Excerpts: N.Sinai emergency extended 3 months. Bahrain stops entry of
smuggled munitions. Bahrain recalls ambassador to Iran. Assad says army
manpower shrinking. Hizbollah re continuing Iran support. Hamas gives 25,000
Gazans combat training. Jordanian-Iranian economic committee July 26, 2015

+++SOURCE: AlArabiya 26 July ’15:”Egypt Extends State of Emergency in
Northern Sinai”,Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:N.Sinai emergency extended 3 months

FULL TEXT:Egypt said on Saturday[25 July] it had extended by three months a
state of emergency imposed on parts of Northern Sinai in October after
Islamist militants stepped up attacks in the peninsula bordering Israel,
Gaza and the Suez Canal, according to Agence France-Presse.

The decision, announced by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb in a written decree
on Saturday[25 July], will be implemented in Rafah, al-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid
and surrounding areas starting on Sunday[26 July]. It also extends a
night-time curfew in place in the same areas.

The measure was first introduced after 33 security personnel were killed in
an attack in late October at a checkpoint in northern Sinai. It was extended
three months in January and again in April.

The October attack was claimed by Sinai Province, an affiliate of the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which earlier changed its name from
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The group, which aims to topple the government in
Cairo, has mainly focused on targets in Sinai.

Roadside bombing The announcement came shortly before a roadside bombing in
the Sinai Peninsula wounded 18 police conscripts.
Security officials said the blast Sunday[26 July] morning targeted a bus
carrying the conscripts in El-Arish as they traveled along a seafront road.

SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 26 July ’15:”Bahrain arrests suspects”, by Al Arabiya
SUBJECT: Bahrain stopsentry of smuggled munitions
FULL TEXT Meanwhile, Bahrain authorities have disrupted an attempt to
smuggle high-grade explosives, automatic weapons and ammunition into the
country and have arrested two suspects, the Interior Ministry said.

One of the suspects had received military training in Iran, it said.

The coastguard intercepted a vessel on July 15 heading towards Bahrain and
seized about 44 kg (97 pounds) of C4 explosive, eight Kalashnikov assault
rifles, 32 Kalashnikov magazines, and ammunition and detonators. — Al
Arabiya

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazettte 26 July’15:”Bahrain recalls its ambassador to
Iran”, by Reuters

SUBJECT:Bahrain recalls ambassador to Iran

QUOTE:”Barhain said repeated hostile statements made by Iranian
officials …were a reflection of Iran’s unfriendly attitude toward the Gulf
Arab country and an interference in its internal affairs”

FULL TEXT:ABU DHABI — Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Tehran for
consultations after what it claimed were repeated hostile statements made by
Iranian officials.The statements were a reflection of Iran's unfriendly
attitude toward the Gulf Arab country and an interference in its internal
affairs, a statement on state news agency BNA said.

Bahrain accuses its opposition of links to Shiite Iran, which both it and
Tehran deny.

The kingdom has experienced sporadic unrest since 2011 when its security
forces ended mass protests calling for democracy.

Bahrain said it was hopeful relations would normalize between the two
countries but said repeated Iranian statements were evidence of "a strategy
built on interference in the affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain."

Bahrain previously recalled its ambassador to Iran in 2011 to protest
Tehran's criticism of the Gulf-backed crackdown on protesters at the time,
reinstating him in 2012. — Reuters

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 26 July ’15:”Syria’s Assad Acknowledges
Shrinking Army Manpower”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Assad says army manpower shrinking

Syria's President Bashar Assad acknowledged the shrinking ranks of his
government's army in a rare public speech on Sunday[26 July], but insisted
the force was still capable of beating rebel fighters.

Speaking in Damascus, Assad also said any "dialogue that is not based on the
fight against terrorism would be meaningless".

Syria's army once had around 300,000 members, but has been roughly halved in
size by deaths, defections and a rise in draft dodging, a fact that Assad
acknowledged publicly on Sunday[26 July].

"There is a lack of human resources" in the army, he said, addressing
representatives of economic organisations in a speech broadcast live on
Syrian state television."But that doesn't mean we can talk about collapse,"
he insisted."We will resist... the armed forces are capable of defending the
motherland."

Assad, whose opponents include Islamic State group jihadists,
al-Qaida-affiliated fighters and other rebel groups, also made reference to
army withdrawals from parts of the country.

In recent months, government forces have been pushed out of almost all of
the northwestern province of Idlib, as well as losing the ancient city of
Palmyra.There were areas where we wanted to show our commitment," he
said."But the army cannot be on every part of the territory."

"In some areas, residents have taken up weapons alongside the army and that
has had a decisive impact on the fighting."

More than 230,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began
in March 2011 with anti-government protests before spiraling into a civil
war after a regime crackdown.

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 26 July’15:”Hizbollah leader says Iran will not
abandon support after nuclear deal”,Reuters
SUBJECT:Hizbollah re continuing Iran support

QUOTE:”The Lebanese Hizbollah group believes it can stll count on Iran’s
support”

FULL TEXT:BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hizbollah group believes it can still count
on Iran's support following Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, leader
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday[25 July].

In his first public remarks since the agreement was reached this month in
Vienna, Nasrallah said he was sure Tehran would confound critics who say it
would end support to Hizbollah.

"We deal with every trust and complete assurance over this,” Nasrallah said
in ceremony to honour sons and daughters of fallen Hizbollah fighters.

"Iran's relationship with its allies is based on ideological grounds and
come before the political interests," Nasrallah said.

US sanctions against three Hizbollah military leaders whom Washington said
were involved in operations in Syria would have no impact on the group,
Nasrallah said.

"We have no investment accounts..these measures will not change things
either way," Nasrallah said.

The three leaders — Mustafa Badr Al Din, Ibrahim Aqil, and Fu'ad Shukr —
were named for their role in coordinating or participating in the group's
support for Assad's government in Syria's civil war, the US Treasury said.

It also included a businessman in Lebanon who was sanctioned for procuring
weapons for Hizbollah and shipping them to Syria.

The new sanctions following the nuclear deal and Washington's continued
designation of Hizbollah as a terrorist group showed that US policies have
not changed towards it, he said.

"The United States is the Great Satan before and after the deal," he said.

Nasrallah said the targeting of Lebanese businessmen was meant to undermine
Lebanon's economy and said monetary authorities should not cave into US
Treasury efforts to blacklist local businessmen.

The Treasury said it had taken action in June against Hizbollah front
companies.

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have said they
are troubled by support from Iran for regional proxy groups such as
Hizbollah.

Nasrallah said his group was proud of Tehran's financial backing, which
allowed it to stand up to Israel and US policies in the region.

"The support we get from Iran is enough," Nasrallah said

Hizbollah's support has been crucial to Syria's President Bashar Assad in
the four-year-long Syrian conflict.

+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 26 July’15:”Hamas armed wing gives 25,000 Gazans
combat training”By Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:Hamas gives 25,000 Gazans combat training

FULL TEXT:GAZA CITY () — The military wing of Hamas opened its Gaza summer
camp on Saturday[25 July], aimed at providing basic combat training for
25,000 Palestinians in the embattled strip.

Hamas, the de facto power in Gaza, is currently engaged in indirect contacts
with Israel to try to reach a long-term truce, but a year after last
summer's devastating 50-day war the group has kept up the fighting talk.

"The goal of these military training camps is to train the vanguard for
liberation — spiritually, intellectually and physically — to be ready and
able to play its role in liberation," said a statement by the Ezzedine Al
Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing.It said that participants, aged 15-60,
would spend two weeks being "trained in military techniques and in firing
live ammunition" as well as "first aid and rescue techniques"As with all the
brigades' activities the camps will be conducted out of public and media
sight.

Rescue squads dealt with thousands of local victims during the war of
July-Agust 2014, the third in Gaza in six years.

Hamas has long run summer camps devoted to sport and study of the Koran in
Gaza but over the winter Al Qassam brigades launched a new kind of camp,
giving military training to 15 to 20-year-olds.Human rights activists
condemned it as a forced militarisation of Gazan society and a violation of
children's rights. Brushing off the criticism, the brigades are repeating
the excercise with the summer camp, while raising the upper age limit to 60

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 26 July’15:”Iran wants dialogue with region through
Jordan”by Khetam Malkawi

SUBJECT: Jordanian-Iranian economic committee

QUOTE:”Iranian ambassador to Jordan said in an interview that ‘serious and
important’ steps have been taken or are in the pipeline towards bolstering
bilateral relations between Amman and Tehran.Appointing a Jordanian
ambassador to Iran was just the beginning.

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — After more than eight years of delay, the 10th
Jordanian-Iranian economic committee is expected to meet this year to
review, update and reactivate several agreements, an Iranian diplomat told
The Jordan Times.

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the Iranian ambassador to Jordan, said in an
interview that “serious and important” steps have been taken or are in the
pipeline towards bolstering bilateral relations between Amman and Tehran.
Appointing a Jordanian ambassador to Iran was just the beginning.

Jordan last year appointed an ambassador to Tehran after six years of low
diplomatic representation of the Kingdom in the Islamic republic.

Before that, he explained, the interaction between the two countries was
mainly through parliamentary delegations.

The meeting of the economic committee is expected to be the foundation of
stronger ties between the two countries, according to the envoy, who noted
that there are many documents and agreements that are no longer valid and
need to be updated.

“There is an initial agreement to hold the meeting this year… this will also
lead to forming other committees concerned with various issues such as
political and security affairs,” Pour said.

He also underscored the importance of strengthening the ties between the
people of the two countries, which “will eventually impact the
state-to-state bilateral ties, especially since Arabic is the second spoken
language in Iran”.

This can be through education and tourism, the envoy hoped, noting that
Iranian pilgrims used to come to Jordan and visit holy places here on their
way to Mecca.

The issue of Iranian pilgrims, who are interested in visiting certain
shrines revered by Shiite Islam, has been a highly sensitive issue for
Jordan, mainly for security reasons.

“We can also strengthen this through building railways that connect Jordan
with Iraq and Iran and sending pilgrims to Mecca through Jordan.”

“We also want to bolster academic cooperation through universities, the
exchange of students and even offering scholarships for Jordanian students,”
Pour noted.

He also cited the Amman Message as a “positive” step made by Jordan that
rendered the Kingdom a hub “for rapprochement between religions and
different sects of Islam”.

The Amman Message started as a detailed statement released on November 9,
2004 by His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. It sought to declare what
Islam is and what it is not, and what actions represent it and what actions
do not. Its goal was to clarify to the modern world the true nature of Islam
and the nature of true Islam, according to related literature.

“We believe that Jordan has the ability to moderate an Arab-Iranian
dialogue,” to live in peace in the same region, according to the diplomat,
who added that the dialogue can start from Jordan and expand to the rest of
the region.

Syria and regional issues

As for the situation in Syria and Iran’s role in cooling down the conflict
there especially after reaching a deal on the nuclear programme and the
change of Iran’s role in the region, Pour said his country and Jordan share
the same view, which is urging a political solution to the conflict, noting
that his country proposed two initiatives in this regard.

In one of the initiatives, Iran suggested that all factions in Syria come
together for negotiations, enforce immediate ceasefire with no interference
in Syria’s affairs, stop the flow of arms and terrorist groups to Syria and
form a national unity government.

“We have had two rounds of negotiations in this regard, bringing together
regime and opposition figures in Tehran,” the envoy explained, stressing
that the military solution will never be an appropriate solution, not only
for the crisis in Syria, but also in other conflicting countries in the
region.

However, Iran has not had so far any negotiations with world powers over
regional issues, according to Pour, as his country was involved with the
nuclear negotiations over the past 12 years, leaving no margin for moves
concerning regional issues.

As for Iran’s relations with Gulf countries and the impact of the nuclear
deal on these relations, Pour said Tehran’s relations with the Gulf are
interlaced. He said the security of this region can be achieved through
realising the common goals of all players.However, “after lifting the
economic sanctions on Iran, the foundation for bolstering economic relations
with the Gulf countries is there,” the envoy said, adding that obstacles
will be removed in result and there will be foundations for trust-building
between them and Iran.According to the envoy the perception of the so
called “Iran’s threat and expansionism” is just a “conspiracy” to keep Iran
away from the Islamic region.

But, he stressed that his country wants to help and benefit the region
through the scientific developments achieved, especially the nuclear
programme and its use for peaceful purposes.
============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA