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☆ Analysis: Can Netanyahu avoid triggering a regional war?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In a paradigm shift after decades of shadow proxy war, Tehran is usurping Israel’s strategy. “We have decided to create a new equation,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami said. When faced with existential threats in the past, Israel has executed the most audacious raids the region has ever witnessed. The damage that can be inflicted on Iran is huge, is huge.”So the most important question right now must be, can Netanyahu read the room right – with Iran threatening to attack, allies warning him not to – and avoid triggering a regional war. Iran, he implied, won’t attack Israel as long as it fears America’s reaction.

Persons: CNN —, Joe Biden’s, Ebrahim Raisi’s, ” Israel, Hossein, “, Bashar al, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Benny Ganz –, David Barnea, Staff Herzi Halevi, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, of National Security Itamar Ben, Gvir, Ganz, Gallant, – Ganz, ” Netanyahu, ” Netanyahu’s, Saleh Al, Amos Yadlin, Yadlin, ” Yadlin, Bashar, Iran’s, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Biden Organizations: CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, –, Staff, of National Security, IDF’s Military Intelligence, UN Security Locations: CNN — Israel, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Osirak, Syria, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Lebanese, Beirut, Lebanon, Damascus, America

☆ Opinion: ISIS is making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —If ISIS was indeed responsible for the attack Friday at a Moscow-area concert venue that killed at least 133 people, it would suggest that, unfortunately, the terror group is making something of a comeback. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack; a US official told CNN the US has no reason to doubt it. Through that attack, ISIS-K showed that the group, which is very anti-Shia, could target a hostile state like predominantly Shia Iran. In March alone, a Russian state news agency said the country had thwarted multiple ISIS-related incidents, including a plan to attack a synagogue in Moscow. As for capability, the ISIS-K attack in Iran earlier this year demonstrated that the group could carry out a large-scale attack outside of its home base in Afghanistan.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Biden, Qasem Soleimani, Vladimir Putin, ”, Bashar al Assad, Assad, Putin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, ISIS, US, Kabul Airport, Democratic, US National Security Council, Government Locations: New America, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, United Kingdom, Europe, Paris, Orlando , Florida, Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iran, Russian, Russia, ”, Ukraine, Syrian

☆ Russian forces strike drone warehouse in Syria's Idlib, Interfax reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Russian military forces carried out air strikes on a drone warehouse in Syria's Idlib governorate, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, on Sunday. "The Russian Aerospace Forces launched an air strike ... against a warehouse of unmanned aerial vehicles of militants involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops," Kulit was quoted as saying. No information about the scale of the damage or potential casualties was available. The Syrian army has blamed rebels, who it says are Islamist jihadists, for attacks on government-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces and denies indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas in areas under rebel control. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vadim Kulit, Kulit, Bashar al Assad, Lidia Kelly, Richard Chang Organizations: Russian Reconciliation Center, Russian Aerospace Forces, Thomson Locations: Russian, Idlib, Syria, Aleppo, Moscow, Damascus, Gaza, Melbourne

☆ Drone attack on Syria military college leaves dozens of casualties
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Hamdi Alkhshali | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Drones laden with explosives hit a military college graduation ceremony in the western Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, leading to dozens of casualties, Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement. The defense ministry blamed “terrorist organizations supported by well-known international parties.” No group has claimed responsibility yet. Located in the agricultural heartland of central Syria, the city had long been a transport and commercial hub of vital strategic importance. The road through Homs connects the capital, Damascus, in the south to Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, in the north. Turkey’s military has launched a series of airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq following a deadly bombing in the Turkish capital on Sunday.

Persons: ”, Bashar Al Assad, Asayish Organizations: CNN, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union Locations: Syrian, Homs, Syria, Damascus, Syria’s, Aleppo, Turkish, Kurdish, Iraq, Ankara, Turkey, United States

☆ Syria's Assad's ruling party shut by protests in rebellious Druze city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Youths with welding machines sealed the gates of the building of the party led by President Bashar al Assad, which has been in power since a 1963 coup. A major economic crisis has seen the local currency collapse, leading to soaring prices for food and basic supplies and which Assad's government blames on Western sanctions. Across the province, scores of local branches of the Baath party whose officials hold top government posts were also closed by protesters with its cadres fleeing, residents said. In a rare act of defiance in areas under Assad's rule, protesters tore down posters of Assad, where the party has promoted a personality cult around him and his late father. Sweida, a city of over 100,000 people, has seen most public institutions shut and public transport on strike and businesses partially open, residents and civic activists said.

Persons: Bashar al Assad, Bashar, Assad, Kenan Waqaf, Sweida, Ryan Marouf, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Grant McCool Organizations: Baath, Protesters, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Sweida, Russia, Iran

☆ 'Enormous' needs as EU hosts conference to collect money for Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The European Union hosts an international conference on Thursday to collect money for Syria where an earthquake earlier this year aggravated the already dire plight of people who have been caught in war since 2011. About 5.5 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq as well as Egypt. The U.N. chiefs said they hoped for a similar level of pledges to the $6.7 billion offered for Syria and its neighbours at a similar conference last year. "Humanitarian funding for Syria is not keeping pace with rapidly increasing needs," said Janez Lenarcic, the conference host and the EU's top official for humanitarian aid and crisis management. Lenarcic also called for extended humanitarian access from Turkey to the northwestern part of Syria.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Filippo Grandi, Achim Steiner, Janez Lenarcic, Bashar al Assad's, Assad, Lenarcic, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Union, Three United Nations, UNHCR, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Russia, Iran, Turkish, U.S

☆ Syrians need 'way more' than pledged relief funds, ICRC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A total of $5 billion was pledged in grants for 2023 and another $1 billion for 2024 and beyond. More than 6 million Syrians are displaced in their own country and 5.5 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq as well as Egypt. Donors scraped together an additional $1 billion in emergency relief funds following the devastating February earthquake that killed thousands in Syria. But trying to provide humanitarian help in Syria was "frustrating" without a political solution to resolve the protracted crisis. It's only politics, who can do that," Carboni said, adding: "we know that the solution is a political solution and that it's desperately needed."

Persons: Fabrizio Carboni, Carboni, Bashar al Assad's, it's, Maya Gebeily, Grant McCool Organizations: International Committee, Red, ICRC, Syrians, European Union, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Brussels, U.N, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, United States, Russia, Iran

☆ Erdogan rival pledges to repatriate all refugees before Turkey runoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, speaks during a press conference ahead of the May 28 runoff vote, in Ankara, Turkey May 18, 2023. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, won 45% support in Sunday's vote while Erdogan got 49.5%, falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff vote. Kilicdaroglu's latest comments came amid expectations that a third candidate in the presidential race would announce his decision for the runoff. Sinan Ogan, a nationalist politician endorsed by an anti-refugee party obtained 5.2%, which made him a kingmaker in the runoff vote. "I am announcing here: I will send all refugees back home once I am elected as president, period," he added.

CNN —Saudi Arabia and Syria have resumed the work of diplomatic missions in both countries, according to state media, more than a decade after Riyadh cut ties over the Syrian government’s brutal handling of its civil war. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in the Syrian Arab Republic,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday. Damascus also announced the decision to resume work of its diplomatic mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to Syrian state media SANA, citing a statement from an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Based on the deep bonds and common affiliation of the peoples of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in confirmation of both communities’ wills, and based on the Syrian Arab Republic believe in the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between Arab countries to serve joint Arab action, The Syrian Arab Republic decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement reads. Officials and analysts have said that Syria’s re-admission into the Arab League, while symbolic, comes with the hope that it could pave the way for President Bashar Al Assad’s rehabilitation internationally, and potentially the removal of crippling sanctions against his regime.

☆ Arab nations set to rehabilitate Syria’s pariah president in defiance of US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Officials and analysts have said that Syria’s re-admission into the Arab League, while symbolic, comes with the hope that it could pave the way for President Bashar Al Assad’s rehabilitation internationally, and potentially the removal of crippling sanctions against his regime. Arab states have argued that the status quo in Syria is untenable and has caused them a headache at home. Syria has over the past decade turned into a narco-state, exporting highly addictive amphetamines across the border to Jordan and to Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear if the US will stand in the way of Arab states’ efforts to bring Syria back into the regional fold. “The US will not impose a veto on their allies when it comes to normalization with Assad,” said Hellyer.

CNN —Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi believes there are enough votes among Arab League members for Syria to return to the organization, adding that it is “only the beginning” of bringing a political end to the Syrian crisis. If Syria’s membership is approved, the Syrian delegation at the high-level Arab League summit on May 19 is “very likely” to be presided by President Bashar Al Assad, the official told CNN. Safadi said that “everybody” in the Arab League is on board to end the Syrian crisis, but there are differences on what the best approach is. The foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan met in the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday to discuss how to normalize ties with Syria. According to a statement issued after the meeting, Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Iraq and Jordan.

☆ Syria foreign minister makes first Egypt visit for more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday, the first such visit in more than a decade and the latest sign of Arab states mending ties with President Bashar al Assad. Faisal Mekdad was embraced by Sameh Shoukry as he arrived at the Egyptian foreign ministry, the first official trip since before the uprising and conflict that began in Syria in 2011. President Assad was shunned by many Western and Arab states due to the war in Syria, which splintered the country and left hundreds of thousands of people dead. The Cairo-based Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. But key regional powers including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have recently signalled increasing openness towards Damascus.

☆ Syria's Assad arrives in United Arab Emirates in official visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates March 19, 2023. Hamad Al Kaabi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERSDUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for an official visit, accompanied by his wife Asma al Assad, at a time when more Arab states have signalled openness to easing the isolation of Damascus. "We held constructive talks aimed at developing relations between our two countries," Sheikh Mohammed later said in a Twitter post. The Syrian presidency said Asma al Assad, on her first known official visit abroad with Assad since 2011, would meet with Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak who is the Emirati president's mother and regarded in the UAE as the "Mother of the Nation". Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, to a lesser extent the UAE, once backed rebels against Assad.

☆ Syrian rescue group criticises UN over Assad say on aid deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Syrian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSAMMAN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The head of a Syrian opposition-run rescue group on Tuesday denounced a U.N. decision to give Syrian President Bashar al Assad authorisation over aid deliveries through border crossings with Turkey, saying it gave him "free political gain". U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday Assad had agreed to allow U.N. aid deliveries to opposition-held northwest Syria through two crossings on the border with Turkey for three months. Rescuers and aid groups have complained about the slow delivery of aid after the earthquake. U.N. officials have acknowledged aid was slow initially but said they were stepping up deliveries, including getting supplies from Turkey. Large deliveries of aid from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have begun arriving in the rebel-held enclave ahead of U.N. deliveries, Saleh said.

☆ Assad Regime Carried Out 2018 Chlorine Attack in Syria, Investigators Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Government forces dropped chlorine cylinders from a helicopter on apartment buildings in Douma city during Syria’s civil war, investigators concluded. ISTANBUL—An international chemical-weapons watchdog on Friday blamed the Syrian air force for a 2018 chlorine attack that killed at least 43 people, adding more evidence of war crimes committed by President Bashar Al Assad ‘s government during the country’s decadelong civil war. A report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said investigators concluded that Mr. Assad’s forces were behind the April 2018 attack, basing their findings on 70 chemical samples, 66 witness statements, satellite data and other forensic evidence.

☆ Jordan seeks more coordination with Russia to bring stability to southern Syria
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMMAN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Jordan and Russia have agreed to step up coordination in tackling instability in southern Syria, which Amman blames on Iran-linked militias and multi-billion dollar drug smuggling across its border, Jordan's foreign minister said on Thursday. Ayman al Safadi was speaking after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that centered on south Syria to "neutralise the potential dangers of instability" in the area. The danger of drug smuggling to Jordan and across its territory by hostile militias," Safadi told a news conference. The growing influence of Iranian-backed militias including Lebanon's Hezbollah group in southern Syria in recent years has already alarmed both Jordan and Israel. "With the continued situation in the south (Syria), the kingdom will do what is needed to preserve its national security," Safadi said.

☆ Calm returns to Syria rebel enclave after deadly internecine fighting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"In the latest battles after its control of Afrin, HTS now has a large security role compared to what it had. Turkey is the leading backer of mainstream rebel factions. Its strong military presence in northwest Syria has held back Russia and Damascus from seizing the remaining opposition area. Turkey had stepped up its intervention to end the fighting that left scores killed, a senior rebel commander who requested anonymity said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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