Monday, August 16, 2021

08/16 Links Pt1: Biden Just Made America and the World Much Less Secure; The US should have learned from IDF withdrawals

From Ian:

Noah Rothman: Joe Biden Just Made America and the World Much Less Secure
Eighty years ago, the West’s appeasers howled in unison “Why Die for Danzig?” Why wouldn’t today’s “peacemakers” be just as inclined to question the value of a global war against Russia over Tallinn? At least, that’s what the Kremlin’s hungriest revanchists must be asking themselves.

It’s a perfectly rational question. After all, even America’s allies were shocked to watch the United States so callously sacrifice an ally for no discernible strategic purpose and under no perceptible pressure from the voting public. Our caprice has shaken the faith that we will defend our partners’ interests around the world if we’re unwilling to bear the modest burdens associated with preserving our own.

As the Washington Post’s Liz Sly reported over the weekend, U.S. allies are fit to be tied over the shambolic handling of Afghanistan. “U.S. allies complain that they were not fully consulted on a policy decision that potentially puts their own national security interests at risk,” Sly reported. One German official raged over the Biden administration’s haughty disregard for European security. “We’re back to the transatlantic relationship of old, where the Americans dictate everything,” she snarled. Another British parliamentarian wondered aloud about whether America under Joe Biden would or even could stand up to its peer competitors if it is “being defeated by an insurgency armed with no more than [rocket-propelled grenades], land mines, and AK-47s?” And in the Middle East, which continues to be menaced by an increasingly extroverted Iran, some are now conceding that American involvement in the region ends up ultimately being more trouble than it’s worth.

Advocates for American retrenchment abroad fancy themselves a serious sort. They don’t think America should commit its resources to the defense of interests on purely moral grounds. So, if they are not moved by the sight of Afghans we abandoned to the Taliban clinging to U.S. transport planes, tumbling to their deaths from hundreds of feet up, perhaps they will be moved by they will be moved by the grave implications to U.S. interests and global security. If not, we can safely assume that their interests are not as benign as they insist. Perhaps pursuing what’s best for America at home and abroad isn’t their only or even foremost motive.
Melanie Phillips: The rout of America
In the unholy armoury of the enemies of the west, their single most important weapon is their understanding that the west is no longer willing to do what it needs to do to defend itself. It is no longer willing to be in it for the long haul. It no longer has the stomach for a fight.

In baleful contrast, jihadis take the longest possible view. They have been waging holy war against the enemies of Islam — as they view them — since the seventh century; and for them this holy war won't end until the whole world is under Islamic rule or the world itself ends, whichever comes first.

The west just doesn’t understand that mindset. It doesn’t understand cultures so very different from itself, and tries fatuously to fit them into a western template. It doesn’t understand that in Islamic societies negotiation is regarded as a sign of incipient surrender and therefore incites further aggression to achieve final victory. It doesn’t understand that Islamic religious fanaticism is fuelled not by helplessness or despair but by exultation.

When in the 1980s America and Britain rejoiced in the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the war fronted by the Afghan mujahideen, they ignored the warnings from a prescient few that the people who had been energised and incentivised were Islamists who viewed their victory over the Soviet empire as a precursor to and augury of their forthcoming victory over the American empire.

Those warnings were borne out. Afghanistan became the crucible of al Qaeda, providing a base for Osama bin Laden and resulting in the 9/11 attacks. Now Afghanistan is poised to become jihad-central with rocket-boosters. The Taliban have already released thousands of terrorists from Afghan prisons. Afghanistan will become a magnet and an inspiration for jihadis from all over the world.

For the abandoned Afghan people, the consequences are likely to be hideous. But the malignant effects of this disaster are already rippling way beyond this epicentre of terror.

America’s allies can now see that the US is a faithless friend, the weak link in the chain of western defences and with untold consequences for their own security.

With America on its knees, other enemies of the west — Iran, China Russia — must be rubbing their hands in glee over the opportunities for evil now opening up for them as a result.
David Singer: Israel boosts Biden image while blunting UN and EU Jew-bashing
The decision will give President Biden’s image a much-needed boost in the international arena as his administration battles with the results of his disastrous decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan.

This breakthrough represents an affirmative response to the following emotive-packed question posed by UN-Habitat:

“What do you do if you are told you need a permit in order to build a home that would not be demolished, but it is all but impossible to acquire such a permit? This is the situation facing many Palestinians living in Area C in the West Bank.”

UN-Habitat’s own in-depth response is revealing:

“The vast majority of Palestinian applications for Israeli building permits in Area C are rejected by the Israeli authorities on the grounds that the relevant area has not been zoned for construction. This is the case even when the land for which the permit is requested is undisputedly owned by the Palestinian applicant. Consequently, it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits: according to data obtained by the Israeli organization Peace Now from the ICA, between 2009 and 2018 only two per cent of all requests submitted by Palestinians for building permits in Area C were granted (98 out of 4,422).”

Jewish Israelis fare no better.

Both the UN and EU have condemned demolitions of illegally built Arab residences in Area C.

The EU has also become increasingly embroiled in planning and financing unauthorized structures in Area C – which UN-Habitat has confirmed:
“Based on certain criteria, the European Union (EU) collectively, as well as certain individual EU members states, sometimes support the construction of essential infrastructure projects in areas covered by pending local outline plans, despite the risk of demolition and confiscation.”

An EU Report covering 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020 openly admits:
“According to UN OCHA [UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs – ed] 318 Palestinian owned structures were demolished or seized… 38 structures were funded by the EU or EU Member States. 50% of the targeted structures were residential in nature. 30% were agricultural and livelihood related. The total losses were estimated at EUR 124,725, which represents a nearly 40 % increase in financial injury compared to the 36 EU-funded structures demolished during the equivalent period in 2019 that were valued at EUR 89,219”

The EU’s blatant intervention in Area C – and the resulting tensions caused between Israel and the EU - will hopefully be diminished in the future following Israel’s latest decision.

Prime Minister Bennett has vowed to extend Israeli sovereignty to Area C – offering Israeli citizenship to its Arab residents. Treating Jewish and Arab building applications in Area C on an equal footing will blunt UN and EU criticism of Jews being granted permission to build there.

Decisions taken by Bennett’s coalition Government continue to surprise and impress.


The US should have learned from IDF withdrawals - analysis
Israel has gone to war with Hamas and the various terrorist groups numerous times since the disengagement, and it has had countless rounds of violence that have led to the deaths of both soldiers and civilians.

The latest round in May saw more than 4,000 rockets and mortars fired into Israel that killed 11 civilians and one soldier.

That’s only Gaza.

Five years earlier, in 2001, the IDF withdrew from Southern Lebanon 18 years after troops crossed the border to root out Palestinian terrorists.

While the Israeli military withdrew from most of the country in 1985, it kept control of a 1,000-sq.-km. security buffer zone 20 km. deep to prevent terrorist attacks that had plagued the civilians of the North in the 1970s and ’80s.

But under intense public pressure, prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak made the decision that Israel would withdraw from the security belt. Current Defense Minister Benny Gantz was the one who shut the gate after all troops crossed back into Israel.

Twenty-one years later, Hezbollah has grown into one of the most powerful terrorist armies in the world, with an arsenal of between 130,000 and 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed toward Israel. Its soldiers have fought in Syria and have trained militias in Iraq and Yemen. The group is also a central part of the Lebanese social and political framework, making it almost impossible to dislodge from Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure.

It is because of the aftermath of these two withdrawals that Israel is cautious about pulling out of the West Bank, where soldiers continue to have a strong presence to prevent terrorist attacks and safeguard Israelis who have made it their home.

Israel is well aware that should it leave, the PA would disintegrate and Hamas would grab control of the West Bank. The PA, though corrupt like the Afghan government, is still able to hold Hamas at bay. For now.

The IDF withdrawal from Lebanon and Gaza sent a message to terrorist groups that there was a way to beat the Israelis: not through military operations or by diplomacy, but by wearing them down until they withdrew.

And that’s exactly what the Taliban has done. It has worn out the great and powerful US military. Just like it did to the British and the Russians.

Plus ça change...
Cut and Run
Will tomorrow’s Kabul be a replay of Sarajevo in 1992-95? Of Phnom Penh in 1975?

Not only is the West washing its hands of Afghanistan—pulling out with its head down and at the pace of a forced march—but, so as not to find itself bearing all the blame for this prescription-strength defeat, it is discouraging the Afghans by denying them, in advance, the capacity for moral, political, or military resistance.

“The unstoppable advance of the Taliban,” screams the press with sinister glee. “Kabul is being evacuated!” It’s every man for himself, we hear. Yet every night the entire city, with women at the forefront, bang on their pots and pans to encourage resistance. And the Afghan army, surrounded in Kunduz (which an imminent counteroffensive may retake), is containing the Taliban in Herat, Kandahar, and elsewhere.

But never mind all that. The matter is settled. Let’s get our nationals out, every one of them, including aid workers. Let’s grant a handful of visas to our most faithful Afghan allies. Never mind if our pitiful retreat encourages the Westernized elites in Kabul to follow us out, to flee and leave the people leaderless. In short, long live defeatism! And the poor Afghans are requested not to show themselves more determined than their scattering mentors. The contrast might not look good.

This spectacle is doubly shameful.

First, the departure of the Western soldiers and civilians echoes like a death sentence from which there is no appeal. Yet in a Kabul said to be about to fall without a shot fired, their continued presence would protect Afghans from the exactions and retributions the Taliban has promised. It is Saigon 1975 in miniature. That is what is playing out right now under our eyes but sotto voce.

Second, instead of bolstering the Afghans’ spirit of resistance, we are implying the cessation (“soon”) of American air strikes carried out from outside Afghanistan on Taliban positions, and the end of the protection of the Kabul airport. We have suddenly forgotten about Panjshir and the young Massoud at the head of his force of formerly vaunted mujahideen, now left to their solitude. We have forgotten the Shi’ite Hazaras, condemned to eradication. We point to the corruption that undermines the Afghan regime, as if this were a new discovery. We hold up the desertion to Tajikistan of surrounded Afghan soldiers or the surrender of remote outposts said to have given up without a fight. The picture presented is one of generalized resignation and treason.
Afghan Army Routed by the Taliban
Taliban fighters have taken control of Kabul as the Afghan army has collapsed. Washington spent $83 billion in its effort to create a modern army in Afghanistan. Airplanes, helicopters, drones, armored vehicles, night-vision goggles: the U.S. spared no expense in equipping the Afghan army.

But in a country lacking the infrastructure to support cutting-edge military equipment, the Afghans were unable to mount a serious resistance against a less-equipped and ostensibly badly outnumbered foe. John Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), reported to Congress last week that "advanced weapons systems, vehicles and logistics used by Western militaries were beyond the capabilities of the largely illiterate and uneducated Afghan force."

Pentagon officials insisted on a numerical advantage held by the Afghan forces - supposedly with 300,000 men in the army and the police - over the Taliban, estimated to number some 70,000. But the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point estimated that only 185,000 troops were under Defense Ministry control, and barely 60% of those were trained fighters. A more accurate estimate of the army's fighting strength was 96,000. The SIGAR report said the Afghan army had to replace 25% of its force each year, largely because of desertions.

Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul, noted, "We built an air force that depended on contractors for maintenance and then pulled the contractors....We profoundly shocked the Afghan army and morale by pulling out and pulling our air cover."

Moreover, salaries of the Afghan army, which had been paid for years by the Pentagon, became the responsibility of the Kabul government. This led to numerous Afghan soldiers complaining on social media that they had not been paid in months, and their units were no longer receiving food or supplies - not even ammunition.


PreOccupiedTerritory: Taliban Now Controls 85% Of Democratic Party (satire)
The rapid resurgence of the fundamentalist Islamist movement has caught American military, diplomatic, and political officials off guard and unprepared to handle it, resulting a sweeping takeover by that movement of locales and institutions that only several weeks ago were still mostly under the control of US-backed entities, such as the Democratic Party.

White House and Pentagon spokespeople scrambled over the weekend to address the collapse of a leadership group that has received tens of billions of dollars in investment over the last several decades, but that recent developments have shown remains flimsy in the face of forces that follow a fundamentalist ideology and enjoys tacit, if not outright, support, from Western progressives, the Chinese Communist Party, and the mullahs of Tehran alike.

Calls continued in some circles for the US to withdraw its presence entirely from the Democratic Party, giving it up as a lost cause in a nation-building project and an effort to bring accountable government to cultures that have known precious little of it. But the swift collapse of the leadership and strongholds in the Party as fundamentalists took over has given even those partisans some pause, since few expected the collapse to occur so quickly, thoroughly, and, some admitted, embarrassingly.

“It’s sobering, to say the least, to have an entity into which we’ve put so much simply fade away as Islamists and those who bow to them assert control,” conceded Senator Chick Schumer (D-NY). “As a loyal Democrat I obviously have fewer problems with Islamists than do my colleagues across the aisle, but I thought maybe the party would hold out longer.” Schumer declined to offer his assessment of how long the American-interest-aligned leadership of the Democratic Party will hold out against the fundamentalists, but his expression at the question turned grim.
UNRWA Breaches US Funding Condition By Refusing to Dismiss Hitler-supporting Teacher
One might assume UNRWA would, sensing such antisemitic outbursts could fall foul of the commitment it made to the United States, cut ties from the teachers in question.

But, alas, the powers that be at the body instead decided to go on the offensive. A statement posted on UNRWA’s website earlier this month slammed UN Watch for having a “deep history of unfounded and politically-driven assertions against the Agency.”

“Personnel who were found in breach, then, were either censured and/or subjected to financial penalties,” the statement added.

In response, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNRWA’s leadership demanding that blatantly antisemitic staff be dismissed and an inquiry established.

However, the UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini evidently believes that firing someone who thinks Jewish people invented COVID-19 would be a step too far. Instead, Lazzarini wrote back to Erdan to say staff would be offered training in “neutrality” and “tolerance workshops.”

It seems UNRWA thinks a workshop for someone who posted an image of Hitler alongside inspirational quotations adequately demonstrates its “zero tolerance” to antisemitism.

Indeed, one could not be faulted for thinking that, for UNRWA, “neutrality” entails opposition to all forms of racism and discrimination besides Jew-hatred.

Or perhaps the agency simply thinks antisemitism among its staff is the least of its problems right now.

Just this week, HonestReporting revealed that at least 4,000 Palestinian children will be unable to resume their studies in multiple UNRWA-run schools in the Gaza Strip. This is because Hamas has built a sophisticated network of tunnels beneath them and, in a bid to cover up its war crimes, is refusing to allow UN inspectors access.

This is despite UNRWA Deputy Commissioner Lenny Steinseth previously thanking Hamas for its “ongoing willingness to cooperate.”
Report: Poland Mulls Termination of Israeli Youths’ Annual Visit to Death Camps
Poland is mulling the pros and cons of blocking future March of the Living trips by Israeli students who make an annual trip to visit the country’s Nazi death camps, Ynet reported Monday.

“The trips do not take place in a proper manner,” said Poland’s Foreign Minister, Pawel Jablonski. “The sometimes instill hatred for Poland in the heads of young Israelis.

We will make the right decisions about these trips,” Jablonski added.

“We deal with anti-Polish sentiment in Israel, and one of the reasons for this is the way in which Israeli youth are educated and raised.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Slams Poland’s New Law
Jablonski’s statement comes in response to an ongoing verbal battle between Israel and Poland over the Eastern European nation’s new law blocking some 90 percent of Jewish Holocaust restitution claims.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement on Saturday night that Poland had become “an anti-democratic, non-liberal country that does not honor the greatest tragedy in human history.

“The negative impact on our ties began the moment that Poland chose to begin passing laws aimed at harming the memory of the Holocaust and the Jewish people in 2018,” Lapid said.

“Gone are the days when Poles harmed Jews without consequence,” he underlined.
‘Huge’ Wildfire Near Jerusalem Forces Thousands to Evacuate
A massive wildfire broke out in the forest-covered hills outside Jerusalem, spreading quickly due to high winds and necessitating the evacuation of thousands of residents.

Police said that the cause of the massive blaze, which broke near the village of Beit Meir, was either arson or negligence, and adding that a criminal probe was launched.

Israel’s Fire and Rescue services stated that all of the residents of Ramat Raziel and Kiryat Ya’arim communities have been evacuated.

Currently, nine firefighter teams are at work in the region with the help of 10 firefighting helicopters and planes. The efforts to douse the “huge” blaze will go on into the night, officials said.

The smoke from the blaze turned the clouds above the Israeli capital black.

Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said no injuries were immediately reported.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that “increased caution must be exercised, and in case of danger anyone and everyone must be evacuated.”

The outskirts of Jerusalem have been plagued by bushfires this year, with police citing arson as the cause in several of the incidents.
Arab Terrorist Dressed as IDF Soldier Captured Near Maaleh Levona
On Monday afternoon, civilians noticed what looked like an improperly dressed soldier walking near the community of Maaleh Levona on Road 60. They called the local emergency center, which called out IDF soldiers from the Netzach Yehuda unit.

Soldiers from the Netzach Yehuda unit captured the Arab terrorist who was dressed up as an IDF soldier, near the community of Maaleh Levona, north of Ramallah. Inside the terrorist’s bag was a hunting rifle, ammunition, a butcher’s knife, another knife and pepper spray. He was taken to interrogation.


Rocket From Gaza Triggers Sirens in Sderot, Western Negev
Terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israeli territory on Monday morning, triggering sirens in Sderot and other Western Negev communities, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted the projectile, said the IDF, and no casualties or damage were reported.

It was the first rocket fired from the Gaza Strip since the end of Israel’s “Operation Guardian of the Walls” in May, according to Kan news.

It’s the first rocket fired by Gaza terrorists since the end of Israel’s “Operation Guardian of the Walls” between May 10-21, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.

During that operation, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli civilian centers. The Iron Dome intercepted some 90 percent of the projectiles, according to the IDF.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned Hamas that Israel will not tolerate a “trickle” of attacks from the Gaza Strip as in the past.

“Our patience has run out,” he said on June 20 at a memorial for IDF soldiers who fell during 2014’s “Operation Protective Edge” in the Gaza Strip.


Israeli Defense Minister Urges International Community to Act Against Palestinians Burning Swastika Inside Star of David
Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz urged the international community and the Palestinian Authority to take action against the Palestinians who burned a swastika inside a Star of David during riots in the West Bank over the weekend.

“The use of Nazi symbols by Palestinians during protests in Judea and Samaria is a serious offense. I call on the international community and the Palestinian Authority to condemn this unequivocally and to take action against the instigators who crossed a red line,” Gantz said.

Palestinians erected a flaming swastika around the West Bank village of Beita in protest of the Israeli outpost Evyatar. The riots on Saturday marked 100 days of demonstrations against the outpost. The riots in the area, including the burning of tires and the firing of fireworks, have continued in recent weeks after settlers evacuated the Evyatar hilltop. Back in June, the Israeli government struck a deal with the settlers to leave the hilltop and in exchange Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pledged to legalize a community on the disputed land. In the meantime, an army base will reside there and then a yeshiva.

“We strongly condemn the use of Nazi symbols during the violent riots organized next to the village of Beita. In using these symbols of hate, the demonstrators crossed a line in a way which contradicts moral and basic human values. This type of act does not represent the values of any society, particularly not the Palestinian one,” said Major General Rassan Alian, the head of COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories).
PMW: “We want to burn you alive. That is all we are working for” – message from Palestinians who burned swastika/Star of David effigy to Israelis
Israeli criticism of Palestinians in the town of Beita who burned an effigy of the Star of David with a Nazi swastika has prompted an outrageous response from the organizers: “You [Israelis] are worse than Hitler and the Nazis … Yes, we want to burn you alive.”

The shocking response came on Facebook page ‘Beita Victory’, which had posted the original pictures of the effigy being made and burned, along with flaming torches carried by supporters, including children.

While the response might seem surprising, it echoes directly the Palestinian Authority’s messages and education. When the PA honors and rewards Palestinian terrorist murderers, as Palestinian Media Watch has documented repeatedly, and Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor tells viewers of official PA TV all the reasons Islam mandates fighting and killing Israelis, it should not be surprising that a Palestinian Facebook page promotes burning Jews alive.

The effigy that was burned, which equated Israel with Nazis, should not be surprising either.

So far this year Palestinian Media Watch has uncovered 16 separate instances of Palestinian official sources comparing Israel to a Nazi state, or accusing Israel of waging a Holocaust against the Palestinians. This amounts to libel against Israel and the Israeli people and is clear incitement to violence against innocent Israelis.
West Bank: Four Palestinians Killed in Overnight Clash With Israeli Border Police
During an arrest operation of a suspect implicated in Hamas activity early Monday morning, Palestinians opened fire on an Israeli Border Police raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

At least four Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

“Heavy fire was opened on the force at close range and by a large number [of gunmen]. The border police infiltration team retaliated against the terrorists and neutralized them. No victims in our ranks,” a police spokesperson said.

Five additional Palestinians were wounded in the fighting, Haaretz reported, noting that this is the second Border Police raid in Jenin to end in violence in two weeks.

Jenin governor Akram Rajoub disputed the Border Police’s account. “This was a massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation. All the accounts disseminated by the occupation are falsehoods,” he told the official Palestinian Authority broadcasting station.

According to Palestinian media, the target of the raid, Muhammad Abu Zina, was detained during the operation, though it was unclear what charges he is facing, the Times of Israel reported.


Hamas congratulates Taliban for ‘defeating’ US
In response to the Taliban re-conquest of Afghanistan, Hamas on Monday congratulated the Afghan people for “defeating” the US. “We congratulate the Muslim Afghan people for the defeat of the American occupation on all Afghan lands, and we congratulate the Taliban movement and its brave leadership on this victory, which culminated its long struggle over the past 20 years,” Hamas said in a statement.

“While Hamas wishes the Afghan Muslim people and its leadership success in achieving unity, stability and prosperity for Afghanistan and its people, it stresses that the demise of the American occupation and its allies proves that the resistance of the peoples, foremost of which is our struggling Palestinian people, will achieve victory.”

In a post on Twitter on Sunday night, Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, wrote: “Today Taliban is victorious after it used to be accused of backwardness and terrorism. Now, the Taliban is more clever and more realistic. It has faced America and its agents, refusing half-solutions with them. The Taliban was not deceived by the slogans of democracy and elections and fake promises. This is a lesson for all oppressed people.”

Recently, Hamas released photos of a meeting between its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and a Taliban delegation. The meeting reportedly took place in the Taliban office in Doha, Qatar, where Haniyeh has been based for the past two years.


Israel seizes 23 tons of chocolate intended for Hamas funding
The chocolate bars that were confiscated on Monday from Hamas were meant to serve as an alternative currency to fund the Gaza-based terror organization, according to the Defense Ministry.

Officials had been noticing suspicious imports of food products to Gaza as of late. The suspicion was that Hamas was trying to gain funding by operating a broad network of food imports, including the chocolate bars.

The products were meant to be sold by Hamas to the people of Gaza, and the money from the sales was meant to serve as income, according to a joint investigation by IDF intelligence, the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel, and the Tax Authority’s National Center for Cargo Inspection.

The investigators focused on two import companies, Al Mutahadun for Exchange and the Arab Training Company China, which belong to the same family headed by a Gaza money-exchanger named Zahir Younes Shmalach.

In May, IDF intelligence discovered that Shmalach was using his companies to funnel tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hamas. The companies were immediately put on a list of terror organizations by the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority. The investigation of Shamlach’s companies led to the seizure of the chocolate bars today.
Iran's COVID surge leads to shutdown, travel ban
Iran is to impose a one-week lockdown and a ban on road travel amid a fifth COVID-19 surge in the worst-hit country in the Middle East, state television reported on Saturday.

All non-essential businesses and offices will have to close under the nationwide lockdown from Monday to Aug. 21, in an effort to curb the highly contagious Delta variant.

Authorities are also imposing a driving ban from Sunday until Aug. 27, except for essential vehicles.

"All roads will be closed except for trucks carrying food and essential goods and ambulances. This traffic ban will be very strictly imposed," Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the national coronavirus task force, told the television.

Authorities will only allow open-air gatherings for ongoing Shi'ite Muslim mourning ceremonies, Raisi said.

The Health Ministry reported 29,700 new cases on Saturday, and 466 daily deaths, down from a record daily toll of 588 fatalities on Monday. Total deaths have reached 97,208, according to official figures.


PreOccupiedTerritory: Minor Flooding In Tehran As Iran Salivates At US Afghanistan Debacle (satire)
The capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran ground to a halt Monday overwhelmed drainage systems, deluged the first floors of hundreds of buildings, and disrupted essential services and utilities to thousands of residents, as the cumulative quantity of drool from the mouths of the country’s leaders reached unprecedented production levels in reaction to the American abandonment of Iran’s eastern neighbor with its tail between its legs.

Rescue and repair workers scrambled this morning to drain the saliva and restore power, plumbing, and other services to several areas of central and western Tehran; thirteen people reportedly suffered minor injuries from slipping on the spittle, but otherwise, according to emergency services personnel, everyone emerged from the area unhurt.

“The buildup of the saliva was unusually fast, but still gradual enough for most people to escape the flood,” stated rescue worker Pav Lov. “About a hundred families remain temporarily homeless, and relief services are addressing those needs as we speak.” Lov, a sixteen-year veteran of the service, noted that the current Ayatollah-saliva flood ranks as the worst he has seen in his career.

“I think the only other comparable incident was when Obama sent over pallets of cash,” he recalled. “We were short-staffed that day, and the only reason things didn’t get quite as bad is that several of the senior regime figures were out of the city at the time, and their combined salivation didn’t have the same devastating effect. The overall volume of drool during that incident might have been greater, though.”









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