WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is pushing for inspections of suspicious Iranian military sites in a bid to test the strength of the nuclear deal that President Donald Trump desperately wants to cancel, senior US officials said.
The inspections are one element of what is designed to be a more aggressive approach to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. While the Trump administration seeks to police the existing deal more strictly, it is also working to fix what Trump’s aides have called “serious flaws” in the landmark deal that — if not resolved quickly — will likely lead Trump to pull out.
That effort also includes discussions with European countries to negotiate a follow-up agreement to prevent Iran from resuming nuclear development after the deal’s restrictions expire in about a decade, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the efforts publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The inspections requests, which Iran would likely resist, could play heavily into Trump’s much-anticipated decision about whether to stick with the deal he has long derided.
If Iran refuses inspections, Trump finally will have a solid basis to say Iran is breaching the deal, setting up Tehran to take most of the blame if the agreement collapses. If Iran agrees to inspections, those in Trump’s administration who want to preserve the deal will be emboldened to argue it is advancing US national security effectively.
The campaign gained fresh urgency this month following a dramatic clash within the administration about whether to certify Iran’s compliance, as is required every 90 days.
Trump was eager to declare Tehran in violation, even though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that monitors compliance says its infractions are minor. At the urging of top Cabinet members, Trump begrudgingly agreed at the last minute to avoid a showdown for another three months — but only with assurances the US would increase pressure on Iran to test whether the deal is truly capable of addressing its nuclear ambitions and other troublesome activities.
Trump faces another certification deadline in three months, and it is far from clear that either new inspections or any “fixes” to address whether his concerns will be in place by then. Trump told The Wall Street Journal this week he expects to say Iran is not complying, setting a high bar for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other aides to persuade him otherwise.
“If it was up to me, I would have had them noncompliant 180 days ago,” Trump said.
To that end, the administration is seeking to force Iran to let in IAEA inspectors to military sites where the US intelligence community believes Tehran may be cheating on the deal, several officials said. Access to Iran’s military sites was one of the most contentious issues in the 2015 deal, in which Tehran agreed to roll back its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Last week in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon floated the proposal to the European members of the Joint Commission that oversees the deal, one official said. Britain, France and Germany joined the US, Russia, China and the EU two years ago in brokering the deal with Iran.
To force inspections of new sites in Iran, the US would need to enlist the support of the IAEA and a majority of the countries in the deal. But the US has run into early resistance over concerns it has yet to produce a “smoking gun” — compelling evidence of illicit activity at a military site that the IAEA could use to justify inspections, officials said.
Among the concerns about a rush toward inspections is that if they fail to uncover evidence of violations, it would undermine the IAEA’s credibility and its ability to demand future inspections. So the US is working to produce foolproof intelligence about illicit activity, officials said. The officials declined to describe the intelligence activities or the Iranian sites the US believes are involved.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alluded to the strategy during an event hosted Wednesday by The Washington Post. Corker said the US was trying to “radically enforce” the deal by asking for access to “various facilities” in Iran.
“If they don’t let us in, boom,” Corker said. “You want the breakup of this deal to be about Iran. You don’t want it to be about the US, because we want our allies with us.”
The other major step to try to address what Trump has deemed flaws in the deal involves ensuring that Iran cannot revert to old behavior once the limitations on its program “sunset” over the next decade-plus.
Tehran can propose alternatives to on-site inspections, or reject the request, which would trigger a 24-day process for the Joint Commission countries to override the rejection.
That could drag on for months. And under ambiguities built into the deal, it is unclear whether Iran must allow IAEA inspectors into military sites, or whether the Iranians can take their own environmental samples and send them to the IAEA for testing, as was allowed under a 2015 side agreement that let Iran use its own experts to inspect the Parchin military site.
Even if Trump declares Iran in violation of the deal — a move that would invigorate his conservative base — he could still leave Iran’s sanctions relief in place.
US seeks to test Iran deal with more inspections
US seeks to test Iran deal with more inspections

Iraqis face difficult return from Syria camp for Daesh families

MOSUL: After years in a Syrian detention camp, Ibrahim Darwish was relieved to be allowed to return home to Iraq, but his joy was quickly punctured by the harsh reality that he had to disown his sons accused of being militants.
“All I wanted was to return to Iraq,” the 64-year-old said of his time in the Kurdish-controlled Al-Hol camp, where family members of suspected Daesh fighters are held in prison-like conditions alongside refugees and displaced people.
But back home in Iraq, “I had to disown my sons. My house is gone,” he said. “I am back to square one.”
Thousands of Iraqi returnees from the camp have faced major obstacles reintegrating into their communities, their perceived affiliation with Daesh casting a dark shadow over their prospects.
They described armed groups and local authorities in some areas pressuring returnees to cut ties with relatives suspected of Daesh links as a precondition for going home or obtaining essential documents.
A lawyer for many returnees equated the pledges of disownment to denunciations, “essentially complaints by one family member against another.”
He also warned of a widespread misconception among returnees that they must comply in order to obtain identity cards and other government papers.
But a senior Iraqi official insisted that the authorities supported reintegration, including when it came to the issuance of documents.
Requesting “disownment statements has become illegal, and anyone who asks for it should be reported,” the official said.
Darwish said he was allowed to leave Al-Hol after receiving Iraqi security clearance and support from his tribal leader.
Back in Iraq, he spent the first several months at Al-Jadaa camp, presented by the authorities as a “rehabilitation” center where returnees wait for further permission to return home.
There, “we felt the most welcome,” Darwish said.
But when it was time to go home to Salaheddin province, Darwish said local authorities told him he first had to disown his sons, who are locked away on suspicion of joining Daesh — a charge he denies.
Reluctantly, he complied.
Otherwise, “how was I going to farm my land and make ends meet?” he said.
In the northern city of Mosul, one woman in her thirties said she was afraid to return to her hometown in Salaheddin, where her father was arrested upon his arrival and later passed away in prison.
She is currently squatting with her sister and children in a dilapidated house, living in fear of eviction.
When the family first returned to Iraq, she said, people “looked at us differently, just because we came from Al-Hol.”
Now her concern is obtaining new identity cards, which are essential for accessing healthcare, education and employment, and she fears she will have to disown her husband to do so.
The authorities, she said, “did well” by bringing them back from Al-Hol, where many speak of increased violence, but they must now solve the issue of reintegration.
“We need them to support us so we can stand on our feet,” she added.
Thanassis Cambanis, director of New York-based Century International, said the returnees “face a murky future,” especially since some of those tarred as Daesh families are denied documentation.
“At a minimum, collective punishment of the Daesh families is an injustice and a moral error,” Cambanis warned.
“At a maximum, Iraq’s policy creates a ripe pool of potential recruits for violent sectarian extremists.”
While many countries refuse to repatriate their nationals from Al-Hol, Baghdad has so far brought back around 17,000 people, mostly women and children.
Local and international organizations facilitated reintegration. The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, a Geneva-registered organization that focuses on preventing extremism, supports several centers that have so far assisted around 6,000 returnees.
According to the fund’s Kevin Osborne, the centers provide services such as psychosocial support and vocational training.
But the growing number of returnees requires “expanded support to adequately prepare communities and enable smooth, sustainable reintegration,” Osborne said.
Noran Mahmood, of the GCREF-supported Iraqi Institution for Development, said many returnees fear “society’s refusal” to welcome them, as if having spent time in Al-Hol is a “disgrace.”
Her organization in Mosul provides counselling for the many returnees who suffer from depression, insomnia and anxiety.
Rahaf, 24, is one of the many women receiving help after years of accumulated trauma.
With the organization’s assistance, she achieved her long-held dream of furthering her education, enrolling in middle school.
“I feel successful,” she said. “I want to become a lawyer or a teacher.”
Egypt says Israel-EU agreement has not increased aid to Gaza

- “There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,” Safadi said
- Israel’s continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity
BRUSSELS: Egypt’s foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.
“Nothing has changed (on the ground),” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.
The EU’s top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.
Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.
Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains “catastrophic.”
“There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,” he said.
Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was “far from being sufficient” for the besieged enclave.
EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday’s meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.
Israel’s continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.
Lebanese army shuts illegal crossings along border with Syria

- The routes had become havens for human trafficking, smuggling drugs, weapons
- Army using mounds of earth, rocks to stop vehicles, source says
BEIRUT: A patrol from the Lebanese army and the Intelligence Directorate on Monday closed several smuggling routes in Masharih Al-Qaa, a region between Lebanon and Syria that lacks clearly defined borders.
A Lebanese military source said the area was used for smuggling goods, fuel and people and that the army head “erected dirt mounds and rocks to prevent the passage of vehicles and motorcycles.”
The border between Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic stretches about 375 km and runs through towns, villages and mountainous regions. The Lebanese government estimates there to be 136 illegal crossing points, of which more than half are in the Bekaa region.
A shortage of personnel and surveillance equipment means many of these areas are vulnerable to criminal activity, including human trafficking and the smuggling of weapons, drugs and other goods.
These open borders have served the interests of Hezbollah and Palestinian factions allied with Syria. Over the years, Hezbollah has established its own border crossings and helped protect others used by smugglers from its support base.
Palestinian factions also established their border posts, which served as channels for weapons and people. Dismantling them was the first task undertaken by the Lebanese army in implementing the policy of confining weapons to the hands of the state.
The army on Sunday denied claims made on social media that armed men had entered Lebanon from Syria via the eastern mountain range and that it had withdrawn from border areas in the Bekaa.
Military units “continue to carry out their routine missions to control the Lebanese-Syrian border, while also monitoring the internal security situation to prevent any breach,” it said.
It also appealed for “accuracy in reporting news related to the army and the security situation, to act responsibly and to refrain from spreading rumors that lead to tension among citizens.”
Since the regime change in Syria, several meetings between the two countries have been held to improve coordination on border security.
On March 28, Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra, signed an agreement in Jeddah regarding border demarcation and the strengthening of security coordination. This came in the wake of violent clashes between the Syrian army and groups affiliated with Hezbollah along the border earlier in the month.
The issue of undefined borders dates back to the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, when France was granted the mandate over the two countries and drew the borders in a vague and incomplete manner. Some parts were demarcated in 1934, but large areas remained undefined. The Syrian regime later refused to officially recognize Lebanon as an independent state and considered it part of “Greater Syria.”
Kuwait expresses solidarity
On Monday, the Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
He said that Lebanon “will remain Lebanon” and that the “arms issue will be resolved soon.”
He also affirmed Kuwait’s support for Lebanon “in all areas, especially security cooperation” and called for activating the work of the Kuwaiti-Lebanese Higher Joint Committee to explore avenues for assisting Lebanon.
The president’s media office said Aoun told the Kuwaiti minister of the “importance of coordination to address common challenges, particularly in terms of security cooperation to combat drug smuggling and anything that threatens security in both countries.”
Lebanese army destroys major captagon and crystal meth lab, seals off tunnel

- Forces seize ‘huge quantity’ of narcotics from the manufacturing facility in the town of Yammoune in the Baalbek region
- 10 tonnes of equipment used by the lab destroyed or dismantled; 300m entrance tunnel and storage area filled in
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army has dismantled what it described as one of the largest captagon pill-manufacturing labs discovered to date in Yammoune in the Baalbek region of eastern Lebanon. Army chiefs said on Monday that forces raided the facility 24 hours earlier.
“After the Intelligence Directorate obtained information about a major captagon pill lab in the town of Yammoune, a patrol from the directorate, supported by a unit from the army, carried out a raid on the lab,” it said.
“The personnel dismantled the equipment and machinery used, weighing about 10 tonnes, and destroyed part of it.”
The patrol also “seized a huge quantity of captagon pills, crystal meth, and various other narcotic substances.”
Army chiefs added: “The lab contained a tunnel used for entry and exit, and army personnel brought in a bulldozer and filled in the tunnel, which was approximately 300 meters long.” The tunnel was “also used to store part of the lab’s equipment.”
The statement did not reveal who was operating the lab or whether anyone was arrested during the raid.
“The seized materials are now in the custody of the security agencies,” it said. “An investigation has begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary, and efforts are ongoing to arrest those involved.”
One killed as Iraqi Kurds protest power cuts

- Residents in the Rawandz region said protesters had taken to the streets and blocked a main highway leading to a border crossing with Iran
- Security forces intervened to open the road, leading to clashes, they said, with the demonstrations ending shortly after
IRBIL: A man was killed in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region late Sunday during protests against power cuts, residents and a medical source told AFP.
Residents in the Rawandz region, northeast of Kurdistan’s capital Irbil, said protesters had taken to the streets and blocked a main highway leading to a border crossing with Iran.
Security forces intervened to open the road, leading to clashes, they said, with the demonstrations ending shortly after.
A source at the area’s Ashti hospital said “the body of a man who was killed by gunshot arrived at the hospital,” with locals saying he was involved in the protests.
The circumstances around the shooting were not immediately known, but a protester told AFP that “security forces shot” his relative, a 45-year-old father of 10.
The region’s interior ministry also said on Monday that “clashes during the protest” had resulted in one civilian death, adding it would launch a probe into the incident.
The northern region of Kurdistan has long promoted itself as a haven of relative stability in an otherwise volatile Iraq.
Last week, regional authorities announced that more than 30 percent of the Kurdistan region now had 24-hour, state-provided electricity.
However, vast areas still suffer from long power cuts, forcing many households to rely on private generators.
Despite Iraq’s abundant oil and gas reserves, years of conflict have devastated its infrastructure.
The national grid struggles to meet demand, leaving most areas reliant on imported energy — mostly from neighboring Iran — and subject to frequent power cuts, especially during the blistering summer.