عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

Lebanese Mull Different Scenarios for Iran’s Response to Syria Consulate Attack, Fear Expanded War

Mourners are seen at the funeral of Ali Ahmed Hussein, commander of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” forces, in Beirut. (AP)
Mourners are seen at the funeral of Ali Ahmed Hussein, commander of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” forces, in Beirut. (AP)
TT
TT

Lebanese Mull Different Scenarios for Iran’s Response to Syria Consulate Attack, Fear Expanded War

Mourners are seen at the funeral of Ali Ahmed Hussein, commander of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” forces, in Beirut. (AP)
Mourners are seen at the funeral of Ali Ahmed Hussein, commander of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” forces, in Beirut. (AP)

Fear mounted in Lebanon over Tehran’s expected response to Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate headquarters in Damascus, and the possible Israeli reaction, amid concerns that the escalation would lead to the outbreak of an expanded war in the region, with Lebanon as its main arena.

The Lebanese are divided between those who expect a harsh response, most of whom are Hezbollah supporters, and those who believe that there will be a limited and more likely “symbolic” reaction, pointing to an Iranian-American understanding in this regard to avoid expanding the war in the region.

A third category believes that there will be no revenge, and that the slogan “at the right place and time” will continue to be applied.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah confirmed in his latest televised address that the “Iranian response will inevitably happen,” without indicating whether Hezbollah will carry it out.

However, Lebanese Forces sources said the possibility of Iran entrusting Hezbollah with the attack would be “a scandal and a defeat because Iran itself was targeted in Damascus.”

“The Iranian consulate is Iranian territory, and therefore if Tehran does not respond directly to the attack, this means a clear acknowledgment that it is too powerless to respond,” the LF sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Head of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies retired Brigadier General Dr. Hisham Jaber said: “The Iranian reaction is inevitable, but the Iranians are still studying how to respond” in a way that does not provoke a direct confrontation with the United States.

“The response will be direct from Tehran after it announced maximum mobilization,” Jaber noted, suggesting that the target could be the Israeli consulate in Kurdistan, which is within range of Iranian fire and missiles, or at sea, by striking an Israeli ship.

He added: “As for attacking American interests in the region, this is completely off the table, and Washington has been informed of that.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Features

Climate Change Imperils Drought-Stricken Morocco’s Cereal Farmers and Its Food Supply

A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
TT
TT

Climate Change Imperils Drought-Stricken Morocco’s Cereal Farmers and Its Food Supply

A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)

Golden fields of wheat no longer produce the bounty they once did in Morocco. A six-year drought has imperiled the country's entire agriculture sector, including farmers who grow cereals and grains used to feed humans and livestock.

The North African nation projects this year's harvest will be smaller than last year in both volume and acreage, putting farmers out of work and requiring more imports and government subsidies to prevent the price of staples like flour from rising for everyday consumers.

"In the past, we used to have a bounty — a lot of wheat. But during the last seven or eight years, the harvest has been very low because of the drought," said Al Housni Belhoussni, a small-scale farmer who has long tilled fields outside of the city of Kenitra.

Belhoussni's plight is familiar to grain farmers throughout the world confronting a hotter and drier future. Climate change is imperiling the food supply and shrinking the annual yields of cereals that dominate diets around the world — wheat, rice, maize and barley.

In North Africa, among the regions thought of as most vulnerable to climate change, delays to annual rains and inconsistent weather patterns have pushed the growing season later in the year and made planning difficult for farmers.

In Morocco, where cereals account for most of the farmed land and agriculture employs the majority of workers in rural regions, the drought is wreaking havoc and touching off major changes that will transform the makeup of the economy. It has forced some to leave their fields fallow. It has also made the areas they do elect to cultivate less productive, producing far fewer sacks of wheat to sell than they once did.

In response, the government has announced restrictions on water use in urban areas — including on public baths and car washes — and in rural ones, where water going to farms has been rationed.

"The late rains during the autumn season affected the agriculture campaign. This year, only the spring rains, especially during the month of March, managed to rescue the crops," said Abdelkrim Naaman, the chairman of Nalsya. The organization has advised farmers on seeding, irrigation and drought mitigation as less rain falls and less water flows through Morocco's rivers.

The Agriculture Ministry estimates that this year's wheat harvest will yield roughly 3.4 million tons (3.1 billion kilograms), far less than last year's 6.1 million tons (5.5 billion kilograms) — a yield that was still considered low. The amount of land seeded has dramatically shrunk as well, from 14,170 square miles (36,700 square kilometers) to 9,540 square miles (24,700 square kilometers).

Such a drop constitutes a crisis, said Driss Aissaoui, an analyst and former member of the Moroccan Ministry for Agriculture.

"When we say crisis, this means that you have to import more," he said. "We are in a country where drought has become a structural issue."

Leaning more on imports means the government will have to continue subsidizing prices to ensure households and livestock farmers can afford dietary staples for their families and flocks, said Rachid Benali, the chairman of the farming lobby COMADER.

The country imported nearly 2.5 million tons of common wheat between January and June. However, such a solution may have an expiration date, particularly because Morocco's primary source of wheat, France, is facing shrinking harvests as well.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization ranked Morocco as the world's sixth-largest wheat importer this year, between Türkiye and Bangladesh, which both have much bigger populations.

"Morocco has known droughts like this and in some cases known droughts that las longer than 10 years. But the problem, this time especially, is climate change," Benali said.