Tuesday, August 03, 2021
Richard Goldberg: It’s Time for Biden to Leave a Bad Deal in the Past
When asked if Raisi’s selection would complicate the administration’s drive to rejoin the nuclear deal and lift U.S. sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Biden national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said only one person mattered in Iran: the supreme leader. How funny — that’s exactly what opponents of the nuclear deal said back in 2013 when the Obama administration was selling America on the need to embrace a flawed nuclear deal to empower “Rouhani the moderate.”Iran’s New Suitors
Of course, Sullivan is correct — and the selection of Raisi is only one of many signals the supreme leader has sent Biden this year, making clear that Khamenei fully intends to pocket any sanctions relief he receives from Washington to fuel the Islamic Republic’s war on the United States and its allies.
The Justice Department revealed last month that Iran attempted to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil, kidnapping a U.S. citizen from New York. Iran-backed proxies in Iraq have attacked U.S. forces for months with little to no response from Biden. Iran-sponsored terror groups such as Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen have lobbed missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia. And the supreme leader has vastly escalated his nuclear provocations — enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, producing uranium metal, and limiting monitoring by international inspectors.
In every way that matters, Khamenei is telling Biden, “We will bury you.” Biden’s response has been to offer cash. After all, the nuclear deal is fundamentally an appeasement pact masquerading as a nonproliferation deal; it offers Iran money for temporary nuclear restraint, and no restraint at all on the development of nuclear-capable missiles and the regime’s pursuit of regional hegemony.
In his first press conference as president-select, Raisi made clear that Iran would never negotiate the longer, stronger deal Biden said he could achieve by first returning to the old one. Khamenei reaffirmed as much last week. Biden should take “no” for an answer and leave a bad deal where it belongs — in the past.
King Abdullah II of Jordan has always been glorified by both the Western and Israeli media as a moderate monarch who seeks peace and even democracy for his country and the Middle East. But perhaps Abdullah should be understood more in the light of his recent trip to the Jordanian village of Kerak, 75 miles south of Amman, to visit the tomb of Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the brother of Ali ibn Talib, the founder of Shi’ite Islam. The Kingdom of Jordan has never opened this site to Shi’ite visitors.Khaled Abu Toameh: 'Violations' the UN Security Council Does Not Care About
Ja’far ibn Abi Talib is a holy figure among Shiites, one of the “rightly guided” caliphs, as the first four successors of the prophet are called. The majority of Muslims worldwide, and nearly all Jordanians—95% of whom are Sunni—consider visiting graves for prayer as an act of polytheism. But there was Abdullah, wearing his military uniform and performing prayers in a Shi’ite shrine with the Jordanian media and state cameras rolling.
In the past several decades, Abdullah has never had much patience for Shi’ites. There is not a single Shi’ite mosque in the kingdom. Jordanian intelligence keeps a close watch on Shi’ites in Jordan, as well as on any local Sunni Muslims who adopt elements of Shi’ite faith and practice. Jordanian authorities, for example, bar any Shi’ite-related religious ceremonies, especially Ashura, the mourning of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Shi’ite clerics abroad claim that Jordanian intelligence has broken into private homes to prevent such observances. Abdullah’s sudden decision to publicly embrace the Shi’ite faith was as shocking as it would be if the president of the United States had himself filmed performing Islamic prayers at a mosque.
One day before his visit to Kerak, Abdullah flew to Baghdad on June 27 for a curious meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. All three men signed an agreement for a “New Levant,” ostensibly an economic deal for the three countries to cooperate in the fields of energy and electricity, agriculture, and the oil trade, with Jordan serving as a transit point for Iraqi oil to Egypt, and from there on to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. The three leaders also decided to establish a single visa for entrance into all three countries. This type of European-style border arrangement is exceptionally rare among Arab countries.
The question puzzling many in the region is why Egypt, which shares a border with neither Jordan nor Iraq, is part of such a deal. One likely possibility is that el-Sissi feels isolated in general, and in particular with regard to his struggle to prevent Ethiopia from building a mega dam that threatens Egypt with drought. With very little help from the Biden administration, and the Gulf Arab states wielding almost no leverage within the Egyptian government, el-Sissi is signaling a tilt toward Iran—short of full normalization, but steps in the direction of better ties. As the Iranian regime controls the Iraqi government, military, and intelligence service, all of which are used as puppets to help Iran avoid U.S. sanctions, Egyptian participation in the export of Iraqi oil—which is also controlled by Iran—would have been unimaginable during the Trump administration. Under Biden, who is tilting toward Iran himself, it’s close to common sense. This is the opportunity Abdullah seems keen to exploit.
Such Security Council sessions have become routine and almost always end up with statements denouncing Israel after hearing complaints from PA officials about Israel's alleged "violations" and "aggressions."
Yet the Security Council meeting, which was held last week, did not hear a word about human rights violations and aggressions committed by the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
[Nizar] Banat, the anti-corruption activist and vocal critic of the PA leadership, was allegedly bludgeoned to death on June 24 by more than 20 Palestinian security officers.
More than a month has passed since his brutal murder but the Security Council has not found the time to address this grave incident.
The Security Council has undoubtedly not heard of the case of Emad Al-Tawil, a 27-year-old Palestinian who died on June 25 after being beaten by Hamas security officers. Tawil was a resident of Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
The Security Council and international human rights organizations and journalists most likely did not hear about the case of Hassan Abu Zayed, a 27-year-old Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, who was shot dead by Hamas "border guards" on July 23.
The Palestinian human rights abuses and the crackdown on political activists and journalists are ignored not only by the UN, but also by the Biden administration.
Instead of pressuring Palestinian leaders to cease imprisoning, torturing and killing their people, the Biden administration is, absurdly, searching for ways to strengthen the PA leadership.
Apparently, in the eyes of the Biden administration, strengthening PA leaders means allowing Palestinian security officers to beat political activists to death, drag women by their hair on the streets of Ramallah, and imprison and intimidate journalists. The Security Council members, meanwhile, take their unjustified obsession with Israel to new heights as Palestinians are taken to prison or the graveyard at the hands of the PA and Hamas.
Threatening Iran is meaningless with sanction relief in play - analysis
Three days after the Iranian drone attack on the Israel-managed Mercer Street ship off the coast of Oman, and a day after the US and UK publicly named Iran as the culprit in the bombing that killed a British and a Romanian national, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked tough.Blinken Vows "Collective Response" to Tanker Attack
“Iran should face up to the consequences of what they’ve done,” Johnson said. “This was clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping. A UK national died.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken came out with a statement the night before that was strongly-worded – for him – saying the bombing “follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior.”
“We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with governments... on an appropriate response, which will be forthcoming,” he warned.
This raises the questions of what those “consequences” or a “forthcoming” and “appropriate response” will actually be.
A few hours after Johnson spoke, White House press secretary Jen Psaki poured water on the chance that there would be serious implications, saying during a White House press briefing that “as it relates to our own engagement in nuclear talks... our view is that every single challenge and threat we face from Iran would be made more pronounced and dangerous by an unconstrained nuclear program.”
Bennett Says Israel Able to ‘Act Alone’ Against Iran Over Ship Attack
Israel is rallying global action against Iran over an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman last week but is capable of responding on its own if necessary, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday.Seth Frantzman: Commercial ships no longer safe after Oman attack - analysis
The United States, Britain and Israel blamed Iran for the suspected drone strike on Thursday in which two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed. Tehran denies any involvement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken predicted a “collective response” to the incident, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as an “outrageous attack on commercial shipping”.
Standing alongside military generals during a tour of Israel’s northern border with Syria and Lebanon, Bennett said Israel had shared intelligence with the United States, Britain and others tying Iran to the attack.
“We are working to rally the world, but at the same time we also know to act alone,” Bennett said.
“Iran already knows the price we exact when someone threatens our security. The Iranians need to understand that it is impossible to sit placidly in Tehran and ignite the entire Middle East from there. That’s over.”
ANOTHER METHOD to help ships defend against drones is for major navies, such as the US or UK, to help place more naval assets off the coast of Oman or in areas where Iranian drones are suspected to lurk, and provide air defense coverage.4 ships in Gulf of Oman lose control, days after vessel attacked by drones
Ships can be used for air defense, and can even be used for ballistic missile defense. But that requires a lot of ships to provide the air defense umbrella over hundreds of kilometers of open ocean. The Straits of Hormuz and the areas off the coast of Oman and Socotra Island are more than 1,800 km. apart. These are big distances.
Countries likely do not want to start shooting down every Iranian drone in the area or targeting Iran drone bases, which might be on the coast of Iran, or even on Iranian ships or among the Houthis in Yemen.
Iranian drones have been harassing shipping for years. They have overflown the USS Boxer, and carriers such as the USS Harry Truman, the USS Eisenhower and even the FS Charles De Gaulle. For example, USNI News explicitly reported in 2016 that US 5th Fleet officials had confirmed that Iranian forces flew an unmanned aerial vehicle over French carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
What this tells us is that since 2015 or so, Iran has been experimenting with complex drones and flying them over the most sophisticated ships in the world. Iran is not afraid. They want to send a message. Now they are using the drones to strike at ships.
This is a major escalation. For the ship owners and managers, and states in the region, the problem of defending the ships does not have an easy solution.
At least four ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast warnings Tuesday that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances as authorities reported “an incident” was underway in the area.Mohammed VI offers a new chance for peace - opinion
It wasn’t immediately clear what was happening off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessels — oil tankers called Queen Ematha, the Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja and Abyss — announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command,” according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations initially only warned ships that “an incident is currently underway.” Hours later, they said the incident was a “potential hijack.” They did not elaborate.
An Oman Royal Air Force Airbus C-295MPA, a maritime patrol aircraft, was flying over the area where the ships were, according to data from FlightRadar24.com.
The US military’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet and the British Defense Ministry did not immediately return calls for comment. The Emirati government did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI delivered his 22nd Throne Day speech from the Royal Palace in Fez on July 31. He urged the neighboring country Algeria to work with Morocco for the development of both countries' relations. With this historical appeal, the sovereign offers a new opportunity for coexistence in the Maghreb region, which benefits the peace efforts in the Middle East and the rest of Africa.Algeria Forms African Union Bloc Opposed to Israel’s New Observer Status: Report
After recalling how Morocco was able to ensure its resilience to the pandemic crisis, King Mohammed VI dedicated a large part of his speech to Algeria. The monarch launched a historical appeal to the highest officials of this country to open a new page in the history of relations between Morocco and Algeria.
As the king explained in his speech, Morocco seeks to promote peace and stability in the African and Euro-Mediterranean regions, and especially in the neighboring Maghreb. In keeping with that policy, he reiterated his sincere call to the highest officials in Algeria to work together, without conditions, for the development of bilateral relations based on trust, dialogue, and good neighborliness.
The borders between the two neighboring countries have been closed since 1994 due to tensions around the Moroccan Sahara. But in his speech, the sovereign made it clear that the closing of borders is incompatible with a natural right and an intrinsic legal principle enshrined in international covenants, including the Marrakech Treaty. This founding text of the Arab Maghreb Union was signed in 1989 between the five Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania). That treaty stipulates that there shall be free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital between the states of the union.
The Moroccan king recalled that neither the current Algerian president, nor even his predecessor, nor himself, are responsible for the decision made to close the border. However, he specified that they are politically and morally responsible for its continuation.
Algeria has reportedly formed a bloc of African countries working to remove Israel’s new observer status in the African Union (AU).Spanish Pro-Israel Organization Denounces Political Party for ‘Glorifying’ Palestinian Terrorist Group
London-based media outlet the New Arab reported that the opposition bloc is composed of 14 members led by Algeria, including South Africa, Tunisia, Eritrea, Senegal, Tanzania, Niger, Comoros, Gabon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Mali, and the Seychelles.
Botswana and Namibia have expressed opposition to Israel’s observer status, but have not officially joined the bloc.
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said granting Israel observer status is illegitimate because it was done without consulting other member states.
Algeria, he said, will “not stand idly by in front of this step taken by Israel and the African Union without consulting the member states.”
“The African Union’s acceptance of Israel as an observer member aims to strike the stability of Algeria, which stands with Palestine and just causes,” he added.
A top Spanish pro-Israel group has denounced a major regional political party for engaging in what it called “shelter and justification” for a major Palestinian terrorist organization.Selling spyware isn't moral, but selling weapons is?
The denunciation came in the wake of an event organized by the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), that the pro-Israel group ACOM accused of “glorifying terrorism” by promoting and giving “public coverage” to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The left-wing BNG is a decades old separatist movement in the Galicia region that has at times advocated both secession from Spain and, more recently, greater regional autonomy.
Founded in 1967, the PFLP rejects Israel’s right to exist and has engaged in numerous massacres, atrocities, and other acts of violence against Israelis, Jews, and others. It is listed as a terror organization by both the European Union and the US.
A statement from ACOM called it “absolutely deplorable” that a political party “contributes to the justification of the genocidal and Judeophobic violence that the State of Israel has faced from the very beginning of its existence.”
The concern in France, and in Washington incidentally, while touching, is tainted with quite a bit of hypocrisy: espionage is a severe violation of personal privacy, but – and this is a big but – it doesn't kill. On the other hand, weapons and other related systems certainly do kill, and these are sold by the French, and by the Americans, too, at a large scale across the globe.Palestinian Muntasir Shalabi convicted for killing of Yehuda Guetta
France, for example, is the third-largest weapons exporter in the world, after the US and Russia. Over the past two years, the scope of its weapons exports has amounted to some two billion dollars. Israel, in comparison, sold weapons last year for an estimated price of around $345 million, around 10% of France's total. The US is the leader in this market by a wide margin with annual sales of around $10 billion.
However, such activity isn't considered a human rights violation and doesn't entail spying on journalists and civilians; it merely involves weapons that are used to kill nameless, faceless human beings and is, therefore, somehow, far less troubling. We all recall France's involvement in building the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq some four decades ago. France provided the technology for the reactor and even promised to give the Iraqis the enriched uranium necessary to make it operational – all in exchange for Iraqi oil.
The reason for the anger at Israel is hard to gauge. Everyone sells weapons, everyone spies on one another. Perhaps they are mad because Israel has been able to join the "big boys club" and has become a player in the fields of weapons and technology. Or maybe this is also an attempt to turn Israel into a punching bag for progressive forces around the world.
It would behoove Israel to tighten oversight over the weapons and cyber industries in the country, but they must also be bolstered as they have been the growth engine for the economy in recent years. In any case, the attempt to pin the world's problems on weapons or technology produced in Israel is extremely hypocritical.
Judea Military Court on Tuesday convicted Muntasir Shalabi for the killing of 19-year-old Yehuda Guetta in a drive-by-shooting at Tapuach Junction on May 2.Six Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jenin
Court proceedings advanced at a fast pace with the IDF prosecution filing an indictment on June 10 and the trial opening on June 29.
Shalabi, 44, was also convicted of multiple attempted murder counts after he wounded two other 19-year-olds during the attack.
The indictment was filed following a combined investigation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the police.
Five other men were indicted earlier at Judea Military Court for obstruction of justice after they harbored Shalabi during the manhunt as he evaded arrest for several days. All five are in police custody until the conclusion of their trials. Shalabi was eventually arrested in the town of Silwad.
A resident of Jerusalem, Guetta was a student at the Itamar Yeshiva. He is survived by his parents, four brothers and two sisters.
Six Palestinians were wounded in a firefight with Israeli Police in the West Bank city of Jenin overnight on Monday as Israeli security forces conducted arrest operations.Court pushes deal for Palestinians to stay in Sheikh Jarrah homes
The arrest operation was carried out by IDF troops from the Menashe Regional Brigade along with Israel Police and its Counterterrorism Unit. According to Palestinian News Agency WAFA, Israeli forces and undercover units clashed with Palestinian youths after they raided the city’s industrial area. One Palestinian was seriously injured in his stomach after being shot by troops and he was rushed to a hospital in Nablus. The other five were injured after being shot by troops as well.
A statement released by the Border Police said that troops fired towards a number of Palestinians who fired live ammunition, hurled explosives and Molotov cocktails at them.
“During the operation, a number of terrorists opened massive fire, hurled explosive devices, and threw Molotov cocktails and stones towards our forces,” the statement said, adding that troops at the scene along with special forces “using advanced means and capabilities returned fire.” While there were no injuries to Israeli security forces, an armored vehicle was damaged in the fighting.
The High Court of Justice on Monday encouraged four Sheikh Jarrah families to accept a compromise deal that would nullify eviction orders and allow them to remain in their east Jerusalem homes.In Supreme Court’s Sheikh Jarrah Deliberations the Arabs Continue to Be their Own Worst Enemies
A three-hour debate in Jerusalem ended without any conclusion, however. The three-judge panel asked the families to consider an offer by which one member of each family would be granted lifetime protected tenancy on the property in exchange for annual payments of NIS 1,500.
“This is the practical solution,” said Judge Yitzhak Amit, who led most of the proceedings. “We recommend it precisely because... you do not want anyone to be thrown out of their home.”
Any compromise that was struck would be an “empty agreement,” said attorney Ilan Shemer, who represents the Nahalat Shimon Company, which owns the Sheikh Jarrah property where the families live.
“I have been handling this case for years, and they have not abided by any decision, so why do you think they would do so now?” he asked. The families’ previous refusal to pay a minimal amount of rent due on the property had led to the decision to evict them, Shemer said. This case is so old that there is not a judge in Jerusalem who has not dealt with it, he said.
Attorney Sami Ersheid, who represents the four Sheikh Jarrah families, said his clients feared that by accepting the status of “protected tenants,” they would have given up their ownership claims to the property.
He was not assuaged by assurances from the judges that the designation of protected tenancy and the rental would not prejudice any further legal proceedings with respect to property rights.
In the 1950s and ’60s, King Hussein of Jordan plied the Arabs of Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem under his rule with real estate to maintain their loyalty to the crown. Among those properties were those vacated Jewish homes in Sheikh Jarrah. In 1967, Israel liberated the eastern part of Jerusalem. Israeli law is very clear regarding allowing the owners to ask for and receive homes they had been kicked out of in what was briefly known as the “west bank.”Sheikh Jarrah Families Reject Israel Supreme Court Proposal
So what the justices Yitzhak Amit, Dafna Barak-Erez, and Noam Solberg proposed on Monday was that the Arab squatters would remain in their homes as protected tenants. Like rent-control tenants in NY City. And for this fantastic deal, they would pay rent to the tune of NIS 1,500 ($465) a year–that’s $38.75 a month—to the Nahalat Shimon company, which has won the case to get them evicted.
And now to the part where the late Abba Eban is smiling in his grave: the Arabs refused to offer.
The problem is not the money, but the recognition of Nahalat Shimon’s ownership of those four homes. The Arabs refused the deal (I mean, come on, a home in Jerusalem for less than $40 a month?) because the plaintiffs demanded in return for giving up the evictions a clear recognition of the Jewish ownership of the properties a clear and irreversible commitment on the part of the Arab squatters that they would make no further claims in the future.
The Arabs refused vehemently.
The head of the panel, Justice Amit, was optimistic and believed that the problems could be solved with some good will and cooperation on both sides. My God, it’s like he just arrived in the Middle East. “We will write that the petitioners declare that they are the protected tenants and that the respondent is registered as the owner, and we have resolved the issue,” he told the two sides, adding, “This will give us breathing space for a few good years, and until then either there will be a global real estate arrangement or peace will come. We don’t know what will happen. Can we conclude this matter?”
In the end, the justices told the Arab lawyers to submit to the court the list of those who are entitled to protected tenancy in each property, which means that come the next hearing, the justices would attempt to force the parties to reach a compromise that includes protected tenancy and canceling the evictions without actually overturning the lower courts. Above all, the Justices do not want to sign their names at the bottom of an eviction notice.
For the Arabs, it’s November 1947 all over again: to avoid eviction they would have to declare publicly that the land is owned by the Jews, something of which culturally, religiously and ideologically they may be quite incapable of fulfilling.
The repeated use of "their homes" is very misleading, @PBS @NewsHour.
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2021
The courts have already confirmed the homes are someone else's property. (Someone who happens to be Jewish.)
This should be made much clearer. pic.twitter.com/EX0TnhZi1C
Last week, @HRW released a report claiming Israeli attacks on Hamas in #Gaza during May this year "apparently amount to war crimes."
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 2, 2021
HRW focused on Israel's response alone.
Here's what it missed out: Hamas started the war with an attack on an Israeli civilian. pic.twitter.com/ywuFuTeZ3M
K https://t.co/Wu1ptKr7AA pic.twitter.com/wmxOjWllSB
— The Mossad: The Social Media Account (@TheMossadIL) August 2, 2021
MEMRI: Saudi Writer: Ahmad Jibril Was A Killing Machine In The Service Of The Syrian Regime; Killed More Palestinians Than Israel
In a July 15 article in the Saudi daily 'Okaz, journalist Muhammad Al-Sa'd harshly criticizes Palestinian militant Ahmad Jibril, who died recently, and his movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP–GC). Jibril and his movement, wrote Al-Sa'd, acted as a killing machine in the service of the Syrian regime, and killed more Palestinians during the civil wars in Lebanon and Syria than Israel has killed since 1948. Thus, they were certainly a liability rather than an asset for the Palestinian cause.Turkey Goes After Israel and Its Allies in the Eastern Mediterranean
Al-Sa'd also criticizes the head of the Hamas movement, Yahya Sinwar, for regarding Jibril as a source of inspiration, and states that Hamas acted just like Jibril when it killed Fatah members during its 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip. He concludes by saying that the Palestinians do not understand that they are their own worst enemies and forgive themselves for their mistakes, and agrees with Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who said that the Palestinian cause is a just cause but its advocates are failures.[1]
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Sa'd's July 15 article:[3]
"Seeking to take over the Palestinian cause for their own ends, the Ba'th [regime] in Syria and Iraq and the Nasser [regime in Egypt] harnessed the revolutionary [Palestinian] leaders to serve their needs and their rivalries with other Arab governments. They used [these leaders] to promote a revolutionary popular discourse that absolved them of responsibility for the poor and negligent [handling of the Palestinian cause] and shifted the blame to the wise and prudent regimes, chiefly Saudi Arabia.
"Conspicuous in this context for many decades in the Palestinian arena was Ahmad Jibril, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP–GC). He was not conspicuous for good reasons, but rather because he was the worst of [these Palestinian] leaders, and the one who most resembled a killing machine interested in nothing but killing. There is a video of Palestinian [leaders], in which Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Al-Sinwar says to Ahmad Jibril, who is standing beside him: 'We learned from you how to [wage the] struggle, and you were an inspiration for us in our military operations.' Has Sinwar forgotten that Jibril bombed the Palestinian refugee camps along with Syria in order to drive the fighters of the [other Palestinian] organizations out of Lebanon [during the Lebanese civil war], and that he joined Assad in killing Palestinians during the 'Arab Autumn' [i.e., Arab Spring] revolution [in Syria]?![4] Perhaps Hamas is deliberately ignoring the fact that Jibril's front bombed and killed women and children during the siege and during the [civil] wars in Syria and Lebanon, because Hamas [itself] did the same in Gaza during its coup against Fatah, when it threw its opponents from rooftops and dragged their bodies through the streets.
"This is how the Palestinians assess each other, and forgive themselves for all [their] mistakes. There is no guilt and no blame, even though Jibril was a guillotine that spilled Palestinian blood, and his military operations against Israel were only a tactic that served Syrian politicians, and nothing more.
Turkey’s new policy vis-à-vis Cyprus, based on a two-state solution, is being heavily criticized by the international community. In a press statement, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed American support for a Cypriot-led comprehensive settlement to reunify the island as a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
Also, the decision by Ankara to reopen the coastline of Varosha, a city on the eastern edge of the island that was abandoned after the 1974 military invasion, united the 15 members of the UN Security Council in condemnation. On July 23, the Security Council reaffirmed the status of Varosha as set out in previous resolutions, including 550 (1984) and 789 (1992).
Israel is committed to strengthening its collaboration with both Greece and Cyprus.
The July phone call between presidents Isaac Herzog and Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not prevent Jerusalem from expressing deep concern about Turkish announcements regarding Cyprus. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid hosted his counterparts Nikos Dendias of Greece on July 21 and Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus on July 27. Although the Israeli Foreign Ministry generally refrains from taking sides, it is now clearly in Nicosia’s corner, just as last summer it sided with Athens during the Greek-Turkish stand-off in the Eastern Mediterranean. Dendias publicly thanked Israel for its posture.
The US is currently recalibrating its relations with Turkey. The two sides are looking for ways to cooperate despite serious problems. Because the process with Ankara is ongoing, Washington has not yet taken concrete steps to cement the Israeli-Greek-Cypriot partnership. The tripartite partnership is solid in and of itself but would obviously benefit from an American umbrella, as it did during the Trump administration.
Devastating fires in Turkey.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) August 2, 2021
And extraordinary failure of Erdogan leadership. The President refused help from Greece, instead asking for support from Russia, Iran and Qatar, none of which have the equipment and expertise Greece offered.pic.twitter.com/9OZwsaavZw
Media Fail to Properly Inform Public of Hezbollah’s Key Role in Lebanon Crisis
How Did Media Forget About Hezbollah?
A big data analysis by HonestReporting found that since August 4, 2020, there were 670 reports in The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, LA Times, MSNBC, NBC News, ABC News, Associated Press, Reuters, BBC and The Huffington Post that used either the terms “crisis” or “collapse” in reports about “Lebanon.” However, just 166 of these articles made any reference to Hezbollah.
In other words, in the past year just over 75% of all articles related to Lebanon’s descent towards becoming failed state published by these outlets neglected to mention the terror group, much less inform readers that Hezbollah is held accountable by many in Lebanon for the country’s descent into chaos, and believed to be bear responsibility for the horrendous blast last year, the profound effects of which are still being felt.
Indeed, when simply searching these media outlets for articles on “Lebanon” alone, only 317 out of a total of 1,570 referred to the terrorist group.
That’s just 20%.
The net effect is that Hezbollah has been largely excised from the media narrative and, in turn, essentially absolved of blame in the public conversation about the deterioration of Lebanon.
And if Hezbollah, which is physically located in the country, infrequently merits a mention, then it’s hardly a surprise that Iran even more rarely is referred to in media reports about Lebanon’s malaise.
Iran’s destabilizing influence in the region is hardly a secret, so it’s a mystery why journalists are reticent to draw attention to this well-documented fact. From funding the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have fired rockets into Saudi Arabia; to propping up the murderous Assad regime in Syria; to backing Shi’ite militias such as Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq in Iraq, which have increasingly become integrated into Iraq’s military and political institutions; to attacking Israeli ships and launching cyberattacks on Israel’s water supply — Iran’s malign activities throughout the Middle East have sowed mass destruction.
But perhaps nowhere is Iranian influence more pronounced than in Lebanon, with Hezbollah dictating policy by systematically taking advantage of weaknesses in the Lebanese state system, and gaining leverage over the military and other public institutions.
Pro-Hezbollah groups in Lebanon, shooting at the homes Lebanese while Lebanese military looks on and does nothing
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) August 3, 2021
Absolute lawlessness and chaos in Lebanon thanks to #Iran
pic.twitter.com/znNKAsI8gk
Lebanese Lawyer Bushra Khalil: Defending Saddam in Court Was My Way of Fighting America; I Can Only Be Sexually Attracted to Someone Like Putin; I Am against Homosexuality; Islamic Punishment for Gays - Execution @lgbtARABS #Lebanon @Boushra_khalil pic.twitter.com/YNokZY3evN
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 3, 2021
Israeli Foreign Ministry: EU Sending Rep to Raisi’s Swearing-In Is ‘Puzzling’
Israel is less than enthusiastic about the European Union’s decision to send a high-level representative to attend the swearing-in of Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday.Israel Slams EU Plan to Attend Raidsi's Inauguration in Teheran
On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Hayat tweeted: “The decision of the European Union to send a senior representative to the swearing-in ceremony of the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ is puzzling and shows poor judgment.”
Hayat said that EU Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora would be attending the ceremony just a “few days after Iran killed two civilians,” in “an act of state terrorism against civilian shipping,” referring to a drone attack on an Israeli-managed ship off the coast of Oman last week, in which one British and one Romanian citizen were killed. Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, although the United States and the United Kingdom both pin the blame on Tehran.
According to Hayat, Raisi “has the blood of thousands of Iranian citizens on his hands,” and the presence of an EU representative will lend legitimacy to his presidency.
Earlier on Monday, a spokesman for the Iranian parliament reported that 115 senior officials from 73 countries would be attending the swearing-in ceremony.
Incoming President Says Iran Will Seek End to ‘Tyrannical’ US Sanctions
Iran’s hardline incoming president Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday he would take steps to lift “tyrannical” sanctions imposed by the United States, after winning the formal endorsement of the country’s supreme leader to take office later this week.Rouhani: Israel ‘Took Iran‘s Nuclear Secrets and Gave Them to Trump’
Raisi, who is under personal US sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses in his past as a judge, promised to improve the living conditions of Iranians, which have worsened since 2018 when Washington reimposed sanctions on Iran after abandoning a nuclear deal.
“We will seek to lift the tyrannical sanctions imposed by America,” Raisi, elected in June to replace pragmatist Hassan Rouhani in a vote in which other high profile candidates were barred from standing, said in a televised speech.
“But we will not tie the … economy to the will of foreigners,” said Raisi, a protege of Khamenei.
Iran and six powers have been in talks since April to revive the nuclear pact, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program to make it harder to obtain fissile material for a weapon in return for relief from sanctions.
Iran says it has never sought nuclear weapons and never would.
Outgoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in his last speech to his cabinet ministers on Monday night that Israel did seize Iran’s nuclear archive, as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had revealed in 2018.IRGC Networks Exposed in New Report
“The Israelis took secrets out of the country and gave them to [then-U.S. President Donald] Trump. And President Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal,” Rouhani said.
At a widely-reported press conference in 2018, Netanyahu reported that the Mossad had completed a daring and complex operation in Tehran, which had led to its seizure of 100,000 documents on the Iranian nuclear program.
Netanyahu said at the time that the documents in the archive pertained to Iran’s activities prior to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear accord, and shed light on what he called Iran’s attempts to dupe the international community about its nuclear aspirations.
On Tuesday, Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi is expected to receive the official blessing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the presence of a number of local dignitaries, as well as several foreign diplomats. On Thursday, Raisi is slated to be sworn in as president. Several dozen foreign envoys are expected to be present at the ceremony.
The United States has expressed concern that once Raisi, considered one of Iran’s more extremist public figures, becomes president, it more difficult for Iran and Western nations to hammer out a new nuclear accord. The final decision about whether or not to rejoin a nuclear deal will fall to Khamenei, however, who is said to be close to Raisi and responsible for his appointment.
The increasing role and power of the IRGC in Iran will expand even more under President-elect Ebrahim Raisi, a report said.
The paper, “The IRGC in the Age of Ebrahim Raisi: Decision-Making and Factionalism in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” published Monday by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, unpacks the relationship between Iran’s new hardline Islamist head of government and the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The research, conducted by Saeid Golkar and Kasra Aarabi, highlights for the first time the key centers of power and individuals in the Guard Corps, many of whom will become ministers and political appointees in Raisi’s administration.
Raisi will become president on Thursday after being elected in June. A hardline cleric, he is a former student of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. The report notes that as Khamenei gets older, he is attempting to “ensure the survival of his hardline Islamic regime after his death,” including through the election of Raisi and empowerment of the IRGC.
Kasra Aarabi, one of the report’s authors, explained its significance to The Jerusalem Post: “There have been various models we have tried to use in the West to understand the IRGC and its inner workings, but all have fallen short in making sense of the intra-elite competition and cooperation that exists within the Guard.”
The report also notes that the IRGC plays an outsized role in the country, and now controls huge swaths of life, rising to the top of most key institutions, from politics to the economy, military and intelligence.
After a US contractor died in a Tehran-ordered strike, @USEnvoyIran offered to lift terror sanctions. After Iran tried to kidnap an American off US soil, offer to lift sanctions stayed on the table. Enrichment to 60%? Hiding nuke sites? Uranium metal? Offer stays on the table. https://t.co/mVYhPkT0al
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) August 2, 2021
Folks are pointing out that this EU statement about Iran murdering two Euro citizens, incl citizen from EU country, doesn't even mention Iran.
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) August 2, 2021
In fairness to the Euros though, they want to send high-level delegation to inauguration of Iran pres, and think how awkward that'd be. https://t.co/PDxeDubeSH
Failed Kidnapping Plot Sheds Light on Iran’s Efforts to Silence American Journalists
In the fall of 2019, Voice of America reporter Ali Javanmardi was on assignment in Iraqi Kurdistan when he received a call from a young female source who said she had information to give him about Iran's military operations in the region. She asked him to meet at her hotel room in Erbil at 9 p.m.
The invitation was a ruse. The woman, Samira Moradpour, was later convicted by a Kurdistan regional court as part of an Iranian attempt to kidnap and extradite Javanmardi, a critic of the Iranian government. The plot was foiled when Javanmardi became suspicious and contacted Kurdish law enforcement and the U.S. consulate.
Javanmardi's account, which he shared with the Washington Free Beacon, sheds new light on Iran's efforts to silence its American critics. He is one of at least three U.S. journalists the Iranian regime attempted to abduct in 2019 and 2020, a former senior State Department official familiar with the threats told the Free Beacon. All three reporters work for Voice of America, a federally funded news agency.
In July, the Department of Justice indicted four Iranian operatives for surveilling and plotting to kidnap VOA reporter Masih Alinejad in New York, leading critics of the Iranian regime to call for a more forceful response from the Biden administration.
Javanmardi worked at VOA for 13 years but left the organization after the incident. He told the Free Beacon that Moradpour, an editor for a regional Kurdish newspaper, began contacting him with tips for several months prior to the incident.
But when she insisted on meeting in person to provide "sensitive and important information about the activities of the Revolutionary Guards Corps," Javanmardi said he "became suspicious and replied she could send any news via WhatsApp or Telegram without needing us to meet face to face."
I told @SkyNewsAust that Islamic Republic is killing protesters in the streets these days and arresting teenagers in #Khuzestan. I told them that political prisoners are being tortured. It’s unfortunate that the Biden Administration is focused on the nuclear deal. pic.twitter.com/9JzAPo8ni3
— Masih Alinejad ??? (@AlinejadMasih) August 2, 2021
Kentucky Islamic Scholar Omar Zaid: President Biden is a Mental Case, Wicked, Evil; America Needs Good Men to Kill the Right People; We Need a Coup, Regionalization under Military Authority; Hollywood Prophesized Mask Mandates in Zombie Movies pic.twitter.com/63FzqFd5aP
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 3, 2021
