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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)
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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.

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Arab World

Australia Bars Citizen Held in Syria’s Roj Camp from Returning Home

Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Australia Bars Citizen Held in Syria’s Roj Camp from Returning Home

Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Australia has barred one of its citizens from returning home from a Syrian detention camp because of security concerns, the government said Wednesday.

The unidentified person is among a group of 34 Australian women and children at the Roj camp related to suspected members of ISIS.

"I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement sent to AFP.

"At this stage security agencies have not provided advice that other members of the cohort meet the required legal thresholds for temporary exclusion orders."

The minister can make temporary exclusion orders lasting up to two years to prevent terrorist activities or politically motivated violence.

The Australians were released from the camp on Monday but failed to reach the capital Damascus on their way home, a Kurdish official told AFP in Syria.

The official said they were turned back to the detention camp, citing "poor coordination" with the Syrian authorities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese underscored his government's refusal to help repatriate the women and children.

"You make your bed, you lie in it," he said, accusing the group of aligning with an ideology that seeks to "undermine and destroy our way of life".

"We are doing nothing to repatriate or to assist these people," he told reporters Wednesday.

"I think it's unfortunate that children are caught up in this. That's not their decision but it's the decision of their parents or their mother."

The humanitarian organization Save the Children Australia filed a lawsuit in 2023 on behalf of 11 women and 20 children in Syria, seeking their repatriation.

But the Federal Court ruled against Save the Children, saying the Australian government did not control their detention in Syria.

Arab World

Saudi Intervention Ends Socotra Power Crisis

Socotra power generators restarted after Saudi intervention (X)
Socotra power generators restarted after Saudi intervention (X)
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Saudi Intervention Ends Socotra Power Crisis

Socotra power generators restarted after Saudi intervention (X)
Socotra power generators restarted after Saudi intervention (X)

Electricity has returned to Yemen’s Socotra archipelago after urgent Saudi intervention ended days of outages that disrupted daily life and crippled vital institutions, including the general hospital, the university and the technical institute.

The breakthrough followed a sudden shutdown of the power plants after the operating company withdrew and disabled control systems, triggering widespread blackouts and deepening hardship for residents.

The Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen said its engineering and technical teams moved immediately after receiving an appeal from local authorities. Specialists were dispatched to reactivate operating systems that had been encrypted before the company left the island.

Generators were brought back online in stages, restoring electricity across most of the governorate within a short time.

The restart eased intense pressure on the grid, which had faced rising demand in recent weeks after a complete halt in generation.

Health and education facilities were among the worst affected. Some medical departments scaled back services, while parts of the education sector were partially suspended as classrooms and laboratories were left without power.

Socotra’s electricity authority said the crisis began when the former operator installed shutdown timers and password protections on control systems, preventing local teams from restarting the stations. Officials noted that the archipelago faced a similar situation in 2018, which was resolved through official intervention.

Local sources said the return of electricity quickly stabilized basic services. Water networks resumed regular operations, telecommunications improved, and commercial activity began to recover after a period of economic disruption linked to the outages.

Health and education rebound

In the health sector, stable power, combined with operational support, secured the functioning of Socotra General Hospital, the archipelago’s main medical facility.

Funding helped provide fuel and medical supplies and support healthcare staff, strengthening the hospital’s ability to receive patients and reducing the need to transfer cases outside the governorate, a burden that had weighed heavily on residents.

Medical sources said critical departments, including intensive care units and operating rooms, resumed normal operations after relying on limited emergency measures.

In education, classes and academic activities resumed at Socotra University and the technical institute after weeks of disruption.

A support initiative covered operational costs, including academic staff salaries and essential expenses, helping curb absenteeism and restore the academic schedule.

Local authorities announced that studies at the technical institute would officially restart on Monday, a move seen as a sign of gradual stabilization in public services.

Observers say sustained technical and operational support will be key to safeguarding electricity supply and preventing a repeat of the crisis in a region that depends almost entirely on power to run its vital sectors.

Arab World

Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
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Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly headed to Washington on Tuesday ‌to ‌participate in ‌the inaugural ⁠meeting of a "Board of Peace" established by US President Donald ⁠Trump, the ‌cabinet ‌said.

Madbouly is ‌attending ‌on behalf of President Abdel ‌Fattah al-Sisi and is accompanied by ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will represent Israel at the inaugural meeting, his office said on Tuesday.

Hamas, meanwhile, called on the newly-formed board to pressure Israel to halt what it described as ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

Saar will first attend a ministerial level UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday, and on Thursday he "will represent Israel at the inaugural session of the board, chaired by Trump in Washington DC, where he will present Israel's position", his office said in a statement.

It was initially reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might attend the gathering, but his office said last week that he would not.

Ahead of the meeting, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian movement urged the board's members "to take serious action to compel the Israeli occupation to stop its violations in Gaza".

"The war of genocide against the Strip is still ongoing -- through killing, displacement, siege, and starvation -- which have not stopped until this very moment," he added.

He also called for the board to work to support the newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza "so that relief and reconstruction efforts in Gaza can commence".

Announcing the creation of the board in January, Trump also unveiled plans to establish a "Gaza Executive Board" operating under the body.

The executive board would include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.

Netanyahu has strongly objected to their inclusion.

Since Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.