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Tunisia: Ex-PM Gets 24-Year Prison Sentence Over Terror Charges

(FILES) Ali Larayedh answers questions from journalists during a press conference in Tunis, on December 6, 2021. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
(FILES) Ali Larayedh answers questions from journalists during a press conference in Tunis, on December 6, 2021. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
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Tunisia: Ex-PM Gets 24-Year Prison Sentence Over Terror Charges

(FILES) Ali Larayedh answers questions from journalists during a press conference in Tunis, on December 6, 2021. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
(FILES) Ali Larayedh answers questions from journalists during a press conference in Tunis, on December 6, 2021. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)

A Tunisian appeals court has imprisoned former prime minister Ali Larayedh 24 years after he was found guilty of terrorism charges.

Since his arrest in late 2022, Larayedh has denied the charges that he helped send militants to Iraq and Syria, and his lawyers have branded the case as politically motivated.

Last year, the former premier was sentenced to 34 years in prison. However, an overnight ruling from an appeals court reduced on Friday the 70-year-old's term to 24 years.

Larayedh was prime minister from 2013 to 2014.

Others prosecuted in the case included former security officials and a spokesman for Ansar al-Sharia, a group Tunisia designated a terrorist organization in 2013 while Larayedh was prime minister.

The appeals court reduced the sentences of several others in the case, with prison terms now ranging from three to 24 years.

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Arab World

Protesters Try to Storm Baghdad Zone Housing US Embassy

Smoke rises following an Iranian drone attack on Erbil airport in Erbil, Iraq, 28 February 2026. EPA/GAILAN HAJI
Smoke rises following an Iranian drone attack on Erbil airport in Erbil, Iraq, 28 February 2026. EPA/GAILAN HAJI
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Protesters Try to Storm Baghdad Zone Housing US Embassy

Smoke rises following an Iranian drone attack on Erbil airport in Erbil, Iraq, 28 February 2026. EPA/GAILAN HAJI
Smoke rises following an Iranian drone attack on Erbil airport in Erbil, Iraq, 28 February 2026. EPA/GAILAN HAJI

Hundreds of Iraqis attempted early Sunday to storm Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, after the death of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, a security source told AFP.

"Their attempts had been thwarted so far, but they keep trying," the source said.

Videos shared on social media showed protesters throwing stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas. An AFP staffer saw hundreds of people holding flags of a pro-Iran armed group.

Arab World

US Tells Lebanon: Israel Won’t Escalate if No Hostile Acts Come from Lebanese Side

Clouds cover is heavy over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, at sunset Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP)
Clouds cover is heavy over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, at sunset Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP)
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US Tells Lebanon: Israel Won’t Escalate if No Hostile Acts Come from Lebanese Side

Clouds cover is heavy over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, at sunset Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP)
Clouds cover is heavy over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, at sunset Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP)

Lebanon's presidency said on Saturday it had been told by the US ambassador that Israel would not escalate against Lebanon as long as there are no hostile acts from the Lebanese side, following the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah, long one of Tehran's principal allies in the Middle East, expressed solidarity with Iran on Saturday but stopped short of saying whether it would get involved.

In ‌its statement, ‌Hezbollah said the US-Israeli actions would "affect everyone ‌without ⁠exception if left ⁠unchallenged".

"We are confident that the American and Israeli enemy will receive a major blow," it said.

Israel has warned Beirut that it would strike Lebanon hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, if Hezbollah involved itself in any US-Iran war.

The US embassy in Lebanon ⁠did not immediately respond to a request ‌for comment on a ‌statement from the office of President Joseph Aoun about the ‌message he had received from US Ambassador Michel Issa. ‌The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also did not comment.

Hezbollah has fought numerous conflicts with Israel since being established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, ‌but was severely weakened by Israel in a war in 2024 when its leader Hassan ⁠Nasrallah was ⁠killed.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he would not accept anyone dragging Lebanon into "adventures that threaten its security and unity", a veiled message to Hezbollah.

In a statement released after Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, Salam noted the "serious developments" in the region and called on "all Lebanese to act with wisdom and patriotism, placing Lebanon and the Lebanese people’s interests above any other consideration".

Arab World

Hezbollah Expresses 'Solidarity' with Iran

Supporters of Hezbollah shout slogans during a protest organized by Hezbollah under the slogan 'The entire country is resistance' outside the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, 04 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Supporters of Hezbollah shout slogans during a protest organized by Hezbollah under the slogan 'The entire country is resistance' outside the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, 04 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Hezbollah Expresses 'Solidarity' with Iran

Supporters of Hezbollah shout slogans during a protest organized by Hezbollah under the slogan 'The entire country is resistance' outside the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, 04 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Supporters of Hezbollah shout slogans during a protest organized by Hezbollah under the slogan 'The entire country is resistance' outside the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, 04 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon's Hezbollah expressed solidarity with Iran on Saturday as it came under attack from the United States and Israel, warning in a statement of dire consequences for the region without saying whether it would get involved.

Israel had warned Beirut that it would strike Lebanon hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, ⁠if Hezbollah involved itself in any US-Iran war.

In a statement, Hezbollah said the consequences of the US-Israeli plan would "affect everyone without exception if left unchallenged.”

"We are confident that the American and Israeli enemy will receive a major blow," it said.

Israel's military said on Saturday that it carried out strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in south Lebanon.