Iran threatens to annihilate Israel should it launch a major attack
Iran threatens to annihilate Israel should it launch a major attack/node/2498101/middle-east
Iran threatens to annihilate Israel should it launch a major attack
A police officer is silhouetted as he stands guard while paramilitary forces patrol as a security measure, following the visit of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in Karachi, Pakistan April 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Iran threatens to annihilate Israel should it launch a major attack
Explosions were heard over Iran’s Isfahan city Friday in possible Israeli attack
But Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for a retaliation
Updated 23 April 2024
Reuters
DUBAI: An Israeli attack on Iranian territory could radically change dynamics and result in there being nothing left of the "Zionist regime", Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the official IRNA news agency.
Raisi began a three day visit to Pakistan on Monday and has vowed to boost trade between the neighbouring nations to $10 billion a year.
The two Muslim neighbours are seeking to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year.
On Friday, explosions were heard over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel on April 13 in what it said was retaliation for Israel's suspected deadly strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, but almost all were shot down.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will honourably continue to support the Palestinian resistance," Raisi added in the speech in Lahore.
Sudan’s refugees face deadly game of ‘snakes and ladders’ in Libya
Updated 9 sec ago
According to the UN refugee agency, there are more than 210,000 Sudanese refugees in Libya, accounting for 73 percent of all refugees Most Sudanese arrive through Kufra, then move north to cities like Ajdabiya in the east or the coastal capital Tripoli
SYRACUSE, Italy: The mayday relay came in from Eagle 3, a surveillance aircraft for the EU’s Frontex border agency — a rubber boat crammed with 70 people was taking on water off the coast of Libya. Humanity 1, a rescue ship operated by the German NGO SOS Humanity, rushed to the scene and found the boat’s bow rising to breaking point, with people falling overboard, panicked and exhausted after two days at sea. Most were unaccompanied minors who had fled Sudan’s war. Among those rescued was Farid, a 17-year-old who asked to use a pseudonym to protect his identity. He had come from the city of Al-Fashir in Sudan’s North Darfur state. “The helicopters still haunt me. Airstrike after airstrike. Dead bodies everywhere,” he said, sitting on the deck of Humanity 1 last November. Tens of thousands have been killed since fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in 2023. More than 12 million people have been displaced, and 24.6 million — half the country’s population — need food assistance. Farid said the warring factions were stealing food aid and selling it. “That’s why so many are dying in Al-Fashir. They are starving.” On his way from Sudan, Farid passed through Kufra, an isolated area in southeastern Libya where mass graves containing the bodies of scores of migrants have been discovered. Kufra is controlled by rival armed groups, representing the Arab Zway majority and the ethnic Tebu minority. When he arrived outside Kufra, Farid found hundreds of Sudanese refugees crowded by the roadside seeking assistance. He was offered a mattress and some food by Libyan authorities, but in return he was forced to work long hours collecting plastic waste for recycling. He was paid nothing. When he complained, he was told that if he caused any problems, he would be sold to a rival militia or worse. “Kufra is a tribal area. And we are slaves in their land,” Farid said, his voice trembling. “They make us fight for them or sell us into forced labor. If you refuse, they can take your organs and bury you by the road.”
“SNAKES AND LADDERS“ According to the UN refugee agency, there are more than 210,000 Sudanese refugees in Libya, accounting for 73 percent of all refugees. Hundreds more arrive each day. Since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, Libya has been torn by factional conflict and is a major route for migrants fleeing war and poverty. Most Sudanese arrive through Kufra, then move north to cities like Ajdabiya in the east or the coastal capital Tripoli. Many, like Farid, are abused and women, in particular, face extreme violence. “I saw a girl being beaten and raped. They killed her and left her on the street,” Farid said. “The mother took her body back to Sudan. She’d rather die in the war than stay in Libya.” Ahmed, a 19-year-old Sudanese man also using a pseudonym, said he was held captive in a smuggler’s warehouse near Zawiya, a northwestern coastal city, for four months. “There’s a chain of detention centers that you work your way through, from Kufra in the south to Zawiya or Ain Zara in the north. You have to pay for your release each time. If you get caught again, you start over, like a game of snakes and ladders.”
EU FUNDS Ahmed said the Libyan coast guard ran a “small boat lottery,” with the fate of a migrant depending on the fee they paid. He said fees could range up to $15,000 per crossing, with those who pay more — often Egyptians or Syrians — getting better treatment and having more chance of success than those who pay less, often including Sudanese and Eritreans. Since 2015, the EU has allocated more than 465 million euros for equipment and training for Libyan authorities to stem the flow of migrants into southern Europe. Rights groups say the EU policy of farming out immigration control to third countries in return for aid leads to abuse and fails to address underlying issues. The European Court of Auditors said in a September report on the EUTF that there was a lack of follow-up on allegations of human rights violations. A 2023 UN fact-finding mission said crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in Libya in some detention centers managed by units that received EU backing. Libyan authorities have previously denied abuse. A European Commission spokesperson said in an email that no EU funding goes directly to any Libyan authority, but goes exclusively to implementing partners, either international organizations or member states. The EU aims to bolster Libyan capacity to save lives at sea and in the desert and fight smuggling and human trafficking networks that profit from irregular migration, the spokesperson said, adding that the EU was also supporting local authorities’ efforts to address the situation of Sudanese refugees. “The EU strongly encourages the Libyan government to ensure a thorough follow-up to any reports of abuses,” the spokesperson said, adding that the EU has been raising these issues as part of ongoing dialogue on migration with Libyan authorities. As Humanity 1 headed toward Calabria in Italy, Ahmed reflected on his journey and said that despite the multiple risks he would do it all again. “I don’t want to be killed by my brothers in Sudan,” he said. As for Libya — “Dying at sea is better. The sea will not torture you.”
Lebanon seeks to firm up state authority by naming new army chief, top security officials
The appointments also come after Lebanese political faction in January overcame a crippling, two-year deadlock, electing a president, Joseph Aoun
The new appointees include army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal
Updated 31 min 56 sec ago
AP
BEIRUT: Lebanon appointed a new army chief and heads of three security agencies on Thursday as the government seeks to firm up state authority, especially in the country’s south, following the militant Hezbollah group’s devastating war with Israel.
The appointments also come after Lebanese political faction in January overcame a crippling, two-year deadlock, electing a president, Joseph Aoun, a former army chief, and forming a new government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
A US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November, halting nearly 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. The militants began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war last September.
In announcing the new appointments, Aoun also said that five Lebanese nationals detained by Israeli troops during the fighting have been released following indirect negotiations.
Morgan Ortagus, deputy special envoy for Middle East in the Trump administration, told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television on Tuesday that the five were a mix of soldiers and civilians. Ortagus said she was confident Lebanon and Israel would resolve outstanding territorial disputes.
The new appointees include army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal; head of State Security agency, Brig. Gen. Edgar Lawandos, and Brig. Gen. Hassan Choucair, who was named head of General Security. Brig. Gen. Raed Abdullah was named head of Internal Security Forces.
Lebanon would also recruit 4,500 soldiers this year to help further increase its military’s presence in its southern region.
Former HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic groups
Updated 7 min 25 sec ago
AP
DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.
The country’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of the country since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew former leader Bashar Assad in December.
Former HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country’s old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.
While many were happy to see an end to the Assad family’s dictatorial rule of over 50 years in the war-torn country, religious and ethnic minorities have been skeptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee Al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a press conference Thursday that it will maintain some previsions from the previous one, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim, and Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.
However, Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at the Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, also said the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the press. The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, he said.
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic groups.
Al-Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, including a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces with the central government’s security agencies.
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad. Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians — mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which Assad belongs — were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counter-offensive.
A key goal of the interim constitution was to give a timeline for the country’s political transition out of its interim phase. In December, Al-Sharaa said it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organize and hold elections.
Al-Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding interim parliamentary elections. Critics said the hastily-organized conference was not inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities. Al-Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, fearing that the country’s crumbling economy could bring further instability.
Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit
Updated 59 min 40 sec ago
Arab News
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel has sent 10,000 humanitarian aid packages to Syria’s Druze community while also strengthening ties with the group, as a delegation of Druze clerics prepares for a historic visit to Israel.
The aid, including basic goods such as oil, flour, salt, and sugar, was delivered to the conflict-affected southern province of Suwayda, Israel’s Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Syrian Druze clerics is preparing to visit Israel this Friday, marking the first such visit since 1948.
The group, invited by Israel's Druze community, will visit the Tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Galilee and meet with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community.
The visit has faced strong opposition within Syria's Druze community, with some members expressing disapproval of the trip.
Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced
The Russian airbase at Hmeimim has sheltered over 8,000 locals fleeing violence
Updated 13 March 2025
AFP
MOSCOW: Russia is sheltering at its Hmeimim military air base in western Syria more than 8,000 Syrians who fled a wave of sectarian mass killings, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.
“The Russian air base at Hmeimim has opened its doors to local residents fleeing from the pogroms... Our military have given refuge to more than 8,000 people,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at a regular briefing.
