met with their allies to talk about the results of the meeting.
According to Beirut media reports , the Jumblatt - Nasrallah meeting paves the way for a meeting between Hariri and Nasrallah and is expected to ease tension and start dialogue between Jumblatt and Aoun and also between Hariri and Aoun.
Nasrallah also met last night with MP- elect and leader of Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh . Although their meeting lasted for over 3.5 hours it did not attract a lot of media attention.
While Nasrallah in Lebanon is trying to ease tension , the complete opposite is happening in Iran. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly cut off any compromise over the nation’s disputed elections on Friday. In a long and hard-line sermon, he declared the elections valid and warned of violence if demonstrators continue, as they have pledged, to flood the streets in defiance of the government.
But opposition leaders, who stayed home Friday, called for yet another huge rally on Saturday afternoon, setting the stage for a possible showdown between protesters and security forces, perhaps a violent one.
Human rights group Amnesty International warned that Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech indicated that the authorities were willing to conduct a violent crackdown.
“We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views,” the group said in a statement.
The opposition candidates that were defeated in the election want the elections to be nullified . It is interesting to note that the results were declared in many provinces before the ballots were counted.
What is different in this election is the fact that it revealed to the outside world the weakness of the Wilayat al Faqih political system which was believed to be fully supported by the people of Iran .
Saturday
09:36 Obama warned Iran that the "world is watching" urgee Iran to 'stop all violent and unjust actions'
09:34 Four people who have arrived recently from the US and Canada are under observation after showing swine flu symptoms
08:00 NNA: Two killed, nine injured in a bus accident in the northern village of Qalamoun
06:54 Mousavi: Electoral forgery planned months in advance and reiterated his demand for the result to be annulled.
06:28 Al-Arabiya reports two helicopters are dropping boiling water on pro-Mousavi protestors in Tehran
04:44 A suicide bomber struck the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing himself and wounding three people, two of them foreigners, state media reported.
3:00pm President Suleiman received a letter from his Sudanese counterpart congratulating him on the success of the polls. He also met with Army chief Gen. Jean Kahwaji and congratulated him on the security success during the polls.
2:42pm UNIFIL commander Gen. Graziano inspected the area of Israeli violation at Baathsaeel pond in Kfarshouba and vowed to discuss the issue with the Israeli command and ask it to remove recently erected earth mounds.
1:55pm MP Michel Pharaon after meeting Greek Orthodox Archbishop Awdeh: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir’s stance was the result of increased obsession and fear on Lebanon’s sovereignty. He added : We regret ( Hassan) Nasrallah's response
01:46 pm SANA: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Saturday morning
01:15 pm Jumblatt: The Parliamentary elections were not based on partnership, but on rejection of others and we must adopt new electoral law that allows political minorities to reach the parliament
12:40 Reuters: Iran's Guardian Council for Constitution announced its readiness to recount random sampling of 10% of ballots cast in presidential election. The opposition is calling for annulling the elections
12:25 Change and reform bloc will hold a rally at 7 pm in downtown Bkasseen of Jezzine
12:10 Hezbollah's political Bureau member Mahmoud Qamati told New TV: Nasrallah-Hariri meeting is possible. He also said that the meetings between opposition and majority leaders are restricted to bilateral meetings for the moment .
11:56 Iran will arrest all organizers of future protest rallies, says Iranian deputy police chief
11:40 Reuters : Iran’s Guardian Council of the Constitution meets to discuss presidential election results
11:35 Iranian State TV reported that the organizers of the protest announced they they do not plan any protest Saturday because permission was not granted
10:45 The body of 22-year old Mohammed Zaarour was recovered after he drowned in the Assi River. His body was handed over to his parents after being examined by a coroner.
10:40 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Friday that Israel's settlement expansion must stop but voiced optimism that a historic Middle East peace accord was "within reach."
10:36 Yaqoub told New TV : This was the "Dirtiest" election and I feel honored for not being elected
10:35 Iran's opposition Friday called for a major new protest over the disputed presidential election, defying a demand by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and setting the stage for a potentially violent showdown with security forces and militias.
10:32 Lebanese air forces will carry out nightly flights starting at 8pm till midnight from June 22-25. The flights will take place between the Riyaq and Beirut air bases.
10:30 MP Pakradonian: the decisions of the "Tashnaq" are taken in Burj Hammoud, according to our interests
10:30 Even though Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has admitted defeat in the June 7 election his Deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem said the "Lebanese parliamentary opposition received an undisputed popular majority ".
10:25 Al Anbaa: Behind the scenes meeting between the Christian leaders of March 14 to form a parliamentary alliance to face MP Aoun's bloc
10:20 OTV: MP elect Suleiman Franjieh has repeated opposition demands for "veto power and more" in the new government and has voiced his support for MP Michel Aoun. He renewed criticism of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir saying the latter's positions reflect his personal views not those of the Church.
10:20 Knowledgeable sources expect that president Suleiman will address the Lebanese at the start of the mandate of the new parliament to draw the road map for the next phase
10:16 Soueid told Future TV: Bkirki has been under concerted attack by the March 8 opposition and the best response came from Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir himself. Jumblatt's meeting with Nasrallah was scheduled way before the elections and comes in the framework of de-escalation attempts.
10:15am MP Marwan Fares told VOL: The Jumblatt-Nasrallah meeting represents a new phase. The problem lies in some of March 14's leaderships which have started to change direction. We support proportional representation and constitutional amendment.
09:58 PSP source told al Anbaa :Jumblatt is ready to meet with Aoun soon and a meeting between Nasrallah and Hariri could take place anytime soon
09:42 Al Anbaa: The Syrian authorities have informed Saudi Arabia that it has not taken any position with regards to the possibility of a Hariri premiership
08:55 Lebanese sources told Okaz: Nasrallah and Jumblatt addressed the Netanyahu's speech and the dangers faced in the Middle East
08:47 MP Marwan Hamadeh told the "Voice of Lebanon: the Jumblatt- Nasrallah, has been planned since a long time has nothing to do with the argument between Nasrallah and Sfeir. Hamadah does not expect many obstacles in the process of forming the government
08:28 Lebanon will participate in the Qatar -France summit on Monday
07:16 Key Hezbollah officials took care of informing their allies such as Aoun and Arslan about the outcome of Nasrallah meeting with Jumblatt
07:07 MP- elect Suleiman Franjieh paid a visit Friday night to Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Their meeting lasted three and half hours
06:18 Variation in the position of the 14 March Christian leaders with regards to the position of the speaker of parliament
06:08 the Jumblatt - Nasrallah meeting paves the way for a meeting between Hariri and Nasrallah and is expected to ease tension and start dialogue between Jumblatt and Aoun and also between Hariri and Aoun
05:42 Jumblatt presented Nasrallah with a book about Pakistan . It is the book which he ( jumblatt) announced was interested in reading during a recent television interview
05:39 Government sources: we are aware that Taborian was going to act the way he did to cover up for his failures at the energy ministry.
None of the FPM ministers that ran in June 7 elections were elected. Their defeat according to observers is a no confidence vote in Aoun's change and reform program
05:26 Sources: The objective of the Jumblatt - Nasrallah meeting was to address the tensions in the region
Friday
10:15pm Pakradonian told An Nahar : Murr ( Michel ) and me are friends and will remain as friends . What happened is a misunderstanding and a surprise that we didn’t anticipate and shouldn’t have happened .
Murr accused the Armenians of deceiving him ( promised to vote for him but instead voted for the Iranian and Syrian backed opposition. Murr also accused the Armenians of cheating , by using over 4000 fake ID's to vote
09:59pm Franjiyeh told OTV: Harairi has to have national consensus in rder for him to govern, but if he is Siniora's candidate thenthere is no hope, since the decisions will be taken in Saudi Arabia
09:44pm Stricter measures being taken at the airport to prevent the infiltration of more swine flue cases
09: 30 The White House vowed on Frid
