BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday issued a rare rebuke of Iran, charging it with “blatant interference” over remarks attributed to its parliament speaker on a UN resolution on Hezbollah and Lebanon.
The Security Council resolution, adopted in 2006 and which states that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon, has come into focus during the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
In remarks published by France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf said that “Tehran would be willing to engage in concrete negotiations on enforcing Resolution 1701, with France acting as a mediator between Hezbollah and Israel.”
This is seen as a precondition for a ceasefire.
Le Figaro reported that Qalibaf “does not say that Hezbollah did not respect Resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah’s retreat beyond the Litani River.”
Mikati hit back, accusing Iran of “blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon.”
He said in a statement that “the issue of negotiating to implement international Resolution 1701 is being undertaken by the Lebanese state. Everyone is required to support it in this direction, not to seek to impose new mandates.”
Mikati said that Lebanon’s foreign minister would summon Iran’s charge d’affaires to seek clarification on Qalibaf’s remarks.
He said “he had communicated to both the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the speaker of the Iranian Shoura Council during their recent visits to Lebanon that it is crucial to understand the Lebanese situation, particularly as Lebanon is currently facing unprecedented Israeli aggression.”
He also said that “Lebanon is actively working with its allies, including France, to pressure Israel to cease hostilities.”
Mikati emphasized that “the responsibility for negotiating the implementation of Resolution 1701 lies with the Lebanese state.”
“Everyone should support this approach rather than seek to impose new and unacceptable forms of tutelage, which are rejected on both national and sovereign grounds,” he said.
Qalibaf visited Beirut on Oct. 12.
Araghchi had previously violated the Lebanese state’s sovereignty on Oct. 4, when he ignored the road map to end the war launched by parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt just two days before his arrival.
The road map did not mention Hezbollah and focused on implementing a ceasefire, electing a president and enforcing Resolution 1701.
During his meetings with Berri and Mikati, Araghchi believed that “Lebanon won’t remain without the Resistance.”
His statement was met with official disapproval, especially as Lebanon is currently facing the destructive Israeli military machine.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among those who rejected the Iranian stance.
“Iran made the brazen choice of putting Lebanese at risk and protecting itself, which accelerated the start of Israeli operations,” he said after the European summit in Brussels.
Hezbollah, he said, “has obligations, foremost among them the renunciation of weapons, terrorism and violence, and it must allow the Lebanese to come together.”
Qalibaf received harsh criticism within Lebanon, while Mikati was praised.
Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, said the prime minister’s stance “gives us a glimmer of hope that the state, albeit unfortunately after the devastating events, has begun to take responsibility.”
He said he hoped Mikati would “go further and say that the government demands a ceasefire based on the implementation of Resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701, as this is the only way to stop the ongoing massacres in Lebanon.”
Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, said: “Mikati’s stance is a good step toward restoring the state’s prestige, sovereignty and decision-making power and we support such steps to put an end to the blatant interference in Lebanese affairs. It is necessary to follow through by asserting the state’s authority on the ground.”
Bilal Hchaimeh, an independent lawmaker who is close to the Future Movement, called for the “rejection of any foreign interference in the sovereign affairs of our country, especially when it concerns negotiations related to our national security.”
A source close to Qalibaf said on Al-Mayadeen TV that “what the government and the resistance in Lebanon support regarding the ceasefire, Iran will support as well.”
He said also that “what was reported about Qalibaf is completely incorrect” and that “cooperation with Europe aims to help reach a ceasefire agreement supported by the government and the resistance in Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, fierce clashes continued between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, with Israeli airstrikes causing further destruction in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa. The death toll over the past 24 hours was 45, with 179 injured, according to the government’s emergency committee.
Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said: “The devastation and destruction of many villages along the Blue Line and even beyond is shocking. We’ve been targeted several times, five times under deliberate attack.”
He said also that “a trace of the possible use of white phosphorous” had been seen close to a UNIFIL base.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, head of Lebanon’s High Relief Commission said that the cargo from four of the 10 Saudi planes carrying aid for displaced people in Lebanon had been unloaded and that the last of the flights would land at Beirut airport on Tuesday.
He said that an executive delegation from the Kingdom, under the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had also arrived in Lebanon “to work alongside the commission, assist in the distribution of donations and familiarize themselves with the needs of the displaced.”
The aid was greatly welcomed, he said.
About 1.2 million people have been displaced from Lebanon’s south, the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more than half of them now living in shelters.
On Friday, Hezbollah’s military media reported the targeting of the settlement of Zevulun with a “large salvo of rockets, with sirens sounding in Acre, Haifa Bay and vast areas in the Galilee.”
In a statement to the residents of 23 southern towns, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “For your safety, you must evacuate without delay and move to the north of the Awali River.”
The airstrikes focused on the area of Nabatieh, targeting residential and commercial buildings in Aita Al-Shaab, Ramyah, Dhayra, Boustane, Maroun Al-Ras and Yaroun, as well as on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil, Marwahin and Tarbikha in the western sector.
Hezbollah’s military media said: “The enemy’s losses, as observed by the party, amounted to around 55 dead and more than 500 wounded officers and soldiers. In addition, 20 Merkava tanks, four military bulldozers, an armored vehicle and a troop carrier have been destroyed, and two ‘Hermes 450’ drones have been downed.”
Lebanon PM slams Iran speaker’s remarks as ‘blatant interference’
https://arab.news/g23tj
Lebanon PM slams Iran speaker’s remarks as ‘blatant interference’
- Tehran ‘willing to engage in negotiations,’ Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf quoted as saying
- Mikati accuses Iran of trying to ‘establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon’
In Damascus meeting, US drops reward for arrest of Syria’s new leader
- The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkiye during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan
DAMASCUS: A senior US diplomat told Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest, and welcomed “positive messages” from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.
Barbara Leaf, Washington’s top diplomat for the Middle East, made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus — the first formal mission to Syria’s capital by United States diplomats since the early days of Syria’s civil war.
The lightning offensive that toppled president Bashar Assad on December 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.
Leaf’s meeting with HTS chief Sharaa came despite Washington’s designation of his group as a terrorist organization.
“Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years,” Leaf told reporters after their talks.
She said “we welcomed positive messages” from Sharaa.
“We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words,” she said.
“I also communicated the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition,” she said.
“We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.”
The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkiye during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan.
A Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed to AFP that the US delegation had met with Sharaa.
“The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing,” the official said.
The US delegation also included the US pointman on hostages, who has been seeking clues on missing Americans including Austin Tice, a journalist kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.
On Friday, the US embassy added on social media platform X that the US and Syrian sides also discussed “regional events, Syria’s intention to be a good neighbor and the importance of common efforts on terrorism.”
On a regional tour prior to the Aqaba talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Daesh group (IS) jihadists.
The US military said on Friday its forces had killed an IS leader and another operative in Deir Ezzor province, part of escalated US military action against the group since Assad’s overthrow.
The embassy said Leaf also met with Syria’s White Helmet rescuers, civil society leaders, activists and others “to hear directly from them about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.”
Below a photograph of Leaf and others with a memorial wreath, the US embassy said she had also commemorated the tens of thousands of people murdered, tortured, disappeared or detained under Assad.
“The US commitment to hold accountable those responsible for these atrocities is unwavering,” the embassy said.
Leaf denied that her press conference in Damascus had been canceled for security reasons, saying she was delayed by street celebrations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Assad’s opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.
Turkiye has been putting pressure on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, and Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy “terrorist” groups operating in the country, specifically IS and Kurdish fighters.
“Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates — which threaten the survival of Syria — must be eradicated,” he told journalists following a summit in Cairo, referring to IS and the Kurdistan Workers Party, respectively.
The autonomous administration in northeastern Syria is protected by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly made up of the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkiye accuses the YPG of being a branch of the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist group.
Kurdish leaders in Syria have welcomed Assad’s ouster and raised the three-star independence-era rebel flag, but many in the region fear continued attacks by Turkiye and allied fighters.
Leaf said Washington was urging a ceasefire between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF around the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab.
On a visit to Ankara Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the dangers of any “escalation” of the fighting, saying: “Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria.”
Iran and Russia had long helped to prop up Assad, but on Friday Leaf said she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran.
Amy Pope, the head of the UN migration agency, on Friday urged “the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country.”
Pope also called for the raft of international sanctions on Syria to be reassessed to help the country regain its footing.
Syria’s civil war killed more than 500,000 people and sparked an exodus of millions of refugees.
Since Assad’s departure, which sparked celebrations at home and abroad, rebels have thrown open prisons where tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and tortured.
They have also located mass graves believed to hold some of the estimated 100,000 people who died or were killed in custody since 2011.
Israel army says troops shot Syrian protester in leg
- Israeli forces have been operating in areas beyond the buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory, the military has confirmed
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said its forces shot a protester during a demonstration against the army’s activities in a village in southern Syria on Friday, injuring him in the leg.
Since Islamist-led rebels toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad on December 8 Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian military facilities in what it says is a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands.
In a move widely condemned internationally, Israel also sent troops into a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and beyond, calling it a defensive and temporary measure.
“During a protest against IDF’s activities in the area of Maariya in southern Syria, IDF (Israeli military) called on protesters to distance themselves from the troops,” the military told AFP.
The village is just outside the southern point of the UN-patrolled zone.
“After the troops identified a threat, they operated in accordance with standard operating procedures against the threat... The protester was shot in the leg,” the military said.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the Israeli troops were stationed at a barracks in the village.
“During a protest condemning the Israeli incursion, a young man was injured by Israeli forces’ gunfire in the village of Maariya, in the Daraa region,” the Observatory said.
Israeli forced from Al-Jazeera barracks “opened fire directly at the demonstrators,” wounding the man in the leg, it said.
A villager from Maariya told AFP that Israeli soldiers had been entering his village and other nearby villages in recent days.
“When the Israelis entered ... they sowed fear and horror among the people, the children, the women,” Ali Al-Khalaf, 52, told AFP.
“So much so that some people fled to other nearby villages. They (Israeli troops) entered the villages of Maariya, Aabdyn and Jamlah,” he added.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing atop a strategic Syrian mountain inside the UN-patrolled zone.
During the visit Netanyahu reviewed the army’s deployment in the area, his office said.
Hours after Assad was overthrown, Netanyahu had ordered Israeli troops to seize the buffer zone.
Israel has framed the move as temporary and defensive, with Netanyahu saying it was in response to a “vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone.”
Israeli forces have also been operating in areas beyond the buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory, the military has confirmed.
Netanyahu said his country has “no interest in confronting Syria. Israel’s policy toward Syria will be determined by the evolving reality on the ground.”
Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa accused Israel of “a new unjustified escalation in the region” by entering the buffer zone but said “the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war” prevents it from entering new conflicts.
Israel conquered around two-thirds of the Golan during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and later annexed it. The United States, during Donald Trump’s first term as president, is the only country that has recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan.
All foreign forces must withdraw from Syria now, 50 UN experts say
- Rehabilitation of the country should pay specific attention to the human rights of minorities, the marginalised and all who face discrimination
- Justice for the victims of war crimes must be pursued through a credible judicial system focusing on accountability, reparations and reconciliation, not revenge
NEW YORK CITY: A group of 50 independent UN human rights experts have called on the international community to support Syria’s efforts to rebuild but stressed that the country must be free of foreign interference and aggression.
They emphasized the challenges posed by ongoing foreign military interventions, warning that such actions undermine the nation’s sovereignty and hinder the reconstruction process.
In particular they highlighted Israeli airstrikes and incursions into Syrian territory, particularly in the Golan Heights and northeast of the country, as significant obstacles to peace and stability.
“Syria has endured major foreign interventions, transforming the country into a battleground for proxy wars involving multiple actors, including private forces,” the experts said.
“The continuing military interventions, such as Israel’s unprovoked, illegal attacks and its occupation of more Syrian territory in the Golan Heights, and other air attacks and incursions into northeast and central Syria, put grave obstacles to the rehabilitation process and destabilize the region.”
The experts reiterated the call for all foreign occupying forces to immediately withdraw from Syria.
“While international support for Syria’s rebuilding is essential, the rehabilitation process must remain free of foreign interference or aggression,” they said. “All territorial incursions and attacks must cease without delay.”
The experts, who included the UN’s special rapporteurs on torture, arbitrary executions, freedom of opinion, trafficking in persons, and the protection of fundamental freedoms, also stressed the need for a Syrian-led political transition. They said this process must be inclusive, non-sectarian and take account of the interests of all elements of Syrian society.
Syrian insurgents seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing President Bashar Assad to flee the country after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family’s 54-year rule. The rebels’ rapid advance, which took less than two weeks and met with minimal resistance, raised questions about the ability to ensure an orderly political transition in the aftermath.
“This is a watershed moment in the region’s history,” the experts said, pointing to the opportunity it offers for lasting peace, justice and the restoration of Syrian sovereignty. They called for full respect for the territorial integrity of the country, and stressed that ongoing
lawlessness, violence and persistent violations of international law, especially human rights and humanitarian law, must cease.
They urged the international community to collaborate on the rehabilitation of Syria based on democratic principles that respect the human rights of all Syrians, with a particular focus on minorities, marginalized groups, women, people who are vulnerable due to sexual orientation or gender identity, persons with disabilities, children, internally displaced persons, and returning refugees.
The experts also highlighted the urgent need to address widespread violations of human rights, including torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, unlawful killings and human trafficking. They emphasized the “paramount” need to pursue justice for all victims of such atrocities and called for the release of all individuals who were arbitrarily detained. Preserving evidence of gross violations of rights is also critical to help ensure accountability, they added.
“Justice must be pursued for all crimes, regardless of the perpetrator, through a credible judicial system focused on accountability, reparations and reconciliation, not revenge,” the experts said.
In line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which was adopted in 2015 and calls for a Syrian-led political transition and the establishment of a representative government, the experts stressed the importance of adopting a transparent, inclusive process to help establish peace and rebuild the country.
They also noted the severe environmental and infrastructural damage caused by the conflict, including the widespread destruction of housing that might potentially amount to domicide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of homes and living environments.
The experts called for the international community to provide substantial resources in support of humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts, focusing in particular on mitigating the environmental impacts of the war, including the safe removal of the toxic remnants of the conflict.
“Reconstruction must be carried out in a manner that respects human rights and ensures the safe, dignified return of refugees and displaced persons who wish to go home,” they said.
But they reiterated that no one, whether Syrian nationals or Palestinian refugees, should be forcibly returned to the country.
Furthermore, the experts called for women to have leadership roles in the peace-building and transitional process, and emphasized the need for gender equality and full protection of women’s rights.
They urged all states to repatriate their nationals from Syria and to provide effective protection for women and children who have been arbitrarily detained in northeastern Syria since the fall of Daesh in 2019. They called for the immediate lifting of international sanctions on Syria and urged all parties to prioritize the humanitarian needs of the Syrian population.
The experts expressed strong support for the Syrian people in their pursuit of a democratic and peaceful future, and stressed the importance of ensuring justice, inclusivity and respect for human rights in the country’s transition.
Macron sees new role for French military base in Djibouti
- Macron was speaking after France was forced to pull troops out of several other African countries
DJIBOUTI: French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday its military base in Djibouti could assume a greater role, speaking after Paris was forced to pull troops out of several other African countries.
“Our role is changing in Africa because the world is changing in Africa, because public opinion is changing, because governments are changing,” he said.
Macron was addressing French forces stationed at the strategic Horn of Africa nation before sitting down for a Christmas meal with the troops, a regular feature on the presidential calendar.
France had to change its past logic of having too many military bases in Africa, he said.
In recent years, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all three under military rule, have told France to get its troops out.
They have turned instead to Russia for military support in their fight against the jihadist forces active in the region.
And on Friday, France also began withdrawing ground troops from Chad, after N’Djamena last month abruptly ended military cooperation with the former colonial power.
The central African country was the last Sahel nation to host French troops.
Its decision also came shortly after Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told AFP in an interview that France should close its military bases there.
Djibouti has in the past been part of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, contributing to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
“It is also, and will also have to be reinvented as, a projection point for some of our African missions,” Macron said, without elaborating.
The French base at Djibouti currently hosts 1,500 soldiers.
That makes it France’s largest military contingent abroad and the only one untouched by the military draw-down African nations have imposed on Paris.
In July, Djibouti and France renewed their defense cooperation treaty.
As well as paying rent for the base, France also assumes responsibility for patrolling the airspace over the country.
The small east African state is a relative haven of stability. On the other side of the Red Sea lies Yemen, gripped in a devastating civil war.
American strike kills Daesh leader in Syria
- The announcement of the latest strike came a day after the US said it had this year doubled the number of troops it has in Syria as part of the anti-IS fight
WASHINGTON: American forces killed a Daesh leader and another of the group’s members in a strike in Syria, the US military said on Friday.
Washington has stepped up military action against the extremist group since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government earlier this month, hitting areas that were shielded by Syrian and Russian air defenses before a lightning offensive by rebels who now control the country.
The strike took place on Thursday in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria, killing Daesh leader “Abu Yusif” and another operative, the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said on social media, without providing further details on the two terrorists. “This airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks,” CENTCOM said.
The strike “was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians,” it added.
The US has for years carried out periodic strikes and raids to help prevent a resurgence of Daesh but has launched dozens of strikes since Assad’s fall.
On Dec. 8 — the day militants took the capital Damascus — Washington announced strikes on more than 75 Daesh targets that CENTCOM said were aimed at ensuring it “does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.”
And on Monday, CENTCOM said US forces killed 12 extremists from the group in strikes it said were carried out “in former regime and Russian-controlled areas.”
The announcement of the latest strike came a day after the US said it had this year doubled the number of troops it has in Syria as part of the anti-IS fight.
The US had for years said it has some 900 military personnel in the country as part of international efforts against the extremist group, which seized swathes of territory there and in neighboring Iraq before being defeated by local forces backed by a US-led air campaign.
But there are now “approximately 2,000 US troops in Syria” and have been for at least a few months, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists, saying he had just received the updated figure.
