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Lebanese Anti-Iran Gathering Accuses Hezbollah of Barring Its Annual Meeting in Beirut

Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
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Lebanese Anti-Iran Gathering Accuses Hezbollah of Barring Its Annual Meeting in Beirut

Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)

The anti-Iran Lebanese Saydet el-Jabal gathering was barred from holding its annual meeting at Beirut’s Bristol Hotel.

The gathering includes members of the former March 14 camp and was set to discuss ending Iranian hegemony in Lebanon. The meeting was scheduled to be held on Sunday.

The hotel management informed the officials that it would be unable to host their gathering after they had announced the theme of this year’s meeting.

When contacted by the Asharq Al-Awsat, the hotel management said that the decision was “strictly administrative.” It refused to provide further details.

Former MP and member of the Saydet el-Jabal gathering Fares Souaid condemned the move, saying the hotel took the decision two hours after the meeting’s agenda was announced.

“This is a reflection of the general atmosphere in Lebanon, which is hostage to Hezbollah and Iran,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is likely that the hotel received advice against hosting our meeting,” he added.

The Saydet el-Jabal has been holding its annual meeting for the past 18 years.

Souaid continued: “Hezbollah now controls the country and its freedoms, which are in constant decline.”

“Our television screens and electronic platforms are open to hordes of people that insult each other, while a gathering that is dedicated to Lebanese affairs and a free and sovereign nation is prevented from holding a meeting,” he lamented.

“We have yet to hear a statement of condemnation from a political or partisan side in power. What has happened has never taken place at the height of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon,” he remarked.

“How can caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil take ambassadors on a tour to refute claims by the Israeli prime minister and declare Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah an honest man and also prevent political figures from saying that Iran is imposing its hegemony over Lebanon?” he wondered.

Saydet el-Jabal will not succumb to the pressure, vowed Souaid, saying the gathering will hold its annual meeting.

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Arab World

Bomb Blast at Damascus Cafe Kills Five

A police vehicle near the site of what Syrian state media reported was a blast at a cafe in central Damascus, Syria, July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar
A police vehicle near the site of what Syrian state media reported was a blast at a cafe in central Damascus, Syria, July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar
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Bomb Blast at Damascus Cafe Kills Five

A police vehicle near the site of what Syrian state media reported was a blast at a cafe in central Damascus, Syria, July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar
A police vehicle near the site of what Syrian state media reported was a blast at a cafe in central Damascus, Syria, July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar

A bomb went off at a cafe in central Damascus on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding 16, Syrian authorities said.

The blast took place near the capital's Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area.

An AFP correspondent saw ambulances weaving their way through traffic with their sirens blaring as they headed to the site, and security forces cordoned off the area of the blast.

"The explosion that occurred in a cafe near the Palace of Justice in Damascus resulted from an explosive device planted in the location," state television said, after earlier reporting that authorities were seeking to determine the source of the blast.

Nour Khayyat, 40, who owns a shop selling batteries for solar panels near the site of the explosion, told AFP that "at about 3:00 pm (1200 GMT), I heard a powerful blast and the storefront shook".

"People rushed to the cafe and called ambulances," he added.

Mohammed al-Zahabi, the owner of a glasses shop next to the targeted cafe, was trembling as he told AFP that "after the blast, I felt strong pressure, and the whole place shook".

"I ran to the place and saw people lying on the floor with blood pooled around them everywhere," he added, saying the scenes recalled the blasts that Damascus experienced during the nearly 14-year civil war.

Damascus has been the site of multiple attacks and incidents since the new authorities took over following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The deadliest came in June 2025, when an attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people.

The suicide attack was later claimed by an Islamist group, while the authorities blamed it on the ISIS.

Arab World

Sudanese Army Says It Shot Down Hostile Strategic Drone in White Nile State

Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. war. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. war. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudanese Army Says It Shot Down Hostile Strategic Drone in White Nile State

Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. war. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. war. (Photo by AFP)

The Sudanese army announced on Thursday that it had shot down a hostile Chinese-made FH-95 strategic drone over the town of Tendelti in White Nile State, marking the second drone of the same model that the military says it has downed during the conflict.

In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the Armed Forces' Office of the Official Spokesperson said Sudan's air defenses had successfully intercepted and shot down a hostile FH-95 strategic drone over the skies of Tendelti.

Tendelti is located in White Nile State in southern Sudan and borders North Kordofan State to the west, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified drone strikes on the state capital, El Obeid.

The RSF had not issued an official response to the army's announcement at the time of publication.

Several cities across central and western Sudan have recently witnessed a marked escalation in reciprocal drone attacks between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

In recent weeks, Tendelti has been repeatedly targeted in attacks attributed to the RSF. Similar strikes have also hit the cities of Rabak and Kosti in White Nile State, as well as Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan State.

Since the outbreak of the war in Sudan in April 2023, both sides have significantly expanded their use of drones, with attacks reaching cities far from the front lines. The increased use of unmanned aircraft has contributed to higher civilian casualties and further worsening the humanitarian situation in the affected areas.

Arab World

Syrian Foreign Minister Visits Beirut after Trump Comments about Taking on Hezbollah

File photo: In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani before their meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
File photo: In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani before their meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Syrian Foreign Minister Visits Beirut after Trump Comments about Taking on Hezbollah

File photo: In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani before their meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
File photo: In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani before their meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Syria's foreign minister travelled to Beirut ‌on Thursday to meet Lebanese government leaders, in his first visit there since US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of Syrian forces combating Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, however, has previously denied what he called rumors about any Syrian presence entering Lebanon.

The Syrian minister, Asaad al-Shibani, met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on his first stop, and then headed for a meeting with the parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.

Syria's new government under Sharaa has emerged as a US ally since his forces ‌toppled President Bashar al-Assad ‌in 2024, and has largely stayed out ‌of the ⁠regional war between ⁠the US and Israel, and Iran.

Trump said last month he had spoken to Sharaa about combating Hezbollah, after criticizing Israel — which is at war with the group — for killing too many civilians in Lebanon and not getting the job done. "I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, ⁠I think they do a better job of doing ‌it," Trump said.

DAMASCUS WARY OF ‌BEING DRAWN INTO WAR

Reuters reported in March that the US had encouraged ‌Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help ‌disarm Hezbollah, but that Damascus was reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions in Syria and Lebanon.

Sharaa has since Trump's comments ‌said that "the rumors circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are completely unfounded", according to Syrian state media.

The former opposition forces ⁠and commanders ⁠that now run Syria fought against Hezbollah for years while it deployed to Syria to support former President Bashar al-Assad.

Now that they are in power, they are having to calibrate alliances and military action carefully in efforts to maintain relative stability in Syria, which is still recovering from 14 years of civil war.

Syria long dominated Lebanon under the Assad family, sending in forces in 1976 during the 1975-90 civil war and controlling Lebanon's post-war politics until its withdrawal in 2005.

Any Syrian intervention could fuel sectarian tensions in both Syria and Lebanon, home to a mosaic of sects including Sunni Muslims, Shi'ite Muslims, Christians and Druze.