Syria says ready to work with US to return to 1974 disengagement deal with Israel
Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Friday that Damascus was willing to cooperate with Washington to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.
In a statement following a phone call with his American counterpart Marco Rubio, Shaibani said he expressed Syria's "aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement".
Syria and Israel have technically been in a state of war since 1948.
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Ya Libnan
12 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Hezbollah weighs scaling back its arsenal in wake of Israel conflict
File photo: A parade by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia (which is the only militia that refused to hand over its arms following the end of the civil war ) . It is now the most powerful group in Lebanon and acts as ' the state within. none -state '. Calls on it to disarm intensified after its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed. ' Either Lebanon Army or Hezbollah's arms . These 2 cannot coexist according to experts. Hezbollah has reportedly concluded that the arsenal it had amassed to deter Israel from attacking Lebanon had become a liability. By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily Summary BEIRUT – Hezbollah has begun a major strategic review in the wake of its devastating war with Israel, including considering scaling back its role as an armed movement without disarming completely, three sources familiar with the deliberations say. The internal discussions, which aren't yet finalized and haven't previously been reported, reflect the formidable pressures the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group has faced since a truce was reached in late November Israeli forces continue to strike areas where the group holds sway, accusing Hezbollah of ceasefire violations, which it denies. It is also grappling with acute financial strains, U.S. demands for its disarmament and diminished political clout since a new cabinet took office in February with U.S. support. The group's difficulties have been compounded by seismic shifts in the regional power balance since Israel decimated its command, killed thousands of its fighters and destroyed much of its arsenal last year. Hezbollah's Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled in December, severing a key arms supply line from Iran. Tehran is now emerging from its own bruising war with Israel , raising doubts over how much aid it can offer, a regional security source and a senior Lebanese official told Reuters. Another senior official, who is familiar with Hezbollah's internal deliberations, said the group had been holding clandestine discussions on its next steps. Small committees have been meeting in person or remotely to discuss issues including its leadership structure, political role, social and development work, and weapons, the official said on condition of anonymity. The official and two other sources familiar with the discussions indicated Hezbollah has concluded that the arsenal it had amassed to deter Israel from attacking Lebanon had become a liability. Hezbollah 'had an excess of power,' the official said. 'All that strength turned into a weak point.' Under the leadership of Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed last year , Hezbollah grew into a regional military player with tens of thousands of fighters, rockets and drones poised to strike Israel. It also provided support to allies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Israel came to regard Hezbollah as a significant threat. When the group opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in 2023, Israel responded with airstrikes in Lebanon that escalated into a ground offensive. Hezbollah has since relinquished a number of weapons depots in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese armed forces as stipulated in last year's truce, though Israel says it has struck military infrastructure there still linked to the group. Hezbollah is now considering turning over some weapons it has elsewhere in the country – notably missiles and drones seen as the biggest threat to Israel – on condition Israel withdraws from the south and halts its attacks, the sources said. But the group won't surrender its entire arsenal, the sources said. For example, it intends to keep lighter arms and anti-tank missiles, they said, describing them as a means to resist any future attacks. Hezbollah's media office did not respond to questions for this article. Isreal's military said it would continue operating along its northern border in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, in order to eliminate any threat and protect Israeli citizens. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on private diplomatic conversations, referring questions to Lebanon's government. Lebanon's presidency did not respond to questions. For Hezbollah to preserve any military capabilities would fall short of Israeli and U.S. ambitions. Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate 'all unauthorized arms', beginning in the area south of the Litani River – the zone closest to Israel. Lebanon's government also wants Hezbollah to surrender the rest of its weapons as it works to establish a state monopoly on arms. Failure to do so could stir tensions with the group's Lebanese rivals, which accuse Hezbollah of leveraging its military might to impose its will in state affairs and repeatedly dragging Lebanon into conflicts. All sides have said they remain committed to the ceasefire, even as they traded accusations of violations . PART OF HEZBOLLAH'S 'DNA' Arms have been central to Hezbollah's doctrine since it was founded by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fight Israeli forces who invaded Lebanon in 1982, at the height of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. Tensions over the Shi'ite Muslim group's arsenal sparked another, brief civil conflict in May 2008. The United States and Israel deem Hezbollah a terrorist group. Nicholas Blanford, who wrote a history of Hezbollah, said that in order to reconstitute itself, the group would have to justify its retention of weapons in an increasingly hostile political landscape, while addressing damaging intelligence breaches and ensuring its long-term finances. 'They've faced challenges before, but not this number simultaneously,' said Blanford, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank. A European official familiar with intelligence assessments said there was a lot of brainstorming underway within Hezbollah about its future but no clear outcomes. The official described Hezbollah's status as an armed group as part of its DNA, saying it would be difficult for it to become a purely political party. Nearly a dozen sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said the group wants to keep some arms, not only in case of future threats from Israel, but also because it is worried that Sunni Muslim jihadists in neighboring Syria might exploit lax security to attack eastern Lebanon, a Shi'ite-majority region. Despite the catastrophic results of the latest war with Israel – tens of thousands of people were left homeless and swathes of the south and Beirut's southern suburbs were destroyed – many of Hezbollah's core supporters want it to remain armed. Um Hussein, whose son died fighting for Hezbollah, cited the threat still posed by Israel and a history of conflict with Lebanese rivals as reasons to do so. 'Hezbollah is the backbone of the Shi'ites, even if it is weak now,' she said, asking to be identified by a traditional nickname because members of her family still belong to Hezbollah. 'We were a weak, poor group. Nobody spoke up for us.' Hezbollah's immediate priority is tending to the needs of constituents who bore the brunt of the war, the sources familiar with its deliberations said. In December, Secretary General Naim Qassem said Hezbollah had paid more than $50 million to affected families with more than $25 million still to hand out. But there are signs that its funds are running short. One Beirut resident said he had paid for repairs to his apartment in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs after it was damaged in the war only to see the entire block destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in June. 'Everyone is scattered and homeless. No one has promised to pay for our shelter,' said the man, who declined to be identified for fear his complaints might jeopardize his chances of receiving compensation. He said he had received cheques from Hezbollah but was told by the group's financial institution, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, that it did not have funds available to cash them. Reuters could not immediately reach the institution for comment. Other indications of financial strain have included cutbacks to free medications offered by Hezbollah-run pharmacies, three people familiar with the operations said. SQUEEZING HEZBOLLAH FINANCES Hezbollah has put the onus on Lebanon's government to secure reconstruction funding. But Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, a Hezbollah critic, has said there will be no aid from foreign donors until the state establishes a monopoly on arms. A State Department spokesperson said in May that, while Washington was engaged in supporting sustainable reconstruction in Lebanon, 'this cannot happen without Hezbollah laying down their arms'. Israel has also been squeezing Hezbollah's finances. The Israeli military said on June 25 that it had killed an Iranian official who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in transfers annually to armed groups in the region, as well as a man in southern Lebanon who ran a currency exchange business that helped get some of these funds to Hezbollah. Iran did not comment at the time, and its U.N. mission did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters. Since February, Lebanon has barred commercial flights between Beirut and Tehran, after Israel's military accused Hezbollah of using civilian aircraft to bring in money from Iran and threatened to take action to stop this. Lebanese authorities have also tightened security at Beirut airport, where Hezbollah had free rein for years, making it harder for the group to smuggle in funds that way, according to an official and a security source familiar with airport operations. Such moves have fueled anger among Hezbollah's supporters towards the administration led by President Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, who was made prime minister against Hezbollah's wishes. Alongside its Shi'ite ally, the Amal Movement, Hezbollah swept local elections in May, with many seats uncontested. The group will be seeking to preserve its dominance in legislative elections next year. Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Lebanon's Annahar newspaper, said next year's poll was part of an 'existential battle' for Hezbollah. 'It will use all the means it can, firstly to play for time so it doesn't have to disarm, and secondly to make political and popular gains,' he said. (Reuters)
Nahar Net
13 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Aoun denies reports about fighters build-up on Lebanon's eastern border
by Naharnet Newsdesk 5 hours President Joseph Aoun on Friday denied the reports about the alleged entry of armed groups from Syria into Lebanon and the reports about mobilization for incursions from Syria. 'No party can eliminate another party in Lebanon and no sect has an advantage over another. The latest Israeli war targeted entire Lebanon, while the economic war has not been merciful on any of its sons,' Aoun said. Warning of 'the enemies within the country who incite sectarianism out of keenness on their interests with foreign forces,' the president said 'coordination is well underway with the Syrian side to prevent cross-border smuggling.'
Nahar Net
13 hours ago
- Nahar Net
American bombs in Iran also reverberate in China and North Korea
by Naharnet Newsdesk 6 hours President Donald Trump campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign wars, but it didn't take long to convince him to come to the direct aid of Israel, hitting Iranian nuclear targets with bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a submarine. Beyond the attack's immediate impact on helping bring the 12-day war to a close, experts say Trump's decision to use force against another country also will certainly be reverberating in the Asia-Pacific, Washington's priority theater. "Trump's strikes on Iran show that he's not afraid to use military force — this would send a clear message to North Korea, and even to China and Russia, about Trump's style," said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security based in Seoul, South Korea. "Before the strikes, Pyongyang and Beijing might have assumed that Trump is risk averse, particularly based on his behavior his first presidency despite some tough talk," Kim said. China, North Korea and Russia all condemn US strike Ten days into the war between Israel and Iran, Trump made the risky decision to step in, hitting three nuclear sites with American firepower on June 22 in a bid to destroy the country's nuclear program at a time while negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still ongoing. The attacks prompted a pro forma Iranian retaliatory strike the following day on a U.S. base in nearby Qatar, which caused no casualties, and both Iran and Israel then agreed to a ceasefire on June 24. North Korea, China and Russia all were quick to condemn the American attack, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it "unprovoked aggression," China's Foreign Ministry saying it violated international law and "exacerbated tensions in the Middle East," and North Korea's Foreign Ministry maintaining it "trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state." While the strikes were a clear tactical success, the jury is still out on whether they will have a more broad strategic benefit to Washington's goals in the Middle East or convince Iran it needs to work harder than ever to develop a nuclear deterrent, possibly pulling the U.S. back into a longer-term conflict. US allies could see attack as positive sign for deterrence If the attack remains a one-off strike, U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region likely will see the decision to become involved as a positive sign from Trump's administration, said Euan Graham, a senior defense analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. "The U.S. strike on Iran will be regarded as net plus by Pacific allies if it is seen to reinforce red lines, restore deterrence and is of limited duration, so as not to pull the administration off-course from its stated priorities in the Indo-Pacific," he said. "China will take note that Trump is prepared to use force, at least opportunistically." In China, many who have seen Trump as having a "no-war mentality" will reassess that in the wake of the attacks, which were partially aimed at forcing Iran's hand in nuclear program negotiations, said Zhao Minghao, an international relations professor at China's Fudan University in Shanghai. "The way the U.S. used power with its air attacks against Iran is something China needs to pay attention to," he said. "How Trump used power to force negotiations has a significance for how China and the U.S. will interact in the future." But, he said, Washington should not think it can employ the same strategy with Beijing. "If a conflict breaks out between China and the U.S., it may be difficult for the U.S. to withdraw as soon as possible, let alone withdraw unscathed," he said. China and North Korea present different challenges Indeed, China and North Korea present very different challenges than Iran. First and foremost, both already have nuclear weapons, raising the stakes of possible retaliation considerably in the event of any attack. There also is no Asian equivalent of Israel, whose relentless attacks on Iranian missile defenses in the opening days of the war paved the way for the B-2 bombers to fly in and out without a shot being fired at them. Still, the possibility of the U.S. becoming involved in a conflict involving either China or North Korea is a very real one, and Beijing and Pyongyang will almost certainly try to assess what the notoriously unpredictable Trump would do. North Korea will likely be "quite alarmed" at what Israel, with a relatively small but high-quality force, has been able to achieve over Iran, said Joseph Dempsey, a defense expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. At the same time, it likely will be seen internally as justification for its own nuclear weapons program, "If Iran did have deployable nuclear weapons would this have occurred?" Dempsey said. "Probably not." The U.S. decision to attack while still in talks with Iran will also not go unnoticed, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea's Institute for National Unification. "North Korea may conclude that dialogue, if done carelessly, could backfire by giving the United States a pretext for possible aggression," he said. "Instead of provoking the Trump administration, North Korea is more likely to take an even more passive stance toward negotiations with Washington, instead focusing on strengthening its internal military buildup and pursuing closer ties with Russia, narrowing the prospects for future talks," he said. China and Taiwan will draw lessons China will look at the attacks through the visor of Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island off its coast that China claims as its own territory and President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking by force. The U.S. supplies Taiwan with weapons and is one of its most important allies, though Washington's official policy on whether it would come to Taiwan's aid in the case of a conflict with China is known as "strategic ambiguity," meaning not committing to how it would respond. Militarily, the strike on Iran raises the question of whether the U.S. might show less restraint than has been expected by China in its response and hit targets on the Chinese mainland in the event of an invasion of Taiwan, said Drew Thompson, senior fellow with the Singapore-based think tank RSIS Rajaratnam School of International Studies. It will also certainly underscore for Beijing the "difficulty of predicting Trump's actions," he said. "The U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities caught many by surprise," Thompson said. "I think it demonstrated a tolerance and acceptance of risk in the Trump administration that is perhaps surprising." It also gives rise to a concern that Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, who in recent speeches has increased warnings about the threat from China, may be further emboldened in his rhetoric, said Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities. Already, Lai's words have prompted China to accuse him of pursuing Taiwanese independence, which is a red line for Beijing. Goldstein said he worried Taiwan may try to take advantage of the American "use of force against Iran to increase its deterrent situation versus the mainland." "President Lai's series of recent speeches appear almost designed to set up a new cross-strait crisis, perhaps in the hopes of building more support in Washington and elsewhere around the Pacific," said Goldstein, who also is director of the China Initiative at Brown University's Watson Institute. "I think that is an exceedingly risky gambit, to put it mildly," he said.
