Excerpts:Saudi asks US stand re 'iranian interference'. NYC protest re Iran
deal.Saudis re Iran deal. Gaza reconstruction July 23, 2015

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 23 July ’15:”Kingdom seeks US stand over Iranian
‘interference’, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Saudi asks US stand re ‘Iranian interference’

QUOTE:”Saudi Arabia on Wednesday [22 July] sought assurances that the US
stands firmly against Iranian interference in the Middle East

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday[22 July] sought assurances that the US
stands firmly against Iranian “interference” in the Middle East.

The assurances were sought as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman
and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and
minister of defense, had separate meetings with US Defense Secretary Ashton
Carter.

Carter arrived as part of a regional tour trying to allay the concerns of US
allies that Iran could still be able to develop an atomic weapon despite an
agreement reached this month between Tehran and six major powers led by
Washington.

Gulf states are wary of the overtures to Tehran by Washington, their
traditional defense partner.

Riyadh and its neighbors believe the deal will only embolden their Shiite
regional rival, whom they accuse of meddling in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and
Yemen.

Anwar Eshki, chairman of the Jeddah-based Center for Strategic and Legal
Studies, said he believed Carter would try to “reassure the Gulf countries,
and the Kingdom especially, that the US will not allow Iran to carry out
activities that will destabilize the Middle East.”

He said Saudi Arabia would talk about boosting its defenses and “how to
confront Iran” if destabilizing actions increase as a result of the nuclear
deal.

The deal, which ended a 13-year standoff, requires Iran to curb its nuclear
capabilities including the number of uranium centrifuges.

International monitors will supervise the process, which in exchange will
reduce sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. The deal would see Iran’s
oil exports gradually resume and billions of dollars in frozen assets
unblocked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Carter met on Tuesday,[21
July] has voiced fears the nuclear deal will help fund Iranian “aggression.”

The Saudis also “think it’s a mistake,” although “they don’t say it as loud
and as publicly as the Israelis,” said the source. There are worries the
Iran deal could spark a nuclear race in the Middle East.

Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir last week warned Iran not to use the
economic benefits of the nuclear agreement to fund “adventures in the
region.”

If it does, “we’re committed to confront it resolutely,” said Jubeir.

In June, France and Saudi Arabia announced a feasibility study for building
two nuclear reactors in the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has also reached accords this year with Russia and South Korea
on peaceful use of nuclear energy. Along with its own nuclear projects,
Riyadh is building alliances beyond its ties with the US in order to
counter Tehran, under a more assertive foreign policy adopted since King
Salman acceded to the throne in January. — AFP


+++Source; Naharnet (Lebanon) 23 July ’15:”Iran Deal with U.S.Brings
Thousands to Times Square, By Associated Press
SUBJECT: 10,000 NYC protest re Iran deal

FULL TEXT:Thousands of protesters packed into Times Square on Wednesday[22
July] evening to demand that Congress vote down the proposed U.S. deal with
Iran.

As the crowd loomed behind police barricades, chants of "Kill the deal!"
could be heard for blocks. The event, billed as the "Stop Iran Rally"
consisted mainly of pro-Israel supporters, though organizers said it
represents Americans of all faiths and political convictions.

The group is asking Congress to reject the deal under which the U.S. would
agree to lift economic sanctions against Iran in return for measures to
prevent the country from building nuclear weapons.

President Barack Obama has said the U.S. considers Iran an adversary whose
activities will be closely monitored.

At the rally, Alan Dershowitz, a prominent Jewish attorney, said he was
"opposing the deal as a liberal Democrat." He said he believed democracy was
"ignored" because the Obama administration negotiated the deal without
congressional input.

"That is not the way democracy should operate," he told the crowd.

In a statement Wednesday[22 July, Rep. Peter King, a former chairman of the
House Committee on Homeland Security, said he attended a classified briefing
with Secretary of State John Kerry and "is still convinced that this is a
bad deal for America."

"It was entirely wrong and arrogant for the Obama administration to submit
the deal to the U.N. before Congress voted on it," he said. "It is
definitely my intention to vote no on this deal with Iran."

Desiree Soper of Long Island said she was drawn to the protest because she
wanted to voice her opposition.

"I don't trust Iran," she said. "They'll find loopholes."

Demonstrators also took note that U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer did not attend
the protest, prompting chants of "Where is Chuck?" from the crowd.

Schumer has said he has not yet decided how he will vote. His spokesman did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Organizers estimated about 10,000 people attended the event.






+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 23 July ’15:”Saudis seek US reassurance on Iran
deal”Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Saudis re Iran deal

QUOTES: “Saudis seek US reassurance on Iran deal”, “Saudi Arabia and Israel
are ‘on the same page’ with their concerns about the agreement”

FULL TEXT:JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi leaders on Wednesday[22 July sought
reassurance from US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter over a deal curbing
Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions.

Carter held talks in the Red Sea city of Jeddah with King Salman and his
son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is defence minister and
second-in-line to the throne.

Carter arrived as part of a tour of the Middle East trying to allay the
concerns of US allies that Iran, made wealthier under the deal, will be more
able to support its regional proxies.

Despite the agreement reached this month between Tehran and six major powers
led by Washington, Gulf states also worry Iran could still be able to
develop an atomic weapon.They are wary of the overtures to Tehran by
Washington, their traditional defence partner.

"Both the king and the minister reiterated their support of the Iranian
nuclear deal," Carter told reporters aboard his plane.

During the discussion with the king, "the only reservations we discussed
were ones that we thoroughly share, mainly that we attend to verification of
the agreement as it is implemented", Carter said after the Saudi visit
lasting about four hours.

Under a so-called "snapback" mechanism, sanctions can be reinstated if world
powers feel Iran has not met its commitments under the Vienna agreement.

Riyadh and its neighbours accuse their Shiite regional rival of meddling in
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Anwar Eshki, chairman of the Jeddah-based Centre for Strategic and Legal
Studies, said he believed Carter was trying to "reassure the Gulf countries,
and the kingdom especially".

The agreement, which ended a 13-year standoff, requires Iran to curb its
nuclear capabilities including the number of uranium centrifuges.

International monitors will supervise the process, which in exchange will
ease an embargo that has crippled Iran's economy.

Saudi Arabia and Israel are "on the same page" with their concerns about the
agreement, a Western diplomatic source said.

The deal would see Iran's oil exports gradually resume and billions of
dollars in frozen assets unblocked.



'A difficult situation'



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Carter met on Tuesday, has
voiced fears the nuclear deal will help fund Iranian "aggression".

The Saudis also "think it's a mistake", although "they don't say it as loud
and as publicly as the Israelis", said the source.

There are worries the Iran deal could spark a nuclear race in the Middle
East.

In June, France and Saudi Arabia announced a feasibility study for building
two nuclear reactors in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has also reached accords this year with Russia and South Korea
on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Along with its own nuclear projects, Riyadh is building alliances beyond its
ties with Washington in order to counter Tehran, under a more assertive
foreign policy adopted since King Salman acceded to the throne in January.

Two months later, the kingdom organised an Arab coalition to conduct air
strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels seizing territory in neighbouring
Yemen.

US aerial refuelling, intelligence and other assistance has supported that
Saudi-led alliance.

"There was a difficult situation in Yemen," King Salman told Carter during
their meeting, apologising that he could not attend a May summit with
President Barack Obama in Washington.

Carter told reporters that King Salman will now visit the US to meet Obama
later this year.

Anti-rebel forces are tightening their control on Yemen's southern city of
Aden after months of trying to dislodge the Houthis, in a war which the
United Nations said has left the country a step away from famine.

"We talked about the need that both the Saudis and we share for a political
settlement in Yemen. That is the way to peace, to restore the humanitarian
situation there," Carter said.

Since late last year, Saudi Arabia has also been part of a US-led coalition
bombing the Daesh terror group which has occupied large parts of Iraq and
Syria.

The jihadist group has committed widespread atrocities there and inspired
attacks around the world, including in Saudi Arabia.

Carter said military cooperation including the training of Saudi special
forces, cyber security and missile defence systems also came up for
discussion in the kingdom.

He returned Wednesday afternoon to Jordan, another member of the anti-Daesh
coalition, for discussions with the Jordanian military.



On Tuesday, Carter told coalition military personnel at a Jordanian air base
that the US and Israel had a "common commitment to countering Iranian malign
influence in the region".





+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 23 July ’15:”Palestinians lay first brick for Gaza
reconstruction” ,Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Gaza reconstruction
QUOTE:”Donations pledged at an international conference in Cairo in October
have been slow to arrive”
FULL TEXT:GAZA CITY — Palestinian housing minister Mufid Al Hasayneh laid a
brick Wednesday[22July] for the first Gaza home to be rebuilt since the
Israel-Hamas war a year ago, as frustration mounts over the slow pace of
reconstruction.

The 50-day war in July-August 2014 killed 2,200 Palestinians, 73 on the
Israeli side, mostly soldiers, and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of
homes in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Until now the only repairs have been to homes which were partially damaged,
while 18,000 totally destroyed houses remain in ruins.

Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza, now in its ninth year, has been blamed
for the slow progress as well as a lack of international donor support for
the territory, ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Hasayneh laid the brick at the Harara family's home in Shejaiya, an area
east of Gaza City that was one of the worst hit by Israeli shelling during
the war.

"The march towards real reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has begun, and
nothing will stop it," Hasayneh said.

"We will see a lot of movement on the reconstruction front in the coming
days. We will rebuild all homes destroyed by Israel," he said, thanking
several Arab countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia for their donations
towards Gaza's reconstruction.

But the process is expected to take years in the war-torn coastal enclave,
whose 1.8 million residents have seen three wars in six years between Israel
and Palestinian fighters.

Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has said that so far it only received
enough money for 200 out of the 7,000 houses it is tasked with rebuilding.

Donations pledged at an international conference in Cairo in October have
been slow to arrive, and the blockade that has choked Gaza for years is
still in place.

Israel controls two of the three goods and personnel crossings into the
enclave, and Egypt controls a third.

Israel says more than 1.1 million tonnes of construction material have been
allowed in since October through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing.

Egypt last month allowed cement supplies to be brought in through the Rafah
crossing.Critics of the blockade have called for it to be fully lifted to
accelerate reconstruction, warning that an ongoing humanitarian crisis could
fuel further conflict.
================
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA