted that Iran’s regime sought technology
for weapons of mass destruction in 2020.
To add meaning and content to Germany’s pledge to safeguard Israel’s security,
Merkel and the next German government (elections are set for September) must end
the federal republic’s unsavory romance with the Islamic Republic of Iran—the
world’s leading state sponsor of Holocaust denial and lethal anti-Semitism.
*Benjamin Weinthal is a research fellow for the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @BenWeinthal. FDD is a Washington, DC-based,
nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
The Effect of Communist China on America's Clean Energy
Plan
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/June 11/2021
"[I]t is as if the Middle East not only sat on most of the world's oil but also,
almost exclusively, refined it and then made products out of it," wrote The
Economist in 2019.
It is not that rare earth materials do not exist outside of China, although it
sits on the largest quantity: approximately 30-40% of all known rare earth
deposits. Rather, extracting the materials is a difficult and highly polluting
process that China was willing to take on.... "making it practically impossible
for competing companies outside China to get a foothold," according to the
Danish Institute for International Studies.
China's de facto monopoly forms an acute problem: international reliance on them
could hamper vital industries and national security at a time of maximum
competition between China and the US.
In February, the Financial Times reported that China was looking into export
curbs on rare earth materials that are key to the US defense industry, such as
the F-35. "The government wants to know if the US may have trouble making F-35
fighter jets if China imposes an export ban." — Chinese government adviser to
the Financial Times.
On April 16, however, after elections that were de facto a referendum on the
Chinese plans to mine not just for rare earth materials, but also for uranium, a
new Greenland government came to power, which vowed that it "will do everything
we can to stop the Kvanefjeld project." Greenland's new government may impact
not only China's hopes for mining there, but also those of other countries
hoping to break free of the rare earth dependency on China.
The London-based Polar Research and Policy Initiative, recommended in March that
the "Five Eyes" alliance, an intelligence-sharing group comprised of Australia,
Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, set its sights on
Greenland's rare earths.
Wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles all rely on rare earth
materials and China has a head start that can be measured in decades, when it
comes to producing the various products of which they form a crucial part: More
than 60% of the world's solar panels... are made in China....
There is also a human rights aspect to the issue: Polysilicon is produced in
Xinjiang, where China is accused of using forced labor in the production chains,
because -- ironically -- heat above 1,000 degrees Celsius is required to make
the material, and Xinjiang has an abundance of cheap coal power.
"It will cost us more than the Chinese to produce solar cells," said Tom
Duesterberg, former Commerce Department assistant secretary under President
George H.W. Bush. "We could agree to pay that price, but it will be more
expensive and take a long time. If tensions get bad with China, they've proven
in the past that they are willing to cut off supplies."
China is also the world's largest producer of electric vehicles. "China is
projected to produce around 13 million battery electric vehicles... by 2023,
more than any other nation in the world. China's estimated production level is
also anticipated to exceed the combined output of other large markets, including
the United States.... Biden's plan could therefore end up boosting China's green
energy industry even more.
China's de facto monopoly on rare earth materials forms an acute problem:
international reliance on them could hamper vital industries and national
security at a time of maximum competition between China and the US. In February,
the Financial Times reported that China was looking into export curbs on rare
earth materials that are key to the US defense industry, such as the F-35.
Pictured: Mined ore containing rare earth materials on display in Hohhot, Inner
Mongolia, China. (Image source: Brücke-Osteuropa/Wikimedia Commons)
"The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths", Deng Xiaoping said in 1992.
Nearly three decades later, the world is almost completely dependent on China
for rare earth materials. They constitute key elements in large swaths of modern
technology from consumer electronics to military equipment and green technology:
Mobile phones, computers, fighter jets, guided missiles, solar panels, wind
turbines and electric vehicles, among others. While demand is soaring, China is
virtually their worldwide exclusive producer. "To extend Mr Deng's comparison,
it is as if the Middle East not only sat on most of the world's oil but also,
almost exclusively, refined it and then made products out of it," wrote The
Economist in 2019.
"NATO's import dependency on China's rare earths is nearly 100 percent,"
according to a 2020 NATO report on energy security. An US Navy Virginia-class
submarine, for instance, requires about four tons of rare earth materials, an
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer more than two tons, and an F-35 fighter jet more
than 400 kilograms.
"China mines over 70% of the world's rare earths," noted Alistair MacDonald in
the Wall Street Journal, "and is responsible for 90% of the complex process of
turning them into magnets."
It was not always like that. "Up until 1980, 99 percent of the world's heavy REs
[Rare Earths] were a byproduct of U.S. mining operations for titanium, zircon,
and phosphate. In fact, it was only because of changes in U.S. regulations, the
voluntary transfer of expertise and intellectual property, and the absence of an
industrial policy that China has been able to corner this market," wrote Foreign
Policy in October 2020.
It is not that rare earth materials do not exist outside of China, although it
sits on the largest quantity: approximately 30-40% of all known rare earth
deposits. Rather, extracting the materials is a difficult and highly polluting
process that China was willing to take on. According to the Danish Institute for
International Studies:
"China today has the expertise, IP rights and production facilities, as well as
its own REE- [rare earth elements] consuming industries. China also manufactures
a significant and growing share of goods containing REEs, making it practically
impossible for competing companies outside China to get a foothold."
China's de facto monopoly forms an acute problem: international reliance on them
could hamper vital industries and national security at a time of maximum
competition between China and the US. In February, the Financial Times reported
that China was looking into export curbs on rare earth materials that are key to
the US defense industry, such as the F-35. "The government wants to know if the
US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban," a
Chinese government adviser told the Financial Times. "Industry executives added
that Beijing wanted to better understand how quickly the US could secure
alternative sources of rare earths and increase its own production capacity." In
2010, following a dispute over Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing trawler
captain, China blocked rare earth material exports to Japan.
China has classified its rare earth materials industry as strategic and seems
intent on maintaining its edge. "China has locked up resources even beyond its
borders, buying mining rights in Africa and South America and solar
manufacturers in Malaysia," Politico reported in January. China has also been
looking northwards, to the Arctic. Greenland, for instance, is believed to hold
the world's largest undeveloped deposits of rare earth materials, and China has
invested in rare earth mining in Greenland, known as the Kvanefjeld project,
through a China-backed Australian company, Greenland Minerals. On April 16,
however, after elections that were de facto a referendum on the Chinese plans to
mine not just for rare earth materials, but also for uranium, a new Greenland
government came to power, which vowed that it "will do everything we can to stop
the Kvanefjeld project."
Greenland's new government may impact not only China's hopes for mining there,
but also those of other countries hoping to break free of the rare earth
dependency on China. The London-based Polar Research and Policy Initiative
recommended in March that the "Five Eyes" alliance, an intelligence-sharing
group comprised of Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United
States, set its sights on Greenland's rare earths. "Greenland's vast critical
minerals reserves and the sheer number of British, Canadian and Australian
companies operating in Greenland make it a new frontier for Five Eyes," the
report said.
The reliance on Chinese rare earth materials has come even more into focus
recently because of US President Joe Biden's new infrastructure plan, which
includes the building of clean energy infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions.
The purpose is apparently to shift the US from the use of fossil fuels and
instead grow the amount of solar, wind and other renewable energy used to power
American homes, businesses and factories. Another of Biden's proposals is to
spend $174 billion to boost the electric vehicle market and shift away from
gas-powered cars.
Wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles all rely on rare earth
materials and China has a head start that can be measured in decades when it
comes to producing the various products of which they form a crucial part: More
than 60% of the world's solar panels, for example, are made in China. Forty-five
percent of the global supply of solar-grade polysilicon, the base material used
in solar cells, is made in China. There is also a human rights aspect to the
issue: Polysilicon is produced in Xinjiang, where China is accused of using
forced labor in the production chains, because -- ironically -- heat above 1,000
degrees Celsius is required to make the material, and Xinjiang has an abundance
of cheap coal power. "It will cost us more than the Chinese to produce solar
cells," said Tom Duesterberg, a former Commerce Department assistant secretary
under President George H.W. Bush. "We could agree to pay that price, but it will
be more expensive and take a long time. If tensions get bad with China, they've
proven in the past that they are willing to cut off supplies."
Even though Biden's plan offers subsidies to automakers to get them to build
electric vehicles and batteries in the United States, China is by far the
world's largest producer of electric vehicles. According to Statista:
"China is projected to produce around 13 million battery electric vehicles (BEV)
and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) by 2023, more than any other nation
in the world. China's estimated production level is also anticipated to exceed
the combined output of other large markets, including the United States,
Germany, and Japan."
Biden's plan could therefore end up boosting China's green energy industry even
more.
The issue is critical, especially because China has such a tremendous edge in
the rare earths market already. "For these minerals to go from a hole in the
ground to an electric motor, you need vast skills and expertise, which barely
exist out of China," Constantine Karayannopoulos, chief executive of Neo
Performance Materials ULC, one of a few Western companies able to process rare
earths and make magnets told the Wall Street Journal. "Many producers will find
it difficult to compete head-to-head against China on price without some level
of ongoing government assistance."
"It will take two decades or tens and tens of billions of dollars [for the West]
to get even close to China", said Pini Althaus, chief executive of USA Rare
Earth LLC.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished
Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
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or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Arab coalition halts operations in Yemen, indicating
breakthrough but Houthis escalate
Saleh Baidhani/The Arab Weekly/June 11/2021
ADEN/ MUSCAT – The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has indicated that
Omani-brokered mediation may have finally led to a breakthrough in negotiations
with Iran-backed Houthi rebels who do not seem to have given up on winning the
conflict militarily despite the heavy civilian toll. The coalition put out a
statement on Thursday saying it had stopped offensive operations to help “create
a propitious political atmosphere for the peaceful settlement process.”
Well-informed Omani sources told The Arab Weekly that an agreement has been
nearly reached on a ceasefire and the opening of Sana’a airport and Hodeida port
in accordance with the 2018 Stockholm Agreement and that these are intended as
confidence-building measures between the parties before dialogue on political
issues and moreover, that all these questions are part of a single package.
The sources indicated that this agreement, which may yet fail to hold,
considering bloody attacks and provocative statements by the Houthis, was
reached after months of intensive meetings in Muscat between Omani, Saudi and
Yemeni government and Houthi representatives and against a backdrop of rising
international pressure.
Muhammad Mubarak al-Araimi, head of the Omani Journalists’ Association,
described the coalition’s suspension of operations as a last chance for the
Houthis to stop obstructing the truce initiative, which did not come from Oman
or the Gulf, but from the United Nations. Araimi told The Arab Weekly that
developments will become clearer in the course of next week. He expects a
breakthrough for several reasons, principally the visit by the high-ranking
Omani delegation to Sana’a and its appearance on local television. Such
appearances rarely occur unless a deal is about to be struck. He believes that a
deal has in fact matured and the time has come to bring it into the open.
Special sources revealed to The Arab Weekly that the delegation from the Omani
Royal Office, which visited Sana’a and met the leader of the Houthi group,
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, did not obtain final approval of the ceasefire plan as a
single, indivisible package.
The sources indicated that Abdul-Malik al-Houthi referred the task of discussing
the technical details presented to him by the Omanis to the head of the Houthi
Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat. Mashat emphasised during his meeting
with the Omanis, the long-held Houthi view that separates the humanitarian track
from the political track. He repeated the demand for the opening of Sana’a
International Airport to international flights as well as other unspecified
destinations and for the lifting of the restrictions on the port of Hodeidah,
before entering into the details of the comprehensive ceasefire. Mashat said,
“The opening of Sana’a airport and the port of Hodeidah is a simple humanitarian
requirement that is not a favour from anyone.”
He also denied linking this demand to any other requirement such as the
suspension of attacks on Marib. On Thursday town was rocked by three large
explosions Thursday as a result of Houthi attacks.
At least eight people were killed in explosions that shook the Yemeni city of
Marib in what the information minister said were missile and drone strikes
launched by Houthi forces trying to seize the gas-rich region. Minister Muammar
al-Iryani wrote in a Twitter post that the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles
and two armed drones and had hit a mosque, a commercial centre and a women’s
correctional facility as well as ambulances rushing to the scene. He put the
initial death toll at eight, including women, and said 27 people had been
wounded. Two medical sources told Reuters the hospital received five killed and
more than 15 injured. The Houthi Supreme Political Council said there were
“three basic principles that cannot be ignored in any upcoming discussions,
namely lifting of the siege, stopping the aggression by air, land and sea,
ending the occupation, withdrawal of foreign forces, and non-interference in
Yemen’s internal affairs.”
Yemeni political researcher and deputy head of the media department of the
General People’s Congress, Abdul Hafeez al-Nahari, told The Arab Weekly, “The
Houthis tried in their statements to suggest that the Omani efforts are limited
to the humanitarian dimension, but this is not true and just aims to mislead the
local public opinion. It is clear that it is contrary to the international
package that includes the three dimensions: humanitarian, military and
political.”Yemeni analysts believe that the most prominent threat to the Yemeni
peace efforts is the attempt by the Iranian-backed Houthi group to show itself
in a position of strength and so being able to impose its own conditions.
Yemeni political researcher Mahmoud al-Taher described the Arab coalition’s
statements on the suspension of its operations, as “a new way of dealing with
the Houthis so as to encourage them to engage seriously in the political
settlement process. But the Houthis are likely to respond to with more
intransigence and raising the ceiling of their demands, thinking that they have
won this war”. Taher did not rule out that the rigid Houthi media rhetoric could
be an attempt to cover up “secret understandings that the Houthis want to
conceal, even though such understanding are alluded to by the Arab Coalition’s
announcement of the suspension of overflights and opening of Yemeni airports.”