Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 02-03/2024
Commemoration Of The Zahle City siege: Heroism and Martyrdom/Elias Bejjani/April 02/2023
Blinken from France: We Are Trying to Prevent the Spread of Conflict to Lebanon
Israeli army chief approves new plans for Lebanon front
Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Israel says struck 10 Hezbollah targets in Rashaya al-Fukhar
Hezbollah says 'punishment' will come after Israeli strike on Iranian consulate
Damascus strike: Is Israel turning to Lebanon and Syria to weaken Iran?
Foreign Ministry condemns Iran consulate strike blamed on Israel
Cyprus president asks EU Commission chief to get Lebanon to stop migrants from leaving its shores
Sayyed Fadlallah's bureau announces April 10th first day of Eid al-Fitr
Bou Saab meets Wronecka, condemns attack on Iranian Consulate building in Damascus
Wazzani water station restored in South Lebanon
Israeli Drone Injures a Woman in Yarine, UNIFIL Affirms Continued Activity in South
Mikati Calls for a Cabinet Meeting on Thursday
Ogero on Strike Again Wednesday and Thursday
Former Judge Appointed as Acting Head of Judicial Inspection Authority
Mawlawi Emphasizes Lebanese Sovereignty Amidst Security Concerns
US State Department Official Visits LAU
A game of danger and opportunity in open war/Rafiq Khoury/Nedda Al Watan/April 03, 2024
Gibran and Lebanon: Commemorating the Prophet’s Centenary/Johnny Kortbawi/This is Beirut/April 02/2024
Hizbullah Arresting Foreign Nationals In Beirut, Tightening Its Control In The Area/N. Mozes/MEMRI/April 02/2024
Nasrallah,“The only one left alive”..Nasrallah’s picture with Iranian Leaders Killed By USA & Israel/Sky News Arabia/April 02/2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 02-03/2024
Video/Makram Rabah | My thoughts on the targeting of the IRGC in Damascus & what this means for the region .DW news
Four wounded in ramming, attempted stabbing attack in central Israel/A manhunt is underway for two suspected terrorists.
Iran says it will retaliate for Israel's attack on its Damascus consulate
Iran president says Israel's Syria attack 'will not go unanswered'
'Preparing strikes on Israeli embassies': The coming Iranian response to Syria strike
US pushes alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war talks with Israel
The US was 'unaware' of strike on Iran's Damascus mission
Seven aid workers killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
'Unforgivable': IDF opens probe after seven aid workers killed in central Gaza
World powers condemn deadly Gaza air strike on aid workers
Israeli President offers 'apology' after relief workers died in strike in Gaza
Joe Biden expresses outrage over deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza
Russia says it is working on removing Taliban from its terrorist list
Egyptian President Sisi swears oath for third term
Biden and Xi discuss Taiwan, AI and fentanyl in a push to return to regular leader talks
Taylor Swift joins world's richest on Forbes billionaire list - Who else is on the list?/David Mouriquand/Euronews/Tue, April 2, 2024
Sudan suspends operations of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, Sky News Arabia

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on April 02-03/2024
Skewers, patties, and rings: Iranian and Arab social media users celebrate Zahedi's assassination/OHAD MERLIN/Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
South Africa: Safe-haven for Hamas, Islamic State and al-Qaeda Terrorists/Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/April 2, 2024
Israel's killing of IRGC's Zahedi marks ends of an era for Iranian commanders - The death of Zahedi follows a series of losses for Iran and its proxies in the region./SETH J. FRANTZMAN/Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
Who was the Iranian military commander killed in the Damascus strike?/JONATHAN GORNALL/Arab News/April 02, 2024
Damascus Attack: Netanyahu’s Evolving Red Lines Against Iran and Its Proxies/Samar Kadi/This is Beirut/April 02/2024
Jordan faces the Iranian threat/Asaad Bishara/Nidda Al Watan/April 3, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 02-03/2024
Commemoration Of The Zahle City siege: Heroism and Martyrdom
Elias Bejjani/April 02/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117073/elias-bejjani-commemoration-of-the-zahle-city-siege-heroism-and-martyrdom/
Any country whose people are not always ready to offer themselves as sacrifices on its altar will lose its sovereignty, and they will turn into humiliated slaves.
In this context of heroism and resistance, and under the leadership of Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, the great people of Zahle city, supported by all the free people of Lebanon, uttered a loud blatant and resounding NO to the Syrian occupation Army. On April 02/1981, the Lebanese resistance stood tall like their country’s Holy Cedars and challenged the Syrian occupier’s terror, criminality, and barbarism. The Lebanese resistance did not succumb, but courageously defended Zahle City and defeated the occupier’s criminal siege.
The people of Zahle stood firm and defended their city, and its besieged residents with ferocity, pride and faith, while offering hundreds of martyrs. They heroically sad NO, to the barbaric Syrian Baathist armed attack, and because of their devotion and sacrifices Zahle City remained and is still remains free and proud.
About Christ’s salvation and crucifixion, Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Hebrews/02/09: “But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone”.
As Jesus has tasted death for everyone, the Zahle City martyrs offered themselves on Lebanon’s alter to keep it a free, independent and sovereign holy country.
In this same realm of faith and sacrifice, and as the seeds parable teaches us in the holy Bible, John 12/24/: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”, the Zahle City martyrs died so the people of Lebanon will multiply and live in deeply rooted faith values, love pride and dignity.
In contemplating the death of Christ and its holy Godly messages, we can accept death and transcend its unjust causes, hoping for its sublime purpose. Meanwhile it enables us to understand and accept the death of our martyrs in the city of Zahle, and in all of our dear and beloved Lebanon so we can overcome its unjust causes in order to reach its honorable goal, which is maintaining a free, holy and independent Lebanon.
The martyrs of Zahle, like Christ, had to taste death, and they did so for the good of all of us, the Lebanese loving peace and freedom people. They were martyred in order for us to remain as free Lebanese, and the city of Zahle to remain, free.
On the evening of April 2, 1981, Sheikh Bashir Gemayel addressed the resistance fighters in Zahle via the phone and delegated to them the sole decision to continue the resistance or to leave the city, and he said: “Because the road is still open for only a few hours, if you leave, you will save your lives, and the fall of the city becomes an inevitable reality, and this constitutes the end of the resistance epic.” and if you stay, you will find yourselves without water, without medicine, without food, without ammunition, and your task will be to organize the internal resistance and preserve the identity of the Lebanese Bekaa, and give meaning to our six years of war. And he added: “If you decide to stay, then know one thing, which is that heroes die and do not surrender.” Everyone replied, “We will stay,” and the slogan was born, and Zahle remained free, and Lebanon remained.
In conclusion, faith, heroism and martyrdom defeated the Zahle City Syrian siege, and Lebanon remained a free country.

Blinken from France: We Are Trying to Prevent the Spread of Conflict to Lebanon
(Jonathan ERNST, AFP)/This Is Beirut/April 02/2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Paris for talks with senior officials, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Blinken, in a joint press conference with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné, expressed gratitude “for France’s partnership on the crisis of the Middle East,” and stated that they’ve been “working together to prevent the conflict that we see in Gaza from spreading to other parts of the region.” “We’re coordinating closely when it comes to Lebanon and trying to prevent any spread of the conflict there, finding a diplomatic way forward,” he assured. The US Secretary of State pointed out that they “are convinced that neither Israel, nor Hezbollah, nor Lebanon, nor Iran want this conflict.”

Israeli army chief approves new plans for Lebanon front
Naharnet/April 02/2024
Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has approved new plans for the northern front during a visit to the army’s Northern Command headquarters in Safed, the Israeli military said. The plans “for the continuation of the fighting” were approved during an assessment held by Halevi, the commander of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and members of the General Staff. The meeting came amid continued fighting with Hezbollah on Lebanon’s front and recent Israeli strikes in Syria.

Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Naharnet/April 02/2024
Hezbollah targeted Tuesday groups of soldiers in the Malkia post in northern Israel, while Israel shelled the outskirts of al-Naqoura in south Lebanon. Earlier on Tuesday, Hezbollah warned that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards in a strike on the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, the day before. Later during the day, the group announced the death of one of its fighters "on the road to Jerusalem." The strikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus killed eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese. Since the war erupted in October, Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of Gaza.

Israel says struck 10 Hezbollah targets in Rashaya al-Fukhar
Naharnet/April 02/2024 
The Israeli army on Monday said its warplanes attacked around ten Hezbollah targets in the southern town of Rashaya al-Fukhar. The Israeli military said the targets included a military depot, launch positions and other infrastructure. Hezbollah had announced eight attacks on Israeli military posts on Sunday, as Israel said that it managed to kill a senior Hezbollah missile unit commander. Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, has exchanged regular fire with Israeli forces since its ally, Palestinian militant group Hamas, carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza. Cross-border fire since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on October 7 has killed at least 348 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, and at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israeli strikes have also killed Hezbollah fighters in Syria. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed, and Israeli has threatened an operation against Hezbollah to push it away from the border. Hezbollah meanwhile says it is targeting Israel in support of the embattled Palestinian people and Hamas amid a brutal war on Gaza that has so far killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children.

Hezbollah says 'punishment' will come after Israeli strike on Iranian consulate
Associated Press/April 02/2024
Hezbollah warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike on the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, the day before. The airstrike in Syria killed Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It also killed Zahedi’s deputy, Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers. Hezbollah said in a statement that Zahedi played a crucial role in helping “develop and advance the work” of the group in Lebanon. It said he was "one of the first to support, sacrifice, and persevere for many years to develop the work of the resistance in Lebanon". “This crime will certainly not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge,” Hezbollah warned. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people were killed in the strikes, including eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese, all of them fighters. The Observatory said Zahedi was killed along with his deputy, his aide, and the Quds force chief of staff for Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Israel said it would not comment on the reported attack, but Iranian officials vowed a stiff response with fears of even further violence between Israel and Iran's allies triggered by the Gaza war. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza nearly six months ago, Hezbollah has stepped up attacks, leading to near daily cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel.

Damascus strike: Is Israel turning to Lebanon and Syria to weaken Iran?
Agence France Presse/April 02/2024
A deadly strike blamed on Israel against Iran's diplomatic mission in Damascus could trigger a spillover of the Gaza war across the region, an escalation Tehran had sought to avoid, analysts said. Monday's strike levelled the consular annex of the Iranian embassy and killed 13 people, including seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian state media reported. They included two senior commanders of the Guards' Qud Force foreign operations arm, Brigadier Generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Iranian officials said. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group called the attack "a significant escalation". "By targeting an Iranian diplomatic facility, Israel has crossed a line," he told AFP. After months of battling Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza, Israel is now stepping up its operations against Iranian and pro-Iran commanders in Lebanon and Syria, a move observers fear could spiral into all-out war. Iran has denied prior knowledge of Palestinian militant group Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. But it is one of Hamas's top supporters and backs a plethora of armed groups that have attacked Israel in solidarity with Hamas, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel for months. Although Iran has said it wants to avoid full-scale war, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Tuesday that "Israel will be punished" for the Damascus strike, while President Ebrahim Raisi said the raid "will not go unanswered".
'Towards escalation' -
Bassam Abu Abdallah, who heads the Damascus Center for Strategic Research and is close to the Syrian government, said that before Monday, "there were rules of engagement, but now it's an all-out war between Israel and the resistance axis". Iran and its supporters use the term resistance axis to refer to its alliance with armed groups around the region which share its resolutely anti-Zionist and anti-American stance. "It is now clear that the trend is towards escalation," Abu Abdallah said, adding: "We could start to see increased attacks against U.S. bases in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere." In late January, pro-Iran groups said they were suspending attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria to avert a regional escalation, after both Baghdad and Tehran said they opposed the groups' campaign. On Tuesday, Hezbollah warned that the strike on the Iranian consulate "will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge". Israel has responded to Hezbollah fire from Lebanon by extending its attacks deeper into the country and multiplying assassinations of the group's commanders. The Shiite Muslim militant group, which boasts a big arsenal of rockets and missiles, has largely restricted its attacks on Israel to the border region. The Crisis Group's Vaez said: "Iran is more likely than not to impose a cost on Israel, but it is likely to do so in an indirect manner and through its partners and proxies in the region. "Iran's dilemma is that failure to respond could signal weakness to Israel but retaliation risks a harsher U.S. or Israeli action".
Transnational war
The Damascus strike could signal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, entangled in the Hamas war for nearly six months, is preparing for a wider regional conflict. Under pressure from Washington, "Netanyahu is running out of time to conduct the war in Gaza, and is instead turning to Lebanon and Syria to weaken the Iranian regional military effort," said Nick Heras of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. "Israel views the conflicts against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon as two fronts in a transnational war against Iran, which the Iranians run from Damascus," Heras added. He said Netanyahu "expects Israel to have to soon fight a region-wide war with Iran" and for the United States to join it. "The Israelis are trying to eliminate the most important and seasoned IRGC commanders to weaken Iranian planning and capabilities ahead of that war," he added. But diplomatic efforts are underway to de-escalate tensions, with Syrian ally Russia calling for a U.N. Security Council meeting on the strike later Tuesday. Washington has told Tehran it was not involved in the Israeli strike, according to an American official quoted by U.S. media outlet Axios.

Foreign Ministry condemns Iran consulate strike blamed on Israel
Naharnet/April 02/2024
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry condemned Tuesday a strike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus and killed 13 people, including two Iranian generals. "The targeting of diplomatic headquarters and missions is a violation of international law and a serious violation of the Vienna Convention which guarantees the immunity of diplomatic headquarters," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. mFormer Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat condemned the strike, dubbing it as a violation of international laws and diplomatic immunity norms. So did Marada leader and Hezbollah presidential candidate Suleiman Franjieh. Iran and Hezbollah warned that Israel will be punished, while China and Russia condemned the air strikes. The EU said that it was "alarmed by the alleged Israeli strike" on the Iranian consulate in Damascus and warned against any escalation after Tehran vowed revenge. "In this highly tense regional situation, it is really of utmost importance to show restraint because the further escalation in the region is in no one's interests," EU spokesman Peter Stano said.

Cyprus president asks EU Commission chief to get Lebanon to stop migrants from leaving its shores
AP/April 02, 2024
NICOSIA: The president of Cyprus said Tuesday he has personally asked the head of the European Union’s executive arm to intercede with Lebanese authorities so that they could put a stop to boatloads of Syrian refugees from heading to the east Mediterranean island nation. President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters that Lebanon is the beneficiary of significant EU financial aid for both its own citizens and for the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees it continues to host, but that doesn’t come without strings attached. “This aid can’t be given while we have to deal with this issue,” Christodoulides said, adding that he personally spoke with EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen. “It’s not only the Republic of Cyprus but the EU itself that is facing a serious problem given these phenomena we have seen in recent days.”In the last 48 hours, more than 350 migrants and asylum seekers, almost exclusively Syrian nationals, arrived in Cyprus by boat, according to Cypriot government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis. It’s believed more boatloads of migrants are on their way. Last month, some 450 Syrian migrants aboard six boats were spotted off the southeastern coast of Cyprus within a 24-hour span. All six boats had departed from Lebanon. The EU is willing to give Lebanon more money to cope with the huge number of refugees it hosts, but “for this thing to happen, Lebanon shouldn’t allow migrants to leave and come to Cyprus,” Christodoulides said. The Cypriot president said the recent seaborne influx of Syrian migrants has reverted Cyprus back into “crisis mode” despite managing in recent months to repatriate more migrants who had their asylum applications rejected than those arriving. Christodoulides chaired an ad-hoc meeting of top police and government officials Tuesday in an effort to come up with ways of dealing with the sudden migrant influx. He said his government could adopt additional, temporary measures designed to help authorities cope with the influx that may not be “liked” by Cypriots. He didn’t elaborate. Meanwhile, Cyprus said a government proposal to enable repatriations of Syrian refugees by designating specific areas within the country as safe zones is “gaining ground” among the island nation’s fellow EU member states. Justice Minister Constantinos Ioannou said that given the potential risk of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza engulfing Lebanon and other Middle Eastern states, it’s incumbent on the EU to reach a collective decision on Syria

Sayyed Fadlallah's bureau announces April 10th first day of Eid al-Fitr
LBCI/April 02, 2024
The Media Bureau of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah announced in a statement on Tuesday that " Wednesday, April 10th, 2024, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr based on the jurisprudential framework of the religious authority."

Bou Saab meets Wronecka, condemns attack on Iranian Consulate building in Damascus
LBCI/April 02, 2024
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Elias Bou Saab received in his office at the Parliament, the Special Coordinator for the United Nations, Joanna Wronecka.
Bou Saab condemned "the serious attack on the Iranian Consulate building in Damascus, which constitutes a dangerous indicator," considering it "a clear violation of all international laws." He also condemned "the attack on a UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon."The file of presidential and municipal elections was also discussed, with Bou Saab emphasizing "the necessity of holding these elections, and the government bears the responsibility of not postponing them."

Wazzani water station restored in South Lebanon
LBCI/April 02, 2024
The South Lebanon Water Establishment and the International Red Cross Mission were able to restore the Wazzani water station on Tuesday, which was subjected to an Israeli airstrike on February 6, cutting off water to 35 southern towns, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

Israeli Drone Injures a Woman in Yarine, UNIFIL Affirms Continued Activity in South
This is Beirut/April 02/2024
An Israeli drone raided the border town of Yarine on Tuesday, resulting in the injury of a woman. In response to “Israeli attacks on steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, including the recent one on the town of Yarine, which resulted in a woman being injured,” Hezbollah targeted on Tuesday evening the nearby settlement of “Ghesher HaZiv” with Katyusha rockets. Additionally, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets towards the Nahariya settlement. Some were intercepted, according to Israeli media. Alarm sirens were heard in settlements in the Western Galilee.
Moreover, the Iran-backed group targeted the Malikiya and the al-Samaka sites in the Kfarchouba hills as well as the Hounin barracks “with suitable weapons and direct hits.” It announced in a statement the death of one of its fighters, Hassan Reda Youssef.
Certain reports relayed on Tuesday morning that UNIFIL postponed its activities on the ground and peacekeepers were no longer leaving the barracks due to the Saturday strike on a peacekeeping force vehicle on the outskirts of Rmeish, which injured three UNTSO peace observers and a Lebanese translator.

Mikati Calls for a Cabinet Meeting on Thursday
This is Beirut/April 02/2024
The Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makkiyeh, announced that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called a cabinet meeting on Thursday April 4, at 11:30 am, with 21 items on the agenda. The last cabinet meeting was held at the Grand Serail on March 19. At that meeting, the Cabinet had postponed the appointment of 234 customs inspectors, one of the main items on the agenda. This dossier had been at the heart of a political controversy, due to a question of sectarian imbalance. Mikati said he was “ready to carry out structural reforms”. In his view, the delay was due to a lack of political consensus.

Ogero on Strike Again Wednesday and Thursday
Christiane Tager/This is Beirut/April 02/2024
The Ogero employees’ union will observe a second warning strike on Wednesday, April 3, and Thursday, April 4, within a week. It has granted the government “a deadline until April 15 to respond to all its salary demands, without exception.” These demands will be discussed at the next Council of Ministers meeting.All Ogero centers and offices will be closed, and maintenance or repair work will be suspended. The president of the Ogero employees’ union, Emilie Nassar, told This is Beirut that no initiatives or solutions have been proposed, despite numerous calls for improvement in employee compensation. This explains the union’s determination to continue the warning strikes. She emphasized that Ogero employees “have been making the same demands for a year.” “We are waiting until April 15, after the Fitr holiday, and if necessary, we will move to the next step,” said Nassar. Are we heading towards an open strike? “Not for now,” she replied. The union is demanding salaries more suited to the economic situation and is lamenting the catastrophic conditions in which employees work. Their main demands include a revaluation of their salaries and benefits, as well as indexing them to the new dollar exchange rate, as their current salaries, given the pound’s devaluation, now represent only a very small percentage of their value before the crisis. Even the revaluation obtained last year, following the open strike on March 24, 2023, was removed from the budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
Caretaker Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Corm revealed to This Is Beirut that, during the next session of the Council of Ministers scheduled for Thursday, “the reinstatement of the salary revaluation for Ogero employees, granted last year and removed from the budget for the 2024 fiscal year, will be discussed outside the agenda.”It is worth noting, in this context, that Ogero’s strike, in case of breakdowns, affects internet services throughout the country since the operator provides data to all access providers. It is for this reason that the services of the mobile operator Alfa were disrupted last Wednesday during the previous warning strike. The Fatka central was shut down that day due to a generator problem, which disrupted the operations at the Alfa central located in Adma, and thus, the communications between users.

Former Judge Appointed as Acting Head of Judicial Inspection Authority
This is Beirut/April 02/2024
Former Judge Malik Saibi was appointed as acting General Inspector of the Judicial Inspection Authority, following the cabinet’s approval in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Judicial Law. The decree for Saibi’s appointment was approved by the cabinet on March 19, following the endorsement by the Supreme Judicial Council on December 14, 2023.

Mawlawi Emphasizes Lebanese Sovereignty Amidst Security Concerns
This is Beirut/April 02/2024
Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities Judge Bassam Mawlawi stressed, “The Bekaa belongs to the people of Bekaa and Lebanon, and Lebanon belongs to the people of Lebanon.” Mawlawi made these statements during his participation in a Ramadan iftar ceremony organized in his honor in Central
Addressing recent security incidents occurring across various locations and the crime in Achrafieh involving non-Lebanese individuals, he expressed appreciation for the security forces’ efforts in maintaining peace and harmony across the nation, emphasizing the importance of government support for the Bekaa region, which has historically been neglected. Mawlawi stressed the need for the state to provide essential infrastructure, services, security and justice to the people of Bekaa, urging an end to their deprivation.
He added, “Building the state is done through economic unity and economic integration between the public and private sectors. And through love and harmony between all sects, the state will be built.”

US State Department Official Visits LAU
This is Beirut/April 02/2024
The Lebanese American University announced in a press release on Tuesday the visit of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich to the university’s Beirut campus on March 27, along with a delegation from the US Embassy in Beirut. Goldrich met with Lebanese American University leaders and a group of US Government-sponsored scholars, and toured the university’s campus. LAU President Michel E. Mawad welcomed the delegation on campus. He expressed his pride in working closely with the US Government, specifically with the US Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), especially as an American Institution of higher education in the Middle East. “We are particularly grateful to the American people and their generosity as they are supporting us in fostering scholastic activities, leadership and scholarship in this part of the world,” Mawad said. For his part, Goldrich highlighted that “It was particularly helpful to understand and learn firsthand of the impact of the US scholarships, and how their experiences within the different programs have played out, especially as they are living through times of crises in Lebanon.” Goldrich was accompanied in his visit by USAID Mission Director Julie Southfield, USAID Education Officer Tim Curtain, MEPI Coordinator David Lewis, USAID Project Management Specialist Ahmad Al-Amine, Public Diplomacy Emerging Voices Specialist Elie Ferneiny, and MEPI Program Grants Manager Maya Barhouche. The statement mentioned that the university currently hosts 391 Lebanese and Arab nationals who are recipients of the life-changing Higher Education Scholarships (HES) and the Tomorrow’s Leaders (TL) scholarships granted by USAID and US-MEPI, respectively. Some of those students were present for a roundtable discussion, namely HES recipients Sara El Turk and Mohamad Ballouz, TL undergraduate scholar Meriem Msilini, TL graduate student Nabila Arab, and TL gender scholar Sara Hamadneh. The discussion was moderated by LAU Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management Elise Salem. Last week, the Lebanese American University (LAU) announced that it converted its academic center in New York City into a branch campus. Located in midtown Manhattan, LAU New York will now confer master’s and bachelor’s degrees. Students will be able to register in five remote and in-person programs tailored to the needs of the global job market, mainly in International Business, Business Analytics, Global Business Administration, Computer Science and Applied Artificial Intelligence.

A game of danger and opportunity in open war
Rafiq Khoury/Nedda Al Watan/April 03, 2024 (Google translation from Arabic)
There is no country in the world whose state, no matter how weak, surrenders its sovereign role and its decision to organize a sectarian ideology, as happened in Lebanon. No one is ignorant of why a Syrian-Iranian understanding imposed the restriction of resistance to the Israeli occupation to Hezbollah, and how this turned after the occupation into the “privatization” of Lebanon’s defense. What is worse is not only accusing everyone who calls for the return of normalcy and decision-making to the state of weakening the country and serving the enemy, but also the fact that “privatization” goes beyond protecting Lebanon to a regional role and defending everything required by the “axis of resistance” led by Iran. But the southern front, which had been closed since Resolution 1701, which stopped the 2006 war, became open to selected Palestinian and Lebanese parties. The argument is to support Hamas in the Gaza war by “preoccupying” Israel. Even today, the escalation is calculated so as not to lead to open war. The daily question, amid the Israeli threat to go to the “Northern War”, is: Will, and sometimes when, will the enemy implement its threats under the pressure of the settlers who were displaced from the Galilee? Is the threat serious, as world capitals warn, or is it a means of reaching a solution through diplomacy? What about the readiness of the “Islamic Resistance” within the “Axis of Resistance,” which was and still is focused in its discourse on eliminating Israel? Therefore, is open war a risk or an opportunity?
It is clear that two major players are in charge of open war: America and Iran. It appears, as a result of the recent discrepancy between the administration of President Biden and the Netanyahu government, that America is now partly supplying Israel, which realizes the difficulty of war without American support, and that the Islamic Republic is practically supplying Hezbollah. But the Gaza war revealed two important things: The first is that the rhetoric of Tehran and the “Axis of Resistance” about waiting for an Israeli mistake to respond with a wide-scale war that will eliminate the Zionist entity is just a slogan. The second is that the accounts in the mullahs’ republic, along with the “unity of the squares and the axis of resistance,” are much greater than the accounts of “Hamas.” In other words, open war is, in Tehran's eyes, a danger, not an opportunity. A danger, the mullahs say, that leads to what is not desirable, at least during these days, which is “a war between America and Iran.” It is an opportunity that Netanyahu is trying to exploit to involve Washington in a war with Tehran. In announcing the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” the military commander of Hamas, Muhammad Al-Deif, called for “opening all fronts” in a major war with Israel. A few days ago, he renewed his call on “the people of the Arab and Islamic world to march to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and liberate Palestine.” The response remained within the limits set by Iran, regardless of the lofty rhetoric. In both cases: Lebanon pays the price.
“All of America’s wars are wars of choice,” says Robert Kagan. The war of “preoccupation” in the “unity of the arenas” is a war of choice, amid talk from Tehran to Beirut about a “war of necessity,” which is the open war.

Gibran and Lebanon: Commemorating the Prophet’s Centenary
Johnny Kortbawi/This is Beirut/April 02/2024
This year, Lebanon celebrates the centennial of Gibran Khalil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” revered as a towering figure in global literature and a hallmark of Lebanese intellectual achievement, deeply intertwined with its identity and roots.
Opinions differ regarding Gibran Khalil Gibran’s contributions to this book. However, his Sufism, coupled with his profound connection to Lebanon and Bsharre, and his insistence on being buried in the hermitage he created, which eventually evolved into the Gibran Museum, suggest that Gibran saw no distinction between the narrative of the Prophet Orphalese and his own story from Bsharre. There are many points of convergence between both, the most prominent being that the Prophet awaited his ship to return him to his heart’s homeland after 12 years, mirroring Gibran’s own yearning to return to his land after the same duration. Gibran aspired to establish an enduring connection between himself and the Prophet, where their shared ideas would transcend time and space, forming an intellectual and philosophical link that could not be surpassed, regardless of the efforts exerted to decipher its content. “The Prophet” has firmly established Lebanon’s presence on the global literary scene. In the current time of scarcity, it is regrettable to see Lebanon drifting far from the foundational city of the Prophet and the original landscape he portrayed. In this time of TikTok, we are not vilifying social media platforms at all; rather, it is the culture of inclusivity that has transformed our time into a realm of rapid consumption of trivial content, leaving few sources capable of birthing new prophets or nurturing profound ideas as Gibran once did. If Lebanese literature, from Gibran Khalil Gibran to Amin Maalouf, has achieved global acclaim, unearthing fresh outlets for literary and intellectual creativity in our times is proving difficult, marking a significant step backward.
Lebanon’s uniqueness, as recounted by Said Akl, was not defined by its geographical altitude but rather by its historical prominence. This serves as evidence of the setback Lebanon has endured, prompting the need for a renewed resurgence. How can we overcome this? By harnessing Lebanon’s rich cultural heritage and educational resources. We have Sagesse High School, from which Gibran graduated. Moreover, Beirut serves as the home to French and American missionary universities, acting as centers for higher education across diverse fields. We have an educational benchmark that used to graduate students from the Gulf when there were no higher education institutions in their countries. Our global openness still positions us as frontrunners in transitioning to digital domains and acquiring the necessary educational foundations for scientific advancement. All of this makes us cognizant of the mission we must uphold because Lebanon embodies this image, not that of Al-Mahdi schools, which indoctrinate generations with the ideals of martyrdom for every issue in the region. Indeed, Gibran’s words hold true when he wrote, “You have your Lebanon, and I have mine,” as he expressed an intellectual depth while observing the transformations that stripped Lebanon of its very image.

Hizbullah Arresting Foreign Nationals In Beirut, Tightening Its Control In The Area
N. Mozes/MEMRI/April 02/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/128412/128412/
In late February 2024, three unusual incidents occurred in the Dahiya, the Hizbullah stronghold in southern Beirut, in which the organization detained and interrogated foreign nationals who had entered that area. All the people detained were foreigners who were in the country with the official approval and consent of the Lebanese state authorities. On February 28, Hizbullah apprehended a group of Dutch nationals that later turned out to be a security team sent to Lebanon to prepare for the possible evacuation of Dutch diplomats and nationals from the country in the event of an escalation in the war between Hizbullah and Israel. One day later Hizbullah stopped a UNIFIL vehicle that was passing through the Dahiya and detained its passengers. In the third incident, which occurred several days prior to the other two, Hizbullah arrested a Spanish diplomat who entered the Dahiya and was allegedly taking pictures there.
These incidents demonstrate that some areas of Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, are outside the state's authority and are controlled exclusively by Hizbullah. They are also evidence of Hizbullah's considerable anxiety and concern about possible espionage activity against it that could lead to Israeli attacks on the Dahiya, like the one on January 2, 2024 in which the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, was eliminated.
It should be mentioned that, although the recent incident was the first time UNIFIL troops have been detained in Beirut, in South Lebanon such incidents are not rare, and some of them have resulted in casualties among the UNIFIL forces. In 2022, there were several incidents in which "locals" stopped UNIFIL patrol vehicles, including one in December in which Irish UNIFIL soldier Sean Rooney was shot dead. The incidents continued in 2023, and one of them resulted in the wounding of a UNIFIL soldier.[1]
This report reviews the three incidents that took place in Beirut in late February 2024 and some of the responses to them in Lebanon.
Hizbullah Detains Foreign Nationals In The Dahiya
As stated, on February 28, 2024 Hizbullah detained several Dutch nationals who had entered the Dahiya, specifically the Bi'r Al-Abed area in the heart of this district. According to reports in the Lebanese press, the group, which comprised 3-6 people, aroused the suspicion of locals and of Hizbullah operatives because its members were carrying many electronic devices and were openly armed. They were interrogated by Hizbullah's "security committee" in the area, and on the following day they were handed over to the Lebanese Military Intelligence, which also questioned them for several hours before releasing them on orders of a judge. According to some reports, they were employees of the Dutch embassy who had come to Lebanon to plan the evacuation of Dutch diplomats and other nationals in the event of an escalation of the war between Israel and Hizbullah. Like the security teams of other foreign representations, they were in the country with the approval of the Lebanese foreign ministry. The website of the Kataeb (Phalanges) party, which opposes Hizbullah, reported on an incident that occurred one week before the arrest of the Dutch team, in which Hizbullah apprehended another group of people and released them after discovering that they had diplomatic immunity. The website did not specify the identity of that group.[2]
In response to the incident with the Dutch nationals, the spokesperson of the Dutch Ministry of Defense stated that "Hizbullah representatives detained three members of a Dutch defense team that provides support and protection to the embassy in Beirut. [They were detained] during a reconnaissance mission in the Dahiya that included examining routes, apparently in preparation for a possible evacuation in case of an escalation [in the war]." The spokesperson added that the Dutch nationals, to whom she referred as "soldiers," had been turned over to the Lebanese armed forces and later released and returned to the embassy, and that they had arrived in the country after the outbreak of the war between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.[3]
On the following day, Hizbullah arrested several soldiers of UNIFIL's Malaysian Battalion who were driving through the Dahiya's Al-Sellom area. The Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily reported, citing a Lebanese security source, that the soldiers had been on their way from South Lebanon to Beirut and had entered the Dahiya by accident, following the directions of their navigation device.[4] The gear the soldiers were carrying, including cameras, was seized and they were taken for interrogation by Hizbullah's security committee.[5]
UNIFIL issued a harshly-worded response to the incident, but refrained from explicitly blaming Hizbullah. Its deputy spokesperson said that the force was "on a routine logistical trip to Beirut" when it was intercepted by "local individuals," and stressed that "freedom of movement is vital to implementing [UN] Resolution 1701."[6]
The pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on March 2 that, several days earlier, Hizbullah's "security apparatus" had apprehended a Spanish national who was touring the Al-Kafa'at area in the Dahiya and taking pictures on his mobile phone. The man was released after the Spanish embassy intervened.[7] As of this writing, Spain has not issued an official response to the incident.
Pro-Hizbullah Dailies: The Individuals Arrested Were Members Of Security Apparatuses Affiliated With Israel
While Hizbullah itself did not officially refer to the three incidents, media outlets close to it claimed that the persons arrested had not been engaged in innocent activity but in espionage against Hizbullah on behalf of Israel and its allies. The Al-Akhbar daily called the incidents "a series of security violations by foreigners" and questioned the explanations provided for the detainees' actions. The daily wrote: "The security war between the resistance in Lebanon and the Israeli enemy is escalating. Since the outbreak of the war following [Operation] Al-Aqsa Flood [i.e., Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel]... foreign security activity in Lebanon has escalated, along with the diplomatic pressure exerted by the West, which is allied with the enemy... It has recently come to light that the infiltration of Lebanon by Arab, Western and international intelligence apparatuses that are aiding the enemy has increased. These apparatuses employ their foreign nationals as agents, as well as Lebanese collaborators and non-Lebanese people who live here, and they gather information, including names and pictures, in order to help Israel compile its bank of targets."
Discussing the arrest of the Spanish national, the daily questioned the account he gave in his interrogation, namely that he entered the area by accident and took a picture of the street so that his colleagues at the embassy would be able to send a car to fetch him. The daily claimed that, when his gear was investigated, "his phone was found to be equipped with software that prevents accessing the information inside it." It added that, "as usual, the minute the incident became known in certain narrow circles, high-level contacts and intervention began in order to release him, especially intervention by the [Spanish] embassy in Beirut..."
About the incident involving the UNIFIL troops, the daily said that such incidents happen from time to time "due to mistakes or to deliberate action by certain UNIFIL units." Al-Akhbar claimed that it was "locals" who intercepted the UNIFIL vehicle and seized the gear and cameras inside it, and added: "The 'mistake' [of the UNIFIL troops] occurred in a place that is very sensitive for the resistance, and during a war with the enemy. This led the relevant elements to question the nature of their trip: Did they really lose their way, or are there elements that are pushing to create security problems in Beirut? This [question] is especially [pertinent] given that UNIFIL's missions are usually [carried out] in the areas south of the Litani river. In contrast, UNIFIL operatives patrolling in Beirut is a strange occurrence." The report went on to note that the incident occurred against the backdrop of demands made by various elements, especially the U.S. and Israel, to expand UNIFIL's mandate and give it greater freedom of action. Consequently, the incident "gave rise to many questions, [for instance] whether UNIFIL is allowed to move outside South Lebanon without an escort of the Lebanese armed forces." The daily admitted that, according to sources, the UNIFIL soldiers apprehended in Al-Sellom had not been engaged in military activity, and UNIFIL is permitted to move throughout Lebanon as part of escorting visitors and carrying out logistical missions.[8]
Another Al-Akhbar report from the same day, about the detainment of the Dutch nationals, noted that since the start of the war special forces of several Western countries, including Britain and Canada, equipped with advanced weapons and gear, have arrived in Lebanon in order to evacuate the foreign nationals and diplomats if the war with Israel escalates. The daily stated further that the arrest of the Dutch nationals was "part of a plan… that Hizbullah's security apparatus has begun to implement in most of the areas where the organization's headquarters are located, in light of the enemy's attempts to infiltrate them..."[9]
On March 6, the daily published a report that sheds light on Hizbullah's current anxiety.
The report stated that "no official security or political element in Lebanon can say exactly how many military and security operatives are active in Lebanon on behalf of Arab and foreign embassies." It added that, contrary to the official understandings between the embassies and the Lebanese state, the security teams that have arrived at the embassies since the outbreak of the war are not engaged only in training and shooting practice, but are also gathering information and intelligence. Furthermore, "they have lately made some 'mistakes,' especially in the Dahiya." The daily went on to say that, "regardless of whether the incidents were mistakes or deliberate actions," Hizbullah is suspicious of activity [by outsiders] in areas where its bases or operatives are located. Furthermore, various aspects of the Dutch nationals' behavior had been suspicious: they claimed to be headed for a coffee shop that cannot be found on Google; one of them was carrying a gun with a silencer; an investigation revealed that there were no Dutch nationals living In the area, and their documents identified them as Dutch soldiers but did not specify their ranks, as is customary. The behavior of the Spanish national was likewise suspect, the daily claimed. His phone was equipped with special apps enabling to find many sites, and he recorded the names of shops in the areas he photographed. The report noted that he left Lebanon on February 23, and concluded: "The fact that the Dutch [team] was using a rented vehicle, the apps found on the phone of the Spanish diplomat, and other actions of some of the detainees [all] contribute to the concern felt by the security apparatuses of the resistance, [which suspect] that the enemy is trying to use these actions to learn about the situation on the ground and check how ready [Hizbullah] will be if it [the enemy] carries out a security operation by means of people who have come from abroad, as it has done in the past."[10]
The Hizbullah-affiliated website Al-Ahed likewise addressed the organization's concerns and implied that they are justified. It quoted "knowledgeable security sources" as saying that the Lebanese security forces and Hizbullah operatives are lately taking "scrupulous and unusual security measures" in the vicinity of the organization's headquarters and positions in the Dahiya because they "fear an aggressive action by Israel." The sources claimed that several "infiltrations" that occurred recently, especially after the Dutch nationals and the UNIFIL force passed through the Dahiya, prompted Hizbullah to reinforce security around its positions.[11]
Lebanese Journalists: Hizbullah Is Doing As It Pleases In Lebanon, With The Consent Of The State
Following these events, some articles in the Lebanese press criticized both Hizbullah's conduct and the failure of the state to respond to the incidents. Journalist Imad Moussa, a columnist for the Nidaa Al-Watan daily, addressed the issue in a piece titled "Is The Al-Sellom Neighborhood Part of Lebanon?" He stated that the UNIFIL incident reveals that there are areas in Lebanon where the state laws do not apply and where the only people who have freedom of action are Hizbullah operatives, and that the state allows this situation. He wrote: "Not a single security element in Lebanon, nor the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry or the Prime Minister's Office, issued the slightest statement of condemnation when the UNIFIL vehicle was targeted at a Hizbullah checkpoint... and when the dark-skinned soldiers of the Malaysian Battalion were led to the offices of Hizbullah's security committee, their gear, cameras and weapons were seized and they were interrogated on suspicion of taking photographs..."
Responding to remarks by the UNIFIL deputy spokesperson, that UNIFIL forces "have the freedom and authorization from the government of Lebanon to move throughout Lebanon for administrative and logistical reasons," Moussa commented: "It seems that she is mixed up and is confusing Lebanon with some other country. The Al-Sellom neighborhood, as well as Bir Al-Abed, Al-Ghobeiry, South [Lebanon] and the town of Lassa are part of a state that exists within the larger state of Lebanon." If such an incident took place in any other part of Lebanon, he added, the Higher Defense Council would have quickly convened, the gunmen would have been arrested by the state apparatuses and 12 official statements would have been issued within 12 hours. "Lebanon [generally] prevents such incidents, and is ready to hit the attackers with an iron fist," he wrote. However, "the leaders of the two states [i.e., Lebanon and the Hizbullah state within it] have neighborly relations, so the detainees were quickly handed over to the [state's] intelligence [services], and the [Hizbullah operatives] who captured the Malaysians were congratulated by their commanders for keeping their eyes open and defending their country. Nationals of the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany and [even] Lebanon cannot move freely in the Al-Sellom neighborhood or in the Dahiya, even if they are diplomats or security personnel who have been licensed to carry arms by the relevant authorities." He concluded by stating that, when the Lebanese leaders say they are committed to implementing UN Resolution 1701, they mean that it will be implemented in some other Lebanon, not the one that appears on maps and in atlases."[12]
One article also argued that the UNIFIL incident wasn't incidental but had to do with talks that are currently taking place on expanding UNIFIL's mandate as part of an arrangement between Israel and Hizbullah. Lara Yazbek, of the Lebanese Al-Markazia news agency, stated that it was Hizbullah that had arrested the UNIFIL soldiers, not "locals." She wrote: "This time the UNIFIL members were lucky and did not pay with their lives for accidentally entering the territories of [Hizbullah's] 'statelet'… Although Hizbullah always denies any involvement in these incidents, what happened in the Dahiya a few hours ago clearly bears its fingerprints. The killing of Sean Rooney of [UNIFIL's] Irish Battalion in December 2022… is clear proof that there was political intervention or political support for the attackers. A few months ago, a military court ordered Muhammad Iyad, who had been accused of Rooney's murder, to be released on bail… Four other people were prosecuted with him, all of them Hizbullah operatives…
"The incident [i.e., the apprehension of the UNIFIL soldiers in the Dahiya] is not disconnected from its place and time, and it is proof that the [Hizbullah] organization, amid the international negotiations taking place regarding UNIFIL's presence and role in the south in preparation for restoring stability in the aftermath of October 7, has no intention of agreeing to the proposal [to expand UNIFIL's mandate] but rather to oppose it…"[13]
*N. Mozes is a research fellow at MEMRI
[1] On these incidents and others, see e.g., MEMRI reports: Special Dispatch No. 10390 - Lebanese Journalists: Hizbullah Responsible For Death Of Irish UNIFIL Soldier – December 22, 2022; Special Dispatch No. 9721 - Lebanese Journalists: Hizbullah Behind Attacks By South Lebanon Residents On UNIFIL Forces – January 13, 2022; Special Dispatch No. 6778 - Anti-Hizbullah Shi'ite Lebanese Journalist: The Recent Clashes Between South Lebanon Residents And UNIFIL Forces Are A Message From Iran To The U.S. – February 10, 2017.
[2] Kataeb.org, March 3, 2024.
[3] Telegraaf.nl, March 1, 2024.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 1, 2024.
[5] Al-Mudun (Lebanon), March 1, 2024.
[6] Lbcgroup.tv, March 2, 2024.
[7] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), March 2, 2024.
[8] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), March 2, 2024.
[9] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), March 2, 2024.
[10] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), March 6, 2024.
[11] Alahednews.com.lb, March 5, 2024,
[12] Nidaa Al-Watan (Lebanon), March 4, 2024.
[13] Almarkazia.com, March 2, 2024.
https://www.memri.org/reports/hizbullah-arresting-foreign-nationals-beirut-tightening-its-control-area

Nasrallah,“The only one left alive”..Nasrallah’s picture with Iranian Leaders Killed By USA & Israel
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/128420/128420/
Sky News Arabia/April 02/2024 (LCCC translation from Arabic)
Iranian media posted a picture of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, with Iranian leaders who were killed by Israeli and American targets.
This photo was widely shared on social pages, after the incident that targeted the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday evening.
Next to Nasrallah, the photo included:
– Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard
He was killed in an American strike, targeting him near Baghdad International Airport. He is considered a prominent name in the regional and international arenas, as he is one of the most important Iranian military leaders, and some describe him as “the spearhead of Iran.”
-Commander in the Revolutionary Guard, Major General Ahmed Kazemi
He was killed in a plane crash near the city of Urmia.
– Leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Imad Mughniyeh
He was killed in Damascus in 2008, amid reports of a targeting operation carried out with American-Israeli intelligence cooperation.
– Commander of operations of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi
He was killed in an Israeli strike targeting the Iranian Consulate in Damascus. He is considered one of the senior commanders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He served as Deputy Chief of Operations from 2015 to 2018. He also assumed command of the Guard’s air and ground forces between 2004 and 2007.
Israeli Army Radio said, “Mohammad Reza Zahedi is not only a high-ranking Iranian military figure, but also a man with great seniority and experience.”
Commentators said that the photo included “Israel’s victims,” noting that Hassan Nasrallah was the only one left alive.
In response to a question about why Nasrallah is still alive, Colonel (reserve) in the Israeli army, Ronen Cohen, revealed last month in a radio interview: “When we are in a state of war, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah quickly enters a hideout. We do not want to start a war, and it is clear that such an assassination will start a war, and that is why Nasrallah is still alive.”

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 02-03/2024
Video/Makram Rabah | My thoughts on the targeting of the IRGC in Damascus & what this means for the region .DW news
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ON9kHWxgY'

Four wounded in ramming, attempted stabbing attack in central Israel/A manhunt is underway for two suspected terrorists.
Jerusalem Post/April 03/2024
A suspected terror attack occurred in Kochav Yair near a checkpoint in central Israel, Israeli media reported in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A car driving near Kochav Yair hit four policemen, injuring one of them seriously, with the others in moderate condition. The assailant, suspected to be a terrorist, fled the scene. Israel Police opened an investigation into the circumstances, where four people were run over by the suspect, who then tried to stab security guards at the Eliyahu checkpoint. The suspect was neutralized, and the police are investigating at the scene.
According to the Magen David Adom (MDA) Spokesperson, the MDA hotline received a report at around 1:18 that four pedestrians were hit by a vehicle at the Kochav Yair intersection.
Four injured, evacuated to hospitals/A 24-year-old man is seriously injured, a 46-year-old man in moderate condition, and two others are lightly injured, MDA said. The injured were evacuated to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba and Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva.
A hunt is underway for another suspect who accompanied the terrorist in a vehicle and escaped. Border Police, the Israel Security Services (Shin Bet), and IDF are scanning the area and tracking down the second terrorist.

Iran says it will retaliate for Israel's attack on its Damascus consulate
Reuters/April 02/2024
Israel has long targeted Iran's military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, but Monday's attack was the first time it apparently hit the vast embassy compound itself. Iran will retaliate for a suspected Israeli air strike against its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday, a day after seven Iranian military commanders were killed in the attack. "Having failed to destroy the will of the resistance front, the Zionist regime (Israel) has put blind assassinations back on its agenda to save itself. It must know that it will never achieve its goals and that this cowardly crime will not go unanswered," Raisi said, according to state media. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that Israel "will be punished by the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and others like it." Israel has long targeted Iran's military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, but Monday's attack was the first time it apparently hit the vast embassy compound itself. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. It has ramped up those strikes in parallel with its campaign against Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas, which ignited the Gaza war with an October 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 253 hostage. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, according to Hamas-run health authorities.

Iran president says Israel's Syria attack 'will not go unanswered'
Associated Press/April 02/2024
Iran and one of its key proxies vowed Tuesday to respond to a strike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus and killed seven, including two Iranian generals. Iran's state TV reported Tuesday that the country's Supreme National Security Council, a key decision-making body, met late Monday and decided on a "required" response to the strike. The report said the meeting was chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi said Tehran would not let the "cowardly assassination" go unanswered. "There is no doubt that continuing such terrorist and criminal acts ... will not remain without a response" from Iran, he said. Israel has repeatedly targeted military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon. Monday's strike in Damascus signaled an escalation because it struck an Iranian diplomatic mission.
It was not clear if Iran would respond itself, risking a dangerous confrontation with Israel and its ally the United States, or if it would continue to rely on proxies, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels. The airstrike in Syria killed Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. It also killed Zahedi's deputy, Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers. Israel, which rarely acknowledges strikes against Iranian targets, said it had no comment on the latest attack in Syria, although a military spokesman blamed Iran for a drone attack early Monday against a naval base in southern Israel. Iran's official news agency IRNA said Tuesday that Iran relayed an important message to the United States late Monday and that it called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. The message to Washington was delivered through a Swiss envoy in Tehran; Switzerland looks after U.S. interests in Iran. IRNA said Iran holds the United States, Israel's closest ally, responsible for the strike.

'Preparing strikes on Israeli embassies': The coming Iranian response to Syria strike
Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
"Zahedi was a very senior person who can be said to have given Israel a lot of headaches in the last twenty years for all his exploits in his involvement in terrorism," Hezi Simantov said. Hezi Simantov, a commentator and correspondent for Arab affairs of 'News 13', spoke Tuesday morning with Nissim Mashal and Anat Davidov on 103FM about the assassination of the senior Iranian Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and the expected consequences. First of all, according to the reports from Syria and Iran, the Israeli Air Force allegedly attacked a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, where several senior Iranian officials were located, among them Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who is actually the deputy commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Lebanon,” Simantov began.  “A very senior member of the Iranian hierarchy, he managed the entire operation of smuggling weapons from Syria to Lebanon. He was a very senior person who can be said to have given Israel a lot of headaches in the last twenty years for all his exploits in his involvement in terrorism. This is the most senior Iranian who has been eliminated so far since October 7 on Syrian soil," he continued. "This is a severe and painful blow to the Iranian regime, a matter in which the Iranians are more inclined to take revenge against Israel. We have already eliminated several of their senior officials since October 7 on Syrian soil. This is the period when Iran wants to show that it is leading the axis of resistance. “[As an Iranian asset] Hamas is currently at a disadvantage because of the fighting in Gaza, and this does not mean that tomorrow morning, the Iranians will try to do something impulsive. They will perhaps try to activate their militias in Syria or the Houthis in Yemen. This is something that has already happened and will continue to happen, but they are using, and you see the narrative in the Iranian media, that supposedly there is something diplomatic that has been harmed here," he added. "They are laying the groundwork to strike at Israeli diplomatic representations worldwide, in the Arab world, Europe, or the United States or South America,” Simantov said. “The assassination attributed to Israel certainly makes the confrontation between Iran and Israel more direct, rather than indirect, as it has been until now in Syria.” “Israel has very good intelligence about what is happening in Syria and Lebanon, unlike what is happening in the Gaza Strip, even before October 7,” he added. “There is still very good intelligence about these trained members of the Revolutionary Guards and senior Hezbollah figures in Lebanon and Syria. In my estimation, Iran is deterred from direct confrontation with the US. It does not want that. Iran does not want to bring the US into a direct military confrontation. “Therefore, this situation in which it is increasingly engaging in terrorism activities in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and the envelope to pressure Israel - that is something it will continue to do. Direct confrontation with the US or with Israel that would involve the US - that is not what it wants to do, at least not at this stage, that could change," Simantov concluded.

US pushes alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war talks with Israel
Associated Press/April 02/2024
Top American and Israeli officials have held virtual talks as the U.S. pushed alternatives to the ground assault against Hamas under consideration by Israelis in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a move the U.S. opposes on humanitarian grounds and that has frayed relations between the two allies.
President Joe Biden and his administration have publicly and privately urged Israel for months to refrain from a large-scale incursion into Rafah without a credible plan to relocate and safeguard noncombatants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces, which are trying to eradicate Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, must be able to enter the city to root out the group's remaining battalions. The more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting by secure video conference was described by both sides as constructive and productive, as Washington encourages the Israelis to avoid an all-out assault on the city, where an estimated four battalions of Hamas fighters are dispersed among more than 1.3 million civilians. The White House has instead pushed Israel to take more targeted actions to kill or capture Hamas leaders while limiting civilian impacts. The potential operation in the city has exposed one of the deepest rifts between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms supplier. The U.S. has already openly said Israel must do more to allow food and other goods through its blockade of Gaza to avert famine. "They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah," the U.S. and Israeli teams known as the Strategic Consultative Group said in a joint statement released by the White House. "The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow up discussions between experts overseen by the SCG. The follow-up discussions would include in person SCG meeting as early as next week."The virtual meeting came a week after planned in-person talks were nixed by Netanyahu when the U.S. didn't veto a U.N. resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the meeting for the U.S. side. The Israeli side was led by Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs and Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is weighing selling Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, according to two congressional aides. The sale was informally notified to the relevant foreign affairs committees in the House and Senate on Jan. 30, according to the aides, who were granted anonymity to discuss details of a potential sale that have not yet been made public. The initial notification indicates the administration is likely moving forward with the sale, although it is unclear if it has gotten the final nod of approval from Congress' national security leadership. Separately Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to encourage reforms in the group that oversees part of the West Bank and which the U.S. is hopeful can play a role in governing post-war Gaza

The US was 'unaware' of strike on Iran's Damascus mission
Reuters/April 02/2024
The United States did not have advance knowledge of what Iran says was an Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed two of its generals and five military advisers, according to two US officials. One official said on Tuesday that shortly before Monday's attack, Israel told the United States that it would be operating in Syria, but used vague language that did not identify a target. The second official said late Monday that Israel "does not pre-notify us of these strikes." Both officials requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Iran on Tuesday said it would retaliate against Israel for the strike that destroyed the consular section of its embassy in the Syrian capital. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, an elite paramilitary and espionage organization.

Seven aid workers killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
Associated Press/April 02/2024
An apparent Israeli airstrike killed six international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity and their Palestinian driver, the aid group said Tuesday, as they were delivering food from its latest shipment to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel's offensive against Hamas. Footage showed the bodies of the dead at a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. Several of them wore protective gear with the charity's logo. Those killed include three from Britain, one from Australia, one from Poland, and a U.S. and Canadian dual citizen, according to hospital records. The source of fire late Monday could not be independently confirmed. The Israeli military said it was conducting a review "to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident."The food charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés said it was immediately suspending operations in the region. The strike marked a potentially major setback to efforts to deliver aid by sea as Israel heavily restricts access to northern Gaza, where experts say famine is imminent. "The WCK team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle," the charity said in a statement. "Despite coordinating movements with the (Israeli army), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route."Erin Gore, the CEO of the charity, said "this is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable."
Three aid ships from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus arrived earlier Monday carrying some 400 tons of food and supplies organized by the charity and the United Arab Emirates, the group's second shipment after a pilot run last month. The Israeli military was involved in coordinating both deliveries.
The U.S. has touted the sea route as a new way to deliver desperately needed aid to northern Gaza, where the U.N. has said much of the population is on the brink of starvation, largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces. Israel has barred UNRWA, the main U.N. agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north, and other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military's failure to ensure safe passage. The UNRWA said in its latest report that 173 of its workers have been killed in Gaza. The figure does not include workers for other aid organizations.
The bodies of the aid workers have been taken to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, according to an Associated Press reporter at the hospital. The foreigners' bodies will be evacuated out of Gaza and the Palestinian driver's body will be handed to his family in Rafah for burial.
World Central Kitchen board member Robert Egger and the media reported that the Australian killed in Monday night's strike was 44-year-old Zomi Frankcom from Melbourne. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was urgently seeking to confirm reports of an Australian death. The department said in a statement: "We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict."The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250 hostages. Israel responded with one of the deadliest and most destructive offensives in recent history. At least 32,845 Palestinians have been killed, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. Israel blames the civilian toll on Palestinian militants because they fight in dense residential areas. Aid groups have repeatedly called for a humanitarian cease-fire, saying it's the only way to reach people in need. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire but the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas remain bogged down. Hamas is believed to be holding some 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others after freeing most of the rest during a cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

'Unforgivable': IDF opens probe after seven aid workers killed in central Gaza
Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
An independent fact-finding body in Israel is investigating the incident, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. The IDF opened an investigation after seven international aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization were killed in an airstrike in the Deir al-Balah area of the Gaza Strip, early Tuesday morning. According to Palestinian reports, the IDF struck a civilian car the aid workers were in on a road near the beach. Airstrikes were also reported by Palestinian media in a separate part of Deir al-Balah at around the same time. IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari spoke with WCK founder Chef Jose Anders on Tuesday, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims and the organization. "As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently," said Hagari. "We also express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need."Hagari stressed that the IDF is reviewing the incident "at the highest levels" to understand what happened. "We will be opening a probe to examine this serious incident further. This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again." The IDF spokesperson added that the incident would be investigated in the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism: an independent, professional, and expert body. "For the last few months, the IDF has been working closely with the World Central Kitchen to assist them in fulfilling their noble mission of helping bring food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," said Hagari. "WCK also came to help Israelis after the massacre of October 7th; they were one of the first NGOs here. The work of WCK is critical; they are on the frontlines of humanity. We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently." Responses to the strike. The WCK, which provides food in disaster areas, confirmed that seven of its workers were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza on Tuesday, adding that it was pausing operations in the region "immediately." "We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon," added the organization. The seven killed in the strike include Australian, Polish, and British citizens, as well as a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and a Palestinian. The team hit in the strike was "traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle," according to the WCK. The organization added that they had coordinated their movements with the IDF and that the convoy was hit after leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, shortly after unloading over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza through the maritime route from Cyprus. “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore. “I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” said the CEO. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Australian citizen Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was one of the aid workers killed in the incident. Albanese demanded "full accountability," saying, "This is a tragedy that should never have occurred," according to Australian media. "The truth is that this is beyond any reasonable circumstances that someone going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life and there were four aid workers as well as a Palestinian driver in this vehicle," added Albanese. Netanyahu laments Israel's 'unintended' killing of aid workers in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday lamented the killing in an Israeli strike of seven people working for the World Central Kitchen aid group in Gaza, describing the incident as tragic and unintended. "This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it, are in contact with the governments (of the foreigners among the dead), and will do everything to ensure it does not happen again," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

World powers condemn deadly Gaza air strike on aid workers
Agence France Presse/April 02/2024
The United States and Britain led international criticism Tuesday of a deadly strike in the Gaza Strip that killed seven charity staff as they unloaded desperately needed aid brought by sea to the war-torn territory. World Central Kitchen -- one of two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid by boat -- said a "targeted Israeli strike" on Monday killed Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and U.S.-Canadian staff. Washington, Israel's main ally, said it was "heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike". "Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed," U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike was "unintentional". The Israeli army has vowed to hold an investigation and promised to "share our findings transparently". British Foreign Secretary David Cameron -- who has been increasingly critical of Israel's war in Gaza -- said the country had "called on Israel to immediately investigate and provide a full, transparent explanation of what happened". UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "shocked and saddened" after learning that a Briton was among those killed. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed the "completely unacceptable" attack, and called it a "tragedy that should never have occurred". He offered "sincere condolences" to the family of Australian volunteer Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, who was killed in the strike. "She just wanted to help out through this charity. That says everything about the character of this young woman," Albanese said.
'Indiscriminate killing'
The founder and leader of World Central Kitchen, celebrity chef Jose Andres, said he was "heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family". "The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing," he wrote on social media. "It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon." The charity said it had coordinated its movements with the Israeli army and was travelling in vehicles branded with its logo. It has paused its operations in Gaza. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that "despite all the demands to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, we see new innocent casualties". "I condemn the attack and urge an investigation," he wrote on X. Warsaw said it had asked the Israeli ambassador for "urgent explanations" about the incident, which killed one Polish citizen, and offered "condolences to the family of our brave volunteer". Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the country had also opened its own inquiry into the aid worker's death. Criticism also came from Beijing, which said it was "shocked" by the strike, and from Madrid, where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called it a "brutal attack that has taken the lives of seven aid workers who were doing nothing but helping". Since Hamas's October 7 attacks triggered the war, Gaza has been under a near-complete blockade, with the United Nations accusing Israel of preventing deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Israeli President offers 'apology' after relief workers died in strike in Gaza
AFP/April 02/2024 
Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered his "apology" on Tuesday evening following the death of seven collaborators with the US non-governmental organization, ‎World Central Kitchen‎, in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip. A statement from the presidency stated, "President Herzog expresses his deep sadness and sincere apology following the tragic death of the World Central Kitchen team last night in the Gaza Strip, and extends his condolences to their families and relatives," clarifying that he made a call to the organization's founder, the Spanish-American chef José Andrés.

Joe Biden expresses outrage over deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza
Michael Collins, USA TODAY/April 02/2024
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called chef José Andrés on Tuesday to express his condolences over the deaths of seven aid workers for the nonprofit group World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Biden told Andrés, who established the nonprofit organization in 2010, that he was heartbroken by the news of the airstrike and that he is grieving with the World Central Kitchen family, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “The president felt it was important to recognize the tremendous contribution the World Central Kitchen has made to the people in Gaza and people around the world,” Jean-Pierre said. Biden will make it clear to Israel that humanitarian aid workers must be protected, she said. Relatives and friends mourn by the body of Saif Abu Taha, a staff member of the U.S.-based aid group World Central Kitchen, who was killed as Israeli strikes hit a convoy of the NGO delivering food aid in Gaza a day earlier. Relatives and friends mourn by the body of Saif Abu Taha, a staff member of the U.S.-based aid group World Central Kitchen, who was killed as Israeli strikes hit a convoy of the NGO delivering food aid in Gaza a day earlier. The seven workers were killed Monday after their convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where it had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, the group said. The group said it had coordinated its movements with the Israeli military and that workers had been traveling in two armored cars bearing the World Central Kitchen logo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the airstrike that killed the workers was unintended and "tragic.” The Israeli military pledged an independent inquiry. In Washington, John Kirby, the White House spokesman on national security issues, said the U.S. was “outraged” by the airstrikes and expects the Israeli military investigation to be done “in a swift and comprehensive manner.” “We hope that those findings will be made public and that there is appropriate accountability,” Kirby said. Kirby said there is no evidence the Israelis knew they were targeting humanitarian workers. More than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war started last Oct. 7, making the conflict one of the worst for aid workers in recent history, Kirby said.

Russia says it is working on removing Taliban from its terrorist list
MOSCOW (Reuters) April 2, 2024
Russia said on Tuesday it had important matters to discuss with Afghanistan's Taliban leaders and was working to remove the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organisations. "This is a country that is next to us, and one way or another we communicate with them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We need to resolve pressing issues, this also requires dialogue, so in this regard we communicate with them like practically everyone else - they are the de facto authority in Afghanistan." Peskov did not elaborate on the "pressing issues", but Russia suffered its deadliest attack for 20 years last month when gunmen stormed a concert hall outside Moscow, killing at least 144 people. Islamic State militants claimed responsbility and U.S. officials said they had intelligence that it was the network's Afghan branch, Islamic State Khorasan, that was responsible. Russia has said it is also investigating a Ukrainian link, something Kyiv and the United States have strongly rejected. The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces, but have remained until now on a list of organisations that Russia designates as terrorist.

Egyptian President Sisi swears oath for third term
Agence France Presse/April 2, 2024
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in Tuesday in front of parliament for his third term in office. In power for the past decade, Sisi is set to remain president until 2030, after winning December's election with 89.6 percent of the vote against three relative unknowns. The oath also marked the inauguration of Egypt's New Administrative Capital, located in the desert east of Cairo, local media reported.

Biden and Xi discuss Taiwan, AI and fentanyl in a push to return to regular leader talks
AFP/April 02, 2024
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan, artificial intelligence and security issues Tuesday in a call meant to demonstrate a return to regular leader-to-leader dialogue between the two powers.
The call, described by the White House as “candid and constructive,” was the leaders’ first conversation since their November summit in California produced renewed ties between the two nations’ militaries and a promise of enhanced cooperation on stemming the flow of deadly fentanyl and its precursors from China. The call also kicks off several weeks of high-level engagements between the two countries, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set to travel to China on Thursday and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to follow in the weeks ahead.
Biden has pressed for sustained interactions at all levels of government, believing it is key to keeping competition between the two massive economies and nuclear-armed powers from escalating to direct conflict. While in-person summits take place perhaps once a year, officials said, both Washington and Beijing recognize the value of more frequent engagements between the leaders.
Xi told Biden that the two countries should adhere to the bottom line of “no clash, no confrontation” as one of the principles for this year. “We should prioritize stability, not provoke troubles, not cross lines but maintain the overall stability of China-US relations,” Xi said, according to China Central Television, the state broadcaster. The two leaders discussed Taiwan ahead of next month’s inauguration of Lai Ching-te, the island’s president-elect, who has vowed to safeguard its de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ longstanding “One China” policy and reiterated that the US opposes any coercive means to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control. China considers Taiwan a domestic matter and has vigorously protested US support for the island. Taiwan remains the “first red line not to be crossed,” Xi told Biden, and emphasized that Beijing will not tolerate separatist activities by Taiwan’s independence forces as well as “exterior indulgence and support,” which alluded to Washington’s support for the island. Biden also raised concerns about China’s operations in the South China Sea, including efforts last month to impede the Philippines, which the US is treaty-obligated to defend, from resupplying its forces on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. Next week, Biden will host Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for a joint summit where China’s influence in the region was set to be top of the agenda.
Biden, in the call with Xi, pressed China to do more to meet its commitments to halt the flow of illegal narcotics and to schedule additional precursor chemicals to prevent their export. The pledge was made at the leaders’ summit held in Woodside, California, last year on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
At the November summit, Biden and Xi also agreed that their governments would hold formal talks on the promises and risks of advanced artificial intelligence, which are set to take place in the coming weeks. The pair touched on the issue on Tuesday just two weeks after China and the US joined more than 120 other nations in backing a resolution at the United Nations calling for global safeguards around the emerging technology. Biden, in the call, reinforced warnings to Xi against interfering in the 2024 elections in the US as well as against continued malicious cyberattacks against critical American infrastructure, according to a senior US administration official who previewed the call on the condition of anonymity. He also raised concerns about human rights in China, including Hong Kong’s new restrictive national security law and its treatment of minority groups, and he raised the plight of Americans detained in or barred from leaving China. The Democratic president also pressed China over its defense relationship with Russia, which is seeking to rebuild its industrial base as it presses forward with its invasion of Ukraine. And he called on Beijing to wield its influence over North Korea to rein in the isolated and erratic nuclear power. As the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Biden also raised concerns with Xi over China’s “unfair economic practices,” the official said, and reasserted that the US would take steps to preserve its security and economic interests, including by continuing to limit the transfer of some advanced technology to China. Xi complained that the US has taken more measures to suppress China’s economy, trade and technology in the past several months and that the list of sanctioned Chinese companies has become ever longer, which is “not derisking but creating risks,” according to the broadcaster.
The call came ahead of Yellen’s visit to Guangzhou and Beijing for a week of bilateral meetings on the subject with finance leaders from the world’s second largest economy — including Vice Premier He Lifeng, Chinese Central Bank Gov. Pan Gongsheng, former Vice Premier Liu He, American businesses and local leaders. An advisory for the upcoming trip states that Yellen “will advocate for American workers and businesses to ensure they are treated fairly, including by pressing Chinese counterparts on unfair trade practices.”It follows Xi’s meeting in Beijing with US business leaders last week, when he emphasized the mutually beneficial economic ties between the two countries and urged people-to-people exchange to maintain the relationship. Xi told the Americans that the two countries have stayed communicative and “made progress” on issues such as trade, anti-narcotics and climate change since he met with Biden in November. Last week’s high-profile meeting was seen as Beijing’s effort to stabilize bilateral relations. Ahead of her trip to China, Yellen last week said that Beijing is flooding the market with green energy that “distorts global prices.” She said she intends to share her beliefs with her counterparts that Beijing’s increased production of solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries poses risks to productivity and growth to the global economy.
US lawmakers’ renewed angst over Chinese ownership of the popular social media app TikTok has generated new legislation that would ban TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform within six months of the bill’s enactment.
As chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews foreign ownership of firms in the US, Yellen has ample leeway to determine how the company could remain operating in the US. Meanwhile, China’s leaders have set a goal of 5 percent economic growth this year despite a slowdown exacerbated by troubles in the property sector and the lingering effects of strict anti-virus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted travel, logistics, manufacturing and other industries. China is the dominant player in batteries for electric vehicles and has a rapidly expanding auto industry that could challenge the world’s established carmakers as it goes global. The US last year outlined plans to limit EV buyers from claiming tax credits if they purchase cars containing battery materials from China and other countries that are considered hostile to the United States. Separately, the Department of Commerce launched an investigation into the potential national security risks posed by Chinese car exports to the US.

Taylor Swift joins world's richest on Forbes billionaire list - Who else is on the list?
David Mouriquand/Euronews/Tue, April 2, 2024
Taylor Swift joins world's richest on Forbes billionaire list - Who else is on the list?
Forbes has just released their billionaires list and, for the first time, Taylor Swift has officially made the cut.
What makes this inclusion stand out is that the publication has revealed that Swift, TIME Magazine's 2023 Person of the Year and Euronews Culture's Music Personality of 2023, landed on the list thanks to her music and performances alone.
“Miss Americana capped off one of the most culturally influential years a musician has ever had by becoming a billionaire in October,” stated Forbes about the singer with a $1.1 billion net worth. “Her estimated $190 million post-tax earnings from her historic Eras Tour helped boost the country-and-pop musician into the three-comma club - the first person to do it based solely on songwriting and performing.”
Bloomberg originally reported that Swift, 34, became a billionaire last October, thanks to her new albums, Eras Tour (the first tour to ever gross $1billion) and her record-breaking concert film.
In their summary of the superstar’s wealth, Forbes estimated Swift had made $500 million from her royalties and touring, and another $500 million from her catalogue. Forbes also claimed she made $125 million in real estate as well.
Swift reportedly also earned $100 million from Spotify streaming royalties alone last year, thanks to the combined power of 2022’s ‘ Midnights ‘ and 2023’s ‘ 1989 (Taylor’s Version) ’.
Swift joins the first-time billionaires list alongside NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, designer Christian Louboutin and over 260 more names.
Forbes said there were a record 2,781 billionaires for 2024.
The figure is 141 more than last year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021. Forbes added the elite were richer than ever - with a collective wealth of $14.2 trillion. Forbes also said that the class of billionaires for 2024 were 255% richer than a decade ago, now worth $2 trillion in all.
Here are, according to Forbes, the 14 celebrities who have “turned their fame into enough fortune to make the 2024 World’s Billionaires list”:
George Lucas - Net Worth: $5.5 Billion
Steven Spielberg - Net Worth: $4.8 Billion
Michael Jordan - Net Worth: $3.2 Billion
Oprah Winfrey - Net Worth: $2.8 Billion
Jay-Z - Net Worth: $2.5 Billion
Kim Kardashian - Net Worth: $1.7 Billion
Peter Jackson - Net Worth: $1.5 Billion
Tyler Perry - Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
Rihanna - Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
Tiger Woods - Net Worth: $1.3 Billion
LeBron James - Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Magic Johnson - Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Dick Wolf - Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Taylor Swift - Net Worth: $1.1 Billion
As for the richest people in the world list, some names will not come as a surprise:
Bernard Arnault & Family – LVMH empire - Net Worth: $233 Billion
Elon Musk – Tesla, SpaceX, X – Net Worth: $195 Billion
Jeff Bezos – Amazon - Net Worth: $194 Billion
Mark Zuckerbeg – Facebook - Net Worth: $177 Billion
Larry Ellison – Oracle - Net Worth: 141 Billion
Warren Buffett – Investor - Net Worth: 133 Billion
Bill Gates – Microsoft - Net Worth: 128 Billion
Steve Ballmer – Former CEO Microsoft - Net Worth: 121 Billion
Mukesh Ambani – Reliance Industries - Net Worth: $116 Billion
Larry Page – Former CEO Alphabet - Net Worth: $114 Billion
Briefly circling back to Taylor Swift - as the list and those numbers are exhausting - things aren’t slowing down for the singer, who is about to embark on the European leg of her Eras Tour next month.
Plus, she is also set to release her upcoming 11th album, ‘ The Tortured Poets Department ’, on 19 April.

Sudan suspends operations of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, Sky News Arabia
Reuters/April 02/2024
Sudan suspended on Tuesday the work of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath and Sky News Arabia channels "due to its lack of commitment to the required professionalism and transparency and failure to renew its licenses," the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) said, citing the Minister of Information.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 02-03/2024
Skewers, patties, and rings: Iranian and Arab social media users celebrate Zahedi's assassination
OHAD MERLIN/Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
Aside from eulogies from the Islamic Republic, many celebrated the notice online in both Persian and Arabic, with users expressing their joy over the assassination.
The assassination of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, prominent commander of the IRGC and head of its Lebanon and Syria operations, caused much upheaval on social media. Aside from the usual eulogies sounded by mouthpieces and allies of the Islamic Republic regime, an intriguing wave of celebration was also present online, with many users expressing their joy over the assassination of Zahedi, in both Persian and Arabic.
Iranians: a holiday present
The assassination was also celebrated by Iranian activists and journalists both in exile and in the country, especially as the assassination took place during “Sizdah Bedar,” a popular Iranian holiday. UK-based Iranian journalist and influencer in exile Pouria Zeraati rejoiced at what he named “Netanyahu’s gift for Sizdah Bedar” adding: “it is impossible to ignore the news of the terrorists turned to powder!” Similarly, an Iranian blogger named Tara Niazi congratulated her following for Sizdah Bedar, attaching a picture of holiday patties and Zahedi, and adding “Did anyone say patties?” Likewise, Iranian blogger CiCi Khanoom uploaded a picture of Zahedi, making fun of the latter’s military rank and adding “the supreme patty, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.” An anonymous Iranian blogger named ‘dreams of midnight’ posted a picture showing four assassinated members of the IRGC with Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, adding: “Only Hassan remains!” Another Iranian influencer in exile named Vida Sarafraz mentioned the “immortal innocents” murdered by the Islamic Republic regime such as Mohsen Shekari executed in December 2022 for “waging war against Allah,” adding: Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of the commanders of the Quds Corps, was killed. May there be more to come.” Similarly, Lawdan Bazargan, a US based Iranian in exile and member of the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), reminded that Mohammad Reza Zahedi was responsible for the security of Tehran” and that “Zahedi's hands were stained with the blood of protesters” killed, arrested and tortured by the regime during the Hijab protests of last year. A Telegram channel operating from inside Iran named "Freedom Messenger" addressed the extremist religious regime, adding: "while you were busy harassing the people so no one celebrates Sizdah Bedar in parks, Israel hit the IR's embassy in Damascus. Hey Arzeshi* (pejorative name used to refer to apologists of the regime), you don't need to go to Gaza anymore, Gaza is coming after you :)" Dr. Thamar Eilam Gindin, Iran expert from Haifa University, added: “Sizdah Bedar is a favorite Iranian holiday, marking the end of the New Year holiday, Nowruz. On this day Iranians go out to have picnics in nature near water, boys and girls are allowed to talk even in the most conservative communities, and there is dancing and singing and celebrating. This year, because of Ramadan, the regime tried to prevent these celebrations, law enforcement vans were situated along roads leading to parks and major park entrances were blocked. Many still celebrated the news, but with more fear, and this good news made them even happier than usual.”
Arab voices: joy without credit
Arab users also voiced their happiness of the assassination of Zahedi, though uncommonly attributing the assassination to Israel, with reports on Telegram that the regime blocked roads to national parks to prevent people from throwing celebrations during Ramadan.
A Lebanese user named “the Lebanese Network” uploaded a picture of Zahedi’s head on a skewer adding: “Mohammad Reza Zahedi is the second most prominent Iranian general to be grilled after Qasem Soleimani.” Another Lebanese user named Tony also referred to the two assassinated generals, adding that Zahedi “went to visit Soleimani.” A third Lebanese user named Nasser El-Wahsh uploaded a picture of a ring adding many laughing emojis and commenting “Now we know who the ring I found belongs to… Reza Zahedi...I have your ring,” in reference to the ring of Soleimani, found and published after his assassination by the US during the Trump Administration. Syrian influencer and journalist Omar Madaniah tweeted “I bring you good news of the death of the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in Damascus,” without referring to the circumstances of his ‘death.’ He later uploaded a known caricature taken from Iranian propaganda which showed Soleimani being hugged supposedly by the Mahdi (the Shi’i messianic figure), superimposing Zahedi’s head and adding: “A new customer arrived to the embrace.”
Another user who named themselves ‘wolverine’, apparently from Syria, celebrated the death of the “perished IRGC leader,” while an Iraqi Sunni user named “Umm Hazem News” wished the Iranian official “To hell, son of a dog. Today he will break his fast in the depths of hell with Qasim Kebab [Soleimani] and Abu Mandi Al-Muhandis, an Iraqi commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) who was also assassinated by the US along with Soleimani." User Mohammad Ghaloul, apparently from Saudi Arabia, uploaded a video of traditional Bedouin dances, adding: “on the occasion of the death of Zahedi and 10 of his companions to become Kebab, the evening [celebrations] will be full today and the invitation is extended.” Lebanese anti-Iranian activist Raymond Hakim posted a picture showing IRGC brigadier general and commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, together with an hourglass, implying that his time is nearing, too; while Yemeni American activist Majda Al-Haddad finally concluded: “thank you Israel!”

South Africa: Safe-haven for Hamas, Islamic State and al-Qaeda Terrorists
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/April 2, 2024
"The South African government is the same thing as Hamas. It's an Iranian proxy, and its role in the war is to fight the ideological and ideas war to stigmatize Jews around the world. " — Frans Cronje, CEO Race Relations Institute, interview on Chai FM Radio, January 26, 2024.
The ANC's lax monitoring and prosecution of the terrorist presence in South Africa may have been the result of an understanding between the government and terrorist groups not to execute terror operations in the country while permitting fundraising to continue without interference from South African law enforcement agencies.
Adding to South Africa's concerns is the possibility that its citizens waging jihad in Mozambique may eventually return and apply their combat experience at home to target the ANC regime.
South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has close and long-standing ties to the terrorist organization Hamas. As early as 2015, Hamas had developed personal ties with South Africa's then-President Jacob Zuma. In October 2015, the ANC hosted a Hamas delegation led by terrorist mastermind Khaled Mashaal, who met with Zuma in Pretoria.
South Africa might appear to have scored another diplomatic victory propaganda victory by getting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to accept onto its judicial docket the African state's charge that Israel's presence in the West Bank is an illegal occupation. This recent initiative follows South Africa's December 29, 2023 presentation to the ICJ that Israel's military operations in Gaza were supposedly acts of genocide against the territory's civilian population.
While South Africa's latest grandstand maneuver will most likely fail on its lack of merit, the effort did succeed in exposing yet another unsavory dimension of the relationship between South Africa and the terrorist organization Hamas, which initiated the war against Israel on October 7, 2023.
South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has close and long-standing ties to Hamas. As early as 2015, Hamas had developed personal ties with South Africa's then-President Jacob Zuma. In October of that year, the ANC hosted a Hamas delegation led by terrorist mastermind Khaled Mashaal, who met with Zuma in the capital, Pretoria.
Then ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said during the visit that the ANC had signed a "letter of intent" with Hamas, and called Mashaal's visit "very important," adding: "We have an intention of building a long-lasting relationship."
By December 2018, the ANC publicly pledged support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) program. That month, the ANC hosted by another visiting Hamas delegation.
Clandestinely, Hamas has had cells in South Africa since at least 1996. Gaza-based Hamas operatives have maintained close connections with Hamas-supporting groups in South Africa such as Al-Aksa Foundation, Al-Quds Foundation, and the Muslim Judicial Council.
The key go-between for Hamas and South African radical Muslims is Imam Ebrahim Gabriels, who, in his role as fundraiser for Hamas, has met with several Hamas politburo members. Several visits by Hamas delegations to South Africa have included discussions on fundraising, planned attacks on Jewish interests in South Africa, as well as a base for military training of South African Muslims.
After Hamas's murderous October 7 assault on Israeli civilians in towns and villages near Israel's border with Gaza, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor held a supportive telephone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who called from his sanctuary in Qatar. South Africa then further consummated its alliance with the terrorist group with a state visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to Qatar, Hamas's financier.
Visiting Qatar for the first time in the role of South Africa's president, Ramaphosa met with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. But Pandor denied rumors advanced by opposition Members of Parliament that the Ramaphosa met with Hamas officials during the visit. Finishing touches on the ICJ scheme were probably already agreed to during what Israel described as a number of cozy meetings held in early December 2023 between ANC politicians and a visiting Hamas delegation.
Underscoring the likely role of Iran in helping to orchestrate the anti-Israel ICJ scheme was the presence at these final meetings, which took place on December 6, of the Hamas representative in Iran, Khaled Qadoumi. Iran's role in the disingenuous ICJ case against Israel is indicative of still another weapon waged by the Islamic Republic against Israel and the West, while employing and exploiting the West's liberal institutions.
In the months leading up to the October 7 Hamas attack, the ANC headquarters and even its youth wing, were reportedly near bankruptcy ANC coffers needed to be refilled in light of a national election this coming May. As political forecasting indicates that the ANC's popularity is diminishing, its need for more money would seem especially significant. Inexplicably, ANC notables recently have suggested that the party's finances have stabilized. Reports state that Iran may have pumped cash into ANC bank accounts:
"High-profile South African activists such as former Institute of Race Relations CEO Frans Cronje and Accountability Now Director Paul Hoffman both said that reports are emerging that Iran fixed the ANC's finance problem.
"'The South African government is the same thing as Hamas. It's an Iranian proxy, and its role in the war is to fight the ideological and ideas war to stigmatize Jews around the world,'" Cronje during an interview on Chai FM Radio."
The ANC's lax monitoring and prosecution of the terrorist presence in South Africa may have been the result of an understanding between the government and terrorist groups not to execute terror operations in the country while permitting fundraising to continue without interference from South African law enforcement agencies. An alleged declassified report issued by South Africa's National Intelligence Agency indicates that terrorist groups have decided to refrain from perpetrating attacks in the country, and instead exploit it for the purpose of rear-area fundraising. The ANC-led South African government, in power since the end of apartheid in 1994, has apparently made the country a haven for terrorist cells chiefly involved with raising funds for terrorist operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Last year, the US Treasury Department's Financial Anti-Terrorism Task Force (FATF) designated South Africa as a "grey list" country for its feckless enforcement of anti-terrorism laws and for its permissive policies concerning money-laundering by terrorist groups. Designation as a "grey list" country undoubtedly has a negative impact upon international corporate confidence in investment.
Islamic State cells in South Africa have used the country to raise funds for its terrorist operations, particularly in Mozambique. These Islamic State and al-Qaeda networks have funded terrorist operations throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The ISIS presence in South Africa has financially supported its affiliates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique.
South Africa's good fortune is to have been almost entirely free from terrorist incidents on its soil in the last few years. This good fortune, however, may soon end. South Africa also has benefited by ideologically motivated South African citizen volunteers joining the jihadist war in Mozambique, but not engaging in terrorism at home – yet. These South African Islamist recruits have joined Ansar al-Sunnah wa Jamma (Islamic State-Mozambique), a group that conduct attacks on non-Muslim civilians, as well as Western and South African oil exploration projects off Mozambique's east coast.
South Africa, despite its warm relations with Hamas terrorists, has been quick to defend its interests by dispatching combat troops to fight against Islamic jihadists in Mozambique. Adding to South Africa's concerns is the possibility that its citizens waging jihad in Mozambique may eventually return and apply their combat experience at home to target the ANC regime.
*Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Israel's killing of IRGC's Zahedi marks ends of an era for Iranian commanders - The death of Zahedi follows a series of losses for Iran and its proxies in the region.
SETH J. FRANTZMAN/Jerusalem Post/April 02/2024
The death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi in an airstrike in Damascus represents the end of an era for Iran. The era is encapsulated in a photo circulating on social media showing Zahedi, IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Ahmed Kazemi. Four of these men are now dead, leaving only Nasrallah. This is symbolic because it shows how a whole generation of key operatives and allies of Iran have been killed. It is symbolic on a wider level because it shows how Iran may be losing its grip on Syria as its IRGC chain of command there suffers losses. The loss of Zahedi is being watched in the region. For instance, Al-Ain media in the UAE has an article examining the photo and noting that Nasrallah is the “last of them.”“In the Iranian consulate strike, seven Iranian military advisers and officers were killed, the most prominent of whom was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who served as Deputy Chief of Operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in addition to assuming command of its air and ground forces,” the report notes. It also notes the fate of the others in the photo. For instance, Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020. Soleimani had arrived for a meeting with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah. Muhandis and Soleimani were driving in a convoy of vehicles when the drone targeted their vehicle and killed them. Kazemi, who is also in the photo, was killed in a plane crash in 2006. Mughniyeh was assassinated in Damascus in 2008. Al-Ain says that Zahedi is the “fourth prominent leader of the Revolutionary Guards to be assassinated,” since December. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack. He was killed in an airstrike on a building next to the Iranian consulate. The building served as the “military headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards,” Al-Ain notes. The death of Zahedi follows a series of losses for Iran and its proxies in the region. For instance back in December 2023 IRGC commander Razi Moussavi, was also killed in Syria. In January 2024 five more IRGC members were killed in Damascus. Iran vowed revenge at the time. These are not the only losses for Iran. Its key friends and allies have also been killed.
Zahedi will be hard for Iran to replace
Saleh al-Arouri, a key Hamas commander who was residing in Lebanon, was killed in January. Wissam Tawil, a Hezbollah member was also killed. Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit was killed in Lebanon in late March.
Iran and its proxies will have a hard time replacing these men. This is because many of them had decades of experience working in their various capacities. They also were key nodes in Iran’s network that links Iran to militias in Iraq and Syria and then links Iran’s network in Damascus to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has armed Hezbollah over the years with various types of weapons, from missiles to anti-tank missiles, to drones and precision guided munitions. Iran relies heavily on its network of senior commanders who know one another. It operates in a sense like a mafia in the region, establishing various miniature versions of the IRGC in several countries and creating proxy networks. These rely on key individuals. Without those individuals some of these networks are thrown into chaos. That doesn’t mean the networks don’t continue to possess weapons and create threats. However, it does change their cohesion.
Iran has been seeking to knit together all these groups in various years. Tehran describes this as uniting various “arenas” or fronts against Israel. In all, there are at least seven fronts that Iran wants to operationalize against Israel. This week the unity was on display as an Iraqi militia launched a drone at Eilat, and also as Hezbollah continued its threats against Israel and as Iran sought to destabilize Jordan with protests and also sought clashes in the West Bank with the Palestinian Security Forces. Iran has sought to smuggle weapons to the West Bank in the last years. This illustrates that Iran continues to manage various fronts against Israel even as it takes losses in other places. The loss of Zahedi is important for Tehran and its nexus in the region and his missing presence at meetings and in other affairs will be felt for years.

Who was the Iranian military commander killed in the Damascus strike?
JONATHAN GORNALL/Arab News/April 02, 2024
LONDON: Born on Nov. 2, 1960, in Isfahan, central Iran, Mohammad Reza Zahedi was a contemporary and close friend of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the 62-year-old commander of the Quds Force, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 3, 2020.
Soleimani had enrolled in what was then the newly formed Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, better known as the IRGC, in 1979, at the age of 22. Zahedi joined the IRGC the following year, when he was 20, at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War.
Both men rose to prominence in the ranks of the special-operations Quds Force over the ensuing eight years of the conflict. It was Soleimani who appointed Zahedi commander of the Quds Force Lebanon Corps in 1998, a position he held until 2002, and to which he was reappointed in 2008. He was responsible for organizing support for the regime of President Bashar Assad during the Syrian civil war, and overseeing shipments of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah via Syria. Like Soleimani before him, on Monday night Zahedi met his end in a sudden and devastating missile attack, with no warning of his imminent demise. He was 63. According to the IRGC, seven of its personnel, including Zahedi and three other senior officers, died alongside six Syrians in the attack on Monday, which targeted a military building next to the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
The three officers were named as Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division of the Quds Force in Beirut, Abdolreza Shahlai, commander of IRGC operations in Yemen, and Abdolreza Mosjedzadeh, who oversaw Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
Israel has refused to comment on the strike, even to confirm it was involved. The Iranian Embassy said that F-35 planes fired six missiles at the building. Later, The New York Times, citing unnamed Israeli officials who confirmed Israel carried out the attack, described the incident as “a major escalation of what has long been a simmering, undeclared war between Israel and Iran.”
In photographs distributed by the Reuters news agency shortly after the attack, the Iranian embassy — on the fence of which a large poster of Soleimani could be seen hanging — appears relatively undamaged. The building next door had been reduced to a smoking pile of rubble.
Reaction to the attack was rapid. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who visited the site soon after, said: “We strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack that … killed a number of innocents.”
Iran’s mission to the UN condemned it as a “flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises,” and said Tehran reserved the right “to take a decisive response.”
Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Syria, was unharmed in the attack. He told Iranian state TV that about seven people, including diplomats, had been killed and that Tehran’s response would be “harsh.”
Irani’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, also vowed to retaliate, saying “this crime will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge.”
There is a long history of embassies being attacked by enemies, but usually such assaults involve mobs of people or terrorist groups. In 1983, for example, 64 people lost their lives in a suicide-bomb attack on the US Embassy in Beirut carried out by a pro-Iranian group, and in 1998, 223 people died in simultaneous Al-Qaeda truck-bomb attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
It is highly unusual, however, for one state to attack the diplomatic premises or personnel of another and so the strike, not surprisingly, was condemned by nations including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Russia.
America did not condemn the attack outright but a State Department spokesperson said Washington was “concerned about anything that would be escalatory or cause an increase in conflict in the region.”
It was also quick to issue a statement claiming that “the United States had no involvement in the strike and we did not know about it ahead of time,” while also stressing that the US “communicated this directly to Iran.”
The regime in Tehran appeared to be unconvinced by this, however. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said a Swiss diplomat representing US interests had been summoned by Tehran.
“An important message was sent to the American government, as a supporter of the Zionist regime,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a message posted on social media platform X. “America must give answers.”
The day after the attack, Israeli news media quoted Hezi Simantov, a well-connected Israeli correspondent and commentator on Arab affairs, who predicted that Iran was now “laying the groundwork to strike at Israeli diplomatic representations worldwide, in the Arab world, Europe or the United States or South America.” The death of Zahedi, he added, “is a severe and painful blow to the Iranian regime, a matter in which the Iranians are more inclined to take revenge against Israel. We have already eliminated several of their senior officials since Oct. 7 on Syrian soil. This is the period when Iran wants to show that it is leading the Axis of Resistance.”
On Tuesday, Iranian state TV reported that the country’s Supreme National Security Council, chaired by the president, Ebrahim Raisi, had decided on a “required” response to the Israeli strike. No further details were given.
Zahedi was the third senior IRGC leader killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. His death is the most significant loss suffered by the Quds Force since the assassination of Soleimani four years ago and, before that, the death of Hossein Hamedani in October 2015.
At the time of his death, in an attack by Daesh in Aleppo, Hamedani was the most senior Iranian officer killed overseas since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
In December, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, the IRGC logistics chief in Syria, who was responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran, died in a presumed Israeli missile strike on the outskirts of Damascus.
In January, Hujatollah Amidvar, an intelligence operative for the IRGC in Syria, was killed by an airstrike on a compound west of Damascus.
According to the Iranian Mehr News Agency, Zahedi held a series of significant roles within the IRGC. During the Iran-Iraq War, from 1983 to 1988 he commanded the 44th Qamar Bani Hashim Brigade, before going on to lead the 14th Imam Hussein Division between 1988 and 1991.
By 2005, he had become the IRGC’s head of ground forces, a post he held until 2008, and from 2007 until 2015 he was commander of the Syrian and Lebanese branch of the Quds Force, operating in Lebanon under aliases including Hassan Mahdavi and Reza Mahdavi.
Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of commander Ahmed Shehimi, who was killed in an Israeli raid in Syria early on March 29, during his funeral procession in southern Beirut. (AFP)
Zahedi became the target of US sanctions in 2010, when the Department of the Treasury included him on a list of four senior members of the IRGC and Quds Force sanctioned “for their roles in the IRGC-QF’s support of terrorism.”
Described in a Treasury statement on Aug. 3, 2010, as “the commander of the IRGC-QF in Lebanon,” Zahedi was accused of playing “a key role in Iran’s support to Hezbollah.” He “also acted as a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services and is reportedly charged with guaranteeing weapons shipments to Hezbollah.”
The Quds Force has been active in Syria since 2011, when officers were deployed in an advisory role to support the regime of Assad, an ally of Iran, in the wake of the Arab Spring protests and uprisings in the region.
But, as the Council on Foreign Relations later reported, “as the discontent turned to civil war, the Quds Force served not just as military advisers but also on the front lines, fighting alongside Syrian regime forces, Lebanese Hezbollah militants, and Afghan refugees serving in IRGC proxy militias.”
It remains to be established beyond doubt whether or not Iran or its Quds Force was involved in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel led by Hamas last year. IRGC officials “may have directly authorized Hamas’s assault and assisted in planning it, though Hamas and the IRGC have insisted that the Palestinian group acted independently,” the Council on Foreign Relations said. It added that at the very least, Tehran “was likely aware of an impending attack that it had facilitated through decades of support for the Palestinian fighters.”
Either way, it added, “in the ensuing Israel-Hamas conflict, the IRGC has provided arms and other assistance to help its partners in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen to attack Israeli targets in solidarity with Hamas.”

Damascus Attack: Netanyahu’s Evolving Red Lines Against Iran and Its Proxies
Samar Kadi/This is Beirut/April 02/2024
Almost six months into Israel’s quest to destroy Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still adamant on pushing ahead with his escalatory military policy, notwithstanding global pressures, notably by its US ally, to cease fire.
The Israeli strike in Damascus on Monday which flattened a building that is part of the Iranian embassy complex, killing senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is the biggest attack yet on Iranian interests in Syria, and a blunt act that somehow exposed the covert war that has been going on between Israel and Iran through Tehran’s proxies.
Netanyahu’s combative attitude and provocative performance is meant to keep him in power. He is also being challenged by his far-right coalition partners, some of whom threatened to bring down the government if he strays from his hardline policy.
With his political survival at stake, the Israeli premier’s only strategy and logic is to stay in power, according to retired French army General Dominique Trinquand.
“The extension of the conflict doesn’t frighten him, because war is what allows him to stay in power and continue to apply the policy he’s been applying for 15 years. Extending the conflict against the Iranians in Damascus and against Hezbollah is a necessity for him,” Trinquand told This is Beirut.
“Netanyahu couldn’t care less about the UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and pays little attention to what his American allies think,” Trinquand added. He argued that change may come from within Israel itself, amid growing public discontent with Netanyahu’s war policy that has so far failed to achieve the twin aims of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages still held by the Islamist Palestinian faction in Gaza.
“The only way out of the crisis is that the Israelis manage to push Netanyahu out the door. Street demonstrations may drive his cabinet to split, at which point he will have to leave, but as long as there isn’t this kind of pressure, external pressure won’t do much,” the French general maintained.
As the red lines that he sets for himself keep on evolving, the logic that drives Netanyahu’s decision-making process continues to change and becomes ever more complex. For Fadi Assaf, co-founder of Middle East Strategic Perspectives, Israel remains the “unknown” or “unpredictable” party in the raging conflict, whereas Iran has been avoiding head-on confrontation and keeping its proxies firmly under control.
“Israeli raids against Iranian military and logistical interests in Syria, and even cyberattacks on Iranian soil itself, have not modified Iran’s posture,” Assaf told This is Beirut, stressing that “the real foundations of the ‘strategic patience’ that dictates Iran’s reactions on the Israeli front remain unchanged even today (after the Damascus attack).”At least three senior commanders and four officers overseeing Iran’s covert operations in the Middle East were killed on Monday when Israeli warplanes struck an annex building of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, an unprecedented direct confrontation in the adversaries’ escalating conflict over the war in Gaza.
Iran vowed to take revenge on Israel, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pledging, “We will make the Zionist regime regret this crime and others it has committed.”While the US administration is playing the “de-escalation card,” and at the same time maintaining its logistical and military support for Israel, the latter is continuing its offensive against Hamas, in Gaza and at Rafah, and its surgical war against Hezbollah and the IRGC. According to Assaf, Israel’s aim here is to create the conditions for a deal that is most advantageous for its security.
“Weakening Iran by clipping its armed wings and thus limiting its ability to impose its conditions in inevitable future negotiations seems to be the primary objective of Israel’s current military actions,” Assaf said, adding that, on the other hand, Iran’s primary concern is to protect its constellation of militias, and “above all avoid risking the loss of Hezbollah, in order to preserve its geostrategic gains.”Despite taking risks here and there, both sides seem, for the time being, to be acting in a manner consistent with their current strategic priorities. Iran’s retaliation to the Damascus attack, as vowed by Khamenei, is, thus, unlikely to happen straight away, but could target Israeli interests anywhere in the world later, on the model of the 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy and another attack on a Jewish community center in 1994, both in Buenos Aires. A Hezbollah suicide bomber was charged with carrying out the attack on the Jewish center.

Jordan faces the Iranian threat
Asaad Bishara/Nidda Al Watan/April 3, 2024 (Google translation from Arabic)
Iran was not limited to Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Here it is looking to Jordan, and the goal is to create another support front for Gaza across the Jordan River. All of this is done by protecting the equation of strategic patience, in which Tehran allows itself to distance itself from any confrontation with Israel and America, at a time when the agency has assigned those who agreed to pay the price of blood and destruction to their countries to negotiate by fire on its behalf, while it sits comfortably on the seats of dialogue with the United States. American in Amman. The Iranian threat that threatens the sovereignty of Jordan and its state precedes the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Iran, through its agents in Syria, tried to flood Jordan with Captagon and make it an export corridor. It also repeatedly tried to invade its borders by smuggling weapons, seeking to form a structure of resistance in the safe country.
A former Jordanian ambassador to Tehran says that the mullahs’ regime requested that Jordan be opened to pilgrimage visits to places considered sacred by Shiites, and he explained the Iranian intentions clearly: Under the guise of religious tourism, they want to repeat the experience of invaded Syria, and establish a security and perhaps military structure, in preparation for moving to another, more dangerous situation.
Since the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, Jordan has seemed to be a target for Iran, which is trying, through its mobilization, in which it relies on some forces of political Islam, to shake the stability of this country, which has preserved its stability and protected itself from crazy adventures, throughout the phase of the Arab-Israeli conflict, with the exception of The Six-Day War in which he lost the West Bank, after joining the leadership of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Iran is pushing Hezbollah to open a war with support from Lebanon, to save its face towards Hamas, and then returns to reining in Hezbollah, whose cadres are being killed every day, because it does not want to risk a war that might destroy the mullahs’ regime. Iran pushes the Popular Mobilization Forces to target American bases, then sends Qaani to calm and restrain, after three American soldiers were killed, and the matter almost amounted to an American strike against Iran itself. Iran pushes the Houthis to threaten global shipping in the Red Sea, then negotiates with them in Oman.
Iran encouraged Hamas to carry out the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, then disavowed it and left it to be slaughtered alone, as a result of adhering to strategic patience. And here it is encouraging some Jordanian movements, which have only mastered the art of enthusiasm, to move in a way that undermines Jordan’s stability, and in a way that threatens to put it in a maze from which it will not emerge, if they are able to achieve their goal. Did these same Jordanian movements ask themselves, what Hezbollah, the Houthis and the PMF deliberately ignored, why Iran did not close the Strait of Hormuz as an expression of its assuming responsibility for supporting Gaza?
Certainly none of them asked this question, but in answering it lies the full danger of the Iranian project for the countries of the region. The mullahs are using the blood of the Arab peoples as material for negotiations with those who can hand over regional influence to them, that is, America. Experience has proven that there is no consolation for those who believe the mullahs of Tehran.