Iran's FM Arrives in Damascus, Invites Assad to Visit Tehran

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at a press conference in Damascus (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at a press conference in Damascus (AFP)
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Iran's FM Arrives in Damascus, Invites Assad to Visit Tehran

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at a press conference in Damascus (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at a press conference in Damascus (AFP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian handed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an invitation from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Iran.

Amirabdollahian arrived Sunday in Syria and discussed the latest regional and international developments with Assad.

The FM condemned the Israeli attack that targeted military advisors in Syria.

Since the beginning of 2024, Israel launched over ten attacks against Iranian militias' sites within Syria, killing about 31 soldiers and injuring nine others, including six from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), six from the Lebanese Hezbollah, and three Iraqis.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the attacks destroyed about 27 targets, including weapons and ammunition depots, headquarters, centers, and vehicles.

On Saturday, ahead of Amirabdollahian's visit to Damascus coming from Beirut, Israel bombed al-Dimas Airport, west of Damascus, targeting the Syrian military infrastructure.

Deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation Vadim Collet explained that the Israeli warplanes launched their attack from outside Syrian airspace, according to Russia Today.

The Syrian FM Faisal Mekdad met with Amirabdollahian for bilateral talks.

Iran's top diplomat condemned the US "illegal presence" on Syrian territory and said that he discussed with President Assad the latest regional and international developments.

The Syrian President affirmed that the US stance towards the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip threatens the expansion of conflict by continuing to provide the Zionist entity with lethal weapons and Washington's aggressions.

Assad said: "The Zionist entity and the West are in trouble today, and the West is now required to save that entity, and Israel's escalation in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon is nothing but an attempt to get out of this trouble."

The President criticized the relevant international institutions, especially the Security Council, for their inability to stop Israel's massacres against the Palestinian people.

Israel is preparing to complete commiting crimes in Rafah, said Assad.

Amirabdollahian, in turn, said that Gaza is now the main issue not only at the regional level but also at the international level, noting that Syria is on the front lines in supporting the Palestinian people and their cause.

Ahead of his visit to Syria, the Iranian FM was in Beirut, where he met with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement Ziad al-Nakhalah, Hamas official Osama Hamdan, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Jamil Mezher.

"The region is moving toward stability, security, and political solutions," Amirabdollahian said in a news conference at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

Media reports stated that decision-makers in Tehran are considering the next steps regarding the escalation of US and Israeli attacks against its forces in Syria and Iraq.

According to reports, the military tends toward responding to the assassinations, while the diplomatic channels believe it is crucial to maintain restraint and avoid escalation to keep matters under control. They seek to exploit the regional developments for the benefit of Iranian diplomacy.



Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officials and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

The wreckage was scattered across an area covering 3 square kilometers (more than a square mile), complicating recovery efforts, according to the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

A 22-person delegation, including five family members, arrived from Libya early on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.


Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.


Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)

Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by 14 countries including France and Britain of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalize eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing."

On Sunday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Fourteen countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, then issued a statement urging Israel to reverse its decision, "as well as the expansion of settlements".

Such unilateral actions, they said, "violate international law", and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in force since October 10.

They also reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security".

Israel has occupied the West Bank following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.