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The Israeli military told CNN it does not comment on foreign reports. CNN cannot verify the Times’ report, nor independently verify the claims from Iran, Syria and Israel. Increasing pressureAs the Middle East braces for a potential Iranian response, Tehran is under pressure to show strength in the wake of the consulate attack while not drawing the region into a wider war. The Lebanese Shia militant group has been embroiled in daily crossfire with Israeli forces for nearly six months. However, Israeli military spokesman Hagari blamed Iran for escalating tensions in the region.

Persons: Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Donald Trump, IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, ”, Israel, Daniel Hagari, “, Israel’s, Syria Hossein Akbari, Nasser Kanaani, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, d’affaires, Amir, ” Amir, Faisal Mekdad meanwhile, Houthi, Parsi, Zahedi, Bejamin Netanyahu, Hagari, I’m Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Foreign Ministry, Israel Defense Forces, New York Times, Hamas, Ministry of Health, Zionist, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Israel, Syrian Foreign, Diplomatic Relations, US, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Israel, Syria, Gaza, Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, Lebanese, ” Iran, United States, Quds, Iranian Embassy, Iranian, Islamic Republic, Washington, Swiss, Switzerland, Syrian, Vienna, Iraq, Jordan, Red, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Yemen

☆ Iran says Israel bombs its embassy in Syria, kills commanders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024. Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Syria on Monday in a strike that Iran said killed seven of its military advisers, including three senior commanders, and that marked a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries. Reuters reporters at the site in the Mezzeh district of Damascus saw emergency workers clambering atop rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic compound, adjacent to the main Iranian embassy building. Iran's ambassador to Syria said the strike hit a consular building in the embassy compound and that his residence was on the top two floors. Israel has long targeted Iran's military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, but Monday's attack was the first time Israel hit the vast embassy compound itself.

Persons: Faisal Mekdad, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Israel Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Syrian, Force, Hamas Locations: Syria's, Damascus, Iranian, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Mezzeh, Israel

CNN —A top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was killed among several others in an airstrike on the country’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, according to Iranian officials and state-affiliated media, which blamed Israel for the attack. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRCG) commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, published by Iranian state media Press TV, showed extensive damage, fire and smoke at the scene. Iranian embassy staff and military advisers were among the dead, he said. Zahedi, the slain commander, was previously the commander of IRGC’s ground forces, the commander of IRGC’s air force, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operations.

Persons: Israel, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Hossein Akbari, “, ” Akbari, Akbari, ”, Nasser Kanaani, ” Kanaani, Hossein Amir, Faisal Mekdad, Amir, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, we’re Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s, Ministry, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, Press, Zionist, Israel Defense Forces, Fars News, Iranian, Syrian Foreign, Diplomatic Relations, United States State Department Locations: Damascus, Syria, Iranian, Islamic Republic, Iran, Fars, Syrian, Vienna

☆ US starts retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-linked targets
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In Syria, the strikes killed 23 people who had been guarding the targeted locations, said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization that reports on war in Syria. The White House said the United States had informed Iraq ahead of strikes. Baghdad later accused the United States of deception, saying a U.S. claim of coordination with the Iraqi authorities was "unfounded". The Syrian foreign ministry said the United States was fueling conflict in the region in a "very dangerous way". Britain called the United States its "steadfast" ally and said it supports Washington's right to respond to attacks.

Persons: Joe Biden, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Joe Biden's, Nasser Kanaani, Rami Abdulrahman, Douglas, Sims, Chip Somodevilla, General Douglas Sims, Biden, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Ebrahim Raisi, Radek Sikorski Organizations: Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, AFP, Getty, United, Revolutionary Guard, U.S, Syrian, Human Rights, Chiefs, Capitol Visitors Center, Joint Staff, Pentagon, U.S . Defense Locations: Maryland, United States, Iraq, Syria, U.S, Iran, Israel, Gen, Washington ,, Tehran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraqi, Baghdad, Washington, Britain, Polish, Brussels

☆ U.S. Launches Retaliatory Strikes in Iraq, Syria; Nearly 40 Reported Killed
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

The White House said the United States had informed Iraq ahead of strikes. Baghdad later accused the United States of deception, saying a U.S. claim of coordination with the Iraqi authorities was "unfounded". The Syrian foreign ministry said the United States was fuelling conflict in the region in a "very dangerous way". The United States has assessed that the drone that killed the three soldiers and wounded more than 40 other people in Jordan was made by Iran, U.S. officials have told Reuters. Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the United States has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Timour Azhari, Joe Biden's, Nasser Kanaani, Rami Abdulrahman, General Douglas Sims, Biden, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Ebrahim Raisi, Radek Sikorski, Jordan, Roger Wicker, Enas Alashray, Adam Makary, Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold, Tom Perry, Frances Kerry Organizations: United, Revolutionary Guard, U.S, Syrian, Human Rights, Joint Staff, Pentagon, U.S . Defense, Reuters, Republican, Senate Armed Services Committee Locations: Timour Azhari WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, United States, Iraq, Syria, U.S, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Tehran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraqi, Baghdad, Washington, Britain, Polish, Brussels, Al, Jordan

The US said the attack lasted 30 minutes, hitting 85 targets across seven locations in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill recognizing the PMU as a government entity operating alongside the Iraqi military. A screengrab from a video, geolocated by CNN to the town of Qaim, Iraq, shows the aftermath of US military strikes in the area, according to the Iraqi Military. Iraq and Syria condemned the US attack as infringements on their sovereignty that risk fueling regional conflict. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” Biden said in a statement Friday, following the strikes on Iraq and Syria.

Persons: Joe Biden, –, Biden, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Sanders, Matt Rourke, Qaim, Turki Al, John Kirby, Washington, ”, SANA, Kirby, Douglas Sims, “, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Jack Reed, Lloyd Austin, ” Biden, Charles Lister, ” Lister, Ebrahim Raisi Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Army, US Army, Dover Air Force Base, House, Hezbollah, Al, US National Security, Syrian, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq’s Armed Forces, United Nations Charter, Republican, Senate Armed, US, Coalition Forces, Austin, Middle East Institute, Iraq Locations: United States, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Gaza, Israel, Delaware, Iraqi, Al, ” Syria’s, Deir Ezzor, Gen, Qaim, ” Syria, Washington ,, Tehran

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country's economic crisis spirals. Political Cartoons View All 1148 ImagesWith international donor support dwindling, U.N. agencies have been cutting programs due to budget cuts for years. “We cannot accept that funding for Syria is going down while the humanitarian needs are increasing,” Pedersen said. “For Syria without addressing the political consequences of this crisis, the deep economic crisis and humanitarian suffering will also continue,” Pedersen said. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have tried to push Syria and Turkey to rekindle ties, the latter backing opposition groups in northwestern Syria.

Persons: Bashar Assad’s, Assad, Geir Pedersen, Faisal Mekdad, ” Pedersen, —, Pedersen, — Chehayeb Organizations: United Nations, Syria Sunday, Syrian Foreign, Arab League Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Sweida, Daraa, Russia, Iran, Damascus, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Beirut, Lebanon

☆ Rare protests flare in regime-held Syria as Assad seeks international rehabilitation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The protests, which are taking place in areas governed by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, have so far shown no signs of abating. The Druze are Syria’s third largest religious minority making up 3% to 4% of the country’s population, according to Minority Rights Group International. While the largest protests are clustered around al-Sir Square in Suwayda city, other, smaller ones are scattered across the governorate, Marouf said. “If protests spread deeper into regime territories, those chances (of violent crackdown) will surge.”All eyes are on Assad’s next moves. If Assad attends, it would be his first appearance on the world stage since the start of the civil war in 2011.

Persons: Bashar al, disgruntlement, Assad, haven’t, ”, Charles Lister, ” Lister, “ Long, ” Rayan Marouf, Marouf, “, ” Marouf, Hafez, Syria’s, Geir Pedersen, Pedersen Organizations: CNN, Group, Middle East Institute, UN, Arab League, Sir, UN Security Council, Sky News, ISIS, Security, United, United Arab Emirates Locations: Syria’s, Syria, Washington , DC, Russia, Iran, Suwayda governorate, Suwayda, Jaramana, Damascus, “, Idlib, Aleppo, United Arab, Dubai

☆ Syria's Assad boosted by return to Arab fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Tom Perry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020. Now, as Arab states bring him back into the fold, the logic appears to have worked for him once again. In exchange for ending Syria's isolation, Arab states want action, notably towards ending trafficking of the highly-addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon across Syria's borders towards the Gulf. The threat of a U.S. missile strike was averted when Moscow brokered a deal for Syria's chemical weapons to be destroyed by the following year. But while Assad remained a pariah to the West, Arab states which once backed his opponents began opening doors to him.

☆ Arab ministers discuss how to normalise ties with Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMMAN, May 1 (Reuters) - A group of Arab foreign ministers held a landmark meeting with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan on Monday to discuss how to normalise ties with Syria as part of a political settlement of the country's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours. Amman has been fighting armed groups smuggling narcotics from Syria, including the highly-addictive amphetamine captagon. Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Washington, which said it would not change its policy towards the Syrian government which it terms a "rogue" state, has urged Arab states to get something in return for engaging with Assad.

☆ Jordan to host talks on Syria's return to Arab League
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Meeting brings Syrian FM together with group of Arab statesJordan seeks an Arab-led peace road mapAMMAN, April 30 (Reuters) - Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria's top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, failed to reach agreement on Syria's possible return to the Arab fold. Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict. At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus accepts to negotiate a peace plan.

☆ Syria says that the priority is to work on its bilateral Arab relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TUNIS, April 16 (Reuters) - Syria's return to the Arab League will be "almost impossible before correcting bilateral relations", the Syrian foreign minister said in comments about the possibility of preparing for the Arab League. Faisal Mekdad told Algeria International TV that recent visits to Arab countries aim to open a new page. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 to protest how the government of President Bashar al-Assad treated demonstrators. Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Syria welcome thaw in ties, agree to fight drug trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Deputy Minister of Saudi Foreign Ministry, Waleed El Khereiji meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Mekdad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 12, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERSRIYADH, April 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Syria's foreign ministers on Wednesday welcomed a thaw in bilateral ties, including steps to resume consular services and flights, and agreed to cooperate to fight drug trafficking and facilitate Syria's return to the Arab fold. Assad, with the help of his main allies Iran and Russia, regained control over much of Syria, and Saudi Arabia has said isolating him was not working. Much of it is thought to be sold to buyers in Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. Mekdad's trip to Jeddah came two days before Saudi Arabia hosts another meeting of regional foreign ministers that will discuss Syria's return to the Arab League.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries. Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. The Saudi foreign ministry did not confirm an agreement was reached but said it was in talks with the Syrian foreign ministry to resume consular services. Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Assad. An Egyptian security source told Reuters the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi mediation.

☆ Egypt, Syria in Advanced Talks to Restore Diplomatic Relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Summer Said | Benoit Faucon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met in Cairo on Saturday. Egypt and Syria are in advanced talks to restore full diplomatic relations more than a decade after ties broke down, people familiar with the matter say, as Arab states warm up to Damascus in fast-evolving developments that are reshaping the Middle East’s geopolitics. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could meet soon after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends in late April, the people said. The date and location for a possible summit between the two leaders haven’t been completed, they added.

Summary Egyptian FM says 'goal of visit primarily humanitarian'And to 'pass on our solidarity' from people of EgyptArab League suspended Syria in 2011DAMASCUS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday in the first visits to Syria and Turkey by a top Egyptian diplomat in a decade. "The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity – from the leadership, the government and the people of Egypt to the people of Syria," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters in Damascus. "When the foreign minister of Egypt comes to Damascus, he comes to his home, his people, and his country," Mekdad said. Shoukry also visited Turkey, pointing to another shift in Egypt's foreign ties. "Foreign minister offers condolences for the victims of earthquake, affirms solidarity of Egyptian leadership, government and people with Turkey, and asserting continuity of aid for supporting Turkey and its brotherly people," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, said.

Damascus has long said aid to the rebel enclave in the north should go via Syria not across the Turkish border. Jordan and the UAE, which once backed Syria's opposition but have normalised ties with Assad in recent years, have sent aid to Damascus, Syrian state media has reported. WRANGLE OVER RESOURCESMoscow has long argued that delivering aid to northwest Syria from Turkey violates Syrian sovereignty. But he said aid flows must be coordinated with the government and delivered through Syria not across the Turkish border. The Damascus-based Syrian Red Crescent called for lifting of sanctions, which Syria's government has long blamed for mounting economic hardship.

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