logo
Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers to meet in Jeddah after postponing sitdown

Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers to meet in Jeddah after postponing sitdown

Al Arabiya27-03-2025
Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, a day after a planned visit by the Lebanese official to Damascus was postponed, Al Arabiya reported.
Lebanon's Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra, are expected to hold talks in Jeddah, according to information obtained by Al Arabiya.
Menassa was planning to head to Syria on Wednesday for talks with Abu Qasra that aimed to discuss tensions along the border.
A Lebanese official told AFP on Wednesday that the delay was 'in no way related to tensions or conflicts' but didn't specify when the meeting was postponed to.
Menassa had been set to meet Abu Qasra in the first visit by a Lebanese minister since the cabinet was formed in February.
Border tensions flared earlier in March after Syria's new authorities accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah of kidnapping three soldiers into Lebanon and killing them.
The Iran-backed group, which fought alongside the forces of toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, denied involvement. But the ensuing cross-border clashes left seven Lebanese dead.
Information obtained by Al Arabiya said that the Jeddah meeting will tackle border control between the two countries following the border clashes.
With AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Citizen, Syrian expat publicly named over commercial concealment in Riyadh
Citizen, Syrian expat publicly named over commercial concealment in Riyadh

Saudi Gazette

time2 hours ago

  • Saudi Gazette

Citizen, Syrian expat publicly named over commercial concealment in Riyadh

Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Ministry of Commerce has publicly named a Saudi citizen and a Syrian resident following a final court ruling that found them guilty of engaging in commercial concealment involving the sale of restaurant equipment in Riyadh. According to the ministry, the Saudi national had unlawfully enabled the Syrian expat to run commercial operations under his business license. The expat was granted full control over the establishment, managing its operations and transactions for personal gain in violation of the Anti-Concealment Law. Investigations revealed solid evidence of the violation, including the expat signing contracts, supervising workers, handling purchases and sales, collecting revenues from the illicit business activity, and covering business expenses and rent. The Criminal Court in Riyadh issued a final verdict that includes the public naming of both individuals, a shared fine of SR20,000, the cancellation of the commercial registration, revocation of the license, liquidation of the business, and payment of all due taxes, zakat, and fees. The court also barred both individuals from engaging in commercial activity and ordered the deportation of the Syrian expat, with a permanent ban on returning to work in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Commerce reminded the public that under the Anti-Concealment Law, violators face penalties of up to five years in prison, fines of up to SR5 million, and the confiscation of illicit funds once a final court ruling is issued.

Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns
Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns

Arab News

time4 hours ago

  • Arab News

Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Sunday that the government will not allow pilgrims to travel to Iran and Iraq by road for the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, citing public safety and national security concerns for the ban. Thousands of Pakistani citizens visit Iran and Iraq annually for religious tourism and to visit religious sites, including observing Arbaeen (Arabic for 'forty'), a significant religious occasion in Shia Islam. It marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was 'martyred' in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Travelers to Iran and Iraq by road have often been targeted in sectarian attacks by armed groups in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, which shares a border with Iran. Islamabad's decision comes in the wake of a rise in militant attacks in the province by ethnic Baloch militant groups, who demand a greater share of the province's mineral resources from Islamabad. 'After extensive consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balochistan Government, and security agencies, it has been decided that Zaireen will not be allowed to travel to Iraq and Iran by road for Arbaeen this year,' Naqvi wrote on X. After extensive consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balochistan Government, and security agencies, it has been decided that Zaireen will not be allowed to travel to Iraq and Iran by road for Arbaeen this year. This difficult decision was taken in the interest of… — Mohsin Naqvi (@MohsinnaqviC42) July 27, 2025 The interior minister said this 'difficult decision' was taken in the interest of public safety and national security. However, he said Shia pilgrims will be allowed to travel by air to Iran and Iraq. 'Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to arrange maximum flights to facilitate their pilgrimage in the coming days,' he wrote. A Pakistani immigration official told Arab News earlier this month that Islamabad plans to overhaul its pilgrimage travel policy to Iraq, Iran and Syria after authorities confirmed around 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims went missing or overstayed in the three countries over the past decade. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf revealed this month that 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims had either overstayed or gone missing in these countries without any official record of their whereabouts. In response, Pakistani authorities have scrapped the long-standing 'Salar system,' in which private group leaders managed travel logistics, and are introducing a new centralized, computerized structure to track and regulate pilgrim movement more effectively. Mustafa Jamal Kazi, Pakistan's director general of Immigration and Passports, said a new Ziyarat Management Policy has been finalized by the government under which pilgrims will only be allowed to travel in organized groups, and licensed tour operators will be held directly responsible for ensuring that all group members return to Pakistan before their visas expire. Any operator found violating the policy or failing to ensure the return of all pilgrims will have their license canceled.

Iran Executes Two Members of Mujahideen-e-Khalq Group
Iran Executes Two Members of Mujahideen-e-Khalq Group

Asharq Al-Awsat

time5 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Executes Two Members of Mujahideen-e-Khalq Group

Iran executed two members of the banned Mujahideen-e-Khalq group for attacking civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan said on Sunday. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, identified as "operational elements" of the MEK, were sentenced to death in September 2024 - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, which denied their request for a retrial, Mizan said. "The terrorists, in coordination with MEK leaders, had built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centers," the report said. The defendants were indicted with destroying public property and "membership in a terrorist organization with the aim of disrupting national security." The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, was a powerful leftist-militant group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed Iran and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union until 2012.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store