Militants ambushed a Lebanese army patrol near the border with Syria on Tuesday, killing six Lebanese soldiers and wounding one, a Lebanese security official said. The attack occurred in a remote region of Ras Baalbek in eastern Lebanon and was followed by fierce clashes between the two sides, said the official, speaking on condition of […]
Hezbollah chief and former Iraqi PM met in Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki met recently in Beirut and reportedly expressed their confidence in a statement ( issued by hezbollah ) that the people and governments of the region would defeat the terrorist Islamic State group. Such groups and “their destructive plans don’t have a future in any country […]
Iranian official calls Syria’s regime and election”democratic”
A visiting Iranian official said after meeting Lebanese ’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Monday that Lebanon should not lose sight of Israel since it is the real enemy . Hossein Sheikholeslam, foreign policy adviser to Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani praised Berri as one of the “greatest experienced political and national figures.” He also praised […]
Iranian official blames Maliki and Assad for ISIS creation
In an unprecedented development the Iranian Foreign Ministry adviser, Mohammad Ali Sobhani, yesterday blamed the Iraqi regime of Nouri al-Maliki, and the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad for the creation of the islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS) In an interview with a local Iranian website «telltale News» Sobhani said the sectarian policies during the reign of former […]
US announces new aid to Syrian civilian refugees in Turkey
Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged from a nearly four-hour meeting Saturday, offering no indication that the U.S. and Turkey had bridged their differences about how to deal with Islamic State fighters or Syrian President Bashar Assad. Biden announced $135 million in new U.S. aid for Syrian civilians, including some […]
Biden discussed in Turkey ISIS and transition of power in Syria, away from Assad.
US vice-president Joe Biden on Saturday warned that a concentration of powers under a head of state was “corrosive” as he visited Turkey – which has been accused of increasing authoritarian tendencies. Biden made the remarks before meeting Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in August became the Turkish president after more than a decade as prime […]
Assad told Hariri: “I will destroy Lebanon on your and Jumblatt’s head”, Update 2
After testifying Tuesday at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon about Syria’s hegemony over Lebanon and revealed some the factors that led to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, MP Marwan Hamadeh resumed on Wednesday his testimony before STL , focusing on the pressure that Syrian president Bashar al Assad exerted […]
STL pointing to Syria as being ultimately behind Hariri assassination
The defense lawyers at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, said they had received evidence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad ‘s phone to the 2005 bombing that killed former PM Rafik Hariri . Similarly Lebanon’s interior minister Nouhad Mashnouk directly linked Assad to Hariri’s assassination , during a speech on Friday. “Bashar Assad had direct contact […]
U.S. weighs expanded CIA training, arming of moderate Syrian rebels
The Obama administration has been weighing plans to escalate the CIA’s role in arming and training fighters in Syria, a move aimed at accelerating covert U.S. support to moderate rebel factions while the Pentagon is preparing to establish its own training bases, U.S. officials said. The proposed CIA buildup would expand a clandestine mission that […]
Assad being misled by his inner circle
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been convinced by his inner circle that his country is the victim of a broad conspiracy led by terrorists, U.N./Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said. Brahimi said hope for a solution to the crisis, which began as a peaceful pro-democracy