Hizbollah has tirelessly sought to turn Lebanon into a marionette of its paymasters in Iran. AFP Photo / Mahmoud Zayyar
Hizbollah has tirelessly sought to turn Lebanon into a marionette of its paymasters in Iran. AFP Photo / Mahmoud Zayyar

Squeezing Hizbollah and its paymasters in Iran can only result in relief for their victims



Hizbollah has spilled blood with impunity for more than three decades. Rising to prominence by ruthlessly exploiting the grievances of ordinary people and skilfully filling the gaps in social services created by a state ravaged by Israeli occupation, it has tirelessly sought to turn Lebanon, the land of its birth, into a marionette of its paymaster, Iran. Despite its power, however, Hizbollah does not speak for Lebanon, which is a rich mosaic of multiple communities that yearn to be free of the toxic influence of Iran and its agents in their country’s affairs.

As these pages recently warned, the absence of awareness about Lebanon's complex communal reality permits self-serving powers such as Israel to portray the whole country, rather a single militia based inside it, as a threat. This is a pitfall that the US House of Representatives did well to avoid when it voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass a series of sanctions against Hizbollah. These sanctions, which must now be ratified by the US Senate before they are signed into law by President Donald Trump, are wide-ranging. They target Hizbollah's use of civilians as defensive shields, designating the practice as a war crime; reinforce measures introduced in 2015 to disrupt its finances, obliging the President to update Congress annually on the estimated worth of the militia's leaders, including its general secretary, Hassan Nasrallah; and, finally, they urge the European Union, which currently lists only the outfit's "military wing" as a terrorist entity, to blacklist all of Hizbollah as a terrorist organisation.s a rich mosaic of multiple communities that yearn to be free of the toxic influence of Iran and its agents in their country's affairs.

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There is an implicit recognition in the three separate bills, which received bipartisan support, of the distinction between Hizbollah and Lebanon at large. Choking the former can only result in relief for the latter. The chief target of these sanctions, of course, is Iran – the wellspring of terror that is the focus of President Trump's revised security strategy for the Middle East. By refusing to re-certify the nuclear deal with Tehran, President Trump effectively put Congress on notice: either they come up with legislation to corral Iran, or he withdraws the US from the deal. Critics balked. But the tactic has yielded results. Congress has acted.

A fourth bill, scheduled to go to the floor on Thursday, is designed to curb Iran's ballistic missile programme, specifically to stop Tehran "from undertaking any activity related to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles". If passed, the legislation could have severe consequences for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp, which has an outsize role in the development of Tehran's ballistic missiles. The nuclear deal was flawed from the beginning, its (practical) rewards for Iran wildly incommensurate with the (theoretical) concessions required of it. It has resulted in a richer and bolder Iran flexing its muscles across the region, literally handing bags of cash to Hizbollah. Legislation that can constrain and contain Tehran's overlords and their proxies can only be good for the Middle East and the wider world.

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VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

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Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

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Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
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Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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Hobbies: his work  - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

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5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.

6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security

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1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

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Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
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