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‘Hezbollah’ Develops Iranian Drone to Use in Qalamoun Outskirts

A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
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‘Hezbollah’ Develops Iranian Drone to Use in Qalamoun Outskirts

A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)

Photographs released by Lebanon’s “Hezbollah” war media showed a remarkable development in its arsenal with new drones capable of carrying missiles. These drones appear to be a development of Iranian warplanes of the same kind – but bigger – that are being used in Syria.

“Hezbollah” used the drone for the first time in the border region of al-Qalamoun to target ISIS terrorists, but did not disclose further details about them. It only said that they were being employed to strike ISIS positions and fortifications in Qalamoun, near the border with Lebanon.

These photographs reflect a development in the military industries of “Hezbollah”.

The armed group originally announced that it was manufacturing drones back in October 2012 when Israeli warplanes shot down a drone that the party later claimed as its own.

Hisham Jaber, head of the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the drone revealed on Monday is “small and capable of carrying up to six medium-sized munitions.”

He added that “they are controlled from close range and can fly at an altitude of 200-300 meters for an hour.” Such warplanes are used to strike tactical targets, he continued.

Iran uses such drones in Syria and they were first revealed when they flew beside US military bases in al-Tanf at the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border triangle. The US warplanes shot down one such drone two months ago, making it more probable that the drones are manufactured by Iran.

“But these drones are smaller than the Iranian ones in Tanf. It is easy to deliver small parts of the drone to Syria where they are manufactured and armed by ‘Hezbollah’ technicians,” Jaber stated.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
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Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE

Türkiye’s foreign minister said after meeting Syria's de facto leader in Damascus on Sunday that there was no room for Kurdish militants in Syria's future, calling for the YPG militia to disband.
Türkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
Sunday's visit to Damascus by Hakan Fidan, the first foreign minister to visit Damascus since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow two weeks ago, came amid hostilities in northeast Syria between Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and the YPG, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast.
Speaking alongside Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Fidan said he had discussed the YPG presence with the new Syrian administration and believed Damascus would take steps to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"In the coming period, the YPG must come to a point where it is no longer a threat to Syria's national unity," Fidan said, adding the YPG should disband.
The SDF played a key role defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards ISIS fighters in prison camps. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the group would try to re-establish capabilities in this period.
Fidan said the international community was "turning a blind eye" to the "illegality" of the SDF and YPG's actions in Syria, but added that he believed US President-elect Donald Trump would take a different approach.
He said the new Syrian administration had told him during their talks that they could manage the ISIS prison camps, if needed.
In a Reuters interview on Thursday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped battle ISIS and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Türkiye. He denied any organizational ties with the PKK.
The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.
Earlier, Türkiye's defense minister said Ankara believed Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all of the territory they occupy in the northeast.
Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halt support for the Kurdish fighters.
Ankara had for years backed opposition groups looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.
Fidan said all international sanctions imposed against Assad must be lifted as soon as possible to help Syria start rebuilding, offering Ankara's assistance on matters such as infrastructure development.
Sharaa told Sunday's press conference his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.