E3 'snapback' reimposes sanctions on Iran, IAEA chief under special protection and the French government teeters

This week as we continue to bury "strategic autonomy" under an avalanche of geopolitics, we can observe as Europe and its coalition of the gravely concerned teeters yet again. France is on the brink of a government collapse once more while Germany still continues to sort out its national security and defense planning, lacking both the will and the facilities to do so. The politics of the Middle East is never so far away as the E3 of France, Germany and the UK began to reimpose all pre-2015 sanctions on Tehran in what is known as the "snapback" mechanism.

Are purse strings enough to pull Europe and the world we know back from the brink? Putin seems to not think so as Kyiv and Ukraine were pounded with barrage after barrage this past week. Not so long ago, there was a meeting in the far-off land of Alaska where Western leaders' capacity to express a desire for a cease-fire, like strategic autonomy, died. But did anyone come closer to waking up to reality? Perhaps the nicest thing that can be said is at least no one spoke of looking into anyone's eyes and seeing their soul. But where is the European soul other than returning from the beach, perhaps, as August comes to a close in the face of all these challenges?

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VIENNA, AUSTRIA – 'E3' of France, Germany and the UK begin to reimpose Iran sanctions

Le Monde reports Thursday that the E3 of France, Germany and the UK "started a process" to reimpose all pre-2015 sanctions on Iran known as the "snapback" mechanism as the country has failed to meet certain criteria during inspections.
While Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, there are questions that remain over Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium after the 12-day war with Israel which saw US bombers attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
The snapback mechanism would "freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program, among other measures". The move was "designed to be veto-proof at the UN".

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Police protection for IAEA head as 'snapback' of Iran sanctions looms

The AP reports Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "is receiving special police protection from Austria following a threat".
Grossi is currently being protected by an Austria police unit known as the "Cobra unit," that typically deals with counterterrorism, hostage rescue, mass shootings and high-level diplomatic protection.
Grossi has said he has plans to run for UN Secretary General.

PARIS, FRANCE – Prime Minister seeks confidence vote, opening door to political crisis

Reuters and The New York Times report French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou opened the door to a political crisis Monday when he announced plans to call for a confidence vote on September 8 after "his deeply unpopular debt-reduction plan backfired" spectacularly.
The move was "unexpected" and sent markets tumbling and borrowing costs soaring out of fear of a "looming debt crisis" as opposition parties "said they would relish the opportunity to cut short his minority government's time in office."
Hold fast: French Finance Minister Eric Lombard said there was still hope "to reach a last-minute deal with the opposition" but both the far left and far right "made clear that was unlikely to happen." Far left stalwart and friend of Russia Jean-Luc Melenchon went so far as to say "President Emmanuel Macrom himself should leave." The BBC notes if Bayrou loses the vote, he "will be expected to resign," once again leaving the country "rudderless at a time of immense economic, social and geopolitical uncertainty." Good times.

PARIS, FRANCE – US ambassador summoned over letter expressing antisemitism concerns

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release last Sunday that it would summon the newly installed US ambassador, Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump, Monday for a dressing down over a letter Kushner wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron expressing concern over antisemitism and "an alleged lack of sufficient action by French authorities to combat it."
In the release, the French ministry said "The rise in anti-Semitic acts in France" following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 is "a reality that we deplore," asserting that "the French authorities are demonstrating total mobilization". The ministry said Kushner's letter was not "of the quality of the transatlantic relationship between France and the United States". Before becoming US ambassador to France, Kushner was a real estate developer convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering – crimes to which he plead guilty and served two years for in a federal prison in Alabama. He was later pardoned by then US President Donald Trump in December 2020. Tuesday's Politico Brussels Playbook reported Kushner was a no-show Monday at the ministry and the chargé d'affaires (or Deputy Chief of Mission assuming Kushner is in France at the moment?) went instead.
Alas, Kushner was not the only top US diplomat summoned by by the host government of a friendly European ally this past week. Denmark also summoned Mark Stroh, the US chargé d'affaires, over alleged influence operations targeting Danish territory Greenland, the BBC reports.

PARIS, FRANCE – Italian ambassador summoned after Salvini insults Macron on Ukraine

Reuters and Euronews report last Saturday that the Italian ambassador to France Emanuela D'Alessandro was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry last Friday after Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini insulted French President Emmanuel Macron over his suggestion that "European soldiers be deployed in Ukraine in a post-war settlement."
Salvini had insulted Macron with "a Milanese dialect phrase" that "loosely translates as 'get lost'." Salvini told reporters earlier in the week in comments directed at Macron, "Put your helmet on, your jacket, your rifle and you go to Ukraine". Morir pour Ukraine?
Citing a diplomatic source, Reuters reports, "The ambassador was reminded that these remarks ran counter to the climate of trust and the historical relationship" between the two countries, especially when it comes to "unwavering support for Ukraine".

PORTÉ-PUYMORENS, FRANCE – Park manager detained for refusing Israeli children entry

Le Monde and the AP report last Friday that the manager of an amusement park, Tyrovol zipline amusement park, in the French Pyrénées was detained the day before after he refused a group if 150 young Israeli tourists entry citing his "personal convictions" before offering other explanations.
The man was detained last Thursday, the same day as the incident, for "discrimination based on religion," prosecutors in Perpignan said. The mayor of Porté-Puymorens, a town of roughly 100 people in the French Pyrénées said the incident caused "utter astonishment" among local residents.
The group of children aged 8 to 16 were refused entry despite having made a reservation in advance by the manager who had no criminal record but nonetheless faces up to three years in prison "if he is charged with discrimination based on religion while providing a service." After being refused entry, the group changed their plans and traveled to another site in France on three buses "with security ensured by the gendarmerie," according to French prosecutors.

SAINT-CLOUD, FRANCE – Irish rap trio accused of supporting Hezbollah in the UK performs

Agence France Presse reports the controversial Irish rap trio Kneecap, "one of whose members faces a British terror charge for allegedly supporting Hezbollah," performed last Sunday at the Rock en Seine festival over objections from French government officials and Jewish community leaders.
The local municipality withdrew €40,000 ($47,000) in subsidies for the festival and the Ile-de-France region also cancelled financial support after organizers backed the Northern Ireland rap act's performance, which "has turned concerts into political events." Despite the withdrawal of public funds, "the moves do not jeopardize the viability of the festival."
In May, Liam O'Hanna who performs as Mo Chara was charged in England over the display of a Hezbollah flag at a London concert last November. In June, the act played Glastonbury where O'Hanna/Chara declared "Israel are war criminals." The group was barred from entering Hungary to perform at the Sziget Festival.

PARIS, FRANCE – France returns skulls, including of king, to Madagascar in ceremony

Al Jazeera English reports the French Ministry of Culture handed over three human skulls Tuesday that "were looted during the colonial period" and kept in a French museum for 128 years, "including one believed to be that of a Madagascar king decapitated by French troops."
The skulls are believed to belong to King Toera as well as two skulls belonging to individuals from the Sakalava ethnic group. France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati said, "These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence".
A joint scientific committee was able to confirm the two skulls belonging to the Sakalava ethnic group but was only able to "presume" the third was that of King Toera. Museums around the world, including from countries such as Argentina and Australia, have filed restitution claims for ancestral remains currently at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris which has 10,000 specimens of skulls and skeletons from around the world.

MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY – Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream2 blast taken into custody

The New York Times and Reuters report German authorities announced Italian authorities arrested a Ukrainian national identified only as Serhii K. in accordance with strict German privacy laws, the alleged "mastermind" of the Baltic underwater blast that took out the Nordstream2 pipeline in September 2022, at a "holiday bungalow" in the small seaside resort town of Misano Adriatico last Thursday.
In a statement, German Justice Minister Stefan Hubig said, "The federal prosecutor's office has achieved a very impressive success: it has identified and arrested a suspected mastermind" as prosecutors believe Serhii K. coordinated the bombing with divers who charted a sailboat from Rostock using a shell company and fake documents.
A spokeswoman for Germany's federal prosecutor's office Ines Peterson said it would likely take "some time" before the suspect is extradited, arraigned and indicted before trial.

LAMPEDUSA, ITALY – Three Sudanese sisters found drowned at sea aboard migrant boat

The AP reports a German migrant rescue boat belonging to NGO RESQSHIP said last Sunday it had recovered the bodies of three Sudanese sisters found drowned at sea early Saturday after the makeshift vessel they were attempting to cross the Mediterranean in took in water.
The three girls aged 9, 11 and 17 years old are survived by their mother and brother who were brought ashore to the Italian island of Lampedusa along with approximately 63 other individuals. "Pregnant women and many children" were among those rescued along with nationals of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Mali and Sudan.
Their "green rubber dinghy" reportedly left Zuwara, western Libya earlier last Friday before partially deflating and taking in water.

PALERMO, ITALY – Professor's antisemitic posts draw ire of university, minister

Israel's Ynet News reports that at the University of Palermo in Sicily, Luca Nivarra, "drew sharp political condemnation" after he wrote a series of messages on Facebook Tuesday to "unfriend all Jewish 'friends,' even the 'good' ones".
Nivarra called this a "small but significant step" to ensure Jewish people "feel alone, isolated and forced to confront the monstrosity they are complicit in," namely a "Palestinian Holocaust." Ynet notes this "was not an isolated outburst."
The dean of the university, Massimo Midiri, moved to distance his institution from the professor's remarks calling Nivarra's statements "a personally and culturally dangerous initiative," adding he risks "fueling the very dynamics he claims to oppose." Italy's University and Research Minister Anna Maria Bernini also condemned the comments, stating the comments were not just disrespectful towards Jewish people "but everyone who upholds values of respect and civil conduct".

BERLIN, GERMANY – Cabinet approves military selective service registry

Politico reports the cabinet of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz approved "a sweeping reform of military service" Wednesday to include a selective service registry for young men when they turn 18 years old while keeping military service voluntary or professional for the time being.
While the proposal in the draft bill sounds similar to the US for now, reportedly Merz's party, the Christian Democrats, "are preparing to reopen the debate" about conscription and plans to introduce changes to the bill when it is up for debate from October 8-10. Under the current draft of the legislation, the Bundestag would have to approve compulsory military service but the Christian Democrats want to see conscription reintroduced "if recruitment targets are missed."
Meanwhile Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius however has warned of "practical bottlenecks," citing the lack of barracks and training capacity currently. Pistorius was present at the opening of Rheinmetall's new munitions factory, Europe's largest, in Lower Saxony Thursday, DW reports.

BERLIN, GERMANY – Teen convicted of supporting Taylor Swift Vienna concert attack plot

The AP reports a 16-year-old teenager, Mohammad A., was convicted in a Berlin court Tuesday "of preparing a serious act of violence and supporting a terrorist act of violence abroad" for his contact via social media with an Austrian man plotting to attack Taylor Swift's concert in Vienna last summer.
The teen was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months. At the age of 14 he sent bomb making instructions to his acquaintance and arranged contact with a member of the so-called Islamic state. During the closed-door trial, due to the fact that he is a minor, the teen is alleged to have made a "comprehensive confession".
Three Taylor Swift concerts were cancelled last August after the plot was detected, with Austrian authorities making three arrests.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – American man charged with offering information to China

The AP reports that an American man identified only as Martin D. in accordance with strict German privacy laws was indicted on espionage charges Monday for allegedly offering information to China following his arrest last November.
The indictment was sent to state court in Koblenz earlier this month. He previously worked for a US Defense Department civilian contractor from 2017 until 2023 and at "an unidentified US military facility in Germany from at least 2020". Politico notes at the time of his arrest, the case drew international headlines and he has remained in pre-trial detention since then.
The man stands accused of "contacting Chinese authorities repeatedly in the summer of 2024" and offering "sensitive US military information to Chinese intelligence." Reports in German media indicate that he apparently failed in his quest and was not able to transmit any information to Chinese authorities prior to his arrest. Bravo, a failed traitor.

DRESDEN, GERMANY – American man stabbed after intervening in tram harassment

Deutsche Welle and The New York Post report 21 year old American John Rudat was stabbed on a tram after midnight in the early hours of Sunday after he attempted to intervene as two men harassed female tram passengers in the eastern German city of Dresden.
Police released a 21-year-old Syrian national after taking him into custody Sunday. The Post later reported Rudat was attacked by "a well known local thug and drug dealer" whose "accomplice came back and stabbed the EMT." The incident took place on a visit "with his former foreign exchange host family". On Tuesday the suspect was reportedly rearrested and placed in pre-trial detention.
The New York Post published images purporting to show the blood-splattered interior of the tram where the incident occurred before following up with pictures of Rudat in the hospital. German tabloid Bild has also given column inches to the story and The Independent notes Rudat is "echoing rhetoric used by President Donald Trump".

BERLIN, GERMANY – Germany to lift months-old ban on entry of vulnerable Afghans

Reuters reports Germany announced Tuesday plans to lift a months-old ban on the entry of approximately 2,000 vulnerable Afghans it had "pledged to admit," who have been waiting in limbo in Pakistan.
The ban was put in place by the interior ministry and halted a process of individual security checks on Afghans approved for resettlement to Germany. It was flipped due to litigation from rights groups and individual Afghans. An interior ministry official said only those "with binding admission approvals will be allowed in after security checks".
Pakistan has said it plans to expel Afghan refugees starting on September 1 after Iran made similar moves earlier this summer, putting additional pressure on individual Afghans there awaiting resettlement to Germany.

WUPPERTAL, GERMANY – Arson suspected in railway track switches fire

Deutsche Welle reports police are investigating a suspected arson attack after a fire "affected trackside cables" in the western German city of Wuppertal last Friday.
The cables were "cut and set alight deliberately" according to German rail operator Deutsche Bahn with state security brought in to investigate, citing the fact that the fire appeared to be "fueled by an accelerant."
The fire is one of a series of recent incidents in the North Rhine Westphalia region targeting the rail network.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Two nights of riots after teenager dies during police chase

Swissinfo reports Lausanne's Prélaz district experienced two nights of rioting which led to seven arrests on the second night after a 17-year-old teenager died while being pursued by police on a stolen scooter in the early hours of Sunday.
On Sunday night, "a gathering of around a hundred young people" took to the streets near where the teenager died from around 10 pm until 1 am, with fireworks aimed at police officers before police were able to suppress the gathering. On Monday night, "Between 150 and 200 people, some wearing balaclavas, again set up road blocks" and "At around 10:50 pm," some young people in a nearby quarter "set fire to some containers and heavily damaged a city bus." Police "were met with stones, construction barriers, mortars, Molotov cocktails and fireworks" before they suppressed the gathering using "four shots of rubber rounds and 54 shots of tear gas grenades." A water cannon was also deployed around midnight.
On Monday the attorney general's office investigation into the Lausanne police revealed "systemic racism" that led to the dismissal of four officers after racist, antisemitic, homophobic and sexist messages were shared in a group chat. One image denigrating a Nigerian man who died in a police operation in 2018 proved particularly incendiary once it his Swiss media, Swissinfo reports.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – HSBC's Swiss private bank to cull Middle East clients over risk

The Financial Times reports HSBC's Swiss private bank will cull 1,000 Middle Eastern clients from Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia under regulatory pressure from Swiss banking watchdog Finma.
HSBC designates clients with more than 100 million Swiss francs ($124.7 million) to be considered "high risk" and requiring of greater due diligence.
Last month, HSBC revealed that regulators in France and Switzerland were investigating "two historical banking relationships".

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Bank fined, ex-employee sentenced over 'Lava Jato' Petrobras case

Swissinfo reports the bank J. Safra Sarasin was fined 3.5 million CHF (€372 million or $4.3 million) last Friday for "aggravated money laundering" by the office of the attorney general of Switzerland and paid a settlement of 16 million CHF to Petrobras.
Additionally, a former employee received a six-month suspended sentence in the "Lava Jato" case tied to Brazilian oil giant Petrobras. The case against the bank was opened in 2018, after a former asset manager and "unknown persons" were involved in the "suspected complicity in the bribery of foreign public officials and aggravated money laundering" from November 2011 until July 2014. The Swiss bank was the intermediary by which payments were made from ten oil and construction companies to Petrobras senior executives.
Two other Swiss banks, Pictet and PKB Privatbank, were also fined in the case that hit Brazilian media in 2014.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – UNRWA Chief announces he will step down in March

Swissinfo reports Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Rellef and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) announced he will step down after two terms in March at the Press Club in Geneva last Friday.
Lazzarini said he will "do what is necessary" until then after 350 UNRWA employees, "some accused of being members of Hamas," have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Lazzarini has served as UNRWA chief since 2020 after a career in the humanitarian and conflict resolution sector for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and various UN agencies, though "his mission at the head of UNRWA was undoubtedly the most exposed."

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – Slovenia signs MoU with Palestinian foreign minister

Turkish-state run Anadolu Agency reports Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Agabekyan Shahin signed a memoranda of understanding to "set up a formal framework for systematic dialogue, regular political consultations, and practical cooperation" with Slovenia Monday.
Agabekyan Shahin was in Ljubljana on her first official visit to the country at the invitation of Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state. Fajon also called for "an immediate and lasting cease-fire, the release of all hostages, rapid and safe delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and strengthened efforts toward the realization of a two-state solution".
Agabekyan Shahin is a Christian of Armenian origin with the Palestinian Authority, the Fatah-controlled government that controls much of the West Bank.

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