Cairo Concerned Over Escalating Regional Crisis

A photo taken from a position in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel shows smoke billowing from the site of a rocket fired from the Lebanese side towards the Israeli village of Metullah on August 3, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
A photo taken from a position in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel shows smoke billowing from the site of a rocket fired from the Lebanese side towards the Israeli village of Metullah on August 3, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
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Cairo Concerned Over Escalating Regional Crisis

A photo taken from a position in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel shows smoke billowing from the site of a rocket fired from the Lebanese side towards the Israeli village of Metullah on August 3, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
A photo taken from a position in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel shows smoke billowing from the site of a rocket fired from the Lebanese side towards the Israeli village of Metullah on August 3, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty expressed on Saturday to his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib his country's "deep concern over the dangerously increasing pace of escalation" in the region.

Abdelatty affirmed, in a phone call with Bou Habib, Egypt's support to Lebanon in confronting the threats surrounding it, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Wednesday's assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has aroused fears of direct conflict between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel in a region shaken by Israel's war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.

Revenge for the killing of the Hamas leader will be "severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner", the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said in a statement, blaming the "terrorist Zionist regime" of Israel for his death.

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president.

The assassination of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon has also the region holding its breath for retaliation against Israel on either front, or both. Calls for people to leave Lebanon sharpened as flight activity there cooled.



Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
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Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)

Syria's new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”

The opposition Syria TV said Shibani, formerly known as Zeid al-Attar, was in charge of foreign affairs when the Al-Nusra Front transformed into the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

Syrian media said that until 2024, he has been residing in Türkiye. Along with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, he helped form the al-Nusra Front.

Shibani assumed several pseudonyms, including Nassim, Abu Aisha, Abu Ammar al-Shami and Hussam al-Shafei.

Born in 1987, he hails from the Hasakeh countryside. He was studying translation before his family moved to Damascus where he earned a degree in English Literature from Damascus University. He earned a master's degree in political science and foreign relations in Türkiye in 2022.

Syria's de facto ruler Sharaa has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the UN's Syria envoy and senior US diplomats.

Sharaa has signaled a willingness to engage diplomatically with international envoys, saying his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development. He has said he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were glad to see groups led by the HTS topple Assad.