Syria’s New Foreign Minister Tells Iran Not to Spread Chaos in Syria

A Syrian boy walks past a defaced portrait of the toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the town of Yafour near Damascus on December 23, 2024. (AFP)
A Syrian boy walks past a defaced portrait of the toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the town of Yafour near Damascus on December 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria’s New Foreign Minister Tells Iran Not to Spread Chaos in Syria

A Syrian boy walks past a defaced portrait of the toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the town of Yafour near Damascus on December 23, 2024. (AFP)
A Syrian boy walks past a defaced portrait of the toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the town of Yafour near Damascus on December 23, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, told Iran on Tuesday not to spread chaos in Syria but to respect the Syrian people's will and the country's sovereignty.

In a post on X, Shibani said: "Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and the country's sovereignty and security. We warn them from spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks."

He did not specify the remarks he was referring to.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity".

"We predict that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose. Their schools, universities, homes, and streets are unsafe," Khamenei said.

He added: "Therefore, they must stand firmly with determination against the planners and executors of insecurity and prevail over them."

Syrian opposition fighters ousted President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after a 13-year civil war.

Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power.

Assad's overthrow is widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance" political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and US influence in the Middle East.



Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon's state media said an Israeli airstrike targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country on Wednesday, branding it a "violation" of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The truce went into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities that began with the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Both sides have since accused the other of breaching the ceasefire.

Wednesday's strike near the town of Tarya did not result in casualties, the state-run National News Agency said, calling the attack the "first violation of the ceasefire agreement" in the Baalbek area, AFP reported.

A Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted "warehouses believed to belong to Hezbollah".

Hezbollah has for decades held sway in south Beirut, and the south and east of the country.

The war with Israel saw Hezbollah massively weakened but not crushed.

A committee made up of the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and United Nations peacekeepers is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and ensuring violations are identified and dealt with.

Lebanon has asked the parties -- particularly the United States and France -- to press Israel to speed up its withdrawal from the country's south under the terms of the deal.

As part of the truce, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days, which are due to expire in January 2025.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it was continuing its "defensive activities" in the south "in accordance with the agreement".

It has yet to issue a statement on the reported strike in eastern Lebanon.