Arab Coalition Destroys Houthi Explosive-Laden Boat off Yemeni Port of Salif

Arab coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
Arab coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
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Arab Coalition Destroys Houthi Explosive-Laden Boat off Yemeni Port of Salif

Arab coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
Arab coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki. (SPA)

The Saudi-led Arab coalition said on Tuesday it had destroyed an explosive-laden boat, launched by the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias, before an imminent attack off the Yemeni port of Salif.

The coalition added that the Houthis “continue to threaten maritime traffic and international trade.”

It said the Houthis are exploiting the Stockholm agreement on Hodeidah in order to carry out hostile and terrorist attacks from the coastal province.



Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on X.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel - a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, opposition factions captured the capital Damascus.

Syria's new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.