English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 15/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!
Matthew 18/06-10: “‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes! ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire. ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 14-15/2021
Ministry of Health: 45 new infections, 3 deaths
Rahi: Govt. Deadlock Brought by Negligence of Officials
Aoun warns Israel against a unilateral view on maritime border
Report: Lebanon-Israel Sea Demarcation Talks Back to the Spotlight
Michel Aoun says Lebanon ready to resume talks over maritime borders
Lebanon Currency Hits New Low as Crisis Aggravates
Hariri to Present 24-Seat Government Line-Up
Report: Berri Clings to His Initiative, Hariri's Resignation Not Imminent
Berri Says His Initiative Enjoys Arab, Regional and Int'l Support
Safieddine Slams Those Delaying Govt. for 'Personal Goals'
Geagea Slams Authorities 'Absence', Rejects Naming Ministers
Who are the Americans on Trial over Ghosn's Escape
Planes, Trains and Boxes: Carlos Ghosn's Audacious Escape
U.S. Father-Son Duo Admit Helping ex-Nissan Chief Ghosn Flee Japan

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 14-15/2021
Allies Stress Peace in Messages to New Israeli Leader
Israel Govt. OKs Jerusalem March despite Fears of Renewed Violence
Israel's Lapid Vows to End 'Hostile' Relations Abroad
Five Challenges Facing the Next Iranian President
Ahmadinejad: Saudi Arabia and Iran are brothers, neighbors and must work together
Iran reaches broad agreement with US over lifting of energy sanctions
US President Biden vows to lay down ‘red lines’ to Russia’s Putin
France’s Macron says Turkey’s Erdogan wants foreign mercenaries out of Libya
Turkey fans tensions in Libya: ‘We must not forget Haftar’s actions’
Algeria’s traditional parties seem to lead in elections after low turnout
Prince Hamzah’s confidants face sedition charges in Jordan
US assessing reported leak at Chinese nuclear power facility

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 14-15/2021
What to Expect From the Biden-Putin Summit/Thomas Joscelyn/The Dispatch/June 14/2021
In the Iran nuclear crisis, the IAEA stands alone/Andrea Stricker and Behnam Ben Taleblu/The Hill/June 14 June/2021
Biden Lifts Sanctions on Firms Linked to Key Assad Backer/David Adesnik/FDD/June 14/2021
Lost at Sea: How Two Iranian Warships Are Testing American Mettle/Emanuele Ottolenghi/The Dispatch/June 14/2021
Khamenei is Iran’s most important voter, and he wants more extremism, not less/Saeed Ghasseminejad and Behnam Ben Taleblu/Alarabiya/June 14/2021
Palestinians: The Battle to Steal Reconstruction Funds/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 14/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 14-15/2021
Ministry of Health: 45 new infections, 3 deaths
NNA/June 14/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced 45 new coronavirus infection cases, which raises the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 542649.
3 deaths have been recorded over the past 24 hours.

Rahi: Govt. Deadlock Brought by Negligence of Officials
Naharnet/June 14/2021
Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi on Monday accused Lebanon’s political leaders of “complete negligence” and of obstructing the formation of a government. “The complete neglect of state officials has led and still does lead to the disruption of the procedural authority represented by the government,” said Rahi. He emphasized that “disruption of the procedural authority and the failure to form a government also disrupt the state’s economic and financial capabilities, and pave the way for rampant corruption in its public institutions.”Rahi’s remarks came at the opening of the annual Sinod meeting for Bishops in Bkirki. On the economic crisis the country is grappling with, that led many into poverty, he said: “Smuggling has impoverished half of the Lebanese people, eliminated the middle class and displaced our best living forces.’

Aoun warns Israel against a unilateral view on maritime border
The Daily Star/June 14/2021
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun warned that Israel cannot impose a unilateral view on the disputed maritime border in a meeting Monday with the American mediator responsible for the offshore border talks, a statement from the presidential palace said.
Meeting at Baabda Palace with US Ambassador John Desrocher, Aoun presented the latest situation on the discussions over the disputed waters between Lebanon and Israel that came to an abrupt end over a month ago. Aoun informed Desrocher of Lebanon’s desire to continue the negotiations with Israel alongside American mediation, “with the aim of reaching an understanding on the demarcation of maritime borders, in a manner that preserves the rights of the concerned parties, based on international laws.”The indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel at the United Nations peacekeepers base in Naqoura were arranged to formally demarcate maritime borders over disputed southern territory in potentially gas-rich waters that both sides claim to be in their own exclusive economic zones (EEZ). After a six month hiatus, a new round of talks resumed at the start of May, but after just one session they were halted as Beirut rejected preconditions set by Desrocher. Desrocher had asked Lebanon’s delegation of Army officers and experts to stick to the previously accepted demarcation lines, following their claim of an additional 1,430 square kilometers of water which would significantly thwart Israel’s hydrocarbon exploration. The statement said Aoun asked Desrocher to push for “fair and impartial negotiations, without preconditions."Furthermore, Aoun expressed hope that meetings between Desrocher and Israeli officials would yield positive results, while considering that Israel's establishment of a new government could risk further setbacks. “Israel cannot impose a unilateral view on the path of negotiations,” the statement said. After years of gentle diplomacy by the US, meetings began in October to try and resolve the dispute between Lebanon and Israel, who share no diplomatic relations and are technically still at war. Each country claims offshore waters of around 860 square kilometers of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The zone, determined by experts to be abundant in natural gas, is a potential economic boon for Lebanon who has yet to procure its own gas, while Israel has already developed a natural gas industry for domestic use as well as to export.But the talks stalled in early December after four rounds when Lebanon and Israel both pushed to claim extra territory, pausing the negotiations until May of this year. “President Aoun stressed Lebanon’s openness to the ideas put forward within the framework of full Lebanese sovereignty by land and sea, pointing out that Lebanon has several options in the event that the Israelis do not respond to the efforts made to move the negotiations forward.”

Report: Lebanon-Israel Sea Demarcation Talks Back to the Spotlight
Associated Press/June 14/2021
The maritime demarcation negotiations between Lebanon and Israeli reportedly jumped back to the forefront once the head of the US delegation sponsoring the Naqoura talks, American Ambassador John Desrocher, arrived in Beirut yesterday afternoon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. According to circles informed on Desrocher’s visit, the latter is expected to visit President Michel Aoun on Monday, before meeting with the head and members of the Lebanese delegation participating in the talks in Yarze, said the daily. Sources familiar with Lebanon's position said the delegation is ready to discuss any new proposal based on the internationally-recognized law of the sea, while recognizing the demarcation line. Lebanon, witnessing the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, is eager to resolve the border dispute with Israel, paving the way for potential lucrative oil and gas deals.
The U.S. has been mediating the issue for about a decade, but only late last year was a breakthrough reached on an agreement for a framework for U.S.-mediated talks. The talks began in October but stopped a few weeks later. Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic relations and are technically in a state of war. They each claim about 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea as being within their own exclusive economic zones. In the second round of talks, the Lebanese delegation -- a mix of army officers and civilian experts -- offered a new map that pushes for an additional 1,430 square kilometers for Lebanon. Lebanon's leadership is not united behind the Army Command's decision regarding the extended area. Israel already has developed a natural gas industry elsewhere in its economic waters, producing enough gas for domestic consumption and to export to Egypt and Jordan.
Lebanon, which began offshore drilling earlier this year and hopes to start drilling for gas in the disputed area in the coming months, has divided its expanse of waters into 10 blocs, of which three are in the area under dispute with Israel. Ras Naqoura already hosts monthly tripartite, indirect Israel-Lebanon meetings over violations along the land border. Israel and Lebanon also held indirect negotiations in the 1990s, when Arab states and Israel worked on peace agreements. The Palestinians and Jordan signed agreements with Israel at the time but Lebanon and Syria did not.

Michel Aoun says Lebanon ready to resume talks over maritime borders
Elias Sakr/The National/June 14, 2021
But Israel 'cannot impose its unilateral view', president tells US mediator
Lebanon on Monday signalled its readiness to resume US-mediated negotiations with Israel's new government over disputed maritime borders.President Michel Aoun told US mediator John Desrocher during a meeting at the Baabda presidential palace that Lebanon was keen to pursue the indirect talks to demarcate its borders in line with “international laws”. The last round of the UN-hosted negotiations was held in early May after a gap of seven months. The negotiations stopped after Lebanon expanded its claims. Mr Aoun said he urged the US to “push for fair talks without preconditions”, noting that Israel “cannot impose its unilateral view on the course of negotiations.”“President Aoun expressed hope that the efforts which Ambassador Durocher will undertake with Israeli officials will yield positive results considering the presence of a new government in Israel, which may require additional efforts in order not to delay negotiations,” a statement released by his office said. Lebanon took a step towards officially expanding its claims over the disputed areas in April, but Mr Aoun refused signing off on the amendment of the country’s exclusive economic zone. Caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab had endorsed a draft decree that claimed an additional 1,340 square kilometres on top of the already disputed 860-square-kilometre area, based on a map that Lebanon sent to the UN in 2011. The president argued that the amendment, which Israel said would have derailed the talks, must be first approved by the government. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning Cabinet since last August, when Mr Diab's government resigned over the explosion at Beirut port that killed more than 200 people and destroyed thousands of properties. The blast compounded one of the worst economic and financial crises to grip the country in decades. The crisis, which unfolded in late 2019, has plunged more than half of the population into poverty, while the national currency lost more than 90 per cent of its value against the dollar. The dispute over marine boundaries has delayed hydrocarbon exploration in an area that could hold significant gas reserves for Lebanon, which has yet to make any commercial hydrocarbon discoveries. Israel, on the other hand, is already tapping part of its hydrocarbon wealth. The talks between the two countries – which are technically in a state of war – are taking place at a UN post in the border town Naqoura. The Lebanese maritime border demarcation of 2011 was also not recognised by Syria, Lebanon’s neighbour to the north. In March, Damascus awarded a Russian company the rights to offshore oil and gas exploration in areas that overlap with Lebanon’s northern maritime blocks by an estimated area of 750 square kilometres. But Lebanon has yet to engage in negotiations with Damascus.

Lebanon Currency Hits New Low as Crisis Aggravates
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2021
Lebanon's currency hit a new low against the dollar on the black market Monday, continuing its freefall in a country gripped by political deadlock, an economic crisis and increasing shortages. The pound, officially pegged at 1,507 to the US dollar since 1997, was selling for 15,400 to 15,500 to the greenback on the black market, several money changers said. After hovering around 15,000 to the dollar in mid-March, the unofficial exchange rate dropped to between 12,000 and 13,000 later that month before soaring back up in recent days. The latest plunge means the pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the informal market since October 2019, in what the World Bank has called one of the worst financial crunches worldwide since the mid-19th century. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government for 10 months since the last one stepped down after a deadly port explosion in Beirut last summer.
Politicians from all sides have failed to agree on a line-up for a new cabinet even as foreign currency cash reserves plummet, causing fuel, electricity and medicine shortages. In recent days, frustrated drivers have waited for hours in long car queues outside petrol stations to fill up their tanks. Pharmacies went on strike on Friday and Saturday in protest at the central bank allegedly failing to provide them with dollars as a preferable exchange rate so they could continue working. Electricity cuts have increased in length as the state struggles to secure enough fuel to operate power stations.
People earning salaries in Lebanese pounds have seen their purchasing power drastically reduced as they battle to keep up with price hikes. The country, where more than half the population now live in poverty, is in desperate need of financial aid but the international community has conditioned any such assistance on the formation of a new government to launch sweeping reforms.

Hariri to Present 24-Seat Government Line-Up
Naharnet/June 14/2021
Al-Mustaqbal Movement deputy head Mustafa Alloush on Monday stressed that he is convinced that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri “will submit a new (cabinet) line-up comprising 24 ministers.”“The real obstructor will be exposed,” Alloush added, in an interview with al-Jadeed television. As for President Michel Aoun’s stance, Alloush said: “I cannot talk about the president because only one person is present now: Jebran Bassil.”The Mustaqbal official added that “no Sunni figure who has self-respect would accept to be under the mercy of Bassil’s conditions,” referring to the PM-designate post.

Report: Berri Clings to His Initiative, Hariri's Resignation Not Imminent
Naharnet/June 14/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will not meet Speaker Nabih Berri in the coming hours and no meeting has been officially scheduled, media reports said on Monday. “Berri is stressing that his initiative has not died,” MTV reported. Noting that Hariri may soon submit a 24-minister government line-up to President Michel Aoun, the TV network added that “Hariri will not step down, at least from now until Thursday, pending a certain solution or exit.”

Berri Says His Initiative Enjoys Arab, Regional and Int'l Support
Naharnet/June 14/2021
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Monday that his initiative for resolving the government formation deadlock enjoys “Arab, regional, international and Western support, including from France.”He, however, expressed grave concern that “the insistence of some parties on crippling demands will further complicate matters instead of leading to a breakthrough.”The Speaker added -- during a meeting with al-Mayadeen TV director Ghassan bin Jiddou -- that he is “very keen on respecting and implementing the constitution” and that he “will not tolerate that it be targeted, violated or bypassed under any labels.”And expressing utmost dismay over the current situations, Berri warned that “the continued deterioration will lead to major devastation with dire consequences.”

Safieddine Slams Those Delaying Govt. for 'Personal Goals'
Naharnet/June 14/2021
A senior Hizbullah official on Monday lashed out at “those hiding behind political and sectarian interests in order to achieve personal goals.”“The problem is not in the so-called points of contention. We are rather facing some politicians who want to achieve personal goals that they were not able to achieve during the ordinary days, and they are now taking advantage of people’s suffering and pain to achieve them,” Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hizbullah’s Executive Council, said, referring to the government formation crisis. “When we speak of initiatives -- specifically the initiative on which Speaker Nabih Berri, Hizbullah and all those keen on pulling the country out of its dilemma are insisting – we see that some are pushing for despair while we are pushing toward hope,” Safieddine added, noting that “there are two rhetorics in Lebanon.”“Some perhaps don’t realize that the bets they are adopting, even at the expense of the people and their plight, will sink them and sink the country together,” the Hizbullah official went on to say. He however added that Hizbullah “will keep clinging to the successive initiatives” in order to spare Lebanon “real disasters.”“Mistaken are those who think that our constant keenness on initiatives will give them further time,” Safieddine went on to say, urging a speedy solution in order to meet “people’s essential needs.” “Politics must be in the service of citizens’ interests, not the opposite,” the Hizbullah official said. He also emphasized that “political maneuvers must end when it comes to the public interest and the grand interests.”“Those pulling political maneuvers, conditions and counter-conditions must realize that they are tampering with the dignity of the Lebanese and the national interests,” Safieddine added.

Geagea Slams Authorities 'Absence', Rejects Naming Ministers
Naharnet/June 14/2021
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused President Michel Aoun, the caretaker cabinet and the parliamentary majority of standing idly by in the face of the country’s growing crises. “It turns out that there is a president in the Baabda Palace but he is not present. There is also a caretaker premier in the Grand Serail but he is not present and the same applies to the parliamentary majority. If they wanted to act, it would have shown by now. The only solution is early parliamentary elections,” Geagea said at a press conference that followed a meeting for the Strong Republic bloc. Commenting on the gasoline shortage crisis, the LF leader said the state “no longer has money to continue the subsidization policy.” “People are waiting one or two hours outside stations because the president and the caretaker premier do not want to shoulder the responsibility of ending subsidization,” Geagea added. He added that calls for the LF to name two ministers in the new government are aimed at deviating attention. “When the issue of the two Christian ministers gets solved, we would move to the issue of two Muslim ministers and the blocking one-third and this is a tragedy that we are living every day,” Geagea said. As for parliamentary elections, the LF leader said: “Is it reasonable to wait for 11 months to hold the elections on time in May? Is it reasonable to prolong the people’s suffering in these circumstances during this period? The only solution lies in re-creating authorities and what prevents holding the elections within one or two months?”

Who are the Americans on Trial over Ghosn's Escape
Associated Press/June 14/2021
Americans Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor go on trial in Tokyo on Monday on charges they helped Nissan's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, skip bail and flee to Lebanon in December 2019.
HOW DID THE TAYLORS END UP IN JAPAN?
The Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in May 2020 and extradited to Japan in March. They have not been released on bail and are not available for comment, which is standard in Japan. They were formally charged in March with helping a criminal escape. Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret, told The Associated Press while still in the U.S. that Peter was not in Japan when Ghosn fled the country. The elder Taylor has helped parents rescue abducted children, gone undercover for the FBI and worked as a contractor for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH GHOSN?
Ghosn led Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. for two decades before his arrest in Tokyo in November 2018. He was charged with falsifying securities reports in underreporting his compensation and with breach of trust. He says he is innocent and the compensation he is accused of not reporting was never decided on or paid. Ghosn says he feared he would not get a fair trial in Japan, where more than 99% of criminal cases result in convictions. Japanese prosecutors say he paid at least $1.3 million to organize his escape. Ghosn is on Interpol's wanted list, but Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon.
ESCAPE IN A BOX
Tokyo prosecutors say Michael Taylor and another man, George-Antoine Zayek, hid Ghosn in a large box meant to carry audio equipment, snuck him through airport security in Osaka, central Japan, and loaded him onto a private jet to Turkey. Peter Taylor is accused of meeting with Ghosn to help with the escape. Zayek has not been arrested. A U.S. appeals court rejected the Taylors' petition to put their extradition on hold.
COURT PROCEEDINGS
The Taylors will go through the Japanese equivalent of entering a plea before a panel of three judges. They may also give statements. They have said they didn't break any laws because skipping bail is not technically illegal in Japan. But Ghosn was not supposed to leave the country. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said prosecutors will outline the charges, but he declined to comment specifically on the case. Japanese suspects are tried even if they plead guilty.
The Taylors are held at the Tokyo detention center on the city's outskirts. Their lawyer can visit them, and they can receive snacks and books. Ghosn spent more than 100 days at the center before his release on bail. The cells are simple, with Japanese-style futon mattresses. The facility has an exercise area and clinic.
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
English translations will be provided and media coverage is allowed, but no filming or recording. If convicted, the Taylors face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 300,000 yen ($2,900). They also could get suspended sentences and not serve time. In principle, people accused of crimes in Japan are presumed innocent until proven guilty. But the conviction rate is higher than 99%.
ANOTHER AMERICAN
Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, also an American, is being tried on charges of falsifying securities reports in underreporting Ghosn's pay. He says he is innocent and was trying to find legal ways to pay Ghosn, partly to prevent him from leaving Nissan for a rival automaker. Kelly's trial began in September and a verdict isn't expected for months. If convicted, Kelly faces up to 15 years in prison.
WHAT DOES GHOSN SAY?
During the interview in Lebanon in May, Ghosn told The Associated Press he was eager to clear his name. He declined to give details of his escape. Ghosn accuses other Nissan executives of plotting to force him out to prevent him from giving its French partner, Renault, more power in their alliance. Renault sent Ghosn to Japan in 1999 to rescue the automaker when it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
HOW IS NISSAN FARING?
Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car, the Z sportscar and Infiniti luxury models, has struggled as sales slumped during the pandemic. It expects to remain in the red this fiscal year, the third straight year of losses. Ghosn's successors have promised a turnaround.

Planes, Trains and Boxes: Carlos Ghosn's Audacious Escape
Agence France Presse/June 14/2021
Carlos Ghosn's 2019 escape from Japan, where he was awaiting trial, was virtually made for Hollywood, complete with private jets, a former special forces operative and a giant case to hide inside. But while the former auto tycoon is now safely ensconced in Lebanon, in one of his many homes, two of the men accused of helping him escape face trial in Tokyo. The multi-millionaire was used to spending his life jetting around the world and was chafing under the restrictions of his bail in December 2019, just over a year after his arrest. He faced four charges of financial misconduct and a lengthy trial in a country where he claimed he was "presumed guilty."So as 2019 drew to a close, the former boss of Renault-Nissan made a break for it.
'Bullet train'
Ghosn's escape started with him simply walking out of his luxury central Tokyo residence on December 29. According to Japanese media, he met two U.S. citizens in a nearby hotel and the trio took a shinkansen bullet train from Shinagawa, a major Tokyo hub, to Osaka in western Japan. The trip took around three hours. "On the shinkansen journey, there were dozens of people in the carriage, but I was wearing a cap, a facemask and sunglasses. You'd have had to be a real expert to recognize me under all that," Ghosn wrote in a book published last year. The three men entered a hotel near Kansai International Airport, but security camera footage showed only the two Americans leaving, carrying "two big boxes" -- with Ghosn apparently packed inside one of them. It later emerged that oversized baggage being loaded onto private planes was not X-rayed at the airport because there were no machines big enough to scan them. Reports said holes were drilled into the case to ensure Ghosn could breathe. In his book, Ghosn said it was when he arrived on the tarmac at the airport that he "began to believe success was possible." "The sound of the plane was the sound of hope."
'Clandestine getaway'
The private plane whisked him to Istanbul, where he boarded a second private jet to Beirut. Two Turkish pilots and a Turkish airline employee would eventually be sentenced to four years and two months in prison for their role in helping Ghosn. Two other pilots were acquitted in the case. While Ghosn initially declined to give details of his escape, Japanese prosecutors later named Michael Taylor and his son Peter as accomplices, along with a third man George Antoine Zayek, who remains at large. Michael Taylor, 60, is a former U.S. special forces operative described by the Wall Street Journal as an "expert in the art of clandestine getaways."
Passport roulette
Jet-setting Ghosn held three nationalities: French, Brazilian and Lebanese, but under his bail terms his passports were meant to be kept locked up. After his escape, however, it emerged that Ghosn was allowed to access a second French passport in case he needed to prove his visa status while travelling in Japan -- which was allowed under his bail conditions. Airport documents in Lebanon seen by AFP showed Ghosn entered the country on a French passport.
International fugitive
Interpol, the international police cooperation body, issued a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest, but Beirut and Tokyo do not have an extradition agreement under which he could be sent back to Japan. He was forced to offer an apology in Lebanon for having travelled to neighboring Israel while head of Renault-Nissan. Lebanese law bans citizens from visiting the Jewish state while the countries technically remain at war. Meanwhile, Ghosn's former aide at Nissan Greg Kelly went on trial in Tokyo from September 2020, facing a single charge of underreporting the former chief's salary. Ghosn has also been grilled in Beirut by French investigators over various alleged financial improprieties, but said he considers those proceedings to be fair.

U.S. Father-Son Duo Admit Helping ex-Nissan Chief Ghosn Flee Japan
Agence France Presse/June 14/2021
An American father-son duo admitted their role in orchestrating former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's audacious escape from Japan as they made their first appearance before a Tokyo court on Monday. Former special forces operative Michael Taylor, 60, and his 28-year-old son Peter were extradited by US authorities over claims they smuggled Ghosn out of the country in a music equipment case as he awaited trial. At the Tokyo district court, the pair said they did not contest the facts laid out by prosecutors in an indictment, effectively conceding their role in the saga. "Is there any mistake in what the prosecutor just read?" the judge asked each man in turn. Both replied no. Michael Taylor was led in first to the courtroom, with his hands cuffed in front of him. He wore plastic slippers, dark trousers and a white shirt with no tie. His son was brought in after, with both men wearing facemasks. The pair face up to three years in prison if convicted of helping Ghosn -- currently an international fugitive living in Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn was out on bail while awaiting trial on four counts of financial misconduct, which he denies, when he managed to slip past authorities onto a private jet, transit in Turkey and land in Lebanon.
On Monday, prosecutors laid out again the almost cinematic details of the December 2019 escape, including that the Taylors hid Ghosn in a case to slip him past security at an airport. "You helped him escape," he said to the two men, who listened to proceedings through a translation earpiece. Ghosn's flight was hugely embarrassing for Japanese authorities, with US prosecutors calling it "one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history".
$1.3 million
The Taylors fought their extradition to Tokyo, claiming they could face torture-like conditions, and have not commented on their case since arriving in early March. Local prosecutors declined to comment on their arraignment before the trial, but Japanese media said both men admitted wrongdoing during questioning. Public broadcaster NHK has said Peter received 144 million yen ($1.3 million) from the Ghosns for their help. The Asahi Shimbun daily said the pair spent most of the money on preparations for the escape, including the costs of chartering a private jet, claiming that they were not paid for their help. Ghosn remains at large in Lebanon, where he was questioned last month by French investigators over a series of alleged financial improprieties. Among the allegations are improper financial interactions with Renault-Nissan's distributor in Oman, payments by a Dutch subsidiary to consultants and lavish parties organised at the Palace of Versailles. The questioning took place with his defence team and a Lebanese prosecutor present. Ghosn was heard as a witness as he would need to be in France to be formally indicted. Others involved in the Ghosn case have faced legal proceedings, including his former aide at Nissan, Greg Kelly, who is also on trial in Tokyo for his alleged role in underreporting the tycoon's income. And a Turkish court has sentenced two pilots and another employee of a small private airline to four years and two months in prison for their role in Ghosn's escape. Ghosn switched planes in Turkey on his way to Lebanon, and the three Turks were charged with involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle a migrant. A Lebanese national still at large is also suspected of orchestrating Ghosn's escape from Japan.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 14-15/2021
Allies Stress Peace in Messages to New Israeli Leader
Agence France Presse/June 14/2021
Israel's allies lined up to congratulate Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett Monday after he ousted former right-wing ally Benjamin Netanyahu as the nation's prime minister. Messages tempered with calls for peace and security in the region stood in contrast to those from Israel's opponents that held out little hope of change from the new regime.
Joe Biden
"Israel has no better friend than the United States," President Joe Biden said in a statement expressing his "warm congratulations" to the new Israeli leader. "I look forward to working with Prime Minister Bennett to strengthen all aspects of the close and enduring relationship between our two nations." In a later call, Biden told Bennett that Washington was "fully committed to working with the new Israeli government to advance security, stability, and peace for Israelis, Palestinians, and people throughout the broader region," according to a White House statement.
Vladimir Putin
Russia-Israeli cooperation would help strengthen "peace, security and stability in the Middle East," Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "No doubt it is in the vital interests of our people," Putin said.
France
France underscored its "unwavering commitment to the security of the state of Israel, and its determination to work alongside it to preserve regional security and stability". Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris was "ready to support any effort to resume dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians with a view to a just and lasting settlement of the conflict."
Angela Merkel
"Germany and Israel are connected by a unique friendship that we want to strengthen further," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
Justin Trudeau
Canada "remains steadfast in its commitment to a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living in peace, security, and dignity," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday. "Canada and Israel are close friends bound together by shared democratic values, a long history of cooperation, and vibrant people-to-people ties," Trudeau said.
European Union
"Looking forward to strengthen(ing) the (EU-Israel) partnership for common prosperity and towards lasting regional peace & stability," EU Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter.
Palestinian PM
While the ouster of Netanyahu marks "the end of one of the worst periods in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said "the new government has no future" unless it recognizes the "legitimate rights" of the Palestinian people. "We do not see this new government as any less bad than the previous one."
Iran
"I don't think that the policy of the occupation regime in Jerusalem will change with the arrival of this person or the departure of that person," said foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.
Hamas
Changes in Israeli leadership do not "change the nature of our relationship," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "It's still a colonizing and occupying power that we must resist."

Israel Govt. OKs Jerusalem March despite Fears of Renewed Violence
Agence France Presse/June 14/2021
Israel's new government gave the green light Monday for a controversial march by Jewish nationalists through annexed east Jerusalem, despite concerns over renewed tensions with the Palestinians. Authorizing the march set for Tuesday, Internal Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev's office said: "The police is ready and we will do everything in our power to preserve the delicate thread of coexistence." The march was originally due to take place last Thursday but was delayed due to Israeli police opposition to the route and warnings from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. The outgoing government put off the march until Tuesday. "The right to demonstrate is a right in all democracies," said Bar-Lev, part of the new administration which took office after a vote in parliament on Sunday. The so-called "March of the Flags" represents an early test for the new government. Rallies by far-right Jewish groups last month raised tensions in flashpoint areas of Jerusalem, prompting a police intervention in Al-Aqsa mosque compound. That triggered rocket attacks by Hamas and Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The 11-day conflict killed 260 Palestinians including some fighters, the Gaza authorities said. In Israel, 13 people were killed, including a soldier, by rockets fired from Gaza, the Israeli police and army said.

Israel's Lapid Vows to End 'Hostile' Relations Abroad
Agence France Presse
Israel's new Foreign minister Yair Lapid on Monday vowed to improve relations with U.S. Democrats while ending "hostile" ties with Europe he accused Benjamin Netanyahu of cultivating. The centrist broker who forged an unlikely coalition deal to unseat the hawkish former prime minister told foreign ministry staff that under Netanyahu's 12-year-rule Israel had "abandoned the international arena.""Our relationship with too many governments has been neglected and become hostile," Lapid, a 57-year-old former television presenter, said. "Shouting that everyone is anti-Semitic isn't a policy or a work plan, even if it sometimes feels right."After coming to power in 2009, Netanyahu has strained relations with former US president Barack Obama, a Democrat, before forming a tight bond with his Republican successor Donald Trump. "The management of the relationship with the Democratic Party in the United States was careless and dangerous," Lapid said. "I've warned against it more than once, but the outgoing government took a terrible gamble, reckless and dangerous, to focus exclusively on the Republican Party and abandon Israel's bipartisan standing."He added: "We find ourselves with a Democratic White House, Senate and House and they are angry. We need to change the way we work with them." The new Israeli foreign minister said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and that both agreed to "build relations based on mutual respect and better dialogue". Lapid succeeds Gabi Ashkenazi, a former army chief-of-staff, who became chief diplomat in 2020 as part of a power-sharing deal between the Netanyahu camp and opposition parties. Lapid also said he would work to improve Israel's standing internationally as well as ties with Europeans leaders, adding that he had "exchanged messages" with French President Emmanuel Macron and spoken to the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. He also vowed that Israel "will do whatever it takes to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb" and said he was opposed to a revived nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that could see the United States rejoin the accord. And one month after a deadly 11-day war broke out between Israel and Gaza-based Hamas militants, Lapid reaffirmed that "Israel has every right to defend itself."

Five Challenges Facing the Next Iranian President
Agence France Presse/June 14/2021
The winner of Iran's presidential election will face a host of tough challenges once he takes over from Hassan Rouhani in August. Seven men are running in the June 18 vote, with a possible run-off on June 25. The ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi is seen most likely to win after his strongest rivals were disqualified, and would take over the post in a country where ultimate power rests with the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Here are the five top issues the next president will have to address.
Fixing the economy
All candidates agree that the top priority is to revive an economy hit hard by sanctions since former U.S. president Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, the damage later compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. There were initially high hopes for an influx of foreign investment after Iran's 2015 accord with world powers, in which it pledged not to build or acquire nuclear weapons -- a goal it has always denied pursuing. But those hopes were dashed when Trump in 2018 withdrew from the deal, and launched or reimposed crippling sanctions as part of a sweeping "maximum pressure" campaign.
Iran lost billions in crucial oil revenues, and was locked out of the international financial system. The International Monetary Fund says GDP fell by more than six percent in both 2018 and 2019, and only returned to modest growth last year. Unemployment has risen, the rial currency has collapsed, and prices have soared amid inflation -- which the IMF projects at 39 percent for this year. "If the sanctions are lifted, we will have a stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, with an acceleration of growth and a fall in inflation," said Thierry Coville, of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris.
But the new president will still have to manage public expectations, Coville warned, because "one of the risks is that people think that everything will improve immediately and find themselves very disappointed".
Improving foreign relations
If a compromise on the nuclear issue is reached, it "will probably not allow Western investors to return to the Iranian market in the short term," said Clement Therme, of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. "For this to happen, a diplomatic normalization between Tehran and Washington seems to be an indispensable condition," Therme told AFP. However, Khamenei is hostile to any rapprochement with the United States, which after decades of hostility is commonly labelled the "Great Satan" or the "Global Arrogance" in Iran. Therme said "the new president will have to find a new way to ensure a minimum of improvement in the economic living conditions of the population by managing the level of hostility with (the administration of U.S. President Joe) Biden.". Frontrunner Raisi says he wants to prioritize relations with countries geographically close to Iran, which has been on friendly terms with China. Under a Raisi presidency, tensions with the West would likely continue to simmer, but the process of diplomatic normalization with Saudi Arabia, Iran's great regional rival, should continue, according to several experts.
Emerging from the pandemic
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Iran quickly became the region's worst-hit country. According to official figures widely believed to underestimate the real toll, some three million people have been infected, of whom more than 81,000 have died. Iran has fallen behind in its vaccination campaign, partly because of U.S. sanctions. An easing of sanctions, as well as the possible short-term release of one or more Iranian-designed vaccines, could help the effort.
Regaining the people's trust
Iran's isolation and economic pain, as well as the bloody repression of two waves of protests, in the winter of 2017-2018 and in November 2019, have left their mark. Iranians were also dismayed by the January 2020 downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Iran's military amid high tensions with the U.S. "The crisis of confidence is deep and widespread," said reformist journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi. Authorities feared a renewed low voter turnout this week after a record abstention rate of 57 percent in February 2020 legislative elections. "The future government will have to take some immediate steps to restore confidence," said Zeidabadi, including, in his view, "lifting the blocking of certain social networks such as Telegram and Twitter (and) giving up being tough on women's veils".
Tackling environmental problems -
Ecological issues may be Iran's forgotten priority, but they loom large in the country of 83 million threatened by climate change, water shortages, desertification and urban air pollution. "The environmental crisis in Iran is a reality," Coville said, but so far "we have the impression that the government is not able to put in place a comprehensive policy". Environmental issues were not discussed in three televised pre-election debates.  "Environmental issues will be ... of great importance" but "the causes of the problem (are outside) the president's field of competence," Therme said. "Water resources are depleted," said Zeidabadi who pointed to "destruction of natural resources" caused by unsustainable agricultural and industrial practices. Unfortunately, he added, "it only takes two rains for those in charge to completely forget about it."

Ahmadinejad: Saudi Arabia and Iran are brothers, neighbors and must work together
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/14 June ,2021
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described Saudi Arabia and Iran as “brothers and neighbors,” and that the two countries have more in common to unite than their differences, the former Iranian President told Al Arabiya during a special interview. “I consider the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran as harmful to the interests of both parties. We are brothers and neighbors, and the common denominators between us are dozens of times greater than our points of differences,” Ahmadinejad said adding that Tehran and Riyadh “must cooperate together to manage the region.”During his exclusive interview with Al Arabiya’s Senior News Presenter Taher Barake, the former Iranian president also called for the establishment of a regional union similar to the European Union, noting that “Europe fought for a long time before it finally reached the experience of the union for the benefit of its peoples.”
“International forces are trying to control the region, which is rich in energy and culture. These forces are creating problems in the region with the aim of controlling it,” he added. Iran’s hardline former president Ahmadinejad has registered to run again in an election in June but was disqualified from taking part by the country’s Guardian Council. Ahmadinejad told Al Arabiya that there was no room for a single power to dominate the region’s capabilities, saying: “The late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein wanted to be the most important in the region...but he faced many problems.”
Regarding the examples of cooperation he intends between the countries of the region, the former Iranian president said that during his tenure he cooperated with Saudi Arabia more than once to raise the price of oil in 2012, adding that during his tenure, “there were no mutual threats between Riyadh and Tehran.”
“The scope of cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia can always be expanded to control security in the Gulf waters, and to solve the outstanding problems in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria. All of these issues can be resolved through understanding and cooperation,” Ahmadinejad told Al Arabiya. Last summer, Ahmadinejad reportedly reached out to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a letter offering to work together on Yemen, despite the history of tensions between the two countries. Ahmadinejad offered to coordinate a ceasefire in Yemen, according to the New York Times, which said it received a copy of the letter from Ahmadinejad’s office. The former president confirmed he sent the letter to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his interview with Al Arabiya. “I know that your excellency is not happy about the current situation of innocent people dying and getting injured every day and infrastructure being damaged,” Ahmadinejad reportedly wrote personally in the letter, which was signed “your brother Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

Iran reaches broad agreement with US over lifting of energy sanctions
Bloomberg/14 June ,2021
Iran said it has reached a broad agreement with the US over the lifting of sanctions on its industrial sectors, including energy, but warned there was “very little” time left for world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, didn’t give more detail on the potential easing of trade restrictions, which have all but prevented the Islamic Republic from exporting oil and battered its economy. The landmark accord was being delayed because there are still sticking points, he told reporters in Tehran on Monday. Oil markets are closely watching the negotiations, which are taking place in Vienna, for any clues as to when the OPEC member will be able to resume crude sales and how quickly Washington will allow it to ramp up production. “Some minute technical, political, legal and practical issues remain,” Khatibzadeh said. “No task was impossible for negotiators and there’s no impasse,” he said. Brent crude rose 1 percent to $73.43 a barrel at 8:50 a.m. in London, extending its gain this year to 42 percent. Traders have pushed back their estimates for Iran’s oil comeback as the talks drag on. World powers are trying to revive the 2015 agreement that the US abandoned three years ago. It restricted Tehran’s atomic activities in return for sanctions relief. On Saturday, Iran’s lead envoy in Vienna, Abbas Araghchi, said a deal was unlikely before presidential elections in his country this Friday. President Hassan Rouhani -- who negotiated the original deal in 2015 -- is due to leave office in August after serving two terms. He is widely expected to be replaced by Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric generally seen as hostile to engaging with the US. Still, a government spokesman said last week that the decision to try to resuscitate the accord was made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and won’t be affected by Rouhani’s departure.

US President Biden vows to lay down ‘red lines’ to Russia’s Putin
AFP/14 June ,2021
US President Joe Biden on Monday signaled his determination to take a firm stance two days ahead of meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, vowing to lay down “red lines.”Speaking after a summit of the 30 NATO leaders, and insisting he has their full support in meeting the Kremlin chief, Biden acknowledged that he faces a tough opponent in Geneva on Wednesday. “He’s bright, he’s tough, and I have found that he is, as they say, a worthy adversary,” he said. “I’m not looking for conflict with Russia, but that we will respond if Russia continues its harmful activities.”Where Washington and Moscow do not agree, he “will make it clear what the red lines are,” he said. One of these was “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Biden vowed that, faced with “aggressive action” from Russia, “we’re going to put Ukraine in a position to maintain their physical security.”But, despite pressure from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to use the moment to push for Kiev’s admission to NATO, Biden warned that remained conditional on Ukraine adopting democratic reforms and fighting corruption.

France’s Macron says Turkey’s Erdogan wants foreign mercenaries out of Libya
Reuters/14 June ,2021
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he had received assurances from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he wanted foreign mercenaries to leave Libyan territory as soon as possible. “We agreed to work on this withdrawal (of foreign mercenaries). It doesn’t just depend on the two of us. But I can tell you President Erdogan confirmed during our meeting his wish that the foreign mercenaries, the foreign militias, operating on Libyan soil leave as soon as possible,” Macron told a news conference at the end of a summit of NATO leaders in Brussels. Macron was speaking after his first face-to-face with Erdogan in more than a year as tensions between the two NATO allies worsened especially over the conflict in Libya.Turkey deployed troops to Libya under an accord on military cooperation signed with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), helping it repel an assault by forces from eastern Libya. It also sent thousands of Syrian fighters to Libya.

Turkey fans tensions in Libya: ‘We must not forget Haftar’s actions’
The Arab Weekly/June 14/2021
TRIPOLI - Turkey’s newly-expressed positions against Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army, seem to run against the grain of the fragile consensus and risk impeding the drive to reach a comprehensive national reconciliation that would turn the page on years of war in the oil-rich North African country. Statements made by Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar came on the sidelines of a visit to Tripoli. They seem likely to deepen the tensions between Haftar and Prime Minister Abdelhamid al-Dbeibah and to spark divisions within the government and the Presidency Council. The Turkish delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, included Defence Minister Akar and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Chief of the General Staff Yasar Guler, Intelligence Chief Hakan Fidan and Fahrettin Altun, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s close aide and head of communications.
Akar stressed “the need not to forget the mass graves of Haftar’s militia and hundreds of people who lost their lives or limbs as a result of explosives in Libya.”“The world must not forget these actions and everyone must remember the harm and suffering caused by the putschist Haftar,” he added. Akar’s statements reflect Turkish indifference toward the uphill struggle to anchor peace and stability in Libya and to the fact that Haftar is still an important player on the Libyan scene. Antagonising him and inciting the government against him could disrupt the consensus-building efforts in the country. The Turkish defence minister used the military parade held by the Libyan National Army (LNA), marking the eighth anniversary of the Operation Dignity against Islalmists insurgents, as an argument to justify the continued presence of Turkish forces in the country and to accuse Haftar of not being ready for peace.
“Everyone watched the last military parade held by the putschist Haftar’s group,” he said. The relationship between Haftar and Dbeibah has seen mounting tensions that have been further heightened recently, raising Libyans’ fears the path of consensus is being undermined and the flames of war rekindled. The tensions between the two men came out into the open after the security forces at Benina Airport in the eastern city of Benghazi blocked the arrival of Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity delegation because the authorities in the east refused to admit the accompanying security detail.
However, observers ruled out the notion that this issue was the essence of the dispute, considering that what happened was the result of differences between Haftar and Dbeibah over the sharing of power and wealth. Tensions deepened after the military parade in Benghazi and the refusal of Dbeibah and the President of the Presidency Council, Mohammad al-Minfi, to attend it despite Haftar’s invitations to them and to the rest of the government and the Presidency Council. Akar’s statements put the Libyan government in a tough predicament in terms of Libyan public opinion, especially the tribes and regions that reject the continuation of the Turkish military presence in the country. The Turkish minister reiterated his country’s refusal to withdraw from Libya, saying, “Turkey is a homeland for Libyans and Libya is a homeland for Turks.”He asserted that, “Turkey will continue to do what is required for the unity and security of Libya, so the reason for our presence here must be well understood.”
The Turkish delegation, which visited Tripoli on Friday and Saturday, seemed not bothered by taking stances that could be construed as provocative towards the Libyan authorities. Their attitude tends to confirm the suspicion that Ankara is deliberately attempting to embarrass their hosts by suggesting that they remain in control of Tripoli, despite the departure of the Government of National Accord headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, analysts say. The absence of a Libyan official to welcome the Turkish minister of defence sparked angry reactions in Libya, especially since Turkish officers who did receive him at the airport removed the minister’s security escort and held a closed meeting without any Libyan presence. Local media also spoke of frictions caused by the visit within the government and the Presidency Council. The Afrigate news website, specialising in Libyan affairs, quoted a source close to the Presidency Council as saying that the frictions were reflected in the separate meetings that took place in a tense atmosphere even within the Presidency Council. Hence the head of the council Mohammed al-Menfi, met the members of the Turkish delegation separately, as did council members Abdullah al-Lafi and Musa al-Koni as well as Dbeibah and his ministers. The source, who preferred not to be named, attributed the frictions to the provocative actions of the Turkish ministerial delegation, which arrived in Tripoli without prior permission or coordination, culminating in the discourteous behaviour of Defence Minister Hulusi Akar when he arrived at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.

Algeria’s traditional parties seem to lead in elections after low turnout
The Arab Weekly/June 14/2021
ALGIERS--Algeria was early Monday still awaiting the results of a parliamentary election boycotted by the long-running Hirak protest movement and marked by widespread abstentions. However, early indications pointed to traditional parties such as the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the Democratic National Rally (RND) being ahead in the vote with Islamist parties coming second despite claims of victory. The head of the newly-approved Sawt al-Chaab (Voice of the People) party, Lamine Osmani, said that in the light of early results, his party’s desire to contribute to the political change had been unsuccessful. These, he said confirmed the traditional parties’ control over politics thanks to their grassroots structure and their influence in public institutions and to the large abstention rate. According to Osmani, it had become necessary to stop and think and provide the necessary solutions to the issues at hand.
He claimed there was “collusion between the administration and the political parties affiliated with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s era, at the expense of the new political faces and actors,” citing cases where the officials of the local election organising authority had a relationship or kinship with candidates.
Preliminary indications garnered by The Arab Weekly from several governorates including Algiers, Jijel, Bouira and Boumerdes showed that, against expectations, traditional parties such as the National Liberation Front and the National Democratic Rally had achieved surprising results while Islamist and new parties rose and the Future Front came second. Meanwhile the “independent” slates seemed headed towards an abrupt setback. However, ambiguities surrounding the count, the participation rate and the delays increased the concerns of those following the process, as the election authorities postponed producing the final outcome for several days. Ahead of the official results, an The Islamist Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), said its candidates were in the lead in most regions. It warned against “numerous efforts to alter the results”. The election authority rejected its allegations. A statement by the National Independent Elections Authority (ANIE) cited by several news outlets late Sunday refuted “unfounded” claims regarding the election, without naming the MSP. After Saturday’s vote, electoral commission chief Mohamed Chorfi said that turnout had been just 30.2 percent, the lowest in a legislative poll in at least 20 years.He said it would be 96 hours before official results are announced. Fewer than one percent of registered voters cast their ballots in Kabylie, a mainly Berber region east of Algiers and the cities of Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou. “As expected, the majority of Algerians snubbed the ballot boxes. The low turnout confirms the strong trend towards rejecting the vote,” read the front page of French-language daily Liberte. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, himself elected on an official turnout of less than 40 percent in late 2019, put a brave face on the figures. “For me, the turnout isn’t important. What’s important is whether the lawmakers that the people elect have enough legitimacy,” the president said.
Journalists arrested
The Hirak protest movement which apart from an hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic had held twice-weekly demonstrations for reform until they were effectively banned last month, rejected the polls as a “sham”. The movement has urged boycotts of all national polls since it mobilised hundreds of thousands of people in early 2019 to force longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his cronies from power. But voting day was mainly calm, except in Kabylie, where ballot boxes were ransacked and security forces detained dozens of people, rights groups said. Two prominent journalists detained on the eve of the election and released Saturday, Khaled Drareni and Ihsane El Kadi, condemned their “arbitrary” arrests. “I believe you have the right to know that two journalists … were subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention for no apparent reason,” Drareni wrote on his Facebook page. On Sunday, the authorities cancelled France 24’s right to operate in the country, over its “clear and repeated hostility towards our country and its institutions”, the communications ministry and government spokesman Ammar Belhimer said in quotes carried by the APS news agency.

Prince Hamzah’s confidants face sedition charges in Jordan
The Arab Weekly/June 14/2021
AMMAN--The prosecutor of Jordan’s state security court on Sunday filed sedition and incitement charges against two confidants of King Abdullah II’s half-brother Hamzah, marking the latest step in a rare, intrigue-filled palace drama that has rattled the Western-backed kingdom. The affair erupted into the open in early April when Hamzah was placed under house arrest and two senior associates, Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, were arrested amid allegations that they tried to destabilise Jordan with foreign help. Bin Zaid is a member of the royal family and Awadallah, a former head of the royal court, reportedly has close ties to Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince. The state news agency Petra said Sunday that the trial of the two will begin next week before the state security court. Hamzah’s fate remains unclear, including whether his movement and ability to communicate remain restricted. Several days after Hamzah’s house arrest, King Abdullah said he had resolved the matter with his half-brother through mediation within the royal family and that Hamzah was in his own home under the king’s protection. At the time of his initial house arrest, Hamzah alleged that he was being silenced for exposing what he said was incompetence and corruption of the “ruling system.” The prince has established close ties with some of Jordan’s powerful tribes, serving as a conduit for growing anger and resentment as Jordan struggles with a widening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Sunday’s indictment, parts of which were published by state-linked media, alleged that Hamzah, was motivated “by his personal ambition” to rule. Hamzah was stripped of the title of crown prince by Abdullah in 2004, who gave the position to his oldest son. The indictment alleged that Hamzah, Awadallah and bin Zaid were in close contact, with a plan to win external support to strengthen Hamzah’s position. It said Awadallah and bin Zaid directed the content of Hamzah’s tweets which he allegedly planned to publish to “mobilize public opinion.”The indictment also alleged that Awadallah criticised the king’s handling of the Palestinian cause, with the aim of weakening Jordan’s role as guardian of a major Muslim shrine in contested Jerusalem. The role of guardian is a pillar of the Hashemite dynasty’s claim to political legitimacy. Abdullah has ruled Jordan since the 1999 death of his father, King Hussein, who ruled the country for close on a half-century. Abdullah has cultivated close relations with US and other Western leaders over the years and Jordan was a key ally in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group. The country borders Israel, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

US assessing reported leak at Chinese nuclear power facility
CNN/June 14/2021
The US government has spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant, after a French company that part owns and helps operate it warned of an "imminent radiological threat," according to US officials and documents reviewed by CNN. The warning included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province in order to avoid having to shut it down, according to a letter from the French company to the US Department of Energy obtained by CNN. Despite the alarming notification from Framatome, the French company, the Biden administration believes the facility is not yet at a "crisis level," one of the sources said

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What to Expect From the Biden-Putin Summit
Thomas Joscelyn/The Dispatch/June 14/2021
Biden wants ‘stable and predictable’ relations with Russia. Is that possible?
President Biden is in Europe for the first major foreign tour of his administration. He will meet with the leaders of America’s various European allies to discuss a wide range of topics. But the main event, the sitdown that is highly anticipated, will be his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16.
Biden made his desired outcome the summit well-known months in advance. The president seeks a “stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests.” This is a rather modest and reasonable goal. Biden doesn’t want any of the areas of tension between the two countries to evolve into a full-blown crisis. But there is an open question concerning how the president and his team will square this goal with President Biden’s overarching framework for conducting foreign affairs in 2021.
The president sees the world as a contest between democracies and autocracies. Autocrats “think that democracy can’t compete in the 21st century with autocracies because it takes too long to get consensus,” Biden said during a speech before Congress in April. “We have to prove democracy still works—that our government still works and we can deliver for our people,” he emphasized.
The main autocracy Biden has in mind is the one run by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But Vladimir Putin’s Russia, while not nearly as powerful as China, is certainly on the short list of autocracies Biden seeks to contain.
The president has many hot button issues to address with the former KGB man. These issues include: possible new strategic arms talks, cyber threats, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections, the status of jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a daunting list of topics, but there are still other issues that could come up between the two.
Let’s briefly examine three areas the Biden administration has been working on.
First, the Biden administration has already extended the New START Treaty, which limits the two countries’ strategic nuclear arms. The treaty, signed on April 8, 2010, was due to expire in February, but the Biden administration exercised a clause in the deal that allowed for it to be extended for five more years. The Russians agreed to this measure.
The Biden team hopes that New START can serve as a building block for a more robust arms control agreement, but that remains to be seen.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, provided the press with an overview of the European diplomatic tour earlier this week. Sullivan explained that the U.S. has already expressed its “concerns about Russia’s new nuclear systems,” which are presumably not covered by the treaty. According to Sullivan, the U.S. wants “additional elements … added to strategic stability talks in the realm of space or cyber or other areas.” However, Sullivan said, “that’s something to be determined as we go forward.”
Second, cyber threats against the U.S. are on the agenda. When a reporter asked Sullivan if the recent ransomware attacks on companies operating in the U.S. and elsewhere will be discussed, he responded: “Yes, 100 percent.”
Sullivan went on to make a distinction that deserves more attention. He drew a line between the massive breach of SolarWinds and other recent ransom operations. “We do not judge that the Russian government has been behind these recent ransomware attacks, but we do judge that actors in Russia have,” Sullivan said. “And we believe that Russia can take and must take steps to deal with it.”
Some brief background is in order.
Last year, Russian hackers, reportedly working for the Kremlin’s premier intelligence service (the SVR), infected software used by SolarWinds to update code on thousands of computers. From March 2020 to June 2020, according to the company, 18,000 customers downloaded the update code, though there is some ambiguity concerning how many computers were truly compromised. Regardless, this was a massive breach that infected dozens of leading companies, as well as a number of U.S. government agencies. As reported by NPR, the hackers even “found their way, rather embarrassingly, into the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA—the office at the Department of Homeland Security whose job it is to protect federal computer networks from cyberattacks.” The malicious code inserted into the SolarWinds update allowed hackers to remotely access computers and steal sensitive data and emails. The ramifications of the hack are still being assessed.
The U.S. openly blames Russia for the SolarWinds hack. In April, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on the Russian government for a range of actions, including the SolarWinds breach.
By way of contrast, the administration is treating recent ransomware attacks as criminal endeavors—not intelligence operations. This is understandable insofar as the ransomware schemes are intended to generate millions of dollars for criminals and are not designed for intelligence collection or other forms of subterfuge. The problem is that the Kremlin could be, at a minimum, turning a blind eye to such activities and thereby tacitly endorsing the attacks.
The recent ransomware hacks attributed to Russian “actors” include the attacks on JBS USA Holdings Inc. and Colonial Pipeline. JBS is one of America’s largest meat processers and a global leader in the industry. According to the Wall Street Journal, JBS “paid an $11 million ransom to cybercriminals” after they disrupted plant operations, and therefore America’s supply of meat, in early June. The payment was made in bitcoin. Similarly, according to Bloomberg, Colonial paid a ransom of $4.4 million to the Russian hacker group known as DarkSide after the “largest fuel pipeline” in the U.S. was prevented from providing fuel in a timely fashion on the East Coast.
In advance of the Biden-Putin summit, Sullivan told reporters that the administration is “not going to be in the business of telegraphing our punches publicly or issuing threats publicly.”
“I’m just going to say that we believe Russia has a responsibility,” Sullivan said. “And, of course, any country that doesn’t act, then the United States will have to consider what its options are, following that.”
In other words, the Kremlin has a “responsibility” to crackdown on the cyber criminals stealing from companies by interrupting the provision of basic goods and services. If Moscow fails to do so, then that’s telling.
A third issue is just as thorny as the others—Russia’s push into Ukraine.
In the days leading up to his trip, the president clearly stated his support for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. “President Biden affirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of ongoing Russian aggression in Donbas and Crimea,” according to the White House’s readout of Biden’s call with Zelensky on June 7.
Shortly before their call, however, Zelensky expressed his displeasure with the Biden administration’s decision to give up its opposition to Russia’s development of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The issue is contentious for the Ukrainians, as Russia gas currently flows through its borders on the way to Europe. Nord Stream 2 will allow Moscow to circumvent Ukraine while delivering gas to Germany. According to Axios, Zelensky described the pipeline as “a weapon, a real weapon … in the hands of the Russian Federation.” Zelensky added: “It is not very understandable … that the bullets to this weapon can possibly be provided by such a great country as the United States.”
Asked if the pipeline would be a subject of discussion with the Germans or Russians, Sullivan responded: “I expect Nord Stream 2 will come up in conversations with the Germans. Again, I don’t want to negotiate publicly on this issue. They understand well our concerns. But we do want to talk to them about what the implications of this pipeline are for energy security in Europe and for Ukraine.”
The summary above is just a cursory look at the points of tension between the U.S. and Russia. The Biden administration has repeatedly stated it does not think that relations between the U.S. and Russia “need to continue on a negative trajectory.”
Is there any reason to think that Vladimir Putin agrees?
*Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD’s Long War Journal. Follow Tom on Twitter @thomasjoscelyn. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

In the Iran nuclear crisis, the IAEA stands alone
Andrea Stricker and Behnam Ben Taleblu/The Hill/June 14 June/2021
And how many divisions does the Pope have?” former Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin is alleged to have quipped in response to a political comment by the Vatican. Though outdated, the retort remains instructive. In international relations, it always helps to have a credible enforcement mechanism. Such a mechanism is missing in action in the escalating drama between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran.
At a recent press conference, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi declared that the agency will investigate Iran’s nuclear breaches even if it lacks political cover from member states. Though principled, the comments reflect a crisis in the making. An international organization with a monitoring and verification mandate should not have to go it alone against an aspiring nuclear rogue.
Fortunately, President Joe Biden can reverse course, but by taking a page from Iran’s playbook: threaten progress on one track — the current negotiations to re-establish the nuclear deal — to bolster another: IAEA investigations. The Biden administration should condition any nuclear talks on Iran first thoroughly clearing its case with the IAEA.
As the IAEA digs-in to defend the non-proliferation regime, U.S. and international support lags. Washington’s cognitive dissonance on the nuclear issue has been on display for months, seen in round after round of talks to resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Meanwhile, the list of Iranian nuclear violations grows, and its illicit procurement and proliferation-sensitive activities continue. By over-focusing on the fast-expiring JCPOA instead of pressing for answers on undisclosed nuclear activities, sites, and material, the U.S. and Europe are playing into Tehran’s hands.
Iran’s ability to wield nuclear escalation and obfuscation to elicit concessions is well-known. Earlier this year, Tehran extorted the IAEA by threatening to delete agency recordings and measurements at nuclear sites if it did not get reprieve from sanctions. Tehran did this both to increase pressure on the agency to accept subpar answers to inquiries and drive the U.S. to the negotiating table. In so doing, Iran sufficiently spooked America and Europe from bringing pressure to bear over its non-proliferation violations at a spring meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.
Rather than allowing Iran to treat the IAEA as a punching bag and liability, Washington should look to the agency as an asset to bolster.
The IAEA has recently uncovered new evidence of Iran’s breaches of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Over the past three years, the agency detected uranium particles at three sites, which could indicate covert nuclear activities. Iran initially stalled the IAEA’s investigation by denying access. Under pressure, the regime relented and permitted inspections, but has since provided explanations that the IAEA deems “not technically credible.”
Through safeguards established by the NPT — the cornerstone treaty that stems the spread of nuclear weapons — Iran is required to declare its use of nuclear material and identify sites where it uses such material, so the agency can confirm both non-diversion and peaceful use. Iran’s NPT obligations are legal and separate from the JCPOA’s political promises. As such, they endure regardless of the accord’s status.
The IAEA’s investigation gained new momentum in 2018 when Israel seized and exposed a secret Iranian “atomic archive.” The documents indicate that Tehran planned to build five nuclear weapons by 2003 under a well-structured program called the Amad Plan. Iran’s leaders, rather than halting the Amad Plan altogether in mid-2003, as assessed by the U.S. intelligence community, planned to preserve and further its weaponization activities.
The IAEA verified the authenticity of this documentation and has been asking to visit sites where Iran used nuclear material. Indeed, denying evidence of this work is difficult — the archive contains photographs of technicians, signatures, Amad Plan meeting minutes, lists of officials and scientists, overhead and ground imagery, and nuclear weapons schematics. Although the IAEA visited three relevant sites, there are still about 17 to 21 sites mentioned where Iran carried out weapons-related activities. Underscoring the cat-and-mouse dynamic, Iran methodically scrubs sites of evidence prior to IAEA inspections.
The IAEA has also never visited the alleged center of Iran’s ongoing nuclear weaponization work, SPND, nor spoken to Iranian scientists who purportedly continued their efforts. As a result, as assessed by the Institute for Science and International Security in a new book, Tehran is likely closer to a nuclear weapons capability than in 2003, having had time to overcome weaponization logjams, produce near weapon-grade enriched uranium, and improve its nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Director-General Grossi has declared that he views outstanding safeguards issues as a present, and not a past matter, but the IAEA board, the 35-member elected body assigned to hold states accountable to their NPT safeguards obligations, may not help.
The board, under pressure from the U.S. and Europe not to disrupt JCPOA negotiations, yet again withheld a resolution — formal admonishment against Iran’s non-cooperation — at the June IAEA board meeting. As principal leaders in shoring up the non-proliferation regime, the U.S. and E3 (France, Britain, and Germany) must lead on resolutions for them to have any chance of success.
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In a greater twist of irony, should world powers re-establish the JCPOA, they will effectively block the IAEA board (and themselves) from holding Iran accountable to its non-proliferation obligations. The board’s main recourse is to refer a non-compliant state to the UN Security Council (UNSC) for sanctions. The JCPOA obstructs UNSC sanctions against Iran because under the terms of its implementing resolution, 2231, all UN sanctions against Iran are lifted. To penalize the Islamic Republic, the UNSC would first need to bring down 2231.
As a result, the current nuclear crisis is likely to repeat itself in a handful of years as JCPOA restrictions sunset, if a military conflict or regional proliferation cascade do not take place first. To prevent all three, the Biden administration should resist the siren song of JCPOA resurrection and first empower the IAEA to do its job. If no baseline for Iran’s past and present nuclear activities can be established, there is no foundation for a deal.
*Andrea Stricker is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
*Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow. Follow Andrea on Twitter @StrickerNonpro. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Biden Lifts Sanctions on Firms Linked to Key Assad Backer
David Adesnik/FDD/June 14/2021
The Treasury Department announced on Thursday it had lifted sanctions on two Dubai-based corporations under the control of Samer Foz, whom it designated in 2019 for “directly supporting the murderous Assad regime.” The rationale for this reversal remains unclear, leaving open the question of whether the administration intended its action as a signal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its sponsors in Moscow and Tehran.
The names of Foz’s Dubai-based firms are ASM International General Trading Company and Silver Pine DMCC. At the time of their blacklisting in 2019, Treasury explained that “[a]lthough much of ASM International Trading’s overt trade is in foodstuff commodities such as grain and sugar, the company also operates in the fields of oilfield services, drilling products, and supplies to the oil and natural gas industry.” Treasury did not offer specifics on Silver Pine beyond noting that it “is an international trading company that operates out of the ASM International Trading offices.”
Both Foz himself as well as his brothers Amer and Husen, who hold top executive positions in ASM and Silver Pine, respectively, remain under sanctions, along with Aman Holdings, the vehicle through which Foz controls at least a dozen companies. The European Union has sanctioned Foz as well.
The delisting of ASM and Silver Pine garnered less attention than the removal of sanctions on three former Iranian officials “and two companies previously involved in the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of Iranian petrochemical products.” The State Department’s spokesman insisted this action reflected a purported change of behavior or status on the part of the delisted individuals and firms and had “no connection” to President Joe Biden’s efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Neither State nor Treasury indicated whether a change of behavior accounted for the delisting of ASM and Silver Pine. Along with its initial designation of Foz in 2019, Treasury designated two Beirut-based firms, Synergy SAL Offshore and BS Company Offshore, which “facilitated shipments of Iranian-origin petroleum to Syria,” a violation of U.S. sanctions on both Syria and Iran. Both Synergy and BS Company remain blacklisted.
In late May, the State Department asserted that the Biden administration would continue to implement sanctions required by the Caesar Act, which “was passed by an overwhelming majority of the American Congress.” Yet the administration has not, so far, designated a single target under Caesar or related authorities, whereas the previous administration issued new designations every month after the law took effect in June 2020. By December, 113 individuals and entities faced Caesar-related sanctions.
The appearance of hesitation to hold the Assad regime accountable comes at an inopportune moment as Biden prepares for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A major issue of contention there will be Putin’s readiness to employ starvation as a weapon against Syrian civilians who remain in areas outside the Assad regime’s control. Specifically, Putin may employ Russia’s veto to block the UN Security Council’s reauthorization of aid deliveries into northwest Syria directly from Turkey, a route that bypasses Damascus, thereby preventing Assad from blocking or diverting the shipments.
If the administration did lift sanctions on ASM and Silver Pine as an indicator of goodwill toward Assad, Moscow, or Tehran, that would be a mistake, since they have no record of reciprocating. Within the past week, Syrian shelling and Russian air raids killed even more civilians. Concessions at this point would likely communicate a lack of resolve on Washington’s part.
The administration should quickly clarify why it chose to delist two of Foz’s companies. If it alleges their conduct has changed, it should present evidence of that change, since Foz and his other companies remain leading contributors to the Assad regime’s finances. More broadly, the administration should clarify its still-undefined policy toward Syria and appoint a special envoy of a stature comparable to those who served under the previous administration.
*David Adesnik is research director and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Iran Program and Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). For more analysis from David, the Iran Program, and CEFP, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on Twitter @adesnik. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_Iran and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Lost at Sea: How Two Iranian Warships Are Testing American Mettle
Emanuele Ottolenghi/The Dispatch/June 14/2021
The Biden administration has tried to deflect anything that could possibly derail negotiations for a new nuclear deal.
What is the Iranian navy doing in the southern Atlantic? It is a question that Pentagon officials have had a hard time answering since late May, when they became aware that a large, repurposed oil tanker and a newly built frigate—both with Iran’s navy—were sailing past the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, heading westward.
Officially, the Iranians sent both ships to improve “their seafaring capacity” in untested, difficult waters far from home. If nothing else, Iran is flexing its muscles and seeking to project power beyond its near abroad. But U.S. officials worry that the larger ship—which satellite imagery shows is carrying seven fast boats of the type Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps use in the Persian Gulf to swarm larger vessels—may be carrying weapons to its Southern Hemisphere ally, Venezuela.
The U.S. has an arms embargo against Venezuela—but it applies only to U.S. exports. So does the European Union, but its embargo does not extend to third parties. The U.S. may have a legal basis to interdict the shipment’s delivery, and it has publicly warned both Venezuela and Cuba—another possible recipient of the cargo—to turn those ships away. If the ships turn up in the Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command might take action to interdict them, with a potential escalation looming.
So far, there is no sign Iran will be backing off. For Iran, Venezuela is an important ally. Both countries have helped each other evade U.S. sanctions. Both countries espouse an anti-imperialist ideological agenda that aspires to diminish U.S. prominence in the world. Iran has used Venezuela to spread its propaganda in the region. Venezuela has relied on Iran to mitigate the worst effects of its own disastrous economic mismanagement. Iran has taken payment in barter or gold—both good ways to address its own economic difficulties.
Iran has also been ferrying mysterious goods by cargo plane to Venezuela for quite some time, and it could deliver weapons—if this is indeed what the ships’ journey is about—by cargo plane. What, then, is the reason for the lengthy journey across perilous waters, by two warships, if not to poke America in the eye? Because it thinks Washington will not push back, Iran is trying to provoke the United States in its own backyard, even at a time when the two sides appear close to a deal in Vienna to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The Biden administration has done everything in its power to make Iran think the U.S. is in retreat. It has done so in the hope of mollifying Iran and persuading it to negotiate. It has repeatedly said that “maximum pressure,” the Trump administration’s Iran strategy, did not yield any result. And so the new administration has dusted off the old policy playbook from the Obama administration.
In the first months of his tenure, President Biden has made a point of signaling to Washington’s Middle East allies that he is shifting U.S. policy back to the Obama days. He appointed numerous Obama-era officials to key foreign policy positions, bringing back many from the Obama team that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal—including Robert Malley as special envoy to Iran—to key positions inside the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Council.
Within weeks of taking office, the president authorized the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian oil money that sanctions had blocked in Iraq and South Korea. This move eased the financial squeeze Iran was feeling—its oil sales in 2020 had all but collapsed—and gave it breathing space even before it made any concessions.
The Biden administration chose to react to multiple Iranian attacks through Iraqi proxy militias by first downplaying Iran’s role and then by launching only a limited symbolic strike in Syria in response.
The administration also revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, even as Houthi rebels rained down missiles on civilian targets inside Saudi Arabia. Washington also terminated U.S. intelligence support for Saudi-led coalition operations in Yemen and ordered a review of weapons deals to Gulf states signed during the Trump administration.
U.S. diplomats have also declined to press Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog in charge of policing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, despite piling evidence of multiple instances of suspicious, unexplained, and troubling nuclear activity. Condemnation at the IAEA could derail the talks.
So could anything else, if you ask the administration. Iranian proxies target American forces? A tough response could derail the talks. Releasing American citizens held hostages in Iran? Let us focus on the talks. And then the latest move, which came last Thursday: the delisting of formerly sanctioned companies and individuals involved in Iran’s oil sector, including sales and shipping, prior to Iranian concessions.
President Obama took the same approach. In November 2013, he endorsed the Joint Plan of Action, or JPOA, which was the blueprint for the JCPOA. Under the JPOA, Iran received sanctions relief before making any significant concession. Then, to mollify the regime in Iran, President Obama stymied Project Cassandra—a Drug Enforcement Administration-led, decade-long project to combat the Iran-backed Hezbollah’s money-laundering and drug trafficking global networks.
But while Washington thinks that the key to détente with Tehran is constraint and concessions, these actions indicate weakness in Tehran’s eyes. A military convoy dispatched to the U.S. backyard is more than a test of seafaring capacity. It is a statement. Iran is provoking the U.S. because it can.
Events following the Iran deal offer a clear insight into why Iran feels it can dispatch warships to America’s backyard with impunity. The ink was not even dry yet on the JCPOA when Iran began to use its national airline, Iran Air, to move thousands of militia fighters to Syria at the height of its civil war. This was the same airline that, as a major beneficiary of the JCPOA, was about to buy hundreds of Western-made aircraft. Why would Iran jeopardize the nuclear deal and its economic benefits? Because it could. Because it correctly gamed the scenario and anticipated President Obama would not jeopardize what he viewed as a historic diplomatic achievement by acting against the delinquent airline. Tehran knew the U.S. would not push back.
Which brings us back to the two warships. Iran sent them to signal its strength and defiance. It is a challenge to the Biden administration because Tehran, so far correctly, has calculated that the U.S. will do nothing if it thinks it can jeopardize nuclear talks.
Washington should not fall into this trap. The regime in Tehran is not going to walk away from talks that could restore its economic clout—an essential tool in its pursuit of broader global influence. Besides, what is Iran going to do? The U.S. killed Qassem Suleimani, their top general, in January 2020, yet Tehran did little in response.
Tehran needs to know Washington will exact a pound of flesh for its reckless behavior. So far, the Biden administration has given them no reason to think there are any risks involved in provoking Washington. Maybe the two ships will give President Biden an opportunity to reassess his erstwhile inclination to give Tehran a pass.
*Emanuele Ottolenghi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan think tank focusing on national security and foreign policy. Follow him on Twitter @eottolenghi.

Khamenei is Iran’s most important voter, and he wants more extremism, not less
Saeed Ghasseminejad and Behnam Ben Taleblu/Alarabiya/June 14/2021
سعيد قاسمي نجاد وبهنام بن طالبلو: خامنئي هو أهم ناخب في إيران ويريد المزيد من التطرف وليس العكس
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/99750/saeed-ghasseminejad-and-behnam-ben-taleblu-khamenei-is-irans-most-important-voter-and-he-wants-more-extremism-not-less-%d8%b3%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%af-%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%85%d9%8a-%d9%86%d8%ac/
Elections have consequences, even in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nobody knows this better than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country’s most powerful person and most important “voter.” Through his agents in Iran’s byzantine bureaucracy, Khamenei intends to make the most of the upcoming presidential election to cement his hardline legacy and promote extreme politics, even after his passing.
“We expect you to realize the weight of the work and know what heavy responsibility you want to take on,” charged Khamenei to those interested in running for president at the start of the Iranian calendar year 1400 this March. Since then, Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-person body that vets candidates for public office and is loyal to Khamenei, has approved a mere seven men out of a pool of 592. Despite putting a token technocrat and lackluster reformist on the ballot, the Council elevated several hardliners closer to, what is at least on paper, the country’s second most powerful position.
While the parading of candidates and disqualification of regime devotees in Iran’s already tightly managed electoral process is not new, the decision to bar pragmatists – and now long-standing members of the traditional principlist faction – stems from three opportunities, or better put, heavy responsibilities, bearing down on Khamenei during this election (read: selection) cycle.
The first is the opportunity to capitalize on Washington’s eagerness to return to the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA and dispense with the fig-leaf of moderation that past pragmatic presidents offered. If sanctions relief will be on the table no matter who is at the helm, then Khamenei may feel safe enough to ditch the window-dressing. The second is to continue to narrow the political spectrum while bringing-in more extreme elements into the mainstream. By purging and marginalizing reformers, pragmatists, and even some principlists, Khamenei can ensure a more hardline “second phase” of the Islamic Revolution. The third pertains to the issue of succession and the character of the government in a post-Khamenei Islamic Republic. A more cohesive and radical elite at the helm of a constellation of positions, especially the presidency, will ensure that Iran remains on a revolutionary trajectory even after the supreme leader’s passing. To actualize this, Khamenei will need the right man for the job.
Of the candidates approved, three have run and failed in past presidential contests. Two of them– Saeed Jalili and Mohsen Rezaie – have ties to the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the other – Ebrahim Raisi – has ties to the clerical establishment. Together with Alireza Zakani and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, they represent an ultra-hardline majority on the ballot.
Among the five, Raisi, Iran’s chief justice who previously led a multi-billion-dollar religious foundation tied to Khamenei, is the perceived frontrunner. Raisi was supported by several former IRGC generals who withdrew or circumscribed their presidential bids to consolidate the hardline camp or because they saw the political writing on the wall. Either way, support of Raisi by IRGC figures is further indicative of two phenomena: That the IRGC is currently content ruling Iran without accountability (almost all past presidents have been clerics, not military men), and that IRGC veterans and radical clergy can cooperate just as much as they compete.
In addition to being sanctioned by Washington in 2019 for being appointed by Khamenei to lead a legal system that executes children, Raisi is best known for serving on a four-person committee in 1988 overseeing the execution of at least 5,000 political prisoners. Analysts have previously opined that Raisi could be Iran’s supreme leader in-waiting, but the first time he entered the political fray for president in 2017, he failed to best the incumbent Hassan Rouhani. Despite still lacking charisma and a well-developed political constituency, Raisi has again become the center of attention by both Iranian and international media, which increasingly frame the race as his to lose.
For perspective, there are three candidates believed to be to more hardline than Raisi, Ghazizadeh, Zakani, and Jalili. Jalili, for example, previously served as nuclear negotiator during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For the US, an Iranian presidency led by any of the above men means that nuclear diplomacy will become harder, but still not impossible, as it is Khamenei who sets the country’s foreign policy.
Khamenei’s ease with a potential ultra-hardline president would signal that despite sanctions, he does not feel – or at least does not want to project – a pressing need to offset economic pain through political change, even cosmetic ones like a softer-sounding president. Thus, the Biden administration’s dogged pursuit of the JCPOA and willingness to offer even non-nuclear sanctions relief may inadvertently expedite the present contraction in Iranian politics by making such an eventuality cost-free.
While it is not clear if Khamenei will seek a speedy JCPOA reentry after the election or if he will look to extort additional relief through nuclear escalation, one thing is fast becoming clear. Khamenei is acting as if he no longer needs the soft-power capabilities, contacts, or finesse of Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif in order to adjudicate disputes with the West. As internal Iranian political commentary has made clear, hardliners could even be willing to embrace transactional diplomacy with America so long as they get the credit for lifting sanctions.
Khamenei clearing the field
Another impact of Khamenei’s narrowing of the political spectrum is to significantly reduce intra-regime competition, a critical component of the “competitive authoritarianism” seen in past Iranian presidential elections. Despite all factions seeking the perpetuation of the Islamic Republic and adhering to the revolutionary regime’s governing ideology of the “Guardianship of the Jurist,” Khamenei has been pushing for more. Specifically, Khamenei has gradually squeezed the reform movement while also introducing more extreme hardline elements into the political fray.
For instance, in 2009, Khamenei eliminated the branch of reformists most closely associated with former President Mohammad Khatami, which in turn forced reformists – as well as those looking for a protest vote or settling for “the least bad option” – to have to support former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi or former Parliament speaker Mehdi Karoubi. That election was ultimately rigged in favor of a second term for the ultra-hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In 2013, Khamenei eliminated the entire reformist faction, and even disqualified former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who represented the pragmatists, from running for president. As a result, reformists and pragmatists were forced to create a coalition and throw their support behind Hassan Rouhani, a bureaucrat and former nuclear negotiator with deep ties to Iran’s security state.
In 2021, Khamenei not only eliminated the current First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, but went one step further and eliminated former principlist parliamentarian Ali Motahari and former principlist Speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani, the latter of which has ties to both the IRGC and Iranian state television.
Popular Persian parlance has described revolutionary Iran’s political spectrum as a moving train that loses passengers over time. But what three decades of Khamenei as supreme leader has proven is that the Islamic Republic is a train composed of several cars, each representing a different faction. While these factions are committed to the revolution and supreme leader, Khamenei is nonetheless de-linking select cars over the course of the train’s journey. As cars are detached, the train moves with greater speed towards its destination, but one that is not a kinder and gentler Islamic Republic, not even after Khamenei’s death.
Eight decades into his life, finality is something Khamenei can ill afford to ignore, especially if he is concerned about preserving his legacy. Given that most Iranian presidents serve two terms, by the time the next president leaves office, Khamenei could be 90 years old. While it is unclear if he will live to celebrate that day, what is clear is that the question of succession is already looming. Regardless of whether Raisi is Khamenei’s heir apparent, the next president may have an opportunity to influence events in the aftermath of Khamenei’s death from the bully-pulpit. That’s why Khamenei is insisting they are cut from the right revolutionary cloth.
At the moment, Khamenei has no designated successor. While an all-clerical body called the Assembly of Experts is legally tasked with selecting the next leader upon Khamenei’s death, prior to doing so they may establish a “leadership council,” which according to the article 111 of the constitution, will consist of the president, the head of the judiciary, and one member of the Guardian Council picked by another political body called the Expediency Council.
Under such a scenario, Khamenei will need as many loyalists as possible to preserve the revolutionary trajectory his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, charted, and he has maintained. Raisi or another hardliner could be just the sort of person to work with, rather than against other stakeholders like the IRGC and crack down on any domestic forces pushing for change.
Iranian people will lose if Khamenei wins
Despite the troika of opportunities presented to Khamenei by this political cycle, there is one force he has spurned despite rhetorically encouraging to turn out: The Iranian people. Coupled with ongoing political, public health, economic, social, environmental, and other crises in Iran, further political contraction and a greater presence of the extreme revolutionary flank in the mainstream is likely to lead to one of the lowest participation rates in the Islamic Republic’s electoral history.
This is ironic, as Khamenei has long used high voter turn-out as a shield against foreign pressure and a way to feign legitimacy that he knows the Islamic Republic lacks. Specifically, Khamenei has framed voting, regardless of the candidate, “as a vote for the Islamic Republic,” and elsewhere called voting, even in parliamentary elections, a “religious duty.”
Yet, last February’s parliamentary elections, which featured Iran’s lowest ever recorded turnout, may be a canary in the coal mine. Those elections followed three years of widespread nationalist protests indicating a preference for revolution against, rather than reform of, Iran’s political system. With those wants, needs, and demands still unanswered, Iranians are talking more openly about boycotting the election this week.
Khamenei’s election engineering this go around is therefore less about feigning popular support for the Islamic Republic than restructuring its political elite and preparing for the future. Accordingly, Khamenei will likely aim to use this cycle to remove yet another car from the Islamic Republic’s political train, but in so doing, he will ensure its eventual derailment. After all, as long as a candidate approved by Khamenei wins, it will be the Iranian people who lose.

Palestinians: The Battle to Steal Reconstruction Funds
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 14/2021
The Palestinian Authority says that it should be the only party in charge of the reconstruction and that all funds must be channeled through its government. Hamas, on the other hand, insists that the funds from the international community be sent directly to its coffers.
"The Palestinians must remove this Iranian occupation in Palestine so that they can live in peace." — Nora Shanar, Saudi author, Elaph, May 10, 2021.
The message the Arabs and Muslims are sending to the Biden administration and other Western donors: Stop showering money on corrupt and failed Palestinian leaders whose stock-in-trade is purloining international funds. The Palestinians do not need money as much as they need new leaders whose commitment to the welfare of their people outweighs their interest in their own pockets.
Egypt has gone out of its way to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the recent round of fighting between Israel and Hamas. But the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas only care about one thing: filling their own coffers with funds earmarked for suffering Palestinians. Pictured: An aid convoy of construction equipment and material provided by Egypt arrives in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on June 4, 2021.
Last month, Egypt succeeded in its effort to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Since then, however, Egypt has been unable to secure an agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over the reconstruction of buildings and homes that were destroyed during the 11-day Israel-Hamas conflict.
Egypt has gone out of its way to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the recent round of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
First, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi pledged $500 million to contribute to the reconstruction effort. (Qatar has promised a similar sum to help rebuild the Gaza Strip).
Second, Egypt dispatched the head of its General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, to the Gaza Strip and West Bank for talks with leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority about the reconstruction plan.
Third, Egypt sent dozens of bulldozers, cranes and engineers to the Gaza Strip as part of its effort to assist with the reconstruction.
Fourth, Egypt invited representatives of various Palestinian factions, including the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, to Cairo for talks on ways of helping the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who had lost their homes during the fighting with Israel. Egypt was also doubtless hoping that the faction leaders would finally reach agreement on ending the dispute between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.
On June 10, the Egyptians informed the Palestinian factions of a decision to delay until further notice the meeting of the faction representatives that was supposed to take place in Cairo under the auspices of Egyptian General Intelligence Service officials. The last-minute decision to call off the meeting came after the representatives of the Palestinian factions had already arrived in Cairo.
The Egyptian move, according to reports in various Arab media outlets, came in light of a sharp dispute that erupted between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over which party would be responsible for the reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Authority says that it should be the only party in charge of the reconstruction and that all funds must be channeled through its government. Hamas, on the other hand, insists that the funds from the international community be sent directly to its coffers.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas, in short, are saying that they do not trust each other regarding the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been promised by Egypt and other countries to contribute to the reconstruction effort in the Gaza Strip.
"The Palestinian Authority cannot be trusted with the reconstruction funds, and it does not want to help the Gaza Strip," said Palestinian political analyst Eyad al-Qarra. "The Palestinian Authority exists to suck the blood of the Palestinian people on the economic level, and it wants to benefit and revive its budget at the expense of the suffering of our people."
Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, said his party had informed the Egyptians that the reconstruction effort must be carried out under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority. Ahmed accused Hamas of waging a "media campaign" against the Palestinian Authority in a way that "harms national unity and ignores the role of the Palestinian Authority" in rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have good reason to suspect each other. They have been at war with each other since 2007, when Hamas staged a violent coup against the Palestinian Authority and seized control of the Gaza Strip.
Both parties, in addition, have long been facing accusations (by Palestinians) of financial corruption and mishandling public funds.
The dispute between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over the reconstruction money drew strong condemnations from several Palestinians and Arabs. They accused the two parties of prioritizing their own interests at the cost of the Palestinian people. The Palestinians and Arabs expressed fear that the controversy would discourage donors from helping the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Some Palestinians launched a "popular campaign", calling on the Gulf states not to give the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, money for the Gaza Strip reconstruction "due to the rampant corruption and looting of donation funds."
"The sympathizers who are ready to donate are asking who will receive the reconstruction funds," remarked Emirati political analyst Mohammed Yousef.
"They [the donors] do not trust Hamas, which is immersed in corruption and discrimination against the residents of the Gaza Strip. The residents know that most of the funds will end up in secret [bank] accounts of Hamas and its leaders and for carrying out smuggling activities. The Palestinian Authority, which is very corrupt, wants to be in charge of the reconstruction projects and its leaders want all the money."
Saudi author Nora Shanar said she was opposed to giving money to the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist groups, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip. The two groups, she added, "lead [Palestinian] youths to destruction on behalf of Iran."
"The Palestinians must remove this Iranian occupation in Palestine so that they can live in peace. Muslims will not move to donate their money to them. The terrorist organizations want to deceive the Arabs and Muslims."
The feud over the reconstruction funds further demonstrates Palestinian leaders' utter indifference to the well-being of their people. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas leaders care about one thing: filling their own coffers with funds earmarked for suffering Palestinians. The fight also shows that the Biden administration's renewed talk about a "two-state solution" is an illusion: the Palestinians cannot even agree on holding elections or rebuilding destroyed buildings for their own people.
Judging from the reactions of many Arab and Muslims social media users, it is highly unlikely that the Arab and Islamic countries will be willing to put their money into the hands of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The Palestinians are again paying the price for the incompetence and corruption of their leaders.
The message the Arabs and Muslims are sending to the Biden administration and other Western donors: Stop showering money on corrupt and failed Palestinian leaders whose stock-in-trade is purloining international funds. The Palestinians do not need money as much as they need new leaders whose commitment to the welfare of their people outweighs their interest in their own pockets.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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