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China’s arrest of 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, nabbed as they tried to flee the city by boat in the face of an intensifying crackdown on dissent, is fueling a new war of words between Washington and Beijing.

On Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Twitter that the people detained weren’t seeking democratic freedoms but “elements attempting to separate Hong Kong from China.” Other Chinese officials this weekend accused the U.S. of meddling in China’s internal affairs.

U.S. State Department officials on Friday called on China to ensure that the activists receive due process of law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the group had been denied access to lawyers and said China had yet to say what charges they face or to provide information about their welfare.

The detentions have rattled nerves in Hong Kong, where many were already on edge after China imposed a new national security law on June 30, leading to more than a dozen arrests, many opposition voices to fall silent and some to flee abroad.

China’s handling of the case has rekindled fears about the mainland’s opaque legal system—one of the main drivers of mass protests in Hong Kong last year that ultimately led to China’s crackdown.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16487/iran-nuclear-cooperation

This effort [lifting the arms embargo on Iran] has prompted Iran to launch a diplomatic offensive to have the arms embargo lifted, a move that would allow Tehran to increase its ability to supply arms to terror groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, as well as the Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting US-backed coalition forces

“Iran is desperate to get the arms embargo lifted at the UN, and so has decided to cooperate with the IAEA to improve relations with the UN,” a senior Western diplomat who is familiar with the negotiations told me. “Tehran believes that if it cooperates with the UN, there is a greater possibility that the arms embargo will not be renewed.”

As a senior Gulf official… told me earlier this week, lifting the ban would simply allow Iran to continue arming terror groups in the Middle East. “If the ban is lifted, then we are going to see a lot more bloodshed in the region,” the official warned.

Iran’s belated offer to allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit two controversial nuclear sites should be seen as nothing more than a stunt to get the international ban on arms sales to Tehran lifted.

Washington is fighting attempts by the UN Security Council to lift the arms embargo on Iran, a document that dates back to 2007, and comes up for renewal next month.

This effort has prompted Iran to launch a diplomatic offensive to have the arms embargo lifted, a move that would allow Tehran to increase its ability to supply arms to terror groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, as well as the Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting US-backed coalition forces.

As part of the Iranian campaign, Tehran has reached a deal with the UN-sponsored International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based organization responsible for monitoring global nuclear issues, to allow inspectors to visit two controversial sites that are suspected of being part of Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

The IAEA has been in a dispute with Iran over Tehran’s refusal to allow inspectors to visit the sites following suspicions that they have been involved in activity related to Iran’s nuclear programme that has not been declared to the UN body.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16504/hamas-destroy-lebanon

During Haniyeh’s tour of Ain al-Hilweh, he said that the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip “possesses missiles to strike Tel Aviv and beyond Tel Aviv.”

Arab political analysts…. also believe that Iran is preparing to use its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, to target Arab countries that establish relations with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

“Who is this Ismail Haniyeh, who comes to Lebanon and flexes his muscles in the [refugee] camps while surrounded by armed men…. No one in our government has asked what is he doing here and who let him into our country.” — Rita Mokbel, a Lebanese woman, Twitter, September 7, 2020.

“Lebanon is an independent state and not a theater for Iran and the Palestinians.” — Lebanese General Asraf Rifi, Twitter, September 7, 2020.

“Syria paid a heavy price for defending Hamas and the resistance movements, and they returned the favor by plotting against Syria and participating in its destruction. This is what the school of the Muslim Brotherhood and [Turkish President] Erdogan teaches.” — Wiam Wahhab, former Lebanese minister of environment, Twitter, September 7, 2020.

The visit of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to Lebanon has sparked outrage in the country. Many Lebanese citizens and officials have expressed the fear that his presence in their country could trigger another war with Israel. Their fear does not seem unjustified. The Lebanese are aware of the disasters Hamas has brought on its people in the Gaza Strip by firing rockets into Israel. The Lebanese are telling Hamas: “If you want to launch terror attacks against Israel, please do not use our country. We are not prepared to pay the price.”

The Lebanese have also objected to the return to Lebanon of armed Palestinian groups. The Lebanese appear afraid that Hamas is operating on instructions from Iran to turn Lebanon into a launching pad for firing missiles at Israel. The Lebanese remember the days in the 70s and 80s when the PLO and other Palestinian armed factions controlled Lebanon and used its territories to launch terror attacks against Israel, its neighbor to the south.