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Nizar Zakka’s Case Reaches Final Phase

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese detained in Tehran since 2015 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese detained in Tehran since 2015 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Nizar Zakka’s Case Reaches Final Phase

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese detained in Tehran since 2015 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese detained in Tehran since 2015 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The case of Lebanese Nizar Zakka - detained in Tehran since 2015 – has finally come to an end, as the head of Lebanon's General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, left for Iran on Sunday to bring him back home.

Zakka is expected to make his first statement from the presidential palace after meeting with President Michel Aoun.

The General Security said in a statement that Ibrahim left Beirut on Sunday afternoon, heading to Tehran to complete the efforts to release Zakka, while well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that negotiations were over, and procedures for his release from prison were being prepared.

The move came after the Iranian authorities informed Lebanon last week of their readiness to receive a Lebanese delegation at any time for the extradition of Zakka, after the decision to release him, “in response to a request by Aoun to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.”

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Lawyer Majed Dimashqieh, Zakka’s attorney, said that his client was expected to arrive in Beirut within hours, while the sources of the General Security noted that the task would take between 24-48 hours, explaining that Ibrahim would meet during his visit with a number of Iranian officials.

Dimashqieh said that Zakka’s release “was the result of concerted efforts by Lebanese officials, headed by Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri… in addition to General Ibrahim.”

Zakka, a US permanent resident, is an advocate for internet freedom and has done some work for the US government. He has been imprisoned in Iran since his arrest in September 2015 while attending a state-sponsored conference.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2016 and assessed a $4.2 million fine when a security court convicted him of espionage.

In 2017, Zakka went on a hunger strike for over a month calling for his release.

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Russia Attacks Ukraine's Energy Supplies with Dozens of Missiles and Drones

A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
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Russia Attacks Ukraine's Energy Supplies with Dozens of Missiles and Drones

A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones during the night, officials said Friday, hobbling the country’s ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses.
The overnight barrage — which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people — came days after the US suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Without US intelligence, Ukraine’s ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is significantly diminished, The Associated Press aid.
Air-defense systems supplied by the West are crucial for Ukraine, but further US help is uncertain under President Donald Trump, who says he’s determined to end the war. European Union leaders, mindful they may need to shoulder more of the burden for arming Ukraine and strengthen their own defenses, agreed on a plan Thursday to significantly build up their military spending.
Ukraine is having a tough time on the battlefield. An onslaught by Russia’s bigger army is straining short-handed Ukrainian forces at places along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
Officials from the US and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss ending the war, which began more than three years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. On Friday, President Trump said on social media he was “strongly considering” placing additional sanctions on Russia to force it into peace talks with Ukraine.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” Trump said.
Ukraine came under a “massive missile and drone” attack overnight, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.
“Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by striking energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without light and heat, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens,” Halushchenko wrote.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid during the war. The attacks have depleted electricity generation capacity and disrupted critical heating and water supplies. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “weaponizing winter” in an effort to erode civilian morale.
Zelenskyy on Friday won the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Ukraine's proposals to take some first steps toward stopping the war, including a halt on firing missiles, drones and bombs at energy and other civilian infrastructure. Zelenskyy has also proposed ceasing combat operations in the Black Sea to allow safe shipping.
Erdogan said that he also wants the shooting to stop without delay.
“We support the idea of an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,” he said in a video call with European leaders.
Zelenskyy first suggested those initial steps in a post on X on Tuesday, when he said that he was ready to work under President Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the energy supply is a legitimate target in the war, because it's “linked with Ukraine’s military industrial complex and weapons production.”
Russian air defenses downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, DTEK, said that the overnight bombardment in the Odesa region was Russia’s sixth attack in the past two and a half weeks on its facilities. Its plants in two other regions were also struck.
Russia fired 67 missiles from air, land and sea, and launched 194 strike and decoy drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Their primary target was Ukraine’s natural gas extraction facilities, it said.
For the first time, Ukraine deployed French Mirage-2000 warplanes delivered a month ago to help repel the attack, according to the air force. Ukraine also has Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to shoot down Russian missiles.
Ukrainian defenses downed 34 missiles and 100 drones, the air force said, while up to 10 missiles didn’t reach their targets and 86 drones were lost from radars, presumably jammed by electronic warfare.