Post-Iran crisis: A full agenda for Trump and Netanyahu
So, what's on the global agenda? Over the coming weeks, I'd concentrate on a few areas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu visits Washington early this week, and his top aides have been in town for days preparing. Top of mind is Gaza, where a ceasefire could be closer than it's been in months.
The situation in Gaza is horrific. This is a war that must end, and end soon. But ending a war is far harder than starting one — a lesson Hamas has learned. Israel also has failed to define a future for Gaza without Hamas, still its core demand in ongoing talks.
It is impossible to responsibly answer how this war ends without fully grappling with October 7, 2023, and Hamas' decision to invade Israel, slaughter 1,200 innocent people, and take more than 250 hostages (living and dead) back to its tunnels in Gaza.
Since then, Hamas has had one consistent demand in exchange for the release of the hostages: Israel must guarantee a 'permanent ceasefire' against Hamas while the group still controls Gaza and rearms, effectively returning to the status quo before the attack. Israel has rejected that demand, and in return, demands that a permanent ceasefire means Hamas must relinquish control of Gaza for good.
That is the intractable crux, and it's remained so during nearly two years of this terrible war.
In the Biden administration, I helped lead talks with Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Unable to resolve this fundamental gap in positions, we developed a phased process whereby Hamas would release the most vulnerable hostages — children, women, elderly and wounded — in exchange for temporary ceasefires and the release by Israel of an agreed set of Palestinian prisoners.
The ceasefire would continue so long as talks were ongoing in good faith over post-conflict arrangements in Gaza.
These phased deals have resulted in the release of nearly 150 living hostages from Gaza. There are now believed to be 20 live hostages left there. This past January, after months of painstaking talks and after Hamas' ally Hezbollah in Lebanon had cut its own deal and left Hamas isolated, both Hamas and Israel agreed to a three-stage roadmap to end the war for good.
More than 80 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday, according to health officials, as Israel intensified its strikes, hitting a school-turned-displacement facility. CNN's Paula Hancocks looks at the damage and humanitarian toll. That deal had earlier been endorsed by the UN Security Council, and it required that 'conditions' be set for a permanent end to the war in later stages. That was understood to mean Hamas would need to relinquish its authority to allow Gaza to be rehabilitated with international support, as few are likely to support the reconstruction of Gaza with Hamas still in control.
Unfortunately, Hamas used the promising ceasefire earlier this year to come out of its tunnels in a show of force. After six weeks of calm without a shot fired, during which more than 10,000 trucks of humanitarian aid reached those in desperate need, the ceasefire broke down after its first 42-day phase.
The war has since escalated, even as efforts to secure the release of hostages through a deal have continued.
Today, there is new momentum toward a deal, structured along the same lines as the Biden framework. Under this proposal, Hamas would release 10 living hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and parallel release of Palestinian prisoners. If talks are ongoing at the end of that period for the final set of hostages, as well as conditions necessary for a final settlement, the ceasefire would continue.
On July 1, Trump announced that Israel accepted this proposal. Hamas spent the week studying it, while also coming under tremendous pressure from Egypt and Qatar to give an unqualified yes. On July 4, Hamas gave its response, which appears to be a 'yes, but,' with an offer of further talks to clarify where Israeli forces will deploy during the 60-day ceasefire, the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in the deal, and modes of humanitarian aid delivery.
Unfortunately, this means a war that could have stopped last week will now continue as Hamas' remaining leaders — living either underground in Gaza or in comfort outside of it — insist on haggling over details as the people they purport to represent live in the most horrific conditions imaginable.
Talks over these final details are now set to resume this week in Doha, Qatar. We should all hope these talks succeed, because they offer the only way to free the remaining hostages and to end the war in Gaza anytime soon.
In fact, unlike the January deal, where the ceasefire broke down after a first phase, now conditions are set to continue the ceasefire after 60 days and perhaps end the war for good.
That is because most of Hamas' militant leaders are dead, and Israel is in a remarkably strong position following its successful military operation in Iran last month.
This allows Israel to wind down the war from a position of strength and with no serious risk of another October 7. Trump will no doubt press Netanyahu to make reasonable compromises, while also pushing the emir of Qatar to deliver Hamas, which as of right now — and consistently throughout this conflict — is the main obstacle to a deal that will stop the war.
Even as the assessments are ongoing about the extent of damage to Iran's nuclear program, a long-term solution will demand some form of a diplomatic arrangement.
This is primarily for two reasons:
First, as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, Iran has an obligation to account for and 'safeguard' all its nuclear material. That includes the stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that may or may not be buried in the caverns of the bombed Fordow facility.
While Iran's parliament has passed a law to sever ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency, its government has made clear it remains a member of the NPT and will continue to deal with the international agency through its Supreme Council for National Security, a rough equivalent to the National Security Council in the US.
Should Iran refuse such cooperation, then France and the UK have authority to 'snap back' all UN and international sanctions between now and October. That is something Iran's fledgling economy cannot afford.
Second, if Iran wants to avoid the risk of further Israeli or American strikes, it will need to reach an agreement on whatever remains of its enrichment program. Before Israel's 12-day conflict with Iran, the US was prepared to accept enrichment by Tehran below 5% and aboveground pending the establishment of a regional fuel bank consortium where Iran would be a member with access to nuclear fuel for a civilian program, but unable to enrich entirely on its own.
Iran did not accept that deal, and today the terms will surely be less favorable: no enrichment even for a temporary period or else face the risk of further strikes and international sanctions.
Despite predictions that American strikes would render diplomacy impossible, Iran in fact is saying it's prepared to engage the American side once again, and I'd expect those talks to start soon.
Given Iran's leadership losses, it may have a difficult time reaching decisions that will be necessary to forge an agreement of any kind. With the threat of the snapback procedure, however, which I've explained in this earlier essay, the table is being set for negotiations with a deadline later this year.
The aim between now and then will be deal that permanently forecloses the possibility of Iran developing nuclear arms.
Before October 7, 2023, the trend line in the Middle East was toward broader regional integration, economic cooperation and peace. In fact, on the day prior, an official Saudi delegation was in my office at the White House discussing parameters for an agreement to recognize Israel.
That agreement promised to build on the Abraham Accords, and set the conditions for a longer-term regional peace, including between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Palestinians (separate from Hamas and other terrorist groups) were part of this process and poised to reap significant gains from a Saudi pact. A senior Saudi official had just visited Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, for the first time since 1967. And on September 9, less than one month before October 7, the G20 nations endorsed an integrated trade, energy and technology ship-to-rail corridor known as IMEC — connecting India through the Gulf, Jordan, Israel (with future linkages into the West Bank), and from there into Europe.
Hamas and its Iranian-backed allies derailed this promising agenda, but they did not reverse it. Ties between Israel and Abraham Accord countries such as the United Arab Emirates remain strong, and there is broad desire to return to an affirmative agenda once the war in Gaza subsides and a lasting ceasefire is in place. Israel's impressive military and intelligence successes make this trend more probable over time, as countries look to gain from its defense and technology sectors to further their own defense and economic growth.
In a sign of how much has changed since October 7, and not in the manner Hamas and Iran intended, two new candidates for peace with Israel include Lebanon and Syria.
Lebanon is formally in a state of war with Israel, but following Hezbollah's defeat last year, the country is setting a different trajectory. The new government in Beirut, led by the former Chief of Defense Joseph Aoun, aims to keep Hezbollah from re-arming and to finally resolving through negotiations demarcation of Lebanon's land border with Israel.
That might pave the way toward diplomatic relations between the two countries, effectively ending a conflict that has lasted over 75 years.
In Syria, the situation is more head-spinning.
Last fall, after the defeat of Hezbollah and a US-mediated ceasefire in Lebanon, the long-standing Iranian ally Bashar al Assad fled to Moscow as his regime collapsed. The new president of Syria is Ahmed al-Sharaa, once the head of an extremist rebel group with ties to al Qaeda.
I was the White House's Middle East lead when that happened, and pushed to engage with Sharaa, as our paramount interest was to give this new Syria a chance, albeit with our eyes wide open as to the risks
Since then, Sharaa has said and, for the most part, done what is needed to return Syria into a broader regional fold without threatening any of its neighbors, including Israel. He has forged deals with the Kurdish-led forces in the northeast, embraced ties with Arab capitals, and assured the United States of his intentions enough to secure needed relief from crippling sanctions.
Today, Israel is in backchannel talks with Syria, and there may be an opening for more formal talks leading to a possible nonaggression pact. No doubt, such an arrangement will be difficult given decades of mistrust, tensions between Israel and Turkey, and the need for Syria to compromise on Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
But even the possibility shows the new potential in the region. Whereas Syria and Lebanon were once the main corridors for Iranian arms and militias to reach and threaten Israel, now both countries are in talks with Israel to forge a border rational peace.
For Israel, if it wishes to truly translate military success into lasting strategic gains, there is nothing more important than this regional agenda of integration, including with Saudi Arabia, which is still possible to achieve within Trump's second term.
This will require a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and a political horizon on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, both of which will demand American diplomacy and facilitation with all parties.
So, if there is one longer-term item on the agenda when Trump meets Netanyahu, it's this one.
When Netanyahu visits the White House this week, there may be an inclination to score a victory lap following the combined US and Israeli operation last month in Iran. While an impressive feat of arms, declaring victory would be premature and without a focus on the agenda outlined above could even prove fleeting.
Military success has set the stage for feats of diplomacy, and with creativity and compromise, it's now possible to see an end to the cataclysmic chain of events that Hamas unleashed on October 7.
That should be the primary focus for both leaders this week.
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CNN
7 minutes ago
- CNN
‘We have to keep growing': Mother of killed Israeli hostage in battle to have a grandchild with his harvested sperm
'Something can be born out of everything – if you want it to,' said Iris Haim, whose hostage son Yotam was killed in Gaza. Those words are helping her find hope. The new beginning that Haim now longs for is a grandchild, created from sperm she had harvested from Yotam's body upon its return home in December 2023. 'Yes, a disaster happened,' Haim, 59, told CNN of her son's killing from the Israeli town of Mevaseret Zion, a few miles west of Jerusalem. 'But it doesn't control me.' Yotam, 28, was kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. After spending 65 days in captivity, he was mistakenly shot by Israeli troops on December 15, 2023 along with two other hostages, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka, as they attempted to flee their captors in northern Gaza. Yotam is the only Israeli hostage whose sperm is known to have been retrieved posthumously, and whose family is lobbying to use it to have a child. Haim says Yotam, a single man at the time of his death, always wanted children. 'Yotam really wanted that – he talked about it a lot,' she said. A total of 205 hostages have so far been returned, 148 of whom were released alive, and 57 returned dead, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Most had been dead for weeks, if not months, making the men's sperm no longer viable for use – except for Yotam's. That's where his mother saw an unexpected opportunity to have what would be her first grandchild. Chances of successful sperm retrieval are highest in the first 24 hours after death, with the cut-off time being 72 hours, according to the Israeli government. There are currently 50 Israeli hostages held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. Both Hamas and Israel have accepted a new ceasefire proposal and indirect negotiations on a deal have restarted, raising hopes that more could return home soon. Haim remembers with painful clarity the moment Israeli authorities came to her home and told her about her son's death. 'Yotam was killed. By friendly fire. While escaping Hamas captivity. He was mistakenly identified as a terrorist,' Haim recalled the officers saying. 'Four sentences I will never forget,' she told CNN. Half an hour after they broke the news of Yotam's death, one officer approached Haim and whispered, 'you can request sperm retrieval,' Haim said. The process 'immediately got started, immediately,' she said. Yotam's sperm was retrieved within the necessary window of time. Ten samples were extracted, 'enough for five children,' Haim recalled being told by the doctor who performed the procedure. Haim now faces an uphill battle to get approval to use his sperm to produce a grandchild. If she succeeds, her next challenge would be to find a woman to carry the child and raise it. Sperm lives on briefly after death, which is why it's possible for doctors to retrieve it from testicular tissue. Any live sperm cells found are transferred and frozen in liquid nitrogen. None, however, can be used without approval from a family court, where Haim now faces an uphill battle to continue her son's lineage. In Israel, extracting sperm from a dead body is permitted, but there is no law that clearly defines the process of using the sperm for the purpose of producing offspring. 'In Israeli law, we don't have a law for this procedure,' Nily Shatz, Haim's lawyer, said, adding that family courts have only approved posthumous use of sperm by parents of the deceased to produce a child twice in the past; however, the second case was later overturned after an appeal brought by the state. 'All the other cases were rejected.' The first case was that of a woman who after years of court battles was able to have a grandchild after proving that her son, who was killed in Gaza in 2002, wanted children, according to Shatz. The court, however, declared that the ruling should not be perceived as a precedent, saying legislators must decide on the matter in the future. The second case was that of a couple who are still fighting in court to have a grandchild with retrieved sperm of their late son, who died in 2012. Last week, after CNN spoke with Shatz, an Eilat court gave permission in principle for Sharon Eisenkot to use sperm retrieved from her son Maor – a soldier killed in Gaza in 2023 – to have a grandchild through surrogacy. 'Should a specific request be submitted regarding the identity of the woman chosen to carry the embryo fertilized with M.'s sperm, it will require the court's approval,' the ruling Thursday said. In keeping with usual practice in family court, the full names of those involved in the case were not given but the court directed CNN to this ruling. Meirav Ben-Ari, a lawmaker in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is pushing for a bill that formally allows family members to use retrieved sperm even if the deceased had not specifically stated his wish to have a child posthumously, as long as they can prove the deceased would have wanted a child. Ben-Ari told CNN the bill 'is not moving forward now, because the (governing) coalition objects (to) it, mainly the religious parties.' Netanyahu's coalition is made up of some of the most religiously conservative parties ever to hold power in Israel, including ultra-Orthodox and far-right religious Zionist factions whose agendas are reshaping the country's legal and social fabric. Shatz, Haim's lawyer, said that after the horrors of October 7, it was past time for parliament to pass a law on the issue, especially as families of hundreds of fallen soldiers retrieve the sperm of their dead. But while Haim longs to be a grandmother, the issue of using the sperm of deceased men remains controversial. It raises ethical, religious and legal questions that lawmakers are yet to address. For now, cases are assessed individually by the family courts, Shatz said. And since there are varying opinions in government about the practice, each case is viewed with extreme caution, she said. At the moment, for families to use the sperm of their deceased, they must prove to the courts that the person who died wanted children, even after his death. Yotam's family is working to prove that he wanted children by providing testimony from relatives, friends and his therapist, but such intangible proof is likely to be harder for many others to present. 'There's no logical way (where) usually people say that I want a child, even if I'm going from the world,' Shatz said, noting this isn't something ordinary men think about, especially when young. Posthumous sperm retrieval (PSR) in Israel was previously open only to partners – provided other relatives did not object – while parents of the deceased had to apply for legal permission. Following the October 7 attacks, the Ministry of Health loosened the rules. Sperm retrievals have soared since. There have been at least 224 sperm retrievals from fallen soldiers and security personnel, the ministry told CNN, as well as 17 from deceased civilians. 'In previous years, approximately 15–20 such retrievals were performed annually,' the ministry said. Medical professionals, bereaved families and legal experts have told CNN that the atrocities of October 7 have made questions around how sperm is preserved and used more urgent than ever, as Israeli society grapples with the perceived threat to the Jewish people's existence. Israeli officials have repeatedly compared Hamas' October 7 attacks to Nazi atrocities during World War II, homing in on the narrative that the conflict in Gaza is a war of survival. For Haim, having a grandchild is a way to prove that Israel will keep growing despite the massacre. 'Every mother whose child was killed wants to have something from that child, not just photos. She wants something tangible,' Haim said, her eyes briefly filling with tears. 'As the people of Israel, we need to understand today that, after October 7, we need to keep growing – to show our enemies that our way, this continuity of our lives here in this country, and in general, is through the creation of new life.' Prof. Hagai Levine, a public health physician and head of the health team at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told CNN that Israel's recent wars have driven many in the country to 'think about your death, to think about your destiny, about what is most important for you.' 'That forces you to be in this situation. That's what war is doing to us,' he said. Levine advocates for soldiers to decide early whether they'd like to have children, and for them to preserve their sperm while they are still alive. Some have also called for soldiers to leave a 'biological will,' a testament that lays out an individual's wishes when it comes to posthumous use of eggs or sperm, whether they are retrieved after death or frozen while the person is still alive. Bella Savitsky, whose son Jonathan died in combat on October 7, opted to retrieve his sperm and got approval for it, but it came too late. Savitsky, a senior lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Ashkelon Academic College, said studies show a maximum of 36 hours since time of death is the only time that retrieved sperm can be usable, a shorter timeframe than that cited by the Israeli government. This window is narrower in Israel because the hot weather can affect the sperm's quality in dead bodies, she said. On October 9, 2023, Savitsky received 'the knock on the door' from authorities, telling her that her 21-year-old son had been killed in heavy fighting at an army outpost near Gaza. Jonathan never wanted to be a soldier, she told CNN. He simply wanted to carry out his mandatory military service and return to civilian life. 'He wanted to get married, to have children, a dog, and a home in the countryside.' It took many hours for Savitsky to obtain a court order allowing the harvesting of her son's sperm. 'Altogether, it took 70 hours,' she said. 'So, when the posthumous sperm retrieval was done, it was not intact. There was no live sperm.' Sperm retrieval after death undoubtedly raises complex moral, ethical, judicial and religious questions. While technology has advanced, critics say the law has not kept up. Experts say the controversy stems from the lack of clear consent from the father and the idea of bringing a child into the world who is fatherless from the outset. 'Even if the deceased wanted to be a parent when he was alive, who says he wanted to have a child after his death? It's not the same thing,' Prof. Gil Siegal, head of the Center for Medical Law, Bioethics and Health Policy at Ono Academic College, told CNN. 'You are bringing into the world a child whose parent is known, named and deceased. This has a significant psychological impact and is different from a single-parent family,' Siegal said. Some may also object to having children that effectively serve as a monument to the deceased father. In that case, 'the grandparents are seeking a 'memorial' – a form of commemoration – or trying to recreate something that cannot be recreated,' Siegal said. There are also religious considerations, as 'retrieving sperm is an intrusive act, and in Judaism, there is a critical prohibition against desecrating the dead,' he said. To mitigate these issues, Savitsky believes that young men should be asked whether they would want their sperm to be posthumously retrieved before they enter army service, but said the ministry of defense may be wary of implementing this as it could dent troop morale. For Haim, despite the difficulties, the battle to have a grandchild gives her strength in the face of the tragedy she faces after October 7, as well as hope for the future. In May, the State Attorney's Office gave a green light in principle for Haim to use Yotam's sperm. That was a first step towards what may be a long journey for her to have a grandchild. The family still needs to present evidence to prove that Yotam would have wanted a child, Shatz, Haim's lawyer said. 'In the end, the reality did happen to us on October 7. So now – what will we do with that reality? Cry, wail, say, why did this happen to us?' she asked. 'Yes, a disaster happened. Period. But what else happened? A lot of amazing things also happened. That's where I'm aiming (for).' Previous reporting by CNN's Lianne Kolirin.
Chicago Tribune
32 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Israel and Hamas are inching toward a new ceasefire deal for Gaza. This is how it might look
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington Monday to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a ceasefire that might lead to an end to the 21-month war in Gaza. Israel and Hamas are considering a new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal that would pause the war, free Israeli hostages and send much-needed aid flooding into Gaza. It also aims to open broader talks about ending the conflict. Negotiations have repeatedly stalled over Hamas' demands for an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants Hamas to surrender and disarm before it ends the war. While the final details have yet to be agreed to by the sides, The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposal sent by mediators to Hamas. — The truce would last 60 days. — 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 would be released in phases throughout the truce. — Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will be released in exchange for the hostages, although precise numbers were not detailed. — Humanitarian aid entering Gaza would be ramped up significantly and would be distributed by the United Nations. The proposal makes no mention of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. — Israeli forces would withdraw to a buffer zone along Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt. Israel has seized large swaths of the territory since ending a previous ceasefire in March. — On the first day of the truce, the sides are expected to begin negotiations toward an end to the war, but no timeline is mentioned. — The mediators — the U.S., Egypt and Qatar — will serve as guarantors to make sure the sides negotiate in good faith. — While there is no guarantee the war would end, the proposal states that Trump insists the talks during the truce 'would lead to a permanent resolution of the conflict.' — If the negotiations toward ending the war are not complete after 60 days, the ceasefire may be extended. — The proposal says Trump will personally announce the ceasefire deal once it is reached.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Executions in Saudi Arabia reach a record high mostly over drug cases, Amnesty says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Executions in Saudi Arabia surged last year to a record high, Amnesty International said Monday, as activists increasingly warn about the kingdom's use of the death penalty in nonviolent drug cases. Saudi Arabia executed 345 people last year, the highest number ever recorded by Amnesty in over three decades of reporting. In the first six months of this year alone, 180 people have been put to death, the group said, signaling that record likely will again be broken. This year, about two-thirds of those executed were convicted on non-lethal drug charges, the activist group Reprieve said separately. Amnesty also has raised similar concerns about executions in drug cases. Saudi Arabia has not offered any comment on why it increasingly employs the death penalty in the kingdom. Saudi officials did not respond to detailed questions from The Associated Press about the executions and why it is using the death penalty for nonviolent drug cases. However, it conflicts with comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's day-to-day ruler, who in 2022 highlighted he limited its use to just homicide cases. 'Well about the death penalty, we got rid of all of it, except for one category, and this one is written in the Quran, and we cannot do anything about it, even if we wished to do something, because it is clear teaching in the Quran,' the prince told The Atlantic. Drug cases become a prime driver in Saudi executions Saudi Arabia is one of several countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, that can levy the death penalty on drug-related charges. But the kingdom remains one of the world's top executioners behind only China and Iran — and its use of executions in drug cases appears to be fueling that. Amnesty documented the cases of 25 foreign nationals who are currently on death row, or were recently executed, for drug-related offenses. In those cases, Amnesty said the inmates on death row were not familiar with the legal system nor their rights, and had limited to no legal representation. Foreign nationals faced additional challenges when trying to secure a fair trial, Amnesty said. More than half of those executed this year in the kingdom were foreign nationals, according to Reprieve. One such national, Egyptian Essam Ahmed, disappeared in 2021 while working on a fishing boat in Sinai. A month later, his family received word he had been detained in Saudi Arabia and sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Ahmed claims he was forced by the boat's owner to carry a package for him at gunpoint. 'We're living in terror, we're scared every morning,' said a family member of Ahmed's, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity fearing his comments could impact the case. 'Every morning until 9 a.m., we're afraid that they took one of them for execution without us knowing.' The family member added: 'We don't have feelings. We're dead. Death would be easier. … They didn't even give me a chance to defend him and I don't know what to do.' Executions come amid 'Vision 2030' plan Human rights groups for years have been critical of Saudi Arabia's human rights record. There also have been rapid societal changes in Saudi Arabia under King Salman and the crown prince. While pushing for women to drive, the kingdom has overseen the arrest of women's rights activists. While calling for foreign investment, Saudi Arabia also has imprisoned businessmen, royals and others in a crackdown on corruption that soon resembled a shakedown of the kingdom's most powerful people. In 2021, as part of the crown prince's criminal justice overhaul, Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Commission announced a moratorium on drug-related executions. The moratorium, however, remained in place for just under three years, before it was scrapped without an explanation. The executions also come as the kingdom continues to undertake bold reforms to diversify its economy as part of its 'Vision 2030' initiative. Jeed Basyouni, who directs Britain-based legal nonprofit Reprieve's Middle East and North Africa program, insisted Prince Mohammed could change Saudi Arabia's execution policy rapidly if he wanted. 'He could do mass pardons. He could insist on rewriting laws so that they are in line with international law," Basyouni said. 'The billions spent on so-called reforms, designed to promote a more tolerant and inclusive kingdom under the crown prince's rule, mask an authoritarian state where daily executions for drug crimes are now the norm."
